Ezra 6:16 says, And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy. When the Temple was completed, all the people of Israel dedicated it with joy, even if they were still under the authority of foreign rulers and not under their own king. We should rejoice in the Lord always, even if we find ourselves under the authority of a government that opposes God. At least they had received permission to rebuild the Temple. No matter what happens in the world today, we have God’s authority to build His kingdom by sharing the gospel.
Verse seventeen adds, And offered at the dedication of this house of God an hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs; and for a sin offering for all Israel, twelve he goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. They offered an abundant sacrifice to God when thy dedicated the Temple, though it was nothing compared to what Solomon had offered in sacrifice when he had dedicated the first Temple. Still, Matthew Henry says what they offered really cost them more in terms of what they had than what Solomon had offered cost him in terms of what he had. God is going to look more at what we give in respect to what He has blessed us with than in terms of just the amount given.
Verse eighteen continues, And they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses, for the service of God, which is at Jerusalem; as it is written in the book of Moses. The priests and Levites began to serve in accordance with the responsibilities that God had assigned them. They did this in accordance with the scriptures, or the Book of Moses, which is really the first five books of the Bible, that they had as God's written word then. We need to serve where God calls us to serve in the church and we need to be guided by the scripture, the Bible, when we do.
Verse nineteen states, And the children of the captivity kept the passover upon the fourteenth day of the first month. They were still referred to as the children of the captivity because that is what they had been. Still, now they were back in the Promised Land with the Temple rebuilt and they kept the Passover as they should have. They had recently been delivered from their captivity in Babylon, and it was very appropriate to celebrate the deliverance of their ancestors out of Egypt. We should celebrate even more our deliverance out of the bondage of sin by our putting our faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.
Verse twenty adds, For the priests and the Levites were purified together, all of them were pure, and killed the passover for all the children of the captivity, and for their brethren the priests, and for themselves. The priests and Levites were purified before they offered the Passover sacrifice for all the people, including all the priests and themselves. We cannot purify ourselves, but if we put our faith in Jesus Christ, He can and will purify us before God, and when we do accept Him as our personal Savior and Lord, we become a part of the priesthood of believers.
Verse twenty-one continues, And the children of Israel, which were come again out of captivity, and all such as had separated themselves unto them from the filthiness of the heathen of the land, to seek the Lord God of Israel, did eat, Not only were the Israelites who returned from captivity celebrating the Passover, but those from other nations who had come with them were as well. God was never just the God of the people of Israel Who condemned all other nations, but He was and is the God Who calls all people to Him. The people of Israel were not chosen to be superior to other people but to reach out to other people with God’s love. This is our calling today as Christians as well. We will always be but sinners saved by grace.
Verse twenty-two concludes, And kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy: for the Lord had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel. God blessed them and made them joyful. As followers of Christ, if we are not joyful, there is something wrong. We should never allow the problems of the world to keep us from being a joyous people, but it seems to me that we too often do. We are told that God turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them to allow them to return and rebuild the Temple. We can be certain that all good things come from God. Of course, we must first accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord in order to be freed from the captivity of sin.
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