The book of Ezra, chapter 6. You know this very well.
I hope that the book of Ezra begins with a royal decree, but
it is not the only decree in this story.
As we approach this new chapter, we will be examining the edict
of yet another king by the name of Darius.
King Darius, who is the king of Persia at this time, will be
responding to a letter that he received from some of the
governors who are beyond the river and we're overseeing the
Judean province and reported on the rebuilding of the temple
that commenced yet again and had some concern about it.
And one of the main concerns when these governors approached
the Jews as they rebuilt the temple, were pursuing the
reconstruction of this dwelling place for God, was that Cyrus, a
former king, gave them permission to do so.
And they wanted to verify that claim.
And so they made a plea to Darius, asking him to do a
search to try to verify if this warrant is actually valid.
And what we're going to discover in this new chapter is that what
Darius has to say will not only affirm what Cyrus decreed, but
we'll also accelerate the rebuilding of the temple until
its completion. It's a fascinating chapter in
this story, and it truly serves as a reminder that the Lord is
not only sovereign over a king, he is sovereign over all kings.
That is the main take away from this chapter that has been
preserved for us in our Bibles. But there is a deeper message to
be conveyed, and I believe that we can see more glorious truths
in this new chapter if we begin by looking at the last verse of
this chapter. And so I want us to consider how
this section of Scripture ends. Look at verse 22 of Ezra chapter
6. And they kept the feast of
Unleavened bread 7 days with joy.
For the Lord had made them joyful, and had turned the heart
of the king of Assyria to them, so that he aided them in the
work of the House of God, the God of Israel.
This verse captures the essence of this chapter.
The Lord made His people joyful because He did a powerful work
in the heart of the king of Assyria to aid them in bringing
this reconstruction to its completion.
Now, some might be troubled and some are troubled by the fact
that Darius is identified as the king of what in that verse?
Assyria. He's the king of Persia.
Is this a mistake on the author's part?
I want to tell you right away, absolutely not, and for two
reasons. Number one, it's likely that
Darius is labeled as the king of Assyria because he is currently
ruling over the territories that Assyria once governed.
Because you have to remember Assyria has been toppled as an
empire some for some time now. So for Assyria to be mentioned
here is a little bit concerning. But what Ezra seeks to do, I
believe, is that he wants to show that the government in this
account is a sort of continuation of the empire and
previous empires. In other words, since Darius is
essentially ruling over the same land that the Assyrians and
Babylonians once controlled, he can rightly say that he is, in a
sense, the king of Assyria. Plainly put, this is more of a
regional designation than a literal identification, if that
makes sense. But there is a second way and
another way of explaining this, and it's the following that
while Ezra is primarily referring to Darius in his
passage, he mentions Assyria in order to emphasize how God
sovereignly has been working in and through his people across
all empires, especially the ones that played a role in the
oppression of his people. The Assyrian Empire played a
major role in a new era for Israel, specifically in their
persecution and their exiles. It all started with Assyria, did
it not? And the Bible shows us that in
more than one way, how the Assyrians were a new starting
point for Israel's history. And I want to show you that in
another place. We're in Ezra, but flip over to
the next book in Nehemiah. Look at Nehemiah Chapter 9,
verse 32. And the reason why I'm doing
this right at the outset is because I, I want you and I to
be able to defend what some would use as contradictions or
historical errors in our Bibles. So look at Nehemiah Chapter 9
and verse 32. It says here, now therefore our
God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome, God who keeps
covenant and steadfast love, Let not all the hardships seem
little to you that has come upon us, upon our kings, our
Princess, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and all
your people since the time of the kings of Assyria until this
day. So even Nehemiah recognizes that
the Assyrian Empire was a significant starting point in
the history of the people of Israel.
So you see, this may be why Ezra refers to Assyria rather than
Persia in his summary and that last verse of Ezra chapter 6.
He wants to remind us that the all powerful God of Israel was
always at work and always in control, even from the very
beginning of Israel's downfall. Hopefully that clarifies the
issue because what I really want to do is highlight a different
point from that last verse. If we really understand what
Ezra 622 is saying, we can understand from the beginning of
Ezra chapter 6 that all Darius is going to say and all Darius
is going to do is ultimately by the guidance and influence of
God Himself. Remember what that verse said,
that the people rejoice because they recognize that the Lord
worked in Darius's heart to aid them to rebuilding the temple.
