Readings for today: 2 Chronicles 36:22-23, Ezra 1-3
This summer I went to the British Museum and got to see the famous “Cyrus Cylinder.” It’’s a 2500 year old clay artifact containing a royal inscription declaring an empire-wide policy of returning displaced people groups and encouraging them to return to the worship of their gods. It’s not a human rights declaration. It clearly declares Cyrus to be king over the entire Persian empire but it is remarkable in its breadth and presents a significant contrast to the Assyrian and Babylonian empires which came before him who used mass deportation to suppress local populations. Cyrus went the other direction. He believed it would be far easier to rule his empire if he didn’t have to continue to actively suppress different people groups so he encouraged them to return back to their ancestral lands to rebuild while remaining his loyal subjects. The cylinder doesn’t mention the Jews by name but it does provide extra-biblical evidence for the Persian policy cited in both 2 Chronicles and the Book of Ezra.
What I find most interesting is what happens when the exiles return. They rebuilt the altar. They begin by restoring the true worship of God. Morning and evening sacrifices as prescribed by Moses. One might have expected them to begin by rebuilding the wall. Provide for their common defense. Make sure the city was secure. But that comes later. Under the leadership of Nehemiah. One might have expected them to begin by rebuilding their homes and farms and establishing food and housing security for themselves and their families. But that too comes later. After the Temple is rebuilt. No, the very first priority for the people of God under the leadership of Jeshua and Zerubbabel is to restore the worship of God. “Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his priestly colleagues and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his colleagues started to build the altar of the God of Israel so they could offer burnt offerings on it as required by the law of Moses the man of God. They established the altar on its foundations, even though they were in terror of the local peoples, and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, both the morning and the evening offerings.” (Ezra 3:2-3 NET) Note the little phrase - “in terror of the local peoples.” It’s not they were unaware of the danger. It’s not that they didn’t count the cost. They understood the risks involved but still they put God first.
What a lesson for us today! Do we put God first in our lives? Do we prioritize our time with Him? Do we prioritize gathering with God’s people for worship? Do we prioritize His commandments in our lives? Or do we allow other priorities to crowd Him out? I can tell you from over thirty years of pastoral counseling experience that many of the problems we face in our lives is due to our seeming inability to prioritize God. To make Him first. To give Him the first-fruits of our time and attention and talent and resources. To make Him number one in our lives above our spouse, our kids, our work, even our ministry. Be honest with yourself. Take a ruthless self-inventory. What do you need to do to make God first today?