November 4, 2016
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

God Rescues the Persecuted

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Opening Prayer

Mighty God, You are Lord of all. I may suffer, but in Your good time You will vindicate me.

Read Ezra 6:1-22

[1] King Darius then issued an order, and they searched in the archives stored in the treasury at Babylon. [2] A scroll was found in the citadel of Ecbatana in the province of Media, and this was written on it: Memorandum: [3] In the first year of King Cyrus, the king issued a decree concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem: Let the temple be rebuilt as a place to present sacrifices, and let its foundations be laid. It is to be sixty cubits high and sixty cubits wide, [4] with three courses of large stones and one of timbers. The costs are to be paid by the royal treasury. [5] Also, the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, are to be returned to their places in the temple in Jerusalem; they are to be deposited in the house of God. [6] Now then, Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and you other officials of that province, stay away from there. [7] Do not interfere with the work on this temple of God. Let the governor of the Jews and the Jewish elders rebuild this house of God on its site. [8] Moreover, I hereby decree what you are to do for these elders of the Jews in the construction of this house of God: Their expenses are to be fully paid out of the royal treasury, from the revenues of Trans-Euphrates, so that the work will not stop. [9] Whatever is needed-young bulls, rams, male lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine and olive oil, as requested by the priests in Jerusalem-must be given them daily without fail, [10] so that they may offer sacrifices pleasing to the God of heaven and pray for the well-being of the king and his sons. [11] Furthermore, I decree that if anyone defies this edict, a beam is to be pulled from their house and they are to be impaled on it. And for this crime their house is to be made a pile of rubble. [12] May God, who has caused his Name to dwell there, overthrow any king or people who lifts a hand to change this decree or to destroy this temple in Jerusalem. I Darius have decreed it. Let it be carried out with diligence. [13] Then, because of the decree King Darius had sent, Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates carried it out with diligence. [14] So the elders of the Jews continued to build and prosper under the preaching of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah, a descendant of Iddo. They finished building the temple according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia. [15] The temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius. [16] Then the people of Israel-the priests, the Levites and the rest of the exiles-celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy. [17] For the dedication of this house of God they offered a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred male lambs and, as a sin offering for all Israel, twelve male goats, one for each of the tribes of Israel. [18] And they installed the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their groups for the service of God at Jerusalem, according to what is written in the Book of Moses. [19] On the fourteenth day of the first month, the exiles celebrated the Passover. [20] The priests and Levites had purified themselves and were all ceremonially clean. The Levites slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their relatives the priests and for themselves. [21] So the Israelites who had returned from the exile ate it, together with all who had separated themselves from the unclean practices of their Gentile neighbors in order to seek the LORD, the God of Israel. [22] For seven days they celebrated with joy the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because the LORD had filled them with joy by changing the attitude of the king of Assyria so that he assisted them in the work on the house of God, the God of Israel.

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

“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse” (Rom. 12:14). This is difficult to do, but it is a challenge we must aim to keep.

Persecution hurts. But persecution ends when God decides it is time. If God determines to rescue his children, no force on earth can stay his hand. Scripture records the dated memorandum, probably because Ezra, as a state-sponsored scribe, had access to it. King Darius’s message to Judah’s adversaries was simple: stay away from Judah… do not interfere with the work of the Temple of God! In fact, although the building project was already funded from regional taxes, now the animals for the sacrifices would be too! God brought Judah’s enemies to their knees through another unbelieving king whose only concern was that Judah offer sacrifices to and pray to God continually.

 

Judah’s enemies had reported the use of beams in the reconstruction. In a twist of irony, God warned them that if they did not support Judah’s efforts to rebuild the Temple and support the daily sacrifices, a beam would be pulled out of their homes, and God would impale them on it and raze their houses to rubble. Their tattling lies had come back to bite them in full force. When the Temple was finished, God’s people celebrated and reinstituted the system of sacrifices. Not long after, they celebrated the Passover commemorating their forefathers’ deliverance from Egypt. This was a special Passover because God had just delivered Judah from Babylonian bondage. Once again, God’s people were reliving the past and celebrating God’s patterns of faithfulness in their lives.

 

Sometimes we must suffer for a while at the hands of those who oppose us, but if we will remain faithful and do not seek retaliation, God will vindicate us in time. If we wait faithfully while God works out his plan for us, deliverance will come, and often in surprising ways.

Apply

Once you have done all that you can do to get along with people who persecute you, leave the outcome in God’s hands.

Closing prayer

Lord, I do not like having adversaries. I ask for the gift of Your grace and patience as I wait for You to work out Your will.

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