Ezra 1 - Have you ever faced an impossible situation? One where there are just too many players and you are convinced that most of them are immovable. Making your situation impossible. Now… you don’t come right out and say that because you know “all things are possible for God” BUT, this particular situation depends on this one person that you are secretly convinced is really outside the circle of what God can work with. Again, we would never admit that out loud to anyone, we keep that tucked deep down where it can’t taint our Christian facade. I remember praying for my husband, our marriage and thinking there is no way God is gonna be able to change this. I was wrong. He did. And for the record He did a fabulous job. Some times there are situations that seem too far gone, too impossible, involve people that are just too difficult and we sit there wondering “How in the world, is God gonna be able to do anything with this situation or in this mess?” But we can be encouraged by the opening verse of Ezra “…in order to fulfill the word of the Lord… the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus the King of Persia…” You see despite what we think about the impossibility of our situation, God keeps His promises and He is ABLE to move the heart of anyone, anywhere to accomplish His will.
Ezra 2 - Is not a chapter that stirs great emotion, names and numbers crowd it’s text. But I couldn’t help but see the theme of “returning” in the lists of people that returned from their captivity to rebuild their home. At one time their ancestors had been lead out of captivity to a land promised to a land flowing with milk and honey their’s for the taking. God moving in front of them in a cloud and pillar of fire. Now a smaller group returning to a broken city of rubble pillaged and loitered as a result of their disobedience and idolatry that remained under the control of the Persian Empire. In one scenario they followed God in the other they returned to Him. But not all, some stayed in the land of their captivity, perhaps different things held them there. For some maybe they had found a false sense of comfort in their new surroundings, God in His mercy may have even allowed them to prosper there, why would they want to return to a broken Jerusalem? Maybe others were ashamed to go back and face the destruction their choices had caused. We can’t be sure, but their captivity, their exile was always intended to bring them back to God. Is God calling you back to Him today?
Ezra 3 - In verse 3, we see this remnant of Jews beginning the work of rebuilding the temple. I was intrigued by the order in which they took for this task. Despite their fear…did you hear that? Even though they were afraid of the circumstances and enemies that surrounded them, they did. Fear is a powerful tool of the enemy but it is just that, from the enemy. When we are afraid it does us good to remember who Satan is when compared to who God is and move on. But back to the order I mentioned before, the first thing they built was the Altar of God where they offered burnt sacrifices. It was after this that they began working on the foundation of the Temple. Repentance and forgiveness must come first before the foundation can be laid. I couldn't help but think about how Paul tells us that our bodies are the Temple of the Holy Spirit, but before He can begin the work in us there must first be repentance and forgiveness. Does it seem like the work in you has come to a stop? That you are stuck in the same place? Might there be a need for repentance? In verses 7-9, the supplies are collected and work begins to lay the foundation. Paul tells us in Philippians 2 that we are to “work out” our salvation. The blood of Jesus Christ saves us but there is an ongoing process of building the temple that takes our cooperation. Are you following the call of the Lord, carrying out His assignments? No doubt this would have been difficult work but instead of crashing on the couch we see them praising the Lord, giving thanks and singing. A few months ago while studying the final chapters of Psalms I learned that the Lord calls us to praise Him over and over again not because He needs it but because we need it. Praise and thanksgiving keeps our eyes and hearts focused on Him. It helps us to overcome our fears, to encourage us and to fill us. This chapter is a good recipe for walking with the Lord. Repent, cooperate with God in your remodeling, do the work He is calling you to do and praise Him for the work He is doing in you.
