Page 159 - The Prophet-statesman a Drama of Daniel

Judah devastated He saith to Jerusalem, ‘Thou shalt be inhabited, and to the cities of
Judah, ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof.’” As he read,
Daniel ran his finger along the line of the Hebrew text.

“I can follow that very well in the Aramaic that is written into the margin,” said
Cyrus.
“But here is the main point of interest, O King! ‘That saith of CYRUS…’ Note
carefully that the Hebrew letters spell out your name perfectly: ‘he is my shepherd and

shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem thou shalt be built and to the
temple, thy foundation shall be laid.’ ”

The usually-placid face of Cyrus was now alight with interest and animation. “The

thing is phenomenal— that my name which is Elamite in origin should have been
inscribed by this prophet Esaias, a century and a half before my birth!”
“But that is not all, O King! Jehovah the God of all the nations does not only
speak of you, but as the context goes on, He sends a message directly to you, and He

calls you His anointed: ‘Thus saith Jehovah to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right
hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings,
to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut; I will go
before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of

brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: And I will give thee the treasures of darkness,
and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call
thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob, my servant’s sake, and Israel mine
elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hasty

not known me.’ You will see from this that Jehovah long since determined that you
should be a conqueror. He is the one who has ‘held your right hand, subdued nations
before you, loosed the loins of kings and caused to open before you the two-leaved
gates’ even without your knowledge. He, the Sovereign God, has gone before you and

prepared everything, and He is now giving you ‘the treasures of darkness, and hidden
riches od secret places’— the things that are dark, hidden and unrevealed to the great
majority of the sons of men, treasures of the knowledge of the Omniscent One who
knows the end from the beginning, and vindicates and proves Himself by declaring

things that will take place far in the future. When they come to pass as He has
foretold, men know that He is God.
“He saith to thee, King Cyrus: ‘I have surnamed thee though thou hast not known

me.’ He had named you, Cyrus, long before any human beings could have named you
or before you could have assumed the name yourself. And it was for the sake
of…’Jacob my servant, and Israel mine elect,’ ” The patriarch paused after this speech
to see if the king would make a comment.
“I am deeply impressed, O Daniel, and since you have been talking with me I have

felt a strange warming of my heart. During the reading of the words I have come to
full assurance that this Jehovah is the only true God and that He has had His hand on