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Series Code: AU
Program Code: AU000103S
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00:01 - Some of you are thinking that maybe you've gone too far.
00:03 You've done too many bad things to be accepted by God. 00:06 Today, I've got an ancient story 00:08 that's gonna show you just how wrong you are. 00:12 [upbeat music] 00:24 [upbeat music continues] 00:33 Today, we're gonna look at a remarkable page 00:35 from ancient history. 00:36 And it's a page that a lot 00:37 of people bypass just a little too quickly. 00:42 Now, normally, we look at broad concepts on this show, 00:45 explore big ideas that people have wrestled 00:47 with since the beginning of time. 00:48 Things like death and the meaning of life, 00:50 or the nature of knowledge, 00:52 or what it means to live an authentic human life. 00:55 Today, though, I'm gonna go into more of a preacher mode, 00:58 just a little bit, 00:59 and I'm gonna take you through a Bible passage 01:01 that really spoke to me early one morning 01:03 as I was getting ready for the day. 01:05 And it's a passage that deals 01:07 with the end of the Babylonian captivity. 01:10 It was just four brief verses 01:12 at the top of the Book of Ezra, 01:14 but they were so dense with important information 01:17 that it actually took me several hours to read through them. 01:21 What I found was this amazing glimpse 01:23 into how God deals with us, 01:25 how he communicates with humanity, 01:27 and how he accomplishes his objectives flawlessly, 01:32 without ever violating our free will. 01:35 So now let's read from Ezra chapter one, 01:37 starting right at the top. 01:39 And I think I'm gonna read four verses all together, 01:42 and then we'll go back and think about it. 01:44 So here we go now, Ezra chapter one, where it says, 01:48 "In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, 01:51 that the word of the Lord 01:53 by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, 01:55 the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, 01:59 so that he made a proclamation 02:01 throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: 02:04 'Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: 02:07 The Lord, the God of heaven, 02:08 has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, 02:10 and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, 02:14 which is in Judah. 02:15 Whoever is among you of all his people, 02:17 may his God be with him, 02:19 and let him go up to Jerusalem assisted 02:21 by the men of his place with silver and gold, 02:24 with goods and with beasts, 02:25 besides freewill offerings for the house of God 02:28 that is in Jerusalem.'" 02:31 Now, you're probably wondering what it was 02:33 in that particular passage that got my attention. 02:36 And it was actually more than one thing. 02:39 So for starters, let's look at the prophet Jeremiah, 02:42 because he gets mentioned right there 02:44 in the very first sentence. 02:46 Jeremiah is often called the weeping prophet 02:49 because he had this really unfortunate assignment. 02:52 He had to warn God's people 02:54 that they had reached the end of God's patience, 02:56 and that's not a thing you want to do. 02:59 The Babylonians were about to sack the city 03:02 and destroy the temple, 03:03 and the people were really hesitant 03:06 to believe that that could happen. 03:08 In fact, the power brokers 03:10 in Jerusalem openly mocked Jeremiah 03:12 by insisting that nothing could ever happen to the temple. 03:15 It was just too sacred. 03:17 So of course, God's gonna protect that building. 03:21 So then in Jeremiah chapter seven, 03:22 we find the weeping prophet standing 03:24 at the gates of the temple, 03:26 reminding people that God knows better 03:28 than any religious authority. 03:30 Here's what it actually says in Jeremiah 7:3: 03:35 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: 03:37 Amend your ways and your deeds, 03:39 and I will let you dwell in this place. 03:41 Do not trust in these deceptive words: 03:44 "This is the temple of the Lord, 03:46 the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord." 03:49 In other words, it wasn't the building 03:52 that was important, it was actually the people. 