Ezra 4 - In the opening verse of Ezra 4 we see some willing helpers come the Jews way. They are ready to roll up their sleeves and pitch in with the manual labor of rebuilding the Temple. I can imagine with such a daunting task any help would be welcomed and appreciated. But in vs.3 these would be helpers are shut down and turned away, with little room for misunderstanding. There is a really valuable lesson to be learned here. These would be helpers were Samaritans, descendants from the Jews of Israel (to the North, after the Israel and Judah split) who intermarried with those from other countries. They claimed to be Jews while in reality they were not. They claimed that like the Jews who returned from Babylon, they sought the same God and had been sacrificing to Him for sometime now. On the surface, this sounds great. Why are the words from High School Musical rushing to my mind, “We’re all in this together…”. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 10? "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues.” These returning Jews would need to be as “wise as the serpants”, and they were. They recognized that these men were not who they said they were and they were not serving the same God. They were wise enough to know that they should be cautious of men, wise enough to know the Word of God and His commands and because of this they were able to recognize that from their own statement we “have been sacrificing to him since the time of Esarhaddon, King of Assyria…” that they were not seeking the God of Israel at all. They sacrificed with out a Temple and with the Priests appointed by God, all of which went against God’s commands. In a situation where they cause have used the help, they took a step of faith and turned it down. Choosing instead to trust that God had a better way to complete the job ahead of them. The Samaritans did not graciously accept their decision and return to their homes, they opposed them at every move, making their work difficult and filling the Jew with discouragement. Which actually lead to the work stopping for 17 years. If was there, I can see myself doubting my decision to refuse the help. Thinking it would have been better to let them help and just get the work done. Surely, that would have been better than sitting here on a partially finished project. But here’s the lesson, which goes back to a Psalm I recently studied, unless the Lord builds the house we labor in vain. Jesus warned that he was sending us out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Those Samaritans were not looking to help, they were crafty serpents and wolves seeking to destroy the Temple from with in. We do wise to follow the example of Zerubbabel and his friends as we build the living Temple of God. 1. Do not blindly accept help with the calling of God, not all are who they say they are. 2. Be as wise as the serpents but as harmless as doves. 3. Seek advise and consul from other believers that you trust and move forward in unity. Be ready to face opposition, there is great enmity between the serpent and the seed of the woman (Jesus), and when all seems to be going wrong and the work comes to a grinding halt, remember that the Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still.
Ezra 5:1/Haggai 1:1-11 - The years ticked by, the Temple remained in ruins, the focus of the people turned from rebuilding the Temple to rebuilding their own homes. Opposition lead to the work being halted,what started out as a good excuse, eventually lead to apathy. So what went wrong, just yesterday we were saying that if the Lord doesn’t build the house we labor in vain and that the Lord will fight for us we just need to be still. Why are things different today? Their focus changed with the opposition, they stopped waiting on the Lord. From the Lord’s point of view, it was time to build the Temple, when opposition hit He expected His people to keep their focus on Him, He would fight for them, He would provide everything they would need to do the work as long as they kept their focus on Him. But they took the opportunity to say “Well it’s just not the right time, I might as well go build my own house.” Then their focus continued to turn more & more towards self. They planted, ate, drank, clothed themselves, earned money but were never satisfied. God had work to be done & a way for it to be done but no one was listening, they were all so wrapped up in their own stuff. So God sent an alarm clock to wake them up. He "called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the oil and whatever the ground produces, on men and cattle and on the labor of their hands.” This should have been a “heads up” for them, because this is exactly what he said he would do in DT 11:16-17, the gods they were worshipping in this case was the god of self. And when they didn’t get the message he sent a messenger in the prophet Haggai.Is there a work that God is calling you to do today? (umm… yes! At a minimum, He is always calling us to serve and worship Him) Have you run into opposition? Are you waiting on the Lord, keeping your eyes fixed on Him allowing Him to be a light unto your feet? Or have you let waiting on the Lord turn into apathy? Let your focus drift elsewhere? Are you busy chasing your dream, while the Temple of God sits in ruins? “Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Give careful thought to your ways'.”
Ezra 5:2-17 - I have been a christian for a long time, well over 4 decades. You would think that I would have this down by now. But I assure you… I do not. I am finding that walking with God on this side of Heaven is a series of "screw ups” and “get ups”. I am beginning to understand what it means when it is said that David was a man after God’s own heart. David screwed up, a lot. BUT… David always prayed, got things right with God and got up, got back to what the Lord was calling him to do. That’s an act of truth humility, being able to face your screw ups, admit that they are screw ups and take them to God. Admit/confess, talk it out, get back to where you belong and pick up where you left off. Holy living for us will never be perfect, but God doesn’t seek our perfection He seeks our confession, our returning to Him, our desire to right where we went wrong. Our pride can keep us from returning and confessing to God after our screw ups and time can made it seems even more difficult. This is where David got things right. The moment he realized that he had screwed up, he got up and returned to God, confessing and making things right. He got right back to serving the Lord with out guilt on shame. In Ezra 5, We see the remnant of Jews who returned to build the temple, the ones who let opposition bring their service to a halt and allowed a loss of focus to distract them, respond to the call of God through the prophet Haggai and resume the work God had called them to do. And this time they are stronger, a second wave of opposition comes but they stay the course. Be encouraged today that when we screw up, God only wants us to get up and return to Him. Praise God for His mercy today!
