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Ezra 5
Darius 2nd Year
Who are our prophets today? Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 12:5, there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And in Ephesians 4:11 we see some are prophets. Do we know our own spiritual gifts? Did they know more about spiritual gifts in Ezra’s time than we do today?
What we can glean from this chapter is that the prophets prophesied, and the leaders rose up and started rebuilding. They did this in the face of a hostile government that had ordered them to stop by force with a military presence. In their determination, and rather than taking matters into their own hands, they used faith first to overcome their death to a vision.
Of course, Satan had another go at trying to stop them. Another letter was written to the king, but this time there was something different. G-d was at work, His eye on the elders of the Jews, faithful to the faith shown Him by the temple leaders.
When they asked accusatory leading questions, the leaders of the temple calmly answered. This had to be difficult to do, requiring remarkable faith—to be in the presence of those hostile to you and stand your ground with calm reason. This time in their letter to the king, instead of misleading statements about taxation and kingdoms meant to stir up the king’s anger, as was the case in the first letter (Ezra 4), they actually wrote a factual and historically accurate account. Possibly in an overconfident moment, likely with sarcasm, as if to say, “Can you believe this hooey they told us?” they chronicled all the events leading up to this moment as told by the Jews, including mention of the former King Cyrus’s command and permit for the temple to be rebuilt. They asked for Darius to proclaim a new ruling on the matter.
What are your Spiritual Gifts?
As we rebuild our temple after Covid Exile, it’s deeply important, now more than ever, for us to all know our spiritual gifts. There are many tools online to help you discover yours, but nothing works better than reading scriptures and praying that the Ruach HaKodesh reveal them to you. A good place to start is 1Cor 12 and read through chapter 14.
Here’s one online tool that is pretty good and doesn’t require you to enter any personal data. Spiritual Gifts Assessment
Big Take-Away from Ezra 5
30) We need to know our own spiritual gifts, not just personally, but we need to know who in the body we can rely on for various needs. Who are our prophets today? In times of trouble, we need to listen to them.
31) G-d will use all events to work together for the good for those who are called according to His purpose.
32) In the death to a vision moment, we need to just keep doing our best, pray that it’s blessed, and He’ll take care of the rest.