The Stirring of the Lord - EZRA Start

We have finally come to the other side of Israel's exile in the historical books. Ezra marks the beginning of righteous revival for the people of Israel who returned to the land of Judah 70 years after Nebuchadnezzar's brutal conquest. Just as Chronicles ended, Ezra begins, with the Lord stirring the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia to commission the rebuilding of the Jewish temple:

Ezra 1:1-1 (ESV) In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: 2 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

At this decree, the heads of Israel's tribes begin the long process of heading back to the land with the instruments and utensils necessary to re-establish the worship of the Lord. 

Ezra 1:5 (ESV) Then rose up the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the LORD that is in Jerusalem.

What the text doesn't mention in this book is the temple was built 24 years later and there was also another time frame between the rebuilt Temple, Nehemiah's walls, and Ezra's ministry. You see, the book of Ezra doesn't pick up right from the people's return. Actually, Ezra was part of the second wave of three who reinhabited the land about 80 years after the first exiles returned and rebuilt the temple under Nehemiah. 

Guess what happened between Cyrus's decree and Ezra's ministry? The people fell into sin AGAIN!

I share all this to show you that Ezra's ministry came at the exact time Israel was about to descend into pagan hedonism all over again. Surely those in Ezra's day would have said the end is near, there's really no hope, this nation will never get it together. I bet many saw the evil of the nation as a sign that complete decay was inevitable. 

But that's where you'd be wrong. Ezra's ministry is a call to holy living and righteous reform. He instigates a sweeping national revival in the city and brings the people back to the Word of God and the law of God. What would have appeared hopeless for the nation became a glorious revival for a generation. All of this proves one thing that has been seen in history over and over again - God always has a people and always has a revival ready to bring them back. 

I say this because times in the cultural west seem dark. The nations that were once built on Judeo-Christian values have turned aside from these and served the wickedness of the age. Sexual confusion dominates the educational, entertainment, and political systems. Christian faith and church attendance continue to plummet. Surely the end is coming for the Church and all hope is lost until Christ returns, right? 

No. There's always a revival awaiting the dark times of human history. God has the ability to once again STIR UP the hearts of pagan kings and STIR UP the hearts of Elders in the Churches and STIR UP reformers like Ezra who will call the people of God back to the heart of God. 

I don't know about you, but that is MY PRAYER. God, please stir up a sweeping global revival. For if you do not step in, we are lost and doomed. But as You, Oh Lord have done before, DO IT AGAIN and bring a great harvest of souls the world over back to You. 

Amen.