Ezra
5 reminds us that when we are confidently walking according to God’s
will, we are not easily intimidated. In the Christian life, we are
often met with pressure to compromise in order to be like the world
around us. Many times the pressure comes in the form of questions.
One of the important roles of meeting together as a church is
“exhorting one another in doing good” (Hebrews 10:23).
The chapter begins with “Haggai
the prophet and Zechariah the prophet… prophesied to the Jews in
Judah and Jerusalem“. Even
outnumbered in the hostile environment, there were prophets boldly
pronouncing the Word of God. And notice the result, “Then
Zerubbabel… and Jeshua… set to work to rebuild the house of God
in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, helping them“.
You do not know when your words might be the encouragement someone
else might need. Or like the example, perhaps your actions will give
someone else courage. Notice, they didn’t make the mistake of
being too busy to seek God’s direction. Don’t allow
disappointment to isolate you from hope.
The
Persian kingdom had gone through revolt and change. Now the local
official in charge of the region that included Jerusalem demanded to
know what the Jews were up to. Tattenai went to them and asked, “Who
authorized you to rebuild this temple and restore this structure?”
It appears they answered the queries while continuing in their work,
“But the eye of their God was
watching over the elders of the Jews, and they were not stopped until
a report could go to Darius and his written reply be received“.
The chapter includes this bureaucrat’s letter to the king: “The
king should know that we went to the district of Judah, to the temple
of the great God. The people are building it with large stones and
placing the timbers in the walls. The work is being carried on with
diligence and is making rapid progress under their direction“.
Tattenai accurately quoted the Jewish leaders, “We
are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago… But
because our fathers angered the God of heaven, he handed them over to
Nebuchadnezzar… Cyrus king of Babylon… issued a decree to
rebuild… He even removed from the temple of Babylon the gold and
silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken
from the temple“. Are you
prepared to answer the “why” questions?
These
men of God worked through the political system, but did not get
distracted from their God-given task. The letter to the king
continued with the key pieces of information. Clearly the Jewish
leaders told him when to look, “the
first year of Cyrus“. Who to look
for, “A man named Sheshbazzar, whom
he had appointed governor“. And
probably the action he should take “let
a search be made in the royal archives of Babylon to see if King
Cyrus did in fact issue a decree to rebuild this house of God in
Jerusalem“. We must positively
influence our political leaders with sound thought and reasonable
behavior. Politicians come and go, but the truth of God’s Word
endures forever. Proverbs
3:19 reminds us we should cling to it and continuously remind our
leaders; “By
wisdom
the Lord laid the earth’s foundations, by understanding He set the
heavens in place“. In the
meantime, keep on building! “Let us
not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a
harvest if we do not give up”
(Galatians 6:9).