Ezra 4:24-6:22
1 Corinthians 3:5-23
Psalm 29:1-11
Proverbs 20:26-27
"Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia." - Ezra 4:24
Put yourself in the shoes, the hearts and the minds of the remnant who, having rebuilt their lives in exile, decided to take up the offer of Cyrus, king of Persia, and leave all that once again and return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. Imagine, if you will, the excitement, the certainty they were doing God's will; such certainty, in fact, that they solicited, and received, freewill offerings of silver and gold, goods and livestock - an abundance that seemed to confirm God was with them.
And then, midstride, Cyrus dies - and those who oppose the reconstruction seem to get the upper hand. They convince Darius, Cyrus's successor, that the the reconstruction is unauthorized, and confirms that the Jews seek to rebuild power and pose a threat to the throne. You can almost hear the same complaining Moses heard when the Israelites were asking why they hadn't remained in Egypt.
The thing is, it's precisely when things don't look good that we have the opportunity to decide who God is to us; if who He is depends on our circumstances, or our circumstances depend on who He is.
"Do not interfere with the work on this temple of God...their expenses are to be fully paid out of the royal treasury...whatever is needed - must be given them daily without fail..." - Ezra 6:7, 8, 9
I don't know how the remnant reacted to the news, other than the letter written to confirm the order to rebuild the temple. What I do know is that God took what they thought they had away...just so He could make it better. And I believe God is ALWAYS that way. Just when we think it is as good as it could possibly be, He shows up, and He shows off - so long as we let Him.
If you are like me, you can think back on your life and see all these times when you were scared, devastated even, that good things had taken a turn for the worse. And if you are like me, you can look back on those incidents today and realize that not only was God in control, He took what you had and made it so much better than you imagined.
Father, things are tough these days: pandemic, riots, unemployment. Things looked so good - and then they didn't. Give us the hearts to know You are in control of our circumstances, and not the other way around; give us the peace with the knowledge that You make all things good.
1 Corinthians 3:5-23
Psalm 29:1-11
Proverbs 20:26-27
"Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia." - Ezra 4:24
Put yourself in the shoes, the hearts and the minds of the remnant who, having rebuilt their lives in exile, decided to take up the offer of Cyrus, king of Persia, and leave all that once again and return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. Imagine, if you will, the excitement, the certainty they were doing God's will; such certainty, in fact, that they solicited, and received, freewill offerings of silver and gold, goods and livestock - an abundance that seemed to confirm God was with them.
And then, midstride, Cyrus dies - and those who oppose the reconstruction seem to get the upper hand. They convince Darius, Cyrus's successor, that the the reconstruction is unauthorized, and confirms that the Jews seek to rebuild power and pose a threat to the throne. You can almost hear the same complaining Moses heard when the Israelites were asking why they hadn't remained in Egypt.
The thing is, it's precisely when things don't look good that we have the opportunity to decide who God is to us; if who He is depends on our circumstances, or our circumstances depend on who He is.
"Do not interfere with the work on this temple of God...their expenses are to be fully paid out of the royal treasury...whatever is needed - must be given them daily without fail..." - Ezra 6:7, 8, 9
I don't know how the remnant reacted to the news, other than the letter written to confirm the order to rebuild the temple. What I do know is that God took what they thought they had away...just so He could make it better. And I believe God is ALWAYS that way. Just when we think it is as good as it could possibly be, He shows up, and He shows off - so long as we let Him.
If you are like me, you can think back on your life and see all these times when you were scared, devastated even, that good things had taken a turn for the worse. And if you are like me, you can look back on those incidents today and realize that not only was God in control, He took what you had and made it so much better than you imagined.
Father, things are tough these days: pandemic, riots, unemployment. Things looked so good - and then they didn't. Give us the hearts to know You are in control of our circumstances, and not the other way around; give us the peace with the knowledge that You make all things good.
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