Ezra
2:1 "Now these are the children of the province that went up
out of the captivity, of those which had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar
the king of Babylon had carried away unto Babylon, and came again unto
Jerusalem and Judah, every one unto his city"
The 60 verses that follow verse 1 name the families of the children of Israel
who were freed from captivity to return back to their homeland to rebuild the
temple of the Most High God. A total of 42,360 people were freed to go back to
the appointed work. There is only one way this possibility became a reality:
The Lord God Almighty moved in a mighty way in the heart of Cyrus and all the
people. Make no mistake about this: Our God is able! Do not ever let go
of this mighty truth: Our God is able! Do not lose heart: Our God is
able!
(Ezra 2:63) "And the Tirshatha said unto them, that they
should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim
and with Thummim."
Why was it important for there to be a priest to stand "with Urim
and Thummim"? This was the manner in which God's judgment was
revealed to the nation of Israel. Yes, King Cyrus had said, "Go
build the temple." Yes, there were many people who said, "Go
build the temple." But the judgment of the very One Who truly
mattered was yet to be revealed. When the priest confirmed the judgment
(decision) of the Lord God, then the people would leave to go home. You
would think this would be an automatic. "Go home. Build God's temple.
Return back to your own home and life." But until God gives His
authoritative "yes," their plans would be brought to nothing.
My prayer is that the Lord would always be the final authority in each of our
lives when decisions are made.
(Ezra 2:64-70) "The whole congregation together was forty and
two thousand three hundred and threescore, (65) Beside their
servants and their maids, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred
thirty and seven: and there were among them two hundred singing men and singing
women. (66) Their horses were seven hundred thirty and six; their
mules, two hundred forty and five; (67) Their camels, four hundred
thirty and five; their asses, six thousand seven hundred and twenty.
(68) And some of the chief of the fathers, when they came to the
house of the LORD which is at Jerusalem, offered freely for the house of God to
set it up in his place: (69) They gave after their ability unto the
treasure of the work threescore and one thousand drams of gold, and five
thousand pound of silver, and one hundred priests' garments. (70)
So the priests, and the Levites, and some of the people, and the singers, and
the porters, and the Nethinims, dwelt in their cities, and all Israel in their
cities."
God gave His approval and then began showing He was going to provide for the
trip. Throughout the book, we may be tempted to say, "Cyrus was so
gracious in allowing the people to leave." But I say the only
difference between the free heart of Cyrus and the hard heart of Pharaoh was
God's grace. It was the Lord Who worked all things together for their good. It
was the Lord Who stirred the heart of Cyrus to release the people. It was the
Lord who stirred the hearts of the people to give of their goods unto the
work. It was in response to this grace of the Lord that "the
singers" (those who praised) and "the porters" (those who kept
the doors of the temple) and "the Nethinims" (those who were given to
serve in the temple) went with them and faithfully served in their office.
Questions for today: Are you and I faithfully serving in the office to which Jesus has appointed us? Are we looking unto the Lord to open doors for us to serve? If so, do we willingly walk through those doors?