Wednesday 29th April
Read Ezra 1:7-11
“Moreover, King Cyrus brought out the articles belonging to the temple of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his god. 8 Cyrus king of Persia had them brought by Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah.
9 This was the inventory:
| gold dishes | 30 |
| silver dishes | 1,000 |
| silver pans | 29 |
| 10 gold bowls | 30 |
| matching silver bowls | 410 |
| other articles | 1,000 |
11 In all, there were 5,400 articles of gold and of silver. Sheshbazzar brought all these along with the exiles when they came up from Babylon to Jerusalem.” (NIVUK)
Events almost always have two perspectives.
From the Jewish perspective, Jerusalem was destroyed by Babylon because of their sin and idolatry as a punishment from Yahweh. The destruction and looting of the temple was devastating as they lost the capacity to meet with and worship their God.
From the Babylonian perspective, the sacking of Jerusalem was simply good business. Immense amounts of gold and silver were stripped from the city resulting in a shift towards a dominance of silver in the currency for general daily transactions in the years and decades following the exile.
This extraction of gold and silver from the city, and conversion into currency, was relatively routine. This renders the return of the temple artefacts, intact, surprising evidence of God’s sovereignty. Even amidst suffering and judgment, the utensils with which God’s people once worshipped and honoured Him, were preserved and returned to the city – alongside the command to rebuild the temple in which they were to be used.
How do you view events in your life?
