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he will get it done
Ezra 1:1-11
Ezra 1:1 In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, to fulfill the word of Yahveh spoken through Jeremiah, Yahveh roused the breath of King Cyrus to issue a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom and to put it in writing:
Ezra 1:2 King Cyrus of Persia says: ” Yahveh, the God of the sky , has given me all the kingdoms of the land and has appointed me to build him a house at Jerusalem in Judah.
Ezra 1:3 If any of his people are among you, may his God be with him, and may he go to Jerusalem in Judah and build the house of Yahveh, the God of Israel, who is in Jerusalem.
Ezra 1:4 Let every survivor, wherever he resides, be assisted by the men of that region with silver, gold, goods, and livestock, along with a donation for the house of God in Jerusalem.”
Ezra 1:5 So the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and Levites—everyone whose breath God had roused—prepared to rebuild Yahveh’s house in Jerusalem.
Ezra 1:6 All their neighbors supported them with silver articles, gold, goods, livestock, valuables, and all that was given as a donation.
Ezra 1:7 King Cyrus also brought out the articles of Yahveh’s house that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem and had placed in the house of his gods.
Ezra 1:8 King Cyrus of Persia had them brought out under Mithredath’s treasurer’s supervision, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah.
Ezra 1:9 This was the inventory: 30 gold basins, 1,000 silver basins, 29 silver knives,
Ezra 1:10 30 gold bowls, 410 silver bowls, and 1,000 other articles.
Ezra 1:11 The gold and silver articles totaled 5,400. Sheshbazzar brought all of them when the exiles went up from Babylon to Jerusalem.
he will get it done
People attribute Cyrus’ decision to restore the holy cities beyond the Tigris river to good royal strategy – and it was. But the writer of Ezra recognizes that the mastermind behind that good royal strategy is the LORD. He intends to fulfill his promise to restore his city, and return his people. He uses king Cyrus to begin that restoration. At stake is more than a ruined city. At stake is the glory of the LORD. When God wants to do something, he will get it done. If it takes turning the heart of a pagan king, that’s what he will do. Pray for God to do something, and do not be surprised if he moves your heart to get it done.
LORD, make a difference in our community, and use us if you wish.