Not only do we see a work of God with Cyrus, but there also has to be a similar work in the hearts of His people. “Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, with all them whose spirit God had raised, to go up to build the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem” (Ezra 1:5). Unless this was a work of the Lord, it would all be in vain. “Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it” (Psa. 127:1). Even those that remained behind were exercised to help the people by providing them with the necessary supplies.
Most importantly, Cyrus returned the vessels of the house of the Lord which Nebuchadnezzar had brought from Jerusalem. Remarkably, these vessels of gold and silver were still intact. The idolatrous kings of Babylon had placed them in the temple of their gods — no doubt to emphasize the superiority of the Babylonian gods. Nevertheless, it was through this means that they appear to have been preserved. Man never works contrary to God, even though it may appear so outwardly.