- And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy, for the Lord had made them joyful and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, so that he aided them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel. Ezra 6:22 – God gives us reasons to be filled with joy, let’s make sure we accept them and be joyful. Here the people did just that. God worked on their behalf, the temple was rebuilt, and they celebrated with joy. Yet remember how in chapter 3 they rebuilt the foundation? There some rejoiced at what God had done, yet others wept bitterly because they remembered the first temple and it didn’t compare yet. God gives us reasons to rejoice and be joyful, our choice is if we’ll actually be joyful about them. We can allow bitterness, worry, and pride keep us from being joyful in the things that God has given us to be joyful about. Let that not be so. When it’s clear that it’s God that provided and moved in front of you, don’t let the enemy strip away this time to rejoice. Celebrate and praise God for what He did because we all need to rest in joy more than we are now. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1278
- And the elders of the Jews built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. They finished their building by decree of the God of Israel and by decree of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia. Ezra 6:14 – While the Jewish people didn’t expect the temple to be destroyed, and they didn’t expect to actually be carried off into exile, and I doubt they would have ever expected any of the events of Ezra to unfold, they did. Now they are back home in their own land with a temple rebuilt and ready for worship. While it was the Jewish hands that built the temple, this passage reveals who was the one truly making all this happen behind the scenes…God. It was God’s message through the prophets that caused their efforts to prosper and continue. It was God changing the hearts of multiple kings to where they not only allowed the rebuild but supported it with their own royal treasury. And when opposition arose, it was God who made sure the rebuild continued and the opposers were kept away. As we build, move, grow, and find success, let us also remember who it is behind the scenes truly making all we see unfold in front of us happen. While our hands may be the ones doing the physical work, who was it that created our hands and gave breath in our lungs to be living today? It’s the Lord behind it all. He gave us our life, He created our bodies, He gave us our mind, and He’s allowing all this to unfold the way it is. Let’s give God the glory He deserves and be thankful that He’s allowed us to be a part of His holy work in this world. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2499
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