All right, go with me now, if
you would, to Ezra chapter six. Ezra chapter six. So far in this book, we have
seen the deliverance out of captivity, deliverance from bondage for
a particular people that God chose to save and make His own. We have seen a command given
that a house would be built to the Lord. We have seen that the
house would not be built by the enemies of God, those who worship
idols. It would be built by grace alone,
not by works lest any man should boast. There will be no mixing
of works and grace in this building. We have seen that everything
that was to be built was built on a firm foundation. Other foundation,
could no man lay than that which was laid. We saw how the law
examined the work of this building and found it to be spotless,
absolutely spotless. And now tonight with all that
being done, we're gonna see the king's decree concerning it. Now let's begin with the last
verse in chapter five, where the governor who represents the
law, asked that a search be made to see if this was indeed done
at the approval of the king. Was this according to His will?
Was this truly according to His will? Chapter 5, verse 17, it
says, Now therefore, if it seemed good to the king, let there be
search made in the king's treasure house, which is there at Babylon,
whether it be so, that a decree was made of Cyrus the king to
build this house of God at Jerusalem. And let the king send his pleasure
to us concerning this matter." Was this according to King Cyrus'
decree? Chapter 6 verse 1, Then Darius
the king made a decree, And search was made in the house of the
rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon, and there
was found at Acmetha in the palace, that is in the province of the
Medes, a roll, a written word. A written word was found. That's what we're holding in
our hands right now. That's what all of us are holding in our
hands right now. Think about this. This is King
Jesus Christ's written word. This is the role, the command
that the king made. It's been preserved. They searched
and they found it. And here it is. Thank God for
the recorded word. You talk about of all the things
that exist on planet earth. You talk about take something
for granted. Thank God for the written word, the recorded word. All of the mind and will and
purpose and authority of God has been written down right here. It's all on record. It can't
be forgotten. What if they hadn't found that
role? It can't be forgotten. It cannot
be changed. He is the Lord. He changes not. And that's why we sons of Jacob
are not consumed. It's all recorded in the role. That written word was the absolute
final authority back then. It's still that way today. It's
going to be that way for all eternity. This word. All eternity. Whatever the king
has written, it's going to stand forever. It's going to stand
forever. He said not one jot or one tittle
is going to pass away. Not one dot of the I, not one
cross of the T. It will not ever pass away. Verse 2, it says, There was found
at Acmetha in the palace that is in the province of the Medes
a roll, and therein was a record thus written, In the first year
of Cyrus the king, the same Cyrus the king made a decree concerning
the house of God at Jerusalem, let the house be builded. The
place where they offered sacrifices. and let the foundations thereof
be strongly laid, the height thereof threescore cubits, and
the breadth thereof threescore cubits, with three rows of great
stones and a row of new timber. And now watch this. He said,
and let the expenses be given out of the king's house. He said,
let this house be built. I want it fully, fully restored. Let the ruined be restored. Rebuild that desolate place."
And he said, whatever the cost is, whatever that cost comes
to, I will pay it myself. Let me show you two other scriptures
in the roll here that declare that to us. Go with me to Ezekiel
36. Just before Daniel, Ezekiel 36.
Verse 16 says, The word of the Lord came unto
me, saying, Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in
their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their
doings. Their way was before me as the
uncleanness of a removed woman. Wherefore I poured my fury upon
them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for
their idols wherewith they had polluted it. and I scattered
them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries
according to their way and according to their doings, I judged them."
Verse 21 says, "...but I had pity for my holy name, which
the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen whither they
went. Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the
Lord God, I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but
for mine holy name's sake, which you have profaned among the heathen,
whither you went. He said in verse 23, I will sanctify
my great name. Verse 24, I will take you from
among the heathen. Verse 25, then will I sprinkle
clean water upon you and you shall be clean. Verse 26, a new
heart also will I give you. 27, I'll put my spirit within
you. 28, you shall dwell in the land
that I gave to your fathers. 29, I will also save you from
all your uncleanness. Verse 32, not for your sakes
do I this, saith the Lord God, be it known unto you. Be ashamed
and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel. Thus saith
the Lord God, in the day that I shall have cleansed you from
all your iniquities, I will also cause you to dwell in the cities,
and the wastes shall be builded. And the desolate land shall be
tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed
by. And they shall say, this land that was desolate is become
like the garden of Eden. and the waste and desolate and
ruined cities are become fenced and are inhabited. Then the heathen
that are left round about you shall know that I, the Lord,
build the ruined places and plant that that was desolate. I, the Lord, have spoken it and
I will do it." He said, I'll do it. This is my decree. I want it to be rebuilt and let
it be known, I'll do it. I'll do it. I'll take this upon
myself. I'm not going to tell them to
do it. They can't do it. They're ruined. They're desolate.