03:55 The building didn't mean much 03:57 if the hearts of God's people were not with him. 04:00 The rights and rituals 04:01 which were designed to foreshadow the work 04:03 of the coming Messiah had become nothing but empty gestures, 04:07 because they were no longer rooted 04:09 in a relationship with God, or built on faith. 04:14 It's kind of the same thing that happened 04:16 with Cain and Abel. 04:17 Hebrews chapter 11 tells us 04:19 that Abel's offering was acceptable 04:21 because he did it by faith. 04:24 Cain's offering was rejected 04:25 because he was just going through the motions, 04:27 and he didn't actually care. 04:30 God had required a lamb, 04:32 not because he's some kind of blood-thirsty pagan deity, 04:35 but because a lamb was a very powerful symbol 04:38 for what the Son of God would have to do 04:40 in order to save us. 04:42 Those sacrifices were a sobering reminder 04:45 of how serious our situation really is. 04:48 The natural consequences of sin are devastating. 04:52 And in the sacrificial system, 04:54 God was pointing forward to the moment 04:55 when he would take the penalty for sin on himself 04:59 so that he could save us. 05:02 But of course, Cain decided to play loose 05:04 with the symbol of sacrifice and do what was convenient 05:07 instead of what was right. 05:09 And that's why his sacrifice was rejected. 05:12 It was meaningless, because he didn't actually care. 05:15 And the same thing was happening in the city of Jerusalem. 05:18 The people continued to sacrifice 05:20 and do the bare minimum 05:22 to keep their national religion running, 05:24 but they didn't really care. 05:26 In fact, they were more interested in adopting the culture 05:29 and religion of their neighboring nations instead. 05:32 So God sent Jeremiah to tell his people 05:34 that the building doesn't matter 05:36 if the people aren't there in heart. 05:39 And I guess here's the part that really spoke to me 05:42 when I was reading this the other day. 05:44 Jeremiah had to present a very unpopular message 05:48 to a group of people that didn't really care, 05:50 and so he faced a huge amount of opposition and resentment. 05:54 By the end of the story, 05:56 as the Babylonian army is actually pulling into town, 05:59 historical records tell us 06:01 that Jeremiah takes the Ark of the Covenant and hides it. 06:05 We still don't know where. 06:07 Then he goes to Egypt, 06:08 and after that, the trail kind of runs cold. 06:11 Nobody, and I mean nobody, 06:14 wanted to listen to the prophet, 06:15 and they abused him pretty badly. 06:18 Part of Jeremiah's prediction was 06:20 that the tribe of Judah would be 06:21 in Babylonian captivity for 70 years, 06:25 which meant that Jeremiah would never see the fulfillment 06:28 of his own prophecy. 06:29 He'd be dead before that came to pass. 06:32 So what does that mean for us? 06:35 Well, it means that serving God involves getting something 06:39 of a delayed paycheck. 06:41 It means that there's a very good chance that I will die 06:44 before I see everything that the Bible promises. 06:47 And if you read Hebrews chapter 11 all the way to the end, 06:50 you'll find that that's actually what the Bible teaches. 06:53 Here's what it says, 06:54 right after listing some of the biggest names 06:56 in the history of faith. 06:58 And I'm talking people like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 07:02 It says, "And all these, 07:04 though commended through their faith, 07:05 did not receive what was promised, 07:08 since God had provided something better for us, 07:10 that apart from us they should not be made perfect." 07:14 So in other words, 07:16 nobody gets paid until everybody gets paid. 07:20 In fact, what the Bible teaches is that nobody gets paid 07:24 until Jesus gets paid. 07:26 He doesn't even have his reward yet. 07:29 So many times I see new believers, brand-new Christians, 07:32 hit this discouraging roadblock. 07:35 Something bad happens. 07:37 Somebody rejects them because now they're religious. 07:39 Or their family makes fun of them, 07:41 or they didn't get what they prayed for. 07:44 And of course, they start to feel frustrated. 07:47 And that's when the story of Jeremiah really comes 07:49 into focus, because, well, 07:51 he died before his own prophecies were actually fulfilled. 07:54 He wasn't there to see Cyrus the Persian liberate the Jews. 08:01 And now it's time for a really quick break. 