Ezra 1:2-4 – Let’s serve God willingly

What King Cyrus had done clearly affirms Proverbs 21:1. “The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes.” Cyrus’ decree that God’s people in exile could return to Jerusalem was clearly the work of the LORD.  Ezra 1:1 categorically states that it was He who had stirred up the spirit of Cyrus. The king was only making the decree to all his subjects on the LORD’s behalf. His subjects here would include the Israelites captured by Assyria as well as the Judeans brought into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar. When Babylon was the world power. Assyria was assimilated into it.

Clearly, God was the architect of the whole event. Not only was Cyrus the exact person He chose to use, but the people whom the king addressed were precisely where He had said they would be. So everything happened as God had planned. In Ezra 1:2-4, Cyrus acknowledged the hand of God was in everything he was doing. He first recognized that the power he had, was ordained by the LORD, the God of heaven.  Secondly, the task of building God’s temple in Jerusalem was an assignment he was tasked to do.

Addressing all his subjects, he did not say that everyone should go and rebuild the temple but only those who were willing. Only people who were willing to return to rebuild God’s temple in Jerusalem should go. The king also asked that those living around should freely offer their financial support to those who would go back and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.   

We learn from these three verses that Serving God and giving to His work should not be coerced. People who are compelled to serve or give will not do so willingly. And any service or support not given in the right attitude, will not honor Him. Service and support to God’s work must be offered with the right attitude. It is a privilege and honor to serve and give to His work. Offering service to Him grudgingly can never produce excellent results. Giving unwillingly will not please Him either. For God loves a cheerful giver. In giving or in service, remember Proverbs 21:2. Know that “Every man’s heart is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs his heart.” Let’s be like David, who would not offer to God anything that cost him nothing.  

 

 

 

 

Ezra 1:1 - Take heart, our lives are is in God's hand.

History is about His story, God’s story. He is the Sovereign LORD who controls history. He controls everything past, present, and future. Whether we are believers or not, this is an undeniable truth. He has a hand in everything that happens in our world and to us. The Bible is the record of His activities in the lives of His chosen people of which we are one through our rebirth in Christ Jesus.

Ezra and Nehemiah are two books about the events that happened after their exile in Babylon for 70 years.  And as we turn to Ezra, instantly we see a new world power in control. It was the Kingdom of Persia. World power changes all the time but God is forever on the throne.  While it was King Cyrus of Persia who initiated the return, he did it under the influence of God. Yes, he was the one who decreed that the Jews could return to Jerusalem, it was God who masterminded the event. Being an orderly  God,  He had a plan for how it should be done. He wanted to set the stage right. In the first half of the book of Ezra, the record is about the return of the first group under the leadership of Zerubbabel to rebuild the temple. The second half of the book would record the return of another group under Ezra to bring about spiritual cleansing and reform.  Ezra’s return would spark a spiritual revival. Then under the supervision of Nehemiah, the walls of Jerusalem would then be rebuilt.  

Ezra 1:1 is clear that God’s people's return from exile was in fulfillment of the Word of the Lord through Jeremiah. This prophet in Jeremiah 29:10 foretold the return. God promised to His people: “For thus says the LORD, ‘when seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.’” This verse also tells us that it was God who had stirred up the spirit of King Cyrus. He not only proclaimed it orally but also had it put in writing. This would make the decree indisputable. 

Do you know that long before Cyrus was born and came to the scene, God had chosen him to be his vessel to trigger the return? Two hundred years before Cyrus came to the scene, God through the Prophet Isaiah prophesied saying, “It is I who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd! And he will perform all My desire.’ And he declares of Jerusalem, ‘She will be built,’ And of the temple, ‘Your foundation will be laid.’” Yes, the return to rebuild the temple was God's idea and plan. 

What a marvelous God! And this is the LORD we worship. Seen in the light of all that happened to God’s covenant people, we now can fully appreciate Romans8:28. We take heart for in all things God works w together for good to them that love Him and are called according to His purpose.” There is no circumstance that we are going  God does not know or does not understand. We are governed by His providence. Life may be smooth sailing for us now, but in Christ, we are guaranteed a safe landing. So take heart!   

Introduction to the Book of Ezra

Ezra was a direct descendant of Aaron. He was not only a priest but also a scribe who was skilled in the commandments of the LORD and His statutes for Israel (Ezra 7:1-5). Jewish tradition had credited him as the author of the Book.

The thrust of the book of Ezra is about two groups of Jews that returned from Babylonian exile. The first group under Zerubbabel returned and started the rebuilding of the temple but was halted midway. Some Samaritans were purported to have complained to the king of Persia, forcing them to stop work. However, after some good years, goaded by the prophets Haggai and Zechariah the re-building of the temple resumed. It was eventually completed and dedicated to the LORD.

