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Daily Devotion 17 July 2023 Ezra 1-2 Israel returns to Jerusalem

July 16, 2023 By Tom Stearns Leave a Comment

Good morning, 

What happens after Israel’s seventy-year captivity? Do they continue to rebel? Do they ever get back to Jerusalem? What about the temple?  

These questions will all be answered in the next couple of weeks. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah clearly answer these questions.  

Israel: Post Captivity 

Ezra 1-6 

Cyrus: Build God a house (temple) in Jerusalem (Ezra 1:2) 

“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.”  

Return of Zerubbabel (governor) and Jeshua (High Priest) (Ezra 1:5-2:2) 

“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.6 And all they that were about them strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, and with beasts, and with precious things, beside all that was willingly offered.7 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.9 And this is the number of them: thirty chargers of gold, a thousand chargers of silver, nine and twenty knives,10 Thirty basons of gold, silver basons of a second sort four hundred and ten, and other vessels a thousand.11 All the vessels of gold and of silver were five thousand and four hundred. All these did Sheshbazzar bring up with them of the captivity that were brought up from Babylon unto Jerusalem. 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, Mizpar, Bigvai, Rehum, Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel:”  

Number of returnees (Ezra 2:64-65) 

“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.” 

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com 

Filed Under: The Chaplain's Perspective

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