Ezra

Ezra 6: God strengthens His people for worship

Begin in prayer

Before the finished house and the feast of joy, please thank God for strengthening His people to worship Him. Ask Him to open our eyes to the Savior to whom their offerings point.

I was glad when they said to me, “Let’s go to Yahweh’s house!”

Psalm 122:1

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we hear how Your house was finished. Show us Jesus through the Passover and the offerings. Make us more like Him, and bless our family with hearts that delight in Your Word and worship. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

Darius has the archives searched, and Cyrus' decree is found on a scroll at Achmetha in Media. He orders the officials to leave the builders alone and supply their expenses from royal tribute. His decree threatens severe punishment for anyone who alters it. The elders finish the house through the prophets' ministry, according to God's command and the royal decrees. Israel dedicates the temple with sacrifices and keeps the Passover with those who separate from the nations' filthiness to seek the Lord. God makes them joyful and turns the king's heart to strengthen their hands.

As you read Ezra 6, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

God strengthens His people to finish His house and gives them joy.

God brings the interrupted work to completion through His word and the decisions of kings. The officials who questioned the builders must now supply their expenses from the royal tribute. Verse 22 calls Darius the king of Assyria, because the Persian king now ruled the lands Assyria once held. Twelve male goats are offered as a sin offering for all Israel, one for each tribe (verse 17). Their Passover remembers God's earlier rescue from Egypt, now celebrated after another return from bondage. Those who separate from the nations' filthiness to seek the Lord join the meal. God gives this joy to worshipers who have seen His mercy bring them home.

How does Ezra 6 show us that God strengthens His people to finish His house and gives them joy?

The king ordered help for the building of God's house.

The record of Cyrus' decree gives Darius grounds to confirm the work. Royal tribute must now supply the builders who had been questioned. God uses the government's records and resources to help complete His house. Darius protects the work with a heavy penalty (verse 11). He even asks God to overthrow any king who would destroy the temple (verse 12).

The elders finished the house according to God's command.

The prophets' ministry continues alongside the work of the elders. God's command stands behind the royal decrees that permit and support it. Jesus later called His body the temple He would raise in three days (John 2 verses 19 to 21).

God made the people joyful as they worshiped.

God is named as the giver of their joy. The Passover recalls His rescue from Egypt, and the new temple offers a place for restored worship. People who turn from the nations' filthiness to seek Him share in the feast.

Memorise

Yahweh had made them joyful, and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them

Ezra 6:22

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, where am I seeking joy without coming to Jesus?

The people kept the feast “with joy” because “Yahweh had made them joyful”. God had brought them back, strengthened their hands and given them the completed house. At Passover they remembered an earlier rescue from bondage.

Paul identifies Christ as the Passover sacrifice in 1 Corinthians 5 verse 7. Our bondage to sin calls for the rescue He accomplished through His death. Jesus suffered at the cross for His people's sins, dying instead of them. He secured their redemption with a sacrifice that will never be repeated. Jesus rose to life, declaring His victory over death, and His completed redemption is enough.

Turn from your sin and place your confidence in Jesus. He commands every hearer to believe, and holds out mercy freely. Through faith in Him sinners receive forgiveness and His righteousness as their own. The Savior who gives peace with God gives His people a lasting reason for joy.

Parent's note

Tell your children that Jesus is the Passover sacrifice for His people, and that He rose from death. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Please handle the king's severe punishment in verse 11 soberly and without graphic detail.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God for strengthening His people and giving them joy, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so invite each one to offer a short prayer if they want to.

When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he said this, and they believed the Scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.

John 2:22

Lord God, thank You for strengthening the builders and making the people joyful. Thank You for the perfect sacrifice Jesus offered for His people. Please lead our family to repent and believe in Him, and help us find our joy in worshiping You through Christ. Amen.