God, Your Advocate!

What is an advocate? The dictionary defines advocate as: 1. one who pleads the cause of another; specifically :  one who pleads the cause of another before a tribunal or judicial court; 2. one who defends or maintains a cause or proposal; 3. one who supports or promotes the interests of a cause or group.

It would seem the returning Israelites had an advocate in first in King Cyrus and then in King Darius. But really they had an advocate who was much older and who held more power. The great thing about this advocate is He is still here and He is still just as powerful and He wants to have a personal relationship with you. Who is this advocate? Read on and see.

Ezra 5:6–17

6 This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates, the officials of Trans-Euphrates, sent to King Darius. 7 The report they sent him read as follows:

To King Darius:

Cordial greetings.

8 The king should know that we went to the district of Judah, to the temple of the great God. The people are building it with large stones and placing the timbers in the walls. The work is being carried on with diligence and is making rapid progress under their direction.

9 We questioned the elders and asked them, "Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and restore this structure?" 10 We also asked them their names, so that we could write down the names of their leaders for your information.

11 This is the answer they gave us:

"We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, one that a great king of Israel built and finished. 12 But because our fathers angered the God of heaven, he handed them over to Nebuchadnezzar the Chaldean, king of Babylon, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon.

13 "However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to rebuild this house of God. 14 He even removed from the temple of Babylon the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to the temple in Babylon.

"Then King Cyrus gave them to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he had appointed governor, 15 and he told him, `Take these articles and go and deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem. And rebuild the house of God on its site.' 16 So this Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem. From that day to the present it has been under construction but is not yet finished."

17 Now if it pleases the king, let a search be made in the royal archives of Babylon to see if King Cyrus did in fact issue a decree to rebuild this house of God in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us his decision in this matter.

There's was an article on Time magazine's website. It begins: "Religion can be a source of comfort that improves well-being. But some kinds of religiosity could be a sign of deeper mental health issues." The article quotes a clinical psychologist who states, "Religion is related to the child having a higher sense of self esteem, better academic adjustment and lower rates of substance abuse and delinquent or criminal behavior."

So much for the positives. The rest of the article tells us all the negative ways religion could affect our children. Those with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) might rigidly repeat holy verses or focus on other rituals. If so, such ritualistic behavior "in reality could be no more spiritual than fanatical hand washing or dreading to walk on cracks." Other children suffer from "scrupulosity," a form of OCD that involves shame and guilt. We're told that "fastidiousness to religious practices may not seem so harmful," but could lead to "extreme behavior such as delusions or hallucinations."

The article recommends that parents "be alert to a sudden and pervasive shift in religious practice" and "model a healthy balance between religion and life." They should show children "how religion can co-exist with enjoying life" (as if the two are mutually exclusive). Their goal should be to help religion become "a comfort and a joy," since "that's the role that religion should have for people of faith."

Now I suppose if I was going to be obsessed with anything, Christ Jesus would be a pretty good target. To me, the Time article is symptomatic of a cultural bias against true Christianity. The article is basically saying, Religion in moderation is fine, but surrendering every dimension of life to Christ Jesus is too extreme. How is this working for our culture?

Author and teacher Kay Arthur warns: "If you do not plan to live the Christian life totally committed to knowing your God and to walking in obedience to him, then don't begin, for this is what Christianity is all about. It is a change of citizenship, a change of governments, a change of allegiance. If you have no intention of letting Christ rule your life, then forget Christianity; it is not for you." I think Christ Jesus would certainly agree, Christianity is not a self-help system.

For about 16 years, the rebuilding of God's Temple was ignored. Thanks to the two prophets Haggai and Zechariah that changed. God stirred their hearts and they in turn stirred the hearts of Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the other leaders of Judah. They then rallied the people of Judah and work on the Temple was started once more.

But it seems just as soon as they started building their neighbors and the Persian magistrates had to see what was going on. They all came and started asking questions – who, why, and by what authority? And not being satisfied it was time to write a letter to the king once again. This time however, urged on by Haggai and Zechariah, the Israelites did not give into pressure but kept right on building.

Verses 6 and 7 introduce the letter from Tattenai (Tat-ah-nai) to Darius, which the editor of Ezra-Nehemiah chose to include here. The content of that letter runs from the second part of verse 7 all the way through the end of the chapter. Tattenai sent the letter to King Darius reporting on the building activities of the Israelites. In the letter he recounted the conversation which he had with the elders of Judah, and requested instructions from Darius.

1. God Blessed the Remnant. (vs. 8-10)

In verses 8-10, the questioners let the king know what they saw going on. What did they see? They saw that in Jerusalem, there was a group of people who were building a house to the great God. They described a little bit about the construction. This wasn’t just some sort of flimsy structure. They were building it with great stones, and timbers laid in the walls. This was high quality building materials. These were materials that were not easy to work with and that were meant to last. 

The work proceeded with great care and was moving right along. Tattenai seemed impressed, noting that even though they were building on such a large scale with such large materials the Israelites were succeeding with their building project. Verse 8 may also explain why Tattenai and his companions thought the Israelites were building a wall in addition to the temple (v. 3) when it emphasizes that the builders were using “heavy stones, and timber” (v. 8). 

Tattenia and Shethar-Bozenai gave a completely fair and honest description about what they saw and heard. The letter repeats the Jewish response to the first of Tattenai’s questions from back in verse 3: “Who gave you permission to build?” (v. 9). Then, after explaining why the temple needed to be rebuilt in the first place (vv. 11–12), the Israelites recap the decree of Cyrus, as found in Ezra 1. This was the answer to Tattenai’s question.

