Ezra Chapter Eight | Bible Study Wednesday

 

Welcome back to this week's Bible study. We continue in the book of Ezra, picking up in chapter eight. If you have not read these 36 verses, I encourage you to take a few moments and do so. If it has been a little while since you reviewed the text, you may want to refresh your memory on the passage. Keep your Bible open and if you choose to take notes, have a pen or pencil and notepaper handy. I am not doing a line by line study of this book. I will be dividing each chapter into sections and hitting some of the highlights. I am so thankful for those of you who take the time to participate in these weekly Bible studies. Let's begin.

Verses 1-14 Those Who Went With Ezra

You may be tempted to gloss over these verses as it lists the names of those who joined Ezra on this journey, I encourage you to compare these names with the list in Ezra 2:3-15. Do you see repeated names? Now 80 years after the first roll was called, we see the descendants: family lineage, continue on just as they had before.

The trip these brave men, women, and children took with Ezra was not for the faint of heart. It was dangerous. This 1,000 mile trip through the desert made them an easy target for robbers. It appears as though 5,000 said yes to this journey and just the fact that they all made it safely to Jerusalem was another testimony of God's hand on them.

We may be going through tough, dry, desert times, too, but remember the God who had His hand on Ezra and the 5,000 men, women, and children has His hand on us, too!

Verses 15-20 No Levites

They reached the point where the river runs to Ahava and they camped out for three days. A long journey like that would require rest stops. The humans and animals would need to rest and eat and regain their strength before going on. Ezra started looking around and he noticed there were people and priests but no Levites with them. Ezra called for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, Meshullam, Joiarib and Elnathan who were men of understanding and had good insight. He sent those men to a city called Casiphia to speak with Iddo and his brothers and the temple servants. They were to request ministers for the house of God. 

So God's hand was upon them again and they sent Ezra a son of Mahli, Sherebiah. Sherebiah came to serve in the temple with his sons and brothers, 18 men! What a great answer to a big need they had! But that was not all! Hashabiah and Jeshaiah with his kinsmen and their sons added another 20 men! That was not including the 220 temple servants king David and his officials had set apart to attend the Levites. The Bible says they were all named. It was not just any group of men. They were sent with a purpose. You and I may feel like we are lost in a sea of other Christians who are working for God, but He knows our names. We matter to God.

Verses 21-23 Fasting and Prayer

The best thing Ezra could do was start out with prayer and fasting. He did not want to ask the king for supplies and provision. He knew the king would honor his requests, but Ezra had already bragged on God. Ezra decided God would provide everything they needed, so he called a fast where they were camped out. This denial of their flesh gave them an opportunity to hear from God clearly about what they should do. They fasted and God heard and answered their prayer.

Sometimes we find ourselves in situations that we just don't know what to do. We realize we are in over our heads and since God is the one who is telling us to do the thing, we must pray and fast and wait for Him to answer us. He will do it. The answer will come. The clarity will come. The provision will come.

Verses 24-30 Priests and Treasures

Ezra selected 12 leading priests and weighed out the silver, gold, vessels, and offerings for The Temple of our God that had been given by the king, advisors, and Israelites. There were:

25 tons of silver

100 vessels of silver valued at 3.75 tons of gold

20 gold bowls weighing 18.5 pounds

2 vessels of bright red copper, as valuable as gold

Ezra instructed the men to guard them until they could be properly weighed in their tradition. Ezra told the leading priests that they were holy and the vessels were holy. Sometimes we need to remember we are holy and our work for God is holy. We are to guard and watch the things God trusts us with until we can properly do with it as He has called us to do.

Verses 31-36 Journey To Jerusalem

Verse 31 tells us that God's hand of protection kept them as they went on this incredible journey. The robbers and criminals hiding out, watching the large caravan, wanted to attack, but God was with them. He kept them safe, all the way to Jerusalem.

They made it to Jerusalem and they stayed there three days. Meremoth and Eleazar were with Jozabad and Noadiah as they numbered, weighed, and recorded the treasures in the house of God. Upon their return, the exiles offered burnt offerings to God: 

12 bulls representing all Israel

96 rams

77 lambs

12 he-goats

And finally they delivered the king's orders to the king's provincial administration, whom gave support to the people and the house of God. God can do anything and will do anything for His mission to be a success. If we put our hope and trust in Him, we will all succeed. He is the God that cannot fail. When we throw our plans out the window and fully embrace the journey we are on as we yield to His leadership we will do everything He wants us to do. 

