(REFLECTIONS ON Ezra 9:1-15) I. WHAT HAPPENED? 1 After these things had been done, the leaders came to me and said, “The people of Israel, including the priests and the Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the neighboring peoples with their detestable practices, like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians and […]
(REFLECTIONS ON Ezra 8:15-36) 21 There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. 22 I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies […]
(REFLECTIONS ON Ezra 8:1-14) While reading today’s genealogy of those that returned with Ezra to Jerusalem, I began considering the timing of their return. About eighty years prior, the first group led by Zerubbabel and Joshua came back to Jerusalem with one clear goal, and that was to rebuild the temple of the Lord. This first […]
(REFLECTIONS ON Ezra 7:11-28) 13 Now I decree that any of the Israelites in my kingdom, including priests and Levites, who volunteer to go to Jerusalem with you, may go. 14 You are sent by the king and his seven advisers to inquire about Judah and Jerusalem with regard to the Law of your God, which […]
(REFLECTIONS ON Ezra 7:1-10) For such a time as this is a quote from the Book of Esther. Esther was a Jew that became queen of Persia during the time of King Xerxes. During a time when the Jews faced great persecution, Esther was challenged by her relative Mordecai to use her position in the Persian Empire […]
(REFLECTIONS ON Ezra 6:1-22) The words of the Lord are our assurance of the hope that we have in Him because we believe His words, and that His promises will not fail. This is unique, because usually we need someone or something else to guarantee what someone says is true, however with the Lord, all we […]
(REFLECTIONS ON Ezra 5:1-17) One of the most important aspects of our Christian faith is growth. Growth means that the focus isn’t on where you are now, or even where you hope to be one day, but that you are making progress each day and at the end of a certain period of time you are […]
(REFLECTIONS ON Ezra 4:1-24) 4 Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building. 5 They bribed officials to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of […]
(REFLECTIONS ON Ezra 3:1-13) Yes, it’s complicated. Life is complicated, our emotions are complicated, relationships are complicated, even our faith is complicated. Life is full of complications and that is why it is such a challenge to see eye to eye on things even if we are all seeing the same thing happening right in front […]
(REFLECTIONS ON Ezra 2:1-70) 61 And from among the priests: The descendants of Hobaiah, Hakkoz and Barzillai (a man who had married a daughter of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by that name). 62 These searched for their family records, but they could not find them and so were excluded from the priesthood as unclean. […]