The LORD Has Done Great Things!!

Taught by Jan S.
Notes by Linda G.

As sometimes happens, a written re-cap of the lesson does not really do justice to the actual class. Today was one of those times. Jan teaching was filled with dramatic presentations. She reenacted the emotions that the Israelites would have felt as they were leaving Babylon and returning back to Jerusalem and the emotions that they would have felt as they encountered opposition.

After 70 years in exile they would have been filled with anticipation and joy at the prospect of returning to their homeland. Psalm 126 captures this joy…

When the LORD brought back the captivity of Zion,
We were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
And our tongue with singing.
Then they said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
The LORD has done great things for us,
And we are glad.
Bring back our captivity, O LORD,
As the streams in the South.
Those who sow in tears
Shall reap in joy.
He who continually goes forth weeping,
Bearing seed for sowing,
Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,
Bringing his sheaves with him.

When the Israelites returned to their own land they were probably met with suspicion or resentment by the current inhabitants of Jerusalem. (As a reminder from Arlene’s teaching last week…when a people was taken captive to a foreign land, the captor would then send people from his own country back to live in the land that had been captured. In this case, Assyrians had been sent to settle in Jerusalem. They worshiped the God of Israel as the god of the land, but they also continued the worship of other gods.) When the Israelites began to rebuild the temple, these other people – who were actually the enemies of Israel, wanted to help (under false pretenses). Jan taught that the Israelites discerned that it was for them alone to rebuild the temple. They were God’s chosen people – who worship the Him alone. Also, they had been the ones commissioned by King Cyrus.

Their refusal of help was countered by opposition from their enemies. The opposition first came in the form of verbal accusations. They wanted to discourage the Israelites and make them afraid (see Ezra 4:4-5). Later on letters were sent by the enemies to the Babylonian rulers with the intent to stall the rebuilding of the temple. These letters cast suspicion on the Israelites actions and questioned that they had true permission from the Babylonian kings to rebuild in the first place. As a result of these tactics rebuilding of the temple was halted for 14 years.

After a time, two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, were called by the Lord and spoke encouragement to the people. Then the work on the house of the Lord resumed. Again, the Israelites were opposed by their enemies. “But the eye of their God was watching over the elders of the Jews, and they were not stopped until a report could go to Darius and his written reply be received” ( Ezra 5:5). The enemies had again written letters to the king, expecting that they could once again stall the rebuilding. [Something to ponder, our enemy will work in the same way. He will use the tactics on us that he has used effectively in the past. We need to wise to his schemes.]

When King Darius received this letter a search was made of the Babylonian archives. A scroll was found that detailed the original decree written many years ago by King Cyrus. This is what King Darius then decreed:

*let the temple be rebuilt
*the costs are to be paid by the Babylonian treasury
*the items from the temple that had been taken are to be returned

As Jan taught, we need the temple more than God does. He doesn’t just want our sacrifices, He wants our hearts. This account also shows that although the letter to King Darius was sent with evil intent, God used it for good. The Israelites then went back to work and completed the temple in four and one half years (see Ezra 6:13-18). After the temple was complete the exiles celebrated the Passover feast. This truly was a reminder of the faithfulness of the Lord. As they had escaped Egypt many years ago by His hand, He had also helped them to rebuild the temple (see Ezra 6:22).

Jan concluded her teaching with the question, “What is God saying in this?” and “What can we take away from this lesson?”. A discussion ensued by the class. Some of the responses were:

*trust in the Lord, He will provide
*how our perception of the opposition effects our reactions
*the need for encouragement
*the need to live in today and not worry about tomorrow
*how the enemy wants to keep us from trusting God
*although opposition is hard, we need to press through to victory
*God is doing a work in rebuilding, even if we can’t see it
*the need to pray Scripture
*that the process of rebuilding makes us who we are

Jan’s final summation: “God will use anyone He wants to fulfill His plans (even the most unlikely). He is sovereign".