A throne, and its ache for the true King
Cyrus
Cyrus was the Persian king whom God named as His anointed a century and a half before he was born. He conquered Babylon and, moved by God, sent the exiles of Judah home to rebuild the temple.
“Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.”Ezra 1:2
His reign
His reign. Through Isaiah, God named Cyrus long before his birth: Cyrus, he is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid (Isaiah 44:28). God called him by name, saying, I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me (Isaiah 45:4), and promised to go before him and loose the loins of kings. When the seventy years of Babylonian captivity foretold by Jeremiah were fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, and he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom: The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem (Ezra 1:2). He let the captives go free to return, and restored the vessels of gold and silver that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple, numbering them out to the prince of Judah. Cyrus never worshipped the God of Israel as his own, yet God used a Gentile emperor as the instrument of His people's homecoming. What the prophets had spoken, this pagan king unknowingly fulfilled, that men might know there is none beside the LORD.
What it revealed
What it revealed. Cyrus reveals that God governs history so precisely that He can name a deliverer before that man is born and bend a pagan emperor's will to serve His people. That God called Cyrus my anointed and my shepherd (Isaiah 45:1; 44:28), though Cyrus did not know Him, reveals a sovereignty that reaches into the hearts of rulers who never acknowledge Him, the king's heart is in the hand of the LORD (Proverbs 21:1). His reign reveals God's faithfulness to His word, for the seventy years Jeremiah foretold came to their exact end and the exiles went home. It reveals that God is not confined to Israel; He raises deliverers from outside His covenant people when it pleases Him to save them. Cyrus reveals that even those who do not know God can be instruments in His hand, and that the return from exile was not the achievement of Judah's strength but the working of God, who stirred a foreign king's spirit to accomplish His long-promised restoration.
How it points to Christ
How it points to Christ. Cyrus, the anointed deliverer raised up from outside to set the captives free and rebuild the house of God, foreshadows the true Anointed One, the Christ, whose very name means Anointed. Where Cyrus freed exiles to return to an earthly Jerusalem, Jesus came to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound (Isaiah 61:1), setting sinners free from a far deeper exile. Cyrus rebuilt a temple of stone; Christ builds the true temple, His people, and is Himself the cornerstone. Yet the contrast is as telling as the likeness: Cyrus did the LORD's will without knowing Him, an unwitting instrument, while Christ is the willing, knowing Son who says, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God (Hebrews 10:7). The pagan shepherd points to the Good Shepherd; the earthly deliverer points to the Deliverer who gives His life to bring His people home.
Questions people ask
Why is Cyrus called God's anointed?
Because God chose and used him as His instrument to free the exiles and rebuild the temple. God said, I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me (Isaiah 45:4), calling him my shepherd and my anointed though Cyrus did not worship the LORD.
How was Cyrus prophesied before his birth?
Isaiah named Cyrus by name (Isaiah 44:28; 45:1) generations before he lived, foretelling that he would order Jerusalem and the temple rebuilt, a striking demonstration of God's sovereign foreknowledge over history.
What did Cyrus do for the Jewish exiles?
He issued a decree allowing them to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple, and restored the sacred vessels Nebuchadnezzar had taken (Ezra 1). This fulfilled Jeremiah's prophecy of a return after seventy years of captivity.