King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Chapters: Ezra Chapters 4-6
Message: Living And Walking in The Spirit
Hello My Friend,
I read this from Charles Spurgeon this morning and at first dismissed it, wondering how it would fit in with the Bible reading for today, [The two most important things in our holy religion are the life of faith and the walk of faith. He who shall rightly understand these is not far from being a master in experimental theology, for they are vital points to a Christian. You will never find true faith unattended by true godliness; on the other hand, you will never discover a truly holy life which has not for its root a living faith upon the righteousness of Christ. Woe unto those who seek after the one without the other!]
Whether we call it faith without works, reaping without sowing, or living without walking in the Spirit, the same rule applies, those who put their faith and trust in Christ as their Saviour also walk in their faith, [Galatians 5:16-17,25-26 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.]
Those who walk in the Spirit are not perfect, they trip up in their walk with Christ quite often, but the important thing to remember is to get back up, but in the strength of Christ. More often than we care to admit life has a way of hindering our walk in the Spirit, and whether or not that hindrance is caused by doubt, fear, distrust, ignorance, pride, or even envy, we need to realize that a lack of faith is a big factor, [Luke 12:28-31 If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? 29 And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. 30 For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. 31 But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.]
We learned yesterday that the seventy year ban that kept the Jews from going back to Jerusalem had been lifted and king Cyrus sent a large group of volunteers, headed up by Ezra to Jerusalem to begin rebuilding the city and the temple. The foundation had been laid and the altar of burnt offering was rebuilt in its former place, but no more work was done in rebuilding the temple. As we continue in the reading of Ezra, we learn of what took place that hindered them from going any further. It did not take long before they were faced with opposition from the locals, who were quite happy with the way things were.
[Ezra 4:1-5 Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple unto the LORD God of Israel; 2 Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assur, which brought us up hither. 3 But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto the LORD God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us. 4 Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building, 5 And hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.]
[Let us build with you: for we seek your God,] I use to tell myself all the time that I can encourage anyone to be converted or turn their lives around though their faith in Christ just as He did me, but the harsh reality is that the only one who ever changed was me. It was not that it was impossible for God to work in their lives, it was that it did not benefit them and therefore, I was the one who suffered, [Hebrews 4:2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.]
[weakened the hands of the people of Judah,] When our spirit becomes weak that is when our body starts to weaken as well as our faith. There is nothing more discouraging than to put your heart into someone or thing only to have people getting in the way. There are times when I get up discouraged, wondering why I do all this when it seems like I cannot even reach those who want to be taught anymore, but what is really going on is that the devil is attacking my faith and I just need to revive my faith in what God can do, [Mark 9:23-24 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. 24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.]
I have learned the hard way that while I truly believe that all things are possible with God, I often hindered Him by the same unbelief that He would never do the impossible for me. I can only imagine how discouraged the people felt, all they wanted to do was give honor to God by rebuilding the temple, but things only got worse when Rehum and Shimshai resorted to writing a letter to the king.
[Ezra 4:8,12-15 Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this sort: 12 Be it known unto the king, that the Jews which came up from thee to us are come unto Jerusalem, building the rebellious and the bad city, and have set up the walls thereof, and joined the foundations. 13 Be it known now unto the king, that, if this city be builded, and the walls set up again, then will they not pay toll, tribute, and custom, and so thou shalt endamage the revenue of the kings. 14 Now because we have maintenance from the king’s palace, and it was not meet for us to see the king’s dishonour, therefore have we sent and certified the king; 15 That search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers: so shalt thou find in the book of the records, and know that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful unto kings and provinces, and that they have moved sedition within the same of old time: for which cause was this city destroyed.]
[That search may be made in the book of the records] Do not think for one second that the devil does not know our shortcomings because that is the ammunition he uses against us and will constantly remind us of just how we were the ones who hindered God. This is actually why we are to try the spirits, anytime we talk ourselves into believing that we cannot be used of God that is an indication that it is not God, [1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.]
This is what was happening when the Jews were rebuilding the temple, their adversaries did everything to try and stop them and instead of turning to God, they succumbed to their lies. Well, that is exactly what happened, the king did his research and found out about the judgment that God placed on Judah and therefore ordered the people to desist from their building the temple.
[Ezra 4:18-21,24 The letter which ye sent unto us hath been plainly read before me. 19 And I commanded, and search hath been made, and it is found that this city of old time hath made insurrection against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made therein. 20 There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, which have ruled over all countries beyond the river; and toll, tribute, and custom, was paid unto them. 21 Give ye now commandment to cause these men to cease, and that this city be not builded, until another commandment shall be given from me. 24 Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.]
[There have been mighty kings…and custom, was paid unto them.] Incidentally, it was this occurrence that started the war between the Jews and the Samaritans. Do you see what is actually happening here? Corrupt politicians want their people to live in such poverty that their cities never prosper and the people become dependent upon them. This is the socialism in a nutshell, and very thing is going on today from both Democrats and Republicans. Their districts are overrun with people living on the streets, crime, drugs, disgusting immorality, and yet they keep them there with high taxes and regulations that make it impossible for them to better themselves. Jesus, said this to shut up the corrupt politicians back when He was here, [Luke 20:24-25 Shew me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Caesar’s. 25 And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s.]
