November 15, 2023

We can rejoice in knowing that God's purpose and plan will never fail.

Ezra 5-6

Patti Robertson
Wednesday's Devo

November 15, 2023

Wednesday's Devo

November 15, 2023

Wednesday's Devo

November 15, 2023

Wednesday's Devo

November 15, 2023

Big Idea

Ezra set his heart to study, do, and teach the law.

Key Verse | Ezra 6:16

And the people of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the returned exiles, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.

Ezra 5-6

Rebuilding Begins Anew

1 Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. 2 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.

3 At the same time Tattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and their associates came to them and spoke to them thus: “Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure?” 4 They also asked them this: 1 5:4 Septuagint, Syriac; Aramaic Then we said to them, “What are the names of the men who are building this building?” 5 But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them until the report should reach Darius and then an answer be returned by letter concerning it.

Tattenai's Letter to King Darius

6 This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and his associates, the governors who were in the province Beyond the River, sent to Darius the king. 7 They sent him a report, in which was written as follows: “To Darius the king, all peace. 8 Be it known to the king that we went to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God. It is being built with huge stones, and timber is laid in the walls. This work goes on diligently and prospers in their hands. 9 Then we asked those elders and spoke to them thus: ‘Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure?’ 10 We also asked them their names, for your information, that we might write down the names of their leaders. 2 5:10 Aramaic of the men at their heads 11 And this was their reply to us: ‘We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the house that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished. 12 But because our fathers had angered the God of heaven, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house and carried away the people to Babylonia. 13 However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, Cyrus the king made a decree that this house of God should be rebuilt. 14 And the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple that was in Jerusalem and brought into the temple of Babylon, these Cyrus the king took out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered to one whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor; 15 and he said to him, “Take these vessels, go and put them in the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its site.” 16 Then this Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and from that time until now it has been in building, and it is not yet finished.’ 17 Therefore, if it seems good to the king, let search be made in the royal archives there in Babylon, to see whether a decree was issued by Cyrus the king for the rebuilding of this house of God in Jerusalem. And let the king send us his pleasure in this matter.”

The Decree of Darius

1 Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in Babylonia, in the house of the archives where the documents were stored. 2 And in Ecbatana, the citadel that is in the province of Media, a scroll was found on which this was written: “A record. 3 In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king issued a decree: Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the house be rebuilt, the place where sacrifices were offered, and let its foundations be retained. Its height shall be sixty cubits 3 6:3 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters and its breadth sixty cubits, 4 with three layers of great stones and one layer of timber. Let the cost be paid from the royal treasury. 5 And also let the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and brought back to the temple that is in Jerusalem, each to its place. You shall put them in the house of God.”

6 “Now therefore, Tattenai, governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and your 4 6:6 Aramaic their associates the governors who are in the province Beyond the River, keep away. 7 Let the work on this house of God alone. Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God on its site. 8 Moreover, I make a decree regarding what you shall do for these elders of the Jews for the rebuilding of this house of God. The cost is to be paid to these men in full and without delay from the royal revenue, the tribute of the province from Beyond the River. 9 And whatever is needed—bulls, rams, or sheep for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, or oil, as the priests at Jerusalem require—let that be given to them day by day without fail, 10 that they may offer pleasing sacrifices to the God of heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons. 11 Also I make a decree that if anyone alters this edict, a beam shall be pulled out of his house, and he shall be impaled on it, and his house shall be made a dunghill. 12 May the God who has caused his name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who shall put out a hand to alter this, or to destroy this house of God that is in Jerusalem. I Darius make a decree; let it be done with all diligence.”

The Temple Finished and Dedicated

13 Then, according to the word sent by Darius the king, Tattenai, the governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates did with all diligence what Darius the king had ordered. 14 And the elders of the Jews built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. They finished their building by decree of the God of Israel and by decree of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia; 15 and this house was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.

16 And the people of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the returned exiles, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy. 17 They offered at the dedication of this house of God 100 bulls, 200 rams, 400 lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel 12 male goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. 18 And they set the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their divisions, for the service of God at Jerusalem, as it is written in the Book of Moses.

Passover Celebrated

19 On the fourteenth day of the first month, the returned exiles kept the Passover. 20 For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together; all of them were clean. So they slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the returned exiles, for their fellow priests, and for themselves. 21 It was eaten by the people of Israel who had returned from exile, and also by every one who had joined them and separated himself from the uncleanness of the peoples of the land to worship the LORD, the God of Israel. 22 And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy, for the LORD had made them joyful and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, so that he aided them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

Footnotes

[1] 5:4 Septuagint, Syriac; Aramaic Then we said to them,
[2] 5:10 Aramaic of the men at their heads
[3] 6:3 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
[4] 6:6 Aramaic their

S2:223 Ezra 5-6

Listen Now

Dive Deeper | Ezra 5-6

Truth: God will provide whatever is needed to complete His plan (Ezra 6:8-9).