Erza 6:1-12 Obedience is always followed by opposition. The Jewish remnant got back to work after 17 years of distraction and WHAM! With out hesitation there was someone questioning what they were doing and if they should be doing it. Tattenai thought it his place to find out just what was going on. He wanted to know who authorized them to build the Temple and he want to know the names of the people involved. Then he wrote a letter to King Darius making sure he was aware of this “thing” that was being done. King Darius searched the archives and found that King Cyrus had given the order, but ya gotta love this. Instead of saying, “Yep, it’s all good, they can build.” He went further and said “Yep they can build and YOU are going to make sure they have everything they need to do AND if you don’t the punishment will be death.” No matter what God is asking you do to today, do it. Expect opposition, even from those you think should support you and press on. God has your back and He will make a way. That you can depend on.
Ezra 6:13-22 The 2nd Temple is finished!! But from the time King Darius told Tattenai to bud out and fund the balance of the project it was another 4 years of hard work to finish the Temple. Vs. 14 says “So the elders of the Jews continued to build and prosper under the preaching of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah.” I loved this reminder that when we have been given our assignment, we must not forsake the Word of God or the fellowship of His people in our excitement. In our zealous to do what the Lord has called us to do, we can make the dangerous mistake of trying to do it in our own strength. With so much to do, we don’t have time to read our Bible, study or go to church. We convince ourselves that we will get back to those things when the schedule eases up or one particular circumstance changes but soon we can find ourselves far from God buried in a work of our own that has no joy or effectiveness. We know what the Lord is calling us to do, we have stepped out in obedience, overcome opposition but that does not mean the work is going to easy. It will demand our time and diligent effort but we must remember that to continue and prosper in the work we must do it under the preaching and study of God’s Word. Then when the work is finished we can celebrate with joy, “because the Lord will fill you with joy!"
Ezra 7 - The Temple in Jerusalem has been finished and now some 60 years has past and during that time, a young Jewish girl, named Esther has risen to a place of great influence in Babylon. Being placed there “for such a time as this” God used her to save His people from the wicked plot of Haman. Pockets of Jews continue to make their way back to the land of Israel, including the skilled scribe of the Law, Ezra. Ezra is sent back with the same favor in which Zerubbabel & Jeshua returned (gold, silver, tax exemptions, and the promise to provide whatever is needed). Once again we see a secular King being willed by God’s almighty hand. “Praise be to the LORD, the God of our Fathers, who has put it into the king’s heart to…” Amen! and Amen! But the Lord keeps bringing me back to verse 10. “For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees…”. Study, observe and teach the Word. Do you want to make a difference? Do something that matters? Leave a legacy? I do. I want to leave a huge eternal footprint when I leave this world, I want God to mold me into a vessel He can use and to fill me with His love and wisdom and I want to be poured out on a lost and angry generation. But how? (I ask because I find that a loving response is rarely my first inclination) I must prepare and devote myself to the study of God’s Word, then I must walk it out every single day, do what it says and then share its power with others. Teach my kids, encourage a fellow believer, and share the life saving Gospel with those around me. The key is to be washing ourselves in the Word, soaking in it, getting all pruney in it, we simply can’t do it with out emptying ourselves of us and filling up with His Word and His Spirit. Study, Do and Teach. Let us devote ourselves to the cause of the Chris, today and everyday!
