Thur.’s Devo - Don’t Despise Small Beginnings

Read Ezra 3:1-4:23; 1 Corinthians 2:6-3:4; Psalm 28:1-9; Proverbs 20:24-25 The Jews met in the 7th month which is the time of the fall feasts of Trumpets, Yom Kippor and Tabernacles. They all met with the same purpose and that was to rebuild the altar to the Lord and sacrifice offerings to him. They celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles which is the feast celebrating the fact that God wants to tabernacle with us on earth. In the mid spring, the time of the spring feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread and Pentecost, they began the construction of the temple. Since the spring months represent our salvation and the beginning of our own temple-building in us, it was a very appropriate time to start building the temple on the earth. They laid the foundation of the Temple with blowing of trumpets, cymbals, singing and shouting praises to God. Many of the older people who had seen the first temple, cried because this one was so much simpler and not as glorious. The ones who had never seen the first one rejoiced that a Temple was being built. They had seen the mature Temple, but this was a new start and looked small. Enemies of Judah and Benjamin came and said they wanted to help them rebuild, but they refused to let them have any part of it. So they tried to discourage them and frighten them in their work. They bribed people to work against them and to frustrate their plans. This went on during the entire reign of King Cyrus until King Darius took the throne (20 years). After Darius, Artexerses came to the throne. During his reign, enemies of the Jews sent letters to Artaxerxes full of propaganda about how rebellious and evil the Jews were and how their work needed to be stopped. In it they lied saying the if it was completed they would refuse to pay their taxes to the king. The king did do his research and found that Jerusalem had been a hot spot of contention so he had all the work on the temple stopped. In Corinthians, Paul explained further that the wisdom of God is not understood by the world because they don’t have the spirit of God in then to understand spiritual things. But, we who have the spirit of God in us can understand the things of God which are not of this world, but are higher. When we become saved, we have the mind of Christ but we have to crucify our thoughts to receive his. Our thoughts are full of fear and doubt but God who knows everything is not afraid but totally confident. Lord, help us to let your mind in us be what rules our thoughts and our actions. Thank you that you are in total control.