And if we keep that in mind, I can tell you with absolute
certainty we will be blown away by what we read in this new text
as you recognize and understand what God is able to accomplish
on behalf of His people. So let's look at this mandate
slowly. Let's go back to Ezra chapter 6
in the 1st 2 verses. Remember Darius is responding to
the letters of some of his governors who are reporting on
the people rebuilding the House of God.
And this is what we read next in Ezra 6 verse one.
Then Darius the king made a decree and search was made in
Babylonia, in the House of the archives where the documents
were stored, and in Ekbatana, the citadel that is in the
province of Medea, a scroll was found on which was written a
record. Let's stop there.
Let's pray, Lord, we pray that You give us the Spirit of wisdom
and revelation to help us understand every portion of this
portrait of Your Word, and that we would not master it
intellectually, but it would master us.
It would do something in our hearts as we sang about so
frequently tonight. Lord, we pray that you would
breathe fresh life into our souls, that You would renew our
faith, that You would sharpen our discernment, that You would
chisel away anything in our character that is out of line
with Your desire for our lives. We submit this time to You,
believing that You will lead us. May the delivery of this Bible
study be filled with Your power and glory.
In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
So right away we recognize something.
We recognize that Darius seems to be very diligent and finding
out if what Cyrus said about the Jews rebuilding the temple was
so, so much so that he doesn't give up so easily.
Evidently from the first verse we learned that Darius could not
find this scroll where you would expect to find it in this
archive of historical decrees and edicts.
It's not there, and you would think naturally that if you
wouldn't find it where it's supposed to be that you would do
what? Give up?
Why continue? Why waste my resources, my time,
the energy of my men to go on about this?
Why don't just end it here? Why don't we just cancel this
endeavor, Move on? What did the Jews have to do
with us anyway? But it's not what happens.
Instead of calling off the search, he charges his men to
continue this pursuit. And in verse 2, we realized that
as he pressed on, they finally found it in a different province
of all places, and a place called Ektabana.
And when they looked, they realized it was this in the
central city of this province. And all that they've been
searching for has been realized and uncovered.
And here's the thing that I have to ask, why such determination
on Darius's part? He's not a Jew.
He has his own empire to rule. You can say it's part of his
empire. Maybe he's concerned.
OK. But there seems to be something
else at work here. And the only explanation that
we're given for why Darius put so much effort into this is that
last verse of this chapter, That God did something in his heart
that God was working deeply in this man for him not to give up,
not to quit until he saw it through.
And I want to let you know that we should expect the same sort
of commitment when God works in our hearts as well.
What do I mean? There is a type of devotion to
God and to people that is stimulated by divine conviction,
divine constraint. I'm speaking about a Holy Spirit
compulsion that moves you and keeps you in the will of God in
a certain way, regardless of the challenges that might arise
along the path of that commitment.
Darius heart at this point is harnessed by an invisible force
which we know to be God, moving him in this direction and
keeping him in that direction. And he shows us that there is a
level of concrete certainty, immovability on our part as a
result of God working in us. This is good news for us at this
Bible study tonight. He didn't throw in the towel.
He didn't become selfish. He didn't get so lazy.
And I want to tell you and remind you today, dear
Christian, that we've been given heavenly resources to no even
greater resilience in our involvement for the cause of
Christ. Whatever your involvement looks
like, Paul highlights us in more than one way throughout the New
Testament. One of the my favorite things
that he says about why he was so committed, why he was willing to
endure so much suffering, why he was willing to stay pure, holy,
dependable. Do you remember these words when
he says the following in Second Corinthians chapter 5, verse 14?
For the love of Christ controls us.
And he goes on to say, because we have concluded this, that one
has died for all, therefore all have died, and he died for all,
that those who live I no longer live for themselves, but for him
who for their sake died and was raised.
So why was Paul willing to die to himself and live for Christ
completely wholeheartedly? Because he realized something
about the love of Christ. Notice he doesn't speak about
his love for Christ. He speaks about Christ's love
for him, and this is the profound truth of this
statement, that there is a way of comprehending Christ's love
for you that energizes you, then only energizes you, compels you,
controls you, constrains you believer.
If you go by your emotion on a daily basis to determine your
fidelity and your commitment to your ministry, your marriage,
your work, your sacrifice, you will not last very long.
But if you tap into the great affection of crisis set upon
you, oh, you will know something of longevity.
You will have true fuel in that. And this is what Paul is saying,
for the love of Christ controls us.
