Prophets and Kings
by Ellen G. White
Chapter 51: A Spiritual Revival
Ezra's arrival in Jerusalem was opportune. There was great
need of the influence of his presence. His coming brought courage and hope to
the hearts of many who had long labored under difficulties. Since the return of
the first company of exiles under the leadership of Zerubbabel and Joshua, over
seventy years before, much had been accomplished. The temple had been finished,
and the walls of the city had been partially repaired. Yet much remained
undone. {PK 618.1}
Among those who had returned to Jerusalem in former years,
there were many who had remained true to God as long as they lived; but a
considerable number of the children and the children's children lost sight of
the sacredness of God's law. Even some of the men entrusted with
responsibilities were living in open sin. Their course was largely neutralizing
the efforts made by others to advance the cause of God; for so long as flagrant
violations of the law [619] were allowed to go unrebuked,
the blessing of Heaven could not rest upon the people. {PK 618.2}
It was in the providence of God that those who returned with
Ezra had had special seasons of seeking the Lord. The experiences through which
they had just passed, on their journey from Babylon, unprotected as they had
been by any human power, had taught them rich spiritual lessons. Many had grown
strong in faith; and as these mingled with the discouraged and the indifferent
in Jerusalem, their influence was a powerful factor in the reform soon
afterward instituted. {PK
619.1}
On the fourth day after the arrival, the treasures of silver
and gold, with the vessels for the service of the sanctuary, were delivered by
the treasurers into the hands of the temple officers, in the presence of
witnesses, and with the utmost exactitude. Every article was examined "by
number and by weight." Ezra 8:34. {PK 619.2}
The children of the captivity who had returned with Ezra
"offered burnt offerings unto the God of Israel" for a sin offering
and as a token of their gratitude and thanksgiving for the protection of holy
angels during the journey. "And they delivered the king's commissions unto
the king's lieutenants, and to the governors on this side the river: and they
furthered the people, and the house of God." Verses 35, 36. {PK 619.3}
Very soon thereafter a few of the chief men of Israel
approached Ezra with a serious complaint. Some of "the people of Israel,
and the priests, and the Levites" had so far disregarded the holy commands
of Jehovah as to intermarry [620] with the surrounding peoples.
"They have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their
sons," Ezra was told, "so that the holy seed have mingled themselves
with the people" of heathen lands; "yea, the hand of the princes and
rulers hath been chief in this trespass." Ezra 9:1, 2. {PK 619.4}
In his study of the causes leading to the Babylonish
captivity, Ezra had learned that Israel's apostasy was largely traceable to
their mingling with heathen nations. He had seen that if they had obeyed God's
command to keep separate from the nations surrounding them, they would have
been spared many sad and humiliating experiences. Now when he learned that
notwithstanding the lessons of the past, men of prominence had dared transgress
the laws given as a safeguard against apostasy, his heart was stirred within
him. He thought of God's goodness in again giving His people a foothold in
their native land, and he was overwhelmed with righteous indignation and with
grief at their ingratitude. "When I heard this thing," he says,
"I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and
of my beard, and sat down astonied. {PK 620.1}
"Then were assembled unto me everyone that trembled at
the words of God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been
carried away; and I sat astonied until the evening sacrifice." Verses 3,
4. {PK 620.2}
At the time of the evening sacrifice Ezra rose, and, once
more rending his garment and his mantle, he fell upon his knees and unburdened
his soul in supplication to Heaven. Spreading out his hands unto the Lord, he
exclaimed, "O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to [621]
Thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass
is grown up unto the heavens. {PK 620.3}
"Since the days of our fathers," the suppliant
continued, "have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our
iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of
the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to
confusion of face, as it is this day. And now for a little space grace hath
been showed from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give
us a nail in His holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a
little reviving in our bondage. For we were bondmen; yet our God hath not
forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the
kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to
repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in
Jerusalem. {PK 621.1}
"And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for
we have forsaken Thy commandments, which Thou hast commanded by Thy servants
the prophets. . . . And after all that is come upon us for our evil
deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that Thou our God hast punished us
less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this;
should we again break Thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of
these abominations? wouldest not Thou be angry with us till Thou hadst consumed
us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping? O Lord God of Israel, Thou
art righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are
before Thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before Thee because of
this." Verses 6-15. [622] {PK 621.2}
The sorrow of Ezra and his associates over the evils that
had insidiously crept into the very heart of the Lord's work, wrought
repentance. Many of those who had sinned were deeply affected. "The people
wept very sore." Ezra 10:1. In a limited degree they began to realize the
heinousness of sin and the horror with which God regards it. They saw the
sacredness of the law spoken at Sinai, and many trembled at the thought of
their transgressions. {PK
622.1}
One of those present, Shechaniah by name, acknowledged as
true all the words spoken by Ezra. "We have trespassed against our
God," he confessed, "and have taken strange wives of the people of
the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing."
