Ezra 6:19 "And the children of the captivity kept the passover upon the fourteenth day of the first month."
Ezra 6:21-22 "And the children of Israel, which were come again
out of captivity, and all such as had separated themselves unto them from the
filthiness of the heathen of the land, to seek the LORD God of Israel, did eat,
(22) And kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy: for the LORD
had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to
strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of
Israel."
The presence of the Lord was mighty as they completed the work of rebuilding
the temple. We know that when the Lord is present, the blessing of peace and
joy can be experienced through His righteousness. The Lord had blessed them in
many ways during the process of rebuilding. Now it was their blessing to be
able to observe Passover once again in Jerusalem. They offered their lambs.
They were to partake of the meat of the lambs, so the people gathered together for
the Passover meal.
I wonder what was going through their minds. No doubt they rehearsed the events
surrounding the first passover when the Lord delivered them from the bondage of
Egypt. In the very first passover, the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh in
order to show His glorious power. He sent the ten plagues to cause Pharaoh to
eventually, grudgingly release the people.
As they were thinking back to the time of their forefathers, I wonder if they
made the contrast between that original deliverance to the deliverance they had
just experienced. Instead of hardening the king's heart, the Lord softened and
stirred the heart of King Cyrus and King Darius. They willingly allowed
the people to return to Jerusalem for the work of rebuilding the temple.
How does this apply to our lives? We sometimes want to place the Lord in a neat
little box. We want to think He will always act in the same manner as He has in
the past. The truth of the matter is that God deals with us on individual
levels. He knows exactly what we need and how to meet that need according to
His plan for our lives. Could that be the very reason why our prayers
should always include, "Thy will be done."