Latest / A Chapter a Day Bible Reading / October 1 - Ezra 5

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October 1 - Ezra 5 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

• 0:10
  Hello, friends. It's Sean.
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  Here it is Tuesday. And lo and behold, here we stand
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  at the precipice of a whole new month.
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  It is the 1st of October. I hope this day, this month is
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  looking promising on your horizon and for me.
• 0:27
  Oh, thanks for asking. Yeah, this is a big month for
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  Sean. It's during October that I head
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  off for many weeks of training, preparing myself for the
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  Ministry of Army Chaplaincy. What will that look like?
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  If you've seen Full Metal Jacket, I'm hoping it's nothing
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  like that, but it will involve drill sergeants telling me to do
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  this and that and me learning a thing or two about being an
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  officer in the Australian Army. So that should be absolutely
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  fantastic. But it will be big and I will be
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  away for quite some time, longer than I've ever been away.
• 1:00
  But don't you worry, friend, we will continue day by day to read
• 1:05
  God's Word. And that will be one part of who
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  Sean is that still gets to continue.
• 1:09
  So we'll look forward to that. But that is enough said about
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  me. We are in the middle of a drama.
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  We have got some dastardly folks tattling on the Israelite people
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  so that they will not be able to keep on rebuilding their temple.
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  What will they do? How will they respond?
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  Well tune India Wireless to find out the next chapter of this
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  enthralling saga as we read together Ezra chapter 5.
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  At that time the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Ido
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  prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem.
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  They prophesied in the name of the God of Israel who was over
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  them. Saruba Bill, son of Shaltiel,
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  and Joshua son of Jehozadak responded by starting again to
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  rebuild the temple of God in Jerusalem.
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  And the prophets of God were with them and helped them.
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  But Tatani, governor of the province West of the Euphrates
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  River, and Shetha Bozani and their colleagues soon arrived in
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  Jerusalem and asked who gave you permission to rebuild this
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  temple and restore the structure.
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  They also asked for the names of all the men working on the
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  temple, but because their God was watching over them, the
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  leaders of the Jews were not prevented from building until a
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  report was sent to Darius and he returned his decision.
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  This is a copy of the letter that Tatani, the governor Shetha
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  Bozani and the other officials of the province West of the
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  Euphrates River sent to King Darius.
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  To King Darius, greetings. The king should know that we
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  went to the construction site of the Temple of the Great God in
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  the province of Judah. It is being rebuilt with
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  specially prepared stones and timber is being laid in its
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  walls. The work is going forward with
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  great energy and success. We asked the leaders who gave
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  you permission to rebuild this temple and restore the
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  structure, and we demanded their names so that we could tell you
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  who the leaders were. This was their answer.
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  We are the servants of the God of Heaven and earth, and we are
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  rebuilding the temple that was built here many years ago by a
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  great king of Israel. But because our ancestors
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  angered the God of Heaven, he abandoned them to King
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  Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who destroyed this temple and exiled
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  the people to Babylonia. However, King Cyrus of Babylon,
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  during the first year of his reign, issued a decree that the
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  Temple of God should re rebuilt. King Cyrus returned the gold and
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  silver cups that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Temple of God
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  in Jerusalem and had placed in the Temple of Babylon.
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  These cups were taken from the temple and presented to a man
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  named Sheshbazar, whom King Cyrus appointed as governor of
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  Judah. The king instructed him to
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  return the cups to their place in Jerusalem and to rebuild the
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  Temple of God there on its original site.
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  So this Shesh Bazaar came and laid the foundations of the
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  Temple of God in Jerusalem. The people have been working on
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  it ever since, though it is not yet complete.
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  Therefore, if it pleases the king, we request that a search
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  be made of the royal archives of Babylon to discover whether King
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  Cyrus ever issued a decree to rebuild God's temple in
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  Jerusalem. And then let the King send us
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  his decision in this matter. Ah, God, you are the God of the
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  universe, the God of construction sites and the God
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  of archives. Thank you that you use
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  everything, every tool in your toolbox, every arrow in your
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  quiver to bring about your Kingdom and your will on this
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  earth. Lord, we are yours and we want
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  your reality to come to fruition in the world around us.
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  So use us, Lord. Use us in whatever way that you
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  can and whatever way that you desire, so that we can share
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  your Kingdom, your Kingdom of hope, your Kingdom of connection
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  to you, your Kingdom of forgiveness, your Kingdom of
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  grace that does not conform to the ways of this world, so that
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  others will see you for who you are and know your love for them.
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  Use us, Father, and thank you for giving us Jesus, who makes
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  all of this possible and in whose mighty name we pray.
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  Amen.