Shechaniah proposed that all who had transgressed should make a covenant with
God to forsake their sin and to be adjudged "according to the law."
"Arise," he bade Ezra; "for this matter belongeth unto thee: we
also will be with thee: be of good courage." "Then arose Ezra, and
made the chief priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they should
do according to this word." Verses 2-5. {PK 622.2}
This was the beginning of a wonderful reformation. With
infinite patience and tact, and with a careful consideration for the rights and
welfare of every individual concerned, Ezra and his associates strove to lead
the penitent of Israel into the right way. Above all else, Ezra was a teacher
of the law; and as he gave personal attention to the examination of every case,
he sought to impress the people with the holiness of this law and the blessings
to be gained through obedience. [623] {PK 622.3}
Wherever Ezra labored, there sprang up a revival in the
study of the Holy Scriptures. Teachers were appointed to instruct the people;
the law of the Lord was exalted and made honorable. The books of the prophets
were searched, and the passages foretelling the coming of the Messiah brought
hope and comfort to many a sad and weary heart. {PK 623.1}
More than two thousand years have passed since Ezra
"prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it" (Ezra
7:10), yet the lapse of time has not lessened the influence of his pious
example. Through the centuries the record of his life of consecration has
inspired many with the determination "to seek the law of the Lord, and to
do it." {PK 623.2}
Ezra's motives were high and holy; in all that he did he was
actuated by a deep love for souls. The compassion and tenderness that he
revealed toward those who had sinned, either willfully or through ignorance,
should be an object lesson to all who seek to bring about reforms. The servants
of God are to be as firm as a rock where right principles are involved; and
yet, withal, they are to manifest sympathy and forbearance. Like Ezra, they are
to teach transgressors the way of life by calculating principles that are the
foundation of all rightdoing. {PK 623.3}
In this age of the world, when Satan is seeking, through
manifold agencies, to blind the eyes of men and women to the binding claims of
the law of God, there is need of men who can cause many to "tremble at the
commandment of our God." Ezra 10:3. There is need of true reformers, who
will point transgressors to the great Lawgiver and teach them that "the
law of the Lord is perfect, converting [624] the
soul." Psalm 19:7. There is need of men mighty in the Scriptures, men
whose every word and act exalts the statutes of Jehovah, men who seek to
strengthen faith. Teachers are needed, oh, so much, who will inspire hearts
with reverence and love for the Scriptures. {PK 623.4}
The widespread iniquity prevalent today may in a great
degree be attributed to a failure to study and obey the Scriptures, for when
the word of God is set aside, its power to restrain the evil passions of the
natural heart is rejected. Men sow to the flesh and of the flesh reap
corruption. {PK 624.1}
With the setting aside of the Bible has come a turning away
from God's law. The doctrine that men are released from obedience to the divine
precepts, has weakened the force of moral obligation and opened the floodgates
of iniquity upon the world. Lawlessness, dissipation, and corruption are
sweeping in like an overwhelming flood. Everywhere are seen envy, evil
surmising, hypocrisy, estrangement, emulation, strife, betrayal of sacred
trusts, indulgence of lust. The whole system of religious principles and
doctrines, which should form the foundation and framework of social life, seems
to be a tottering mass, ready to fall in ruins. {PK 624.2}
In the last days of this earth's history the voice that
spoke from Sinai is still declaring, "Thou shalt have no other gods before
Me." Exodus 20:3. Man has set his will against the will of God, but he
cannot silence the word of command. The human mind cannot evade its obligation
to a higher power. Theories and speculations may abound; men may try to set
science in opposition to revelation, and thus do [625] away
with God's law; but stronger and still stronger comes the command, "Thou
shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve."
