GOD Will Use Kings To Bless His People - Ezra 1:4
Ezra 1:4 If any of his people in exile need help to return, their neighbors are to give them this help. They are to provide them with silver and gold, supplies and pack animals, as well as offerings to present in the Temple of God in Jerusalem."
It's a surprising letter of command from the King Cyrus, king of Persia, though he don't know the Lord, he commanded this letter to anyone who wishes to help the Jews to rebuild Jerusalem.
I. Commanded To Help
II. Provide Silver and Gold
III. Provide Supplies and Pack Animals
IV. Provide The Offerings For the Temple of God
Our Sovereign Lord in His Infinited Wisdom and Power have commanded a heathen king to bless His people while they return to Jerusalem.
I. Commanded To Help
Since God is King of kings and Lord of lords, He can make a heathen king subject to his commands. So God used King Cyrus of Persia to command other people that are not Jews. God does not request or beg, He commands blessings.
Ezra 7:16 You are also to take all the silver and gold which you collect throughout the province of Babylon and the offerings which the Israelite people and their priests give for the Temple of their God in Jerusalem.
3 John 1:6 They have spoken to the church here about your love. Please help them to continue their trip in a way that will please God.
3 John 1:7 For they set out on their trip in the service of Christ without accepting any help from unbelievers.
3 John 1:8 We Christians, then, must help these people, so that we may share in their work for the truth.
Command the church to give to God, it's for their own good and blessings. God will only use what is given and surrendered to Him. There are lots of people influenced by God to bless His people. You might find even if you don't know the Lord as a believer, that your heart is being touched to give to His ministry, then go on, it's for your own benefit to follow and obey God's commands to you. It's biblical.
II. Provide Silver and Gold
Silver and Gold is the standard of gifts and nothing less. Since God owns everything and all of us, even the heathen kings, they could not disobey God's commands. It's built-in in all of us to follow God's voice. The Lord's people don't deserve than anything else than silver and gold.
Haggai 2:8 All the silver and gold of the world is mine.
1 Chronicles 29:14 "Yet my people and I cannot really give you anything, because everything is a gift from you, and we have only given back what is yours already.
1 Chronicles 29:15 You know, O LORD, that we pass through life like exiles and strangers, as our ancestors did. Our days are like a passing shadow, and we cannot escape death.
1 Chronicles 29:16 O LORD, our God, we have brought together all this wealth to build a temple to honor your holy name, but it all came from you and all belongs to you.
Psa 24:1 The world and all that is in it belong to the LORD; the earth and all who live on it are his.
III. Provide Supplies and Pack Animals
During those days, pack animals are a commodity not a luxury, remember they are all traveling by foot and to carry these supplies weakens them more and will not allow them to travel great distances. So provide the supplies, and with it provide animals that can carry it for the people of God. If God is King of kings and Lord of lords, then his people are kings and queens.
Galatians 6:2 Help carry one another's burdens, and in this way you will obey the law of Christ.
IV. Provide The Offerings For the Temple of God
What good will it be if the people of God does have gold and silver, supplies and pack animals to carry it, without offerings for the temple of God. If you think you are king, or if you're one of the millionaires here in this world, and you're thinking to help God's people, make sure that you complete the gifts.
Ezra 2:68 When the exiles arrived at the LORD's Temple in Jerusalem, some of the leaders of the clans gave freewill offerings to help rebuild the Temple on its old site.
Ezra 2:69 They gave as much as they could for this work, and the total came to 1,030 pounds of gold, 5,740 pounds of silver, and 100 robes for priests.
Ezra 2:70 The priests, the Levites, and some of the people settled in or near Jerusalem; the musicians, the Temple guards, and the Temple workers settled in nearby towns; and the rest of the Israelites settled in the towns where their ancestors had lived.
1 Chronicles 29:3 Over and above all this that I have provided, I have given silver and gold from my personal property because of my love for God's Temple.
You see God deserves all our best, but problem is we don't own anything in this world, so it's like returning to God the favor for all the things we have received in this life.
