Ezra 1 Devotions by Stephen Taylor

Ezra 1:1

In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing…

When God starts moving, things start to happen! This is a beautiful example of God moving on the heart of an outsider to accomplish His will, fulfill His word, and bless His people. God had promised His people would go into exile, but He also promised He would bring them back after 70 years, and that's exactly what He did! Our God is faithful and powerful above all!

But what I feel led to call attention to today are the last few words in the verse above: "also to put it in writing." This is extremely important and points to God's sovereignty and foreknowledge. We see that God had an answer before there ever was a problem. Sometime later, there would be opposition to this decree and the subsequent rebuilding of the temple. The rebuild would come to a standstill; that is, until they searched the archives and found this decree Cyrus made proclaiming freedom for the captives and a blessing on the rebuilding of the Temple of God!

It's so like our God to have our answers before we ever need them! We not only see that truth played out here, but more importantly, we also see it with Jesus Christ. The Bible says He is the Lamb that was crucified from before the creation of the world! We were not an afterthought or a surprise He had to fix but a people He planned on coming to save! Thank You, Jesus! It is humbling, encouraging, and mind-blowing to me that God knew what it would cost Him, and He created us anyway! Today, let's reflect on just how great our God is and how beautiful His heart is!

Revelation 13:8- All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb's book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.

Thank You, Jesus! God bless! I love you all, but His love has a plan! Glory, honor, and praise now and forever to Papa God, Jesus Christ our King, and the Holy Spirit!