v 1 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 to put it in writing:
Now for a moment of speculation! Daniel was a prominent adviser to the new Emperor Cyrus as we saw in last Thursday’s reading. So when an enquiry was made about whether the Jews should be allowed to continue building the Temple was it he who later stirred Darius to search out ancient documents and then issue this edict? Eventually the scroll was located in the royal archive. King Darius issued orders that a search be made in the Babylonian archives, which were stored in the treasury. But it was at the fortress at Ecbatana in the province of Media that a scroll was found. (Ezra 6:1-2) I think it might well have been Daniel! Don’t underestimate the power of Civil Servants to act wisely and fulfil the purposes of God through world leaders.
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