Growth Through Trials
“Now these are the people of the province who came back from the captivity, of those who had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, everyone to his own city.”
– Ezra 2:1
Chapter two of Ezra is made up of a list of names. It names all those who returned to Jerusalem from Babylon in the first wave. We should not gloss over this section of Scripture. We must remember, if God wanted this penned, there is a reason. There is something the Holy Spirit would like us to learn, and there is a purpose for all of this information.
At this time, Jews were in captivity for seventy years. It was a long enough period where they were able to multiply; there was growth. Persia was a heathen nation, and Cyrus was a pagan king. God would use them as His instruments to bless the Nation of Israel. King Cyrus put a decree in motion to set the exiles free. It was those who took the proclamation to heart that would go to Jerusalem to rebuild. Out of the over two million Jews in Babylon at this time, only a remnant moved.
It is estimated that there were approximately two million Jews in Babylon at this time. It is interesting that there was growth during a time of captivity. This Old Testament illustration gives us a New Testament truth. Growth often comes under testing, persecution, and trial (James 1:2-4).
As Christians, the Lord begins to develop our lives when we experience issues. Rarely is their growth in our walks with Christ during times of peace. It is during times of adversity that we seem to grow the most. This is when we are found on our knees inquiring of Him and crying out to Him. This is exactly where we should be. It is in our weakness that He is made strong (2 Corinthians 12:9).
"The storm is not a thing to fear but rather to welcome. As soon as you have made the discovery that in the time of stress and strain you have the clearest revelations of the Lord, you will learn to head into the wind with sheer delight."
– Francis J. Roberts