"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: '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. Anyone of His people among you, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of The LORD, The God of Israel, The God who is in Jerusalem.' " Ezra 1:1-3 (NIV)
The prophet Ezra records that The Lord God moved on the heart of Cyrus, the king of Persia, and he released the people of Judah from captivity and allow them to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. The ten northern tribes of Israel were conquered and enslaved by the Assyrians. The two southern tribes of Judah were conquered and enslaved by the Babylonians, who were subsequently overthrown by the Persians.
God changed the heart of an enemy of His people and used him to help His people. God can make our enemy a footstool to help take us up a little higher. (Psalms 110:1, Luke 20:43, Acts 2:35, Hebrews 1:13, & Hebrews 10:13) God can take the bad that people do to us and turn into a good thing. (Genesis 50:20) All things work together for good for them who love The Lord. (Romans 8:28)
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