God Uses Whom He Chooses To Fulfill His Plans

-June 13, 2023-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

“Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom…”

(Ezra 1:1).

God never forgets His promises nor fails to fulfill them in His perfect timing. He literally moves heaven and earth to make things happen on behalf of His people. His fulfillments are always on time. This was true of His earthly people Israel and is true of the church His heavenly people. We can count on Him.

Israel sinned against God and God proclaimed through the prophet Jeremiah that they would be taken into captivity for seventy years in Babylon. It happened just exactly that way. Way back in the days of Moses God warned them that if they didn’t obey and worshipped idols, they would be suffer and be taken from their land to a foreign land by a foreign power. God promised the captivity would end and they would return to their homeland.

God even mentioned that it would be King Cyrus, an unbeliever whom He would use to make the proclamation of their return to rebuild the temple that was destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon seventy years before. The specificity and detail of God’s fulfillment is amazing. At the time of Jeremiah’s prophecy, Babylon was in power not Persia. God directed the Persians to conquer the Babylonians and take control over a vast dominion. It all worked out perfectly.

God even called King Cyrus, “My shepherd.” Isaiah 44:28 says, “Who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd, and he shall perform all My pleasure, saying to Jerusalem, ‘You shall be built,’ and to the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’” God used Cyrus to fulfill His will. Solomon wrote hundreds of years before in Proverbs 21:1, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.”

Cyrus who had control over all the holy vessels of the former temple that were taken by Nebuchadnezzar, ordered them given back to the Jews to be taken back so the new temple could be built on the holy site on Mount Moriah. He urged the people of Israel to return to their land. Unfortunately not everyone did, some stayed where they were. They missed a tremendous blessing. In 1947, Israel become a state and many Jews from around the world returned to their homeland. During the Millennial reign of Christ, all the Jews will return to their land in the greatest homecoming and regathering ever!

May the Lord remind us of all His promises in His Word that we must claim. There are thousands in the Bible. God works on our behalf, using people, circumstances, and things to fulfill His plan. We can rest securely in all the will of God. He gives us peace, comfort, and joy. We know the end of the story. Oftentimes movies are based on books so those who read the book will know how the movie ends. Let’s continue to read the Bible so that we know how God will fulfill every detail in our lives in the future.

Have a blessed day knowing and claiming God’s promises. Stay safe and healthy.

God uses what He chooses to fulfill all His will,

Dean