Saturday 7th November 2009 Ezra

What's that got to do with anything and what does "Ezra" mean. Glad you asked. Always nice to see inquisitive folks around. Oh, your not? I will tell you anyway.
Ezra is a 10 chapter book in the Bible snuggling between Nehemiah on its right and 2 Chronicles on its left. Some call it a prophet book and I wont dispute that. But I think it is historical. No, not hysterical, historical!
Why am I reading it? Glad you asked. It goes like this. Over at St Luke's in down town Frankston there are a bunch of us men who meat for breakfast and fellowship and answer some questions on how our discipleship is progressing. Some week we are up, others we are down. But part of that discipleship process is reading our Bible every week. Like lots of the Bible every week. No, not to study it, but to see what Christ wants to show us this week. There are three of us in my group and last week we looked at Ezra. I forgot to tell you, we agree each week how much of the Bible we will read the following week. And if we don't complete the agreed reading by breakfast time on Saturday, then we do that reading again until all of us have completed the particular reading within the week.
So, we are in Ezra, well we were last week and since one of our number wasn't able to complete it, we all start back at Ezra chapter one this next week.
The question we are answering is: Did you complete the Bible reading? What has God been saying to you, and what are you going to do about it?
So, just now I have been having a look.
As I read this one thing occurs to be. Restoration. One simple little word. Putting something back the way it was. Returning something to its rightful owner/place. The work is the Lord's. (7)
Chapter 2:2. Nehemiah is numbered. Interesting. Nehemiah was the one to build the walls.
Chapter 4, the work of the Lord will never happen without opposition. Whether it be here or in our own lives.
I do have a question. It would seem to me that the building of the temple and the building of the walls happened together. Yet I was always taught that the walls went up first and then after that the temple. Yet here we see a parallel opposition as described in Nehemiah. Interesting. Very interesting. And the response is the same. the work stops, for a while. I also notice something else. Jealously. When God's people are having a ball, there will always be opposition. Some one will get jealous and want in on the action and when told no will get cranky. Been there done that. In fact many moons ago in a previous life I had to repent of my jealousy of another brother's success in his work for the Lord and seek that brother's forgiveness. That brother was very gracious, which only served to poor salt on my open wound. There after I prayed for him and was not jealous of the Lord's success in another brother.