You know what that word control action means in the original?
It's beautiful, holds us together as if they say the love
of Christ holds me in place. Another way of thinking about it
is the love of Christ is what keeps me in this course of
action. Doesn't let me go left and
right, doesn't let me backslide so easily.
It controls me. It contains me.
It keeps me and this is what you and I have to understand.
Paul's only giving one motivator.
He's only including here one factor actually in the same
context earlier, a few verses back, he speaks about the fear
of God knowing the terror of the Lord.
We persuade men, he says earlier, and that's not the only
place in our Bibles where we understand what God has granted
to us to know a longevity and serving Him, and we can consider
others, but we have to move on and read the next few verses in
our main text. So let's go back to Ezra chapter
6 and see what happens in verse 3 down to verse 5.
So they find the scroll, they discover it, and now it's quoted
to us in verse three. In the first year of Cyrus the
king, Cyrus the king issued A decree concerning the House of
God at Jerusalem. Let the house be rebuilt, the
place where sacrifices were offered, and let its foundations
be retained. Its height shall be 60 cubits,
and its breadth 60 cubits, with three layers of great stones and
one layer of timber. Let the cost be paid from the
royal treasury. One might wonder what purpose
there is in having Cyrus's decree repeated to us.
We've already seen it in the opening of this book.
It's referenced in part in Ezra chapter 5, verse 13 down to
verse 15. So why does it revisit us?
Why is it necessary? And here's yet another reminder
that when you encounter A paralleling Scripture in your
Bibles, it is never in vain. God doesn't waste real estate in
His Word. So when something seems to be
repetitive, the way to go about it is don't just skim over it,
don't glance over it, dig deeper.
And one of the ways that you dig is look for the differences,
compare it to the other places where it is found, and that's
where you're going to find answers.
And so a lot of things are similar here, but in this case,
something new is revealed about Cyrus's decree, namely, he
actually orders for the dimensions in detail and the
layout and the material of the temple, as well as the funding
for it. This is what stands out.
Looking at the end of verse 3 and 4, its height shall be 60
cubits and its breadth 60 cubits.
That equates to 90 feet with three layers of great stones and
one layer of timber. Let the cost be paid from the
royal treasury. Now, it's important to
understand that what's happening here, this version of Cyrus's
decree is not a newer one or different one.
Ezra is a historian. Ezra is led by the Holy Spirit.
Ezra knows when to include certain details and when to omit
others. And it all depends on his
purpose in the context that he is writing.
So it wasn't necessary to include these additional details
early on. Now it is important for him to
bring up and to under score these elements of Cyrus's
decree. And one reason for that is
because these are the very things that the governor's
targeted as a problem when they sent their report to Darius.
Do you remember this? If you don't go back to Ezra 5,
look at verse 8. This is part of the report that
these governors wrote and they said, be it known to the king
and Ezra 5/8 that we went to the province of Judah to the House
of the great God. It is being built with huge
stones and timber is laid in the walls.
This work goes on diligently and prospers in their hands.
Do you see? This is the historical and
political context which helps us make sense of why this version
of Cyrus's decree is brought to our attention.
But what does it reveal about God?
Have you wondered how does that help me in my worship?
Remember in Ezra 11, the very first verse of this whole book,
we learn that the Lord stirred the spirit of Cyrus to make this
proclamation, not just in a general sense, but with every
single detail. So ultimately, it was the Lord
through Cyrus who determined the dimensions of the temple.
It was the Lord through Cyrus who wanted these specific
materials to be used for the temple.
It was the Lord through Cyrus who wanted it to be paid for by
this government. It was a Lord.
And that means that the building and the work of God's house, God
is concerned with every element of it.
Every detail matters to the Lord, every feature.
In fact, when you read this decree carefully, you'll notice
that Cyrus's instructions are much more meticulous than
before. Look at Ezra 6, verse 5.
And also let the gold and silver vessels of the House of God,
which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that is in Jerusalem
and brought to Babylon be restored and brought back to the
temple that is in Jerusalem. Pause.
Have we seen that before? Have we seen in this book before
that the vessels that were once in the temple taken by
Nebuchadnezzar was to be restored into the temple?
We've seen this before, right? Here's a little difference.
Look at the next part. Each to its place.
You shall put them in the House
of God. So notice what's what's
mentioned here, what's highlighted as a difference.
