God's Plan and Promises Always Fulfilled
Ezra 1
God
"1 Now 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, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,
2 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.3 Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem.
4 And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.
5 Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, with all them whose spirit God had raised, to go up to build the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem.
6 And all they that were about them strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, and with beasts, and with precious things, beside all that was willingly offered.
7 Also Cyrus the king brought forth the vessels of the house of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem, and had put them in the house of his gods;
8 Even those did Cyrus king of Persia bring forth by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and numbered them unto Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah.
9 And this is the number of them: thirty chargers of gold, a thousand chargers of silver, nine and twenty knives,
10 Thirty basons of gold, silver basons of a second sort four hundred and ten, and other vessels a thousand.
11 All the vessels of gold and of silver were five thousand and four hundred. All these did Sheshbazzar bring up with them of the captivity that were brought up from Babylon unto Jerusalem."
Ezra 1:1-11
For a second time, the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob-Israel had been in bondage and captivity. A simple allegory of mankind's captivity and bondage to self and sin. As a Hebrew, from seventy years prior of Babylonian exile, one really should not have been taken by surprise of Babylon's sacking of Jerusalem and Judah. She had been warned repeatedly of God's Hand of judgment for her idolatry and reliance upon self and her surrounding nations. Jeremiah warned Judah with tears, nakedness, preaching, and acting out symbolism to get his countrymen to heed the message from God, who had already delivered them from 430 years of bondage in Egypt, which he foretold Abraham about. Before God punishes, judges, or sets His hand against an individual, or a nation, He always gives warning.
'20 Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the Lord.
21 A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel: for they have perverted their way, and they have forgotten the Lord their God.
22 Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the Lord our God.
23 Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel.
24 For shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth; their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.
25 We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: for we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God." Jeremiah 3:20-25
Above in Jeremiah 3, we see the warning. Israel has fallen to Assyria, because she rejected the ways of God. Since the split of the united Kingdom, she had perverse kings and queens who trusted in their own power and wealth. They trusted in their allies of surrounding nations, and yes they ignored the priest, prophets and Word of God. Sound familiar America? Even with the ten sister tribes of Israel as an example, Judah heeded not.
"15 Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the Lord: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say.
16 Their quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men.
17 And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword.
18 Nevertheless in those days, saith the Lord, I will not make a full end with you.
19 And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore doeth the Lord our God all these things unto us? then shalt thou answer them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not your's.
20 Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying,
21 Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:
22 Fear ye not me? saith the Lord: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?
23 But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone.
24 Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the Lord our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.
25 Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you." Jeremiah 5:15-25
God in Jeremiah 5 warns the why, the how, and the who. As the sun rises in the East, His judgment was settled. Etched in stone so to speak, just as the Law given at Mt. Sinai, which had been forsaken by choice and forgotten by self pursuit. God will be honored regardless of man's intentions and self pursuit. He is God, and He will be exalted among the nations. Again, when God judges is people, He warns and He offers redemption.
"8 For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.
9 For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the Lord.
10 For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.
11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
14 And I will be found of you, saith the Lord: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive." Jeremiah 29:8-14
In the above passage, we see Jeremiah telling the people, the priest, and king that it will be 70 years of captivity. In the 28 previous chapters, we see the weeping, the preaching, the illustrations that God told Jeremiah to say. All to beg a people to repent of their ways. Well, they refused to heed God and 70 years was upon them. This is at the end of the seventy years, that God as always, keeps His Word, timing, and purpose. Thus, He raises up Nehemiah and Ezra. All of this is an allegory to my [our] sin and depravity, and need of Jesus for us to be bought out of BONDAGE of SIN, and a historical account by biblical evidence and secular evidence of the rise and fall of nations, due to the Providence of God, His plan and purpose, WHY a nation in moral decline will be judged. To that nation of whom much is entrusted to, even more is demanded and expected. Ezra chapter 1 shows that God is faithful in His promises, just as His promise of Jesus is faithful and true. Blessed be His Holy Name! Share with the Saints! Love in Christ Jason!
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