[So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius] Now, we get a better understanding of why Daniel was praying for them and why nothing else got done after the foundation was laid. This king Darius was Darius Hystaspes, he reigned in 521 BC, for thirty-six years. They had begun building the temple in the first year of Cyrus, in 536 BC, were forced to desist, and did not start up again until 519 BC. For fourteen years the temple remained unfinished while the Jews attended to the rebuilding of the city. It took the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to remind them that it was time to get back to God’s work.
[Ezra 5:1-3,5 Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them. 2 Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem: and with them were the prophets of God helping them. 3 At the same time came to them Tatnai, governor on this side the river, and Shetharboznai, and their companions, and said thus unto them, Who hath commanded you to build this house, and to make up this wall? 5 But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, that they could not cause them to cease, till the matter came to Darius: and then they returned answer by letter concerning this matter.]
[Who hath commanded you to build this house,] This reminds me of when Jesus was in the temple teaching the people and the chief priests and scribes asked Him by what authority He had to do what He had been doing, [Matthew 21:23-25 And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority? 24 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?]
The best way that we can overcome our adversaries is to get them doubting themselves eventually they will trip over themselves. Tatnai, pretty much said the same thing as Rehum, but this time. Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and other chief men of the Jews, did not hesitate to tell them that they were there for God. Neither were they ashamed of the work they were doing, nor afraid of any consequences that may have come by getting back to the work. This time there was no fear, they knew God was with them and nothing would stop them and sent a letter to the king themselves who found out the truth.
[Ezra 5:8-9,11-13 Be it known unto the king, that we went into the province of Judea, to the house of the great God, which is builded with great stones, and timber is laid in the walls, and this work goeth fast on, and prospereth in their hands. 9 Then asked we those elders, and said unto them thus, Who commanded you to build this house, and to make up these walls? 11 And thus they returned us answer, saying, We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and build the house that was builded these many years ago, which a great king of Israel builded and set up. 12 But after that our fathers had provoked the God of heaven unto wrath, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house, and carried the people away into Babylon. 13 But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon the same king Cyrus made a decree to build this house of God.]
[But after that our fathers had provoked the God of heaven] We are to never be ashamed to tell the whole truth about our testimonies, even the parts where we had to be chastened by God. Our greatest testimonies are the ones where we had overcome sin through our faithfulness to Christ, [1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.]
Perhaps one of the biggest reasons why we cannot reach someone is due to the fact that they enjoy their sin and one cannot have the best of both worlds. It is often our own reasoning that hinders us, we must also not be so quick to give up when faced with opposition, and remember that we belong to Jesus. And that is where Christians, whom have endured what we are facing now come into play, they help encourage us to get back in God’s will. Finally, the truth came out and Darius, ordered a search of the records, in which they found the decree that king Cyrus had written concerning the rebuilding of the temple.
[Ezra 6:1-3,6-7 Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon. 2 And there was found at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of the Medes, a roll, and therein was a record thus written: 3 In the first year of Cyrus the king the same Cyrus the king made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, Let the house be builded, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid; the height thereof threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof threescore cubits; 6 Now therefore, Tatnai, governor beyond the river, Shetharboznai, and your companions the Apharsachites, which are beyond the river, be ye far from thence: 7 Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God in his place.]
[Let the work of this house of God alone;] No one has the authority to stop us from doing what God has called us to do. And no one has the authority to stop us from living the way God wants us to live. They cannot force us to stop preaching that homosexuality is sin, abortion is murder, or that there are only two genders. Oh, they will try, and many churches will cease the work of God out of fear, but we serve the one and only living God, and He has our back, [Luke 12:4-5 And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. 5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.]
While we are subject to complying with the laws of the land, God’s law supersedes their laws every time, and by the way, here in America, our Constitution gives us that right to refrain from doing something that would cause us to go against our God. Sooner or later, even the world realizes this, the governor did and so did the king after he had sent that letter and finally the temple was rebuilt and completed.
[Ezra 6:13-16,18 Then Tatnai, governor on this side the river, Shetharboznai, and their companions, according to that which Darius the king had sent, so they did speedily. 14 And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. 15 And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king. 16 And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy, 18 And they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses, for the service of God, which is at Jerusalem; as it is written in the book of Moses.]
[kept the dedication of this house of God with joy,] There ought to be a time when all saved, born again Christians dedicate their lives to God with joy. It was in 2006 when I dedicated my life to Christ and then rededicated my life to Him in 2022 and feeling as though I need to do it again. Whenever we feel as though we have lost that connection with God that is when we need to submit our lives over to Him, [James 4:8-10 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.]
[as it is written in the book of Moses.] There is no actual book of Moses, but it is not a typo or error in the Scriptures, it is referring to the first five books of the Old Testament, which are called the Law of Moses. The Law was never about a bunch of rules to follow, in order to keep from ending up in hell, it was about loving the LORD so much that any command given would be obeyed out of respect. It is the same reason why we maintain the works contained within the Law, not for our salvation, but out of respect for what Jesus did for us, [Titus 3:8-9 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men. 9 But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.]
Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [Ezra 6:22 And kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy: for the LORD had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.]
Today’s Prayer: God, I know that You have work for me to do, I also know that I have hindered that work at times when I let my fear and impatience get the best of me to keep me. I will not let my heart be troubled by the constant opposition that comes my way, I want to serve You according to Your Word, and not let anything hinder me from completing the work You have given me. Lord, Lead me, guide me, give me Your power to learn, discern, and endure all those who oppose me. Keep me safe, protected, and uplifted so that I can finish the work You have called me to do. I ask this in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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