Ezra Chapter One | Wednesday Bible Study

 

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

Work In Progress Wednesday | Bible Study

I enjoy knitting. I have been a knitter for nearly two decades. I have made dish cloths, coasters, teddy bears for kids in foster care, hats for a homeless shelter, hat and booty sets for newborns in the hospital nursery, prayer shawls, blankets, and a variety of other small projects. No matter how quickly I could knit something, it seemed there was never enough time to complete it in one sitting. This led to many WIP's or Works In Progress. Often we would share in our knitting circles what WIP's we had and what we hoped to finish. I thought this would make a great Bible study topic, because we are all Works In Progress.

There are no perfect people. I attend a church that has a message in bold letters on the side of the building NO PERFECT PEOPLE ALLOWED. It made me think. In a world where competition is fierce, perfectionism prevalent, and comparison is more like a hobby, we fight the urge to not lose heart if we don't measure up to the world's standard. The good news for Christ followers is that the Bible underlines the message that there are no perfect people that ever lived. Jesus was the only perfect person that lived. The rest of us can find our place in Romans 3:23.

Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"

When I was younger I was fascinated by pottery. The messy work of water and clay on a spinning wheel produced something beautiful and useful. It gripped my heart as a young adult and I listened to my dad minister about how we are all clay in the Potter's hand. We are placed on His wheel and with His skill and vision for what we could be, He molds us and smooths out the rough edges. We are all on the Potter's Wheel Jeremiah talked about.

Jeremiah 18:1-6   (1) The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, (2) Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear My words. (3) Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. (4) And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. (5) Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, (6) O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in Mine hand, O house of Israel.

The idea that we are being shaped into the image of God, created into the men and women He wants us to be, gives me hope and joy. Our future is in His hands. He has the plans, the dreams, the vision for us. He knows if we will need to be a vessel to hold flowers, or a sturdy cup to hold the pen of a writer. Maybe some of us will hold the refreshing water for a parched soul. We all have unique abilities and skills based on the manner in which He creates us.

My knitting WIP's often would be picked up in my spare time, worked on here and there, and eventually I could slip the finished piece off the needles, carefully inspect my work, and admire what I had created. The potter will eventually stop the wheel from spinning, the clay worked as much as could be, and the vessel ready for the finishing touches. What about us? We are all God's workmanship. We are all being fashioned and formed with every test, every trial, every disappointment, every hardship, and every pain. The joys transform us, too. When will we be complete?

Philippians 1:6 "Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:"

The good news is we never arrive; we never become complete and perfect without flaws. We are always being changed. I used to sing a song when I was growing up called "He's Still Working On Me." What a powerful song to instill in the hearts of young children that God is working on us. We have the mirror of His word to reflect on. We have a lot of growing and developing character and integrity to do. God is doing the work inside us as we allow Him to.

Let's give each other mercy and grace as we do life together. No one is perfect and that is okay. We all have something good to give to the world, and we can offer each other hope and love. One day when we get ready to be with the Lord forever, we will be perfected. The work will be complete. The hands of God will rest as He looks with joy at the masterpiece He has made. What a day that will be!

God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens