PASSAGE FOR REFLECTION
In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing:
2 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem. 4 And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.”
5 Then rose up the heads of the fathers' houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem. 6 And all who were about them aided them with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, with beasts, and with costly wares, besides all that was freely offered. 7 Cyrus the king also brought out the vessels of the house of the Lord that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the house of his gods. 8 Cyrus king of Persia brought these out in the charge of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. Ezra 1: 1-8
REFLECTION
Judah had gone through nearly a hundred years of tumult, with one puppet king replacing another puppet king, culminating in her collapse. These wars, corrupt rulerships, and ultimate destruction and exile devastated the land and her people. All the young in Judah were mercilessly killed, and those who escaped the sword were made slaves in Babylon. The wealth of the Temple and the nation was stripped and removed to Babylon. The Temple itself was razed, together with the palaces. And the city wall was broken down.
There was virtually no hope left for Judah. With her city walls knocked down, her citizens were exposed to every predator nation. Every young person male and female had been killed which meant that the next generation had been wiped out. And the few who could still work or defend the city had been taken away to Babylon as slaves. Worst of all, any indication of the worship of Yahweh was destroyed. The nation of Judah had virtually been wiped out. To add to Judah's problems, Persia had defeated Babylon and taken over the empire. Judah was an insignificant bug in the clash of the Titans.
Then Yahweh stepped in. He stirred Cyrus the King of Perisa's heart to rebuild the Temple. The description that Cyrus' heart was stirred by God indicates that Cyrus initially had no inclination to pay attention to Judah. Cyrus had way more concerns to address. There were the surrounding powerful nations such as Babylon, Assyria and Egypt to contend with. Judah was insignificant. Yet Cyrus not only sent the captives home and encouraged them to rebuild the Temple, he also returned all the Temple treasures to Judah. This unusual kindness from Cyrus could not be anything less than a miracle. God indeed stirred the heart of the king.
Then God stirred the hearts of the people. The people remaining in Judah as well as the exiles must have been very demoralised. In their minds, Yahweh must have been killed. There is nothing more demoralising than the thought that God is either dead or that He no longer cares. Yet when God stirred the people's hearts, they rallied and brought together all their wealth (remember that all the people's wealth had been taken by the Babylonians). And a devastated people came back to worship their God.
RELATE
Ezra was attentive to God's work even when what was happening seemed incredible. Who would have believed that a pagan king of the most powerful nation of the world would care for the worship practices of an insignificant people whose lives had been overturned again and again? Yet God revived Judah through a most unlikely source.
Again, who would have thought that a people so traumatised and impoverished would rise again to build such a glorious Temple. The people had abandoned the worship of Yahweh for many generations even before their exile. And then the Temple was razed to the ground. To think that this same people would gather their very few treasures and have enough to rebuild the Temple must surely have been many many personal miracles. I can imagine each household having a personal story of how their meagre basins and coins could amount to so much.
I have long come to realise that God's solutions are solutions that I could never have imagined. I have tried so many times to predict how God would intervene in a problem. And each time, I had gotten it wrong. Because God's plans are so out of this world. As the lyrics of the popular song goes, "God will make a way, where there seems to be no way; He works in ways we cannot see, He will make a way for me."
In view of this reality, I am learning that it is far more important to watch and pray, than to jump into action whenever I encounter a problem. I ask, is this a problem or a blessing from God? Are there hidden signs that God is at work, that are barely perceivable? Or I simply go on my knees and say "God I'm in deep trouble, please have mercy", and know that solutions will come in the least expected ways. In this way, I learn to rest.
REST
I cast all my cares upon you.
I lay all of my burdens down at your feet.
And every time, I don't know what to do,
I just cast all of my cares upon you.
Chiu Ming Li
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