God's Provision

Introduction

Between the years of 607 and 586 BC, Judah faced three invasions and sieges by the Babylonian army. With each of these sieges, Babylon would take more and more Jews into captivity, until eventually all but a handful were removed from Jerusalem and taken into Babylonian captivity.

Jerusalem was destroyed, the Temple emptied and torn down. The people of God were led away humiliated and defeated by a pagan nation. God seemingly abandoned them.

If they would have listened to the words of the prophets they would have known that this was to take place. Isaiah warned them and called them to repent, and they did not listen. Jeremiah warned them and continued preaching and warning them even when Babylon came against Judah. They would have known that it was not God that abandoned them, they abandoned God and His commands. They worshipped other gods, forsook the Sabbath years, and played the harlot.

Because of this, God did exactly what He promised He would do in Deuteronomy 28 and Jeremiah 25.

Deuteronomy 28:36

Deuteronomy 28:36 ESV

“The Lord will bring you and your king whom you set over you to a nation that neither you nor your fathers have known. And there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone.

God disciplined Israel for their sins and disobedience.

This exile would last for seventy years, just as the prophet Jeremiah declared in Jeremiah 25:11 “This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.”

These seventy years were long and painful. If you have read Daniel you would know just how hard it was to remain faithful to YHWH. The kings of Babylon thought that their gods were greater than YHWH because Judah was defeated. Many of the Jews would end up bowing down to false gods and idols. They probably felt as if God had abandoned them.

But God was faithful to them through out the exile. He closed the mouths of lions, preserving Daniel. He delivered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the fiery furnace. Made Nebuchadnezzar go mad to show His sovereignty over all kings. Not one moment in the seventy years of captivity were the people of God abandoned by God. God remained faithful to them and His words.

Why does this all matter? Because Ezra begins with a decree that was prophesied to take place years before it happened by a king that was prophesied by name 150 years before he was even born.

Main Point: God is Faithful

Teaching Points:

God is Faithful to His word

God is Faithful to His people

God is Faithful to His Word

Ezra 1:1–4 ESV

In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and 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. And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.”

These four verses shows us God is faithful to His word in four ways:

a. The King of Persia (v 1)

Isaiah prophecies in Isaiah 45:1-6

Isaiah 45:1–6 (ESV)

Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed: “I will go before you and level the exalted places,

I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name.

For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know me. I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other.

150 years before Cyrus was born, God prophecies and declares that He will use Cyrus to defeat Babylon and it will be for His people Israel. This is exactly what happens. Babylon is defeated by the Medo-Persian Empire, led by Cyrus the Great, in 539 BC. God declared through Isaiah that he would raise up Cyrus and bring victory to him. And in Jeremiah 25:12–13 “Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, declares the Lord, making the land an everlasting waste. I will bring upon that land all the words that I have uttered against it, everything written in this book, which Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations.”

b. The Declaration (v 2-3)

Cyrus declares that God has charged him to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. This is huge! The Temple is going to be rebuilt after 70 years! Not only does God raise Cyrus up to destroy Babylon, He raises Cyrus up to rebuild His Temple! Jeremiah 29:10-14

Jeremiah 29:10–14 (ESV)

“For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

Cyrus’ declaration brought about God’s promise of hope and restoration. The Temple will be rebuilt and the people of God will be able to once again worship their God. The previous seventy years were a time of refining and now the Jews will genuinely worship and seek the Lord.

They are allowed to return to their own land and worship their God. God was faithful to His promise

c. The Magnifying of God (2-3)

Cyrus was raised up so that God’s name would be known throughout the world. Cyrus calls God by His name YHWH twice in verses 2 and 3 as well as the title “God of heaven” elevating God to the King of all creation and supreme. He declares God’s might and power and that He is God and sovereign over all kings, including himself.

In Isaiah’s prophecy regarding Cyrus, God says, “I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other.”

