In the book of Ezra, Ezra shared how the opposition to Israel sent a letter to the king Artaxerxes of Persia, “then sent the king an answer unto Rehum the chancellor, and to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their companions that dwell in Samaria, and unto the rest beyond the river, Peace, and at such a time. The letter which you sent unto us has been plainly read before me. And I commanded, and search has been made, and it is found that this city of old time has made insurrection against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made therein. There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, which have ruled over all countries beyond the river; and toll, tribute, and custom, was paid unto them”,and in chapter four and verse twenty-one of Ezra, Ezra shared how the king said, “give you now commandment to cause these men to cease” where we read,
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.
The verse reads, “Give you now commandment to cause these men to cease, and that this city be not builded, ...” Ezrabegan with the words, “give you now commandment” which means “at this time set, make and appoint a decree, command and judgment” “to cause these men to cease” which means “to make these male human beings in Jerusalem to halt, stop and desist”, “and that this city be not builded” or “and so this dwelling place, habitation and abode, Jerusalem, in no way or manner is made or erected”. Ezra shared how king Artaxerxes issued an order for the men of Israel to stop building their dwelling place, Jerusalem.
The verse continues, “... until another commandment shall be given from me.” Ezra added words, “until another commandment” or “till such time that one other or a further decree, command and judgment” “shall be given from me”which means “will be set, made and appointed separate and apart from me, king Artaxerxes”. Ezra shared how king Artaxerxes ordered that the cessation of the building of the city of Jerusalem was to continue till such time that he provided a different order to them.
When we consider the words in this verse, we learn through Ezra that king Artaxerxes gave the order that the men of Israel were to stop building the city of Jerusalem. Until he gave a subsequent order, they were to cease and desist from their work. The plot of “Rehum and Shimshai”, the foes of Israel, was accomplished. We must remember that Jehovah God was well aware of all these things, and He allowed this to happen to the people of Israel. For that time, it appeared that the enemy won, but we shall see that in their future, the temple, the walls and the city would be rebuilt. God has a plan, and He is going to work it out. He desires to have a personal relationship with every person through His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and when we yield to Him as our personal “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and help us to remember, our minor setbacks, even if committed by our enemies, will never prevail over His future plans for us.
Next time Ezra shares how the king says, “Take heed now that you fail not to do this”, 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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