AT THE KING’S PLEASURE
Ezra 5:6-17 (KJV)
The copy of the letter that Tatnai, governor on this side the river, and Shetharboznai, and his companions the Apharsachites, which were on this side the river, sent unto Darius the king:
They sent a letter unto him, wherein was written thus; Unto Darius the king, all peace.
Be it known unto the king, that we went into the province of Judea, to the house of the great God, which is builded with great stones, and timber is laid in the walls, and this work goeth fast on, and prospereth in their hands.
Then asked we those elders, and said unto them thus, Who commanded you to build this house, and to make up these walls?
We asked their names also, to certify thee, that we might write the names of the men that were the chief of them.
And thus they returned us answer, saying, We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and build the house that was builded these many years ago, which a great king of Israel builded and set up.
But after that our fathers had provoked the God of heaven unto wrath, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house, and carried the people away into Babylon.
But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon the same king Cyrus made a decree to build this house of God.
And the vessels also of gold and silver of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that was in Jerusalem, and brought them into the temple of Babylon, those did Cyrus the king take out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered unto one, whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor;
And said unto him, Take these vessels, go, carry them into the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be builded in his place.
Then came the same Sheshbazzar, and laid the foundation of the house of God which is in Jerusalem: and since that time even until now hath it been in building, and yet it is not finished.
Now therefore, if it seem good to the king, let there be search made in the king's treasure house, which is there at Babylon, whether it be so, that a decree was made of Cyrus the king to build this house of God at Jerusalem, and let the king send his pleasure to us concerning this matter.
Bible history students say that the process from when Cyrus gave the decree for the Jews to return and build the house of God until the city was finally rebuilt could be upwards of 150 years.
The book of Daniel 9:25 (KJV)
Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
Seven weeks from the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem until street and wall was rebuilt.
Students of the Bible understand these weeks to be “weeks of years,” in other words each week is seven years long, for a total of 49 years.
The Bible is accurate, perfect and infallible. I am certain that from the time the commandment was made until the street and walls were rebuilt was 49 years.
But the thing is, there were three of similar commandments given:
· Cyrus
· Darius and
· Artaxerxes
I think the one Daniel refers to is Artaxerxes since it was specifically to build the walls of the city.
There is no way to tell how many years the Jews were back in the land before that commandment came.
We do know all of this was “troublous times.”
Cyrus gave the permission and provisions to rebuild the house of God.
Adversaries rose up and eventually wrote a letter that compelled Artaxerxes to issue a stop order on the walls.[1]
In Ezra 5:1, under the preaching of the prophets Haggai and Zachariah, the Jews began again to build the house of God at Jerusalem.
And again, they were questioned.
In this case the account went much differently that it did under Artaxerxes.
I have three observations I wish to make by way of my message outline.
Firstly,
I. TIMES AND SEASONS CHANGE
Ezra 5:7 (KJV)
They sent a letter unto him, wherein was written thus; Unto Darius the king, all peace.
A. Over the years, kings changed.
Cyrus was tender toward the Lord in his spirit
He gave the Jews permission to return
Ahasuerus and Artaxerxes were not so tender
Artaxerxes ordered them to stop working on the walls
Darius was reasonable and did a complete search
And, in chapter 6 allowed the Jews to go back to building
Kings changed and with the changing of the kings, the favor toward the Jews changed too.
B. Over those same years, the local governor changed
In chapter 4 we read
Ezra 4:7 (KJV)
And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their companions, unto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the Syrian tongue.
John Gill believed that the governor name was Mithredath Tabeel and that Bishlam was a common title.
It’s obvious though that he and his companions were unfriendly toward the Jews.
They tried to compromise the work, oppress the work and then stop the work legally.
But
In chapter 5 we read,
Ezra 5:3 (KJV)
At the same time came to them Tatnai, governor on this side the river, and Shetharboznai, and their companions, and said thus unto them, Who hath commanded you to build this house, and to make up this wall?
It’s a whole different governor, with a whole different background.
And while he inquired what they were doing, he didn’t attempt to stop the work by force.
He heard them out, and then wrote to the king.
Times and seasons change.
When I entered the ministry Ronald Reagan was President.
Preachers were excited about him and rallied behind him.
When he died there were pastors comparing him to King Uzziah, Isaiah 6:1 (KJV)
In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
When Clinton became president[2]many Christians sounded an alarm. Clinton cried out for change, and that change was not going to be for good.
GW Bush liked Christians.
He invited preachers I know personally to go to the White House and meet with him from prayer.
But then Obama
He declared the United States was not a Christian nation and, I think, led us toward becoming pro-Islamic.
President Trump has sure had his haters.
Some of them have continued to be Fundamental Baptist preachers, who have faulted his character regardless of his record as president.
Other preachers have suggested he is a better president than even Reagan.
I’m just saying times and seasons change.
Just as the Jews did, we sometimes have leadership that is supportive of us and we sometimes have leadership that is not.
Know what didn’t change?
· God moved in the spirit of Cyrus
· God protected them from the adversaries in chapter 4 and
· God’s eye was upon them in chapter 5[3]
Observation two
II. WHAT THE GOVERNOR DID
Ezra 5:17 (KJV)
Now therefore, if it seem good to the king, let there be search made in the king's treasure house, which is there at Babylon, whether it be so, that a decree was made of Cyrus the king to build this house of God at Jerusalem, and let the king send his pleasure to us concerning this matter.
I’m asking God to have His eye upon us and give us a governor like this one.
I notice:
A. He asked for their credentials
Ezra 5:3 (KJV)
At the same time came to them Tatnai, governor on this side the river, and Shetharboznai, and their companions, and said thus unto them, Who hath commanded you to build this house, and to make up this wall?
He didn’t come in with an army or a police force to break things up. He was reasonable and methodical.
