OUR FATHER WHO SAVED HIS PEOPLE FROM BONDAGE

Our study in the book of Ezra, begins with  the children of Israel being released from captivity in Babylon by king Cyrus and returning back  to the land of Judah.

The prophet Jeremiah had proclaimed a prophecy of the captivity of Israel for a season and that they would return to to the land of Israel. Unknown to the the children of Israel, Cyrus was being positioned by God so that he would arrive in Babylon at the appointed time so that he could affect release to return back home.

Cyrus, having encountered the God of Heaven when he found the prophecies about him where he was refered directly by name, he was eager to participate in the freeing of the children of Israel and he funded their rebuilding projects and gave them offerings to get their nation going again.

1 In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia to issue a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom, both by word of mouth and in writing: 2 “Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia: ‘All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord, the God of heaven, has given to me, and he has charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Those among you who belong to any part of his people, may their God be with them! Let them go up to Jerusalem in Judah to build the house of the Lord the God of Israel, that is, the God who is in Jerusalem. 4 Let all those who have survived, in whatever place they may have lived, be assisted by the people of that place with silver, gold, goods, and livestock, together with voluntary offerings for the house of God in Jerusalem.’”

5 Then the heads of ancestral houses of Judah and Benjamin and the priests and Levites—everyone, that is, whose spirit had been stirred up by God—prepared to go up to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem. 6 All their neighbors gave them help in every way, with silver, gold, goods, livestock, and many precious gifts, besides all their voluntary offerings. 7 King Cyrus, too, had the vessels of the house of the Lord brought forth that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem and placed in the house of his god. 8 Cyrus, king of Persia, had them brought forth by the treasurer Mithredath, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar, prince of Judah. 9 This was the inventory: baskets of goldware, thirty; baskets of silverware, one thousand and twenty-nine; 10 golden bowls, thirty; silver bowls, four hundred and ten; other vessels, one thousand. 11 Total of the gold and silver vessels: five thousand four hundred. All these Sheshbazzar took with him when the exiles were brought up from Babylon to Jerusalem.

The Lord God of Israel stirred the heads of the houses of Judah and Benjamin to prepare to return to their land and they were assisted by their neighbours with silver, gold, dry goods, livestock and precious items. King Cyrus also returned to them the inventory of stoneware, silverware and goldware along with the utensils that king Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple when he invaded Judah and took the people captive.

Amen.

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