The Story, Pt. 19, Ezra - Hearing God
![Hearing and Responding to the Voice of God!
The Story, Pt. 19: The Return Home
By Pastor Dan Kennedy
© October 12, 2014
www.pastorkennedy.com
In recent messages we have been going through the Bible – from the beginning, reviewing well-known persons, Books, and historical events!
We have most recently explored Israel as she became a nation. We have reviewed her kings, her sins, her downfall, and Jerusalem’s destruction. The downfall culminated with the majority of the Israelites taken captive and led to Babylon.
Today we will be looking at five individuals, as recorded by Ezra the scribe, who heard God’s Voice and Responded:
• Isaiah – 200 years prior to Israel’s Return from Exile, prophesied of a king named Cyrus who would be God’s instrument to bring Israel back to her land. (To parallel this amazing prophecy – putting in our own timeframe, this would be like Jonathan Edwards, in the mid 1700’s recording a prophesy about today’s America [in 2014] being destroyed because of sin, but declaring that America would be reestablished as to a nation of greatness, by specifically naming a leader who would reestablish and restore our national power.) Isaiah prophesied this about Israel, some 200 years before her destruction, through naming King Cyrus as the instrument God would use for Israel’s restoration!
• Jeremiah – Calling on Israel to repent of her sins, predicting her downfall and destruction, living through the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, and seeing the Israelites being carried off, in a series of deportations, into exile into Babylon. Then declaring that the exiles would be brought back into the land, and the city and Temple restored, after 70 years of captivity. (To parallel this in our own time, it would be like a national spiritual leader, such as Franklin Graham, calling out the United States to repentance, because of our gross falling away from God. Then watching as our nation imploded from acts of terrorism, and/or financial crisis’s, and/or natural disasters, and/or pandemic disease, causing economical, political and spiritual disaster. Causing our country to be diminished to a third world nation status while China, Europe and Russia became primary leaders in the world.)
• King Cyrus – The unbelieving Persian king, identified 200 years previous to his reign by Isaiah, who would hear God’s Voice and make a proclamation to restore the exiles back to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple and reestablish the land of Israel.
Ezra 1:1
“In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia (576 – 530 BC), 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, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing….”
• Haggai and Zechariah – Old Testament Prophets of God who responded to God’s Voice and prompted the Israelites to reject those who opposed the rebuilding of the Temple, stop building on their own houses, and once again begin construction on God’s Temple.
Let’s take a break for a moment and look at how we might hear God’s Voice today. If we are not attuned to listening for God’s Voice we can find ourselves in great anxiety and uncertainty…where we are surrounded by spiritually deceptive voices.
How Does God Speak to Us Today?
We who have called on the Name of the Lord for Salvation (Rom. 10:13), whose sins have been cleansed by the Blood of Jesus Christ (Heb. 9:11-28); who have been born into God’s family by the power of the Holy Spirit (John 3:3-5; 1 Cor. 6:11) whose bodies are the Temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19), are those who should be able to hear and distinguish the Voice of God!
• God speaks to us through His Word.
Psalm 119:105
105 Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.
• God speaks to us through His Holy Spirit.
Romans 8:14
14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
• God speaks to us through Wise Counsel.
Proverbs 15:22
22 Without counsel plans fail,
but with many advisers they succeed.
• God speaks to us through others – both good and even sometimes, not so good (1 Cor. 16:9).
1 Corinthians 16:9
9 for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.
• God speaks to us through circumstances.
Revelation 3:8
8 “I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.”
How Can We Discern Whether or Not a Spiritual Prompting is from God?
• If someone proclaims himself or herself to be sharing a Word from God we should “test the spirits”.
1 John 4:1–4
Test the Spirits
4 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. 4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
• Spiritual maturity, through experience, can give us discernment regarding if a prompting is from God.
Hebrews 5:14
14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
• Responses regarding spiritual pressure (from dreams, curses, prophecies, or other spiritual announcements about you or those you love), which are not from God, and/or an acceptance for that which is from God.
“Dear Heavenly Father, that which is from you, I accept and that which is not from you, I reject, by the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ.”
Hearing and Responding to God’s Voice is not always Easy…but it is always Best.
