Ezra 5:2
“So Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak rose up and began to build the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and the prophets of God were with them, helping them.”
Not long after returning to Jerusalem, the people became greatly discouraged in the work of the Lord. Things were moving slowly, and they were facing a great deal of opposition from those around them. Soon, the work of the Lord ceased all together. It is worth noting what encouraged the people to resume the work, and finish the task to which God called them. We read simply, “the prophets of God were with them, helping them.” The help was provided in the form of exhortations to the people to continue in the work of God.
From the book of Haggai, we learn these discouraged people neglected the work of the house of God, and their efforts were spent building and remodeling their own homes. It seems they were experiencing the effects of having a divided heart. They had expressed a desire to help further the kingdom of God, only to be sidelined with pursuits of their own. Haggai’s message was simple,
Haggai 1:4 “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?”
I wonder how often we have found ourselves in the same situation. The difficulty of serving the Lord has caused us to neglect ministry. Perhaps all we need is a solid nudge to get back to work. Whatever we are facing, it is time to get involved in the work of the Lord.
Once the people determined to get back to work, they faced the same struggles which caused them to quit in the first place. The work was still difficult and the opposition great. It was at this point that Zechariah added to Haggai’s message. He declared,
Zechariah 4:6 “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.”
For years our yard was a mess. A hurricane had leveled trees, and a broken irrigation system caused nothing but the weeds to grow. My approach was to ignore it; I felt the job was just too big. After an extended period of time and gentle nudges from my wife, I finally decided to tackle the project; only to find I lacked the strength to accomplish it on my own. I quickly found I was not really on my own. Upon making a couple phone calls, others came to my aid. They helped remove tree stumps, weeds and unwanted thorn bushes. Too often, we neglect the work of God because it is too much for us to handle; not realizing we are not, in fact, on our own. The Spirit of God will always provide whatever we need, to do whatever He has called us to.
Pastor Jim
We have all had experiences that have saddened us. Sometimes the word ‘sad’ is too shallow to describe what we are feeling, we might say we are sorrowful or even consumed with grief. When a relationship comes to an end or someone we love dies, the sadness is often so deep it becomes difficult to manage.
Central to returning to the Lord, was the Altar. With it, sacrifices could be offered in accordance with the Law of God. Without it, man would still be striving on his own, attempting to build his way to God. The altar, tragically, involved the sacrifice of the innocent in place of the guilty. This method of atonement was offensive to some; not because of the death of the innocent, but because of the declaration that those offering the sacrifice are guilty.
The bible is filled with great and precious promises. Of these, the one recorded here may be the pinnacle. For the past two thousand years countless saints, facing a vast array of difficulties, have clung to this promise and found God to be ever faithful to His word. The promise itself is both simple and all encompassing. We are told, God is able to create good out of all things that life throws at us.
As we read through the Word, it is important to remember the chapter breaks were added later to make it easier to find specific passages. At times, they can create a break in thought not intended by the author. This often causes us to miss something vital in the text. The thoughts of Romans 8 are an obvious conclusion of what Paul declared in Chapter 7. He referred to himself as carnal, a word meaning worldly; and wretched, meaning deeply afflicted, or extremely bad. The reason for his dire view is that he found himself incapable of living a proper Christian life. The Word of God clearly expresses the kind of life which pleases God, and the particular behaviors, thoughts, desires and actions that are regarded as sinful. By his own admission, Paul knew what was right, but lacked the power to accomplish these things. He writes,
Ezra tells the story of the children of Israel returning to Jerusalem, at the end of seventy years of captivity in Babylon. We find that while hundreds of thousands were taken captive, less than fifty thousand returned. I am relatively certain that many should have returned that didn’t, but we are also given insight into the ones that were willing to leave all and take up the challenge of engaging in the work of God.
There are times when the promises of God seem unlikely, and other times when they seem impossible. The scene in which Ezra is set is one of those, “it looks impossible”, kind of times. Judah had been defeated, the city of Jerusalem destroyed, and the people scattered throughout Babylonia. To complicate matters, the Babylonians were defeated by the combined forces of the Medes and Persians, led by King Cyrus. Set against these conditions, was a remote and seemingly impossible promise. Years earlier, Jeremiah the prophet, predicted a king named Cyrus would rise to power, and give a decree, allowing the Jews to return to their land and rebuild their city. I am sure, for the average Jew this promise seemed remote at best. I love that we read “in the first year of Cyrus.” God wasted no time in bringing His promise to fruition.
Much of what the Bible says is revolutionary. There are statements, not just shocking to us, but to every generation that ever lived. Jesus spoke to his disciples saying, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” Matthew 16:24
Compassion is a necessary ingredient in order to bring about change. It is more than an emotion, it is a sense of pity that stirs one to action. The compassion of God flows from His love for humanity. He looks at our condition because of sin, and His heart breaks. Rather than simply feeling bad for us, His compassion stirs Him to action. In the days of Jeremiah, we read, God’s action was to send men to declare the truths of His Word.
