The Paint Brush Made Me Do It?

When my oldest son was 3 years old, he came across an open can of paint that I carelessly left on the kitchen table. I was putting my 1-year-old down for a nap upstairs, completely unaware of my son's discovery downstairs. I was horrified to see my little Van Gogh's canvas was our dining room, and bathroom, walls!

"Who told you that you could paint?!" I angrily asked my son. He responded,
"The paint brush said, 'Hey! Check this out!' And I said, 'Noooooo.' But the paint brush said, "Check...this...out!"'

I couldn't help but laugh. Laugh at his creativity, laugh at his innocence. What's paint on a wall, really? Especially when the brush told him to do it!

In Ezra 5:1-10, the Jews are being questioned and challenged by government officials as to their work in rebuilding the house of God in Jerusalem. "Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and restore this structure?" (v. 3b)  The government was upset by what they saw the Jews doing, and they demanded an explanation. They were seeking to find those responsible for the construction they hadn't approved of.

Where exactly did their authorization come from? "Now Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the prophet..prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. Then Zerubbabel..and Jeshua..set to work to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, helping them." (v. 1-2) Their authorization came directly from God, Himself. Is that an answer that would probably make the government officials laugh? I would think so.

I can recall times in my own life when my actions were questioned. And I can say with confidence that my authorization came from the Lord. It may sound as silly to some, as if saying 'the paint brush made me do it.' When our consent is Heavenly rather than Earthly, it will cause some to question, some to doubt, and even some to laugh. Those reactions can make us feel as insignificant as splattering paint on a wall. But no one turns messes into masterpieces better than our God!


Ezra 5:1-10