August 10, 2025
Therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God, and let it be done according to the Law (Ezra 10:3 ESV). After Ezra discovered that many of the
August 9, 2025
“O Lord, the God of Israel, you are just, for we are left a remnant that has escaped, as it is today. Behold, we are before you in our guilt, for none can stand before you because of this.” (Ezra 9:15 ESV). When Ezra arrived in Jerusalem with the king’s commission and offerings for the
August 8, 2025
“For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel” (Ezra 7:10 ESV). Ezra, a priest descended from Aaron and a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses, led the second major return of exiles to Jerusalem around 458
August 9, 2024
“Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods” (Ezra 8:21 ESV). As Ezra prepared to lead a remnant of the Israelites from the Ahava River near Babylon back to Jerusalem,
August 7, 2024
“And the elders of the Jews built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. They finished their building by decree of the God of Israel and by decree of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia” (Ezra 6:14 ESV). When the Jewish exiles first returned to
August 6, 2024
“Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the Lord…” (Ezra 4:1 ESV). After 70 years of exile in Babylon, the Jews were allowed to return to the land of Judah by the Persian king, Cyrus, who charged them to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem.
August 5, 2022
GOD WILL FULFILL HIS WORD King Cyrus of Persia enabled the Jews who had been captured by the Babylonian king to return to Jerusalem for the rebuilding of their temple. Persia (modern day Iran) overthrew Babylon and showed favor to the Jews by not only allowing their return, but also giving back whatever temple implements
August 5, 2020
GOD WILL FULFILL HIS WORD AND DO WHAT HE PURPOSED King Cyrus of Persia enabled the Jews who had been captured by the Babylonian king to return to Jerusalem for the rebuilding of their temple. Persia (modern day Iran) overthrew Babylon (modern day Iraq) and showed favor to the Jews by not only allowing their
August 14, 2016
Bible reading and exposition was a central feature of the worship of the returning remnant to Jerusalem. The sense of the Word so affected them that they began to weep. This is still the calling for today, that the Word of God would be read and clearly preached with a goal of understanding. The timeless principles of the Word are to be understood in context, carried across the “Bible bridge” and applied to today’s congregation in the power of the Spirit. The New Testament preacher is to be “devoted” to the public reading and exhortation of the Word (1 Tim. 4:13). In like manner, the members of the body of Christ are to be devoted to the Word as well.
August 5, 2015
King Cyrus of Persia enabled the Jews who had been captured by the Babylonian king to return to Jerusalem for the rebuilding of their temple. Persia (modern day Iran) overthrew Babylon (modern day Iraq) and showed favor to the Jews by not only allowing their return, but also giving back whatever temple implements that had been stolen and offering aid in its rebuilding. This Jewish return from exile was prophesied by Jeremiah.
I was recently reminded of this history by an Iranian named Reza that I met at a London coffee shop. When he suggested that I visit his country, I told him that I didn’t want to end up in an Iranian jail. “No!” he insisted. “We love Americans. It’s the politics, the mullahs that stir up trouble between us. Remember, we were Persians before we became Muslims. We were the ones who helped the Jews return to Jerusalem. Ninety-nine percent of Iranians love Americans!” I was surprised by his distinction of identity based on being Persian more than Muslim, and by his declaration that Iranians love Americans. I suppose the Jews were surprised by Cyrus’s favor too. It reminds me that things are not always as they seem and that God is still at work in this world and that one Day all prophecies will be fulfilled in Christ.