3 Kings : 3 Decrees

1:01These are the building materials that I see every day. If there were any children in the room, automatically their minds would begin to just wonder about, man, there's all sorts of neat things that I could build. And for all the parents in the room, you suddenly have pain in your feet. Because there is nothing more painful that doesn't break the skin than that. Stepping on that in the middle of the night. Lego. They can bring just great joy in our home. I'd love to see the different things that my kids will build. They've built every type of craft that you can imagine from pick a Star Wars movie, a weapon, if you will. They've built all sorts of stadiums for their own imagination, all sorts of things, castles and buildings, and all sorts of things they've built. They have also placed in an inordinate amount of emotional capital in the building of these things. And when these things get torn down, or if they don't have to get torn down, if they are altered in any way by, let's say, another sibling, then it's possible that war may break out. And so that's what it's like. Legos in our house. Now, I want you to think about this.

2:18I mean, this is the real life stuff in my home. My kids are passionate about Legos, and they're passionate about building stuff with them. Now, these are toys, right? You can imagine, then, the emotional capital that has been invested in the building of God's temple. Do the second temple that God has called the exiles of Israel to come and build back in Jerusalem. Let's just kind of refresh on kind of what we're looking at here. If you remember.

3:00In chapter 4, that the building of this temple had stopped. It had ceased because opposition had begun to rise up. We saw opposition from the locals that were there, people that wanted to compromise the building of God's temple, people who were not ones who followed after Yahweh, the God of Israel alone. And when they could not be a part of the building of the temple, they decided to try to stop the building of the temple. And they did it by harassing the builders. And they finally appealed to the government and went over their heads. And we saw that at the end of chapter 4, verse 24, it says that the people ceased in their building of the temple. They stopped. And it was like that for about 16 years.

3:53That text did a wonderful job of demonstrating how God used his prophets and Haggai and Zachariah to come and to encourage the people of God to begin rebuilding again after a 16-year hiatus. And so they began. And this causes the local governor, Tatanai, to send to Darius for advice and counsel in this matter. And that brings us here to chapter 6. And what we see in these 12 verses is we see really two decrees. We see the decree of a former King and King Cyrus, a decree that is discovered by God's grace.

4:36And we also see a decree on top of that decree by Darius, who is now the king over this land. And we're going to see the effects of these decrees, but also we're going to see where these decrees end and how we simply can't rest with two kings and two decrees. But really, we need a third king and we need a third decree. Let's get to the text. Let's look first at the decree of Cyrus, the great discovery that's made here in verses 1 through 5. Particularly, let's focus on verses 1 and 2. It says that then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in Babylonia, in the house of the archives, where the documents were stored. And in Ekbatana, the citadel that is in the province of Media, a scroll was found on which this was written, a record, or a decree, or in some of your versions, I may say, even a memorandum. So, what exactly was it that they found?

5:44Well, this wouldn't have been a large public decree. This would have been a private decree. This decree actually has more detail than what we see in chapter 1, verses 1 through 4, in that first decree that was made. So, how did they find this? Well, that says, that tells us in the text that they looked and they searched throughout Babylon. They went to the capital, they went to the archives, they went through the records. They couldn't find this decree of Cyrus that the Jews had pointed back to.

6:16But that wasn't the only place that they searched, praise the Lord. They also went and searched in other places. There were other places where you could find official government documents. They went to a place that's called Ekbatana. It's actually the modern-day town of Hamadan in Iran. And it's in the mountains. It's kind of in the hill country, really. It was a summer home for the kings. Darius would have known about this place because he probably dwelled there as well during the summer. But this is definitely a place that Cyrus had dwelled, and it was actually the place that we know historically that Cyrus was actually at when he made the decree to have the temple built. So, what is this record? What is this decree that's been made?

7:02Well, John MacArthur tells us that this kind of document is called a memorandum. And he tells us that the administrative officials often kept these documents of administrative decisions made or issues remaining to be settled to retain the details of administrative action for future reference. In other words, this wasn't the public decree, but this was the government memorandum. In modern-day circles, it would mean that you would have this parchment that had the official Government seal. It was the sort of, had the letterhead that had the official seal of the government, the seal of the king, or something to that effect, something that we would see today and notice and say, wait, this is a big deal. Don't throw this out with all the coupons and money savers that we get in the mail. We want to keep this, right? This says IRS stamped on it. Now I got your attention, right? This is something that we need to keep.