During a particular season of my life, I found myself a single mother of four small children, often not knowing where the next gallon of milk was going to come from. But God is faithful. He provided for our every need, and not one time did we lack anything that was necessary. His provision consistently showed up at the right time, sometimes through a neighbor who was cleaning out her pantry, and sometimes mysteriously through a $100 bill that would unexpectedly find its way to us.

Truth: God's plan and purpose will go on despite opposition (Ezra 5:8), and God controls the hearts and minds of those in authority, even those opposed to Him (Proverbs 21:1).

On one occasion, I was reprimanded by my boss for sharing my faith while at work. Although the leaders of that organization claimed to be Christian, I found myself sitting in the office of the VP of Human Resources facing disciplinary action. I don't know the details of how or why, but nothing ever came of it, and I continued to work for that company and continued to share my faith for the next ten years, even being promoted multiple times.  

Truth: The work of rebuilding the house of God after the return of the Jewish exiles to Jerusalem is representative of the spiritual revitalization and rebuilding of God's people.

Even through seasons of rebellion and disobedience, I can see God's hand providentially working in my life. Like the Jews who were sent into exile, I spent over a decade of my life separated from God's people because of foolish decisions and sinful actions on my part. Over the course of the past seven years, God has revitalized and restored me spiritually to a place where I now rejoice and celebrate in His goodness (Ezra 6:16).

This month's memory verse

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

– 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Discussion Questions

1. How has God spiritually revitalized and rebuilt you?

2. Have you ever been obedient to God's will in the face of opposition? How did God intervene on your behalf?

3. When has God provided for you in a supernatural way?

4. When was the last time you celebrated with joy what God has done in your life?

As we gear up to release even more features for Join The Journey in 2025, our staff team, unfortunately, no longer has the margin to continue to support the comment functionality. We have big things in store for Join The Journey 2025. Stay tuned!

HS

Hugh Stephenson

Good morning, Patti!! So wonderful to see you on The Journey today. What a blessing you and Russ are to so many of us and to so many people in the ministries in which you all serve. I love your devo and the awesome three truths that you lay before us. Truth: God will provide whatever is needed to complete His plan (Ezra 6:8-9). Truth: God's plan and purpose will go on despite opposition (Ezra 5:8), and God controls the hearts and minds of those in authority, even those opposed to Him (Proverbs 21:1). Truth: The work of rebuilding the house of God after the return of the Jewish exiles to Jerusalem is representative of the spiritual revitalization and rebuilding of God's people. Q1. Go spiritual revitalization? The key for me was hitting my Luke 15:16 moment in 12/1/12. It was only in total and unconditional surrender that I was ready for God to do his work. Since then He has guided me step by step as I move toward Him. Q2. Obedience? “Yes” is the simple answer. I would say that the next progressive answer would enter citing Ephesians 6:10-20. What I know for sure is that as long as I keep my eyes on Jesus that I will be opposed. Vigorous. Relentless. Never ending. Q3. Supernatural intervention? 1. Thousands of times I was supernaturally protected while driving a car when I could barely walk. No DUI’s. No Wrecks. No Injuries. 2. Hitting the wall in relationships on 9/14/2000. I knelt on the floor in the laundry room of the house in which I grew up in the north Atlanta suburbs. I prayed to God that He show me who the person is that He has for me. Without my knowing it, a series of super nature events began that brought Amy and I to a blind date a few weeks later. The first time I met her I knew she was the answer. If you know Amy, you know her birthday is 9/14. The same day I prayed that prayer but had no idea who she was. Now that’s supernatural. 3. There are many more examples. Q4. One of my primary spiritual disciplines to pray gratitude prayers. They have made a huge difference in my knowledge and love the LORD.
HS

Hugh Stephenson

OK. Now I’m going to stick my neck out and have some fun. Doesn’t the name Tattenai sound like “tattletale”? I thought that when I first read these passages several years go. And it seems to fit. He’s is going to “tattle”on the returning Jews. This bit from GQs has more info. https://www.gotquestions.org/Darius-in-the-Bible.html He was the Persian governor of Judea. At about this time the empire of Persia stretched from Egypt to India. And here’s this diminutive functionary whining about the Jews rebuilding the temple. (Remind anyone of a cop at the mall?). I’m totally guessing, but perhaps Tattenai thinks this will draw intention and Influence away from himself and more toward the Jews, and through them, Yahweh? (I realize I’m guessing and that the priors years ha dot son opposition before all this. My guess is that those people were pressuring Tattenai.) SO he doesn’t like competing against the God of all creation who spoke the word into existence? Good luck with that. If I’m right then the answer is the same as it always seems to be. If you can’t figure out why someone is doing this or that you can repeat this saying- Ready? All together now. FOLLOW

