00A.01 Ezra 1
Ezra 1:1-11 When hearts are stirred up by God. The very first verse leaves us in no doubt. Something was seriously wrong. The time of events is given as "the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia.", quite different from the books of Kings and Chronicles where the time was given according to the years of the kings of Israel and Judah. Why this change? The throne of God had been removed from Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 29:23). The ’times of the Gentiles’ had begun (Luke 21:24), and had been running for 70 years now - and they will continue to run until Israel is restored to the Lord, after the tribulation period. But God still acts. Through Jeremiah He had told the people in advance that the captivity in Babylon would be limited to 70 years (you will recall that it had a profound effect on Daniel when he read about this and found out that the time of captivity was almost over (see Daniel 9:2 ff)). Now that the time was come, God uses a heathen king, Cyrus, as His instrument to bring about the promised return.
King Cyrus is an extremely interesting character. In secular history, he is renowned for his humane way of dealing with those he conquered. His objective was to bring peace to mankind. He set out his policies in a famous decree - which later became known as the ’First charter of Human Rights’. Today, the famous ’Cyrus Cylinder’ - made of clay - can be admired in the British Museum in London. Allowing captives to return to their home land was very much in line with his humane policies. This is the secular, or human, side. God’s side is much more interesting. Long before Cyrus was born, Isaiah prophesied about this king, even mentioning him by name! ".that saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure, even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid" (Isaiah 44:28). We are not implying that Cyrus had living faith in God, but God in His sovereignty used him as an instrument. Cyrus had opportunity to read Isaiah’s prophecy, and it appears that he was conscious of his mission. Hence he says "The Lord, God of heaven, hath given me., and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem." (Ezra 1:2).
It is remarkable how God works. First He ’stirs up the spirit’ of this heathen king, so that he passes a decree inviting the Jews to return to Jerusalem. He then stirs up the spirit of those who did so (Ezra 1:1, Ezra 1:5). Whatever men do, a true revival is always a work of God. So the call goes out "Who is there among you of all his people? His God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem... and build the house of the Lord." In a sense, king Cyrus is still alive. The same call still goes out. Who is there among you? Who is there, who is not content with Babylon? Who is there who values Jerusalem? Who is there, who takes an interest in the house of God? To see the significance of this call, bear in mind that places speak of principles.
’Eden’ is Paradise
’Sodom’ is moral depravity
’Egypt’ speaks of the world in its enslaving power
’Sinai’ the place of the terror of the law
’Jordan’ is the river of death
’Gilgal’ is the judgement of the flesh.
And so on. Many more examples could be given. It is extremely instructive to see the meaning of places in the Bible. So how about Babylon and Jerusalem?
Babylon, if we can identify it with the Babel of Genesis 11:1-32, reminds us of two things: firstly confusion, as the languages were confounded there. Secondly, of idolatry (see Zechariah 5:5-11). This is very much like Christendom today. There is much confusion, all sorts of teaching, general deviation from the sound doctrine, in fact, as Paul said, people no longer bear sound teaching (2 Timothy 4:1-22). All sorts of teaching can be found on prophecy, on the church, and on Christ Himself. There is idolatry as well: worship directed to that which is not God, namely to so-called ’saints’, to ’Virgin Mary’, etc.. What is the believer to do? The answer to this question takes us to the meaning of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the place God had chosen, out of all places. Deuteronomy 12:1-32 makes the point again and again, Jerusalem was ’the place which the Lord your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there’. It was only in this place that the temple could be built, the people had to assemble, the national feasts had to be celebrated, the sacrifices had to be given, the offerings had to be brought. And it was in this place that the people would rejoice before the Lord.
Today, there is still a place He has chosen to ’put His name there’, to be present in Person. This is, of course, not a geographical place but a spiritual place. The Lord Himself disclosed it. He said to Peter that He would build His church (Matthew 16:1-28). A little later we read that, where two or three are gathered unto His name, he would be in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20). Gathered ’unto’ his name is more than ’in His name’. Whatever a believer does, he should do it ’in His name’, even eating and drinking (Colossians 3:17). But when two or three are gathered unto His name, they make Him the centre, they give Him the authority, the attention and focus is on Him. His authority is recognised, His rights are respected, His will is done. This spiritual Jerusalem still exists today. It is still open, even to small numbers, to enjoy His presence. So how about you? Have you returned from Babylon, the place of confusion and idolatry, to Jerusalem, the place where Christ is honoured and where His rights are recognised, where He is the centre? The proclamation of king Cyrus still goes out today: who is there among you.?
Those whose spirits were raised up, were to go up (Ezra 1:5), and others who would not go up themselves, are told to support them through material help (Ezra 1:4) and it is beautiful to read that they did so (Ezra 1:6).
Even the king contributed, and in a very significant way: "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" (Ezra 1:7). This matter of the vessels is extremely important. There had been three deportations, one in the days of king Jehoiakim (2 Kings 36:6), then in the days of his son Jehoiakin (2 Kings 36:10), and finally in the days of Zedekiah (2 Kings 36:11-21). The last of these three was the most significant one in terms of the damage done. The temple was burnt, and very large numbers led captive. But the 70 years of captivity count from the first, relatively insignificant (we would say), deportation. Why was this first one the important one in God’s eyes? Well, it’s because of the vessels. Nebuchadnezzar had taken the vessels of the Temple, took them to Babylon, and even put them into the house of his idols. Such a thing had never happened before. True, some kings had taken silver from the treasure and even from the wings of the doors of the temple (Ahas and Hezekiah) to appease the king of Assyria. But the holy vessels had never been touched.
Without vessels, it was impossible to bring sacrifices as prescribed. No vessels, no worship! This is the tragedy. Does it not remind us of the sad fact that the concept of worship, especially collective worship, has been lost in wide parts of Christendom. Meetings for worship have been replaced by concerts, performances, and all manner of things. Do you know a place where you can meet with Christians in full liberty of collective worship to the Father and the Son? This is the one thing the Father ’seeks’: worshippers.