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September 24 - Ezra 1 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it's Sean here. So good to have your company.
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  It's Tuesday the 24th of September and you and I are
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  about to embark on a whole new adventure today as we open your
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  Bibles up all the way back to the books, the narrative books,
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  the story books of Ezra and Nehemiah.
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  These are often referred to together because they tell the
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  same story, that is the story of God's people returning to their
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  promised land. If we go back a while before
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  then, we will remember that unfortunately, God's people were
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  not responsive to what God asked of them.
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  And they turned their backs on God.
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  And God said, OK, I am going to allow you to go into exile far
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  away under Babylonian rule. And while they're in exile, the
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  Babylonians lose to the Persians.
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  And then they find themselves under Persian rule.
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  And then this guy by the name of Ezra ends up in a high position
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  in the Persian government, something that would have been a
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  bit like the secretary for Jewish affairs and the royal
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  cabinet, something like that in Persia.
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  And God uses the Persian king to free the people of Israel to go
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  back to their homeland and rebuild Jerusalem.
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  And Ezra, of course, his job is to not just rebuild the city,
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  but to rebuild it as a city of the living God with a temple for
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  that God. And so that is the story we are
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  going to hear of the struggles of them returning and trying to
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  find that zeal to not just be like every other nation around
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  them, but to be God's people. And what does that look like in
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  this post exilic world where they come back under Persian
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  rule? So let us read together as we
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  head back. Oh this is about 450 years
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  before Jesus was born as they re established their homeland, that
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  land that God promised them a long long time ago to Abraham
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  and their ancestors. You ready?
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  Let's do it. Let's read together Ezra chapter
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  1. In the first year of King Cyrus
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  of Persia, the Lord fulfilled the prophecy he had given
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  through Jeremiah. He stirred the heart of Cyrus to
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  put this proclamation in writing and to send it throughout his
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  Kingdom. This is what King Cyrus of
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  Persia says. The Lord, the God of heaven, has
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  given me all the kingdoms of the earth.
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  He has appointed me to build him a temple at Jerusalem, which is
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  in Judah. Any of you who are His people
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  may go to Jerusalem in Judah to rebuild this temple of the Lord,
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  the God of Israel who lives in Jerusalem, and may your God be
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  with you. Wherever this Jewish remnant is
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  found, let their neighbours contribute toward their expenses
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  by giving them silver and gold supplies for the journey and
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  livestock, as well as a voluntary offering for the
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  temple of God in Jerusalem. Then God stirred the hearts of
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  the priests and Levites and the leaders of the tribe of Judah
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  and Benjamin to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple of the
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  Lord and all their neighbours. Assisted by giving them articles
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  of silver and gold, supplies for the journey and livestock, they
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  gave them many valuable gifts. In addition to all the voluntary
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  offerings, King Cyrus himself brought out the articles that
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  King Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Lord's temple in
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  Jerusalem and had placed in their temple.
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  Of his own gods, Cyrus directed Mithridath, the treasurer of
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  Persia, to count these items and present them to Shesh Bazaar,
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  the leader of the Exiles returning to Judah.
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  This is a list of the items that were returned.
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  Gold basins 30. Silver basins 1000.
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  Silver incense burners 29. Gold bowls 30 Silver bowls, 410.
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  Other Items 1000 In all there were 5400 articles of gold and
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  silver. Shesh Bazaar brought all of
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  these things along when the Exiles went from Babylon to
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  Jerusalem. Our Father, we hear this
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  wonderful story of your faithfulness to your people.
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  When you make a promise to us, you keep it.
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  For those generations exiled in Babylon, they dreamt of the day
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  that they would one day be able to return to their homeland.
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  And here we see in the most unlikely of places, the ruler of
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  Persia, the occupying force, sends them home to rebuild their
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  temple. To you, Lord, you are so much
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  bigger than we can ever imagine as we try and work out how you
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  were going to act in our lives. Lord, just help U.S.
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  Open our hearts and our minds to realise that you are so much
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  more creative and so much bigger than any plan that we could ever
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  imagine. And we thank you that you are
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  forever for us, your people, and you weave the mysteries of time
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  together for our good, ultimately bringing us through
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  Jesus back to you for eternity. Ah, thank you for your love and
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  your provision for us in all these wonderful ways that we
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  can't even imagine. We lift you up and we praise you
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  all in the name of your Son Jesus, Amen.