God Will Always Provide For A Divine Vision
In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing:
"This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:
" 'The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of His people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the LORD, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them.
And in any locality where survivors may now be living, the people are to provide them with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem.' "
Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites -- everyone whose heart God had moved -- prepared to go up and build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem. All their neighbors assisted them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with valuable gifts, in addition to all the free will offerings.
Moreover, King Cyrus brought out the articles belonging to the temple of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his god. . . . In all, there were 5,400 articles of gold and of silver. Ezra 1:1-11
"This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:
" 'The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of His people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the LORD, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them.
And in any locality where survivors may now be living, the people are to provide them with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem.' "
Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites -- everyone whose heart God had moved -- prepared to go up and build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem. All their neighbors assisted them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with valuable gifts, in addition to all the free will offerings.
Moreover, King Cyrus brought out the articles belonging to the temple of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his god. . . . In all, there were 5,400 articles of gold and of silver. Ezra 1:1-11
The children of Israel were carried into Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar as a result of their disobedience to God. Jeremiah prophesied that the LORD will bring them deliverance. At the set time, in fulfillment of that prophecy, God opened the door for His children to move back to the Promised Land. God used an unbeliever, King Cyrus, to fulfill His word and to carry out His purposes.
There are a number of valuable lessons in the passage:
First: Every true prophecy from God will be fulfilled at the appointed time. God fulfilled the prophecy given by Jeremiah at the appointed time. He liberated His people at the exact time prophesied by Jeremiah. The lesson is: We must wait patiently on God to fulfill whatever word or promise He has given to us. If a word is truly from God, it will surely come to pass. Wait for it!
Second: All authority belongs to God and He grants them to whomever He desires for the fulfillment of His agenda. God elevated Cyrus and gave him "all the kingdoms of the earth. . ." It is important to understand that no ruler elevates himself without God. Everyone in authority is allowed into that position by God. Lesson: We must always appeal to God when authority is abused because He has the power to deal with any such situation.
Third: God can move the heart of Unbelievers to provide for His Kingdom agenda. Cyrus was an unbeliever but he recognized his divine assignment and commanded that resources be released to build God's temple. Everything is owned by God and He can have it released at any time.
Fourth: Only those whose hearts are moved by God can truly give joyfully to God. Whenever God wants to fund His agenda, He touches people whose hearts are open to Him. We see another example in Exodus during the building of the tabernacle: "and everyone who was willing and whose heart moved them came and brought an offering to the LORD for the work on the tent of meeting . . . Exodus 35:21). Are you giving because you are willing and your heart has been touched by God? If so, consider yourself to be very privileged!
Finally: God will always provide for any divine vision.
Question: Do you have an assignment or a vision from God? Are you wondering how and when it will be fulfilled? Don't panic. Just keep working hard on the assignment. Don't give up on the vision no matter how long you have been working on it. At the appointed time, God will bring you the right people and resources to see to its fulfillment. God can use even unbelievers to provide resources for the vision He has given you! Don't give up!
There are a number of valuable lessons in the passage:
First: Every true prophecy from God will be fulfilled at the appointed time. God fulfilled the prophecy given by Jeremiah at the appointed time. He liberated His people at the exact time prophesied by Jeremiah. The lesson is: We must wait patiently on God to fulfill whatever word or promise He has given to us. If a word is truly from God, it will surely come to pass. Wait for it!
Second: All authority belongs to God and He grants them to whomever He desires for the fulfillment of His agenda. God elevated Cyrus and gave him "all the kingdoms of the earth. . ." It is important to understand that no ruler elevates himself without God. Everyone in authority is allowed into that position by God. Lesson: We must always appeal to God when authority is abused because He has the power to deal with any such situation.
Third: God can move the heart of Unbelievers to provide for His Kingdom agenda. Cyrus was an unbeliever but he recognized his divine assignment and commanded that resources be released to build God's temple. Everything is owned by God and He can have it released at any time.
Fourth: Only those whose hearts are moved by God can truly give joyfully to God. Whenever God wants to fund His agenda, He touches people whose hearts are open to Him. We see another example in Exodus during the building of the tabernacle: "and everyone who was willing and whose heart moved them came and brought an offering to the LORD for the work on the tent of meeting . . . Exodus 35:21). Are you giving because you are willing and your heart has been touched by God? If so, consider yourself to be very privileged!
Finally: God will always provide for any divine vision.
Question: Do you have an assignment or a vision from God? Are you wondering how and when it will be fulfilled? Don't panic. Just keep working hard on the assignment. Don't give up on the vision no matter how long you have been working on it. At the appointed time, God will bring you the right people and resources to see to its fulfillment. God can use even unbelievers to provide resources for the vision He has given you! Don't give up!
Prayer: Father, I thank you that the earth is yours along with everything in it. I am confident that you will provide all I need to fulfill the vision you have placed in my heart. Amen.