The Heart of the King

Today’s Reading – Ezra 3 – 7 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers Read – Romans 13 – 16; Psalms 131 – 135; Proverbs 28)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – 1 Timothy 1:17

Read the “0528 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Read previous posts from today’s passage – “Leave Them Alone” and “Stop Living in the Past“

“The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.” (Proverbs 21:1)

“(2) Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.” (Ezra 1:2)

“(1) Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon. … (7) Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God in his place.” (Ezra 6:1, 7)

“(21) And the children of Israel, which were come again out of captivity, and all such as had separated themselves unto them from the filthiness of the heathen of the land, to seek the LORD God of Israel, did eat, (22) And kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy: for the LORD had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.” (Ezra 6:21-22)

“Blessed be the LORD God of our fathers, which hath put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem:” (Ezra 7:27)

Here in the Book of Ezra, we have read about three different kings of Persia which were clearly in favor of the people of God returning into their land and rebuilding their city and Temple. In chapter one, we read about the original decree issued by Cyrus, and in the following chapters we see that the people got busy working on the restoration of the house of God. However, in chapter four, we learn that there were enemies of the people of God who opposed the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem and the Temple, and they petitioned King Artaxerxes (I) and convinced him that these Jews were trouble makers and that the work should stop. This king temporarily halts the project until a further investigation could be made. He later revoked the halting of the project and even gave the people of God whatever they needed to do the will of God (7:27). In chapter 6, we read about Darius who also supported the Israelites as they re-built their Temple, and he even commanded that everyone else in the area leave them alone.

Each of these kings was under the sovereign control of the King of Kings, and though they also had their own free will, God used them to accomplish His purposes. The bottom line is that the Lord is in control. If God’s people are submissive to His will and obedient to His commands, God will provide civil leadership that will be supportive of what the people want to do. The key is really in the hands of God’s people. “If my people … ” (2 Chronicles 7:14) do what they are supposed to do, God will heal the land, including the political leadership. Here in Ezra, God’s people were submissive to God and were trying to obey Him, and God was helping them. The only hiccup during this time was when the people allowed the opposition (and there will always be opposition) to cause them to quit, but as soon as they got back on track and determined to finish the project, God sent decrees from the king to help them accomplish God’s purpose.

Our job as New Testament believers is to just make sure that we are living inside the perfect will of God, doing whatever He has called us to do. Then we can trust that God will do His part. He will provide for us, protect us, and send some people our way who will support and help us. God is still in control today.