We
have seen in our study of Ezra how God moved on the heart of Persian King –
Cyrus – to commission the pp of
A)Fulfilling a Prophecy
spoken by
B)Almost 50,000 answered the
call – 900 mile Journey 4 months – city & temple in ruins
C) No sooner do they begin –
opposition starts
1)Pastor Chuck Smith “The greater the work the greater the opposition.”
2)Any real work of God –
there will be opposition not all smooth sailings
D)Starts
with a group of Samaritans – who try to infiltrate - / discourage
1)Eventually they write a
letter to King Artexexes
E)This is a rebellious pp –
they have a history of rebellion – if you let them do this – be sorry
1)Art basically sends word –
back – tell them to stop building until I can investigate this further
F)So the construction
stopped – things stayed that way for 15yrs
That is where we pick up the
Story in
Then the prophet Haggai and
Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophets, prophesied to the Jews who were in
A)When
you read the minor prophets (Not minor because they were lightweights, they
were big league hitters, but because they are short books)
B)Haggai & Zechariah
were two who were ministering at this time.
C)
Haggai’s prophecy was a more direct encouragement to get busy on the work of
building the temple; 1)Zechariah’s prophecy was more directed to the spiritual
condition of the returned exiles.
D)If
all we had was Haggai to go by, we might conclude that all God was really
interested in was the temple. 1)Zechariah gives the rest of the story, and
shows how God is interested in lives, not only buildings.
E)The
two always go together – the building houses the Church – the pp
1)Being
built up to reach a lost world
Haggai
is the first to Preach – first prophet in 70yrs since Jeremiah. His message was
simple
A) "Thus speaks the LORD of hosts, saying: 'This people
says, "The time has not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be
built."'"
B)The
pp were procrastinating on getting back to work on God’s house – not time yet –
1)Year by year went by.
3 Then the word
of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4 "Is it time for you
yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in
ruins?"
C)You have put all your time
& money into fixing up your own houses – God’s temple is in ruins
1)Caught up in simply trying
to take care of yourselves your needs / pleasures
5 Now
therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts:” Consider your ways!
6 "You
have sown much, and bring in little;
You eat, but do
not have enough;
You drink, but
you are not filled with drink;
You clothe
yourselves, but no one is warm;
And he who
earns wages,
Earns wages to
put into a bag with holes."
D)Problem
is you are not filled or fulfilled
Not
doing what God has called you to do
1)Never going to be
satisfied until you are doing what God called you to do!
They
should have felt no rest until the work of God was as prosperous as their
personal lives,
A)They
should have been as willing to sacrifice
for work of God as they were for their personal comfort and luxury.
B)Time
to get busy
7 Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Consider your ways! 8 Go up
to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure
in it and be glorified," says the LORD.
C)They
respond: 2 So Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and
Jeshua the son of Jozadak rose up and began to build the house of God which is
in Jerusalem; and the prophets of God
were with them, helping them.
D)I like this – the prophets were not in
their ivory towers or their personal studies – they were willing to get their
hands dirty – work
E)Not all about preaching!
1)So the work began again
after 15yr no action
3
At the same time Tattenai the governor of the region beyond the River
and Shethar-Boznai and their companions came to them and spoke thus to them:
“Who has commanded you to build this temple and finish this wall?"
Tattenai the governor of the region beyond the River:
A)This
was the man appointed by the King of Persia to govern the province that
included
B)He
and his companions wanted to know why the work of building both the temple and
the wall had resumed.
C)Tattenai
seems much more reasonable that the Samaritans who opposed the work some 15
years previous to this.
D)More
of a civil servant – worried about the Kingdom – who gave you permission
4 Then,
accordingly, we told them the names of the men who were constructing this
building.
5 But the eye
of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, so that they could not make them
cease till a report could go to Darius. Then a written answer was returned
concerning this matter.
This
was going to buy them some more time!
A)Take a while for a courier
to get the message to Darius
B)Darius came to the throne
in a time of conflict and struggle.