Cyrus’ decree goes to his whole kingdom so that everyone is able to read and see the magnificence of God. God is made known to people that otherwise would not have heard of him. His glory shines forth and is not overshadowed by the gods of any other nation.

During a time where the king is often times viewed and worshipped as a god themselves, Cyrus, the king of the Persian Empire, declares to all the inhabitants that there is a God who has given him everything, and has commanded HIM to do something. And that God is YHWH, the God of Heaven, and the God of Israel.

d. The Provisions (v 4)

The inhabitants are instructed to give provisions to the Jews to help rebuild the temple. Not only does God charge Cyrus to rebuild the temple, but He also charges Cyrus to have his own people help the Jews with the materials and other goods. The Jews are leaving captivity ready and prepared to rebuild. They went into captivity dejected and lacking, and now they are leaving with silver, gold, goods and beasts.

God is faithful to his promises and his word. Because God is faithful to His word, He is faithful to his people.

God is Faithful to His People

By providing provisions for His people, God shows that not only is He faithful to His word by keeping His promise of provision, He also shows that He is faithful to them. He did not let them go back to Jerusalem lacking a single thing but they had everything they needed. Including every vessel and piece of furniture for the Temple that Nebuchadnezzar carried away.

God is faithful to His people because he did not leave them in captivity to serve another king, but delivered them from Babylon and restored them to their nation.

God delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt, and he delivered them from Babylon. God is faithful to deliver His people.

The History of Israel is the proof that we look for when we are wandering or doubting. When we are neck deep in sin and trying to figure out whether there’s a way back we can look to Israel.

Hosea describes Israel as adulterous but in the middle of prophesying judgement, God declares Hosea 2:14–20 ““Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. And there I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt. “And in that day, declares the Lord, you will call me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer will you call me ‘My Baal.’ For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be remembered by name no more. And I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you lie down in safety. And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord.”

If God will patiently deal with Israel’s sins and bring them restoration and deliverance, God will do the same for us. If God will remain by Israel in the time of discipline, He will do the same for us.

God is faithful to forgive sin. God is faithful to set the captive free. God is faithful to His people.

We see that this morning as we begin Ezra and we will continue to see it as we walk through the book. God is faithful to His people.

Conclusion

If God has remained faithful to Israel, He will remain faithful to you. If God has dealt justly with Israel, he will deal justly with you. That means that sometimes, we will go through His discipline. Sometimes he might cause us to lose everything or make our lives feel like a hurricane. But He is always good, and always just.

God’s discipline is not to burn us or destroy us, but to refine us into the image of Christ. Throughout the Bible we see that God disciplines the ones he loves and is faithful to restore them after discipline.

Remain in Him. Regardless of circumstances. No matter what your life looks like, no matter what your going through mentally, physically, or spiritually trust in the faithful God.

Praise him in the storm and in the desert and in the valley. He is with you and will never leave you. His Holy Spirit is dwelling within you to encourage, guide and counsel you.

Application

Repent and Believe in Jesus

Encourage each other

Look to Christ’s Return

Communion

The return of the exiles is a beautiful illustration for us to think of for communion. We too, are exiles, living in another kingdom, waiting for Jesus to come back and take us home. We as Christians are longing for the day when death is destroyed and evil eradicated.

One day, Christ will return in all His glory and power and we will feast in the House of the Lord. Until then, we proclaim the gospel. We proclaim the Gospel to the world around us. We proclaim the Gospel to each other and to our selves.

And we proclaim the Gospel together by taking communion. Communion is a proclamation of the Gospel. When we take the bread or the cracker and we crush it with our teeth we proclaim that Christ was beaten and crushed for our sins. We drink the juice and proclaim that Christ shed His blood for us and his blood cleanses us from all sins.

We proclaim together that Christ has died, Christ has risen, and Christ will certainly come again.

Matthew 26:26–28 (ESV)

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.”

And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Benediction

Hebrews 13:20–21 ESV

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.