08:02 But don't go away, because when I come back, 08:04 we're gonna look at the other name mentioned 08:06 in these verses, which is Cyrus, 08:08 easily one of the biggest names in ancient history. 08:11 I'll be right back after this. 08:13 [upbeat music] 08:17 - [Narrator] Here at the Voice of Prophecy, 08:18 we're committed to creating top-quality programming 08:21 for the whole family, 08:22 like our audio adventure series, Discovery Mountain. 08:25 Discovery Mountain is a Bible-based program 08:28 for kids of all ages and backgrounds. 08:30 Your family will enjoy the faith-building stories 08:33 from this small mountain summer camp and town. 08:36 With 24 seasonal episodes every year 08:38 and fresh content every week, 08:40 there's always a new adventure just on the horizon. 08:46 - Maybe you remember that awful moment back in 1993 08:50 when the ATF burned down the Branch Davidian compound 08:53 in Waco. 08:55 They were trying to convince this cult leader 08:57 by the name of Vernon Howell to give himself up, 09:00 and that's when things really got out of control, 09:02 to put it mildly. 09:04 Now, the reason I'm remembering that right now 09:07 is because Vernon Howell, if you remember, 09:09 gave himself a new name. 09:11 He wanted everybody to call him David Koresh. 09:14 David, of course, being the most famous king of Israel, 09:17 a forerunner of the Messiah, 09:20 and Koresh, which is the original Persian form 09:23 of the Greek name Cyrus. 09:25 And what David Koresh was doing was telling people, 09:27 "Look, I'm the fulfillment of Messianic prophecy." 09:31 Now, why would he pick Cyrus or Koresh? 09:35 It's because a lot of people recognize 09:37 that the Bible describes this Persian general 09:40 as a type of Christ. 09:42 A type is something that foreshadows something else. 09:45 A type of Christ foreshadows the life and ministry of Jesus. 09:49 And the reason Cyrus represents Christ 09:52 is because of this passage that we were reading 09:54 in the Book of Ezra, 09:56 where he liberates God's people 09:58 so they can return to the land of promise. 10:01 It's really pointing forward to the Second Coming, 10:04 when God puts an end to spiritual Babylon, 10:07 which you read about in the Book of Revelation, 10:09 and then he establishes the kingdom of Christ. 10:12 Jesus is the ultimate Cyrus, 10:14 who will take us to the real promised land. 10:18 So now you've gotta ask why Cyrus the pagan 10:21 suddenly becomes interested in liberating the Jews. 10:24 Well, the Bible says God stirred his heart, 10:27 which tells us something about the way 10:29 that God makes things happen in this world. 10:32 He doesn't violate our free will, 10:35 but he does encourage us to move in his direction. 10:38 He kind of nudges us. 10:40 And that's the story of the entire Bible. 10:43 It turns out coercion is not God's style. 10:48 One of the reasons the Bible is so big 10:50 and covers so much history is because, 10:53 well, God doesn't force people. 10:55 I mean, he's going to keep his promises, 10:58 in spite of us sometimes, 11:00 but he nudges history without forcing it. 11:03 Of course, that means God has got to be incredibly patient. 11:07 What we don't know is how long God had 11:10 to stir the heart of Cyrus 11:12 before he actually did the right thing. 11:14 And of course, this story also gives us a tiny glimpse 11:18 into how inspiration might work. 11:21 A lot of people seem to think 11:22 that the Bible was just dictated: 11:24 that God spoke words, 11:26 and the prophets wrote those words down verbatim. 11:28 And in a few little cases, well, that is what happened. 11:32 Like with the 10 Commandments, 11:33 or with some of those passages that start by saying, 11:36 "The Lord spoke to me, saying." 11:39 And then in that case, 11:40 what follows is probably a direct quote. 11:44 But most of the time 11:45 what God did was impress somebody's heart, 11:48 and then they expressed God's thoughts using 11:51 their own words. 11:52 That's why the books 11:54 of the Bible actually have different writing styles. 11:57 And in this case, 11:58 Cyrus responded to the prompting of God. 12:02 His heart was stirred, 12:03 and then he expressed what God was telling him 12:06 by authoring a decree to release God's people. 