Ezra 5 One Benefit of the Prophetic
One benefit of prophecy is that of encouragement to do the seemingly impossible for God. Prophecy gets our eye off our natural circumstances and positions the ear to hear what the Spirit is saying and encouragement for the heart as well as motivation physically to do the improbable. So it was with Haggai and Zechariah’s prophetic word to those who had returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple; yet had been stopped by an order from Artaxerxes earlier.
The leaders understood that God was their sovereign authority and lived as such; which had positioned them to not only hear the word of the Lord, but to obey the word as well. The net result was they “rose up and began to build the house of God”.
We discover that there were a trio of leaders that made this possible; Zerubbabel, a civil leader; Jeshua the high priest and Haggai and Zechariah the prophetic. It must have been an awesome sight to see these three working together for the common good of Judah and Jerusalem.
That can become our reality, as we press on to know the Lord. We can do the impossible in His strength and might and encouragement.
Tattenai saw what was happening in Jerusalem and reported back to Darius what was taking place, being the governor of that region. Unlike the earlier letter to Artexeres, there doesn’t seem to be a personal agenda or desire to stop the work; simply a report of what had been taking place. Even though the report had been sent back to the king; work didn’t cease, it continued on.
There are seasons in life when fear of the results of other’s endeavors can stop us from doing what God has called and ordained for us; yet in such seasons we need to keep on the track the Lord has set for us.
It is my sense that in the last days we too will see a coming together the civic and spiritual leaders work together for the common good of our communities, state, nation and the nations of the world.
Perhaps this most recent election will be one of those moments that will position our nation for such a move and renewal of the Lord.