April 23, 2024 - Ezra 5-6

Opposition to the building of the second temple continued, and God sent his prophets to encourage the people:  “Now Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the prophet, a descendant of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them” (5:1).  There was another player in this story, Darius:   “In the first year of King Cyrus, the king issued a decree concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem:  Let the temple be rebuilt as a place to present sacrifices, and let its foundations be laid” (6:3).  Furthermore, Cyrus instructed, “Do not interfere with the work on this temple of God.  Let the governor of the Jews and the Jewish elders rebuild this house of God on its site.  Moreover, I hereby decree what you are to do for these elders of the Jews in the construction of this house of God: Their expenses are to be fully paid out of the royal treasury, from the revenues of Trans-Euphrates, so that the work will not stop” (6:7-8).

At the end of the work, “For seven days they celebrated with joy the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because the Lord had filled them with joy by changing the attitude of the king of Assyria so that he assisted them in the work on the house of God, the God of Israel” (6:22).  Our God rules over the nations and, when he wishes the nations, even pagan nations, to do something, well . . . they do his bidding.  What a comfort to know that our God rules over all.  Instead of a hymn, today, after his humiliation and upon his restoration, hear Nebuchadnezzar’s testimony:

I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation.  All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him:  ‘What have you done?’” (Daniel 4:34-35)