Cyrus the Great was good to all the gods who had been displaced
by the Babylonians returning “the images of the gods… to their places and I let
them dwell in eternal abodes.” (The Cyrus cylinder 538 BC) Granted he hoped for
something in return. “May all the gods whom I settled in their sacred centers
ask daily of Bêl and Nâbu that my days be long and may they intercede for my
welfare.” But he was especially kind to the exiles from Judah and not only sent
them home but funded the rebuilding of the temple and the reestablishment of
sacrifices according to the Law of Moses. Not that he gave the God of Israel
sole credit for making him “Cyrus, king of the world, great king, mighty king,
king of Babylon, king of Sumer and Akkad, king of the four quarters...” But
then Cyrus didn’t know he was a pawn in God’s game and that the little “g” gods
couldn’t hear or answer any of his prayers. The lesson of Cyrus is that God’s
good and gracious will is done with or without prayer (Luther’s explanation to
the 3rd petition of the Lord’s Prayer) so that sometimes even less
than pious people perform holy acts.
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