When God works

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Ezra 1

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• Summary

The book of Ezra continues at the very point which we last read in 2 Chronicles 36:22-23 - the new King of Persia, Cyrus is stirred up by the LORD.  He acknowledges the power and authority of God in giving him his kingdoms, and proclaims that God has charged him to build him a temple in Judah.

Cyrus encourages any of God's people to go to Judah to build this temple and for their neighbours to willingly give silver, gold, goods, animals and offerings to take with them.

In response to his proclamation, the chiefs of the Judean and Benjamin tribes, priests and Levites with all the Jews in whom God had raised a desire to return did so.  They took with them much gold, silver, goods, animals and offerings from their neighbours as well as a multitude of valuable temple items which had been plundered from the temple in the days of Nebuchadnezzer and which Cyrus returned to them from out of the heathen temple where they had been placed.

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• Thoughts

What an undertaking this was!  These Jews had been in captivity in Babylon for 70 long years.  They had become settled and made their homes there.  God had told them through the prophet Jeremiah to, 'Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens and eat the fruit of them; take ye wives for your sons......that ye may be  increased there and not diminish' (Jeremiah 29: 5-7).

And now, after long years of captivity they were being given permission to return home and to rebuild the temple - and yet how were they to do it?  There would have been older Jews who would have remembered their last sights of the devastation of Jerusalem as they were rounded up and taken off to Babylon.  There would no doubt have been younger Jews who had only heard stories of their homeland but with the confidence and eagerness of youth would have been keen to return. 

But this is the LORD's work -

• he has worked in the King's heart and made him willing to obey God's command to release the Jews and send them to rebuild the temple - and not only did Cyrus tell people, but to make sure it wasn't just heard of as idle tales or rumours, he had it put into writing and sent it all round his kingdom; 

• he has worked in the hearts of the Jews to give them a desire to do this work;

• the LORD confirmed his plan by making the Jews' neighbours willing to give them much material goods - and we read that the Jews were 'strengthened' by this,(verse 6), or as my Study Bible enlarges, they were 'encouraged' with these; 

• he made the King willing to return thousands of valuable items for use in the temple worship.

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What can we learn from this?  We see the great authority and power of God.  We see that he keeps his promises of what will happen.  We see that he has a divine plan for the circumstances of our lives.  We see how he can work in men's hearts, and bring about seemingly impossible things to fulfil what he has ordered.

Does this encourage you dear reader?  Do you have a command from God to do something?  Did you think he had given you a promise about something but nothing ever came of it?  You wondered whether it was really from him or how you will possibly do it?  Are you tempted to think that God doesn't really care about the little circumstances of your life?  See how he is going before his people here in Ezra and be comforted.  There is nothing too hard for him, and he is the same God that he was in Ezra's time, the same God who stirred up Cyrus and the Jews, our eternal God.  As Cyrus acknowledged, he is 'The LORD God of heaven' (verse 2).  Ask the Lord to help you to trust him - that he is working out his plan, and continue to go forward day by day looking to him for all help and wisdom.