Ezra 4-6; Psalm 137

The Lord’s will shall be done.  The enemies of Judah and Israel soon discovered that they were no match against the Lord when they attempted to stop the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem by appealing to the king.  These enemies twisted the truth and told the king that if he allowed the rebuilding to continue, the people in Jerusalem would stop paying taxes.

So…the work came to a grinding halt, momentarily.

Then those in Judah urged the king to look back in recorded history and find that the rebuilding had been commissioned by King Cyrus himself.  Once those credentials had been established, King Darius ordered that the rebuilding continue.

I find it interesting that the record of King Cyrus’ decree wasn’t found with the other records.

¹ So King Darius issued orders that a search be made in the Babylonian archives, which were stored in the treasury. ² But it was at the fortress at Ecbatana in the province of Media that a scroll was found.

Why this scroll was not in the archives is a mystery.  Perhaps an enemy of the Jews tried to hide it. However, nothing is hidden from God.  That scroll was found, and the work on the temple was allowed to continue.

The Lord’s will shall be done.

That deliverance was a long time in the making…but it came, and it came in a mighty and glorious way, from the blessing of King Cyrus, to the unlimited supplies for the priests, to the finding of the scroll.  King Darius was so awed by the majesty of the Lord that he then issued a decree to the governor of the province that he actually step in and help the Jews rebuild the temple financially — in fact, the governor was ordered to pay full construction costs!  Then he went on to order that the priests be provided with animals and everything else they needed for sacrifices  As if that weren’t enough support, he issued this warning to those who would disobey his order:

¹ “Those who violate this decree in any way will have a beam pulled from their house. Then they will be tied to it and flogged, and their house will be reduced to a pile of rubble.^{[c] 12} May the God who has chosen the city of Jerusalem as the place to honor his name destroy any king or nation that violates this command and destroys this Temple.
“I, Darius, have issued this decree. Let it be obeyed with all diligence.”

This story is more evidence that the Lord does indeed direct the hearts and mind of kings and leaders when it serves to accomplish his will.  His will was to see the temple rebuilt.

And so it was.

Just as His will was accomplished in the construction of the temple, His will is accomplished today in constructing our temples.  By the renewing of our minds, the Holy Spirit works in us to transform us.  He lays a foundation in our hearts every time we hear His words.  We who build our houses on the reality of Jesus will not be shaken when the storms in our lives bring lightening and high winds and floods.