Then the Israelites explained a bit more about the restoration project, especially with regard to the return of the sacred implements to the temple. Adding more verification of Cyrus’ commitment to the project. Once again the mysterious figure of Sheshbazzar (shaysh-bats-tsar') appeared in the records. He was introduced in chapter 1 as the leader who transported the sacred implements from Babylon to Jerusalem (1:11; 5:14–15), but here he also receives credit for laying the foundation of the temple (v. 16). More than likely “Sheshbazzar” and “Zerubbabel” are two names for the same person.

This time the Jewish leaders were not afraid or intimidated by all of Tattenai's questions. They remained faithful to God and kept on building.

2. The Israelites Got A Fair Assessment. (vs. 11 – 17)

Now here’s the amazing thing. The questioners actually fully reported what the remnant had to say about their work. Right down to each and every reference to God. They gave the Israelites a fair assessment.

Our news media could take a fairness lesson from these questioners. Most of the time when the media reports on conservative evangelical Christians, we are portrayed as kooks and extremists. But that’s not what happened here. The remnant was portrayed accurately and fairly. 

Finally, verse 17 closes the letter by suggesting that King Darius follow up on the remnant’s claims. Tattenai and the others thought Darius should check the archives to make sure Cyrus really did authorize the building of the temple. And so Darius did. The first 5 verses of chapter 6 records the first part of Darius' reply. He followed their advice and searched the archives. He found out that everything the remnant had said was true. 

If someone wants to explore the claims you make… that’s a fair thing. God’s people should never be afraid of questions. If someone wants to explore your claims about God and creation and the Bible— let them go right ahead. If the assessment is fair, truth will always win. And Christ Jesus said that He is Truth. You have nothing to fear from a fair assessment. God blessed the remnant with a fair assessment because of their obedience. 

But will your obedience always yield the same thing? Yes it will—eventually. Sometimes God will bless us with people who will fairly assess the claims of Christianity that we present them with. However, today many people won’t. But, rest assured, the fairness will come. Your obedience might not yield a fair response right now. But it will eventually. It will when it really counts. 

In Psalms 73, the Psalmist was proclaiming the seeming unfairness of life. In verses 2-3, he said, But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling, My steps had almost slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant As I saw the prosperity of the wicked. It didn’t make sense. Here he was being obedient to God’s Word. Yet it seemed like all the people who were disobedient were prospering. Then he went on to see the ultimate fairness. Verses 16-19 portray the final assessment. When I pondered to understand this, It was troublesome in my sight Until I came into the sanctuary of God; Then I perceived their end. Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction. How they are destroyed in a moment! They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors! 

 

The remnant got an immediate fair assessment from the questioners and from Darius.

You won’t always get a fair response from your questioners—immediately. Obey God’s Word anyway. Obey God’s Word anyway, because the fair response will come. When you obey God’s Word, He blesses you. 

3. The Israelites Got A Fervent Advocate. (6:6-13)

As soon as Darius saw Cyrus memorandum, he sent a sharp reply to Tattenai, Shethar-bozenai, and their fellow investigators. The Israelites were not only to be allowed to continue the building, but they were to receive royal revenue to do so. Threats were added to assure that there would be no further interference with the Israelites. Darius told them to let them continue the work that they were doing on God’s Temple. 

They were also to help them out with animals for their burnt offerings. Now, Darius had a selfish motive. He wanted Israel’s God to bless him too. And so Darius became the remnant’s fervent advocate. But Darius wasn’t their biggest advocate. He wasn’t their most important advocate. As a matter of fact, it didn’t really matter if he was on their side or not. Because they had a bigger, more fervent advocate than him. 

4. They Had God As Their Advocate.

Because the remnant was obedient to God’s Word, God was their advocate. He was in their corner. He was on their side. But it was really more than that. Because in reality, by being obedient to God’s Word, the remnant was on God’s side. By obeying God’s Word, they had aliened their will to His. And anytime you are lined up with God’s will, He is your fervent advocate. 

Paul understood that when he wrote Romans 8:31-34, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.

When you obey God’s Word, He’ll bless you. Look at 6:14-15; 19-21. When you obey the Word of God in accepting the free gift of salvation, you have a fervent advocate who continually intercedes for you. When you are obedient to God’s Word, He will bless you. He will bless you by giving you the fervent advocacy of His Son Christ Jesus. And when Christ Jesus is for you, the whole world can turn against you, but what does it matter. When you are obedient to God’s Word, no enemy can stand against you. Because you’re standing in the power and authority of Christ Jesus Himself. 

Conclusion: What is God’s will for your life? First, it’s to have a personal relationship with His Son. Everything else flows from that. But after that, it’s to hunger for His Word. It’s to spread the Gospel. It’s to faithfully use your gifts for the building up of His church. It’s to edify and encourage and build up each other. It’s to worship Him by being a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto Him.

How are you going to fully accomplish His will for your life? Simple obedience. Obey Him in the things you know you’re supposed to do. Then He’ll show you the rest of it. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. And all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33). Be faithful where He’s called you. Be receptive where He’s leading you. And be responsive when He’s drawing you. Is Christ Jesus drawing you this morning? Is He drawing you to salvation? Is He drawing you to service? Don’t delay. The remnant delayed and were cast aside as useless for 16 years. What a waste of precious time.