My goodness! I never realized what an encouraging book Ezra was. I know I keep saying that but it is so good for the season that I am in right now. We will spend two more weeks in this book as we wrap up this study. I have a really fun idea for July's Bible Study Wednesday blog posts. I hope you'll join me. It's a little different than I have done on here before but I really hope we can have fun with it. Until next time, friends. I hope that something I have shared today has been strength for your journey and light for your way! God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens

Ezra Chapter Five | Wednesday Bible Study

Hello friends. Welcome back to another Wednesday Bible study. We are continuing our study in the book of Ezra. Let's turn our attention to the 17 verses in chapter five. If you have not read through this chapter yet, please take a few moments to do so. I will be breaking the chapter up into three sections and giving a brief synopsis of each. I highly encourage you to take your time when reading through the Bible and as you read my blog post, pray and ask Holy Spirit to minister and teach you what you need to know. I will be doing the same. I pray that this Bible study will be a blessing to you!

Verses 1 & 2: Work on the Temple Resumed

Haggai 1:9 "Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of Mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house." Haggai and Zechariah were prophets sent to the Jews in Judah from God. Zerubbabel and Jeshua began working on the house of God in Jerusalem and the prophets Haggai and Zechariah joined them. After the work had been ordered by force to stop, the Jews lost interest in God's house and instead turned their attention to building and improving their own dwellings. This was not God's plan and He was not pleased. Look at Haggai at what the LORD said. God allowed a drought to come to the land. The corn, wine, and oil did not do well. The land, mountains, and cattle suffered. There was nothing good coming from the work of their hands because they were busy doing something other than what God assigned them to do.

Friends, we must be so careful to keep our mission in front of us. What has God called us to do? Are we doing it? Are we distracted with other things that are keeping us busy? We must be about our Father's business. We have to get Kingdom minded and think of eternity, not just the here and now.

Verses 3-5 Attempt Made To Stop Work

Again we see the enemy is upset with the children of Israel for obeying God. So trouble is stirred up but we will see a different outcome this time. The governor of Tatnai questioned, "Who hath commanded you to build this house, and to make up this wall?" Verse five says, "But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, that they could not cause them to cease, till the matter came to Darius." God was fighting for them and even the governor was powerless to stop the rebuilding of the temple.

Sometimes people stand in our way. They see the good we are doing. They see the hard work and the faithfulness to God, but they want to halt our efforts. When God gives us an assignment to do, He will stand with us and for us and no enemy will stop us from completing the task God gives us.

Verses 5:6-17 A Letter To Darius

The governor of Tatnai was over the area west of the Euphrates River to the Mediterranean Sea, which included Judah and Samaria. During the reign of Darius I, it became a province of its own. This governor sent a letter to king Darius and started off peaceably. He stated that all were hard at work, making rapid progress. He goes on to say that he investigated who authorized to build the temple again and he took names of the men involved. In verse 11 it reads, "And thus they returned us answer, saying, We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and build the house that was builded these many years ago, which a great king of Israel builded and set up." It goes on to talk about how the children of Israel rebelled against God and in His wrath, they were carried away into bondage to Babylon. The letter continues with reiterating how the Babylonian king Cyrus decreed to build the temple, and all the vessels of gold and silver Nebuchadnezzar took from the house of God was to be returned. The governor explained about the foundation being laid by Sheshbazzar and that the work continued since that time but was not finished. He requested king Darius search the treasure house at Babylon for a decree made by king Cyrus to build God's house in Jerusalem. Then they wait for the king's reply.

It may seem like the governor was just doing his due diligence to ensure everything was in order. To a degree, I suppose he was. We know the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy according to John 10:10. He does not want the house of God rebuilt. He does not want people to worship God. He does not want holiness to be a way of life for the children of Israel. He is causing delays and hardships every time he can, but God is in ultimate control. He will reign and be victorious. His plans will succeed. His Word will not return void according to Isaiah 55:11. If God has told you something: given you a promise, be very sure it will happen. It may not be when we think it will happen, but it will come to pass. We will see it with our own eyes just as He promised. Stay encouraged!

That's all of chapter five. Ezra is a quick study chapter-by-chapter. I enjoy reading through it and it certainly has given me encouragement today. We have been waiting on a promise from God since Thanksgiving 2020. It is hard to wait. It is hard to see the days turn to weeks.. then months and it's frustrating but we know God has a plan for us. I know He has a plan for your life as well. Stay strong. Stay encouraged. Keep going! God is in control and He will never fail!

I hope something I have shared in this study today has given you strength for your journey and light for your way. God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens