Ezra 1-3
/The theme of Ezra and Nehemiah is the return and rebuilding of Jerusalem after its destruction by Babylon. Cyrus, the Persian, united with the Medes, overthrew Babylon and established the Persian empire. Instead of Israel passing into history, and losing its identity, God spoke to Cyrus the first year he was king (2 Chron. 36:22; Ezra 1:1,2) that he was to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem!
All history ultimately bends toward the decrees of God. We seldom are able to identify the critical moments when God whispers to a person whose response turns the trajectory of history, but the result of those moments is ultimately earth-shaking. God still has his Cyrus.