12:09 There's nothing to suggest 12:11 that the wording of the decree was dictated word for word 12:13 by God because that part was up to Cyrus. 12:17 And we know he got it right 12:19 because wherever you find Cyrus in the Bible, 12:21 it's always in a positive light. 12:24 He was the great liberator, 12:26 and as such, was an important symbol for Christ. 12:30 And of course, it's also fascinating, at least for me, 12:34 that God is using a pagan general to do his will. 12:38 Far too often, Christians assume 12:40 that God could only use one of us. 12:42 But the Bible puts no such limitation on the Almighty. 12:46 He can use whoever he wants. 12:48 His target audience was not just the descendants of Abraham; 12:52 God wants the whole world. 12:54 According to the prophet Isaiah, 12:56 the temple was not just a center for God's chosen people, 13:00 it was supposed to be a beacon to the entire planet. 13:04 "And nations shall come to your light," 13:05 Isaiah predicted, "and kings to the brightness 13:09 of your rising." 13:11 I think one of the reasons I find all 13:13 of this so very interesting is 13:14 because modern critics will often bring the charge 13:17 of elitism against the church. 13:20 Who do these people think they are, 13:21 calling themselves God's chosen? 13:24 And of course, sometimes they kind of have a point. 13:26 I mean, there are Christians who behave that way. 13:30 But it's not because that's what God wants. 13:32 You'll notice the nation of Israel was supposed 13:34 to invite the whole world to join them. 13:38 And of course, they weren't faithful. 13:40 Instead, they drifted in the direction 13:42 of their pagan neighbors, becoming more like them. 13:45 And for that reason, 13:47 the light that was supposed to be radiating out 13:49 from that temple went dark. 13:52 But then during the captivity, 13:54 God turned on a few other lights 13:56 to keep his people well informed, 13:58 by giving them other prophets like Daniel or Ezekiel. 14:02 And then when it came time to make a really big move, 14:05 God does something surprising. 14:07 He uses a pagan king. 14:10 Now, historically, 14:12 we know that Cyrus was probably a monotheist. 14:15 There's a pretty good chance he was Zoroastrian, 14:18 which was the dominant Persian religion. 14:20 And that would mean that Cyrus believed 14:23 in a one creator God. 14:25 The religion of the Hebrews would've made some sense 14:28 to Cyrus, and he would've been primed 14:31 to believe in their God. 14:33 And yet, he was not a member of the chosen people. 14:36 And his religion was quite different 14:38 from the one that was practiced in Jerusalem. 14:41 But in this account, 14:43 Cyrus acknowledges the God of Abraham as the God of heaven, 14:47 the one who allowed him to rise to power 14:50 and established the biggest empire the world had ever seen. 14:53 And that story is fascinating 14:56 because there are portions of Cyrus's own biography 14:59 that seem to foreshadow the birth of Christ. 15:01 But maybe more about that on another day. 15:04 Maybe we should do an entire show on Cyrus 15:07 and where he came from because, well, it's mind numbing. 15:11 But for now, here's what I want to propose, 15:13 because, well, I've been able to watch God 15:16 at work all over this planet over the decades. 15:19 I've noticed that he often uses the least likely candidate 15:25 to get the job done. 15:26 He might use a member of the community 15:28 who doesn't even attend church, 15:30 but somehow helps the congregation 15:32 and makes their lives better. 15:34 Or sometimes it might be a member of the church 15:36 that nobody pays attention to, for whatever reason, 15:39 and God picks that person 15:41 to make something really important happen. 15:45 You see, all that God really requires from us 15:48 is that we're open to his leading. 15:51 You don't have to get everything right. 15:53 You don't have to become perfect 15:54 to start moving in God's direction, 15:56 because he is far more interested in your attitude 16:00 than your achievements. 16:02 Cyrus would've had every reason 16:04 in the world to be a little puffed up. 16:05 After all, he was the head 16:07 of the world's first truly international empire, 16:10 the biggest one the world had ever seen. 16:13 But apparently, his heart was still soft and pliable 16:16 because the God of Abraham managed to reach him. 16:20 And I guess my prayer, after reading this story, 16:23 is that I will always be pliable enough 16:25 to be useful to God, but determined enough to stay faithful. 