In 556 B.C. King Nabonidus inherited the land between the Tigris and Euphrates. This was a constantly disputed territory and a challenger arose to rival the rule of Nabonidus. The challenger’s name was Cyrus of Anshan, a Persian ruler from what is now Iran’s southern province of Fars. The other half of modern Iran was settled by the Medes. The Persians were vassals of the Medes until the rule of Cyrus the Great (550 – 530).

Cyrus eventually ruled an empire—the Achaemenid Persian empire—that covered two million square miles. For context, the United States is just under four million square miles. Cyrus carefully crafted his legitimacy by embedding himself within various traditions. There were no fewer than four origin stories of the future king, each presenting Cyrus as a person destined for power.

Given the surrounding habits of forced cannibalism, it wasn’t hard for Cyrus to emerge as a competent and likable alternative. He also sought the good graces of the local nobility. Cyrus’ tactics were in stark contrast to the Assyrian monarchs who asserted dominance through annihilation. Compared to his bloodthirsty rivals, Cyrus appeared as a liberating hero. He retained local customs, appointed representatives from the people, and graciously administered justice. People craved stability and Cyrus gave it to them. In Plato’s Laws, the Athenian statesman explains, “The Persians found the right balance between servitude and freedom” (3.694a-b). Conquest by ingratiation meant local power in exchange for fealty. The policy engendered loyalty to Cyrus, which helped to keep down rebellions. Cyrus only used scorched earth tactics when the people revolted against his rule, such as when he hunted down the Lydian nobleman Pactyes.

Ruling 200 years before Alexander the Great, Cyrus created the most powerful political empire and military force the world had yet seen. He overpowered the Medes in 549 B.C. and Lydia in 546 B.C. He defeated rivals far and near. He then marched on Babylon in 539 B.C. After defeating Babylonian troops at Opis (near modern Baghdad), Cyrus entered Babylon without much resistance. Modern-day Syria, Lebanon, and Israel fell to him during the conquest of Babylon. His army was a lightning burst of red sparks. His kingdom was an expanding province of fiefdom.

Readers of the Bible remember Cyrus from the book of Ezra. When Cyrus took control of Babylon, he found Jewish exiles there. The Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II had taken them from Jerusalem and deported them to captivity. The Edict of Cyrus (537 BC) decreed that the Jews return to Jerusalem and rebuild their temple. A small group returned to the land. These were the very people exiled in Babylon in 587 B.C. (Ezra 2:1).

God had sent them into exile and now God, through Cyrus, brought them back into the land. This is the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy (Ezra 1:1). Not to be left out, Isaiah said that Cyrus was heaven-sent. “Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed:‘I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron’” (Is. 45:1-2).  

It was Cyrus’ practice to keep traditional customs in place and restore them where broken. He allowed the exiles to return home and rebuild their ruined temple. Cyrus even sends back the vessels of the temple that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away (Ezra 1:7-11). Similar to how the Egyptians urged Israel to leave by giving them silver and gold (Ex. 12:33-36), Cyrus decreed Israel to return to its homeland with gifts of silver and gold (Ezra 1:4-6). In an odd twist, when inhabitants of the land offered to help Israel rebuild, they refused. Even though the helpers claimed to worship the same God, Zerubbabel stuck with the program of King Cyrus (Ezra 4:1-3).

Cyrus was the Lord’s anointed. The Hebrew word for “his anointed” is “m’shichu,” i.e., “his messiah.” Unwittingly, Cyrus, a Persian, a Gentile, and a conqueror of Babylon, fulfilled the Davidic role by authorizing the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple. Cyrus, of all people, was, for a time, the new and greater David. He was the shepherd who fulfilled the purposes of God (Is. 44:28). Yahweh promised to go before Cyrus and level the exalted places (Is. 45:2), give him spoils of war (Is. 45:3), a name (Is. 45:4), and the desire to help Israel (Is. 45:13).

In Cyrus, we see one way God works for his people. Cyrus, a man outside the covenant, worked events in favor of those inside the covenant. He acted in wisdom and courage; in justice and deference to Israel’s covenant obligations. Cyrus was a powerful man who gathered up the universal virtues for the benefit of the visible church. Yahweh used a Gentile with dubious motives to establish a new order. God used a Persian to accomplish a Davidic task.

This is the Lord and there is no other (Is. 45:5). He forms light and darkness (Is. 45:7). He stretches out the heavens and commands all their host (Is. 45:12). It is the Lord’s righteousness to use Cyrus to produce the fruit of salvation (Is. 45:8). God is the Potter and Cyrus the clay. This is one way God makes known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy (Rom. 9:23).  Historians recognize Cyrus’ wisdom in permitting aliens to return to their homeland. The prophet Isaiah recognized that it was Yahweh who called and gifted Cyrus for the task. All the nations will follow the Lord and bow down to him (Is. 45:14). Those who make idols will be confused and shamed (Is. 45:16-17), which is always the result of those who pray to gods who cannot save (Is. 45:20). In it all, God is the Victorious One, “a righteous God and Savior.” What shall we do when we see God exalt Cyrus to accomplish great things? We should turn to the Lord and be saved (Is. 45:21-22). The way God used Cyrus was one phase of the ongoing struggle. The “offspring of Israel” (Is. 45:25) can also expect to be used differently than expected.

Bibliography

Achtemeier, P. J. “Cyrus.” Harper’s Bible Dictionary. (New York: Harper & Row, 1985), 1st ed., p. 200.

Klaven, Spencer, “One King to Rule Them All.” Claremont Review of Books. Winter 2022/23.

Merrill, Eugene H. Kingdom of Priests: A History of Old Testament Israel (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2008), 486-492, 497-504.

Waters, Matt. King of the World: The Life of Cyrus the Great (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022).

Wiseman, D. J. “Cyrus.” In D. R. W. Wood, I. H. Marshall, A. R. Millard, & J. I. Packer (Eds.), New Bible Dictionary (Grand Rapids: InterVarsity Press, 1996), 3rd ed., p. 250.