FREEDOM TO WORSHIP
LESSON FOR THE JUNIOR CLASSES
STUDY SCRIPTURE: EZRA 6:1-12
KEY VERSE
“May the God who has caused His name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who attempts to change it, so as to destroy that house of God in Jerusalem”.
Ezra 6:12
INTRODUCTION AND STUDY
One of the important gifts we have been given is the freedom to worship the Lord God Almighty. This is a most important ability we now have because worshipping God brings us joy and happiness. We know sadly that people in some parts of the world do not have the freedom to worship God publicly but when they are faithful we know God will eventually bring them this freedom.
When we worship we meet with others who worship God and we help them to overcome whatever difficulties they face and we also will rejoice at their successes and the blessings they have received.
In addition, when we worship God by ourselves, with our families, or with our friends, we know that God and the angels are right there with us and they bring us joy, peace, security, and other blessings because they love us.
Nehemiah TheLessontells us about the people of Israel who had been previously been captured by the Babylonian army and taken as captives and slaves to Babylon. Their beautiful Temple built by Solomon had been destroyed and the gold, silver, precious stones and valuable metals, and the beautiful vessels and items used in the worship of God had been taken away to Babylon and put in the treasure houses they owned.ItIThe Babylonians also destroyed the city of Jerusalem and burned down all the houses owned by the rich and the poor.God also has done great things for usG
God had warned the people of Israel that if they did not stop committing the very bad sins and idolatry they were doing that the Babylonian enemy would capture them and take them into slavery. Jeremiah the prophet had prophesied that the nation would be in captivity for 70 years and when they repented, God would allow them to return home and rebuild the Temple and the city of Jerusalem.
God made the Persians capture the Babylonians and when in power they changed the policy of having the people of Israel stay in Babylon whether they liked it or not. The Persian king named Cyrus allowed the Jews to go back to their homeland and resume worship of God. Some went but many remained in Babylon as they had gotten comfortable and well off.
Now our Lesson tells us of a new king named Darius had to decide whether or not he would support the Jews living their homeland to again start to rebuild the Temple. This rebuilding had been opposed by the other pagans living in the land. The governor the Persians had appointed to run that part of the Persian Empire called Beyond the River (the Euphrates River was the boundary) sent a letter asking Darius if the Jews had the right to rebuild their Temple.
God stirred up his heart to be generous and kind and he had the Court officials search high and low and in different places to see if it was true that the previous king Cyrus had given theJews permission to rebuild their Temple.
God made sure that they would eventually find the Document giving the permission. God then stirred up the heart of Darius more and he made a Decree that any of the Jews who wanted to return home could do so. He took out the precious items the Babylonians had taken out of the Temple in Jerusalem and gave it to the Jewish leaders to take back and put in the newly built Temple. He even took money out of the Treasury to help them meet expensesin Temple worship.
Darius encouraged the Jews and others living in Babylon to contribute money to help the Project in Jerusalem. About 50,00O people including priests, Temple singers, Levites and a lot of skilled people left Babylon and returned. The king Darius also gave instructions that some of the taxes collected by the Governor in the area Beyond the River be used to rebuild the Temple.
He really wanted Temple worship of Jehovah to proceed. Darius threatened that if anyone tried to stop the work of rebuilding he would deal with them and kill them.
So the returning Jews were happy and satisfied that their God was on their side. He had forgiven them of the sins committed over 70 years before. They promised not to make any more mistakes as had been done before now that they had been given the Freedom to Worship.
We learn from this that our God is in control of everything that happens. He has unlimited power and will control the hearts of powerful pagan kings and stir up their hearts to do His bidding. God can also stir up the hearts of the scared and the courageous to rebuild His Temple, follow His commandments, and do what is right even if there are trials and difficulties in their life.
Our God loves us. He is strong and always do what He wills. We can trust Him. He will look after us no matter what. Sometimes God does not answer our prayers the way we want right away.
But we know He wants the best for us and always do what is best for us. God will always give us the freedomto worship Him nomatter what our enemies might do.So pray that God will always give us the freedom to worship Him. Promise God to also do His commandments, and make sure you live up to your promises.