In the book of Ezra, Ezra shared how the king of Persia wrote, “Give you now commandment to cause these men to cease, and that this city be not builded, until another commandment shall be given from me. Take heed now that you fail not to do this: why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings?”, and in chapter four and verse twenty-three of Ezra, Ezra shared how, “a copy of king Artaxerxes' letter was read” where we read,
Now when the copy of king Artaxerxes' letter was read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem unto the Jews, and made them to cease by force and power.
The verse reads, “Now when the copy of king Artaxerxes' letter was read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, ...” Ezra began with the words, “now when a copy” which means “at the time and moment a written record or account” “of king Artaxerxes' letter” which means “belonging to the royal ruler and leader Artaxerxes whose name means I will make the spoiled to boil or I will stir myself in winter and was the son and successor of Xerxes as emperor of Persia, 465-424 BC” “was read before Rehum” or “was called our and proclaimed in front and in the presence of Rehum whose name means compassion”, “and Shimshai” which means “sunny” “the scribe” or “the secretary”, “and their companions” which means “and their, Rehum and Shimshai's associates” the following happened. Ezra shared how the following event occurred at the time the written account of king Artaxerxes was proclaimed in front of “Rehum, Shimshai and their associates”.
The verse continues, “… they went up in haste to Jerusalem unto the Jews, and made them to cease by force and power.”Ezra added the words, “they went up in haste” or “they, Rehum, Shimshai and their associates, ascended in a hurried manner” “to Jerusalem” which means “to Jerusalem whose name means teaching of peace and is the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split” “unto the Jews” or “to the Jehudaites or Judaites”, “and made them to cease” which means “and caused them, the Jews, to halt and stop their working” “by force and power” or “ forcibly and through the means of a strong arm”. Ezra said “ Rehum, Shimshai and their associates” ascended to the Jewish people in the city of Jerusalem and caused them to stop working by the use of a strong arm.
When we think through the words in this verse, we learn through Ezra how “Rehum, Shimshai and their associates”seized upon the opportunity to stop the Jewish people from working on the building of the temple and their city. We can imagine the excitement of “Rehum, Shimshai and their associates” over winning this battle, however, they were in opposition to the will of God. We can also imagine the Jewish people when they received this news. God was at work in this situation, and even though it appeared for a time that the enemy was victorious, the final outcome will be different. God loves us, and His desire is to have a personal relationship with us through Son Jesus who died on the cross for our sins. When we receive Jesus as our personal “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and give us the strength through His Holy Spirit to endure times when it appears we have lost, but are really just being set up for an eternal win.
Next time Ezra says, “then ceased the work of the house of God”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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