The second group of 2,000 led by Ezra returned to Jerusalem and sparked a spiritual revival. Many Jews, including leaders, were found guilty of intermarrying idolatrous non-Jews. Ezra carried out a reform and those found guilty of the sin then confessed their sin and put away their foreign wives. His work resulted in a people renewing their covenant with God and committing to live a life of obedience to God.

In this book, we get the picture that the faithful God kept His word and brought them back from exile. The people that God used to initiate the return included unlikely kings. This underscores for us the sovereignty of God and being the Sovereign God, nobody and nothing is outside of His control. We cannot go away from the book without realizing two key lessons. The rebuilding of the temple shows us the importance of restoring true worship. The ordering of their lives right shows us the importance of being God’s obedient people. Let's dive into the book and discover how we can live a life that is congruent with the purpose of God.

2 Kings 25:27-30 – In God, there’s great hope

Jehoiachin was taken captive to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar and went into exile for some 36 years or so.  Then in the 37^th year, his fortune changed. He found favor with Evil-merodach, the son of Nebuchadnezzar, who succeeded his father on the throne. the fortune of Jehoiachin changed for the better. He was released from prison by the new monarch who showed him kindness. He was treated and spoken to him kindly. Evil-merodach even gave him a higher position that kings of other nations whom his father had taken as captives alongside Jehoiachin. Verse 29 tells us that Jehoiachin’s prison clothes were changed, and he allotted a place to dine with Evil-merodach regularly all the days of his life. The king even apportioned a daily allowance to Jehoiachin for each day of his life.

Why did Evi-merodach show Jehoiachin such kindness? No reason was given for this change. A sanctified guess would be that he was showing amnesty to the captive kings to celebrate his inauguration as the new king of Babylon, in place of his father. This favor shown by this new monarch must have given also provided hope to the people in captivity. This could be a foretaste to the people concerning God’s promise of their release from captivity. In Jeremiah 30:3, the prophet proclaimed saying, “‘For behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,’ says the LORD. ‘And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.’”

For us, this is a lesson of hope in God for us who put our trust in Him. Psalm 30:5 assures us that “For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.” There is great hope in God. No matter how much tribulation we may be undergoing, in trusting God, we will have a positive outcome. So the encouragement of Hebrews 10:35-36 is “Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.” So let us learn to stay confident in our God!     

2 Kings 25:22-26 – Yielding to God’s will

So far we have seen Jerusalem devastated, the temple dismantled and looted and the people carried into exile in Babylon. Second Kings 25:12 tells us that Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left behind the poorest of the land who were tillers of ground and plowmen, all agricultural people. Second Kings 25:22-26 narrate what happened to the remnant that was left behind in Judah. Not many details have been given in this passage, but in Jeremiah chapter 40, more details are given. There, we are told that Jeremiah the prophet was shown grace by the Nebuzaradan. He was given the choice of whether he would go with him to Babylon or remain behind. As Jeremiah chose to remain behind, he was told to go to Gedaliah, whom Nebuchadnezzar had appointed as governor to take charge of them.

Gedaliah made Mizpah, a place near Jerusalem his residence. And 2 Kings 25:23 said that another group of people came to the governor. The group comprised the four captains of Judah’s forces, namely Ishmael, Johanan, Seraiah, and Jaazaniah, and their men came to the governor. The total number was not disclosed. We surmise that they must have hidden in the field and escaped the notice of Nebuzaradan. When they heard that Gedaliah was made the governor by Nebuchadnezzar, they came to him at Mizpah. The governor did not betray them but instead advised them to be good citizens and serve the king of Babylon.

In 2 Kings 25:25, we are told that Ishmael, one of those four captains came with ten men and assassinated Gedaliah. They not only killed the governor but also some Jews and Babylonians who were with him. After assassinating the governor, verse 26 said, “all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the forces arose and went to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.”

If we follow the writing of Jeremiah, we will see that he vehemently objected to them deflecting to trust Egypt. His counsel was for them to accept God’s will for them to go through the judgment brought upon them by God for their covenant unfaithfulness. They did not heed his word but instead tortured him. For more go read the book of Jeremiah. Suffice to say that it’s pointless to fight against God’s will. When part of God’s design is to straighten us, we must yield to it even if it means enduring times of difficulties. So take heed to the word of James 1: 2-4. We must learn to see trials as God’s refining process in life. God uses them to test our faith to bring the best out of us. Trail endured will forge in us godly character to mature and complete us.

