Wednesday 13th May
Read Ezra 5:11-17
“This is the answer they gave us:
‘We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, one that a great king of Israel built and finished. 12 But because our ancestors angered the God of heaven, he gave them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar the Chaldean, king of Babylon, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon.
13 ‘However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to rebuild this house of God. 14 He even removed from the temple of Babylon the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to the templein Babylon. Then King Cyrus gave them to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he had appointed governor, 15 and he told him, “Take these articles and go and deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem. And rebuild the house of God on its site.”
16 ‘So this Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem. From that day to the present it has been under construction but is not yet finished.’
17 Now if it pleases the king, let a search be made in the royal archives of Babylon to see if King Cyrus did in fact issue a decree to rebuild this house of God in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us his decision in this matter.” (NIVUK)
Besides the eloquence with which the elders of Jerusalem responded to the governor’s demands what is most striking is the forward stance. There is a humble confidence.
They are confident the proof will be found in the unerring bureaucracy of the kingdoms of the plain. A confidence that is not misplaced, given that years later the author of Ezra can quote from the correspondence!
They are also confident enough to admit the destruction and suffering of their people was self-inflicted. Yes, there may have been rebellions against the rulers who claimed sovereignty over the land of Israel and Philistia, but ultimately their destruction arose because they rebelled against their God. It was not because Marduk was more powerful at all. The ‘great God’ of Israel is the one really in charge!
Imagine responding to the demands of a governor like that (cf Acts 26:19-32)?
