Freed from Captivity

March 6, 2022 Background Scripture: Ezra 1; 2:64 - 70 Lesson Passage: Ezra 1:1- 8, 11; 2:64 - 70 The prophetic word of God was very clear. As unlikely as it might have seemed at the time, Jerusalem would be destroyed, and the people of God would go into captivity at the hands of Gentiles. Many of the Jews thought the magnificent temple that was constructed under King Solomon's rule would stand forever. It was their monument, or shrine, to the great God of the Jews. Unfortunately, the temple in Jerusalem had become more of an idol god than the place where God had placed His name. Many of their ancestors were truer to their faith when they lived and worshiped in tents. God warned them for years to repent and return to the first works, but they steadfastly refused. God allowed the temple in Jerusalem to be destroyed and His people to be taken as prisoners of war to a foreign land. The temple was once considered to be one of the seven wonders of the world. Many foreign dignitaries had traveled to Jerusalem just to see that amazing building. God allowed the king of Babylon to send a military to Jerusalem to burn it down and take the people captive. But the prophetic word of God did not end with God's people going into captivity. According to the prophecy God gave Jeremiah, the captivity would last for seventy years. Our lesson today begins at the end of the seventy years of captivity. At that time, God stirred up the heart of another Gentile king, Cyrus of Persia, to give a decree that ordered some of the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple and restore worship there. With one decree by a Gentile king, the Jews were led into captivity. With another decree by another Gentile king seventy years later, the Jews were set free and ordered to return to Jerusalem and restore the temple and worship. Throughout this time, God was in control of the hearts of the kings. Too often we overlook, or forget, that God is not just God of the people who have professed their faith in Him. God is God of everybody and everything. God controls all circumstances—either by direct engagement or through His permissive will that allows things to happen. In either case, God knows the details of the outcome. Events in time happen the way God allows them to happen. I confess to having mixed emotions whenever I read this historical narrative. I am reminded of just how fragile life is from our perspective and yet how controlled it is from the perspective of God. This seems to be a lesson that we are forever leaning. The Jews of the past are examples for Christians. It is like growing up with older siblings. We can save ourselves a lot of pain and disappointment by learning from their experiences. But too often we fail to learn the lessons of others' experiences—and some experiences of our own. "O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear," rings true from generation to generation because of our failure to learn the lessons of the past. One lesson to be embraced from this study is the faithfulness of God. After being warned for many years, the Jews suffered the fate they were warned would happen. But in today's lesson, they received the blessing God promised them would follow seventy years later. Even in judging their sin, God showed mercy. God never forsakes His own. Even when we deserve punishment, God does not destroy us or cast us off forever. God tempers His judgment with mercy. The Jews went into captivity because of their sin, and because of God's character, the Jews were freed from captivity. Robert C. Hudson February 12, 2022