Ezra #5-6 – Footing the Bill

The opening verses of Ezra 5 are a conclusion to the events of Chapter 4. Chapter 5 opens with the fact that it was the word of God that stirred them to work, and Chapter 6 ends with the fact that it was the word of God that stirred them to joy at the completion of the Temple.

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. 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. (Ezra 5:1-2)

We can say three things about the word that God speaks to us from these opening verses.

First, God’s voice is a Commanding Voice. Ultimately, neither the Kings of this world nor any other ruler is our master. Only the God of Israel is “over us”. From beginning to end, we are under His sway.
Secondly, God’s voice is a Comforting Voice. The Prophets prophesied, and the workers got up to work.

That is what the word of God does. God speaks, and the weak are made strong. The word packs power, and its comfort is what moves us to and sustains us in obedience.

Thirdly, God’s voice is a Confronting Voice. The moment Israel returns to work under the encouragement of the prophets, she faces renewed opposition. God speaks to men, and men find it confronting.

And so, as often happens in our pride, we respond with a word of our own.

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?”… What are the names of the men who are building this building?” (Ezra 5:3-4)

Tattenai demands to know whether the D.A. has been submitted to council for approval. Eden: This is the way when our chief interest is the establishment and security of our own kingdom.

The upshot of all this is that God remains provident in all of the human drama that follows. Sometimes His providence is clearly seen, sometimes Hidden.

In the opening chapters of Ezra, we learn that God governs what comes to pass and that He does it through human agency – through Cyrus. Here, we learn that God is also provident of what doesn’t come to pass.

Tattenai may have liked them to stop them, but, as Ezra 3:5 shows, the eye of the Lord was upon His people, and it was Tattenai who was stopped.

Are you willing to concede God’s providence over the affairs in your life? Are you willing to acknowledge that what doesn’t come to pass for you is also under the providence of God?

Tattania quizzes the Jews on their building project and writes to Darius to check the facts – to see if they really did get council permission. He probably wished he had kept his mouth shut. For the evil that Tattenai attempted, God turned for good.

In Ezra 5:12, the Jews tell Tattenai what they are doing and why. They admit that under the providence of God, they were kicked out of the land, and the Temple was destroyed. And now, under that same providence, God had moved Cyrus to give them permission and resources to rebuild.

But perhaps what’s even more remarkable is the response that Darius (the new king) gives. After checking the facts for himself, He then orders Tattenai to get out of the way, and, he decrees that Persia foot the bill for the Temple work.

To drive home the magnitude of God’s undeserved favour: Darius, in Ezra 6:22, is described as the King of Assyria. The bloodthirsty arch-enemy of the Jews was now funding their restoration.

Isn’t this the way with God? His Providence is never bare bones, never cold. It is rich and extravagant toward us.

There’s a “Who’d have guessed?” feel about the whole thing. There’s a wonderful corollary to this found in Exodus. there, Moses’ mother gives up her baby to keep it from Pharoah’s slaughter. In the events that follow, she not only gets her baby back to raise (unbeknownst to Pharoah), but she also gets state protection and a salary to do it!

What conclusions can we draw from this? In all of these events, God’s providence works through human agency. And the work is one of redemption.

God sends His prophets, and with a word, the people return to work. God decrees the building of the Temple, and Cyrus, Artexerxes and Darius, all become Yahweh’s shop boys.

And so we read,

Then, according to the word sent by Darius the king, Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the river, …did with all diligence what Darius the king had ordered. And the elders of the Jews built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai… and Zechariah… They finished their building by decree of the God of Israel and by decree of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes, king of Persia, 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. (Ezra 6:13-15)

Moreover, it’s the king of the then-known world who foots the bill.

This world’s goods are in the hand of God, and He turns the hearts of whomever he pleases in order to give what is His to whomever He wills.

Likewise, our lives are to be characterised by these kinds of redemptive relationships. The giving of ourselves as a reflection of Christ for the redemption of others. A willingness to foot the bill, to take it on the chin so that others might be saved.

What lies ahead for those who put their faith in such extravagant promises? Joy.

The God who gives us the treasures of this world through His chosen King, Jesus Christ, The God who is provident both to do and to will according to His good pleasure, is also provident over our joy.

And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy, for the Lord  had made them joyful (Ezra 6:22)

This is the goal of God’s providence in our lives. Not to destroy the world but to redeem it. God does not govern the world with a stingy providence, but His redemption does come with a price.

In the previous verse (Ezra 6:21), we see that the kingdom is open to all kinds of people.

Earlier, we read that Zerrubabel refused the help of the surrounding communities. Some neighbours come over and offer to help with the work and Zerrubabel says, “Get outa here…”

Later, some other neighbours ask if they can join in for the feast and the answer is, “Come on in…”

In Ezra 4:3, people are turned away, while in Ezra 6:21, those same kinds of people are warmly welcomed. But there was a high price to pay. They had to separate themselves from the impurity of the nations.

Likewise, the church does not win the world by becoming like the world. It must insist that the world leave the world when it enters the church.

But that does not mean that the church is some closed-door club for the spiritual elite. Our redemption is not something that works its way into our lives. It starts in the heart and works its way out into all of life.

The welcome that these Jews gave to those who longed to join them at the table is warm and genuine, but the price was a costly conversion from their former way of life. It involved the death of the old way.

In a sense, what we have here is Darius funding and furthering the conversion of the unbelievers. From a worldly point of view, this is not good politics. It is going to be bad for the budget. But this is part of the richness of God’s providence.

However, while the restoration and the coming in of the outsiders is wonderful, Darius can really only fund part of the project. Darius may be king of Persia and even king of Assyria, but He is not the King of the people of God.

In the end, he will die, and the money will run out. The Temple is destroyed, and the people will once again be scattered.

All of our attempts to restore ourselves can only ever be just that – attempts. They never go far enough. We don’t finally and fully succeed on our own because we were never meant to.

This has consequences. We look around and get disheartened. Will the Kingdom ever truly come to our town? You’ve laboured long, you’ve prayed, you’ve hoped and waited. You’ve put your wealth into this little corner of God’s vineyard, hoping it would grow.

Perhaps you feel that things will never truly change.

We sometimes make the mistake of looking to Darius – the man with the money and resources – rather than looking to the King, He foreshadowed.

Of this King, Zechariah spoke to the Jews, and this was the word that strengthened them to work and build. Not the word or wealth of the Darius of Persia, but the Word and wealth of the Darius of God, Jesus Christ, of whom Zechariah spoke (Zechariah 9:9-10).

And so, what should we do when all we see is the impossible task of restoration and transformation?

We keep looking to Jesus Christ, waiting till He pours out His Spirit upon this place and accomplishes our redemption out of His own wallet. We wait, trust, and plead God’s promises until one greater than Darius arises in our hearts and foots the bill.