Brian Fisher

Grace Bible Church

“God is on the Move”

Ezra 1-2

God is active in human history. He is moving people and nations toward His greatest desire, the worship of His glory. Through the decree of Cyrus, king of Persia, in 538 B.C., God made it possible for His people to return to the Promised Land and restore His worship... not everyone took advantage of the opportunity. Would you have returned or would you have remained behind in the safety and comfort of a foreign land?

I. God is on the move

A. in order to keep His promises

Abrahamic Covenant

Through Israel all nations blessed

Blessing – Gal. 3:8

Would the nation survive until arrival of Messiah?

Persecution

Their own sin brought discipline

Promise of discipline; You are My children

Jeremiah 29:10-14

Discipline maintained national identity; intermarriage

Discipline will preserve you; share His holiness

Genealogy

Human perspective: prove you have a right to an inheritance

Divine perspective: God has kept His promise to Abraham’s seed; racial connection all the way back to Abraham

Promise of restoration; Ezekiel 36:22-25

B. by aligning nations and rulers – 1:1

“stirred up”; Is. 41:2, 25; 44:28; 45:1-7, 13 (150+ years before Cyrus reigned)

1 Chron. 5:26 (Assyrian kings)

Policy of Assyria

Policy of Babylon

Policy of Cyrus of Persia

Pagan king

Cyrus’ faith – syncretistic; Zoroastrianism; Ahura Mazda; polytheistic

“I am Cyrus, king of the world, great king, legitimate king, king of Babylon, king of Sumer and Akkad, king of the four rims [of the earth] ... of a family [which] always [exercised] kingship; whose rule Bel [Marduk] and Nebo love, whom they want as king to please their hearts ... I strove for peace in Babylon and in all his [other] sacred cities... From Nineveh, Assur and Susa, Akkad... I returned to these sacred cities on the other side of the Tigris, the sanctuaries of which have been ruins for a long time, the images which [used] to live therein and established for them permanent sanctuaries. I [also] gathered all their [former] inhabitants and returned [to them] their habitations.”

—Cyrus Cylinder

A replica of the Cyrus Cylinder is in the United Nations headquarters where it is recognized as the 1st charter of human rights.

Can He accomplish His will in the midst of your difficult circumstances?

King’s heart is like channels of water

Arrange events in our lives (bosses, spouses, professors)

Sometimes for discipline, testing, blessing. Are we ready to receive from His hand?

C. by awakening His people – Ezra 1:5-6

Zech. 2:13; 4:1; awaken, stir up, arouse

Second “exodus” – Is. 43:16-21

Rebirth of the nation

D. in order to establish His worship

Preserved utensils for worship – Ezra 1:7-11

Financial provision – 1:4; 1:6 (gentile neighbors); 2:68-69

2:36ff. Personnel: Priests, levites, singers, gatekeepers

Find out what direction God is going

My name will be great

II. Sitting comfortably or preparing to follow

God is always on the move; always seeking out a remnant; that is enough

2:64; Not everyone returned; Many did not return. Many prominent people did not return. Babylon became Jewish center of theology and commerce.

Why did some stay behind? Jews have always done well assimilating to culture without losing identity.

Rose to power (Daniel). Some called to stay behind.

Comfort. Babylon was home.

Wealth

“More than a century later the Murashu family, as we know from cuneiform tablets, started the first banking-house in human history.” (Fensham, 11)

Risk (killed along the way). Loss. Uncertainty. Discomfort in future home (it will be hard)

Life was predictable in Babylon, but not home. It was not God’s best.

How hard it is for the rich to enter; no sense of need; self-sufficiency; comfort, so they don’t ache for more.

This is where the American Church is today.

Some returned. Knew the promises. Knew their destiny. Longed for home (older ones).

Conclusion

Would you have returned? What if God called you this morning to sell your home, sell your possessions, pack your bag and travel to the jungle to establish His worship among a people who have never heard His name?

Will you go? Set aside your life to establish God’s worship?

Next door or across the world