Now only did the Lord through Cyrus want the vessels to return
to Jerusalem? No, no, no, I want them in the
House of God. And more than that, in Ezra 6,
we realized that God wanted each of those artifacts, every single
one of those furnishings, to be relocated in their designated
place within the House of God. This follows what God spoke to
Moses and later to David and Solomon.
I want every single thing in my house to be in a specific spot.
I want the table of showbread there.
I want the lamp over here. I want the brazen altar over
there. I want the Ark of the Covenant
in there. Everything was covered by the
Lord's will. And here's the thing, after
decades of exile, God's instructions haven't changed.
And although, listen, you and I are under the new covenant,
praise God and a greater covenant, a better covenant, a
covenant that's been prophesied by the prophets.
God's house is now the church in this covenant expressed in local
assemblies like this. But I want to make the case
tonight that God's heart for His house in this regard has not
changed. It hasn't changed.
He wants specific things to be in specific places in His house.
Here's proof of that. Let's go to the New Testament,
first Timothy, chapter 3. I want you to look at verse 14
and verse 15. First Timothy 3 verse 14 to
verse 15. Paul is writing to Timothy and
this book is primarily about giving this young pastor
instructions of how to govern the church.
And the church that he was pastoring at this time was a
church in Ephesus. And notice what he says in First
Timothy 3 verse 14. I hope to come to you soon, but
I am writing these things to you so that if I delay, you may know
how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the
Church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the
truth. Listen, in the New Covenant, God
is no longer concerned with the dimensions of a sacred building.
He's not preoccupied with the positions of again, the lamp or
the table of showbread or the altar of incense.
That is not in his mind anymore. He's concerned with different
vessels. We are called vessels in the New
Testament, and he wants his vessels to be in the right place
in his house. Or in the words of Paul, how one
ought to behave in the household of God.
What is Paul's desire in conveying this?
What's the context? What kind of behavior does he
have in mind? Let's ask it that way.
Well, immediately before this, Paul speaks about the
qualifications of deacons and elders.
He also speaks about the role you ready for this one of woman
in the church. Not just the role you ready for
this one their appearance in the church.
He also speaks about who should be leading the worship services
in the church. And after giving these various
types of commands and exhortations, though he is not
finished, he tells Timothy, look, put these things in order
in case I delay. Because you ought to know not
just the Church of Ephesus, but Maranatha Bible Church and every
Bible believing church, how one ought to behave in the household
of God, where the vessels of God should be placed in his house,
their function, their responsibility, their roles.
And you know what breaks my heart?
We are living in an age where more and more people take
liberties and ignoring or misinterpreting God's rules for
his own house. Yeah, yeah.
Let me ask you something. How would you react if this is
not in this text, but if we were to read of a Jew in Ezra's time
who received the clear instructions from Cyrus's decree
about how each of these instruments in the temple should
be in the rightful place, and that Jew, presumably a leader,
totally ignores it. And he says, you know what
actually I want, I want the table show right over there and
I want the lamp back there. What would your reaction be?
You, You would say this is offensive.
You would say this is careless or many cases this is blatant
rebellion. We would be disturbed by such a
response to such instructions. And yet for some reason, when it
comes to the positions and practices within the church, the
household of God today, we are far more willing to accept
personal interpretation based on emotion rather than biblical
fact. And one of the common
justifications for different ideas of roles restricted to men
and how women should flourish in the church is, well, is it
really a big deal anyway? Is it really a big deal?
Let me ask you this. Is it a big deal for the temple
to have the furnishings in its rightful place, as God decreed?
If you fear God, you would say, yeah, it is a big deal.
So why is that a big deal and not this?
Why is that important? Why does that seem more holy and
sacred than the vessels of God being where they're supposed to
be in the House of God in 2026? We have to ask these questions.
And more than that, we have to humble, humble ourselves to the
truths that are presented to us in this regard and remember that
it's about what God wants from his house.
Now, what you feel like it's fashionable or effective?
What does God want? That's all that's asked of me.
That's all that's asked of you. What does the Lord want?
This is not my church. This is not your church.
This is the temple of God. And so let's tremble again and
remove from our vocabulary things like, well, I just think,
what does God say? Well, it's offensive.
We'll let him deal with it with God.
It's his house. And you and I are called to
steward what he has asked us to steward in his house.
And so we see here that even God says, I, I want these things
exactly where I've asked them to be.
