You need to take this pagan king's advice!
Ezra 6:6-12 (NIV)
This passage is a letter written by the mighty King Darius of Persia, written to some of his regional governors ordering them to support the Jewish exiles who had returned to Jerusalem in order to reconstruct the temple which Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed.
Now then, Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and you other officials of that province, stay away from there. 7 Do not interfere with the work on this temple of God. Let the governor of the Jews and the Jewish elders rebuild this house of God on its site.
8 Moreover, I hereby decree what you are to do for these elders of the Jews in the construction of this house of God:
Their expenses are to be fully paid out of the royal treasury, from the revenues of Trans-Euphrates, so that the work will not stop. 9 Whatever is needed—young bulls, rams, male lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine and olive oil, as requested by the priests in Jerusalem—must be given them daily without fail, 10 so that they may offer sacrifices pleasing to the God of heaven and pray for the well-being of the king and his sons.
11 Furthermore, I decree that if anyone defies this edict, a beam is to be pulled from their house and they are to be impaled on it. And for this crime their house is to be made a pile of rubble. 12 May God, who has caused his Name to dwell there, overthrow any king or people who lifts a hand to change this decree or to destroy this temple in Jerusalem.
I Darius have decreed it. Let it be carried out with diligence.
Listen to passage & devotional:
Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 36: The Civil Government
We believe that
because of the depravity of the human race
our good God has ordained kings, princes, and civil officers.
He wants the world to be governed by laws and policies
so that human lawlessness may be restrained
and that everything may be conducted in good order
among human beings.
For that purpose he has placed the sword
in the hands of the government,
to punish evil people
and protect the good.
And being called in this manner
to contribute to the advancement of a society
that is pleasing to God,
the civil rulers have the task,
subject to God’s law,
of removing every obstacle
to the preaching of the gospel
and to every aspect of divine worship.
They should do this
while completely refraining from every tendency
toward exercising absolute authority,
and while functioning in the sphere entrusted to them,
with the means belonging to them.
They should do it in order that
the Word of God may have free course;
the kingdom of Jesus Christ may make progress;
and every anti-Christian power may be resisted.
Moreover everyone,
regardless of status, condition, or rank,
must be subject to the government,
and pay taxes,
and hold its representatives in honor and respect,
and obey them in all things that are not in conflict
with God’s Word,
praying for them
that the Lord may be willing to lead them
in all their ways
and that we may live a peaceful and quiet life
in all piety and decency.
And on this matter we denounce the Anabaptists, other anarchists,
and in general all those who want
to reject the authorities and civil officers
and to subvert justice
by introducing common ownership of goods
and corrupting the moral order
that God has established among human beings.
Summary
King Darius, who ruled the Persian Empire roughly 500 years before Christ, is remembered as adfdn a leader who brought law and order in addition to instituting huge improvements in governmental efficiency and communications to the sprawling empire he ruled over. In lots of ways, he made life better for his citizens.
His support for his people is evident in this memo he sent to his regional governors in charge of the region which included Jerusalem. The first thing he tells them is to stay away and not interfere with the work of the temple of God. Darius seems to understand that his government didn't need to have absolute control over every sphere of life.
But he does order them to financially support the the rebuilding project, not only with cash, but also with all of the animals and produce the Israelites would need to sustain daily sacrifices to the God of heaven. Darius finishes his memo with an order of protection for the temple project which is quite harsh: anybody interfering with it will be impaled upon the pieces of his demolished house. The memo ends with Darius imploring God, who has caused his Name to dwell there, to crush anyone who goes against the king's orders.
It's the reason that Darius gives for his support of this project that attracts our attention today: not just so that they may offer sacrifices pleasing to the God of heaven, but also so that they could pray for the well-being of the king and his sons. King Darius could see that rebuilding the Temple benefited him!
Dig Deeper
King Darius made a positive impact upon his world and supported this work to rebuild God's temple in Jerusalem, but historians don't consider him to have been a genuine believer in the One True and Living God. Darius was an adherent of the dominant religion of his day known as Zoroastrianism, but he also showed respect for the religions and customs of his subjects, which helped maintain stability in his diverse empire.
Darius understood it was far better for his far flung citizens to be praying to their gods for him, rather than praying against him, so he was happy to support projects like the temple rebuilding. Pragmatically speaking, Darius tsdfolerant approach was immensely successful, and both he and his subjects enjoyed a long time of peace and prosperity because of it.
Now certainly today's lesson certainly isn't to praise the benefits of unchecked religious tolerance. While it was beneficial in the short term, the Persian tolerance would backfire in later years as their vast empire fragmented into disparate regional religious rebellions that caused its overall downfall.
The point here today is that even an outright pagan king knew he needed prayers from his people. And since you know what Darius didn't - that the God of heaven sovereignly holds all things in His hands, how much more shouldn't you be praying to God for our own rulers that the Lord may be willing to lead them in all their ways (as we were commanded to do in 1 Timothy 2 which we read earlier this week)
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, the God of heaven, who has caused His name to dwell in His temple (us!);
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness (1 Timothy 2:2);
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Revelation 7
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