1)Therefore
the Jews in
WENT FOR IT – forgiveness / permission
C)They
did this when he was far too busy fighting for his throne to attend to the
troubles of a small, distant city.”
D)Love that phrase in v.5 God’s eye was upon
them
1)God was watching over this
whole thing
E)From the natural
perspective – this looked like a political matter – who gave permission….
1)Who’s authority ? But there was a supernatural God who was
looking out for his pp.
2)God was working behind the
scenes as we shall see – moving on King Darius’ heart
V.6-17
give us the contents of the Letter Tattenai sent to Darius – Read
Now I am sure these guys
were convinced that there was no such record of a decree.
They probably even looked to make sure there was no such decree.
They felt CONFIDENT in their accusation.
But a decree from a Persian
king could not be altered or changed. -
CHAPTER
There was NO record in
A)So
Darius makes a search and eventually finds the decree of Cyrus in the
government archives.
B)Darius
is going to respect that decree.
C)He
sends back a ruling that not only should the work go on, but also it ought to
be supported by government funds.
D)Result: the temple was completed on March 12, 515
B.C. The Lord’s people gathered to celebrate the dedication of this temple with
joy (6:16).
This
was followed by a celebration of the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread “with joy.” Ezra explains the source of
that joy: V.22 for the LORD made them joyful, and
turned the heart of the king of
God
Made them Joyful
God’s aim is to give us
great joy in Him and His sovereign ways.
C. S. Lewis said, “The
ultimate purpose of God in all his work is to increase joy”
Joy and
gladness in the Lord are major themes in the Bible.
Moses
told
Later
he warned them, “Because you did not serve
the Lord your God with joy and a glad heart, … therefore you
shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you” (Deut.28:47-48).
The
Psalms are full of joy and gladness.
God
is the psalmist’s “exceeding joy” (Ps. 43:4). We are commanded, “Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord
with gladness; come before Him with joyful singing” (Ps. 100:1-2).
“Be
glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones; and shout for joy, all you
who are up-right in heart”
(Ps.
32:11).
“In Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there
are pleasures forever” (Ps. 16:11).
Jesus told the disciples to “rejoice that [their] names are
recorded in heaven.” (Luke 10:20-21).
He
told the disciples that He had spoken to them so that His joy may be in them,
and that their joy may be made full (John 15:11).
He
promised that on judgment day, those who serve Him faithfully will be told, “Enter into the joy of your master” (Matt. 25:21).
The
apostle Paul commands us, “Rejoice in the Lord
always; again, I will say, Rejoice!” (Phil. 4:4).
He listed joy as
the second fruit that the Spirit
produces in
believers
(Gal. 5:22).
The
apostle Peter reported how those who believe in Jesus “greatly
rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory” (1 Pet. 1:8).
John’s
Revelation (19:6-7) pictures the saints rejoicing throughout eternity: “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.
Let us rejoice and be glad and give glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb
has come and His bride has made herself ready.”
He made them Joyful
Note 3 reasons for their Joy / God desires that we
experience.
Our
text unfolds 3 aspects of the joy that God wants us to have as His people:
1.)God
wants us to know the joy of His providential care for us
God uses King Darius to
provide for the people of God to finish the work. RD V.6
V.6 Stay away Here is your answer – stay
away!
This
often happens – Ministry the Lord’s work there is heavy opposition suddenly
there is a break thru
It
is like the Lord –holds back the hand of the enemy
RD V.7-10
Darius
issues a new decree – adds to the old one
A)We
are going to use tax money to do this AND whatever they need to worship – YOU supply them
God supplied for the work
& the worship
B)
Amazing take tax money and give it to God’s pp to do God’s work! GET IT DONE
C)Have
to wonder what is happening in the heart of old Darius – God was obviously
doing something
11-12 Protection
11 Also I issue
a decree that whoever alters this edict,
let a timber be pulled from his house and erected, and let him be hanged on it;
and let his house be made a refuse heap because of this.