Maybe be the same in our response of obedience in the
House of God today. Well, let's come back now to our
main text. This is the summary of Cyrus's
decree that was uncovered. But as we read on now, there's a
transition. Now Darius is going to give his
own decree to Tatanai and the other governors, in addition to
what Cyrus asked. So let's read from verse 6.
Now. Therefore, Tatanai, governor of
the province beyond the river Sithar Bazani and your
associates, the governors who are in the province beyond the
river, keep away. Let the work on this House of
God alone. Let the governor of the Jews and
the elders of the Jews rebuild this House of God on its site.
Pause. I love this.
Keep away, Stay back, Don't harass, don't intimidate, don't
inquire, don't investigate. The matter is finished.
You have nothing to do with this.
It's been settled and he's not done yet.
But I just want to show how he confirms what Cyrus says.
But if you actually look more carefully as we read on, there
are two official decrees that Darius is going to make.
This is just a confirmation. But after after this, between
verses 8 and 10, we have the first decree that Darius is
going to make. And the second one is issued in
verse 11 down to verse 12. And so I want us to look at the
first decree, the first decree that Darius makes from verse 8
down to verse 10. So he tells them to back off,
but that's all he all he has in mind.
Moreover, verse 8, I make a decree regarding what you shall
do for these elders of the Jews for the rebuilding of the House
of God. The cost is to be paid to these
men in full and without delay, from the royal revenue, the
tribute of the province from beyond the river, and whatever
is needed, bulls, Rams or sheep for burnt offerings to the God
of heaven. Wheat, salt, wine or oil, as the
priest at Jerusalem require. Let that be given to them day by
day, without fail, that they may offer pleasing sacrifices to the
God of heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons.
The script has been flipped, the tables have been turned.
Tatani and his friends thought that they could potentially put
a stop to the rebuilding of the House of God.
And now, after reporting it, Darius says, actually, I'm going
to ask you to help them. And this is a marvelous example
of how you and I should remain patient through trials and
challenges and roadblocks in obedience to the Lord.
Who would have thought that Tatani's investigation would
have led to this? You know, there's a pattern in
Scripture that when persecution or inconveniences arise, though
frustrating in the moment, they often lead to God's people
knowing greater freedom and fruitfulness.
Doesn't happen all the time, but it happens enough for us to see
in our Bibles that it's possible in our own lives for harassment
and persecution to come our way as we're seeking to obey God and
thinking that it's only going to get more dreadful and difficult
from here is not always so. God is a master at changing the
story and this is what we find here.
It's testimonies like this in Ezra chapter 6 that we have to
remind ourselves that I, I can endure this.
I can, I can remain faithful and Worshipful because God can
change things in our favor. God can change things in our
favor for His glory in a moment. In a moment.
I have testimonies of that in my own life.
I'm convinced. I want you to be convinced.
It's in the Bible. But with that being said,
there's another remarkable element to this first decree
that Darius makes, and it's in the last part.
Remember what he says in verse 10.
Look again. He wants the House of God to be
rebuilt. Why?
Well, yes, Cyrus decreed it, but notice this, that they may offer
pleasing sacrifices to the God of heaven and pray for the life
of the king and his sons. To a certain extent, Darius, a
Gentile king, believe in the power of prayer when it was
prayed by God's people. Or else why request it?
Whether he was superstitious, because you can be superstitious
about prayer or he he genuinely understood and was convinced of
the effectiveness of the intercession of those who belong
to God does not matter. Darius reminds us that there is
great benefit in having people pray for us.
Read the epistles that Paul wrote and you will not be able
to deny that he believed that wholeheartedly for himself.
And Paul not only asks for prayers as a footnote, no, they
were passionate. Please pray for me, seek God on
my behalf, strive in your prayers for me.
And you know what I learned about Paul?
I mean, this man was absolutely consumed with his ministry.
Anything that he prayed for, even when he was in prison was
not about being free. It was give me the boldness to
preach while I'm in here. Things like that.
You know, that's how Paul thought.
That's how he lived. But, but I I believe that Paul
believed that he didn't think prayer was just about big things
like missionary opportunities or, or preaching effectiveness,
even small things. One of my favorite examples of
this is in that little letter to Philemon or Philemon.
Do you remember what he said to his friend near the end of his
letter? Let me remind you in verse 22,
no chapters Philemon 22 listen to these words that Paul wrote
to a great friend, a ministry partner, yes, but a friend he
says in Philemon 22 at the same time, prepare a guest room for
me for I'm hoping that through your prayers I will be
graciously given to you. So seems as though Paul
anticipated to be set free from prison.
