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“How God Moves A Nation” • 10.7.18
• Calvary Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service
Intro.
Text
• Ezra 1:1 : "Now 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, saying," : There is much in this first verse that will help us establish
an introduction to this book. The curtain opens on a curious character and a
prophecy.
- Cyrus, also known as "Cyrus the
Great," is enjoying the first year of his thirty year reign as the King of
the Persian Empire, which co-existed for a time in alliance with the Kingdom of
the Medes.
- These two Kings have just combined to bring
down Belshezzar's Babylon, which you can read about in Daniel 8. King Cyrus may have just risen to power, but his name is
not new Biblically.
- 150 years prior to his existence, the prophet
Isaiah made some stunning statements about Him! Please turn in your Bibles to Isaiah 44.
- In that chapter, God condemns Israel's
commitment to idolatry but promises their eventual restoration. Isaiah closes
that chapter with these verses!
• Isaiah
44:24-28 : "Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, and He who formed you from the womb: 'I am the Lord, who makes all things, who
stretches out the heavens all alone, who
spreads abroad the earth by Myself; Who
frustrates the signs of the babblers, and
drives diviners mad; Who turns wise men
backward, and makes their knowledge
foolishness; Who confirms the word of His
servant, and performs the counsel of His
messengers; Who says to Jerusalem, ‘You shall
be inhabited,’ To the cities of Judah, ‘You
shall be built,’ And I will raise up her waste
places; Who says to the deep, ‘Be dry! And I will dry up your rivers’; Who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd, and he shall perform all My pleasure, saying to Jerusalem, 'You shall be built,' and to the temple, 'Your foundation shall be laid.'"
- God, the Sovereign ruler of all reveals His
character by calling His shots well before they take place and not with a vague
statement.
- He alone declares the end from the beginning
with stunning specificity! (Isaiah 46:10)
- Because of Cyrus the Great's partnership with
the Median Empire, he was also a contemporary of Daniel, who was an aged man at
the time.
- One commentator mentioned finding a quote
from Josephus, which told of Daniel telling Cyrus about this prophecy when he
was 90 years old! I could not find it, but I wouldn't discount it!
- The name of Cyrus is only part of the
Prophetic equation. Whether Daniel spoke of the Isaiah prophecy to the King is
speculative. We do know that He was wrote of Jeremiah's prophecy!
- Daniel
9:1,2 speaks of Daniel realizing that Jeremiah's 70 year timetable had come
to pass and he immediately began to intercede for the people. What was he
referring to?
- God's law commanded the people of Israel to
farm their fields for 6 years. In the 7th year, the land was to be given a
sabbatical, according to Leviticus
25:1-5.
- Unfortunately, God's people were greedy
despite the Lord's ability to give them enough in the 6th year to sustain their
next year. In failing to do that, they earned their sentence.
- Leviticus
26:27-35 spells out their consequence. They will spend a year for every 7th
year that they disobeyed in captivity. Jeremiah
25:8-12 spells it out for them.
•
Jeremiah 25:8-12 : "Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Because you have not
heard My words, behold,
I will send and take all the families of the north,’ says the Lord, ‘and Nebuchadnezzar the king of
Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its
inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy
them, and make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations. Moreover I will take from them the
voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the
voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. And this whole land shall be a
desolation and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of
Babylon seventy years. ‘Then
it will come to pass, when seventy years are completed, that I will punish the
king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their
iniquity,’ says the Lord; ‘and I will make it a perpetual desolation." : At just the right time, to fulfill this prophecy, God stirred
up the spirit of Cyrus. God "roused" his spirit from sleep, moved
upon his heart to fulfill scripture!
- When you read through scripture, you will
find that God is never at a lack when it comes to reaching high government
officials throughout the ancient world.
- Whether it be an Egyptian Pharaoh, a Philistine
Abimelech, an Assyrian, Babylonian or Persian King, the Lord has ways of using
their offices for His purposes!
- He might even be able to move upon an
American, despite the corruption of government!
- In this case, God is about to unleash His
will through the very letter writing voice of the King for the benefit of His
people. We move from the Prophecy to the Proclamation. Verse 2.
• Ezra
1:2-4 : "Thus says Cyrus king of
Persia: 'All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord
God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at
Jerusalem which is in Judah. Who is among you of all
His people? May his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in
Judah, and build the house of the Lord
God of Israel (He is God), which is in Jerusalem. And
whoever is left in any place where he dwells, let the men of his place help him
with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, besides the freewill offerings
for the house of God which is in Jerusalem." : Cyrus rightly credits the Lord for his profound success. He was
at the top of the food chain, but it was by God's doing. He had given him the
reigns.