Ezra 8 - The last verse of Ezra 7 says “Because the hand of the LORD my God was on me, I took courage and gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me. Fast forward to Ezra 8:21 “I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before God and ask him for a safe journey… I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, “The gracious hand of our God is on everyone, who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him.” When God puts something on our hearts to do, we often times will respond with great zeal but as the time comes to step out in faith and go, things can start to look very different. Our focus can shift from the big picture of what God has asked us to do, to the obstacles and dangers standing in our way. Fear can start to creep in and eventually overwhelm us. Our minds become crowded with all the “What if’s”, every fight or flight synapsis starts firing! I speak from a wealth of experience, my head knows the truth but my heart often times goes screaming into the night! I suppose this makes me the queen of the plan B, the carefully thought out plan with multiple contingencies. Not that planning etc, is a bad thing. We can see in this chapter that Ezra was organized, meticulous and a skilled leader. All that is great, but not what I am talking about. I am talking about taking a walk through a dark alley where known criminals and bandits hang out with a million dollars strapped to my back. I mean, come on, it was reasonable if not even responsible of Ezra to ask the king for protection. But holy cow, I wanna be like this guy! Instead, in his heart, he felt ashamed to ask the king. That stands in mighty contrast to my heart, digging in my heals crying “no, no, no, no…. I am going to need massive security, armored car etc”. Ezra’s heart pointed him to ask The King for protection. That is the kind of heart I want. One so convinced, so sure that God will do what He said He was going to do, that it doesn’t freak out but instead humbles it’s self and fully trusts God.
Ezra 9 - Studying the Bible is like riding a roller coaster, just when you things are all going up hill… WHAM everything comes crashing down. This remnant of the Jews made their way back to Jerusalem, got the foundation of the Temple laid and then under the pressure of circumstances, gave up, got distracted and stopped working. God sends Haggai to get them refocused and back on task. The temple is finished and everyone is praising and worshipping God. Sixty or so years pass and another group returns to Jerusalem, bringing a million dollars worth of gold and silver from Babylon, a 900 mile trip in only 4 months under the sole protection of the Lord! BUT… once they get all the supplies put away and counted they look around this holy city that the Lord so graciously allowed them to return to, after having been taken into captivity as a result of their idolatry and find that this small remnant of Jews were doing it again! They were intermarrying with the nations around them. The exact same thing that had gotten them into trouble in the first place. God told them to be separate, for a reason, because a little leaven leavens the whole lump. When Ezra saw what was going on he was appalled. The girls and I were talking about this the other day. We were talking about some show on TV, like many others that had pushed the “envelope” of what is acceptable content. They were “appalled”. So I asked them about some of the other content, soon they began to see that this show was packed with “appalling” content in the sight of God but we were slow to recognize it as such. A little leaven had over time made us less and less sensitive to the sin. The boundary will continue to move as we become more and more comfortable with what is being served up as entertainment. I encourage to look up Ezra’s prayer in Ezra 9 for yourself, spend some time reflecting on his attitude in this prayer. Ezra had a very real handle on who God is and who we are and what we deserve. He does not hope to simple escape the consequences of their sin but knows that they need to be utterly saved from their evil behavior. He doesn’t even ask anything of the Lord, but only presents himself as we all are - guilty. It is the true recognition of this quilt that will bring us to our knees before an Almighty God in heartbroken confession.
Ezra 10 - I must admit I drug my feet a bit coming into Ezra and now I find myself a bit sad having come to the end. As I studied this final chapter this morning that thing that really stood out to me was Ezra’s passion for his follow believers. When he discovered that they had fallen into sin his response wasn't one of mild curiosity with an almost immediate shift back to his own life but one of great distress. He tore his clothes, pulled his hair out, prayed, confessed, wept and threw himself down before the Lord. I have become increasingly aware that I have not fully grasped and power and privilege of prayer. Too often my prayers are little more than “Dear Heavenly Father, Thank for today. Please… In Jesus name, Amen.” Paul was another that seemed to really embrace the benefits of prayer and made mention that he prayed for his fellow believers daily. Confession and repentance should be an ongoing part of our prayer life. While there is no condemnation for those in Christ and while He has forgiven all our sins past and future, unconfessed sin has an affect on our relationship with God it holds us back and keeps us from Him. We are more apt to just drop in for a quick drive-thru prayer vs. sitting laid out at his feet when we have unconfessed sin in our lives. Ezra knew that with out confession and repentance their relationship as a nation with God would be affected, it is the same with us today both on a personal and a national level. I want to encourage you and MYSELF to confess any sin that is holding you back in your relationship with God, repent (turn and do His will) and embrace the power and privilege of prayer in praying for our fellow believers in this great nation of ours to confess and repent as well. Confession ad repentance isn’t a one time thing, but an ongoing act vital to the quality of relationship fellowship with and submission to the Lord.
