CYRUS SHALL PERFORM ALL MY DESIRE
By Jon Quinn
Cyrus II, the Great, was the founder of the Achaemienid Persian Empire which lasted for two centuries until the time of Alexander the Great. Cyrus lived from 559-530 B.C.
Isaiah was a Hebrew prophet. He was born two centuries before Cyrus lived and when he died in about 690 B.C. it would still be another 131 years before Cyrus II, the future Persian King would be born.
Please take the time to consider again the above two men and the dates of their births and deaths. The significance of the remainder of the article depends on this. These dates are undisputed with reference to Cyrus, and vary only very little with Isaiah. Isaiah died over a century before Cyrus was born.
Isaiah's World
"For Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen, because their speech and their actions are against the Lord, to rebel against His glorious presence." (Isaiah 3:8).
When Isaiah was born, the nation of Israel had been split into two nations for over a century. The northern kingdom had continued to be known as "Israel", but was the less faithful of the two. The southern nation had become known as "Judah" and though more faithful, its relationship with God was an "on again/off again" type of situation.
The chief world power at that time was Assyria. Because of Israel's disloyalty, God withdrew His protection and allowed the wicked Assyrians to destroy the northern nation and take the survivors captive.
Isaiah, living in the south in Jerusalem, also saw the spiritual decline of Judah. He lived long enough to see several kings, some good, some not. Ultimately, history records that one of the evil kings of Judah killed the aged prophet about 690 B.C.
Isaiah also foretold of Assyria's defeat, which occurrred in 612 B.C. at the hands of Babylon. Sadly, he also prophesied that this same Babylon would destroy Jerusalem and take rebellious Judah into captivity. This began to be fulfilled in 605 B.C. with the first deportation of captives from Jerusalem into cpativity. Finally, Jerusalem was destroyed by Babylon in 586 B.C. Isaiah also had much to say about the return from captivity that would happen generations later. When later generations would read these words written long before with such absolute accuracy, they would know that Jehovah is God; "Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, the LORD? And there is no other God besides Me." (Isaiah 45:21b; cf. 41:4, 21-26; 44:25,26; 45:11; 48:14).
Cyrus' World
"Thus says the Lord to Cyrus His Anointed, whom I have taken by the right hand, to subdue nations before him, and to loose the loins of kings; to open doors before him so that gates will not shut." (Isaiah 45:1).
These are the words that Isaiah wrote about a man whose birth was still decades in the future. Certainly this is an extremely powerful piece of evidence that Isaiah was being directed by God through the Holy Spirit to write these things. Isaiah knew the Cyrus' name before the man's parents had even been born!
This verse says that God will appoint Cyrus to fulfill a specific purpose and God will take him "by the right hand" to make sure Cyrus is able to fulfill that purpose. Cyrus is to subdue nations, meaning that Isaiah foresees a day when the Persian Empire, under Cyrus, will conquer the Babylonian Empire and the many nations which made it up. Isaiah spends much time in his prophecy discussing the fall of Babylon, but again, he will have been dead over a century before these prophecies are fulfilled. Another prophet, Daniel, would be on the scene, however. Daniel would interpret the handwriting on the wall for the Babylonian king which, paraphrased, would be "Your time is up!"
With the fall of Babylon Cyrus became undisputed world leader. The captives of Babylon became his captives. We must remember that Cyrus was a pagan. Though he was a servant of God in the sense that God used him to advance His purpose (like He had used Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar) he was not exclusively a worshiper of Jehovah. He was an idolater and a worshiper of the gods of the Persians. While he might have respected Israel's God, he was not a monotheist. In fact, the LORD Himself says concerning Cyrus, "For the sake of Jacob My servant, and Israel My chosen one, I have also called you by your name; and I have given you a title of honor, though you have not known Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me." (Isaiah 45:4,5).
Here is something interesting to think about; did Cyrus know that a prophet born almost 200 years before had spoken of him and named him by name? It is doubtful that Cyrus knew much about the religions of those nations Babylon had conquered in the preceding generations. Judaism was not his religion. Perhaps some of his advisors ("wise men") may have known about it and showed him the passages mentioning him by name. According to the historian Josephus, it was Daniel who did so. Josephus says, "When Cyrus read this, and admired Divine power, an earnest desire and ambition seized upon him to fulfill what was so written." If so, Cyrus was probably one surprised emperor! Wouldn't you be surprised if someone showed you a book written over a century before you were born which mentioned you by name and accurately described your present position in life and told that it was Jehovah who had put you there for a reason?
Jehovah's Purpose for Cyrus
"It is I who says of Cyrus, 'He is My shepherd! And he will perform all My desire.' And he (Cyrus; J.Q.) declares of Jerusalem, 'She will be built,' and of the temple, 'Your foundation will be laid." (Isaiah 44:28).
Not only had Isaiah prophesied of Cyrus' rise to power and that he would serve God's purpose in some way, Isaiah had very specifically foretold exactly what Cyrus would do. He tells of an edict which Cyrus would issue concerning the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple. The reason, Isaiah explains throughout the rest of his book, is that the Messiah is coming. The coming of the Messiah to Israel in behalf of all nations means there would still have to be an Israel. This means a restoration and rebuilding must take place. Isaiah says it will be Cyrus who issues the edict for a remnant of Israel to return home and rebuild.
And history shows us that over a century later that it was Cyrus who did so. Cyrus began a policy of restoring the Jews to their original homeland (and other nations to theirs as well). Cyrus issued his decree and built the governmental framework under which his successors would continue his policies (the rebuilding progress would take several generations).
In the 19th century, an archeologist by the name of Hormuzd Rassam uncovered "The Cyrus Cylinder" an old Persian document in which Cyrus mentions his edict; the very one about which Isaiah had prophesied generations before Cyrus. In it, in addition to describing the fall of the city of Babylon to him (which, again, coincides with the Biblical account), Cyrus tells of his edict this way; "I returned to sacred cities on the other side of the Tigris, the sanctuaries which had been in ruins for a long time, the images which used to live therein, and established for them permanent sanctuaries. I also gathered all their former inhabitants and returned them to their habitation."
After Cyrus' death, his successors continued his policies toward Jerusalem. Artaxerxes I and Darius issued decrees specifically about rebuilding Jerusalem's walls and the temple, thus continuing the work that Cyrus had begun. Probably unknown to all three of these pagan kings was the fact that they were tools in the hand of God paving the way for the coming of the Savior and Redeemer of all nations; that five centuries later a baby will be presented at the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem, and that baby will become the King of an eternal, spiritual kingdom made up of those who live by faith.
All this is a very powerful, compelling reason to believe, isn't it? A very clear demonstration of the wisdom, foreknowledge and power of God.
