Restored Trust

EZRA 6 Page 462

A Joyful person is one who, trusts in the ways of a mighty God.

We again see the sovereignty of God.

This character of God is one that can be mined over and over again and we would never come up wanting.

His control over all creation has so many applications for our life.

Cinnamon role

That perhaps is the most basic lesson of all in this chapter.

It's simply that God rules.

And if that is so, what does that teach us as those who are His people?

That we should trust Him.

We see God's rules so clearly throughout this chapter.

In This section of Ezra we see...

A joyful person trusts in:

His providential care for us.

God’s remarkable providential care for His people underlies this entire account.

Tattenai had sent his letter to Darius, expecting the king to send back orders to shut down this work at once.

God’s providence is seen in the very fact of the king finding the decree of Cyrus from some 18 years before.

They did not find it at Babylon, but rather in the fortress in Ecbatana, Cyrus’ summer residence.

God’s providential care is further seen in that Darius did not say, “I don’t care what my predecessor said. I command you to stop this rebellious work at once!”

Ezra 6:6 “6 “Now therefore, Tattenai, governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and your associates the governors who are in the province Beyond the River, keep away.”

Rather, he not only told Tattenai to keep away from the project (6:6),

but also to fund the project out of his tax revenues (6:8–9)!

Ezra 6:8-9 “8 Moreover, I make a decree regarding what you shall do for these elders of the Jews for the rebuilding of this house of God. The cost is to be paid to these men in full and without delay from the royal revenue, the tribute of the province from Beyond the River. 9 And whatever is needed—bulls, rams, or sheep for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, or oil, as the priests at Jerusalem require—let that be given to them day by day without fail,”

And, to add some motivation,

he decreed that anyone who violated his edict should be impaled on a timber drawn from his house,

and the house should be made a heap of rubble!

He added the wish that the God who has caused His name to dwell there would overthrow any king or people who attempted to destroy this house of God (6:11–12).

Ezra 6:11-12 “11 Also I make a decree that if anyone alters this edict, a beam shall be pulled out of his house, and he shall be impaled on it, and his house shall be made a dunghill. 12 May the God who has caused his name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who shall put out a hand to alter this, or to destroy this house of God that is in Jerusalem. I Darius make a decree; let it be done with all diligence.””

God’s providential care is further alluded to in the mention that the building was completed according to God’s command, and also “the decree of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes” (6:14).

Why does Ezra mention Artaxerxes, who reigned about 50 years after the completion of the temple?

Probably he did it for political protocol, in that Artaxerxes was the reigning king when Ezra wrote.

Since he had been kind enough to issue a decree for the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls,

Ezra wanted to give him credit in case he read this account.

God’s providential working is directly stated in Ezra 6:22, “22 And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy, for the Lord had made them joyful and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, so that he aided them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.”

It is unusual to refer to the Persian king as the king of Assyria.

Perhaps Ezra did this to remind Israel that Assyria, Israel’s former enemy,

had been conquered by the Persians whose king was friendly toward Israel (Stan Evers, Doing a Great Work [Evangelical Press], p. 64).

Behind all these remarkable events was God’s mighty hand, turning the king’s heart like channels of water wherever He wishes (Prov. 21:1).

Newscaster Paul Harvey told a remarkable story of God’s providential care over thousands of allied prisoners during World War II, many of whom were Christians. One of America’s mighty bombers took off from the island of Guam headed for Kokura, Japan, with a deadly cargo. Because clouds covered the target area, the sleek B-29 circled for nearly an hour until its fuel supply reached the danger point. The captain and his crew, frustrated because they were right over the primary target yet not able to fulfill their mission, finally decided they had better go for the secondary target. Changing course, they found that the sky was clear. The command was given, “Bombs away!” and the B-29 headed for its home base. Some time later an officer received some startling information from military intelligence. Just one week before that bombing mission, the Japanese had transferred one of their largest concentrations of captured Americans to the city of Kokura. Upon reading this, the officer exclaimed, “Thank God for that protecting cloud! If the city hadn’t been hidden from the bomber, it would have been destroyed and thousands of American boys would have died.”

God’s ways are behind the scenes; but He moves all the scenes which He is behind. We have to learn this, and let Him work. - John Nelson Darby

Matt. 10:29–31 “29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

Do you see and rejoice in God’s providential care for you in every little as well as major thing that happens to you?

Jesus told us that not one sparrow falls to the ground apart from the Father, and that He even knows the number of the hairs on our heads.

Therefore, we should not fear, but should trust in God

His disciples should not be afraid as they embark on their mission in this world, because of the Father’s unrelenting sovereign supervision over their lives, as testified in 10:29–31.

The “sparrow” is proverbially the smallest of creatures and the penny (assarion) is one of the smallest and least in value of the Roman coins (cf. quadrans in 5:26).

If the heavenly Father gives constant sovereign supervision to such insignificant creatures,

surely he will for mission-disciples whose every detail,

even to the number of hairs on their head, he knows.

It is to these disciples that their Father has sent his beloved Son (3:17),

so he will surely give them absolute sovereign care.

Do not fear when persecution comes, for God is aware and in control.

Since we are the living stones with which Jesus is now building His temple, the church,

we can rest assured that He orders all things for our ultimate good.

He will not discard or forget about His chosen people.

His provision for us.

Ezra 6:13 “13 Then, according to the word sent by Darius the king, Tattenai, the governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates did with all diligence what Darius the king had ordered.”

