In the Book of Ezra, Why did Cyrus King of Persia let the Jews return home?

Question

"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.

"Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem." Ezra 1:2,3

Answer 1

there was a prophecy about him, actually, long before he was even born. check it out:

Isaiah 44:28-45:4
"It is I who says of Cyrus, 'He is My shepherd!
And he will perform all My desire '
And he declares of Jerusalem, 'She will be built,'
And of the temple, 'Your foundation will be laid.'"
1Thus says the LORD to Cyrus His anointed,
Whom I have taken by the right hand,
To subdue nations before him
And to loose the loins of kings;
To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:
2"I will go before you and make the rough places smooth;
I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars.
3"I will give you the treasures of darkness
And hidden wealth of secret places,
So that you may know that it is I,
The LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.
4"For the sake of Jacob My servant,
And Israel My chosen one,
I have also called you by your name;
I have given you a title of honor
Though you have not known Me.

Notice especially the first and last verse there.

Daniel 9 and 10 might also help, as Daniel realized the time for the captivity is up, so he prayed and fasted (chapter 9). And when he prayed and fasted a second time (chapter 10), he finds out that the "prince of persia" has been removed/defeated by the angel that brought him (Daniel) a message, with the help of Michael the arch-angel. With the demonic forces (the "prince of persia") subdued and disarmed, I believe God's Spirit was able to break in on Cyrus' heart and He was divinely prompted to extend favor to the Jews.

The moral of the story? Prayer and fasting is powerful. It's how we partner with God.

Answer 2

If you look back in history books you will see that he is some times called Cyrus the great liberator. That was his way of getting the people to be loyal to him. He told them they could live here and pay him taxes or go home and pay him taxes. Babylon took the people out of their land because the ruler at the time had the theory that people will fight for their land, so if you conker the people and remove them from their land, you will not have the rebellion problem. The real reason was because Jeremiah prophesied that the Jews would be in captivity for 70 years. So regardless they would be allowed to return home, rather Cyrus allowed them or someone else.

Answer 3

Thanks you for trying to understand the Bible more fully.Well, king Cyrus of Persia let the Jews return home to Jerusalem because he realized that his victory was a fulfillment of a prophecy that has been made about 200 years ahead of time and since that was fulfilled in him, he also believe he has to play the second part of the prophecy that said he is the one in whose words Jerusalem would be rebuilt in Isaiah's Prophecy.He therefore prove that he is appreciative of Jehovah's help in gaining that victory.Also Jehovah must have put it into his heart since he has said that he will be the one that will free his people and God's word cannot fail.

Answer 4

Your answer is in your question.

"...he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah."

JEHOVAH told Cyrus King of Persia to do so. Pegan or not, the voice of GOD is undeniable and intimidating.

Answer 5

He allowed them to go back because he was a friend of the prophet/minister who asked him to allow him to go back and build it and it was also prophesied in Daniel 8,9.

Answer 6

Try asking him

Answer 7

Please revise reading Old Testament.