CAPTIVITY TO FREEDOMLessons from the history of IsraelWeek 3

JEREMIAH 50:17-20Israel is a hunted sheep driven away by lions. First the king of Assyria devoured it, and now at the end King Nebuchadrezzarof Babylon has gnawed its bones … I will restore Israel to its pasture … “search will be made for Israel’s guilt, but there will be none, and for the sins of Judah, but none will be found, for I will forgive the remnant I spare.

DISCUSSION

Discussion: Are there any periods of despair that you have been through that you are now grateful for?

1 PETER 1:6-8

In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Prophets raised up during the period of despair and reached out to God. There are three great confessional prayers over the sins of Jerusalem. These are:

• Daniel’s prayer (9:3-19)• Ezra’s prayer (Ezra 9:5-15)• Nehemiah’s prayer (Neh. 1:4-11)

HABAKKUK 3:17

Though the fig tree does not budand there are no grapes on the vines,

though the olive crop failsand the fields produce no food,

though there are no sheep in the penand no cattle in the stalls,

yet I will rejoice in the Lord,I will be joyful in God my Savior.

DISCUSSION

Discussion: do turn away from God in times of hardship? Or do you reach out to him?

ISAIAH 45

“This is what the Lord says to his anointed,to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of

to subdue nations before himand to strip kings of their armor,

to open doors before himso that gates will not be shut”

CYRUS THE GREAT

CYRUS THE GREAT

CYRUS THE GREAT

Passer-by, I am Cyrus, who founded the Persian Empire, and was king of Asia.Grudge me not therefore this monument.

2 CHRONICLES 36

• 22 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing:

• 23 “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:

• “‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up, and may the Lord their God be with them.’”

CYRUS CYLINDERBRITISH MUSEUM

• “From [?] to Aššur and [from] Susa, Agade, Ešnunna, Zabban, Me-Turnu, Der, as far as the region of Gutium, the sacred centers on the other side of the Tigris, whose sanctuaries had been abandoned for a long time … I gathered all their inhabitants and returned to them their dwellings.”

In one astounding prophecy (hundreds of years before the captivity) Isaiah wrote of a coming king named as ‘Cyrus’ who was to “subdue nations before him and strip kings of their robes”, and “set my exiles free” (Isaiah 44:24 – 45:7,13).

In fulfillment of another prophecy, this ‘Cyrus’ was said to break the walls of Babylon so that they became a ‘pile of stones’ (Jeremiah 51:37; Isaiah 44:27-45:2).

King Cyrus later emerged in accordance with prophecy conquered Babylon in about 539 B.C.E. The fall of Babylon is now immortalized by the phrase ‘the writing is on the wall’ (Daniel 5:26-28): : Mene, Mene, Tekel and Parsin ... your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.

Messiah – ‘Annointed One’:THE Messiah – Jesus Christ

But also:High Priest (Leviticus 4:3)Kings Hazael and Jehu (1 Kings 19:5)Elisha (1 Kings 19:16)

AND Cyrus – Isaiah 45:1

Question – in what ways is Cyrus like the Messiah?

Priests (Exodus 28:41; 40:15; Numbers 3:3)Prophets (1 Kings 19:16)Kings (1 Samuel 9:16; 16:3; 2 Samuel 12:7) – including Cyrus –Isaiah 45:1

CYRUS has one role – a King that released the House of Judah

The Lord JESUS is has all three roles – prophet, priest and King!

Cyrus’s edict was not fulfilled immediately, and his successor, King Darius I, carried it out much of it. At one point, Darius needed to search the royal archives to find the edict and fulfill the promise (Ezra 6:1-7)

Discussion – there was a long delay between Cyrus’s promise of freedom and its fulfilment in his son Darius. Have you ever felt God’s promises delayed?

Bonus Discussion - Is the Kingdom of God now, or still to come? Luke 17:20 versus Luke 19:11….

In accordance with prophecy, about 530 BC King Cyrus II issued an ‘edict’, or command, permitting the Hebrew captives to return to Jerusalem (Ezra 1:1-4)….

Ezra 1:2-4“This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:

“‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. 3 Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them. 4 And in any locality where survivors may now be living, the people are to provide them with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem.’”

Many Hebrews, including women and children, returned to Jerusalem (Ezra 4:1).

In 468B.C., more captives returned with Ezra (Ezra 7:1-8:32)

Even more may have returned with Nehemiah (Nehemiah 2:5, 6, 11; 13:6, 7).

FREEDOM HAD COME! Stay tuned for what happens next….