“Wait patiently for the LORD.”
PSALM 27:14

God’s Timing Ezra 6:1-18

God can turn things around in the most amazing ways! The Israelites had been exiled in Babylon for more than seventy years. Then, out of nowhere, the Lord stirred up Cyrus, king of Persia, to send a small band of exiles back to Jerusalem so they could rebuild their Temple.

Rebuilding the Temple was a monumental task, complicated by the fact that the Jewish refugees had enemies who didn’t want to see the Temple rebuilt. Between acts of vandalism and threats, the people were frightened and became discouraged. It wasn’t long before work on the Temple ground to a halt. The laborers put down their hammers and chisels, stopped mixing mortar, and abandoned all work on the Temple.

Imagine how frustrating that must have been. If God had opened the door for the Jews to rebuild the Temple, why did it seem that everything was against them? Why were they encountering so much opposition?

Then God sent two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, to inspire the people to begin building again. Of course, their enemies were still hanging around. In an attempt to demoralize the people again, the troublemakers wrote yet another letter, this time to Darius, the new king of Persia, asking him to stop the building of the Temple. But that letter backfired. Darius found the original decree from Cyrus, and the result was stunning. Darius wrote back that no one should disturb the construction of the Temple of God. He even commanded those who were making trouble to pay the full cost of the rebuilding out of their local tax money!

In hindsight it’s clear why God had planned the setbacks and allowed his people to become demoralized. God did it all to ensure that once Darius got involved, the Temple would not only be built but paid for as well!

Are you experiencing a setback? Maybe God opened a door of opportunity for you only to seemingly slam it shut. If so, let this story from Ezra encourage you to trust that God is still working, and wait patiently.