I was a little concerned last week when I wrote about the way God uses non-believers to accomplish the divine purpose. I was afraid people might think I was making up the idea by myself. The truth is the idea comes from the Bible.

One of the best examples of a non-believer who accomplishes God’s purpose is the Persian king Cyrus.  He was born about 590 BC, became king in 559, and then began a series of conquests against neighboring countries.  Around 539 he defeated the Babylonian Empire. This is the point where Cyrus enters the Biblical story. The Babylonians had seized the kingdom of Judah and taken its people away into exile. Now both the land and the Jewish people became subjects of Cyrus. According to Ezra 1:1-4, Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to their homeland and to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.

We don’t know what Cyrus’ religion was. He may have been a Zoroastrian, a monotheistic religion with a strong element of dualism, that is, two conflicting powers of good and evil. Maybe Cyrus saw Judaism as a kindred religion.

What’s significant to me is the way the Bible regards Cyrus as a good person even though he doesn’t believe in the God worshiped by Jews. Isaiah 45:1-6 makes it plain that God is using Cyrus to bring about the restoration of the Jews even though Cyrus didn’t know the Lord. That should caution us against judging people who practice another religion as being evil. God may use all sorts of people for good purposes.

Read Isaiah 45:1-6  and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne