1Now the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple for Yahweh the God of Israel. . . 6In the reign of Ahasuerus, at the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. . . 24Then the work on the house of God in Jerusalem stopped, and was discontinued until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia. (Ezra 4:1, 6, 24 LEB)
When God allows affliction to His people, it happens within the context of a promise. The Hand that writes the purpose for His people may be invisible but that's because It has written in advance. This is the reason why the Puritan Timothy Rogers would preach to "afflicted people. Do not judge your eternal state by what you now feel." The overriding purpose of His grace is written in benevolent providence for His people who although they may suffer the afflictions of the evil world and the consequences of their past, yet His glory to rebuild may hide behind the mountains at night but will break forth at dawn. "Weeping may endure for a night," says the beloved psalmist, "but joy cometh in the morning" (Psalm 30:5).
No comments:
Post a Comment