THE GOOD HAND OF GOD WORKING THROUGH FATHERS WHO ANSWER THE CALL-Part 1

Devotional 4

(EZRA 1:5-2:70)

5 Then the heads of fathers' households of Judah and Benjamin and the priests and the Levites arose, even everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up and rebuild the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem. 6 All those about them encouraged them with articles of silver, with gold, with goods, with cattle and with valuables, aside from all that was given as a freewill offering. 7 Also King Cyrus brought out the articles of the house of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and put in the house of his gods; 8 and Cyrus, king of Persia, had them brought out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and he counted them out to Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah. 9 Now this was their number: 30 gold dishes, 1,000 silver dishes, 29 duplicates; 10 30 gold bowls, 410 silver bowls of a second kind and 1,000 other articles. 11 All the articles of gold and silver numbered 5,400. Sheshbazzar brought them all up with the exiles who went up from Babylon to Jerusalem.

Leaders I have heard are not born but made. To some degree I agree, in others I do not. I believe there are those whom God has created with a natural ability to lead. While work is needed to hone their skills they are leaders from birth. I believe the difference is made up in the preparation process. Those who are born to lead will lead only as effectively as they are trained to lead. At the same time I also believe there are those who are good, strong and effective leaders who do not have this natural talent. But because of their willingness to learn from their instruction, they become every bit successful as the natural born leader. It’s all in the willingness to place into practice what was taught. This week I would like for us to look at the good hand of God working through those who answer the call, in particular fathers.

The first things we see regarding those who answer God’s call were the “heads of fathers’ households”. The heads of the fathers’ households were any number of male leadership areas but always in regards to family and marriage. The list of these men can be found in Ezra 2:1-35. We will deal with chapter 2:1-2 more in depth later. The three areas this would cover were those who were the heads of clans. Today we would view this as extended family. Mostly the father whose family has grown up and moved on with life would be considered the head of the extended family or clan. Then it covers those who were actual fathers whose children still live at home. The third group it covered was those who were husbands even if there were no children involved. These would be considered the heads of the father’s households. The responsibilities for these men can be found in Deuteronomy 6:4-15 were it states:

4 "Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! 5 "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 " These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7 " You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. 8 " You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. 9 " You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. 10 "Then it shall come about when the LORD your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you, great and splendid cities which you did not build, 11 and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you eat and are satisfied, 12 then watch yourself, that you do not forget the LORD who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 13 "You shall fear only the LORD your God; and you shall worship Him and swear by His name. 14 "You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you, 15 for the LORD your God in the midst of you is a jealous God; otherwise the anger of the LORD your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth.

Notice the areas of responsibilities laid out for these men. First, in verses 4 they were to recognize God’s unity. God is one and He is Lord. Compare this with Egypt where this group came from and with Babylon were the group from Ezra came from. They were what we call polytheistic societies. They believed in more than one god, but Yahweh calls His men to recognize Him alone as God and Lord over all. Second, verse 5 lays out that these men were to love God with their whole being. Their very hearts were to beat with the purpose and passion of Yahweh, God of Heaven and Earth. Third, verses 6-9 details how that the fathers were to be involved with teaching the Word of God to their families, in particular to their children. It was not to be left up to the priest and Levites alone. Dad had to be occupied with this task. Forth, verses 10-12 states that the fathers were to constantly remind their children of all that God had done and of His loving redemption from slavery in Egypt. He would teach them all they had was given to them as a gift and they themselves did nothing to gain it. The New Testament calls this grace. Verse 13 brings out that the fathers were to also communicate the need for a relationship with Yahweh. The word “fear “is used here indicating the need to respect and reverence God at the highest level. They were to worship Him and bind (“swear”) themselves to Him alone. Finally, in verses 14-15 the fathers were to lead their families in following God alone. No other Gods were to be placed before them, they were not to worship them, and they were not to honor or pay homage to them. Their hearts, souls and minds were to belong completely and totally to Yahweh.