- For what reason did God grant Him such power?
That He might wield it to bring about the commands of the Lord!
- Position or prosperity in the hands of a Christian
is meant to wield influence in the eyes of the World! His royal proclamation
asserts this. Look at this relationship.
- God has been talking to Him, in fact, the
King has taken what has been said as an order! God has commanded him to take
these actions. We can learn alot from this otherwise heathen King!
- How much more light from revelation do we
have? How much more privilege? You'd think that this would yield a more healthy
respect for His commands and I pray that it eventually does!
- This man understood where He stood before God
and the price of lost revenue or servant supply didn't keep him from calling
out to any of God's people who would listen.
- Who are His people? Let them be free to
return to Judah and put themselves to the building of God's house in Jerusalem!
He is God, Cyrus, the heathen King, writes!
- Additionally, he calls for those that
remained in Persia to aid the effort in whatever way they could. Perhaps it
would be financial, as in silver or gold.
- It might have been with materials or animals
to aid with heavy lifting. It could have been whatever they were willing to
part with to restore the house of God!
- The King is telling them that they might not
be able to physically go, but they will participate in this venture as well.
"Give what you are willing toward the cause." Verse 5.
• Ezra
1:5,6 : "Then the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and
the priests and the Levites, with all whose spirits God had moved, arose to go
up and build the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem. And all those who were around them encouraged them with articles
of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with precious things, besides
all that was willingly offered." :
- We move from the Prophecy, to the
Proclamation, to the Provision!
- The first to accept the challenge are those
with the greatest investment in the land of Judah. Remember that Judah and
Benjamin were the two tribes that made up the land of Judah.
- These household heads remembered their old
land and the life that was theirs to claim. Jerusalem was their capital and the
Temple was their church!
- They were young children when they were
brought to Babylon and while they were physically absent, their hearts never
left!
- Along with these patriarchs came the priests
of the Temple and the Levites. They had never had the chance be what they were
by God's appointment, apart from the Temple!
- Their own roles within God's society as
servants within the Temple defined and elevated the joys of their lives! Can
you imagine what they must have thought when they heard this decree!?
- These were all expecting to return and were
likely counting down the days. God moved in these people to respond, but He did
not move everyone equally.
- Some were moved to return. Some were moved to
encourage those that were to return! These could not go for one reason or
another, so they equipped those that could!
- They gave what they could out of the livings
that they had made in Babylon for those 70 years, a mission given to them by
God through Jeremiah in Jeremiah 29.
- Their success was used by God to willingly
provide for the people whose hearts were moved by God to go! Don't ever think
that your contribution is less than anothers.
- You might be a mover or a sender. Either way,
you are a valuable part of His effort. Verse 7.
• Ezra 1:7-11 : "King
Cyrus also brought out the articles of the house of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken
from Jerusalem and put in the temple of his gods; and Cyrus king of Persia brought
them out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and counted them out to
Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. This is the number of them: thirty gold platters, one thousand
silver platters, twenty-nine knives, thirty gold basins, four hundred and ten silver basins of a
similar kind, and one thousand other articles. All the articles of gold and silver
were five thousand four hundred. All these Sheshbazzar took with the captives
who were brought from Babylon to Jerusalem." : It has been 70 years since these articles saw the light of day!
They've been tucked away in a foreign temple, among the gods that
Nebuchadnezzar worshipped.
- Nebuchadnezzar turned later to be a
worshipper of the true God! This temple was likely a glorified storage
facility!
- Cyrus didn't just make a decree. He put his
money where his mouth was! This is a priceless part of Persia's spoils.
- He didn't keep them but handed the exact
count of them over to those that would oversee the Temple's reconstruction.
- Sheshbazzar, whose name means "Fire
Worshipper," distributed these among the returning captives. We move from
the provision, to the people in chapter 2.
• Ezra 2:1 : "Now these
are the people of the province who came back from the captivity, of those who
had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away
to Babylon, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, everyone to his own city." : What a story of restoration! God's love demanded that they be
disciplined, but His promise demanded that He bring them back and here they
come!
- His hand has sustained them, their culture
and their language for 70 years in a foreign land and now He has moved heaven
and earth to re-plant them in their home.
- This will be the first wave of three that we
will discover through these three books.
- You can relax, we won't read all of the
names, but these were the pioneers, the men and women who despite their age and
the hard work in front of them, responded to God's call home!
- What's significant here is that God preserves
a record of these people for all generations to see! He wants their names to be
seen and known, so do take the time to read them later.
