Judgement for the Disobedient

God's Prophets Demand Justice
God' Prophets Demand Justice

Advocates of Justice for All


A Choice to Be Just

Ezra 7:21-28  The Message

^21-23 I, Artaxerxes the king, have formally authorized and ordered all the treasurers of the land across the Euphrates to give Ezra the priest, scholar of the Teaching of the God-of-Heaven, the full amount of whatever he asks for up to 100 talents of silver, 650 bushels of wheat, and 607 gallons each of wine and olive oil. There is no limit on the salt. Everything the God-of-Heaven requires for The Temple of God must be given without hesitation. Why would the king and his sons risk stirring up his wrath?
²⁴ Also, let it be clear that no one is permitted to impose tribute, tax, or duty on any priest, Levite, singer, temple security guard, temple servant, or any other worker connected with The Temple of God.
²⁵ I authorize you, Ezra, exercising the wisdom of God that you have in your hands, to appoint magistrates and judges so they can administer justice among all the people of the land across the Euphrates who live by the Teaching of your God. Anyone who does not know the Teaching, you teach them.
²⁶ Anyone who does not obey the Teaching of your God and the king must be tried and sentenced at once—death, banishment, a fine, prison, whatever.

Ezra: “I Was Ready to Go”

^27-28 Blessed be God, the God-of-Our-Fathers, who put it in the mind of the king to beautify The Temple of God in Jerusalem! Not only that, he caused the king and all his advisers and influential officials actually to like me and back me. My God was on my side and I was ready to go. And I organized all the leaders of Israel to go with me.

 

For Reflection 

OK! So I have a question.  Does Artaxerxes, King of the material world, ruler of the commonplace, really understand God and God's intentions for humankind?  On the benefit side, the kings rule gave the Jews the rights to govern themselves and to worship whom they pleased.  Secondly, the kings decree endorsed God and the religion practiced by the Jews.  One might say that God has used the political leaders to advance the adoption of the Jewish faith.  Consider the growth of the Catholic movement into the Roman empire.  This is a good thing,  right?

But consider, for a moment the injustice of singling out a portion of the ruled population for special treatment.  Consider the use of threat to secure only the rights of one religion.  If this happened in the USA today, like Artaxerxes, our government would establish one form of Christianity as a national religion and the result of non-compliance was imprisonment or death, what would you say?  Does God really want people threatened into loving God, or does God want people to freely choose God?

Perhaps I have missed the point, but in my mind these passages indicate the blessing of God through common political action.  But, it also indicates the inability of common political institutions to understand, let alone, legislate or in this case, to dictate, God' grace and desire for humankind to practice righteousness.  Only freely chosen allegiance to God can offer lasting peace and a faith that sustains a loving community.

Pray

Pray for the leaders of all political rule to encourage the free practice of religion.  Pray for those who are persicuted because of their faith practices.  Pray that the Spirit will move among all peoples and that they will accept God's offer for freedom, justice, forgiveness, compassion, and salvation.