This was the responsibility of the “heads of fathers’ households” in the days of Moses. It was also the commission of the people of Israel who were to return to the land in the days of Ezra. As can be seen nothing had changed. In fact because there was no temple this was possibly insinuated even greater. Fathers were to be involved in their family’s lives on every level.

Today, nothing has changed. As we look out across the landscape of our culture we are constantly reminded of the fact that fatherless homes lead to corrupted societies. With the spread of the homosexual community because of lazy or non-existent fathers our culture finds itself falling apart. We are caught in a whirlpool of destructive behaviors and total disregard for what is right. Only as fathers get involved with their families can our civilization be saved. These men must be men who recognize God as Lord; live with a passion and love for God; teach their children through example along with words that God and His word is extremely important (they are engaged with their families); show a loving relationship with a loving Heavenly Father; and worship God alone, not allowing anything into the home which may distract from true service to God as a family. This is what a father does. He does not work all day, come home, set on the couch, demand his dinner in one hand and drink in the other, flip on the television and set there while his family waste away. If you have a problem with what I am saying then you need to take it up with God and the Bible.

So as we approach Father’s Day lets celebrate and be engaged with our families. I believe Father’s Day is not only to honor dad’s, but also serves as a remind to those men who have taken up this responsibility of the grave consequences of what will happen if the father’s chose not to be connected with their families.

Let me know your thoughts.

God Bless,

Steven

Next time Ezra 1:5-11, SEEING THE GOOD HAND OF GOD AT WORK THROUGH RELIGIOUS AUTHORITY WHO ANSWER THE CALL-Part 2

Unless otherwise noted all verses quoted are from the New American Standard Version.

SEEING THE GOOD HAND OF GOD USE A PAGAN-Part 2

DEVOTIONAL 3

Ezra 1:1-4

¹ Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying: ² "Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, 'The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. ³ 'Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him! Let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah and rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem. ⁴ 'Every survivor, at whatever place he may live, let the men of that place support him with silver and gold, with goods and cattle, together with a freewill offering for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.' "

I use to have a pastor that I considered a real smart-aleck. There would be times in which things would be going bad and I naturally complained, “I just don’t understand! Why is this happening to me?” With that he would look at me and say, “Why not you?”

Here in this passage we see God using a pagan to carry out His intention. “Why would God do such a thing?” you may ask. I will go back to my philosopher/smart-aleck pastor, “Why not use a pagan?” There are some things in the passage we need to look at regarding how God uses this pagan named Cyrus. First, we may simply state that God uses whom He chooses. In verse 1 it states that God does this when He “stirred up the spirit of Cyrus.” The root word used for “stirred up” means to make bare or to open up in the since of cutting open. It is used here and in verse 5 were God stirred the spirits of the people upon hearing this news to return Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple. It is also used in Haggai 1:14 where the prophet states, “So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the LORD of hosts, their God,”. This means that he laid Cyrus’ heart open to the idea of sending His people back to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. It is important to see the parallel between Cyrus and Pharaoh in Exodus. In Exodus Pharaoh hardened his heart and lost his kingdom. Here Cyrus opens his heart and he is given greater strength throughout his kingdom.

This pagan king also places this action in “writing.” The word for “writing” here means it was an official document. Clay jars called “Cyrus’ jars” with similar decrees to other nations were found. The idea of a “proclamation” would have been something were a “town crier” made the announcement but the jars were delivered to heads of state. This was evidence that the “town crier” was not just shouting out his own interpretation of what the king said.

