Yesterday Once More

YESTERDAY ONCE MORE (EZRA 1)

The old Scot calls his son in London the day before Christmas Eve and says, “I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; forty-five years of misery is enough.”

“Dad, what are you talking about?’ the son gasps.

“We can’t stand the sight of each other any longer” the father says.” We’re sick of each other, and I’m sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Leeds and tell her.”

In panic the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone. “Over my dead body they’re getting divorced!” she shouts. “I’ll take care of this!”

She calls Scotland immediately, and admonishes her father. “You are NOT getting divorced,” she says. “Don’t do a single thing until I get there. I’m calling my brother back, and we’ll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don’t do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?” and hangs up.

The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife. “Sorted! They’re coming for Christmas – and they’re paying their own way.”

The Lord has a way of turning people, things and circumstances around, a specialty and skill peculiar only to Him, of which the Jewish exile was one of the most inconceivable and most incomprehensible of all historical events.

The Jewish exile or diaspora is different from most exiles or deportation. For example, many Poles have chosen – or been forced – to go into exile, forming large diasporas (known as Polonia), especially in France and the United States. The entire population of Crimean Tatars (200,000) that remained in their homeland Crimea was exiled on 18 May 1944 to Central Asia. Since the Cuban Revolution over one million Cubans have left Cuba. One of the most well-known instances of this is the Polish government-in-exile that commanded Polish armed forces operating outside Poland after German occupation during World War II. (Wikipedia)

What does God want us to learn when we are helpless and things seem hopeless? How does God work in the lives of those who belong to Him and believe in Him? Why is dependence on to God and deference to Him the only way to overcome adversity and affliction in life?

Let Us Rewind: Reflect on God’s Promise

1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing: (Ezra 1:1)

A man goes to his pastor and tells him how much he needs more patience and asks that the pastor pray for him in this matter. The pastor agrees and suggests they have prayer right there. As he prays, he prays that this man would have trials come into his life and have many struggles. Right in the middle of the prayer, the man stops his pastor. “That’s not what I asked for.”

“Sure it is,” his pastor replied, “the way to patience is through just such trials. Paul himself told us that tribulations work patience.”

If that’s the case,” the man answered, “I’ll be glad to wait a little longer to get it.”

Seventy years is a long wait no matter how you look at it. It is as long as retirement, pension and death.

God’s promise is not negated by man’s untrustworthiness, undependability and unpredictability because God is faithful (1 Cor 1:9, 10:13, 1 Thess 5:24, 2 Thess 3:3). He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9), faithful even if we believe not because he cannot deny himself (2 Tim 2:13).

The Ezra text is a clear continuation of the last book of 2 Chronicles 36. Seventy years (2 Chron 36:21) was a long nightmare suffered in the last chapter of 2 Chronicles 36, which ended in misery, mayhem and madness. The unfaithful king, all the leaders of the priests and the people had worshipped Gentile idols, defiled the temple, mocked God’s messengers, despised His words and mocked His prophets until God’s anger was provoked and there was no remedy, resulting in the Babylonian invasion and captivity (2 Chron 36:14-17). The land, however, enjoyed seventy years of Sabbath rest (2 Chron 36:21).

The point of the text is God’s faithfulness in fulfilling prophecy to move Cyrus to release the Israelites and to return temple articles. The verb “move” (v 1) is translated as “stir up” (Deut 32:11, “eagles stirreth up her nest”), awake (Judg 5:12, “Awake, awake, Deborah”), lift up (2 Sam 23:18, “lift up his spear”). This is the same verb previously for the Lord’s work to before the exile “stir up” the spirit of the kings of Assyria to carry the northern Israel kingdom into captivity (1 Chron 5:26) and “aroused” the Philistines, the Arabians and the Ethiopians against Jehoram the southern king and carried away all the king's goods, sons and wives (2 Chron 21:16-17). The turnaround and transformation happened in Ezra’s time. Shockingly this time the Lord moved the spirit of a Gentile king to do unmerited and unbelievable things for two remaining southern tribes after the ten northern tribes vanished.