In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing ...
(Ezra 1.1, ESV)
‘This is what the LORD says to his anointed … whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armour, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: I will go before you and will level the mountains ... I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name’ (Isaiah 45.1–3, NIV).
I wonder, who was that written about? Care to hazard a guess? It’s from the book of the great prophet Isaiah, and I imagine most of us would guess it refers to the Messiah, or maybe another prophet who was to come. In fact, it was about King Cyrus of Persia, the most powerful human being in the world at the time and ruler of a huge empire that included the conquered and humiliated nation of Israel. A sort of enemy, certainly not Jewish, and definitely not identified as one of God’s people. Indeed, the prophecy continues, ‘For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honour, though you do not acknowledge me’ (verse 4, NIV).
It’s strange, isn’t it, that God would use a pagan emperor to achieve his purposes. More than that, to call him God’s ‘anointed’ – that is the language of Spirit-filled kingship. And yet, in our reading for today, Ezra insists that it was God who moved the heart of Cyrus to allow the exiled Israelites to return to the promised land; and even more amazingly, to worship their God in the temple.
The Lord, as has often been observed, moves in mysterious ways. And his Spirit can be at work in the most unlikely people. God took Paul, a murderer of Christians, and made him the world’s greatest evangelist. He took Moses, a disgraced exile who had difficulty speaking in public, and made him the rescuer of God’s enslaved people. He took a hated Roman soldier and made him the first to recognise Jesus’ divinity on the cross, and another, Cornelius, to be the first non-Jewish person filled with the Spirit.
The Holy Spirit, like the wind, blows where it pleases, which is great news for us. It is great news for our friends and family, and, we pray, for our world too. God is at work in ways we can’t predict. Nobody is beyond his reach, and even when people do not acknowledge him, he is still able to use them wonderfully for his purposes.
King Cyrus did more for God’s people than at least half of Israel’s kings. Let’s pray for our leaders, that God would be at work in them today. And let’s also pray in faith for him to work in those we love.
Heavenly Father, thank you for the assurance of your sovereignty over all earthly leaders – even those who don’t acknowledge you. Help me to trust in you when it is hard to see or understand how your Holy Spirit is at work in a person or situation, and thank you that you do indeed work through even the most unlikely people for your glory.
These Pentecost reflections were written by Revd Matt Trendall, a minister working in Milton Keynes. Check out his blog at www.dailyinspiration.org.uk.
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