King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.]
Date: Friday, September 17, 2021
Chapters: Ezra 1-3
Message: Until We Find Them All
Hello My Friend,
There is a Gospel song that has been playing through my head since I started reading the chapters for today, Here I Am, Lord, [I, the Lord of sea and sky, I have heard my people cry. All who dwell in dark and sin, My hand will save. I who made the stars of night, I will make their darkness bright. Who will bear my light to them? Whom shall I send?…Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord? I have heard You calling in the night, I will go, Lord, If You lead me. I will hold Your people in my heart.]. Reaching the lost with the Gospel is a burden that each and every, faithful, saved, born again, Christian, has upon their heart. And let me tell you, it surely is not in our own flesh that this burden upon us, it is the Holy Spirit inside that puts it there. It is a reminder of why we are sent out into the world to find His lost sheep, they certainly are not going to come to the church to be found.
[Luke 15:4-7 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? 5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. 7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.]
The Book of Ezra is the fifteenth book of the Old Testament/Bible and contains ten chapters. The author of the book is Ezra, and it was written to the Jews in Babylon. The purpose of the book was to record their return from captivity after spending seventy years in Babylon and of their rebuilding the temple. The timeline for these events is approximately 536 BC to 457 BC. What we are to learn from the book is that repentance is the key to restoration with God, [Ezra 9:5-6 And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the LORD my God, 6 And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens.]
When God gave Daniel the visions of Babylon’s destruction, it was in the third year of King Cyrus, so, the Jews release from captivity had taken place three years before Daniel’s vision. As we begin the Book of Ezra, it had been seventy years since Nebuchadnezzar seized Judah and taken the Jews captive into Babylon, and God is ready for His people to return to Jerusalem, to rebuild the temple. King Cyrus stood before the Jews, stirred up by God Himself, eager to send any volunteers willing to go to Jerusalem.
[Ezra 1:1-3,5 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, 2 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem. 5 Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, with all them whose spirit God had raised, to go up to build the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem.]
[(he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem.] Cyrus did not hesitate to make sure that everyone knew that he did not give himself credit for how powerful Babylon had become as a nation, he knew it was all God, and that He is the only God. And this is exactly why God does place His people in the midst of the world, it shows the world who He is. Now, as we continue in Ezra, an account is made of how many Jews, which were of Judah, Benjamin, and Levite, willingly volunteered to go to Jerusalem and help rebuild the temple. Notice who is among the volunteers, familiar faces, Nehemiah, and Mordecai.
[Ezra 2:1-2,61-63 Now these are the children of the province that went up out of the captivity, of those which had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away unto Babylon, and came again unto Jerusalem and Judah, every one unto his city; 2 Which came with Zerubbabel: Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel: 61 And of the children of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Koz, the children of Barzillai; which took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called after their name: 62 These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but they were not found: therefore were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood. 63 And the Tirshatha said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and with Thummim.]
[but they were not found:] Some of the Jews were not recognized by their heritage, they had no idea who they came from, and some of them were Samaritans, meaning half Jew, and were not found in the record books, and therefore, put out from the priesthood. It is very important that we know for sure that our names are written in the lambs Book of Life, otherwise, we will be put out of the priesthood, [Luke 10:20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.]
[till there stood up a priest with Urim and with Thummim.] Now, if this sounds familiar, this is why, [Exodus 28:30 And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before the LORD: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually.]
Urim; Lights; which signifies the oracular brilliancy of God in the high priest’s breastplate. Thummim; Perfections; which signifies the complete Truth of the Law. Their government was a theocracy, meaning God was their king, the high priest was, under God, their ruler. Urim and Thummim were His cabinet council to signify that the high priest, having placed every soul upon his heart, brought them before God with the Light and Truth of His Word. Today, Jesus is our high priest, who stands before God with every saved soul upon His heart. And incidentally, I discovered something, even though I knew it to be true in the New Testament, that God had intended for every saved soul to be priests, [Exodus 19:5-6 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: 6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.]
