The book of Ezra concerns the rebuilding of the Second Temple by order of various Persian kings and under the guidance of Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and later, Ezra. God stirred Cyrus, king of Persia, to decree the rebuilding of the Second Temple (Ezra 1:1-3, 6:14-15; cf. Proverbs 21:1). Though the people faced opposition
(Ezra 4, 5:5), God's purposes cannot be thwarted, so they rebuilt the Temple (Ezra 6:14-15). God's people repented of their sins and reinstituted sacrifices and Passover (Ezra
6:16-22, 9—10). We are still called to repent today because God has promised that if we confess our sins and repent, He will forgive (1 John 1:9).
Harry S. Truman famously had a sign on his desk that read, “The buck stops here.” He was right in one sense: As the President of the U.S., he had the last say in the executive branch.
But the reality is that the buck always stops with God, no matter who rules the nations. The believer’s cliché, “God is in control,” is nonetheless true. Nothing is out of God’s purview. He works all circumstances for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28). During Ezra’s time, the rebuilding of the second Temple took place under the direction of three different kings and through opposition from adversaries of God’s people. But the Jews repented of their sins, worshiped God, and kept rebuilding.
This is a lesson for Christians today. No matter what happens politically, we’re always citizens of God’s kingdom, subject to Him, strengthened by Him. Our responsibility isn’t to control everything happening around us but to remain faithful to God in the middle of it. When circumstances feel uncertain, we can pray instead of panic, obey instead of compromise, and keep building instead of giving up.
Ezra reminds us that God doesn’t need favorable circumstances to accomplish His purposes. He can work through kings, opposition, setbacks, and circumstances we don’t understand.
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