 

2 Kings 25:18-21 – Let's be responsible and faithful

In 2 Kings 25:8-17, we saw how Jerusalem was plundered and looted. The temple, palace, and houses, both great and small were set on fire and destroyed. Solomon’s temple which was so magnificently built was dismantled. The Babylonians took away much bronze smelted from the pillars of the temple, the bronze stands of the sea and etc were taken back to Babylon. On top of that, they also took with them all the ecclesiastical accessories of bronze, silver, and gold.  

Second Kings 25:18-21 tell us that the captain of the guard Nebuchadnezzar’s army took with chief priest Seraiah, the deputy priest Zephaniah, three temple officers, and some key officials of the city and brought them to King Nebuchadnezzar. Besides the priests and the three temple officers, Nebuzaradan also took some of Jerusalem’s key personnel of to the king of Babylon. Verse 19 enumerated them as “one official who was overseer of the men of war, five of the king’s advisers who were found in the city; and the scribe of the captain of the army who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the city.” All these were brought to Nebuchadnezzar in Riblah and there had them struck down and killed. Fulfilling the word foretold o the nation, verse 21 said that Judah was brought into exile.

All that had happened to Jerusalem were not without a cause or reason. God had warned in Deuteronomy that if his people should break the covenant with Him, all these would overtake them. This was clearly stipulated in Deuteronomy 4:27. His warning was that "The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD drives you.” However, God did not do it for fun. He did it to straighten them. Their experience was to get them to repent. In their exile, if they return to him, He promised to restore them. Deuteronomy 4:29-31 reads, “But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul. When you are in distress and all these things have come upon you, in the latter days you will return to the LORD your God and listen to His voice. For the LORD your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them.”    

What a glorious, merciful, and faithful God! The tragedy that had happened to Jerusalem was due to neglect. If every generation had made sure to pass down the warning faithfully, the neglect could have been avoided.  Somewhere along the line, the communication broke. And that led the subsequent generation to  have a careless disregard for God. Had every generation played their part responsibly, the rot could be averted. Herein is also a warning for us parents. If we failed to emphasize the importance of being faithful to God, the guilt and blood of our children will be on our hands. We need to teach our children to live responsibly and to cultivate a life of faithfulness toward God.  

 

2 Kings 25:8-17 – The devastating effect of sin

Sadly 2 Kings 25:8 onwards describe for us the demolition of Jerusalem by Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard who served the king of Babylon. The destruction took place in the 19^th year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign. Nebuzaradan came to the holy city and razed it to the ground. Verses 9 said that he set fire to the house of the LORD - the temple, the house of the king - the palace,  all the houses of Jerusalem, both great and small, and burned and destroyed them all. The army of Babylon that was with Nebuzaradan broke the wall around Jerusalem and poured into the city. There they took everyone into exile in Babylon. Everyone left in the city, plus those who had deflected to the side of the king of Babylon, he took with him. But the poorest and insignificant people especially those who till the ground and took care of the vineyard he left behind.

The Babylonians did not only raze the temple, but they also looted all that was within. Second Kings 25:13-17 describe how the intricate work of Solomon’s temple which was wrought together with the help of skillful workmen of Hiram king of Tyre was destroyed. The army led by Nebuzaradan dismantled the bronze pillars, the sea, and its stands and took the bronze to Babylon. They also took away practically all the articles in the temple that were used for service with them to Babylon. The glorious structure of the temple and the vessels and even the last vestige that represented Solomon’s glory were all wiped out.

Jeremiah 52:17-23 describe the looting of the temple by the Babylonians in this way. Look at how Eugene Peterson paraphrased these verses. “The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars, the bronze washstands, and the huge bronze basin (the Sea) that were in the Temple of God, and hauled the bronze off to Babylon. They also took the various bronze-crafted liturgical accessories, as well as the gold and silver censers and sprinkling bowls, used in the services of Temple worship. The king’s deputy didn’t miss a thing. He took every scrap of precious metal he could find.

The amount of bronze they got from the two pillars, the Sea, the twelve bronze bulls that supported the Sea, and the ten washstands that Solomon had made for the Temple of God was enormous. They couldn’t weigh it all! Each pillar stood twenty-seven feet high with a circumference of eighteen feet. The pillars were hollow, the bronze a little less than an inch thick. Each pillar was topped with an ornate capital of bronze pomegranates and filigree, which added another seven and a half feet to its height.  There were ninety-six pomegranates evenly spaced—in all, a hundred pomegranates worked into the filigree.”

Sin has a devastating effect. It will make us pay more than what we can afford to pay.  Like leaven, only a little will bring about a huge consequence. No sin can be hidden for long because we are dealing with an all-seeing God.  Deal with sin immediately or it will bring the colossal damage we can ill afford.   Don’t trifle with sin, no matter how small it may seem!