Archive for January 2017

Upon Ezra’s return, leaders gave a report that not only the people, but also the “priests and the Levites” had been sucked into the idolatry of the nations that had defeated them. We once again see the primary strategy by the enemy as to “why” he desired this, was “that the holy seed” would be…

Ezra was a man of faith, which was evident by requesting to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. He could have asked for a military guard to protect them as they traveled; but felt it would a bit hypocritical of him to do so. The main concern he had was the gold, silver, utensils…

Ezra’s pedigree is listed initially in this chapter; in part to authenticate he was in fact of the Aaronic priesthood line. We also read Ezra was a “skilled scribe in the Law of Moses”. This refers to his ability to comprehend and give himself to learning the Word as well as sharing the Word. He…

This chapter illustrates what can happen when civil government works alongside of the righteous people. It is a personal prayer of mine over a number years and several presidential administrations that happen in the U.S.; or at the very least be encouraging to this segment of the population. King Darius responded to Governor Tattenai’s letter…

One benefit of prophecy is that of encouragement to do the seemingly impossible for God. Prophecy gets our eye off our natural circumstances and positions the ear to hear what the Spirit is saying and encouragement for the heart as well as motivation physically to do the improbable. So it was with Haggai and Zechariah’s…

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction! That’s a law of nature; yet that is equally true for the spiritual too. Whenever we commence to accomplish something significant and great for the Lord we find ourselves often times in a spiritual battle with the strongholds of Satan. So it was with those…

The second temple was to be constructed by decree of Cyrus; which commenced after those who returned with the intent to fulfill the decree, being about five months in time. During this time, the festivals and feasts were reinstituted and about eight months later after all the preparations for construction had been acquired, construction began.…

Ezra and Nehemiah are two of my favorite books in the Old Testament due to representing a joint project between Church and Market Place for the Kingdom of God. Ezra was a priest and Nehemiah was a businessman; these two led Judah in rebuilding Jerusalem under the reign of Cyrus. People from Judah were given…

This final chapter is a condensed version of what is recorded in 2 Kings 23 – 25. The last several verses jump seventy years of captivity of Judah, concluding with the record that the Lord had placed in the heart king to build or rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. There is a similar rendering in…

Much of what we have written here is found in 2 Kings 23. It is said everything rises and falls on leadership, which we can see from this chapter. Josiah kept the feast of Passover and as a result motivated other leadership to not only keep the feast, but provide for others to participate in…