You have to believe that Tattenai, the governor of the
province Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates were shocked
at the response of the king. Not only
did he find the original authorization to rebuild the temple from Cyrus he also
noted that in it the expense of rebuilding was to be borne by the royal
treasury. Darius, therefore, ordered the
governor to pay for the costs of rebuilding plus provide for all the
sacrificial animals necessary to give worship to the God of heaven. Notice that He is not said to be God of
heaven and earth, and that He has simply caused His Name to dwell in
Jerusalem. He is more than Darius knows
but for whatever reason he may have had for doing so, he pays homage to this
God of whom he knows little. What a
celebration that Passover must have been when the temple had been rebuild,
sacrifices could again be made and they were in the city of God once
again. The Lord had indeed been good to
His people once again and had brought them back from yet another exile in a new
exodus from Babylon. Just as before, He
had also used a foreign nation under whose rule they had been to provide all
that was necessary to build His house of worship.
The Lord reveals Himself to whom He wills. Darius had an incomplete knowledge of the
Lord and what he did know should have caused him to seek to know more. If He was indeed God of heaven, wouldn't that
mean He was the great God of gods? If
that were the case wouldn't it them seem reasonable to believe that He was
superior to them and they, then, subordinate to Him? Jesus spoke the truth in parables and why did
the people not ask Him to explain? We
have information provided to us about God all day, beginning with our waking in
the morning, the sun continuing to do what we expect, rain, snow, etc. We see in all of creation that which should
cause us to be thankful and to wonder how it all came to be and why it
continues to be as it is, why not have some incredible change in things from
time to time. We were made to ask such
questions and to seek out information, not to take things for granted. We have enough information to form questions
and attempt to find answers and we also have the ability to ask for further
information and explanation. Let us not
allow our hearts to grow dull and to cease to wonder and in our wondering to
find Him.
We just heard the proclamation that God was worthy and now
we see Him sitting on the throne holding a sealed scroll and all of heaven is
looking for one who is worthy to take it and open it. None was found in the search and then John is
told it is okay, the Lion of the tribe of Judah has just finished His work of
conquest and then John sees, standing there before the throne, not a lion but a
lamb looking like it was slain but it had the same seven spirits that God had
in chapter four. The lamb approaches the
throne, surely a moment that caught some breaths, and takes the scroll. Only then, when the one on the throne has
given over the scroll, does heaven breathe and when it does it explodes not in
relief but in worship, ascribing the same sort of praise and worship to the
Lamb as it had the one on the throne. They
also proclaim that His work has made it possible for God's people to reign on
the earth, His kingdom knows no geographic or temporal boundaries. Thanks be to God that He is willing to get
His hands dirty and bloody in order to tell us that this life matters both now
and in eternity. He does not watch us
from a distance, He is God of heaven and earth.
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