Year 5, Day 40: Ezra 1 & 2

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: King

• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

I was humbled as I read through my blog post from 3 years ago.  I was reminded of the fact that Ezra was written after the Jews are allowed to return to the land after 70 or so years in exile.  I wasn’t humbled by this fact; I was humbled by the nature of God that hangs over this fact like an umbrella.

You see, 70 or so years prior, Jeremiah the prophet watched his people dragged into exile.  He watched many of them die from starvation, disease, and the invading army.  He watched as the treasure of God was stolen away from the temple.  He watched, but more importantly God watched too.

I was reminded of this fact that I learned three years ago.  God saw His people go into exile.  God saw His people receive the consequences that were a long time in coming.  God saw His people get punished for a lesson that they refused to learn.  But God watched as the people He loved and all of their possessions were escorted away into a land that belonged to a foreign people.

And why?  How can God let this happen?  How can God sit back and watch as these horrible consequences come down upon His people?  He can watch because He is king.  He can watch because even though a nation is moved from Canaan to the Babylonian Empire they are still His people.  Even though the temple furnishings are escorted out of the temple and into the treasury of King Nebuchadnezzar God knows that he will get them back.  He is king.  You just can’t take anything out of His hand.

How can God watch?  Because from God’s perspective, nothing changes.  What’s His is His and always shall be His.  Sure, His people might be enduring the pain and suffering that they deserved.  But they are still His.  Even in captivity He is still king of the universe.

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