Historians
tell us this Darius had 3,000 Babylonians impaled on trees for disobeying one
of his decrees
A)I am sure when Tattenai
and his gang heard this they were like yes sir.
B)Then as if to say: And If
I can’t catch them or deal with them – Darius adds
12 And may the
God who causes His name to dwell there destroy any king or people who put their
hand to alter it, or to destroy this house of God which is in
C)So if Tattenai and his
gang were hoping to come against the Israelites their plan back fired in a
major way.
Recap
–God sends his prophets to stir up the Pp – to get them to work – Get back on
focus
A)1 Corinthians The Prophets
speak words of edification – build up stir up
B)The minute that the pp
respond to the word of the Lord – God begins to work
C)Yes there is opposition –
but His will and plan are greater than the opposition!
D)It was discovered a decree
was made – a scroll was found in this remote place
Spiritual
Principle:
A)The enemy ACCUSES and
CONDEMNS and he wants to STALL what God is doing IN and THROUGH your life.
B)But tucked away in a far
away palace is a scroll, called the Lambs Book of Life.
C)On that scroll, is your
name (if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ).
1)IF your name is written
there, THEN all of your sins are ERASED by the blood of Jesus Christ.
D)The enemy can NOT get to
that scroll. He can NOT tamper with it or destroy it.
Have
comment on v.10 Their sacrifices were a sweet aroma to the Lord!
A)Great truth for us – the
Bible talks about the Sacrifice of our lives –
B)Sacrifice of Praise
1)Sacrifice of our Giving
C) Sacrifice of our time /
talents / labor
D)All are a Sweet aroma to
the Lord when done with a right heart!
2.
God wants us to know the joy of productivity in our service for Him. RD V.13-18
So there was a great time of
Sacrifice and Joy because the temple was finished – worship was happening .
A)Sacrificed 100 Bulls / 200
rams / 400 sheep
B)Now it was during this
time that Haggai uttered another interesting prophecy
In the seventh
month, on the twenty-first of the month, the word of the LORD came by Haggai
the prophet, saying: 2 "Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel,
governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to
the remnant of the people, saying: 3'Who is left among you who saw this temple
in its former glory? And how do you see it now? In comparison with it, is this
not in your eyes as nothing?
Those who were there who
saw Solomon’s temple and remembered what
they dedicated
20,000 bulls / 120,000 sheep
– this was nothing
This temple was smaller and
much more simple
Functional
4 Yet now be strong, Zerubbabel,' says
the LORD; 'and be strong, Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be
strong, all you people of the land,' says the LORD, 'and work; for I am with
you,' says the LORD of hosts. 5'According
to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of
6 "For
thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Once more (it is a little while) I will shake
heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; 7 and I will shake all nations, and
they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with
glory,' says the LORD of hosts.
This temple is
the temple that was in place when Jesus lived – Herod
added to it. Mainly the court yard areas – but the temple itself was
essentially the same.
The day Christ died – the
earth shook – the veil was rent in two – Glory of God filled that place
9'The glory of
this latter temple shall be greater than the former,' says the LORD of hosts.
'And in this place I will give peace,' says the LORD of hosts."
Amazing declaration: this
building that was nothing in comparison to the first – shall have a greater
glory because of the purpose it would fulfill
at the time of Christ death –
Declaration
– welcome sinner come / Access
Access
fellowship is now available.
1.)God wants us to know the
joy of His providential care for us
2. God wants us to know the
joy of productivity in our service for Him.
RD V.13-18
3.
God wants us to know the joy of purity and obedience to Him. RD V.19-22
So often pp think of Purity
and obedience in a negative way.
A)Nothing is further from
the truth –
B)Joy of a clear conscience
C)Joy of confidence that God
is with you.
D)Joy in knowing – right
before Him
The
LORD made them joyful:
“So ends the first stage, a generation long,
of
and
it concluded with His turning the heart of one of that king’s most powerful
successors.”