SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/12/2011 7:13:59 AM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-3 Stage two: The work resumed (God
used Darius)
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Ezra 6:1-12
Message
of the verses: “1 Then King Darius issued a decree, and search was made in the
archives, where the treasures were stored in Babylon. 2 In Ecbatana in the fortress, which is in the
province of Media, a scroll was found and there was written in it as follows:
"Memorandum- 3 "In the first
year of King Cyrus, Cyrus the king issued a decree: ’Concerning the house of
God at Jerusalem, let the temple, the place where sacrifices are offered, be
rebuilt and let its foundations be retained, its height being 60 cubits and its
width 60 cubits; 4 with three layers of huge stones and one layer of timbers.
And let the cost be paid from the royal treasury. 5 ’Also let the gold and
silver utensils of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple
in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be returned and brought to their places in
the temple in Jerusalem; and you shall put them in the house of God.’ 6 "Now
therefore, Tattenai, governor of the province beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai
and your colleagues, the officials of the provinces beyond the River, keep away
from there. 7 “Leave this work on the house of God alone; let the governor of
the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God on its site.
8 "Moreover, I issue a decree
concerning what you are to do for these elders of Judah in the rebuilding of
this house of God: the full cost is to be paid to these people from the royal
treasury out of the taxes of the provinces beyond the River, and that without
delay. 9 “Whatever is needed, both young bulls, rams, and lambs for a burnt
offering to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine and anointing oil, as the
priests in Jerusalem request, it is to be given to them daily without fail, 10
that they may offer acceptable sacrifices to the God of heaven and pray for the life of the
king and his sons. 11 "And I
issued a decree that any man who violates this edict, a timber shall be drawn
from his house and he shall be impaled on it and his house shall be made a
refuse heap on account of this. 12
"May the God who has caused His name to dwell there overthrow any
king or people who attempts to change it, so as to destroy this house of God in
Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued this decree; let it be carried out with all
diligence!’”
I have read through the Bible many
times and probably looked over this letter as far as to see how this was
something that was so remarkable in how it was written and what it said. I marvel at how Cyrus was used of the Lord to
accomplish what the Lord planned for him to accomplish. There is little evidence that Cyrus knew the
Lord in a saving manner, but I have to remember that Daniel had a large part in
the government of both the Babylonians and also the Persians, and Daniel was a
great man of God who wanted to see people come to know the One True God. This can be seen in how Daniel treated Nebuchadnezzar
in a way that was leading him to know the Lord.
I want to say at this point that
people in the OT were saved in the same way as in the NT, and that is to
realize that they are sinners and in need of the Lord to forgive them of their
sins, and place their trust in the Lord to accomplish this. In the case of OT believers they trusted in a
coming Messiah to care for their sins and in the NT people look back at the
Messiah as One who has accomplished this on the cross of Calvary. I have been told or perhaps read somewhere
that when a person gets to heaven he will have three surprises: who is there,
who is not there and the third surprise is that they are there.
We have to look back and see how the
leaders of the exiles treated the governor when he approached them, for they
could have treated them harshly or been offensive to them, but they were not. First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and
thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, 2
for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil
and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and acceptable in
the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to
the knowledge of the truth. (1Timothy 2:1-4) God had called the nation of Israel to be a
wittiness to the world around them, and for the most part this was not done,
however in the case of the exiles when dealing with this situation it was done. Cyrus wanted the exiles to pray for him and
for his son’s as seen in this document and this verse in 1Timothy, although it
had not been written yet probably was what the exiles did as all of us who name
the name of Christ should do.
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: I must
say that I have not been a supporter of the president that is now in office,
but I am to pray for him, knowing that God will use him in a way that will
bring about what His plans are for him and also for our nation. It was easier to pray for a President who had
the same beliefs as I do, but the verses in 1Timothy make it plain to pray for
those who are leading the country that I live in.
My Steps of Faith for Today:
1.
Trust the Lord to work out the plans that He has for
this country.
2.
Trust the Lord to work out the plans that He has for
me.
7/12/2011
7:54:55 AM
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