Ezra

Imagine a country suffering greatly during a long siege. The people are then completely defeated, with many being killed and the rest exiled to a faraway land. All the national treasures are confiscated; even the most beloved landmarks are burned. The buildings and once-protective walls are completely ruined. The country has apparently been brought to an ignoble and permanent end.

Seventy years pass. Only those who were young children at the time of the defeat have ever seen their homeland. Suddenly, the king issues a proclamation to restore exiles to their country, specifically to rebuild the most important building of the nation's destroyed capital. "Whoever there is among you of all His people, . . . let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah and rebuild the house of the LORD" (Ezra 1:3).

What happened to Ezra and his fellow Jews is a powerful illustration of the principle "Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it" (Psalm 127:1). The task before Ezra was enormous. It would face opposition and discouragement. It would demand many resources, incredible expertise, and much wisdom. How were Ezra and his co-laborers to rebuild something none of them had ever seen?

The answer is found in words repeated seven times in the book of Ezra: "the good hand of his God was upon him" (Ezra 7:9; variations in 5:5, 7:6, 7:28, 8:18, 8:22, 8:31). God's hand of blessing, found throughout Ezra's story, is somewhat unexpected from a human perspective. God had destroyed this nation because of its wickedness. He had brought the destruction and ordained that they go into captivity. With God's judgment so deliberate, how could these people come once again under His favor?

At the dedication of the very temple that Ezra was to rebuild, Solomon had prayed, "When they sin against You . . . and You are angry with them and deliver them to an enemy, so that they take them away captive to a land far off or near, if they take thought in the land where they are taken captive, and repent and make supplications to You, . . . then hear from heaven . . . and maintain their cause and forgive Your people" (II Chronicles 6:36-39). God approved this prayer and affirmed His intention of answering it.

The time had come for God to restore His chastised and repentant people, something they could never have initiated on their own. They were helpless, without resources or expertise, yet God brought the impossible task to a successful conclusion. He clearly placed His good hand of blessing on His people by providing everything they needed.

First, God provided the very opportunity. "The LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation" seeking willing workers for the project (Ezra 1:1). It is illogical that a king would care about the heritage or worship of his foreign servants. Why, after all these years, would he care about a destroyed building in a defeated land far away? Cyrus was moved to make the proclamation only because God's good hand directed him.

Second, God provided the resources. By Cyrus's command, the neighbors of the exiles "encouraged them with articles of silver, with gold, with goods, with cattle and with valuables, aside from all that was [previously] given as a freewill offering" (1:6). Additionally, "Cyrus brought out the articles of the house of the LORD" (1:7); 5,400 valuable utensils did not need to be crafted, because the originals were restored to the returning exiles. The people also returned with over 8,000 beasts of burden.

Third, God provided the personnel. 42,360 people returned to do the work, including priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants, who would serve in the restored temple. An additional 7,337 servants accompanied the exiles.

Fourth, God blessed the actual progress. In spite of their fear, the returning exiles set up the altar (3:3). They procured cedar wood needed for building (3:7) and laid the foundation (3:10).

Fifth, God provided relief from opposition. Adversaries "discouraged the people of Judah, and frightened them from building" (4:4). They sent letters to the new king, maligning the exiles and resulting in "a decree to make these men stop work" (4:21). After an eventual delay of eighteen years, a new king searched the archives for the original proclamation. He not only ordered the opponents to "leave this work on the house of God alone" (6:7), but he also commanded that the opponents be responsible for "the full cost" and supply "whatever is needed" (6:8-9). Furthermore, anyone who disobeyed was to "be impaled . . . and his house shall be made a refuse heap" (6:11).

Sixth, God brought about a successful completion. The remainder of the work was "carried out with all diligence" (6:12), and the "temple was completed" (6:15). Ezra's subsequent requests from the king were granted, additional funds were collected, and unlimited numbers of additional exiles were allowed to return. The royal treasury was placed at Ezra's disposal, the opposition was further restrained and commanded to supply resources; biblical instruction was authorized.

The first striking conclusion from Ezra's story is that God does not abandon His people. In spite of their wickedness and deserved judgment, God's heart was still open to these people. When the exiles laid the foundation of the temple, they praised God, saying, "He is good, for His lovingkindness is upon Israel forever" (3:11). When the temple was completed, they acknowledged, "God has not forsaken us, but has extended lovingkindness to us" (9:9).

The second conclusion is that God can prosper even the most unlikely endeavor. God provided abundantly through each challenge; kings issued all-encompassing edicts, using words like "whoever," "full cost," "any man," "all diligence," "all he requested," "whatever seems good to you," and "whatever is commanded." There were no half-measures, and the key to the success was that "the hand of our God is favorably disposed to all those who seek Him" (8:22). When God's good hand is at work, there is no stopping it.