Stolen Goods

Oct. 13

Read Ezra 1:7-11

Making Whole Again

“Cyrus the king also brought out the vessels of the house of the LORD that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the house of his gods…” (v.7)

God will always restore and make whole again those things that are his. This is what we celebrate as HIS children. Nothing will be taken from the Lord that will not be returned in time. We see this with the stolen vessels of the temple that were taken by Nebuchadnezzar. The Lord used Cyrus to return them to the people… some 5,400 of them!

Jesus touches on a similar idea when talking to the disciples: “everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.” (Matt. 19:29) Whether it is taken from God or surrendered for a season, no matter what, those things will be restored. God is a God who “restores the wasted years”. (cf. Joel 2:23-25) Nothing is “lost” forever for those who are in Christ.

What is crazy is that these things were returned through the exact same avenue as they were taken. How crazy is that? It was foreign occupation and conquest that led to them being stolen by Nebuchadnezzar. It was foreign occupation and conquest that brought Cyrus into power, and he was eventually used by God to return them. This is a testament to the power of the Lord. Things that used to mean destruction and demise (being conquered) are now used by the Lord in the most unlikely ways to bring about restoration and renewal. I don’t think anyone in Israel anticipated what God was going to work through king Cyrus. I bet the people of God thought those temple vessels were “long gone”… never to be seen again.

Is there something you think is “long gone”? A relationship? An opportunity? A marriage? Maybe it is something tangible that has been lost… stolen… or destroyed? If it was given to you by the Lord… then it is never lost forever. I want to be careful not to oversimplify this… and yet the truth is clearly in the scriptures. Anything the Lord asks you to hand over that is not sin will be paid back to you 100 fold… guaranteed… in this lifetime or the next. Anything that is taken from you, it will come back around. Those “wasted years” will be restored to you. What is crazy is that they will “come back” / be returned through a means that you will not expect. God is a God of good surprises! It may take some time - but trust this. God will not leave his house in shambles… and you are now his house… his dwelling place. What the enemy intends for evil, God intends for good. (cf. Gen. 50:20)

What would it look like to believe this idea today? DO you feel like your marriage is “lost”… that it has been “taken”? Could you trust God to restore it… to return it? Is there a friendship or broken relationship that you need to come to the Lord and seek his work in mending it? Is there something more basic - lost keys / misplaced items - that you could ask the Lord to help you find… to “return them” to you? Do you have eyes to see all the ways God is restoring those wasted years? Look for the many ways he is restoring what has been taken. 5,400 vessels is no small thing. God is concerned with each detail. Remember, it will probably come back to you in a timeframe you don’t expect (either shorter / or longer than you would like) through an avenue / person you would not have guessed it would come through (kind of like being conquered by the Persians leading to returning what was stolen). Love you guys. - JDP