- Verses 2-35
detail Zerubabbel's men. Zerubbabel, whose name means "sown in
Babylon," will be a key figure in the rebuilding of the Temple.
- Verses 36-39
records the nearly 5,000 priests that would dedicate themselves to the work of
the Temple. They are followed by the Levites, singers and gatekeepers mentioned
from verse 40-42.
- Beginning In verse 43, our author introduces us to the Nethinim, the Temple servants
who assisted the Levites in their work, followed by the royal servants of
Solomon in verse 55.
- At verse 59,
there is a group of people whose origins are not quite clear. Consequently,
they would have to wait to discover their heritage by the use of the Priestly
Urim and Thummim.
- This is a little hint to the true revival
that was taking place. They knew that only certain tribes could serve in the
Temple. Without a way of knowing that conclusively, they would await.
- That is the Biblical instruction. On the part
of these people, even though there is no guarantee that they will be granted
their place, they go anyway! God was really moving! Verse 64.
•
Ezra 2:64-70 : "The whole assembly together was
forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty, besides their male and female
servants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven; and
they had two hundred men and women singers. Their horses were seven hundred and
thirty-six, their mules two hundred and forty-five, their camels four hundred and
thirty-five, and their donkeys six thousand seven hundred and twenty. Some of the heads of the fathers’
houses, when they came to the house of the Lord which is in
Jerusalem, offered freely for the house of God, to erect it in its place: According to their ability, they gave to the treasury for
the work sixty-one thousand gold drachmas, five thousand minas of silver, and
one hundred priestly garments. So the priests
and the Levites, some of the people, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the
Nethinim, dwelt in their cities, and all Israel in their cities." : When all were counted, this caravan from Babylon numbered
nearly 50,000 Jewish men and women.
-
They and their animals, which carried the material load, made the 900 mile
journey, which would take them 4 months across the desert to complete!
-
Listen: When God has called you to a life with Him, it will not matter what you
have to give up or where you have to cross! That is what it means for God to
move upon a person.
-
In Christ, there is no hardship equal to the joy of being where He wants you to
be!
-
When they arrived, the Patriarchs were the ones that stepped first toward
providing for the Lord's house. Each gave according to their ability or their
capacity.
-
That is the heart that God desires to see in His people. There were those that
gave little, there were those that gave more, but all that could give, did!
-
When all was told, there is an amazing amount of money here, that I have been
unable to find equivalency for.
-
What I can tell you is that this first wave of people provided the funds for a
nation's startup and they did so without having to be manipulated or cold
called!
-
That willing and giving heart honors God first and makes possible the work of
God. This helped to pay for supplies and for the clothing of the priests and
Levites. Nothing has changed!
-
That little box that sits quietly in the back has rarely been mentioned, but it
has been used!
-
These men knew that their giving made this vision of God a possibility. What?
Didn't God call them to go? Why then didn't He them provide miraculously from
heaven?
-
If none had responded, He would have to fulfill His Word, but because some did,
He providentially moved upon them to respond to give to His call!
-
This isn't at all unprecedented among God's people. When Moses unveiled the
plans of God for the Tabernacle, he called upon them for donation of materials.
-
Exodus 35:5 notes that he asked for
those with a willing heart to give financially or materially to the cause of
it's construction. Verses 20-29
speak of their wonderful outpouring.
-
It became such a habit that in the very next chapter, the construction workers
have to ask Moses to tell the people to stop because they had given more than
enough! (Exodus 36:5)
-
We see the same thing happening here. God has moved upon a group of people and
that movement has motivated the hearts of those people to cooperate and
participate.
Conclusion
- When we
consider Prophecy, we recall that we serve the God of the Universe, who knows
the end from the beginning. Before Cyrus was born, God knew His name and what
he would do.
- When we look
at this Proclamation, we recognize that the King's heart is in the Lord's hands
and that He will move upon any political entity for the sake of His work.
- When we note
the Provision, we remember that God guides and provides for our needs
commensurate with His call!
- When we look
at these People, we rightly thank God for their hearts and pray that we can
some day grow up to be like them, willing to leave everything aside for the
remote and implausible!
- Well, wait a
second! That is what we are doing! We are living on a prophecy that we will one
day live in heaven!
- There has
been a proclamation by our leader, Jesus Christ, who has said that He goes to
prepare a place for us that where He is, there we might also be!
- He has
provided His Spirit which moves upon us to will and to do the will of God,
guiding our hearts and stirring our minds as we follow Him!
- And we are
the people of a much greater list, the Lamb's book of Life, who are willing to
leave behind the familiar and the tangible for a land that seems remote and
implausible!
- Maybe this
story isn't so remote after all!
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