I was reading this morning in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. They were contemporary prophets, living mainly in the fourth century B.C. (late 400s), although Ezra wrote about events of the previous century as well. They were prophets to the people of Israel during the first Diaspora, which I wrote to you about in previous, recent posts. A couple of things struck me about today's reading.
Do you ever wonder why some books of the Bible were included in the canon that we now call The Holy Bible? I do; but consider this about Ezra, the Levitical priest and scribe:
"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." (Ezra 7:10)
It is generally accepted that Ezra wrote this book, in the third person. He grew up in a time when such learning was not generally considered valuable. His people had been dispersed; the practice of Judaism was fragmented, at best. Yet, this is what Ezra did:
1. He "set his heart", made up his mind, determined in his heart to study the Scriptures of his day.
2. He not only studied them; he made up his mind to practice what he learned.
3. He not only practiced what he learned; he made it a priority to teach God's law to his people, Israel.
As we read further in Ezra and Nehemiah, we see that God gave Ezra ample opportunity to use what he had learned. Ezra had prepared, and God used him in a mighty way.
Oh! How we need more prophets like Ezra, today in America and around the world!
Oh! How WE need to be more like Ezra.
If you want some hope for America, people, read the first few verses of Ezra chapter 1. About 50 years before Ezra came into his own, there was a pagan king who ascended to the throne of Babylon, where most of the Israelites had been taken captive. His name was Cyrus. Some call him "Cyrus the Great". He came to the throne after a short reign by Darius, also a Medo-Persian conqueror and leader, as I understand the book of Daniel. These men ushered in the Medo-Persian Empire, after the conquest of the Babylonian Empire, under Belshazzar.
Here we learn that the Lord God "stirred up the heart" of King Cyrus. The words of the king in chapter 1 are that God directed him to re-build the house of God in Jerusalem! Now, "How in the world did THAT happen?", you may ask. We are not privy to that information. Wouldn't it be fascinating to know, though? I have to wonder if somehow, when the Medes and Persians were trying to conquer the Babylonians an influential Jew gave them the information and/or support to help them win the victory over a city that was considered "unconquerable". Somehow, though, Cyrus came into contact with the Lord God Jehovah. Look at verse 2:
"The Lord, the God of Heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth . . ."
So, he is giving GOD the glory for his conquests. Amazing, coming from a "pagan" king, don't you think?
Cyrus goes on to say that GOD has instructed him (HIM! a PAGAN!) to rebuild His temple, in Jerusalem, which as you know was one of the conquered areas.
There is "texting" shortcut that looks like this: smh. Most people interpret that to mean, "shaking my head" (in amazement, disbelief, dismay, at people's actions). Well, sometimes, I do that when I watch what God does (in amazement, of course! :) The Scriptures say this:
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways." (Isaiah 55:8)
Our God does what He pleases, what He knows is best. That is frequently not what we would do, or how we would do it.
The Scriptures go on to detail how King Cyrus not only made the proclamation; he also provided much of the materials that would be needed to accomplish the task. (Of course, over 5400 of the articles sent had been taken from Solomon's temple, in the ravaging of Jerusalem under Nebuchadnezzar. But, be certain of this: Cyrus was not obligated to give them back. Most kings would not have!) The temple that was built from Cyrus's decree stood in Jerusalem for about 500 years.
I've just barely scratched the surface of all the gems in this book of Ezra. I may share more about this tomorrow. But, for now, let's take away these two points:
- Ezra devoted himself to studying, practicing and teaching God's Word.
- And, God set on the throne a pagan king to do His bidding.
Let's pray that God will do the same miraculous works in America. Brothers and sisters, we NEED to study God's word and live it out, like Ezra. Like me, so many of you reading this blog are praying fervently over our country. Much of the time, we are praying for different rulers. Because in our current day many of the leaders are acting in ways contrary to the established principles of God, we tend to pray that God will remove them from office as soon as possible. Well, sometimes He works in that way. But, sometimes, as is the case here, He "stirs their hearts" and uses them to accomplish His purposes. Let's keep that in mind as we pray for our leaders, and pray for America.
Good morning, dearest Lord! Help us to be like Ezra, faithfully committed to studying your Word, living it out in our lives and sharing it with others. Help us to be faithful in prayer, praying for Your will to be done, for you to accomplish Your purposes by whatever means You choose, and how You see fit. Help us to be READY, so that if you choose to use us as you used others in Scriptures, we will have the training and preparation needed to accomplish the tasks for Your honor and glory. We are so glad that YOU are "large and in charge"! We love you, Lord! In Jesus' name, amen.
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