2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
I have spent some time being blessed by reviewing the book of Ezra at God’s direction in preparing this message for you. His story is a wonderful example of obedience under very difficult conditions to the covenant he had with God. To best view how God interacted with the Jews, their enemies, and with Ezra holding up His end of the covenant relationship, let’s examine the context of this story first. The seventy years of Babylonian Captivity were up. In 539 BC, the Babylonians had been conquered by the Medo-Persians, leaving the latter in control of the Jewish captives. King Cyrus, the Persian who ruled from 539-530 BC, realizing what a drain on his economy all these captives were, made the decision to release the Jews and send them home. He issued an order to that effect. Communications were slow, and there was plenty of opportunity for imperfect, slow delivery of them. In reality, the Jews were sent back to Israel in three waves: 1) the first group under the leadership of governor Zerubbabel in 536 BC, 2) the second group under the leadership of the priest, Ezra, in 458 BC, and 3) the third group under the leadership of the governor, Nehemiah in 445 BC. We can be sure that God’s hand was clearly in this.
There were several huge challenges that faced these returning exiles upon their arrival in Jerusalem. The city walls and homes needed to be rebuilt, the Temple needed to be rebuilt, and the priesthood needed to be reformed. As a matter of fact, the Jewish way of life, as God outlined it in the Torah, had to be restored. The book of Ezra was written between 456-444 BC. King Cyrus’ order not only included sending the exiles home, but it also included returning all the gold and silver temple treasures that had been stolen from them by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia [EZRA 6: 4b-5]. The rebuilding of the Temple was begun in 534 BC under the leadership of the governor, Zerubbabel, and the priest, Joshua son of Jehozadak [not to be confused with Joshua son of Nun-EZRA 3: 1-2, 8]. At the beginning of the reign of King Artexerxes of Persia, opposition to this project arose mainly from the Israel’s enemies, the Samaritans. They wrote a letter to King Artexerxes (then in power) expressing that the Jews will stop paying taxes decreasing his royal revenues, that the people have always been rebellious and hard to govern, and that Artexerxes will lose control of this “West-of-Euphrates Province” [EZRA 4: 6-16]. The reply to this letter was an order issued to stop rebuilding the city until Artexerxes gave further orders [EZRA 4: 21]. Work on the Temple didn’t really get going again until 520 BC. At God’s direction, the prophet Haggai told the Jews to put first things first, meaning make building God’s House their first priority, instead of their own homes [HAG 1: 4,8b-9].
The work on the Temple had remained at a standstill until second year of the reign of Darius I Hystaspes (519-486 BC-not to be confused with Darius the Mede who reigned from 539-525 BC). We are told that at that time Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo began to speak in God’s name to the Jews in Jerusalem in EZRA 5:1. The original order issued by King Cyrus of Persia had been lost temporarily but was located in the province of Media, so King Darius issued the order for his governor and officers not to interfere, but to help the Jews rebuild the Temple [EZRA 6: 6-7]. His comment in (10) really reveals God’s hand. “This is to be done so that they can offer sacrifices that are acceptable to the God of Heaven and pray for His blessing on me and my sons.”
This is too great a story to give it short shrift, so I will go as far with it today as I can and then continue it to completion in tomorrow’s message. The book of Ezra doesn’t actually mention this scholarly priest who arrived in Israel in 458 BC during the reign of King Artexerxes of Persia [the son of King Xerxes, whose father was also known as Ahasuerus] until EZRA 7. EZRA 7: 6-7, “Ezra was a scholar with a thorough knowledge of the Law which the Lord, the God of Israel, had given to Moses. Because Ezra had the blessing of the Lord his God, the emperor [Artexerxes] gave him everything he asked for. In the seventh year of the reign of Artexerxes, Ezra set out from Babylonia [then Persia] for Jerusalem with a group of Israelites which included priests, Levites, Temple musicians, Temple guards, and workmen.” EZRA 7: 10, “Ezra had devoted his life to studying the Law of the Lord, to practicing it, and to teaching all its laws and regulations to the people of Israel.”
I leave off here as a “teaser” for tomorrow’s message, but encourage all of us to see how God is executing His covenant agreements with these returning Jewish exiles. Considering that much of the practice of Judaism as God had commanded it had been forgotten during the seventy years in Babylonia, God’s compassion and wisdom can be seen in that a few men, such as Ezra, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi retained it well enough to bring it back to the Jewish community. In view of the initial decision of the Jews to rebuild the city before finishing the Temple and the need for priesthood reform, it is clear that these devoutly obedient men were sorely needed. Our Lord really does provide for our needs and really does have the authority and power against all odds to exercise His sovereignty. These truths impact our own lives, because the Lord can be relied on to be wholly consistent and always loving and good in His motives. We should reflect on that as it applies to our lives today.
PRAYER: O Lord, Your wisdom, sovereignty, and compassion can be seen clearly in the events of the release of the Jewish captives from the Babylonian captivity. You created such men as Ezra, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi with such extraordinary faith and wisdom that they could do Your work in bringing Your children back to You. As Zechariah showed in the Vision of the Horses in ZECH 1: 11, the people had been brought to brokenness. He described them as “helpless and subdued.” It was Your supreme wisdom that led You to punish them for their unrighteous ways for seventy years. Since You are Jehovah Jireh, “The Lord Who Provides,” You combined Your compassion with Your wisdom to do what You always do-provide them with what they needed most. We can celebrate the fact that You are always consistent. Thus, we can know that as our Covenant Partner, You will do the same for us. We pray that You will give us the wisdom we need to listen carefully for Your direction and the courage to follow it. From what happens in the lives of the people we study in the Scriptures, we can take comfort in knowing that You will protect, guide, direct, encourage, supply, equip, and bless those who have obedient faith and trust in You [RO 8: 28]. We acknowledge our need to live up to our covenant agreements with You. To that end, we humbly approach Your altar today to offer our adoration, worship, loyalty, glory, honor, trust, obedience, diligence, praise, and thanksgiving. In Christ’s name, amen.
As promised above, I will continue on with the story of Ezra tomorrow. A parent must often make difficult, painful choices in raising his children, because He knows that it is the only way to bring out the best in them. We can be sure that God took no pleasure in seeing His children led into captivity by their enemies and then have to face rebuilding their culture, faith, and society afterward. Yet, our Lord knew this was the only way that His goodness could eventually prevail and that His children could have the opportunity for eternal joy and fellowship with Him. The Father persists in wisdom, compassion, and love in working with us and holding up His covenant promises. He deserves the same from us. His love is deeper than we can appreciate. Bask in that and know that Peter and I send your our love along with God’s.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn