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- Apr 25, 2006
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19 May 2007
Ezra 7:11-20
King Artaxerxes had given a letter to Ezra, a priest and teacher who taught about the commands and laws the LORD gave Israel. This is a copy of the letter:
From Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, a teacher of the Law of the God of heaven.
Greetings.
Now I give this order: Any Israelite in my kingdom who wishes may go with you to Jerusalem, including priests and Levites. Ezra, you are sent by the king and the seven people who advise him to ask how Judah and Jerusalem are obeying the Law of your God, which you are carrying with you. Also take with you the silver and gold that the king and those who advise him have given freely to the God of Israel, whose Temple is in Jerusalem.
Also take the silver and gold you receive from the area of Babylon. Take the offerings the Israelites and their priests have given as gifts for the Temple of your God in Jerusalem. With this money buy bulls, male sheep, and lambs, and the grain offerings and drink offerings that go with those sacrifices. Then sacrifice them on the altar in the Temple of your God in Jerusalem.
You and your fellow Jews may spend the silver and gold left over as you want and as God wishes. Take to the God of Jerusalem all the utensils for worship in the Temple of your God, which we have given you. Use the royal treasury to pay for anything else you need for the Temple of your God.
King Artaxerxes had his head screwed on. He understood that, for his kingdom to grow and flourish, he needed people of goodwill on his side. He recognised that he would do better with the Israelites as his friends rather than as his enemies. So he gave them the freedom and the encouragement to act as a force for good.
Today our society is deeply torn between a desire to harness people of goodwill and a terror of losing control. We seem unable to accept people as they are, with their enthusiasm and their ideas (some good, some not so good). Instead, we say we want their involvement, but then try to force them into our mould, refusing to tolerate different ways of doing things. We certainly won't trust them with any freedom.
It is easy to criticise government and the cult of political correctness, but it cuts both ways. In our churches, do we let people breathe new life into our services, or do we stifle them by cherishing the rut we have followed for years? In our relationships and workplaces, do we teach and trust others to use their imagination? As control freaks, do we trust God to keep watch over his kingdom?
Lord Jesus, give me the grace to see the potential of others, and the courage to trust them with responsibility and encouragement. Amen.
Written by James Archer
Ezra 7:11-20
King Artaxerxes had given a letter to Ezra, a priest and teacher who taught about the commands and laws the LORD gave Israel. This is a copy of the letter:
From Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, a teacher of the Law of the God of heaven.
Greetings.
Now I give this order: Any Israelite in my kingdom who wishes may go with you to Jerusalem, including priests and Levites. Ezra, you are sent by the king and the seven people who advise him to ask how Judah and Jerusalem are obeying the Law of your God, which you are carrying with you. Also take with you the silver and gold that the king and those who advise him have given freely to the God of Israel, whose Temple is in Jerusalem.
Also take the silver and gold you receive from the area of Babylon. Take the offerings the Israelites and their priests have given as gifts for the Temple of your God in Jerusalem. With this money buy bulls, male sheep, and lambs, and the grain offerings and drink offerings that go with those sacrifices. Then sacrifice them on the altar in the Temple of your God in Jerusalem.
You and your fellow Jews may spend the silver and gold left over as you want and as God wishes. Take to the God of Jerusalem all the utensils for worship in the Temple of your God, which we have given you. Use the royal treasury to pay for anything else you need for the Temple of your God.
King Artaxerxes had his head screwed on. He understood that, for his kingdom to grow and flourish, he needed people of goodwill on his side. He recognised that he would do better with the Israelites as his friends rather than as his enemies. So he gave them the freedom and the encouragement to act as a force for good.
Today our society is deeply torn between a desire to harness people of goodwill and a terror of losing control. We seem unable to accept people as they are, with their enthusiasm and their ideas (some good, some not so good). Instead, we say we want their involvement, but then try to force them into our mould, refusing to tolerate different ways of doing things. We certainly won't trust them with any freedom.
It is easy to criticise government and the cult of political correctness, but it cuts both ways. In our churches, do we let people breathe new life into our services, or do we stifle them by cherishing the rut we have followed for years? In our relationships and workplaces, do we teach and trust others to use their imagination? As control freaks, do we trust God to keep watch over his kingdom?
Lord Jesus, give me the grace to see the potential of others, and the courage to trust them with responsibility and encouragement. Amen.
Written by James Archer
