2016-07-27

Our Unpredictable God

“Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia … the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: ‘Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the LORD his God be with him. Let him go up’ ” (2 Chr 36:22–23 ESV).

Our God is good and faithful. He loves us and cares for us. And He often provides deliverance for us in ways we do not expect. God promised to bring His people out of exile—then He provided Cyrus, the foreign king of Persia, as their deliverer. And not only did Cyrus restore Israel as a nation, he also commissioned the rebuilding of the temple.

This was not the deliverance the Israelites expected, but they trusted in God anyway. Will you trust in God’s salvation, or will you harden your heart?

—Adapted from “Start-to-Finish Bible Study Guide for Biblical History: 2 Chronicles 36:22–23” by Johnny Cisneros

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