Yesterday I introduced you to Alexander Macleran, and something that he said. For convenience sake here is the quote again...
“There cannot be a temple without an altar, but there may be an altar without a temple. God meets men at the place of sacrifice, even though there be no house for His name,” Macleran.
After I had reread this quote a few times I wanted to also point something else out. Do you all know what a sacrifice is? A sacrifice can be one of many different things...as long as it cost the person performing it, something. Otherwise it is no sacrifice.
So you go to your parents house for a visit, and you notice that there are some dishes in the sink. So after visiting a bit you calmly walk out to the kitchen to get a cup of tea, and wash up the dishes, the sacrificial part of this little gift is that it did cost you a few minutes of your time, time that you gave up from visiting with your parents, so you stay a little longer, perhaps having to give up something else that you had wanted to get accomplished...well this is little sacrifice, it did cost you something, not a lot, but something.
Okay now onto Ezra...If you have continued to read in Chapter 4, you will see that the king of Persia has received a letter from the king that has charge over Israel. And that was Ahasuerus, boy oh boy some of these names are a little difficult. He wrote a letter to King Artaxerxes, king of Persia. Basically the letter says, that right now as the Jews are rebuilding their city, all is well and good, they are still paying their dues to the king of Persia, however once the walls of the city are completed they will then be considered by the ruling king of the area of Israel to be part of his tax base....I hope that is understandable. So I think the ruling king of Israel is trying to insight the king of Persia to realize that he will be losing a great deal of money from his coffers if the walls are completed. The temple has been completed and now the whole rebuilding process has extended to the rebuilding of the city as a whole. And the ruling king of the area of Israel says that King Artaxerxes of Persia will have no income coming to him from beyond the river.
So the king of Persia sent a letter back saying that the Jews are not allowed to complete the city until HE say they can finish the rebuilding. So King Ahasuerus immediately and with a show of force goes to Jerusalem and forcibly stops the rebuilding process. (If you want to see all the other reasons that existed for the kings to be upset about the whole rebuilding situation, and there are many, read chapter 4, it is full of very interesting information.)
Be a blessing!
“There cannot be a temple without an altar, but there may be an altar without a temple. God meets men at the place of sacrifice, even though there be no house for His name,” Macleran.
After I had reread this quote a few times I wanted to also point something else out. Do you all know what a sacrifice is? A sacrifice can be one of many different things...as long as it cost the person performing it, something. Otherwise it is no sacrifice.
So you go to your parents house for a visit, and you notice that there are some dishes in the sink. So after visiting a bit you calmly walk out to the kitchen to get a cup of tea, and wash up the dishes, the sacrificial part of this little gift is that it did cost you a few minutes of your time, time that you gave up from visiting with your parents, so you stay a little longer, perhaps having to give up something else that you had wanted to get accomplished...well this is little sacrifice, it did cost you something, not a lot, but something.
Okay now onto Ezra...If you have continued to read in Chapter 4, you will see that the king of Persia has received a letter from the king that has charge over Israel. And that was Ahasuerus, boy oh boy some of these names are a little difficult. He wrote a letter to King Artaxerxes, king of Persia. Basically the letter says, that right now as the Jews are rebuilding their city, all is well and good, they are still paying their dues to the king of Persia, however once the walls of the city are completed they will then be considered by the ruling king of the area of Israel to be part of his tax base....I hope that is understandable. So I think the ruling king of Israel is trying to insight the king of Persia to realize that he will be losing a great deal of money from his coffers if the walls are completed. The temple has been completed and now the whole rebuilding process has extended to the rebuilding of the city as a whole. And the ruling king of the area of Israel says that King Artaxerxes of Persia will have no income coming to him from beyond the river.
So the king of Persia sent a letter back saying that the Jews are not allowed to complete the city until HE say they can finish the rebuilding. So King Ahasuerus immediately and with a show of force goes to Jerusalem and forcibly stops the rebuilding process. (If you want to see all the other reasons that existed for the kings to be upset about the whole rebuilding situation, and there are many, read chapter 4, it is full of very interesting information.)
24 Thus the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem ceased, and it was discontinued until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.
But don't worry God will prevail, He always does, He's God.
Now don't forget...
Be a blessing!
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