Philemon is one of his prison epistles.
He's writing this from jail, but he expects to be liberated at
some point, maybe in the near future.
Because he says, hey, Philemon, can you prepare a guest room for
me? Planning to come over soon.
But Paul also understands that there may be unforeseen
obstacles that may hinder him from actually being reunited
with Philemon. So what does he say?
Brother, pray, Pray that God would allow me to be graciously
given to you. Isn't that beautiful that God
would even hear our prayers when we want to be reunited with a
brother or sister that we haven't seen in a while?
That He can open doors? That He can put favor in your
boss's eyes because you have packed schedule.
That he can clear the weather. That the tickets for that flight
would be cheaper So that you can find encouragement and give
encouragement to another brother in Christ, another sister in the
Lord. Paul believed that.
Paul believed that God would answer Philemon's prayer for
this request. In my books, that that doesn't
seem like an emergency. That just seems like a gift.
That's why Paul says that I would be graciously.
It would be a manifestation of God's grace that you and I can
sit face to face across from one another and drink from one
another's faith and be built up like these men, Darius and Paul.
I wonder if you believe that God would honor that act of faith
and humility by you asking for someone else to pray for you.
Let me ask you a question. When was the last time, not as a
Christian reflex, not as a knee jerk reaction, but genuinely
with your faith, with your heart thought out, asked somebody else
to pray for you, believing that God would honor that prayer,
believing that God would somehow work through the prayers of both
you and that friend or friends as you combine your faith
together for a specific request, listen, in 2026, some of us in
here might need to ask the Lord to help us in our prayer lives,
which is wonderful. But others it may be to help us
believe in the prayers of other people for us and to be like
Paul and actually vocalize our neediness to send a little bit
more texts to others that you trust.
Have a walk with God and say, brother, I need you to pray for
me about this. These men believed, even Darius
with all his limited knowledge, that when God's people pray,
things can happen. But Darius's humble request also
teaches us another thing. It reminds us that one of the
best things that we can do for others is pray for them.
He believed this. He believed that the prayers of
God's people not only bless him, but his sons.
It can have generational consequences.
So don't just pray for me. Pray for my descendants.
You know, according to First Timothy 2, you and I have been
commanded, not suggested, commanded as a church to pray
for kings and to pray for those who are in high positions.
Why? Just so that we can do something
else on a Wednesday night because we're not busy enough.
No, because clearly our prayers in that same context can make an
impact on what society, those who have the ability and the
prerogative to actually do things in culture.
Our prayers can do something in their hearts.
And what they do from that place can impact the city, the nation,
and, and more than that, Paul says, pray for these rulers so
that the church can exercise its ministries with freedom and then
peaceableness. Pray, Pray for those who are not
asking for it and pray for those who asked for it, because prayer
actually changes things. And so Darius makes that request
in this first decree. But that's not the only decree
he makes. There's a second and last one.
Come back to Ezra 6. Look at verse 11 and verse 12.
Also, I make a decree that if anyone alters this edict, a beam
shall be pulled out of his house and he shall be impaled on it,
and his house shall be made at Dunkhill.
Do you know what that means? It's not a pretty image.
Some translations like the King James, the new King James say to
be hung on it. The Hebrew word has some
flexibility, I guess. So if anybody edits Darius's
first decree, here's the punishment.
Take a beam out of their house, put it into the ground, and let
it Pierce somebody through their flesh from the inside out.
That was the punishment, emphasizing the severity of such
a crime. Don't you dare touch the order
that I made concerning this house.
If that wasn't clear enough, that wasn't a deterrent.
He adds something else. Look at verse 12.
May the God who has caused his name to dwell there overthrow
any king or people who shall put out a hand to alter this or to
destroy this House of God that is in Jerusalem.
I, Darius, make a decree. Let it be done with all
diligence. So not only does the Darius say
I'm going to do something about this in my lifetime if anybody
dares to change what I said. They'll be severely punished.
I mean, it's a gruesome death penalty.
But he also invokes the name of God, and he asked that God would
intervene if anybody were to not just change or alter this edict,
but in the future touch the House of God and seek to destroy
it or defile it in any way. May God do something about it
himself. Remember verse 22 of this
chapter? It was the Lord who was working
in Darius's heart to aid the people.
Ultimately, this is God and it shows just how precious His
house is to him. Now we know that Jesus Christ,
our Lord and Savior, the promised Messiah, prophesied the
destruction of the temple in Jerusalem.
