Monday, April 13, 2020

THE RETURN FROM EXILE


PROCLAMATION
“Any of His people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of The Lord, The God of Israel, The God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them.”  Ezra 1:3 (NIV)

EXPLANATION
The Israelites who were not killed during the attack by the king of Babylon were taken into captivity. (2 Chronicles 36:17-20)  They remained in exile for seventy years until the Persians came into power.  The Lord God moved on the heart of the king of Persia to release them. (2 Chronicles 36:21-23)  He issued a proclamation stating that the Israelites could leave and return to Judah.  He also said that the people of Persia were to give the Israelites silver and gold, and goods and livestock. (Ezra 1:1-4)  Cyrus king of Persia gave them the articles that belonged to the temple of The Lord which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem. (Ezra 1:7)

APPLICATION
When times seem to be going bad for us, The Lord God makes a way out of it for us when there appears to be no way out.  Even when the situation that we are in is the result of our own poor choices, He makes a way for us.  He is The God of another chance.  There are times when The Lord God uses the people in our lives to be a blessing to us.  They do things for us, quite unexpectedly, when we need help.  When we look back over our life, we ought to be able to see God’s hand in it helping us.  We ought to thank Him daily, several times each day, for the things which He has done for us.


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