Notice that this book begins in the "first year" of Cyrus. He had just overthrown Nabonidus, king of Babylon. Consequently, he released the Jewish exiles to return to their homeland to rebuild the Temple of God.

The salvation narrative of the Old Covenant is scandalous as it is miraculous. If it weren't for the violent conquest of Cyrus, the Hebrews might have evaporated into legend. But God sovereignly used Cyrus' selfish ambitions to bring freedom to his chosen people.

What does this say to me? It says to never lean on my own understanding when I'm in the middle of a storm. I never know what God is up to behind the closed doors of the cosmos. I must trust him.

Ezra 1:1-2 and Proverbs 3:5