“Now 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.” Ezra 1:1
One of the great proofs of God working in the heart of an individual is what is seen by Him “stirring up” the spirit of an individual, or a people. Paul tells us in his letter to the Philippian believers that He “…works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” (2:13) How does He do this? In many cases, if not all, in one form or another, He creates a thirst to know the truth, leading to the God of truth and Life. He draws out the heart towards Himself, seeking first of all to arrest the attention of the individual soul or people, then to increasingly reveal the truth of Himself to them. The great purpose in doing so is to bring them to faith in Him, a faith that is not in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. This faith is essential if the believer would be able to receive from God everlasting Life, and to be led by God into that purpose for which he was created and redeemed.
In the case of Cyrus the Great, as he was historically called, this king of Persia and not of Israel, God worked in him to move him, stir him, and empower him to fulfill a prophecy given by the prophet Jeremiah over one hundred years before. Jeremiah had prophesied in Israel, before and during the siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, that God would, after seventy years, bring the people back to the land. Their deportation to Babylon, after the fall of Jerusalem, would be the approximate starting point of that period of seventy years. Cyrus somehow, perhaps by the prophet Daniel, a captive in the deportation, learned of the prophecy. In Cyrus’ own words, he declared that “All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house in Jerusalem which is in Judah.” (2 Chronicles 36:23) It was God who moved in the heart of Cyrus, who was not a Hebrew, to set in motion the rebuilding of the temple, and of Jerusalem itself.
Once the people returned in part to the land of Israel, again God “stirred up” their hearts to accomplish His will, overcoming their foes, and finishing their work. Haggai, a minor prophet, declared this when he wrote: “The Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel, Joshua the priest, and the remnant of the people.” (1:4) Just as God had worked in the heart, mind and soul of Cyrus to accomplish His perfect will, so after his proclamation and the partial return of the captives, it would be necessary again to “stir up” principal people of faith, to believe and obey Him, regardless of the opposition, difficulty, and the so-called untimeliness of the matter. Cyrus’ proclamation demanded that he be stirred up. The believing Hebrews in Jerusalem and Judah would also need the same work in their hearts, if they would come to the place and point of obeying the “voice of the Lord their God,” refusing to accept an alternate path.
What about today? Does God work in the same way to accomplish His designs, revealing to the world that He is God, and that He works in and through men to fulfill His will? Is it that God does not desire and will to stir up His people to seek Him, find Him, and believe and obey Him for the “…the hallowing of His name, the coming of His kingdom, and the doing of His will?” The Apostle Paul instructed Timothy, reminding him to “…stir up the gift of God which was in (him) you.” (2 Tim. 1:6) Isaiah wrote the following words at a time of great spiritual decline: “And there was no one who calls on Your name, who stirs himself up to take hold of You.”
Dear Father, Stir us up today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.