Four Aspects of Listening for the Voice of God:
¬ Hearing with Spiritual Discernment the Voice of God.
¬ Acting on God’s Word to our Hearts.
¬ Realizing there will be Opposition in fulfilling the Work that God has called you to do.
¬ Diligently seeking to Complete the Work that God has prompted you to do.
Now let’s return to Ezra’s account of how God brought His people from exile as individuals responded to the Voice of God.
Hearing God’s Voice in a Nation that God was Judging
Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem and God’s Temple in 586 BC. Jeremiah had prophesied, by the Word of the Lord, that because of their sin in turning from God, the Israelites would be in captivity for 70 years (Jeremiah 25:11-14; 2 Chron. 36:19-21). This return from exile would be proclaimed by an unknown king, at the time of Isaiah, whose name was Cyrus.
The Prophecy of the Word of the Lord, by Isaiah (ministering in the mid-700’s BC), some 130 years before the fall of Jerusalem; some 200 years prior to Cyrus’ reign.
Isaiah 44:28
28 who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd,
and he shall fulfill all my purpose’;
saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’
and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’ ”
Cyrus, God’s Instrument
Isaiah 45:1–5
45 Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,
whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him
and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him
that gates may not be closed….
4 “For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen,
I call you by your name,
I name you, though you do not know me.
5 I am the Lord, and there is no other,
besides me there is no God;
I equip you, though you do not know me….”
Isaiah 45:13
13 I have stirred him (Cyrus) up in righteousness,
and I will make all his ways level; he shall build my city
and set my exiles free, not for price or reward,”
says the Lord of hosts.
• Jeremiah’s Prophecy
Jeremiah 25:12–13
12 Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, declares the Lord, making the land an everlasting waste. 13 I will bring upon that land all the words that I have uttered against it, everything written in this book, which Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations.
Jeremiah 29:10
10 “For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.
Daniel 9:2
2 in the first year of his (Darius’) reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.
Why 70 years?
God’s people had dishonored God’s laws for 490 years! They disregarded God’s instruction of letting the land lay fallow every 7th year – the year of the forgiveness of debt and slavery, known as the “Shemitah”, along with other decrees that God had given His people. The Jewish people had also plunged into the corrupt practices of worshipping the heathen gods of the nations around them. Their hearts had so carnally turned away from God that they committed sins worse than those whom they had originally conquered, which the land vomited out because of their polluted and Godless ways (Lev. 20:22; 2 Kings 21:11-12).
¬ God Spoke His Word.
¬ The Prophet Jeremiah was God’s Messenger relaying God’s Word.
¬ The Prophet Isaiah identified the king who would restore Israel.
¬ God compelled King Cyrus to make a proclamation, in writing, regarding rebuilding His Temple in Jerusalem.
¬ God’s Prophets prompted His People to Complete the Work.
¬ God’s Word was Fulfilled.
The Proclamation of King Cyrus as Recorded by Ezra
Ezra 1 begins with an interesting verse. It references the Word of God given by a prophet, and that the LORD stirred up the King of Persia’s spirit to do something somewhat out of character to one nation which had conquered another…to proclaim freedom to the nation and pay for their return and the rebuilding of their Temple.
God’s Spirit Stirred Cyrus, King of Persia (Ezra 1:1-2)
1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia (576 – 530 BC), 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, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing:
2 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem. 4 And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.”
The Return of the Temple Vessels, and the Return of the Exiles (Ezra 1:5-2:70)
The Rebuilding of the Altar (Ezra 3:1-7)
Ezra 3:3 They set the altar in its place, for fear was on them because of the peoples of the lands, and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, burnt offerings morning and evening.
Laying the Foundation of the Temple (Ezra 3:8-13)
10 And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments came forward with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord, according to the directions of David king of Israel. 11 And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord,
“For he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.”
And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. 12 But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted aloud for joy, 13 so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people shouted with a great shout, and the sound was heard far away.
The Adversaries Opposing the Rebuilding (Ezra 4:1-24)
Adversaries were Deceitful in their “Offer” to be Helpful (4:1-3)
4 Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the Lord, the God of Israel, 2 they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ houses and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria who brought us here.” 3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers’ houses in Israel said to them, “You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”
B. Adversaries Discourage, bring Fear, Bribe Counselors and write Letters of accusation to the King, in order to Frustrate the Workers throughout the Building of the Temple’s Foundation (4:4-6)
4 Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build 5 and bribed counselors against them to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.
