Ezra, chapter 6 | Pablo Rios

No evil again us will prosper. – God promises to take care of us. Be now faithful and trust in the Lord your God.

Our verse of reference in Ezra 6 is:

“The priests and Levites had purified themselves and were all ceremonially clean. The Levites slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their relatives the priests and for themselves.” (Ezra 6:20 NIV).

Reflection

Evil desires turned into blessings.

Historical commentary.- The letter sent to the king of Medo-Persia produced a favorable response for the officials who opposed the construction of the temple. In the letter they mentioned the original decree that Cyrus gave for the house of God in Jerusalem to be rebuilt. Dario searched for this decree, and found it, then he gaved a command about the construction of the temple: “Moreover, I hereby decree what you are to do for these elders of the Jews in the construction of this house of God: Their expenses are to be fully paid out of the royal treasury, from the revenues of Trans-Euphrates, so that the work will not stop. 9 Whatever is needed—young bulls, rams, male lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine and olive oil, as requested by the priests in Jerusalem—must be given them daily without fail, 10 so that they may offer sacrifices pleasing to the God of heaven and pray for the well-being of the king and his sons.” (Vrs. 8-10) This was the Lord prepared the circumstances for the construction of the temple. PR 423.425.

Remain Constant in our prayers.- During the reigns of Xerxes, Artaxerxes and Darius Hystaspes, the work of building the temple was paralyzed. This opposition, discouraged the people of God and everyone returned to their daily activities. Through the message of Haggai and Zechariah, God showed His interest in answering their prayers, they should only trust God and believe in His Word. This experience should motivate us to continue asking God to answer our prayer requests.

The Decree.- When Artaxerxes read the story of the mighty kings of Israel, he paralyzed the work immediately for fear of an uprising. When Dario read the history of Israel and their MIGHTY GOD, he ordered not to delay the reconstruction, he commanded for all the expenses to be covered by the state, and even punished those who opposed with death. REMEMBER: Any evil plan against us, God can turn it into a blessing. God can turn closed doors into new opportunities.

Prayer

Dear God who knows and sees everything. We ask you to sustain us when the doors are closed in front of us. Transform the plans to hurt us into blessings. In the name of Jesus, amen.

By Dr. Franz Rios and Pablo J. Rios.

List of Adventist Universities