7:56And so, in looking through these archives in this summer home, they came upon this parchment, this memorandum, this decree from Cyrus. They found what they were looking for. Notice the importance of proper record keeping, right? I get an amen from Cody, the administrative pastor, right? Amen, right? Cody just got saved again right here, just listening to that. He was so encouraged by it. Notice the importance of this historic record keeping, but check this out. The rebuilding of the temple, fulfilling what God had called his people to do, to finish, it rests upon this parchment that is found in this secondary library, in this pagan archive of this summer home.

8:48I hope that you see God's providence in this. Amen. I hope that you see God working in this. Because if I were one of the ones that was called to help rebuild the temple, and they're telling me, Me that they can't find any records in the capital, which the government does sometimes. They're telling me they can't find this record that we need to prove that we're not just a rebellious people that need to be put down, but we're actually doing not only what God is called to do. If you remember from the last chapter, that's the first appeal that they make, right? The first appeal that they make is to God's call upon their life. And they confess that they had sinned against the Lord and that that's why the work had really stopped and they needed to get back to it. But then they also said, Hey, Cyrus told us to do this. This is something that we are legally obligated to fulfill. God's work carried on by the discovery of a lost paragraph in a pagan library. God is sovereign, church. He's sovereign.

10:00Then we see the details there in verses 3 through 5. Look carefully at verses 3 and 4. It says, In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king issued a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the house be rebuilt, the place where sacrifices were offered, and let its foundations be retained. Its height shall be 60 cubits and its breadth 60 cubits, with three layers of great stones and one layers of layers of layers. Layer of timber. Let the costs be paid from the royal treasury. The details, as we see, that are here, are much greater than they are in chapter one. We have here a record of the permission. We see the place. We see the purpose. We see the patterns, right? For you home builders and people that are interested in things like that. For every three courses of stone, there's a course of timber. So you see this intricate pattern that's being built here. It's possible that this temple may have been larger than Solomon's, but it's honestly not quite as opulent or as grand. The text isn't really that clear. And then we have the provision. How is this going to be built? Well, first, God tells us: here are the contents. Here's what he wants placed in his temple. Look at verse 5. And also, let the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and brought back to the temple that is in Jerusalem. Look at this, each to its place.

11:45You shall put them in the house of God. Now, listen, these exiles, they have never seen the temple vessels. It's been over 80 years, almost 100 years. Since those vessels were taken out of Solomon's temple and brought to the capital, brought to Babylon and placed amongst the other pagan idols. They've never seen these things. And check this out: God is saying, I want my stuff brought back, and it's going to happen. Now, he's saying this. He's saying this through a pagan king. But make no mistake about it, church. God is encouraging his people. He's speaking through his people. Oftentimes, football coaches, Nick Saban, by the way, is notorious for this. Football coaches, college football coaches in particular, will speak to their teams through the media. They'll say things, they'll communicate things to their team that they won't necessarily say right in front of them, but they understand, they know that today's college athlete is going to be listening to the media. They're going to be watching the media. They're going to be consuming media when it comes to themselves. And oftentimes, those coaches will say things about what they need to get better at. They also may say things about what he's very encouraged about. But if it's someone like Nick Sabin, it's more of the negative. He's trying to encourage his guys to do what he asks them to do.

13:18Well, this coach, our coach, God the Father, is encouraging his people through this parchment, through this discovery. He's telling them, I will. Want these vessels that I gave to you, these temple vessels, these things that are supposed to remind God's people of God's faithfulness, bringing them out of slavery of Egypt, bringing them through the wilderness, giving them the promised land, fighting on their behalf. These vessels, these particular icons, they point to what God has done, how faithful he has been. And God is telling his people, I want them, and I want them put back in the right place. I want them restored. Can you imagine hearing that as God's people? How encouraged you might be. But listen, they've never even seen these vessels before, they've only heard about them. Well, the truth is, they simply must trust God and His Word. Amen.

14:26They have to trust God and His Word on this. They've never seen it. They know that it's important. They don't know how they're going to get it back. They don't know exactly where these temple vessels are. The government does. That should ensure a lot of trust right there, right? The government knows. Amen, right? I see many of you who are experienced shaking your heads like this. They're not trusting the government, though. They're trusting the Lord. That's what God has called them to do, is to place their faith and trust in what. Only God can accomplish in the rebuilding of the temple and in the restoration of the temple vessels. God will fulfill his promise. They simply must trust him.

