God's Will Be Done - Ez. 7:13

"I decree that any of the people of Israel in my kingdom, including the priests and Levites, may volunteer to return to Jerusalem with you." Ez. 7:13

This can ONLY be God! For what other reason would a king like Artaxerxes act in this manner? Release thousands of your subjects to rebuild a temple to a God that you do not believe in, and fund the venture with massive amounts of gold and silver?! When someone does something completely out of character; when that something makes NO sense in the general context of things, my experience is that something supernatural is usually going on. The spiritual realm is being experienced, whether it be God or Satan. God used Artaxerxes to fulfill prophecy and restore the pride of Jerusalem. Even if he didn't really understand all that was behind his decision, he makes a statement that spells things out pretty clearly, "Be careful to provide whatever the God of heaven demands for his Temple, for why should we risk bringing God's anger against the realm of the king and his sons?" Ez. 7:23 This had to be God -- lots of other kings were given chances to honor Him who never had this revelation!

We can trust that our God is sovereign.

Today's reading: Ez. 7-8; Lk. 20