It was an act of God. He used natural means.
The Roman Empire, yes, but it was an indictment against His
people for rejecting the Messiah.
And now we are in the New Covenant as the same Christ
inaugurated it. And in the New covenant, as I
said earlier, the House of God is His church.
And just like what I said earlier about how God is
concerned about where His vessels are situated and how
they function within His, within his house, God is equally
concerned as we see here, about the destruction of His house in
the New Testament. His house is different.
God's heart to protect it, to preserve it from danger, hasn't
changed. In our final passage tonight,
turn to 1st Corinthians chapter 3.
I want you to consider 2 verses as we seek to close First
Corinthians chapter 3, verse 16. Darius's warning, moved by the
Lord to issue it, reminds us of what the Holy Spirit said
through the apostle Paul about what would happen to anyone who
would seek to destroy God's house today.
Do you know it's possible to destroy God's house today?
Do you know what God's house is today?
Paul reminds US First Corinthians chapter 3, verse 16.
Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's
Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple,
God will destroy him, for God's temple is holy, and you are that
temple. Now he's speaking in the plural.
He's addressing the local church in Corinth and labels them as
the temple of God. Do you understand the the
implications of this are enormous.
And one of the things that it signifies is how much the church
manifested in local bodies like this is sacred in God's eyes.
The church is holy to our Lord. It's it's a treasure to him.
It's pure, it's meaningful. It's his heart.
And Paul here says that you are the temple, and God so values
his temple that he promises to punish anyone who attempts to
destroy the temple of God. Now, how does one attempt to
destroy God's temple in this age, in this covenant?
How does that work? Is Paul referring to vandalizing
the church building? Is he talking about taking an
instrument and damaging pews or bricks?
Paul is not concerned about any physical sanctuary.
He's concerned about the sanctification of God's people,
the spiritual condition of his church.
So that helps us understand that there is a spiritual destruction
that can take place in the church.
But still, OK, now that that's made known, what does that
actually look like? And I believe Paul gives us at
least one reason in the immediate context.
There are many reasons to destroy God's house.
But what's this chapter about in First Corinthians 3, if you read
earlier, Paul laments and he rebukes this church for one main
thing, at least this at this point, divisions, divisions.
You have some of you here saying I'm of Paul, I like Pastor Paul,
another you saying I like Pastor Peter, another you saying I like
Apollo's his preaching the most. And and now there's, there's
friction, there's tension, there's division.
And in that same train of thought, he says, hey, do you
not realize that you are God's temple, that if anyone destroys
God's house, God will destroy him.
So one way a person can destroy God's house is by being the
cause for the disintegration of unity, of having believers turn
on one another, factions, distractions to the point of
destruction, where people are now looking at one another
instead of Christ. We're not missional anymore, but
are now petty and are now harming one of those reputations
and their names. And you're eroding the harmony
of God's church, his house, and you are ripping that community
apart because of your mouth, because of your decisions,
because of your attitude in the House of God.
And Paul warns them you're treading on dangerous territory.
The lesson is clear. Harming the spiritual life,
disturbing the loving bond of God's people is dangerous.
And my prayer, looking at this warning from Darius and the
warnings of the New Testament, is that may none of us ever be
the cause for defiling the House of God ever.
You know, sometimes people, especially the leaders, will
express concern about the potential work of troublemakers,
people who sow discord in the assembly and all these
different, you know, nightmarish scenarios that that happens
sometimes. And sometimes people ask,
brother, are you ever worried? But who can emerge from within
or come from the outside in and cause havoc?
And you know, I can say with a clear conscience, I'm not, I'm
not afraid of troublemakers. Based on what I find in my
Bible, I've determined that I'm afraid for troublemakers.
You know why? Let me say it again.
This isn't my church. This isn't my church.
It's not your church. It's God's.
This is God's church. This is his temple.
And if anybody seeks to destroy it, God will deal with them.
So my duty and yours is to maintain a clear conscience, to
live a holy life, to walk in integrity, to walk in obedience.
Because Jesus promised to not only build his church, which is
a relief for me and I'm sure to you, but also to protect it.
He'll protect His church because it is precious in His sight.
You are precious in His sight. And this is what we learned so
far in Ezra chapter 6. But it's not over yet.
