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“…he will not fail thee, neither forsake
thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.”
Deuteronomy 31:8
“he hath charged me to build him an house at
Jerusalem…”
Ezra 1:2
In the first year of Cyrus’s reign, “God
stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia” (Ezra 1:1). Cyrus
made a public proclamation that God had charged him to rebuild the
temple. Several things come to mind from this passage in Ezra.
·
Cyrus being king was accomplished in eternity past
before God created the earth and everything in it. God’s plan
included using this pagan king to fulfill His promises to Israel. He
is able to “turn the king’s heart withersoever he sill” (Proverbs
21:1).
·
God kept safe that which Israel thought they had lost.
Cyrus returned to them all the utensils Nebuchadnezzar had taken
from the temple in Jerusalem. Every. Single. One.
Ezra 1:9-11 enumerates
them, and Ezra 9:11 says this was “all” of them.
·
God kept His promises, but it was in His time. More
than 50 years had passed since Nebuchadnezzar overwhelmed Jerusalem,
destroyed the temple and took Judah captive.
During the long captivity, most of the
Israelites had adapted to their “new normal.” They had married,
raised families, built homes and social connections. Many had given
up hope of ever going back to Jerusalem or being used of God again.
But God…
God wasn’t finished with them. He “raised
the spirits” of some of them to go and rebuild the walls of
Jerusalem and the temple. To do the work. And those who remained
behind gave of their abundance to pay for the work to be done.
No, God wasn’t finished with them, and He
isn’t finished with you and me. He hasn’t forgotten His promises.
This is nothing but a season and a chance to grow closer to God than
we have ever been before.
Whatever your position on the Corona
pandemic or the election and however divided our country may seem to
be, God isn’t finished. There is hope for you, for me, for America.
I’m praying for a world revival, but I’m praying most of all for
that revival to start in my own heart.
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