Matthew 4:10. {PK 624.3}
There is no such thing as weakening or strengthening the law
of Jehovah. As it has been, so it is. It always has been, and always will be,
holy, just, and good, complete in itself. It cannot be repealed or changed. To
"honor" or "dishonor" it is but the speech of men. {PK 625.1}
Between the laws of men and the precepts of Jehovah will
come the last great conflict of the controversy between truth and error. Upon
this battle we are now entering—a battle not between rival churches
contending for the supremacy, but between the religion of the Bible and the
religions of fable and tradition. The agencies which have united against truth
are now actively at work. God's Holy Word, which has been handed down to us at
so great a cost of suffering and bloodshed, is little valued. There are few who
really accept it as the rule of life. Infidelity prevails to an alarming
extent, not in the world only, but in the church. Many have come to deny
doctrines which are the very pillars of the Christian faith. The great facts of
creation as presented by the inspired writers, the fall of man, the atonement,
the perpetuity of the law—these all are practically rejected by a
large share of the professedly Christian world. Thousands who pride themselves
on their knowledge regard it as an evidence of weakness to place implicit
confidence in the Bible, and a proof of learning to cavil at the Scriptures and
to spiritualize and explain away their most important truths. [626]
{PK 625.2}
Christians should be preparing for what is soon to break
upon the world as an overwhelming surprise, and this preparation they should
make by diligently studying the word of God and striving to conform their lives
to its precepts. The tremendous issues of eternity demand of us something
besides an imaginary religion, a religion of words and forms, where truth is
kept in the outer court. God calls for a revival and a reformation. The words
of the Bible and the Bible alone, should be heard from the pulpit. But the
Bible has been robbed of its power, and the result is seen in a lowering of the
tone of spiritual life. In many sermons of today there is not that divine
manifestation which awakens the conscience and brings life to the soul. The
hearers cannot say, "Did not our heart burn within us, while He talked
with us by the way, and while He opened to us the Scriptures?" Luke 24:32.
There are many who are crying out for the living God, longing for the divine
presence. Let the word of God speak to the heart. Let those who have heard only
tradition and human theories and maxims, hear the voice of Him who can renew
the soul unto eternal life. {PK
626.1}
Great light shone forth from patriarchs and prophets.
Glorious things were spoken of Zion, the City of God. Thus the Lord designs
that the light shall shine forth through His followers today. If the saints of
the Old Testament bore so bright a testimony of loyalty, should not those upon
whom is shining the accumulated light of centuries, bear a still more signal
witness to the power of truth? The glory of the prophecies sheds their light
upon our pathway. [627] Type has met antitype in the
death of God's Son. Christ has risen from the dead, proclaiming over the rent
sepulcher, "I am the resurrection, and the life." John 11:25. He has
sent His Spirit into the world to bring all things to our remembrance. By a
miracle of power He has preserved His written word through the ages. {PK 626.2}
The Reformers whose protest has given us the name of
Protestant, felt that God had called them to give the light of the gospel to
the world; and in the effort to do this they were ready to sacrifice their
possessions, their liberty, even life itself. In the face of persecution and
death the gospel was proclaimed far and near. The word of God was carried to
the people; and all classes, high and low, rich and poor, learned and ignorant,
eagerly studied it for themselves. Are we, in this last conflict of the great
controversy, as faithful to our trust as the early Reformers were to theirs? {PK 627.1}
"Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a
solemn assembly: gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the
elders, gather the children: . . . let the priests, the ministers of
the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare Thy
people, O Lord, and give not Thine heritage to reproach." "Turn ye
even to Me with all your hearts, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with
mourning: and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord
your God: for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness,
and repenteth Him of the evil. Who knoweth if He will return and repent, and
leave a blessing behind Him?" Joel 2:15-17, 12-14. {PK 627.2}
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"A Man of Opportunity"
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