November 3, 2016
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Finish the Job

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Opening Prayer

Father, please help me to understand what it means to move forward with my convictions even when the situation might look risky.

Read Ezra 5:1–17

[1] Now Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the prophet, a descendant of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. [2] Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Jozadak set to work to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, supporting them. [3] At that time Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates went to them and asked, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and to finish it?” [4] They also asked, “What are the names of those who are constructing this building?” [5] But the eye of their God was watching over the elders of the Jews, and they were not stopped until a report could go to Darius and his written reply be received. [6] This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates, the officials of Trans-Euphrates, sent to King Darius. [7] The report they sent him read as follows: To King Darius: Cordial greetings. [8] The king should know that we went to the district of Judah, to the temple of the great God. The people are building it with large stones and placing the timbers in the walls. The work is being carried on with diligence and is making rapid progress under their direction. [9] We questioned the elders and asked them, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and to finish it?” [10] We also asked them their names, so that we could write down the names of their leaders for your information. [11] 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 temple in 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.

Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Reflect

“One need not hope in order to undertake, nor succeed in order to persevere” (William the Silent, aka William of Orange, 1544–1584).

Nothing has changed. Years passed by and the people settled into a quiet and inactive life. The enemies who lived on the opposite hill were still determined to drive off the Jews. What is more, the Persian king remained opposed to their rebuilding the Jerusalem Temple. No wonder the builders were discouraged. Then came the voice of God from heaven through the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. We can’t imagine what it was like for the discouraged leaders Zerubbabel and Joshua to hear God’s message through God’s messengers. No wonder the passage tells us, “the prophets of God were with them, supporting them” (2). A subsequent verse describes why Judah’s leaders stiffened their resolve: “The eye of their God was watching over the elders of the Jews” (5). God cared for them.

 

Amazingly, nothing had changed to reignite the Temple construction except that the Lord had spoken. From this, the builders gained muster knowing that because he had spoken to them through the prophets they could finish rebuilding the Temple. A message from God was all they needed to resume the work that had stopped for many years due to fear of their enemies.

 

We have all been here in our own lives. We refuse to move forward with this or that action because we fear the potential consequences. Like the Jewish Temple builders, we feel powerless in the face of opposition. In our minds little is worse than risking a bad outcome due to personal threat. But God calls us to take calculated risk. We must not make foolish decisions that are sure to fail—that’s not a risk; it’s recklessness. Often, even when we have done all the research we can, we stand at the edge knowing we should move forward, yet we just can’t do it.

Apply

What holds you back from doing what you know you should? Listen to God’s voice in his Word to find strength and wisdom to keep going.

Closing prayer

Father, there are unfinished matters in my life, but I am afraid to revisit them. Please give me strength and resolve to get the job done.

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