15:13Read with me Psalm 33, verses 4 through 6. And the psalmist says, For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness. He loves righteousness and justice. The earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. By the word of the Lord, the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth, all their host. God's word is such that when it goes forth, it has creative power. When God says it, it is done. Whether he's talking about a promise to Israel or whether he is talking about the galaxies being in their place, that is the God that we serve. And church, we can trust him. We can trust him. Well, that was the decree of Cyrus. That's the old king. What about the new king? What does Darius have to say about this discovery? I'm so glad you asked. Look with me in verses six and seven. The first thing we're going to see, now, Darius does remind me of a football coach. He begins with a prohibition, he begins with the negative. Right? I mean, my coaches, whenever we were trying to reassess what we were going to do for the next week, we're going back over game field. We may have won, and we won a whole lot of games in high school and in college. But my good coaches, man, they like to start with the negative, the prohibition, if you will. Read with me in verses 6 and 7. Now, therefore, Tatanai, governor of the province beyond the river, Shethar Bozanai, and your associates, the governors who are in the province beyond the river, keep away. Let the work of this house of God alone. Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God on its site. Listen, the exiles, they didn't ask for the government's help, right? They weren't asking for the government's help. They were simply faithful to their task. They heeded the prophetic word of Haggai and Zachariah. They repented. They got back to work. Tatanai was the one who wanted instruction, right? Now, listen, we don't know what his intentions were. The Bible's not clear as to what Tatanai's intentions were from the previous chapter, from chapter 5. He may have simply wanted to know. He may have wanted information. Or he may have wanted them to stop what they were doing. We don't know. The text doesn't say. But either way, he wanted instructions, and that's exactly what he got. He got them plain, he got them straightforward.

18:01And God protected his people in their task of doing what God had called them to do. You know, God does that. God protects his people. He does what they cannot. If the exiles from Israel, if the Jewish exiles were to rise up and to try to provide their own protection, that would be looked at as being treason. That would be looked at as being another rebellion that needs to be brutally stamped down. And let me tell you, Darius could do that really quickly. They had to trust the wisdom of Proverbs 21 that tells us that the heart of the king is like a stream in the hands of the Lord, and he directs it in whichever way he desires. They had to trust God. And in trusting the Lord, look what's happening. God is protecting them in this endeavor. Well, what about the provision? I mean, this is great, Bo. I mean, they're getting all their stuff. Excuse me, they're getting the opportunity to be able to build this stuff. They're getting the opportunity to go in safety, not only in safety, but to get a directive from the king himself to go and finish what God has called them to do. But what are they going to work with? They're exiles.

19:28How are they going to build this stuff? Saying, look with me. Verses 8 and 9. Moreover, I make a decree, says King Darius, regarding what you shall do for these elders of the Jews for the rebuilding of this house of God. The cost is to be paid to these men in full and without delay from the royal revenue. The tribute of the province from beyond the river. Do you know what that is? That's Tatanai's money. You know what I'm saying? Tatanai asked about it. He didn't understand the cost of his question. Amen, right?

20:11He's going to pay for it. It's from his tax revenue. Verse 9. And whatever's needed, and whatever is needed, bulls, rams, or sheep for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, oil, as the priests at Jerusalem require. Let that be given to them day by day without fail. That is the promise of the king. But it's more than that. That's the promise of the king of kings, that he would provide for his people.

20:53Guys, God can provide. He demonstrates that to us over and over in the scriptures. He can provide by direct. Miracle. Remember 2 Kings 4? And Elisha and the widow woman and making provision for her, and she was about to run out of oil, and Elisha, what did he say? No, you got oil. It's there. You got oil. Go sell it. And God miraculously provided oil for this widow woman when she didn't have it. He could provide by omniscience. In other words, by his providential working. Do you remember in Matthew 17 where they're required to pay the temple tax, and Jesus is going to use this as a teachable moment? And he tells Peter, we'll pay the temple tax. Go get that fish and go reach into his mouth. And what did he find? The money for the temple tax. I don't know how that fish swallowed that money, right? That's weird bait to me. Not much of a fisherman. I think you could get more men that way than fish, but that's how he got them. However, it is that God did that through his providential omniscience. He knew where that was. It had been set up from eternity past that that fish was going to swallow that money. And it was going to be provided. The whole point is, is that whether it's oil that is miraculously being provided, or whether it's a coin in a fish's mouth, or whether it's provision for God's people to accomplish God's directive, God provides.

22:22Whatever it is that God is calling you to, whatever it is that he is directing you to, God will equip and provide you for whatever it is the mission happens to be. We have, this is so great. In two weeks, we're going to be able to come right back here on Day for the Nations, and we are going to celebrate God's mission. And by the way, it is God's mission, not ours. We didn't come up with this. This whole making disciples all over the world and building up his church until the return of Christ, that's his idea. He lets us in on it. Amen.