THE 

MONEY Which makes Darius’s response PERFECT! Enough about Mr. Tattletale. Let’s get back to the God of the universe. Verse 5:1-5:5 say it all for me. V1 - God speaks through two of my very favorite prophets, Haggai and Zechariah. https://www.gotquestions.org/Book-of-Haggai.html V2 - Zerubbabel and Jeshua respond in obedience and being to comply immediately. VVs 3 and 4 - Foreshadowing Ephesians 6:10-20, Mr. Tattletale whines and complains and says he’s going to tell “Daddy” aka Darius. V5 - God is 100% engaged and is going to show Mr. Tattletale who’s boss by acting through Darius in a similar way that He acted through Cyrus. God may allow His people or His enemies to delay His intended outcomes but all that will happened is that delay. The ultimate outcome will not be thwarted. Ever. On Cyrus - https://www.gotquestions.org/Cyrus-Bible.html. The back story here is amazing. On Zerubbabel - https://www.gotquestions.org/Zerubbabel-in-the-Bible.html
HS

Hugh Stephenson

From the notes - Ezra 5:1–2 The prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, are also known from their books, which contain prophecies made in the second year of King Darius, 520 B.C. (Hag. 1:1; 2:1; Zech. 1:1, 7; cf. note on Ezra 4:24; cf. also 6:14). Haggai proclaims that the people were in trouble because they had lost sight of their top priority of rebuilding the temple (Hag. 1:4–6). Verses 1–2 of Ezra 5 bring out the connection between the prophetic work and the renewed action, following the discouragement recorded in 4:4–5, 24. In beginning again, Zerubbabel and Jeshua are simply reimplementing Cyrus’s decree, recognizing it as the will and purpose of God. "Like every spiritual advance, from Abraham's to the missionary expansion in Acts, this venture began with a word from the Lord. And in common with the rest, it was quickly tested and threatened."
GJ

Greg Jones

Really liked this from the deeper dive. God's plan and purpose will go on despite opposition (Ezra 5:8), and God controls the hearts and minds of those in authority, even those opposed to Him (Proverbs 21:1). Ezra 1-4 King Cyrus gets about 7 mentions always as Cyrus king of Persia. However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon. Ezra 5:13 Darius king of Persia Ezra 4:5, Ezra 4:24 The LORD had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them. Ezra 6:22 Who is the king of Assyria? Darius, just like Cyrus is king of Babylon. It’s a Bible thing they rule over Israel’s former enemies. They are the new face and persona of the former enemy. By mixing the titles a distinction and and a sameness is made/being made again. Passover celebrated. It was eaten by the people of Israel who had returned from exile, and also by every one who had joined them and separated himself from the uncleanness of the peoples of the land to worship the LORD, the God of Israel. And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy, for the LORD had made them joyful and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, so that he aided them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel. Ezra 6:21-22 It was eaten by all who returned from exile. And by every one who had joined them and separated himself from the uncleanness of the peoples of the land to worship the LORD, the God of Israel. There is a subtle distinction made here, the chosen exiles, and everyone, who had separated himself from the unclean was of the peoples of the land. Ancient bible speak. If you want to say king Darius the individual aided in the work you say Darius king of Persia aided in the work. Darius king of Assyria that’s the face of those who have separated themselves from the unclean of the land. They are being identified as Assyrians who have separated themselves from their former ways. They are probably ceremonial clean also but could have always been practicing that part of worship. So they are not the chosen Israelites, but, they are the included Assyrians. Chosen and included, distinction and sameness, God’s plan and purpose goes on. A huge turn in humanity has happened in the land. If that can’t give someone hope today they might want to check themselves for a heart beat.
SF

Shawn Foster

Thank you very much Patti! Clear, concise and compelling. Makes my day to read that “Not one time did we lack anything that was necessary.” I can say the same in looking back at losses- 1st marriage, mom to mental health & cancer, a prodigal, etc. Glory to God for having Redeemed our lives. He crowns us with love and compassion. Now we have a new place to stand!!! Thank you for sharing boldly at work. Let’s go church. Amen?
MS

Michael Scaman

Zechariah (God remembers) was the kiddo of Iddo.( Iddo is evaporate, work labor mightily) I knew an Iddo from Israel when I worked for IBM. Haggia means to gather for a festival - like a joyous party! So 2 prophets (Haggai and Zachariah) + 1 priest (Joshua - God saves) = encouragement for Zerubbabel (son of Shealtiel - I have asked God) to rebuild the temple Interesting how it says 'the prophets were with them'. The Passover was always celebrated but emphasized at key times in history. The ending of the time at Sinai, entering in the promised land and, also here, with the rebuilding of the temple.
SB

Sue Bohlin

Thank you so much, Patti. I am encouraged to have my understanding of God enlarged by the last verse: "And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy, for the LORD had made them joyful and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, so that he aided them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel." God made His people joyful. He changed their hearts and their emotions. God turned the heart of the king to be favorable to His people. How someone thinks and feels is not the final position when the God of the universe can turn thoughts and emotions without people recognizing He's at work and in charge. This encourages me to pray bigger prayers for Him to change the hearts and minds of people.
AL

Amy Lowther

1. God helps me have hope in everything I do. 2. Yes, I was obedient to God’s will in the face of opposition. God helped schedule a final meeting and bring the prolonged conflict to a close. 3. I enjoy the sunshine God created for all of us. 4. I joyfully celebrated earlier today in prayer what God had done for me.