My Come Follow Me studies for this week took me to Ezra and Nehemiah in a lesson titled “I Am Doing a Great Work.” The following information introduced the lesson.
The
Jewish people had been captives in Babylonia for about 70 years. They had
lost Jerusalem and the temple, and many had forgotten their commitment to God’s
law. But God had not forgotten them. In fact, He had declared through His
prophet, “I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you
to return” (Jeremiah 29:10). True to this prophecy, the Lord made a way for His
people to return—both to Jerusalem and, more importantly, to their covenants.
And
He raised up servants who accomplished “a great work” (Nehemiah 6:3): A
governor named Zerubbabel oversaw the rebuilding of the house of the Lord.
Ezra, a priest and scribe, helped the people turn their hearts back to the
Lord’s law. And Nehemiah led the rebuilding of the protective walls around
Jerusalem. They met opposition, but they also got help from unexpected sources.
Their
experiences can inform and inspire ours because we too are doing a great work.
And like theirs, our work has much to do with the house of the Lord, the law of
the Lord, and the spiritual protection we find in Him.
The
following principles are taught in this scripture block: (1) The Lord inspires
people to accomplish His purposes (Ezra 1). (2) The house of the Lord is a
place of joy (Ezra 3:8-13; 6:16-22). (3) God has an important work for me to do
(Ezra 4-7; Nehemiah 2; 4; 6). (4) I am blessed when I study the scriptures
(Nehemiah 8).
This
essay will discuss principle #1 about God inspiring people to help accomplish
His work. After Persia conquered Babylonia, the Lord inspired the Persian king,
Cyrus, to send a group of Jews to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. God gave the
following charge to Cyrus (Ezra 1:1-4).
1 Now
in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of
the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled,
the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia,
that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also
in writing, saying,
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.
3 Who is
there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go
up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of
the Lord God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in
Jerusalem.
4 And
whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place
help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside
the freewill offering for the house of God that is in
Jerusalem.
God inspired
King Cyrus to assist in the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. Cyrus was
not a Jew; he was a Persian. There was no good reason The following verses tell
us that Cyrus announced to his entire kingdom that he was sending Jews back to
rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. He called for all the Jews that could go to
go. For those who could not go, the king asked them to donate gold and silver.
Can you
think of any men or women, members of the Church and people who are not members
of His Church, whom the Lord uses to help with His work? I would, of course,
name prophets and apostles, ancient and modern-day. I would also name Johannes
Gutenberg (printing press), Columbus, the Founding Fathers of the United States
who wrote and signed the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution,
and other great men and women.
After
the U.S. Embassy was moved to Jerusalem, the Israeli government minted a Temple
coin with the likenesses of Cyrus and Donald Trump on it. This means that the
Jewish nation considers the work of Trump as great as that of Cyrus.
The
nation of Israel minted this Temple Coin to commemorate the US Embassy being
moved to Jerusalem