The third thing we can see is that this pagan king recognized a limited sovereignty of the God of Israel. Why do I say limited? Because a careful study of even the English versions of the Bible will note that he is not fully recognizing God’s universal sovereignty but a localized sovereignty. In verse 2 he does say that Yahweh is the “God of heaven” but that can be interpreted as a god of the heavens. He does state that this God “has given me all the kingdoms of the earth” but again a careful look will realize that his idea is that He gave him all of the kingdoms of that region who worshiped Him. Some of the kinsman nations of Israel recognized Yahweh and worshipped Him but in a very limited sense. In order to understand this fully, look at the proclamation a little closer. In verse 3 Cyrus states, “may his God be with him”; he makes no claims of Yahweh being his God, but rather the God of the Jews. Also later in verse 3 he calls God “the God who is in Jerusalem.” Again he is localizing Yahweh. This is proof that Cyrus does not know nor does he really understand Yahweh. This the has similar sounds of Darius king of the Medes in Daniel 6:25-28 were he states, “Then Darius the king wrote to all the peoples, nations and men of every language who were living in all the land: " May your peace abound! 26 "I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom men are to fear and tremble before the God of Daniel; For He is the living God and enduring forever, And His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed, And His dominion will be forever. 27 "He delivers and rescues and performs signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, Who has also delivered Daniel from the power of the lions." 28 So this Daniel enjoyed success in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.”

Last God uses a pagan to supply for the needs of His people. This is God’s good hand of provision at work. In verse 4 Cyrus ordered those who live around the Jewish communities to provide the financing, food, and material for the journey and the venture itself. Because of this Yahweh, the God of the heavens and earth, Creator of all that is, has defeated the gods of Babylon and Persia. There are some other parallels between this and the Exodus. In Exodus God chose Moses, here God chooses Cyrus. There God chose a Jew, here God chooses a pagan. God chose a slave while here God chooses a king. In the Exodus God’s people are brought out of a specific place to a specific place. Here God’s people are called from the four corners of the Earth for a specific task. In both places God uses the treasures of the people in distant lands to fund and finance His people. Exodus 12:25-36 notes, “Now the sons of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, for they had requested from the Egyptians articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; 36 and the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have their request. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.” Later as the children of Israel prepared to enter the Promise Land Yahweh through Moses declares in Deuteronomy 6:10-13, “Then it shall come about when the LORD your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you, great and splendid cities which you did not build, 11 and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, and olive trees which you did not plant, and you eat and are satisfied, 12 then watch yourself, that you do not forget the LORD who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 13 "You shall fear only the LORD your God; and you shall worship Him and swear by His name.” God provided for His people through what was already built and developed.

There are also some parallels between how God works here and would work in the future regarding His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Here God chooses to use a king, with His Son it was a lowly carpenter. Here it was a pagan, later it would be the divine God come as a man. Here God chooses to call His people from the four corners of the Earth for a specific task. Today He chooses to call His people to tell of His Son the Lord Jesus throughout the four corners of the Earth.

Now allow me to draw us to the application. In this passage God chooses to use a pagan to carry out His intentions. He used the political powers of the day in order to carry out His plans. While those who are in power may not totally and completely recognize God in His Sovereignty it does not assuage God from using this mortal man. As a result His people are given the necessary provisions to carry out His work. As we prepare to go through this 2008 political year there are several things to remember. First, while we should be a people who vote our moral convictions and not our pocket book, God will use whoever is in power for His glory. Second, regardless of their theological standing we must be willing to be involved to help guide their thoughts regarding carrying out the will of God. Third, we must hold a very strong view of God’s Sovereignty and understand that God is in the process of fulfilling His word prophetically. He will use the pagans to provide for His people in order to move forward with His work.

Question: What are your concerns with this political season? Does knowing and understanding that God is in control help you to stay the course in terms of conviction and not play “politics” just so your candidate will get in? Are you ready to get involved so that those who come to power will at least have some kind of understanding of who God is and what He is doing in the world around us?

Your comments are welcomed.

God Bless,

Steven

Next time Ezra 1:5-11, SEEING THE GOOD HAND OF GOD AT WORK THROUGH THOSE WHO ANSWER THE CALL

Unless otherwise noted all verses quoted are from the New American Standard Version