After the seventy years in captivity, it's time to fulfill Jeremiah's prophecy which was evidently about Israel no longer being in exile. It is touched on in the Chronicles, but not detailed. Cyrus king of Persia has apparently conquered the known world, and at the very least taken control of Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon.
Cyrus was moved by God to allow Israel to return home with the expressed intent of reconstructing the temple. Seventy years is an extremely long time to allow any building to fall into disrepair, and I presume it was a pretty horrific and desolate sight. Especially compared to the glory of the days when Solomon had it built. I find it interesting that Cyrus doesn't seem to mind allowing the nation of Israel to return home. Why wouldn't he see any harm in it? Did he know his history? Did he realize that when Israel is right with the LORD that they were invincible? I don't know. Cyrus actually took the articles out of Nebuchadnezzar's temple that belonged to the temple of God, and sent them back with the remnant. He probably didn't have to. I wonder if he knew Who he was messing with if he didn't send the temple treasures back. Was he perhaps inspired by those who gave to those who were moving back to construct the temple?
Consider also those who lived on both sides of the exile...the longing and the heartbreak they must have felt returning to where they lived to see the desolation, the looted and destroyed homes and fields.
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