23:01We get to come and celebrate in two weeks and see what God has been doing with our missionaries all over the world. And this is what's so great. God has provided for our missionaries all over the world, and he's going to continue to do that. Why? Same principle. Whether it's from a pagan king, or even better, whether it's from God's people, he provides for his mission. And that's exactly what he's done here. What a tremendous encouragement to God's people. But, church, he provides for you. He provides for you. You don't believe me? Look at Matthew chapter 6 with me on the screen. Look at the words of our Savior. Therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you'll drink, nor about your body, what you'll put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air. They neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you, by being anxious, can add a single hour to his lifespan? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They neither toil nor spin. Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you? Oh, you of little faith? Therefore, do not be anxious, saying, What should we eat, or what should we drink, or what shall we wear? For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

24:56God provides for his people. We also see the purpose in this temple building. Well, at least we see the purpose from Darius' point of view, okay? From Darius' point of view. Let's look at verse 10. It tells us a lot that they may offer pleasing sacrifices to the God of heaven. Oh, Darius, you are such a wise and godly king. Won't you come and address the Southern Baptist Convention this summer in June? Come tell us how awesome you are. Come tell us how faithful you are to God and how you're providing for your people.

25:41It doesn't end there, right? I mean, this is great. He wants to see the sacrifices done. He wants the temple rebuilt exactly the way it's supposed to be built. He wants the temple vessels not to be wasting away in Babylon somewhere. He wants the temple vessels to be precisely where they're supposed to be. And he wants the priests of the temple to conduct the rituals. He wants them to conduct the sacrifices exactly the way they're supposed to be done.

26:13Look at the end of verse 10, though. And pray for the life of the king and his sons. Who's that, by the way? The one who's making this decree. We see the real reason here. We see the real reason. Darius' purpose is selfish. By the way, Cyrus's reason was selfish as well. So we can all just rescind our invitation to have Darius come speak at breakaway, right? It's not going to happen. We don't need that. Why?

26:50They want all the God's favor. Remember that Darius is the king of an empire. He has conquered many nations, many nations. And he has perceived that. Yahweh is the God of that region. Yahweh is the God of Israel, of Palestine, of that area, of Jerusalem. And he wants those people that are there to follow the directives of their religion where they are, so that they might pray for good King Darius and his sons. There was actually a discovery that was made several years ago in Egypt, okay, of all places, in Egypt, and there was a cylinder, and in this cylinder was a government document, and it was actually a proclamation, a decree from good King Darius. Let me tell you what good King Darius said. I have a quotation for you up here. It says, May all the gods whom I have resettled in their sacred cities ask daily, Bel and Nebo, for a long life for me. And they recommend me to him. Who's Bel and Nebo? Bel and Nebo are the pagan gods of the Nile River, of the new Egyptian religion that's sort of come about over that previous thousand years.

28:15Darius was not seeking out for anything but his own. He wasn't seeking. Listen, what does that tell us? The government, the culture, is not your friend. It's not your friend. They may come up next to you for their own purposes. And there are some things that we can agree with in the culture. There are some things with the government that we can agree with. But understand that the culture, that the government, it needs redeeming. Amen? It needs Jesus. It needs to bend the knee to the king of kings, to the Lord of Lords. And in the end, we do not serve the same God and same purpose. What God has called us to is to engage the culture, to build relationships within the culture, even to love the people that are in the culture, to appreciate what God has done to them and with them, to appreciate what they bring to the table. But, folks, our culture needs redemption. Darius needs to bow his knee to the king of kings and lord of lords. God uses this for his glory. And listen, church, if a superstitious king in a pagan land understands that he needs divine favor, how silly and foolish are we as God's people who know him by faith and are known by him by being reconciled through his son Jesus. How foolish are we? To try and manipulate circumstances, to try to work through and build things up for ourselves, not recognizing our need for God's favor and intervention in our own lives.

30:16Darius at least gets that much. We see that in his purpose. And he's going to end like a pretty tough coach. He's going to end with the punishment. And the punishment is not simple. Look at verse 11 and 12. Also, I make a decree that if anyone alters this edict, a beam shall be pulled out of his house, and he shall be impaled on it, and the house shall be made a dung hill. Oh, may the God who has caused his name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who put out a hand to alter this or to destroy this house of God that is in Jerusalem. I, Darius, make a decree. Let it be done with all diligence. There is punishment that is available from the king. Now, in your older versions, such as the King James, it says that there's a beam that should be pulled from a house and that you should be hung on it. And when we think about that, we think about a hanging. We think about a noose. But they didn't use nooses back then to hang people.

