2 Peter 3
Peter wrote both of his letters to stimulate wholesome thinking. He said that the Day of the Lord would come, and that God will bring judgement on the earth, burning it with fire. In light of that, he encouraged us to strive to live pure, holy lives without spot or blemish as we await his coming. "Without spot or blemish" ... sound familiar? Jesus is our spotless lamb without blemish...the perfect sacrifice. We should live our lives modeled after him. He warned that false teachers and scoffers would come saying, "Where is this 'coming' he promised.... everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation." When Moses went up Mount Sinai for 40 days to receive God's commandments (There was more than just the Top Ten), the people got impatient thinking he wasn't coming back and quickly turned to idolatry and sinning. Some people will also think that Jesus isn't coming back, and neither is the judgement of God. But Peter reminds us that "With the Lord a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like a day." God transcends time and is not slow or late but is very patient with us not wanting anyone to perish but come to repentance. He warns us not to follow unstable, false teachers who are ignorant and distort scripture to their own demise. So don't be carried away with lawless men and fall away from your secure position. Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Ezra 1 & 2
1:1 "...in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia..."
1:5 "...everyone whose heart God had moved..."
The older I get, the more and more I see the sovereignty of God in the Bible. We like to talk about free will, but our free will is only as free as God allows it. God's sovereignty is his OWN FREE WILL. In this case, God MOVED THE HEART of King Cyrus to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Also, everyone whose HEART GOD HAD MOVED prepared to go up and build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem. If God doesn't move our hearts, will anything get done? Unless the Lord builds the house, it's laborers labor in vain. God can use WHOEVER he wants, WHENEVER he wants, and HOWEVER he wants, and he doesn't need our permission or will to do it...if he moves our heart. God can use his own people...or a heathen king like Cyrus. He even moved Cyrus to give back the temple articles that Nebuchadnezzar had stolen and put in the temple to his own god. Chapter 2 showed the meticulous lists kept of the people returning from exile. Those who remained in Jerusalem gave freewill offerings according to their ability to support the work of rebuilding the temple.
Ezra 3
It says the people assembled as one man and began to rebuild the altar, offering sacrifices and keeping the Jewish sacred feasts of the LORD, although the temple foundation hadn't been laid. Once the foundation was laid, with praise and thanksgiving they sang to the LORD. They gave a great shout of praise because the foundation was laid. Older priests and Levites and family heads weep aloud while many others shouted for joy. It says in verse 13: "No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away."
Ezra 4
The enemies of Judah and Benjamin wanted to "help," but were told they will have no part in rebuilding the temple. These people served their own gods, but also took up the worship of the LORD as the God of the land. They tried to discourage the people to make them afraid to go on building. They hired counselors to work against them and frustrate their plans. They lodged an accusation against the people of Judah and later under King Artaxerxes, his associates wrote a letter to him warning him that Jerusalem has a history of a wicked and rebellious city. They warned him, should the city and the walls be restored, no more taxes, tribute, or duty will be paid. After doing research on it, Artaxerxes ordered a work stoppage forcing everything to a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius, king of Persia.
Today, we are the temple of God because he lives not in temples made by man, but in believer's hearts that he himself created. Sometimes we find our lives in a standstill, going through troubles, trials, facing opposition and obstacles. But God is still in control working behind the scenes for us and in us. "Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” ~ Philippians 1:6. God began it and he will finish it. God began rebuilding this temple in Jerusalem by moving hearts and he will finish it despite any and all opposition.
Ezra 5
The prophets Haggai and Zechariah prophesied to the Jews, so the work of rebuilding the temple resumed. A governor asked them, "Who authorized you to rebuild this temple? They explained what King Cyrus had decreed long ago that the temple should be rebuilt. The governor sent a letter to King Darius stating the Jews’ claim, but God was watching over the Elders and the Jews and they were not stopped from working until a report could go to Darius and his written reply be received. Their work was being carried out diligently, making rapid progress on the temple.
Strike when the iron is hot.
