Advanced Level, Block 8—Remnant Standing Properly
Week 71
King Cyrus—Acknowledging God
Point to Emphasize: Do we acknowledge God?
Reference Reading: Ezra 1:1-11, footnotes 12, 13; 2 Chron. 36:22-23
Memory Verse: Jehovah has established His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom rules over all. (Psalm 103:19)
Story Sample
Today we will see the consequence of acknowledging God. It doesn’t matter whether a person is a great king over a huge empire or a seemingly unimportant worker in the fields, each should acknowledge God. All the governments, presidents, and prime ministers should acknowledge God. All authority comes from Him. Yet, history showed that among many nations and rulers rarely we could find one that acknowledged God.
But it is recorded in several books in the Old Testament that there was a very powerful king who did acknowledge God. This was King Cyrus, king of the Persian Empire who became one of the biggest empires in the world. King Cyrus was not a Jew and he did not worship God. Do you remember the children of Israel being taken captive to Babylon and Jerusalem and its temple was thoroughly destroyed? This was the time when Daniel and his companions were taken to Babylon and were taught all the Babylonian things. The king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, did not acknowledge God and ruled over the children of Israel for about 70 years. Then came King Cyrus and he overthrew the Babylonian kingdom. I think it would be interesting to see these kingdoms on a map. [Storyteller, show the map below.] This map shows us that the Persian Empire was as wide as the U.S. If you were to drive from California to New York, the distance between them would have been the width of the Persian Empire back then. That is a pretty big stretch of land!
Let’s read Ezra 1:1-4. [Maybe 4 children can read one verse each.] Now, what do these verses actually tell us? [Let them discuss. Be sure to cover these points: #1. Cyrus clearly stated that God gave him the empire. #2. He made a proclamation concerning the Jews returning to Jerusalem and their own country. #3. By this, the Jews were no longer captives. #4. Jews should go to Jerusalem and build the house of Jehovah.]
The point we want to get today is that such a great king did what all kings, rulers, and even elected officials should do: to acknowledge that God had given him to be king over such an empire. Even though he was not a Jew and did not worship God, he knew that God was the One who had the authority over all the earth.
Now, we need to apply to ourselves what King Cyrus did. Here we are being raised in an environment where we are often with families who are Christians, and we hear a lot about God. Our families may even read the Bible together, sing songs about God, and talk about God together. But have we acknowledged God? Have you told your parents that it is God who gave them to you as parents? Have you admitted that it is God who gave you these brothers and sisters in your family? Have you ever really thanked God for your family? To thank Him is to acknowledge that He is the One Who gave you this family. If you have not done this before, then now is the best time to start. Go to your parents and acknowledge that God put you as a child in your family. First, you need to start with your family, then you need to know and say that He is the One Who chose your school and your teachers for you. This is how we can acknowledge God today. And when we acknowledge God then it leaves no room for our complaining against our parents, brothers, sisters, or teachers because it is God Who arranged it all.
Persian and Babylonian Empires