It's that time again! We are back in the book of Ezra this week in chapter six! Last week we wrapped up the first half of this book. In today's study we are breaking this chapter up into four sections. If you have not taken the time yet to read this chapter, please do so. This is not a line by line study, so it will help you if you have read through the chapter already. I am excited to dive deeper into this book today!
Verses 1-12 Darius's Decree
The first twelve verses are so awesome! I love when things like this happen in a story, only this time it is a historic, true story that actually took place just as it reads here. Remember Governor Tatnai wanted king Darius to search Babylon to make sure it was okay for the builders to work on the project they had been working on for years? King Darius did so and he found in the palace at Achmetha in the Medes' province a roll that recorded all king Cyrus had ordered to be done. In verse six king Darius addresses Tatnai and his companions that they are to leave the workers alone who are rebuilding the house of God. He goes further to say, "And you Governor Tatnai will pay tribute to these workers and they are not to be hindered from working on this building!" He keeps going! He says, "If they need anything, young bullocks, rams, or lambs for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, let it be given to them without fail every single day!!!" Verse 10 says he wants them to have enough to offer sacrifices of sweet savour to God in heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons. He knows what the God of heaven can do! And he wraps it up in a neat little bow by adding that if anyone tries to change what the king has decreed, their house is to be torn up so they can create gallows to hang them on and then their home will become a pile of dung. Finally in verse 12, king Darius says what God will do to anyone who tries to interfere and he ended with LET IT BE DONE WITH SPEED! Enough said!!
Verses 13-15 Completed Temple
The temple was finally completed about 70 years after it was destroyed. They were no longer a nation but they were able to establish their identity as the remnant of Israel in this region as the community of the Jerusalem temple.
Verses 16-18 Temple Dedication
Verse 16 says they kept the house of God with joy. For the dedication of the temple, they offered 100 bullocks, 200 rams, and 400 lambs. For Israel's sin offering they offered 12 male goats: one for each tribe of Israel. They did everything according to what Moses had written regarding the priests. I can only imagine the jubilee in the hearts of those who saw the project finally come together. The offerings for dedication and to sacrifice for sins must have been so special in this rebuilt temple of God. They all chose to keep the house of God with joy. No one was doing it because they were made to. It was a choice to participate and it was a choice to do so with joy. Are we choosing good things to honor God? Are we doing so with joy?
Verses 19-22 Passover Celebration
The children of Israel did what God had asked. They completed the project and they separated themselves from the pagans that were in that area. In order to worship the Holy God of heaven the Jews were to be Holy too and they could not be Holy if they joined in sacrificing to idols, participating in child sacrifice, telling fortunes, talking to the dead, and practicing witchcraft. The Jews had the choice to join others who did these things, or to abandon any such ways and follow hard after God. The ones who wanted to do both or were unwilling to let go of the idolatry practices were excluded from this community. The choice was theirs.
Today we have a choice to make. We can follow other people, copy their clothing choices, decorate our houses like them, cook the same foods, and believe society's lies that we are enough on our own. We can buy into the notion that we make our own destiny and that we have so much power and we don't need to serve God when we have everything we need right inside of us. The lies are subtle enough that even Christians are repeating some of the same things. I saw a picture of a woman and her beautiful children and she said she was a Christian. She said, "We are not meek. We are called!" Friends, Jesus was meek! He says so in Matthew 11:29 "Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." Yes we can be bold for Jesus and we are definitely called if we are in the family of God, but we are to be meek. We are to learn who Jesus is and live like He did. We have nothing to prove to the world. We do not need men or women's applause! We need God in heaven to look down upon us and see that we are working toward His goals, His plans, His designs and then we will hear Him say, Well done!
I am so tired of seeing things like "Girl Power," "Believe In Yourself," "Trust Your Heart," "You Are Enough." If we had the power then what would we need to trust God for? If we believe in ourselves then we are not believing in God. Our hearts are not to lead us. Jeremiah 17:9 says "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" Please do not trust your heart and do not follow it. Trust Holy Spirit and follow Jesus. I am not here to make anyone feel bad about themselves. I am not here to make anyone believe a lie, either. You are not enough. I am not enough. If we were enough then Jesus died in vain. He died because we all had a debt too big for us to pay. Sacrificing animals did not cleanse us. Nothing could ever expunge our debt but the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Make no mistake we are not enough! We will never be enough. We cannot earn salvation. We are saved by grace. God's great love and tender mercy purchased our redemption through the blood of Jesus. The truth is we are NOTHING without the Savior.
Most of us have read enough of the Bible to know that the sweet spirit of obedience the children of Israel were walking in did not continue long. Soon they were led astray because they wanted what the world around them had. For those who refused to surrender to God's authority and love, they perished in their sins and were forever separated from God. We don't have to be like them. We can choose to follow hard after God. If we lose some friends, then we lose some friends. If we don't get invited to certain events, it is okay. If we are called names and rejected, remember, they are not rejecting us: they are rejecting Jesus. Please do not let this world's fake beauty blind you to the wonderful treasures that await God's people! Mark 8:36 says, "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
Thank you for joining me for another Bible study. I always enjoy taking a deeper look into scripture. Leave a comment below if you are joining along. I always appreciate the texts, emails, and comments I hear about ways this blog has encouraged you in some way. Check back in with me tomorrow as we count our blessings and then again on Friday as we kick off the weekend with something to ponder! Have a wonderful day! Hope something I have shared today has given you strength for your journey and light for your way! God bless you!
~Bridgett Owens
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