Tag: sacrificing

3.k. “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”

Ezra 4:1  Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the Lord, the God of Israel, they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ houses and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria who brought us here.” But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers’ houses in Israel said to them, “You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”

Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build and bribed counselors against them to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

Nehemiah 6:9    For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands.

Isaiah 35:3-4    Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees.  Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”

Jeremiah 38:4   “for he is weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm.”

The people came together and first built the altar for sacrifice to God.  When this was completed they laid the foundation for the temple and people shouted with joy, though some wept, because of this great coming together with one purpose – to honor, glorify, and seek God in building His temple.  People of the land heard of this and acted as though they wanted to help build but after being rejected they were malicious in discouraging and frustrating the people.

Not much has changed with mankind.  We still see this happening, people with clear direction and leading from God are being criticized, challenged, and blasted from almost every angle.  We shouldn’t think this is an attack on us but an attack on God’s plans and purposes.  If we give any room to thoughts that these attacks are against us we will certainly become weary, afraid, confused, and without motivation.  However, if we see this as God’s plans and purposes being attacked we can take comfort, strength, and courage because the battle is His.  We know that He will always accomplish what He speaks and how He leads us in service to Him.

Keep your eyes on the task and do not become sidetracked by those in opposition.  God is in control.  No one can stop what God has put in place.  Remain strong, remain faithful, remain obedient.

3.b. Who sets his heart to seek God?

2 Chronicles 30:1   So the couriers went from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them. However, some men of Asher, of Manasseh, and of Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of the Lord.

And many people came together in Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month, a very great assembly. They set to work and removed the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for burning incense they took away and threw into the brook Kidron. And they slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. And the priests and the Levites were ashamed, so that they consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings into the house of the Lord. They took their accustomed posts according to the Law of Moses the man of God. The priests threw the blood that they received from the hand of the Levites. For there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves. Therefore the Levites had to slaughter the Passover lamb for everyone who was not clean, to consecrate it to the Lord. For a majority of the people, many of them from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the Passover otherwise than as prescribed. For Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, “May the good Lord pardon everyone who sets his heart to seek God, the Lord, the God of his fathers, even though not according to the sanctuary’s rules of cleanness.” And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people. And the people of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness, and the Levites and the priests praised the Lord day by day, singing with all their might to the Lord. And Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who showed good skill in the service of the Lord. So they ate the food of the festival for seven days, sacrificing peace offerings and giving thanks to the Lord, the God of their fathers.

Then the whole assembly agreed together to keep the feast for another seven days. So they kept it for another seven days with gladness. For Hezekiah king of Judah gave the assembly 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep for offerings, and the princes gave the assembly 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep. And the priests consecrated themselves in great numbers. The whole assembly of Judah, and the priests and the Levites, and the whole assembly that came out of Israel, and the sojourners who came out of the land of Israel, and the sojourners who lived in Judah, rejoiced. So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. Then the priests and the Levites arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came to his holy habitation in heaven.

Isaiah 57:15     For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.

When the men Hezekiah sent out to invite people to come to Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover there were those who mocked and laughed at them and then there were others who humbled themselves and came.  This is much like the invitation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  It is our responsibility to proclaim it and the responsibility of our hearers to humbly take hold of it or reject it.  We never know what the condition of the person’s heart is we are talking to.  We never know the working of God in their heart.  We never know.  However, we do know we are to proclaim the light of Jesus Christ to a dark and lost world.  We are to reflect the light of Jesus Christ, to His honor and glory, to every person we come into contact with throughout every moment of every day.  We know what we say and the actions of our life should be a testimony to the gospel and Jesus Christ.  In this “living out our faith” others hear and see how we humbly serve, honor, glorify, worship, follow, trust and obey Jesus Christ.  Our heart and mind are desiring to practice our faith and service to our Lord and Savior.  His word is a lamp unto our feet and light to our soul.

Spend time in His word and proclaim the wondrous glory of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.