But we'll have to come again next week to see what else the
Word of God has to say to us. For now, let's respond to the
Lord in prayer. Father, you have reminded us of
how much you care about your house, and Lord, we admit that
it is difficult to grasp and fully comprehend how we, because
of Christ, because of this new covenant, are your house.
We thank you for these lessons from the past with that physical
building known as a temple in Jerusalem and how we can apply
them today. We thank you and we ask that
Lord we would not forget them. So much was said tonight.
Help us retain it. And Lord, where conviction needs
to be felt, let it be felt. And where comfort is needed, let
it overflow. We pray that you would protect
this house. We pray that you would protect
every church that's represented here, every ministry that is
represented here. We pray that we would not be any
cause for harm to your assembly, but that we would be a blessing
to any church that we are a part of as we honor the place that
you have positioned us. For, that we would trust Your
word with every command, with every blueprint that you have
set, no matter the tides of the culture, no matter the pressures
of other churches that are bending the knee to modern day
philosophies. Help us honor your word no
matter what, Lord. There are so many other things
that we can ask for, but for now we say thank you Lord, and we
pray that as we sing this song and as we reflect it, you would
pull on our hearts even more and draw us closer to you.
In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
If you want to stay seated and
reflect and pray and just offer more words to the Lord, you can
do that. If you want to stand and worship
with the rest of us, you can do that as well.
But let's just commune with Christ before we conclude this
Bible study. You've heard me speak about the
Puritans before. The Puritans were a group of
Christians who felt the need to see the Anglican Church reformed
further purified because it had divorced from the Catholic
Church, and it still brought a lot of their practices into
their own ideas and polity. And so the Puritans felt as
though, no, there's needs to be more purification here.
And some were separatists. They said, it's a lost cause.
We're going this way, you guys deal with it.
Others said, no, no, we're going to preach and we're going to
pray and we're going to believe that God can, can still do some
more purifying. And out of that came a lot of
literature, sermons, yes, but even books that have been
preserved over the years from their, from their talks and
their, their messages. And if you've ever read the
Puritans and you would know that they are very precise.
They're they're, they're very methodical and how they explain
things and break open certain verses and chapters of the
Bible. And one time a modern theologian
was asked by a curious Christian who was just being introduced to
the Puritans brother, why are the Puritans so precise?
And the response of this theologian was because we serve
a precise God. And there's a lot of truth to
that. God does give us liberties.
He's a God of grace when it comes to the church.
We know that we're supposed to sing, but does he tell us to
sing 3 songs before the message and two songs after?
No, he doesn't. I believe that's his grace.
He gives us freedom to determine that.
Each local assembly, seeing what's the best fit for their
church. He tells us to preach the word,
but does he give you a curriculum, preach these books
and this time of the year? No, He doesn't just preach the
word, handle it rightly. And so it really, really
disturbs me in the day and age that we live in, where the clear
things that are in the Word of God are being interpreted
differently or being massaged to me means something else.
I mean, God has only given us so many things.
He's gave us 2 ordinances, 2, not 22.
He gave us all these instructions about men and women
and pastors and members and all these things.
And even those things, though not many are being dishonored.
So what God has revealed clearly, what is black and
white, may we stand with conviction upon and fight for
because we know that our God is a precise God.
There's no confusion with him. May we not be confused.
In 2026, keep your face in the Bible more than ever.
Mark my words. We're going to see more and more
tests coming to the local churches, to the church at large
that's going to test us on different things.
And you need to be able to know your Bible to be able to
withstand what's coming our way. It's already happened and many
different doctrines are being challenged and revisited, and
that's not going to stop anytime soon.
So brother, sister, get your roots deep in the Bible.
If you want to be able to stand firm with the deceptions that
will come like a tidal wave. The only hope you have is the
Word of God. Stay there.
Lo, we ask that you help us stay there.
Help us be mighty in the scriptures on Friday, mighty in
the scriptures on Sundays. Help us know the old and the
new, not so that we can boast in our knowledge, so that we can
prove ourselves right, that we can be self-righteous.
No Lord, so that we can honor you, please you, love you, and
worship You the way you deserve. Give us right understanding.
May the anointing that resides with and according to First John
2 be more real to us in 2026 than ever before to teach us
these things that need to be taught.
We give you thanks Lord. Thank you for this night.
In Jesus name we pray, Amen, Amen and Amen.
Finish Ezra chapter 6 for next week.
Look forward to that time together fellowship with one
another. God bless you.
We'll see you should the Lord tarry next week.
Bye, bye now.