6 And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
C. Adversaries Appealed to King Artaxerxes to Stop the Rebuilding, and Artaxerxes Listened to their Opposition and caused the work to Stop (Ezra 4:7-24).
The Letter to King Artaxerxes
7 In the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam and Mithredath and Tabeel and the rest of their associates wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated. 8 Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows: 9 Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates, the judges, the governors, the officials, the Persians, the men of Erech, the Babylonians, the men of Susa, that is, the Elamites, 10 and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River. 11 (This is a copy of the letter that they sent.) “To Artaxerxes the king: Your servants, the men of the province Beyond the River, send greeting. And now 12 be it known to the king that the Jews who came up from you to us have gone to Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are finishing the walls and repairing the foundations. 13 Now be it known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and the royal revenue will be impaired. 14 Now because we eat the salt of the palace and it is not fitting for us to witness the king’s dishonor, therefore we send and inform the king, 15 in order that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers. You will find in the book of the records and learn that this city is a rebellious city, hurtful to kings and provinces, and that sedition was stirred up in it from of old. That was why this city was laid waste. 16 We make known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls finished, you will then have no possession in the province Beyond the River.”
The King Orders the Work to Cease
17 The king sent an answer: “To Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe and the rest of their associates who live in Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River, greeting. And now 18 the letter that you sent to us has been plainly read before me. 19 And I made a decree, and search has been made, and it has been found that this city from of old has risen against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made in it. 20 And mighty kings have been over Jerusalem, who ruled over the whole province Beyond the River, to whom tribute, custom, and toll were paid. 21 Therefore make a decree that these men be made to cease, and that this city be not rebuilt, until a decree is made by me. 22 And take care not to be slack in this matter. Why should damage grow to the hurt of the king?”
23 Then, when the copy of King Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their associates, they went in haste to the Jews at Jerusalem and by force and power made them cease. 24 Then the work on the house of God that is in Jerusalem stopped, and it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.
D. Adversaries were Rebuked through God’s Prophets and Diligent Rebuilding and Appealing to King Darius (Ezra 5-6)
Rebuilding Begins Anew
5 Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. 2 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.
3 At the same time Tattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and their associates came to them and spoke to them thus: “Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure?” 4 They also asked them this: “What are the names of the men who are building this building?” 5 But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them until the report should reach Darius and then an answer be returned by letter concerning it.
Tattenai’s Letter to King Darius
6 This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and his associates, the governors who were in the province Beyond the River, sent to Darius the king. 7 They sent him a report, in which was written as follows: “To Darius the king, all peace. 8 Be it known to the king that we went to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God. It is being built with huge stones, and timber is laid in the walls. This work goes on diligently and prospers in their hands. 9 Then we asked those elders and spoke to them thus: ‘Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure?’ 10 We also asked them their names, for your information, that we might write down the names of their leaders. 11 And this was their reply to us: ‘We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the house that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished. 12 But because our fathers had angered the God of heaven, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house and carried away the people to Babylonia. 13 However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, Cyrus the king made a decree that this house of God should be rebuilt. 14 And the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple that was in Jerusalem and brought into the temple of Babylon, these Cyrus the king took out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered to one whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor; 15 and he said to him, “Take these vessels, go and put them in the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its site.” 16 Then this Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and from that time until now it has been in building, and it is not yet finished.’ 17 Therefore, if it seems good to the king, let search be made in the royal archives there in Babylon, to see whether a decree was issued by Cyrus the king for the rebuilding of this house of God in Jerusalem. And let the king send us his pleasure in this matter.”
The Decree of Darius
6 Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in Babylonia, in the house of the archives where the documents were stored. 2 And in Ecbatana, the citadel that is in the province of Media, a scroll was found on which this was written: “A record. 3 In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king issued a decree: Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the house be rebuilt, the place where sacrifices were offered, and let its foundations be retained. Its height shall be sixty cubits and its breadth sixty cubits, 4 with three layers of great stones and one layer of timber. Let the cost be paid from the royal treasury. 5 And also let the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and brought back to the temple that is in Jerusalem, each to its place. You shall put them in the house of God.”
