REKINDLED

"These now are the people of the province who came from those captive exiles King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had deported to Babylon. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town." (Ezra 2:1 HCSB)

Dew lies heavy on the ground. The sun is still hidden behind the mountains, yet darkness is beginning to be overcome by the approaching dawn--the sky not blue, but no longer black. It is a shade of gray.

You wake and rub sleep from your eyes. Climbing out of the sleeping bag, you stretch, and slowly step out of the tent into the chill air. You need coffee. There is the pot, but all that remains of the previous night's roaring fire are ashes. Then, you take a stick and begin to poke around in the ashes. There it is--a few glowing coals, buried beneath, and after adding several twigs and with gentle breath, a small flame flickers to life, that will be fueled with more wood and the fire is rekindled.

A new day has dawned.

Jerusalem that once was had been reduced to ashes. The fire had gone out, as the exiles had gone to Babylon. Darkness fell. Yet, God would stir up those ashes and find a few hot coals that remained. He would blow on them with His Spirit and the nation would be rekindled. That is the story told in Ezra.

It is a story of THE PROMISE THAT WAS FULFILLED.

"In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, the word of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah was fulfilled. The Lord put it into the mind of King Cyrus to issue a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom and [to put it] in writing:

This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: 'The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed me to build Him a house at Jerusalem in Judah. Whoever is among His people, may his God be with him, and may he go to Jerusalem in Judah and build the house of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem. Let every survivor, wherever he lives, be assisted by the men of that region with silver, gold, goods, and livestock, along with a freewill offering for the house of God in Jerusalem.'

So the family leaders of Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and Levites-everyone God had motivated-prepared to go up and rebuild the Lord's house in Jerusalem." (Ezra 1:1-5 HCSB)

Seventy years before, God had given His Word that He would rekindle the fire in Jerusalem. The hopes and dreams of the covenant people were buried under the charred remains and cold ashes of their disobedience. Despite repeated warnings and intensifying discipline, the Jews persisted to repent and so God's light was taken from Mount Zion. The glory departed, and so did the best and brightest of the population, their hands bound in cold iron chains, as they trudged down into the darkness of heathen Babylon.

Though the Jews had abandoned God, God would not abandon them. Israel, unfaithful to God's Word, would find God ever faithful to it. A promise was made, and the promise would be kept. The sacred fire that was Israel would be rekindled. God had named Cyrus as the stick He would use to stir up the ashes, decades before the Persian monarch came to his throne. The prophet Isaiah called him by name (Isa.44-45). The Lord kept His promise.

From the ashes of Jerusalem, God took the hot coals He uncovered and added some twigs to the rekindled fire. Ezra lists THE PEOPLE THAT WERE FAITHFUL.

"These now are the people of the province who came from those captive exiles King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had deported to Babylon. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town." (Ezra 2:1 HCSB)

God always has a people. They may be buried deep under the ashes, but they are there--still glowing and ready for the Divine breath to awaken them.

Cain stomps out the fire of his brother Abel and it seems the promise of a Seed to crush the Serpent's head has been extinguished. But a spark remains in Adam's loins, and Eve will give birth to another son, Seth, and then, "A son was born to Seth also, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to call on the name of Yahweh." (Genesis 4:26 HCSB) The fire was rekindled.

It would be doused by a deluge--the wicked world covered with water as God judged the exceeding sinfulness of earth's inhabitants. But, before the flood put the fire out, He placed a few coals--Noah's family--in the ark, and would rekindle life on earth from them and the animals they tended.

Eventually, the world grew cold again. The darkness of idolatry fell across the globe. Then God stirred up the ashes, and breathed on a man named Abraham--faith sparked--and from him a covenant people would bring light back into the world.

Even when those people chose to walk away from God, God sought them, and brought them back to Jerusalem. Ezra tells of a nation rekindled.

Then, the fire was fueled as we see THE PRIORITY THAT WAS FOLLOWED.

"By the seventh month, the Israelites had settled in their towns, and the people gathered together in Jerusalem. Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers the priests along with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his brothers began to build the altar of Israel's God in order to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God. They set up the altar on its foundation and offered burnt offerings for the morning and evening on it to the Lord even though they feared the surrounding peoples. They celebrated the Festival of Booths as prescribed, and [offered] burnt offerings each day, based on the number specified by ordinance for each festival day. After that, [they offered] the regular burnt offering and the offerings for the beginning of each month and for all the Lord's appointed holy occasions, as well as the freewill offerings brought to the Lord....

On the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, even though the foundation of the Lord's temple had not [yet] been laid. When the builders had laid the foundation of the Lord's temple, the priests, dressed in their robes and holding trumpets, and the Levites descended from Asaph, holding cymbals, took their positions to praise the Lord, as King David of Israel had instructed. They sang with praise and thanksgiving to the Lord: 'For He is good; His faithful love to Israel endures forever.' Then all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord because the foundation of the Lord's house had been laid." (Ezra 3:1-6, 10, 11 HCSB)

The fire of worship is rekindled! The priority of seeking God is reignited with the fire on the altar consuming the burnt offering. For the first time, in a long time, the aroma of meat sizzling on the altar rose, and permeated Jerusalem, ascending up to heaven.

The foundation of the House of God to be reconstructed was put in place where there had only been the ashes of Solomon's once glorious Temple. Where a deathly silence had settled heavily over the city, now shouts of praise to God filled the air!

God is central in their thoughts and worship is central to their activity. The holy flame now rises, fueled by the praise of the people--a witness to the enduring goodness and faithful love of the Eternal God!

How is it with you?

Maybe you have grown cold in your relationship with the Lord. Your life is but ashes. Yet, these words seem like God's gentle breath on you, and deep inside there is a spark of desire. You recall how you once loved and served the Lord. You remember a time when worship was fueled by devotion. You were hot!

Today, you can be rekindled! The fire can be relit.

Churches that once were the light of Gospel witness in the community can become just an ash heap. Revival can happen! Where all seems to be dead, God can blow on the church and rekindle them.

It needs to happen. It can happen! Let us stir ourselves to pray:

"Holy Spirit breathe on me until my heart is clean
Let sunshine fill its inmost part with not a cloud between
Breathe on me, Breathe on me Holy Spirit breathe on me
Take thou my heart, cleanse every part,
Holy Spirit breathe on me.

Holy Spirit breathe on me my stubborn will subdue
Teach me in words what living flame what Christ would have me do.
Breathe on me, Breathe on me Holy Spirit breathe on me
Take thou my heart, cleanse every part,
Holy Spirit breathe on me.

Holy Spirit breathe on me fill me with pow'r divine
Kindle a flame of love and zeal in this heart of mine
Breathe on me, Breathe on me Holy Spirit breathe on me
Take thou my heart, cleanse every part,
Holy Spirit breathe on me.

Holy Spirit breathe on me till I am all thine own
Until my will is lost in Thine to  live for Thee alone.
Breathe on me, Breathe on me Holy Spirit breathe on me
Take thou my heart, cleanse every part,
Holy Spirit breathe on me." (B.B. McKinney)