31:22That's not how they carried out punishment in the Old Testament. They did it like this: they stuck them on there like a house. Hot dog, right, at the campfire. It's not pretty. And not only that, because Darius was very creative, he wanted to make sure that you were hung on what? Your own beam. Why? Because he wanted to make sure everyone understood that if you mess with this house, I'll mess with your house. Now that's scary. And I wouldn't advise that in regular conversation with people. However, at the same time, God is using Darius for his mission to go forward. God is using this pagan king to ensure that this house is protected in its building and that justice goes forth. That is the proper role of government, no matter how scary it may be. It is to be just. Amen? To be just. Don't expect the government to be on our side. That's not necessarily its point. The point is to be used by God for just purposes. And in this case, we can celebrate that. Never thought you could celebrate an impalement. Well, a potential one, right?

32:47Can you imagine the celebration that took place, by the way, amongst God's people? 16 years they had to abandon. 16 years they abandoned the building of the temple. And now all of a sudden, the government is coming and saying, you better build this, and you better build it the way God told you to. And if anybody messes with you, we are going to mess with them, right? Can you imagine the celebration that breaks out? And indeed, if the whole point really was just the building of the temple, then we would all celebrate together. Amen, right? But if that really were the point, then we would all need to also mourn together. Why?

33:34Because this temple, it's not rebuilt in the grandeur of Solomon's temple. Do you remember the reaction of the older exiles when they began to see the temple being built? What their reaction was? Remember, the younger exiles said, man, we are getting to work. This is happening. This is awesome. And there was just this great cheer. But the older exiles, who remembered the grandeur of Solomon's temple, they wept. They mourned. They mourned so loud that if you were equidistanced from both groups, from the old or from the young, you wouldn't be able to tell which was louder.

34:16Now, I like to think that I yell and celebrate a whole lot louder than I mourn. That's real mourning. The temple is not going to be rebuilt with Solomon's temple, like Solomon's temple. Almost 80 years before. It's not near as opulent even as Herod's renovated temple complex that would be rebuilt over at least 46 years, half a century later. And by the way, neither of those last two editions, this temple that's being built or Herod's temple complex, neither of them contain the Ark of the Covenant.

34:59The reminder of God's law and God's promise. God's resting presence was no longer with Israel. As a result of their rejection of the Messiah, Herod's last edition of the temple was going to be destroyed in AD 70. All of this work would come to an end. On the Temple Mount today, on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem, sits the Dome of the Rock. It's one of the most holiest sites in Islam. To rebuild the temple, one would have to demolish that Muslim shrine and possibly bring about World War III.

35:44And then you'd have to build a structure that was again made by human hands that will eventually succumb to decay and destruction. Man can construct all of The magnificent buildings he possibly can. But he cannot produce what only God can do. Do you notice in these 12 verses in Ezra 6 what the exile, what the exiles do? You notice any action from them? No. They can do nothing. God works all of this without their help. Man cannot make things right.

36:36He can't make himself good enough for God's presence. We need an eternal king to make an eternal decree. We saw these two decrees from these two kings, but you'll notice that the title of this sermon is Three Decrees by Three Kings. I want you to look with me to the decree of the Lord found in Revelation chapter 21 at the consummation of the age. John the Revelator says in verse 1, and then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the new heaven and the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem. Notice where it's coming. It's not being built up. Look at this church. It's coming down because God's best gifts always come down. Always. They're not made by us. They come down out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the dwelling place, dwelling place in the Septuagint.

38:06That word dwelling place in the Greek, okay? So the Septuagint, the first five books of the Bible and the Old Testament that were copied in Greek. When you see that place, dwelling place, it's where we get the word tabernacle. It's the forerunner of the temple, folks. It's where God would meet his people. Amen? Where does God meet his people? The dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them. They will be his people. And God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more. Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. And he who is seated on the throne, Said, behold, I am making all things new.

39:09Also, he said, Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true. That's the good, eternal King. That is His good, eternal decree. And all of those who by faith are in Christ Jesus and have trusted in His finished work on the cross will be counted as those at the consummation of the age, at the end of this whole thing, and can trust His decree and will have the Lord God as their King through faith in Jesus. And He will have accomplished His mission. The whole point of this whole thing, which was to make for Himself a people out of those who were not a people.

40:13Let's pray. Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.