Tattenai and his colleagues did not diligently carry out the king’s decree to fund the rebuilding of the temple out of his tax revenues (6:13) because they thought it was a great idea!

They did it with all diligence because they didn’t care for the alternative of being impaled on a timber from their houses.

God used the decree of a pagan king to provide the materials for the temple and even the animals and other items for the sacrifices (6:9).

King Darius was trying to cover all his bases by having the local people pray to their gods on behalf of him and his sons (6:10).

Ezra 6:10 “10 that they may offer pleasing sacrifices to the God of heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons.”

But God used the king’s religious superstitions to provide for His people.

The Lord does not usually use pagan governments as the main source of material support for His church.

But however He provides, whether through the tax breaks we receive from our government as a charitable, non-profit organization, or through the generous giving of the Lord’s people,

God is the one who provides for His church as we wait upon Him through faith and prayer.

God sees our needs (Genesis 16: 7-13 Page 13)

Genesis 16:7-13 “7 The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” 9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” 11 And the angel of the Lord said to her, “Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has listened to your affliction. 12 He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.” 13 So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.””

Genesis 16:15 “15 And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.”

Ishmael means “God hears.” By giving this name to Hagar’s son, God was saying that he hears the cry of the afflicted.

Since Hagar was heard, she undoubtedly understood the importance of this name. But notice:

When she reflected on what had happened to her by the spring on the road to Shur,

she heightened it somewhat.

She did not rest content with the truth that God hears and had actually heard her, though that was true.

The God who had heard her was also the God who had first seen her,

who had seen the rebellion of her heart. She called God “the One who sees me.

”Are you aware that God ELroi sees you?

Right where you are? He does.

He sees you as you are and where you are.

He sees where you have come from and where you are going.

He sees what you need and what you do not need.

Above all, he sees what he wants to make of you and how that final, glorious product is to be achieved.

You cannot see it.

But it is precisely for that reason that you must lay your own wisdom aside

and return to the path God has given you to walk in.

And know that God is there providing and protecting you.

God provides in unexpected ways (Genesis 22:9-14 Page 19)

Genesis 22:9-14 “9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.””

And this is what happened. Father and son climbed the mountain. An altar was built. Wood was placed on the altar. After binding Isaac and laying him on the altar, Abraham raised his knife to kill his son. But at this very moment, God intervened to say, “Do not lay a hand on the boy. Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son” (Gen. 22:12).

Abraham then saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket.

Realizing that God had provided the ram for the sacrifice, he took it and offered it in his son’s stead.

Abraham named the place Jehovah Jireh, that is, “Jehovah will see to it,” as indeed he had.

God had seen to Abraham’s problem.

But since the tense of this name is future rather than past (“will see” rather than “saw”),

Abraham was not merely thinking of his own past experience;

he was also reflecting on the fact that it is God’s abiding character that prompts him to see to our problems and that at his appointed time he would undoubtedly provide for the great problem of sin.

God would provide a Savior.

Let’s always remember that our God is ‘Jehovah Jireh’-  The Lord who provides.

Friends, this whole chapter, in fact, the whole book of Ezra just screams out for us to trust God when we don't fully understand.

The Joy is not necessary find out why, but joy comes when we We should trust and Follow Christ.

I read a quote from John Bunyan writes,

“When we think His mercy is clean gone, and that ourselves are free among the dead, and of the number that He remembers no more, then He can reach us. This should encourage them that for the present cannot stand, but that they do fly before their guilt, them that feel no help nor stay. I will say before thee, and I pray thee, hear me, O the length of the saving arm of God! As yet thou art within the reach thereof. Do not thou go about to measure arms with God?

I mean, do not thou conclude that because thou canst not reach God by thy short stump, therefore He cannot reach thee with His long arm? Look again! Hast thou an arm like God? It becomes thee, when thou canst not perceive that God is within the reach of thy arm, then to believe that thou art within the reach of His. For it is long, and none knows how long.”

We are never out of reach of the arm of a sovereign God.

Friend, you realize there are no circumstances in your life right now

that stop God from being able to get to you in judgment or in blessing.

You can't be so rich that He can't touch your body in a moment.

And you can't be so poor/persecuted that He can't find you

and give you the sweetest fellowship with Him

and the most radiant eternal blessings even beginning in this life.

We can't protect ourselves from His providence or hide from His rule.

We can't get ourselves in such trouble that we are beyond His finding us.

These books of Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther bring us to the end of the record of the history of the Old Testament.

And they leave us there as the people of God,

having known God's blessing and known God's judgment and God's mercy,

now waiting for the coming of the greatest blessing God would ever give,

the coming Savior and Judge, the one who would come first in mercy and then return a final time to judge.

Friends, that blessing is for you today.

If you know what your situation is and that you have acted in such a way that deserves God's judgment, you can also become an object of His mercy.

If you will turn from your sins and trust in Him.

There are literally hundreds of people around you that would love to help you understand what this could mean in your own life.

El-Shaddai, El-Shaddai (God Almighty, God Almighty) El-Elyon na Adonai (God in the highest, Oh, Lord) Age to age, You're still the same By the power of the name. El-Shaddai, El-Shaddai (God Almighty, God Almighty) Erkamka na Adonai (We will love You, Oh, Lord) We will praise and lift You high El-Shaddai (God Almighty)