They declared that Yahweh was not just Israel’s God, but the one true God over all creation.

As written in the book of Isaiah, chapter 44, verse 6, I am the first and I am the last. Apart from me, there is no God.

This was a turning point. The prophets were laying the foundation for true monotheism, a belief in one God, not limited to a nation or a temple. That idea would later shape Christianity, Islam, and other faiths.

When Jerusalem fell and exile began from 586 to 538 BCE, that belief was tested. The temple was gone. The land was lost. Leaders were taken.

Yet in Babylon, the people re-examined their faith. They turned away from idols and came to see that Yahweh was not confined to a place, but present everywhere, the God of all creation.

This new understanding didn’t just sustain them in exile, it reshaped who they were. Monotheism became central to their identity.

Even then, God gave hope through the prophet Jeremiah in the book of Jeremiah, chapter 29, verse 11. For I know the plans I have for you, plans to give you a future and a hope.

After the exile, a new chapter began in 538 BCE. Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon and allowed the people to return and rebuild Jerusalem and the temple.

Remarkably, God had named Cyrus long before his rise. In the book of not Jeremiah, in the book of Isaiah, chapter 45, verse 1, he even calls him his anointed, a title usually reserved for Israel’s own leaders.

Though Cyrus the Great did not worship Yahweh, God used him to fulfill a divine purpose, freeing the exiles and starting the rebuilding of the temple.

The Cyrus Cylinder supports this, recording his decree, allowing displaced peoples to return home and worship freely.

Even a foreign king became an instrument in God’s plan.