16:31 That's the walk of the Christian. 16:33 So now let's examine the decree that Cyrus actually issued, 16:37 allowing the Jews to go back home. 16:40 In a way, they weren't being entirely liberated, 16:42 because the land of Canaan was also under Persian control, 16:47 but they were no longer required to live in exile. 16:49 And they could do that one thing 16:51 that mattered to them the most: 16:53 go home and rebuild the temple. 16:56 For 490 years, they'd been playing loose with the covenant. 17:00 They'd willfully broken the Sabbath. 17:02 They worshiped other gods. 17:03 And as we saw a few minutes ago, 17:05 they were really just going through the motions 17:07 when it came to the temple. 17:09 Jeremiah predicted they would be in captivity for 70 years, 17:13 which meant that the land of Canaan 17:14 would actually make up every sabbatical year 17:17 it missed during the 490-year rebellion. 17:20 You see, in addition to the weekly Sabbath you find 17:23 in the 10 Commandments, 17:25 there were also sabbatical years, 17:27 where the land was supposed to lie fallow. 17:29 And that was supposed to happen every seventh year. 17:32 Skip doing that for 490 years, 17:34 and that would total 70 sabbatical years that were missing, 17:38 which means that while Judah was living in captivity, 17:41 the land got its rest right down to the 70th year. 17:46 Then, according to Daniel chapter nine, when they returned, 17:49 they got a do-over. 17:50 Another 490 years until the appearance 17:53 of Messiah the Prince. 17:55 So you can understand, 17:56 going home to rebuild the temple was a really big deal. 17:59 Yet, unfortunately, not everybody went back home. 18:03 It wouldn't be until after the attempted genocide you find 18:06 in the Book of Esther that the largest number 18:09 of God's people were finally convinced to go home. 18:12 Now, speaking of returning, that's what I'm gonna do 18:15 as soon as we take another quick break. 18:17 So don't you go away, 18:19 or I'm gonna have to drive over to your house, 18:21 stand outside your door, and repeat what I'm about to say. 18:24 And you don't want that. 18:25 So stay tuned, I'll be right back. 18:28 [upbeat music] 18:32 - [Narrator] Dragons, beasts, cryptic statues. 18:36 Bible prophecy can be incredibly vivid and confusing. 18:41 If you've ever read Daniel or Revelation 18:43 and come away scratching your head, you're not alone. 18:46 Our free Focus on Prophecy guides are designed 18:49 to help you unlock the mysteries of the Bible 18:51 and deepen your understanding of God's plan 18:54 for you and our world. 18:55 Study online or request them by mail, 18:58 and start bringing prophecy into focus today. 19:01 - Now, there's another way that this passage 19:03 in Ezra chapter one kind of underlines the fact 19:06 that God doesn't force people. 19:07 And it's with regard to the way 19:09 that he sends his people home. 19:12 If you were with me just before the break, 19:13 you already know that God stirred the heart of Cyrus 19:16 to release the Jews. 19:18 And he issued a proclamation that they were free 19:20 to go back to the land of promise. 19:23 But if you read the text carefully, 19:25 you'll notice this wasn't an imperative. 19:28 The people could actually stay there if they wanted. 19:31 Here's what it said. 19:32 "Whoever is among you of all his people, 19:35 may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, 19:38 which is in Judea, 19:40 and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel. 19:43 He is the God who is in Jerusalem." 19:46 You'll notice that "let him go" 19:49 is not the same as "you must go." 19:51 Obviously, God wanted his people and his city restored. 19:55 It's the major point of the story. 19:57 But he doesn't insist that everybody has to go. 20:01 It was voluntary. 20:02 Now, if you didn't go, you were still expected 20:05 to support the returning exiles anyway. 20:07 I mean, listen to what it says in the very next verse. 20:10 It says, "And let each survivor, 20:13 in whatever place he sojourns, 20:15 be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, 20:18 with goods and with beasts, 20:20 besides freewill offerings for the house of God 20:23 that is in Jerusalem." 