In the book of Ezra, Ezra shared how Darius the king of Persia said, “I have made a decree, that whosoever shall alter this word, let timber be pulled down from his house, and being set up, let him be hanged thereon; and let his house be made a dunghill for this. And the God that has caused his name to dwell there destroy all kings and people, that shall put to their hand to alter and to destroy this house of God which is at Jerusalem. I Darius have made a decree; let it be done with speed”, and in chapter six and verse thirteen of Ezra, Ezra shared how the people, “did it speedily” where we read,
Then Tatnai, governor on this side the river, Shetharboznai, and their companions,
according to that which Darius the king had sent, so they did speedily.
The verse reads, “Then Tatnai, governor on this side the river, Shetharboznai, and their companions, ...” Ezra began with the words, “then Tatnai” which means “at that time Tatnai whose name means gift and was a Persian governor in Syria who opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem”, “governor on this side the river” whose name means “captain and overseer across the west side of the stream or Euphrates river”, “Shetharboznai” whose name means “star of splendor and was a Persian officer in the reign of Darius”, “and their companions” which means “and their, Tatnai and Setharboznai's, associates or fellow citizens”. Ezra referred to “Tatnai, Shetharboznai and their associates” who did the following.
The verse continues, “... according to that which Darius the king had sent, so they did speedily.” Ezra added the words, “according to that which Darius the king” which means “in keeping with the command and directive that Darius whose name means lord and was known as Darius the Mede, the son of Ahasuerus, king of the Chaldeans, who succeeded to the Babylonian kingdom on the death of Belshazzar; probably the same as "Astyages" the last king of the Medes (538 BC) who was the royal ruler and leader” “had sent” or “ordered and commanded”, “so they did speedily” which means “even thus performed Tatnai, Shetharboznai and their associates in a hasty and quick manner”. Ezra shared how “Tatnai, Shetharboznai and their associates” quickly performed the command of “Darius”.
When we think through the words in this verse, we learn through Ezra how “Tatnai, Shetharboznai and their associates”, who opposed the rebuilding of the temple and the city of Jerusalem, were employed to carry out the construction of the building. “Darius the king of Persia” ordered them to “speedily” take care of what was necessary for the children of Israel to rebuild their city and the structure used for worshiping God. God loves the people of Israel, and He used “Darius” and these others to carry out His will. God loves us as well, and He proved His love to us when He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind. When we yield our lives to Him, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and employ us in His service to continue spreading His “good news”, the gospel, throughout the world.
Next time Ezra shares how, “the elders of the Jews builded”, 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".
No comments:
Post a Comment