Yes, I am just now posting about Ezra. Sorry guys for not showing up to our Waffle House time this morning. I thought I might post to make up for it =).
The first thing that I observed in Ezra was the fact that God had used a pagan King. Cyrus was used by God to return the Jews to their homeland, which fulfill a prophesy written over a century earlier. "The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah." (1:2) Why Cyrus? Why did God choose to use a pagan King to accomplish His plans? Do you think that God used Cyrus to show He is able to use anyone to carry out his plans?
I also noticed the number of years the Jews were in captivity. Jeremiah prophesied that the Jews would remain in captivity for 70 years. Why so long in captivity? Did it take this long to humble the hearts of a Jewish nation?, probably so. "Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, and the priest and Levites --everyone whose heart God has moved -- prepared to go up and build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem." It seems that God was waiting for prepared hearts. This brings up question for myself, is God waiting to do something in my life and my heart is not prepared?
The main theme that I am getting from these first three chapters is the rebuilding of hearts in order to rebuild the temple. Years and years were spend in rebellion against God through the worship of pagan idols. The Israelites unfaithfulness landed them in the situation they were in. God, just in all His ways, punished them for their actions, but never forsakes them. God continued to offer grace and mercy despite their disobedience. Therefore I believe a large portion of the Israelites time was spent giving burnt offerings to God thanking God for His faithfulness. Here there were generations of people that had rebelled against the will of God, so it seemed like a messy situation that needed some cleaning.
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