I myself will do this for them. That's Christ, isn't it? This
is all Christ. I will do it for them. Alright, now this other one,
this other scripture, this is so precious. So, so precious. If you've never seen this, you're
going to love it. Go with me to Philemon, the little book just before Hebrews.
It's only one chapter. This is the Apostle Paul speaking
to a man named Philemon. And he's speaking concerning
Philemon's servant, whose name is Onesimus. Onesimus rebelled
against his master. He probably stole from him and
he rebelled against him and he fled. And he ended up running
to the Apostle Paul for refuge. Paul was in prison and he came
to Paul where he was. Now Paul from prison is writing
a letter to Philemon to make intercession for Onesimus. He's going to plead on his behalf,
alright? But as we read this, let's read
Christ speaking to the Father on behalf of us. All right, us
unprofitable, rebellious, sinful servants. As we read this, we
are Onesimus. Paul representing Christ, speaking
to the father, he says in verse 10, I beseech thee for my son
Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds. It took bonds for
me to beget him. Which in time past was to thee
unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me. Whom I have
sent again, thou therefore receive him that is my own heart. Bows means heart. This is my
own heart is coming to you. Whom I would have retained with
me, that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me in the
bonds of the gospel. But without thy mind would I
do nothing. I will only do what is pleasing
to you. Without thy mind would I do nothing
that thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but
willingly. For perhaps he therefore departed
for a season that thou shouldest receive him forever. And is that
not what happened to us? Thank God we departed for a season. But in Christ, we've now been
received forever. Verse 16, he said, not now as
a servant, but above a servant, a brother, beloved, specially
to me. But how much more unto thee,
both in the flesh and in the Lord? He said, if thou count
me therefore a partner, receive him as myself. If he hath wronged thee, or oweth
thee aught, put that on my account. I, Paul, have written it with
my own hand. I will repay it. King Cyrus,
representing the Lord Jesus Christ, he said, I want that house to
be built. I want it to be fully restored to all that it was before
it fell into ruin. And he said, I want all the cost
that is owed for the rebuilding to be placed on my account. I'll
pay it. I have written it with my own
hand. I'll pay it. I'll do it. Now go with me back
to Ezra chapter six. Verse four, he said, I want the
house to be built with three rows of great stones and a row
of new timber and let the expenses be given out of the king's house
and also let the golden and silver vessels of the house of God which
Nebuchadnezzar took forth out of the temple which is at Jerusalem
and brought unto Babylon be restored and brought again unto the temple
which is at Jerusalem. everyone to his place and place
them in the house of God. He said, I want all of the glory
restored, all of the riches restored, all of the honor restored. I want all of the worth and all
of the value brought back. Verse 6, Now therefore, Tat and
I, governor beyond the river, Sheeth our Bosnia and your companions,
the Afarsikites, which are beyond the river, be ye far from thence. Let the work of this house of
God alone. Let the governor of the Jews
and the elders of the Jews build this house of God in his place,
free from the law, O happy condition. Jesus has bled and there is remission. Cursed by the law, bruised by
the fall, but Christ has redeemed us once for all. He said, I will
work and who shall let it? No one, nothing, not even the
law. Not even the law will stop it. What the law could not do and
that it was weak through the flesh, Because the law was weak
through the flesh, God sent the governor, the governor, his only
begotten son. The king said to the law, let
the work of this house alone. All of the government is gonna
be laid on the governor of the Jews, Jesus Christ, their Lord,
their savior, their king. Verse eight, he said, Moreover,
I make a decree what you shall do to the elders of these Jews
for the building of this house of God." He said, that's not
all I have to say about this. That's not all I have to say
concerning them. He said, not only are you no
longer going to hinder them, he said, everything that you
owe me, I want you to give it to them. You're talking about,
I'm not gonna receive tribute if they built this. You know,
your money's not gonna come to you. He said, whatever it is
you owe me, give it to them. You just pay them. As much as
you do it for them, you're doing it for me. Verse eight, moreover,
I make a decree what you shall do to the elders of these Jews
for the building of this house of God, that of the king's goods,
even of the tribute beyond the river, forthwith, Expenses be
given unto these men, that they be not hindered. And that which
they have need of, both young bullocks and rams and lambs for
the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine,
and oil, according to the appointment of the priest, which are at Jerusalem,
let it be given them day by day without fail. He said, I decree
that day by day, all daily bread that they need be given to them. He said, I decree that everything
they need to secure mercy from me, a sacrifice of a sweet Savior. I decree that it be given to
them brand new, Every single morning, day by day, he said,
without fail, without fail. He said, I decree that surely
goodness and mercy follow them all the days of their life, and
they dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Verse 9, And that
which they have need of, both young bullocks and rams and lambs,
for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine,
and oil, according to the appointment of the priest which are at Jerusalem,
