From the time my boys were old enough to ask questions, my husband’s response to difficult topics has not changed.

“Boys, it’s not about what I say or think about a particular issue or what you or your friends say or think about that issue….all that matters is what the Bible says about the issue.”

Despite the eye rolling and their, “Daddy, we know,” response,  I am hopeful something is sinking in.

It’s important to know why we do what we do and why we believe what we believe.

In the book of Ezra, after seventy years of captivity, King Cyrus of Persia gave the Israelites a thumbs up to go back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. This was a miracle!  You see, King Cyrus was not a believer in Jehovah God.  He had nothing to benefit from the Israelites rebuilding their sacred temple. He was prompted by God and He obeyed.

Interestingly enough, only about sixty thousand Israelites  (out of several million) took King Cyrus up on his gracious offer to leave captivity, go home and reestablish their place of worship.

But as quickly as the building project began, so did the opposition to this project.

Ezra 4:4 states,  “Then the people around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building.”

False accusations were spoken against the Israelites, and after lots of back and forth, he said, she said….the building project ceased. The people were discouraged. Resistance has a way of making you second guess yourself.

So God rose up two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, to encourage the people to not give up.  The people took heed to the prophets words, the building project resumed….and of course, so did the opposition. But this time, the new King of the land (King Darius) wanted to get to the bottom of things.

What did King Cyrus actually decree?

The archives were dug up and King Cyrus’ decree was read.  “Let the temple be rebuilt…And the costs are to be paid by the royal treasury.”  Despite the opposition, at the end of the day, the King’s decree was all that really mattered. The Israelites now had the fuel (and the money) they needed to stay on task and continue doing what God had purposed them to do.

In Ezra 6:14, the temple project was finally completed!!!

I’ll be honest with you all. We live in an ever evolving world.  Much has changed and progressed since Jesus walked this earth. It’s so easy to get discouraged and lose sight as to why we do what we do and why we believe what we believe.

But just as King Cyrus’ decree had not changed over the years, so our King’s decree has not changed!   And as my husband tells our boys, ‘The Word of God (our King’s decree) is all that really matters.’  

Let God’s Word be the fuel we need to complete whatever task He has given us to do.

-Binu