[Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (DG) as a reading update (reflection) from one chapter of the Bible a day]
𝔼ℤℝ𝔸
𝟙:𝟙
"Now in the first year of
Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of
Jeremiah, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he
sent a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing,"
God is sovereign even over
non-believers, over kings and rulers, over even wicked and corrupt people. And
He will use them for the good of His people. Remember Romans 8:28👍
𝔼ℤℝ𝔸
𝟚:𝟞𝟚
"These searched among their
ancestral registration, but they could not be located; therefore they were
considered unclean and excluded from the priesthood."
Those whose names are not found are
excluded. No compromise. No pressure.
They are small in number. They
could have compromised the registration and welcomed everyone who wanted to
settle along with them. More people are better in this situation. However, they
stick to the book.
There will be also a book of life
opening on the last day. Whosoever name is missing shall be excluded from the splendour
of heaven, and shall be cast into the lake of fire!
And there will be no compromise! To
the book!
𝔼ℤℝ𝔸
𝟛:𝟙𝟚
"Yet many of the priests and
Levites and heads of fathers' households, the old men who had seen the first
temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this house was laid
before their eyes, while many shouted aloud for joy,"
What a mixture of emotions! Some
wept uncontrollably while others shouted in joy. I remember when we came to [my]
village for a Christmas, one lady saw us and was sobbing uncontrollably.
Christmas is a time when loved and dear ones come together, in her case, her
loved and dear ones had a tragic death just before Christmas.
Well, in this case, it is not
because these people who wept were missing their friends, but because the new
temple was not as glorious as the old temple where God's glory dwelt. At best
the new temple was just a replica. And of course, they knew it was their sins
that had led them to this situation.
Sin brings only tears!
In this case, it was a mixture of
tears again. Tears of repentance and tears of joy in seeing the restoration
even if it was not like before!
𝔼ℤℝ𝔸
𝟜:𝟛
"But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and
the rest of the heads of fathers' households of Israel said to them, ‘You have
nothing in common with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves will
together build to the LORD God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia has
commanded us.’"
No common platform with non-Christians
in Christian things.
Would you seek help from Muslims to
build your Church? Maybe they too will require your help to build their Mosque.
However, if it's a common thing like helping build homes, that's
understandable.
𝔼ℤℝ𝔸
𝟝:𝟚
"Then Zerubbabel the son of
Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of
God which is in Jerusalem; and the prophets of God were with them supporting
them."
They were stopped by the enemies from
rebuilding the house of God. Anyway, they started the work again with the
support of godly leaders. Indeed, who is a man to stop the work of God?
And their philosophy of rebuilding
is expressed in v11. Their life is in God. And indeed, God protected
them, as is seen in v5. That the officials decided to play fair and
neutral!
For better
understanding, read here👇
𝔼ℤℝ𝔸
𝟞:𝟙𝟜
"And the elders of the Jews
were successful in building through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and
Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they finished building according to the command
of the God of Israel and the decree of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes king of
Persia."
After their return to Jerusalem,
the Jews were progressing their work of rebuilding. The enemies were jealous of
them. The enemies opposed and employed a lot of tactics to halt their work. The
Jews weren't able to continue. That's what we see in chapter 4:1-5.
[Then, chapter 4:6-23
is a story of later years when the local officials plus the king stopped their
work. It's kept here to give an account that there had always been jealousy and
opposition towards the Jews by the enemies: The enemies were jealous. They
poisoned the mind of local officials and the king. And the king stopped them].
Then chapter 5 resumes the present
story which is left off in chapter 4:5. While the people were afraid to rebuild
due to the opposition, and because they had started to lose their devotion to
building, the prophets encouraged them. The local officials investigated (the
complaints of the enemies and the response of the Jews) and reported to the
king for further verdicts.
In chapter 6, we see the king's
response. The king not only validated the response of the Jews and their work
of rebuilding, but also asked the officials to help them, and even warned against
any opposition concerning the Jews.
Indeed, who can stop the work of
God? What a victory! With God in God's way is victory!
𝔼ℤℝ𝔸
𝟟:𝟙𝟘
"For Ezra had set his heart 𝕥𝕠
𝕤𝕥𝕦𝕕𝕪
the law of the LORD and 𝕥𝕠
𝕡𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕔𝕖
it, and 𝕥𝕠
𝕥𝕖𝕒𝕔𝕙
His statutes and ordinances in Israel. King's Decree on Behalf of Ezra."
In chapter 4 we see King Artaxerxes
stopping the works until further decree. In this chapter 7, the king has
commissioned the work with a lot of resources and power!
With this occasion, this verse 10
is fitting. Notice the three verbs, and the order of those action words: To
study, to practice, to teach.
Before teaching others, he must
learn first. So, he studied. Studying is not enough; he must practice what he
learned. No wonder he was very brave in the later part of the story because he
knew what he was doing!
𝔼ℤℝ𝔸
𝟠:𝟚𝟚
"For I was ashamed to request
from the king troops and horsemen to protect us from the enemy on the way,
because we had said to the king, ‘The hand of our God is favorably disposed to
all those who seek Him, but His power and His anger are against all those who
forsake Him.’"
This is Ezra’s faith in God. It's
risky speaking humanly. They are a company of women, children, and other weak
people too, but centuries ago, the Israelites went out of Egypt like that.
However, Nehemiah's situation was
different. He was accompanied by the king's army (Neh. 2:9). BTW, when
Paul realized he would be assassinated by the Jews, he let the news be reported
to the captain. And he was escorted safely. We must be wise in our decision-making!
𝔼ℤℝ𝔸
𝟡:𝟙𝟜-𝟙𝟝
"Shall we again break Your
commandments and intermarry with the peoples who commit these abominations?
Would You not be angry with us to the point of destruction, until there is no
remnant nor any who escape? O LORD God of Israel, You are righteous, for we
have been left an escaped remnant, as it is this day; behold, we are before You
in our guilt, for no one can stand before You because of this."
Ezra humbles himself before the
Lord in confession in contrite spirit. No complaints, no excuses, no debates.
He affirms God ought to punish
them, to be angry with them, and whatever He does is righteous!
𝔼ℤℝ𝔸
𝟙𝟘:𝟜𝟜
"All these had married foreign
wives, and some of them had wives by whom they had children."
The book of Ezra ended with a note
of displeasure about the sins of Israel— their intermarriage.
Husband and Wife influence each
other. And if they want to be devoted to God, they must marry someone who is also
devoted to God. Or at least someone who worships Yahweh! It's wrong for a
Christian to marry a non-Christian, like the sin of Israel’s intermarriage.