God’s faithful are a peculiar treasure for sure, there are not many who are willing to go wherever God leads them, especially if it is something challenging. Well, all together there were forty-nine thousand six hundred and ninety-seven people who made the trip back to Jerusalem.
[Ezra 2:64-65,68-70 The whole congregation together was forty and two thousand three hundred and threescore, 65 Beside their servants and their maids, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred thirty and seven: and there were among them two hundred singing men and singing women. 68 And some of the chief of the fathers, when they came to the house of the LORD which is at Jerusalem, offered freely for the house of God to set it up in his place: 69 They gave after their ability unto the treasure of the work threescore and one thousand drams of gold, and five thousand pound of silver, and one hundred priests’ garments. 70 So the priests, and the Levites, and some of the people, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinims, dwelt in their cities, and all Israel in their cities.]
[offered freely for the house of God to set it up in his place:] I imagine those who did not make the trip and sent their offerings to help were probably not well enough to travel that far or do the work. Remember, the temple had been burnt to the ground so, it had to be built from the ground up, even the foundation had to be laid. Well, it took them seven months to get there, which was near the end of September or beginning of October, and when the Feast of Tabernacles drew near. They built an altar as well as their tents to dwell in while they rebuilt the temple, and actually followed the law in regards to the feasts and daily burnt offerings, which had not been done in decades, but the foundation had yet to still be built.
[Ezra 3:1-3,6 And when the seventh month was come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem. 2 Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and builded the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God. 3 And they set the altar upon his bases; for fear was upon them because of the people of those countries: and they offered burnt offerings thereon unto the LORD, even burnt offerings morning and evening. 6 From the first day of the seventh month began they to offer burnt offerings unto the LORD. But the foundation of the temple of the LORD was not yet laid.]
[And they set the altar upon his bases;] They rebuilt the on the same spot on which it had formerly stood. This was necessary to keep up worship during the time that they should be employed in the rebuilding of the temple. Because of the unfriendly disposition of their surrounding neighbors they feared what would happen, which was probably why it took them until the next year to start laying the foundation.
[Ezra 3:10-13 10 And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the LORD, after the ordinance of David king of Israel. 11 And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. 12 But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy: 13 So that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people: for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.]
[because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.] We can pray to God all we want, but without a strong foundation we cannot have a strong church. That strong foundation is Christ, we must build the Church upon Him, otherwise, it will crumble and fall when the storms come, [Luke 6:47-49 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: 48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. 49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.]
[So that the people could not discern the noise] Serving God is not always easy, it can come with many challenges, especially in our faith, not only do you feel good about what you are doing, you also feel conviction, and a love that you have never felt before. Talk about an emotional roller coaster? And the work we do for God does not return void, even if we get persecuted, we will reap the benefits of giving our time to God and the work He calls us to do. Our first priority in serving God is to build our foundation upon the Rock of His Son, and that is by getting saved. If we want our temple to withstand the storms that the bring the floods, we must build everything we do upon Christ. Of all the duties that God gives us, the most rewarding and important is getting out the Gospel to the lost, [James 5:19-20 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; 20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.]
Jesus Christ Magnified: [Ezra 1:7-8 Also Cyrus the king brought forth the vessels of the house of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem, and had put them in the house of his gods; 8 Even those did Cyrus king of Persia bring forth by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and numbered them unto Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah.]
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, What a blessing it is to be one of Yours, not because of any good that I have done, but because of my belief in what You have done for me. I am saved, redeemed, and one of Yours because I am only trusting in You alone for my salvation. While I can do nothing to get into Your Kingdom, except believe in You, I can do something to reach others by living by life upon You, who is my Rock. Lord, Here I am, Lord, it is I Lord, and I have heard Your calling. I will go Lord, so Lead me and guide me, when the rains come and the floods raise, remind me that I will never shake, and keep me reaching the lost with the Gospel wherever You take me. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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