6 “Now therefore, Tattenai, governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and your associates the governors who are in the province Beyond the River, keep away. 7 Let the work on this house of God alone. Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God on its site. 8 Moreover, I make a decree regarding what you shall do for these elders of the Jews for the rebuilding of this house of God. The cost is to be paid to these men in full and without delay from the royal revenue, the tribute of the province from Beyond the River. 9 And whatever is needed—bulls, rams, or sheep for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, or oil, as the priests at Jerusalem require—let that be given to them day by day without fail, 10 that they may offer pleasing sacrifices to the God of heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons. 11 Also I make a decree that if anyone alters this edict, a beam shall be pulled out of his house, and he shall be impaled on it, and his house shall be made a dunghill. 12 May the God who has caused his name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who shall put out a hand to alter this, or to destroy this house of God that is in Jerusalem. I Darius make a decree; let it be done with all diligence.”
The Temple Finished and Dedicated
13 Then, according to the word sent by Darius the king, Tattenai, the governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates did with all diligence what Darius the king had ordered. 14 And the elders of the Jews built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. They finished their building by decree of the God of Israel and by decree of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia; 15 and this house was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.
16 And the people of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the returned exiles, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy. 17 They offered at the dedication of this house of God 100 bulls, 200 rams, 400 lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel 12 male goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. 18 And they set the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their divisions, for the service of God at Jerusalem, as it is written in the Book of Moses.
Passover Celebrated
19 On the fourteenth day of the first month, the returned exiles kept the Passover. 20 For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together; all of them were clean. So they slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the returned exiles, for their fellow priests, and for themselves. 21 It was eaten by the people of Israel who had returned from exile, and also by every one who had joined them and separated himself from the uncleanness of the peoples of the land to worship the Lord, the God of Israel. 22 And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy, for the Lord had made them joyful and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, so that he aided them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.
¬ God Spoke His Word.
¬ The Prophet Jeremiah was God’s Messenger relaying God’s Word.
¬ The Prophet Isaiah identified the king who would restore Israel.
¬ God compelled King Cyrus to make a proclamation, in writing, regarding rebuilding His Temple in Jerusalem.
¬ God’s Prophets prompted His People to Complete the Work.
¬ God’s Word was Fulfilled.
Conclusion
It is thrilling to read stories such as recorded by Ezra and to see God moving in the nations, and how He spoke to Prophets and Kings on behalf of His People. God still speaks to our hearts today. He uses His Word, the Bible, to communicate His Truth. His Holy Spirit prompts us to reach out to certain people and to accomplish His purposes for His Kingdom’s sake. May we be sensitive to His Voice.
How Does God Speak to Us Today?
• God speaks to us through His Word (Ps. 119:105).
• God speaks to us through His Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:14).
• God speaks to us through Wise Counsel (Prov. 15:22).
• God speaks to us through others – both good and even sometimes, not so good (1 Cor. 16:9).
• God speaks to us through circumstances (Rev. 3:8).
How Can We Discern Whether or Not a Spiritual Prompting is from God?
• If someone proclaims himself or herself to be sharing a Word from God we should “test the spirits” (1 John 4:1–4).
• Spiritual maturity, through experience, can give us discernment regarding if a prompting is from God (Heb. 5:14).
• Responses regarding spiritual pressure (from dreams, curses, prophecies, or other spiritual announcements about you or those you love), which are not from God, and/or an acceptance for that which is from God.
“Dear Heavenly Father, that which is from you, I accept and that which is not from you, I reject, by the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ.”
Hearing and Responding to God’s Voice is not always Easy…but it is always Best.
Four Aspects of Listening for the Voice of God:
¬ Hearing with Spiritual Discernment the Voice of God.
¬ Acting on God’s Word to our Hearts.
¬ Realizing there will be Opposition in fulfilling the Work that God has called you to do.
¬ Diligently seeking to Complete the Work that God has prompted you to do.](Pt._19,_Ezra_-_Hearing_Gods_Voice_files/shapeimage_1.png)
