January 4, 2011

Ezra 4
If God can move the heart of Cyrus the Great, king of Persia to order and finance the rebuilding of the temple, surely he can also move upon the hearts of the people living in Jerusalem upon the return of the Jews. Why doesn’t he do that? Surely He is able. Therefore, this is something He has permitted. Why does He do things like that? Even in the midst of God accomplishing His grand scheme in history, He still seeks to do it in such a way that He causes us that we willingly bring our own hearts for the accomplishment of His plans. The time span from the death of Cyrus the Great to the ascension of Darius I is about 8 years. Therefore the minimum amount of time from Cyrus’ decree for the Jews to return to the incident recorded in today’s passage is a minimum of 8 years. In all likelihood it was at least 12 years. Motyer figures that it was 18 years from Cyrus’ decree to when Haggai proclaimed his prophecies exhorting the people to finish the temple.
Why after 8-12 years was only the foundation of the temple built? The answer is found in our own hearts that are easily dissuaded from following the Lord. The Lord is showing us how easily we can be discouraged and stop the work that He has called us to do. It can come in the form of direct opposition as it did from the people who discouraged the returnees when they wrote a letter to Darius. But the returnees had already been dragging their feet. I would think that 8-10 years was more than enough time to build more than just a foundation. Why doesn’t the Lord move the obstacles? He wants to show the people their hearts first. That is part of His glory. He desires to change our hearts with our cooperation. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John