The Book of Ezra
"Ezra continues the Old Testament narrative of Second Chronicles by showing how God fulfills His promise to return His people, to the Land of Promise after seventy years of exile. Israel's "second exodus," this one from Babylon, is less impressive than the return from Egypt because only a remnant chooses to leave Babylon.
"Ezra relates the story of two returns from Babylon -- the first led by Zerubbabel to rebuild the temple (1-6), and the second under the leadership of Ezra to rebuild the spiritual condition of the people (7-10). Sandwiched between these two accounts is a gap of nearly six decades, during which Esther lives and rules as queen in Persia.
"Ezra is the Aramaic form of the Hebrew word ezer, "help," and perhaps means, "Yahweh helps." Ezra and Nehemiah were originally bound together as one book because Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah were viewed as one continuous history. The Septuagint, a Greek-language version of the Old Testament translated in the third century B.C., calls Ezra-Nehemiah, Esdras Deuteron, "Second Esdras." First Esdras is the name of the apocryphal book of Esdras. The Latin title is Liber Primus Esdrae, "First Book of Ezra." In the Latin Bible, Ezra is called First Ezra and Nehemiah is called Second Ezra."
Let's start in chapter one of Ezra. You will find Ezra in the Old Testament after 2 Chronicles and before Nehemiah. The first chapter has 11 verses, so it is a quick read. Once you have read the first chapter we will begin the study.
Verses 1-4
In the first year that king Cyrus reigned in Persia, the Lord stirred up Cyrus' spirit, in order to fulfill what Jeremiah had said. King Cyrus made a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom and sent his message in writing. He first gives the LORD God of heaven glory in stating that it was He who had given king Cyrus all the kingdoms of the earth. He goes on to say that God had assigned him to build a house for the LORD God of heaven at Jerusalem in Judah. He sends an open invitation to anyone who wants to be a part of this amazing project. He goes on to say any Jewish exile survivor may be supported by Gentiles who will give silver, gold, goods, and cattle along with freewill offerings for the house of God in Jerusalem.
The king has set the project in motion and now it is time to get others on board. The provision is made for Jewish exile survivors by Gentiles. Sometimes when God wants to get something accomplished, He may send us, but use others to provide what we need in terms of physical possessions. We see this happen in Ezra and it still happens today.
Verses 5-7
God stirred up the hearts of chief fathers in Judah and Benjamin. His Spirit also began to work on the hearts of the priests and Levites. They had vessels of silver and gold, goods, beasts, and precious things in addition to what had already been freely given to this mission. Remember when Nebuchadnezzar took the vessels that belonged in the house of the LORD and he put them in the house of his gods? Cyrus the king took them back to their rightful place in the house of the LORD God of heaven.
The enemy may take your things and use them for evil purposes, but God will not forget that. He will make sure that you are given what was stolen from you. Keep your eyes on Him, continue to do the work He has stirred up in your heart, and watch how he rights every wrong! He is faithful to do it!
Verses 8-11
The Persian king took these items to Mithredath, the treasurer, and and counted them with the prince of Judah Sheshbazzar. This is how many things they received:
30 gold chargers
1,000 silver chargers
29 knives
30 gold basins
410 silver basins
1,000 other vessels
5,400 total vessels of gold and silver! Prince Sheshbazzar brought these up with the exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem.
What an amazing assortment of items and so many! God is doing a work in Jerusalem with this new house for the LORD God of heaven. He is doing a work in us in 2021 today, too. Regardless of where you live in the world, God has a special mission for you to do. If you are willing, He will make the provision for you and even use unlikely people to do it! He will allow you to be set free from the bondage that held you bound. What is your Babylon exile like? What are you going through? Look at the amazing items that were returned to God's house and all the exiles who had been slaves in Babylon are now returning to Jerusalem. What a time of rejoicing! God is doing that now, too. He is calling you back to Himself and it is a beautiful thing!
Be sure to check back next week when we jump into Ezra chapter two! This is going to be a 10 week series here on the blog. If you want, you can read through chapter two to get ready for next week. If you have any comments or questions, feel free to leave a message below. I hope something I have shared today has been strength for your journey and light for your way! God bless you!
~Bridgett Owens
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