let it be given them day by day without fail, that they may offer
sacrifices of sweet savors unto the God of heaven, and pray for
the life of the king and of his sons. Also, I have made a decree
that whosoever shall alter this word, let timber be pulled down
from his house, and being set up, let him be hanged thereon,
and let his house be made a dunghill for this. Our Lord said in Revelation
22, if any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto
him the plagues that are written in this book. And if any man
shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy,
God shall take away his part out of the book of life and out
of the holy city and from the things which are written in this
book. So let this be written. So let
this be done. Verse 12. and the God that hath
caused His name to dwell there, destroy all kings and people
that shall put to their hand to alter and to destroy this
house of God which is at Jerusalem. I, Darius, have made a decree,
let it be done with speed." That right there is sovereignty. If you want to see what sovereignty
looks like, that's it. That's it. That is sovereignty. Darius is also a picture of Christ
in this. Verse 13 says, Then Tatni, governor
on this side of the river, Shethar-Bosni, and their companions, according
to that which Darius the king had sent, so they did speedily. Every knee shall bow. Every tongue
shall confess that Jesus Christ is his Lord, his ruler, his owner,
his controller, his Lord. Verse 13, then Tat and I, governor
on this side of the river, Shethar, Bosnia, and their companions,
according to that which Darius the king had sent, so they did
speedily. And the elders of the Jews built
it and they prospered. through the prophesying of Haggai
the prophet and Zechariah the son of Edo. God's work prospers
through the preaching of the gospel. It really does. It really
does. God's work prospers through the
declaration of Jesus Christ. That's what it must be. Day one
and the last day and every day in between. the declaration of
Jesus Christ, declaring who He is. God's work prospers by declaring
Him to be King of kings and Lord of lords. Everything He's done, all the
deliverance He secured, all the redemption He brought for His
people, if that is declared, God's work will prosper. It will.
Verse 14, The elders of the Jews builded and they prospered through
the prophesying of Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son
of Edo, and they builded and finished it." The work that was
given to the elders, they finished it. Christ, our elder. Christ, our pastor. The apostle. He's our apostle, our high priest. He finished the work that the
father gave him to do. Do you ever get tired of hearing
that? Do you ever get tired of hearing that? He finished the
work his father gave him to do. Verse 14 goes on to say, He finished
it according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according
to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes, king
of Persia. And this house was finished on
the third day of the month, Adar, which was in the sixth year of
the reign of Darius the king." There is, I'm sure, significance
to the fact that it was the month Adar. And it was the sixth year
of the reign of Darius. I'm sure there is. But the significance
I want to call to our attention right now is the third day. It
was finished on the third day. One day, the grave could conceal
him no longer. What day was that? The third
day. Why could the grave conceal him
no longer? The work was finished. It was
finished. Verse 16, And the children of
Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the children
of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy. and offered at the dedication
of this house of God a hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four
hundred lambs, and for a sin offering for all Israel, twelve
he goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel." For
a sin offering, there was an exact atonement made. An atonement
was made for an exact particular people. Verse 18, and they set
the priest in their divisions and the Levites in their courses
for the service of God, which is at Jerusalem, as it is written
in the book of Moses. And the children of the captivity
kept the Passover upon the 14th day of the first month. I thought
it was finished. Why did they keep the remembrance
of the Passover? Do you know, and I love this
thought, it says that in the roll, It says, for all eternity,
all of the redeemed in remembrance is going to cry, worthy is the
Lamb. You know, we wonder when we get
there, what will we know? What will we remember about life
on this earth? I tell you, we'll remember this
much. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain. Thou art worthy, for
thou was slain and has redeemed us to our God. And you made us to be kings and
priests with God. Verse 19 says, The children of
the captivity kept the Passover upon the fourteenth day of the
first month. For the priests and the Levites
were purified together, all of them were pure, and killed the
Passover for all the children of the captivity, and for their
brethren the priests, and for themselves, and the children
of Israel, which were come again out of captivity. And all such
as had separated themselves unto them from the filthiness of the
heathen of the land, to seek the Lord God of Israel, did eat.
And kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy, for
the Lord had made them joyful. And turned the heart of the king
of Assyria unto them to strengthen their hands in the work of the
house of God, the God of Israel. They builded, they prospered,
they finished it, and they kept the feast. It says, for the Lord
had made them joyful. And he has made us joyful, hasn't
he? So joyful. We have so much to be joyful
over. In Christ, in the house that He has built, there is joy. The house of God, the God of
Israel. Alright, let's all stand together.