CONSIDER YOUR AUTHORITY

---

DAY 4 - January 8

Yesterday, we closed out our time together by reading the first 2 verses of Ezra chapter 5, but today I want to read it in its entirety.  So, go ahead, grab your Bible, and read Ezra 5.

There is so much we could focus on in this chapter, but today I want you to zero in on verse 3.  Depending on which Bible translation you are reading, the end of that verse will have said something like: “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and to finish it?” (NIV) Or, “Who gave you permission to rebuild this Temple and restore this structure?” (NLT)  And what did they answer in verse 11?  “We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth.”

What a shift from the fear-filled response we read about in Ezra 4!  At that time, even just the chatter of others incited such great fear that they halted their work.  But this time, even when others question their authority outright, they keep working!  What was the difference?  The authority from which they spoke and worked.

Before we go any further, let’s take a moment to retrace the steps that brought us to this point.

If you remember, in the book of Exodus, we read of God’s people being freed from slavery in Egypt, after which they wandered in the desert for 40 years due to disobedience.  They eventually reach the land God promised them, only to be exiled once again by the King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, circa 606 BCE.  During this time, the Babylonian army destroyed Jerusalem and King Solomon’s first temple.  But then around 539 BCE, Cyrus the Great of Persia conquered the Babylonian Empire and issued an edict permitting the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their temple.  However, as we read in Ezra 4, God’s people face opposition, and progress halts for many years until the prophets Haggai and Zechariah step up and lead the charge to resume reconstruction.  

If you have been under the impression that an attempt to impede the spread of the gospel and the growth of the church is a modern issue, I hope you are beginning to see that it is very much not!  At every turn, there is a questioning or delay.  But just as there is always an enemy, the devil, looking for any way that he can “steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10) the people and purpose of God, there is a God who is still calling and equipping His people.  And He doesn’t just equip His people with physical resources but with powerful authority.

It would be easy to read that brief, rapid-fire recap and see nothing but frustration and delay!  It would be easy to ask, “God, why are you allowing all of this to happen to your people?”  In fact, that is exactly what the Israelites asked as they were wandering in the desert after their deliverance from Egypt.

“Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” Exodus 17:3 (ESV)

“Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?  For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” Exodus 21:5 (ESV)

And it is from this same spirit of discontent that we read of God’s people in Haggai 1:6a:

“You have sown much and harvested little. You eat but you never have enough;you drink,

but you never have your fill…” (ESV)

However, as is always true, there are two sides to that coin.  So, though you could read those words and see a lack of provision, if you look closely, you will see something completely different… misappropriation of authority.  

What do I mean when I say “authority”?  If you were to look up the word in Oxford Languages, you would find it defined as “the power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience.”  The Biblical definition of authority is much the same: “the God-given right to command, rule, or direct, originating ultimately from God as the supreme sovereign.”  Both definitions point to commanding and ruling; however, there is one clear difference between the two: one is God-given, the other is “me”- driven.  

If we look back over the ebb and flow of the journey God’s people have been on up to this point, there is a common caveat each time they are in an “ebb” and longing for a “flow” - they have gotten out of alignment, putting their own priorities above His purpose!  Notice what happens each time before the people of God begin to “flow” in His purpose once again:

In Exodus 16, when the Israelites complained to Moses, verses 4 and 6 tell us: “Then the Lord said to Moses…So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel…”. In Joshua, after having wandered in the desert for 40 years, verses 1 and 9 tell us: “...the Lord said to Joshua…Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

In Haggai 1, after a long delay in obedience, verses 1 and 12 say: “...the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet…Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God…”

And right here, in Ezra 5, Haggai and Zechariah lead the rebuilding of the temple “in the name of the God of Israel who was over them.”

In the same way that we discussed at length yesterday, the impact made by the relationships we allow and cultivate in our lives, it is equally important that we stay aware of the authority in which we operate and live.  When we operate in our own authority, our purpose gets skewed, and our priorities get out of alignment.  Like the Israelites in the desert, we begin to complain about the food we have rather than offering thanks to the Lord for providing it in the first place, leading us to “take matters into our own hands”, operating in our own authority and striving to get all WE want.  When we operate in our own authority, we “take matters into our own hands”, much like God’s people in the books Haggai and Ezra, and halt progress in His purpose because of the fears and doubts that creep in from the words and thoughts of others and even ourselves.  When we operate in our own authority, we hesitate to step out in the Lord’s leading and calling because “What if I fail?”  But when we operate in GOD’S authority, everything changes!

When we operate in God’s authority, we rejoice and feast in His provision, even in the driest of deserts.  When we operate in God’s authority, we aren’t deterred by the doubts and fears of others.  When we operate in God’s authority, we see His temple rebuilt!  We see lives changed.  We see the church grow.  And we see revival in our lives, our homes, our cities, our nation, and the World.  But it only happens when we choose daily to live under HIS authority - keeping our priorities in line with His purpose.

So today, as you reflect on all we just read and discussed, ask yourself:

1. Am I living under God’s authority or my own?

2. Are there areas in my life where my priorities have gotten in the way of His purpose?

3. What, if anything, is holding me back from living in God’s authority?

4. What areas of my life do I need to surrender to God’s authority?

5. What can I do today to walk more fully in God’s authority?

   
   

Finally, as you reflect and pray today, take a moment to review this week’s key verse, committing it to memory and hiding it deeply in your heart.

​“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10 (KJV)