365 Reflections

Have you ever set God up to show up? Ezra did. And God showed up. I'm not talking about tempting God. As in, "God, I'm going to toss myself off this building, prove yourself real by saving me." No, that's tempting God and it is explicitly rejected in scripture.  When Ezra saw that no Levites had accompanied the people back into the land on his return from Babylon, he had to send them to come and join the work. A temple without the Levitical priesthood is not operational and this would be a problem. Ezra cannot empower a spiritual reform if the spiritual leaders are not present for it! Ezra finds out that the Levites have located themselves in large numbers in a place called Casiphia, perhaps on the fringe of Babylon. He sends for them to come as many are willing... and the results speak for themselves... Ezra 8:18–20 (ESV) And by the good hand of our God on us, they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons of Mahli the son of Levi, son of Israel, namely Shereb

What's interesting about the book of Ezra is that you don't meet the title character until the 7th chapter. And that is where we are. He comes to Jerusalem 60 years after the first exiles returned and started to rebuild the city and the Temple. So much has happened and so much has been overcome, you begin to wonder, what is his importance to this narrative. But the details emerge quickly as Ezra brings what God's people have always needed - skill in declaring the Truth of God's Word with boldness and conviction so that God's people live according to God's ways. Ezra 7:1–6 (ESV) Now after this, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, 2 son of Shallum, son of Zadok , son of Ahitub, 3 son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, 4 son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, 5 son of Abishua, son of Phinehas , son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the chief priest— 6 this Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a

Ezra 6:1–3 (ESV) Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in Babylonia, in the house of the archives where the documents were stored. 2 And in Ecbatana, the citadel that is in the province of Media, a scroll was found on which this was written: “A record. 3 In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king issued a decree: Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the house be rebuilt, the place where sacrifices were offered, and let its foundations be retained.  The crazy thing about Ezra and the rebuilding of the Temple at the behest of King Cyrus is that God has used the means of pagan kings to accomplish His purposes for His people in preparing a place to worship once again. After a 16 year pause, the work is resumed because the leaders remembered the decree of a pagan king and began to build based on that record.  Moreover, not only did the Lord use the decree of a pagan king to permit the rebuild, the Lord used the pagan treasury of the Medes to pay for it!

The story in Ezra runs parallel with many of the prophetic books of the Old Testament, namely that of Haggai and Zecharaiah. This is noted in the beginning of Ezra 5: Ezra 5:1–2 (ESV) Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. 2 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and the prophets of God were with them, supporting them. Haggai challenged God's people to build the temple after years of apathy and concern only for their own homes. Zechariah called for national spiritual renewal so they would be prepared to worship God upon the temple's completion. These men prophesied, "in the name of the God of Israel who was over them" . That's a powerful set of friends who instigated the apathetic returned exiles back to action after 16 years of pause in the work

I think our biggest problem as people of faith is the assumption that everything is going to work out in our lives with ease after we become Christians. Sure, we will deal with pain and loss, but we should of course expect smooth sailing when we humbly seek to do the Lord’s will. Right?  Nope.  Expect resistance at every season of the Christian experience. I bring your to Ezra 4. The recently returned exiles have set about rebuilding the Temple. The foundation has been laid, the sacrifices have been re-inaugurated, and their leaders are upright men seeking the glory of God. Surely of all people, they deserve some peace and quiet as they set about to do God’s work. But that’s not what happens at all.  Ezra 4:1-2 (ESV) Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the LORD, the God of Israel, [2] they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ houses and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do,

Holding on to the glories of the past can sour the potential of our present. And Ezra 3 provides a picture of this in the last two verses. The exiles have returned to celebrate the feast of booths before the presence of the Lord. And after the festival, the leaders begin to break ground on a new Temple for worship. Ezra 3:10–11 (ESV) And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests in their vestments came forward with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the LORD, according to the directions of David king of Israel. 11 And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.” And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. This was an exciting time for the Jews. Their freedom to worship and enjoy God's presence would soon be a reality again. The people sh

Worship has always been a hallmark of the people of God. And when the exiles return from Babylon, the first order of business was not to settle in homes or establish their businesses. The first order of business was to establish a structure for worship. Ezra 3:1–3 (ESV) When the seventh month came, and the children of Israel were in the towns, the people gathered as one man to Jerusalem. 2 Then arose Jeshua the son of Jozadak, with his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel with his kinsmen, and they built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. 3 They set the altar in its place, for fear was on them because of the peoples of the lands, and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, burnt offerings morning and evening. When Israel worships, they separate themselves from the world around them and become the light to the nations. Notice the statement made in verse three concerning their establ