The adversaries of chapter four wanted the work stopped at all costs.
Tatnai wasn’t like that at all.
He had a responsibility to make sure things were done in order.[4]
And he was more than willing to allow the work so long as it was legally constituted.
I am praying for a governor[5] who is reasonable.
B. He listened to their case
Ezra 5:11 (KJV)
And thus they returned us answer, saying, We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and build the house that was builded these many years ago, which a great king of Israel builded and set up.
As I said, this continues down to verse 16.
The fact that the governor had it recorded in his letter indicates that he heard them out.
Doesn’t it frustrate you when the guy you are talking to won’t hear you out?
Several years ago I got pulled over in Snohomish county.
The officer was very unkind to me from the very beginning of the episode.
He said that I had been speeding through a construction zone.
I try not to speed, but I admit that I sometimes don’t see every speed limit sign so it can happen.
But then he said I had been reckless driving so fast passed a water truck.
At that point I started asking questions because I was sure I had not passed a water truck.
He got angry, shut me off and gave me the ticket.
After he left, I went back to the spot he said I passed the truck.
I had come to the intersection where the construction was from the opposite direction. If he just been willing to listen, I could have avoided the ticket and he could have avoided his high blood pressure.
Seems like the governor was willing to hear them out.
I am praying for a governor who will listen.
And then,
C. He appealed to a higher authority
Ezra 5:17 (KJV)
Now therefore, if it seem good to the king, let there be search made in the king's treasure house, which is there at Babylon, whether it be so, that a decree was made of Cyrus the king to build this house of God at Jerusalem, and let the king send his pleasure to us concerning this matter.
The governor understood he was not the highest authority in the land and was willing to submit to the one who was.
The highest authority is the Lord.
How I pray for a governor who will appeal to the Lord.
Observation three
III. WHAT THE JEWS DID WHEN CONFRONTED
Ezra 5:3-5 (KJV)
At the same time came to them Tatnai, governor on this side the river, and Shetharboznai, and their companions, and said thus unto them, Who hath commanded you to build this house, and to make up this wall?
Then said we unto them after this manner, What are the names of the men that make this building?
But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, that they could not cause them to cease, till the matter came to Darius: and then they returned answer by letter concerning this matter.
A. They did not stop the work
The order was to stop the building of the walls, not of the house of God.
They kept up the work of the house of God, trusting that the Lord would support them in it.
And He did. Ezra 5:5 (KJV)
But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, that they could not cause them to cease….
B. They did not give their names
Ezra 5:4 (KJV)
Then said we unto them after this manner, What are the names of the men that make this building?
Ezra 5:9-11 (KJV)
Then asked we those elders, and said unto them thus, Who commanded you to build this house, and to make up these walls?
We asked their names also, to certify thee, that we might write the names of the men that were the chief of them.
And thus they returned us answer, saying, We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and build the house that was builded these many years ago, which a great king of Israel builded and set up.
The governor asked, not only who gave them permission to build but who were the people who were doing the building.
He wrote out the Jews response in in letter to the king.
It looks to me like he did not get:
· The names of the leader of the Jews
· The names of the preachers of the Jews or
· The names of the worker of the Jews
Can you imagine, if you had been a member of an Anabaptist church in those days when they would capture them and burn them at the stake, if one of them was stopped by the authorities and was told to give up the names of the people who attended the Anabaptist services?
There were some times when a traitor did just that.
But it would not have been the popular thing among the believers.
There are places in the world today where Baptist churches[6] meet secretly and in hiding.
How do you think that would work if the believers there thought one of them was liable to give their names to the authorities?
I have felt like this year we’ve been threatened with something similar.
I tell you that I am committed to not telling anyone in authority who it is I worship with.
I pray you would be the same.
C. They did act as a body
Ezra 5:11 (KJV)
And thus they returned us answer, saying, We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and build the house that was builded these many years ago, which a great king of Israel builded and set up.
It’s as if they said,
“I won’t give you that names of my fellow members, but I will give you the name of the God we worship.
D. They did give their testimony
Ezra 5:11-13 (KJV)
And thus they returned us answer, saying, We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and build the house that was builded these many years ago, which a great king of Israel builded and set up.
But after that our fathers had provoked the God of heaven unto wrath, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house, and carried the people away into Babylon.
But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon the same king Cyrus made a decree to build this house of God.
Their testimony continues on down to verse 16.
Never be ashamed to tell people,
· Even people who seem to be adversaries
· Even people who are in authority
o That you are a sinner
o That you have found grace in the sight of God (through Jesus) and
o That you are now His child and His servant
E. They appealed to a higher authority
Ezra 5:5 (KJV)
But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, that they could not cause them to cease, till the matter came to Darius: and then they returned answer by letter concerning this matter.
This is a little bit difficult to unravel, but I believe there were two letters sent to the king:
· One from the Jews, and
· One from the governor
There is nothing wrong with appealing to the powers that be.
I just think we need to make our primary appeal to the One who ordains all powers that be.
Conclusion
Times and seasons change.
· Sometimes those in authority are favorable to us.
· Sometimes they are not.
But
· God never changes and
· God never leaves us or forsakes us
If we lean upon Him, if we simply serve Him, if we will appeal to Him in our “troublous times”
· We will be fine
· God will be glorified and
· His work will get done
[1] I do not believe he meant for them to stop building the house of God, as is demonstrated in Ezra 5:1
[2] I know I skipped GHW Bush. I just think of him as a space-filler sort of president.
[3] Ezra 5:5 (KJV)
But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, that they could not cause them to cease, till the matter came to Darius: and then they returned answer by letter concerning this matter.
[4] And I think we have a responsibility to do things in order.
[5] No matter what his name or background is.
[6] And, I admit, many that are not Baptist.
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