20:25 Now, here's why I find this so interesting. 20:28 There's actually a parallel in the Christian world today. 20:32 All of us as believers have been called into God's work. 20:36 The Bible does not support that old medieval idea 20:39 that the clergy are the only ones who work 20:41 for the kingdom of God. 20:43 The clergy might have a particular role to play, 20:46 but it's more of coaching role than a doing role. 20:49 The New Testament shows that the job of a minister 20:52 is to facilitate ministry, not to just do it by yourself 20:56 while the congregation watches. 20:58 And then the congregation obviously complains 21:00 about the way that it was done. 21:03 But of course, 21:04 most people who aren't full-time clergy still have 21:06 to make a living somehow, 21:07 so they're busy five or six days a week. 21:10 What they can do, though, 21:12 if they can't actually be there to help, 21:14 is dedicate a part of their living to God. 21:17 So let's say that I know there's a particular need 21:20 in a foreign country. 21:22 And there's no way I can go move over there and help, 21:24 but I do know somebody who's willing to go. 21:26 And I might be able to set aside a certain percentage 21:29 of my working hours every month dedicated 21:32 to helping that person. 21:34 That way, I'm kind of working in the mission field 21:37 while I stay at home. 21:38 I'm putting in real, tangible effort 21:41 and taking those earnings to make life easier 21:44 for the people who can go and do the work of the church. 21:47 That's kind of what's happening in the Book of Ezra. 21:51 Not everybody's going back to Jerusalem. Cyrus knows that. 21:55 So he tells the people that if the Jews come 21:57 through their neighborhood on the way back home, 21:59 they should be helped financially. 22:01 You might not be able to go to Jerusalem 22:03 and swing a hammer yourself, 22:05 but maybe you could buy somebody the hammer they need. 22:09 And again, none of this uses the language of coercion. 22:13 Cyrus could have levied a mandatory tax on everybody, 22:16 but instead he made it optional. 22:18 He called it a freewill offering. 22:20 And that's really a very remarkable insight 22:22 into the character of God, 22:24 because there's no doubt that God lays out the right 22:26 and wrong path for us, 22:28 and he could be very insistent. 22:30 In fact, he'd have every right to be. 22:32 But instead he shows us the right path 22:35 and then encourages us to take it. 22:37 He's just not a God of force. 22:39 Now, we're just about out of time, 22:41 but there's one more part of the story 22:42 that I want to tell you about, 22:44 and it's the bit about the temple vessels. 22:46 If you're familiar with the story of the fall of Babylon, 22:49 you'll know that on the night when Cyrus took the city, 22:52 a foolish young coregent named Belshazzar was 22:55 inside Babylon, trying to reassure everybody 22:58 that nothing bad could possibly happen. 23:00 It was a little like the religious authorities 23:02 in Jeremiah's day pointing to the temple, saying, 23:05 "Look, with this building here, 23:07 how could anything bad happen?" 23:09 So Belshazzar probably would've known 23:11 about the prophetic dream 23:12 that his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar had, 23:14 a dream that predicted that one day an inferior army 23:18 would bring the city of Babylon to its knees. 23:21 And I suspect that when the Persians first arrived, 23:23 the average Babylonian was probably afraid 23:26 that now might be the time. 23:28 So to put their minds at ease, 23:29 Belshazzar organized a great feast. 23:32 Because, well, if the king is relaxed enough to party, 23:35 then maybe the threat's not all that bad. 23:38 But then to seal the deal, 23:39 the foolish king did something else. 23:41 He brought out the vessels 23:43 that had been stolen from the temple. 23:45 The holy dishes, if you will. 23:47 And I think the reason he did that was 23:49 because he knew the prediction 23:50 about the fall of Babylon had come from the Hebrew God. 23:55 So he emphasized the idea 23:56 that the Babylonians had already conquered the Hebrew God 23:59 and destroyed his temple. 