God's Call and Commission - Lessons in Ezra 1:1-4

 GOD'S CALL AND COMMISSION - EZRA 1:1-4

By Ezekiel Kimosop

I am starting a new study series through the Book of Ezra. 

In the opening four verses of Ezra 1, God did an unusual thing. He stirred up the heart of Cyrus, a heathen ruler of Persia, and he wrote a royal proclamation or decree. In his decree, Cyrus acknowledged that God had given him the kingdoms of the earth (Ezra 1:2). 

This declaration is important in recognizing what God was about to do using this Persian ruler that God fondly spoke of 150 years earlier in Isaiah 44:28 saying "Who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd,

And he shall perform all My pleasure,

Saying to Jerusalem, “You shall be built,”

And to the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.”’

Cyrus confesses that God had commanded him to build Him a house at Jerusalem in Judah. This is definitely a fulfilment of prophecy with divine precision!

Notice that the people of Judah were his captives who had been brought there by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in 586 BC. Bible scholars say that Cyrus had defeated the Babylonian Empire in 539 BC, and God graciously used him to release the Jews to return to their homelands about 50 years after their humiliation under the Babylonians.

Not all the people however returned at this point. The first lot returned under Zerubabbel in 538 BC and started rebuilding the Temple (cf Haggai 1-2). 

Ezra the priest led the second group in 458 BC and he instituted the religious reforms associated with him (Ezra 7-10). 

Nehemiah led the third group in 444 BC (see Nehemiah 1-6). 

The reformation period associated with Nehemiah and Ezra covered the reigns of Artaxerxes (464-424BC) and Darius II (423-405 BC). 

Now back to our passage.

In Ezra 1:3-4, Cyrus makes a plea to the Jewish captives, asking for volunteers who were willing to return to Jerusalem on the assignment of the reconstruction work on the Temple. He also calls for financial support towards the task. This was awesome.

What do we learn from the opening verses of Ezra?

First, we learn that all kingdoms and resources primarily belong to God. There's nothing at our disposal that never came from Him. We are therefore stewards of God's resources.

Secondly, we learn that God is in the business of using people to accomplish His purposes even under unusual circumstances. He is also not a respecter of persons. He can use any vessel at His disposal to accomplish His purposes in Christ.

If God can use the heathen to proclaim His glory and to serve Him, how much more is He pleased to use us who know Him in Christ and who understand His mind and His purposes for the Church? 

God is now calling people not only to a covenant relationship with Him in Christ, but into the service of ministry. 

The Jews perhaps had reasons to complain about, some having imagined that God had abandoned them to the heathen or that they lacked resources. In these trying seasons of pain and afflictions under difficult economic times brought by the COVID 19 pandemic, God is still calling us to faithfulness.

Think about the call of ministry and the gifts and skills that God has graciously placed at your disposal. Think about the glaring gaps in the Church ministry programs that cry out for stewardship and service. 

For those of us who are privileged to live in cities urban centres, what is the status of our Church Ministry in your rural village? When did you last visit that Christian community and worshipped with them? What challenges are they facing? 

Perhaps a dilapidated church sanctuary that our grandfather's generation founded 70 years earlier still serves the community. 

What can you and I do about that?

Think of the opportunity at our disposal to reach out to the lost... even if we cannot physically go on a particular evangelism mission or lack the skills to accomplish a given ministry task, we can send our resources so that others can stand in for us. Cyrus didn't build the temple but no one can discount his influence in getting it done!

If God has stirred your heart towards serving Him, look no further!

Arise and shine for the glory of God has shone upon you! Walk the stairs of ministry service...

© Ezekiel Kimosop 2020