24:01 He was saying, "Look, how bad could this be? 24:03 Look at this meager little god. We've already defeated him." 24:07 And of course, that's the night the prophecy came to pass. 24:11 Once again, the temple was being used as a good luck charm, 24:14 and, of course, it didn't work. 24:16 And now on the eve of Judah's release, 24:19 those vessels came out of storage one last time. 24:22 And I'll be right back after this. 24:24 [upbeat music] 24:28 - [Narrator] Life can throw a lot at us. 24:30 Sometimes we don't have all the answers. 24:34 But that's where the Bible comes in. 24:36 It's our guide to a more fulfilling life. 24:39 Here at the Voice of Prophecy, 24:41 we've created the Discover Bible guides 24:43 to be your guide to the Bible. 24:44 They're designed to be simple, easy to use, 24:47 and provide answers to many of life's toughest questions. 24:50 And they're absolutely free. 24:52 So jump online now or give us a call, 24:54 and start your journey of discovery. 24:57 - So here's my thinking. 24:58 Somehow, when Cyrus conquered Babylon, 25:01 the temple vessels were spared from looting. 25:03 They were out there on the tables being used 25:05 for Belshazzar's blasphemous party and really easy to take. 25:09 But still, somebody took the time to catalog those things 25:13 and set them aside because they were sacred to the Jews. 25:17 I suppose there's a chance that some historians, 25:19 some actually recorded what happened, 25:21 and I could have checked before I walked 25:23 in the studio today. 25:25 But it's really enough to know 25:26 that somebody marked those dishes as sacred 25:29 and made a record of them. 25:31 Now, 70 years previous, 25:32 those vessels became useless in Jerusalem, 25:35 because God's own people were abusing 25:37 the sacrificial system. 25:39 Then they got abused by the king of Babylon 25:42 who was defying God. 25:44 But instead of disappearing, the dishes were spared, 25:47 and they were still there for the Jews 25:48 at the end of their 70-year ordeal. 25:51 It's really pretty remarkable. 25:52 Once again, the magnificent light 25:54 from the temple would begin to spread across the globe. 25:56 The festivals and feasts that pointed forward 25:59 to Christ would be restored 26:00 so that anybody who wanted to see them could. 26:04 So in other words, 26:06 God always intended to save his people. 26:08 No matter how bad things got, 26:10 he was still planning to restore them. 26:12 He didn't allow the Babylonian captivity 26:15 to get rid of his people. 26:16 Mm-mm. He was trying to redeem them. 26:19 So now I think of my own life. 26:22 The times I've taken holy things far too lightly, 26:25 or the times I've caved into selfish instinct 26:28 and let God down. 26:30 You know, I might be a preacher, 26:31 but I'm certainly a human preacher, 26:33 and I have exactly the same tendencies 26:35 and problems as everybody else. 26:38 Just like you, I'm deeply flawed. 26:41 And then I find a letter 26:43 that the apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, 26:45 where he says, "Do you not know 26:47 that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you?" 26:51 His point was that none of us actually owns our person. 26:55 Not if you're a practicing Christian. 26:57 And Paul reminds us that we were redeemed 26:59 at a very high price. 27:02 So now think about the times 27:03 when you didn't treat your body like the temple of God. 27:06 Think about those times when your life has been anything 27:09 but an example of God's love. 27:12 Think about the times 27:14 when you've actually desecrated the temple of your body. 27:17 If you're honest, 27:19 you'll have to admit that you've done this. 27:22 So the other day I was reading this passage in Ezra, 27:25 and I suddenly experienced a lot of hope. 27:27 I know pretty much where my life has been a mess, 27:30 and I know when I've let God down. 27:32 But somehow, he still marks the vessels that belong to him, 27:35 and he keeps them safe until it's time to go home. 27:38 And what that means is 27:40 that you can be fully restored right now, 27:42 and the sacred vessel that is you can be used by God again, 27:46 no matter what you've done, 27:47 because your story isn't finished yet. 27:51 Thanks for joining me today. 27:52 I'm Shawn Boonstra, and this has been "Authentic." 27:56 [upbeat music] 28:08 [upbeat music continues] 28:21 [upbeat music continues] |
Revised 2024-05-29