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Speaker 1: You're listening to the Chapter a Day Audio Bible. I'm
Speaker 1: John Stanghy, and today we're in Ezra chapter one, and
Speaker 1: we'll be reading from the message in the first year
Speaker 1: of Cyrus, King of Persia. This fulfilled the message of
Speaker 1: God preached by Jeremiah. God prodded Cyrus, King of Persia
Speaker 1: to make an official announcement throughout his kingdom. He wrote
Speaker 1: it out as follows from Cyrus, King of Persia, a proclamation, God,
Speaker 1: the God of the heavens, has given me all the
Speaker 1: kingdoms of the earth. He has also assigned me to
Speaker 1: build him a temple of worship in Jerusalem. Judah, who
Speaker 1: among you belongs to his people, God be with you,
Speaker 1: go to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the
Speaker 1: temple of God, the God of Israel, Jerusalem's God. Those
Speaker 1: who stay behind wherever they happen to live, will support
Speaker 1: them with silver, gold, tools, and pack animals, along with
Speaker 1: free will offerings for the Temple of God in Jerusalem.
Speaker 1: The heads of the families of Judah and Benjamin, along
Speaker 1: with the priests and Levites. Everyone, in fact, God prodded
Speaker 1: set out to build the Temple of God in Jerusalem.
Speaker 1: Their neighbors rallied behind them enthusiastically with silver, gold tools,
Speaker 1: pack animals, expensive gifts, and over and above these free
Speaker 1: will offerings. Also, King Cyrus turned over to them all
Speaker 1: the vessels and utensils from the Temple of God that
Speaker 1: Nebeconezer had hauled from Jerusalem and put in the Temple
Speaker 1: of his Gods. Syrus, king of Persia, put Mithradath, the treasurer,
Speaker 1: in charge of the transfer. He provided a full inventory
Speaker 1: for shsh Bazaar, the Prince of Judah, including the following
Speaker 1: thirty gold dishes, one thousand silver dishes, twenty nine silver pans,
Speaker 1: thirty gold bulls, four hundred ten duplicate silver bulls, one
Speaker 1: thousand miscellaneous items. All told, there were five thousand, four
Speaker 1: hundred gold and silver articles that shsh Bazar took with
Speaker 1: him when he brought the exiles back from Babylon to Jerusalem.
Speaker 1: Let's pray, Lord, we thank you for your word, and
Speaker 1: we thank you for the privilege of being able to
Speaker 1: look at it today. And we thank you Lord for
Speaker 1: the variety of things that we see in this passage,
Speaker 1: we see that you fulfilled the promise that you had
Speaker 1: made through your profit. We see that you were able
Speaker 1: to take the heart of a king, the most powerful
Speaker 1: king on earth at the time, and steer it in
Speaker 1: the direction that you wanted it to go. We see
Speaker 1: that you were able to make the people favorably inclined
Speaker 1: toward the people who would be heading back to Jerusalem,
Speaker 1: and they generously shared what you would bless them with
Speaker 1: with those who would need it so that the temple
Speaker 1: could be rebuilt. Lord, we're grateful to be able to
Speaker 1: see all of these things in this passage. And Lord,
Speaker 1: as we see these stories of how the physical temple
Speaker 1: was built in Jerusalem, we're reminded of what you tell
Speaker 1: us elsewhere in your word, that you're building more than
Speaker 1: just a physical temple. You're building up your church, and
Speaker 1: each individual person, each individual life, is like another brick
Speaker 1: in the building that you're building up, and the cornerstone
Speaker 1: is your son, Jesus Christ, who holds the building, who
Speaker 1: holds the church together. Lor, we're grateful for the fact
Speaker 1: that you have revealed to us our need for your
Speaker 1: son Jesus Christ in our lives. And we're grateful Lord,
Speaker 1: that you will willingly choose to build us up as
Speaker 1: your family. You equip us, you strengthen us, and you
Speaker 1: place us right where you want us, so that we
Speaker 1: could function in your kingdom in such a way that
Speaker 1: you receive glory and others receive benefit. Lord, we're grateful
Speaker 1: for these things. We thank you for all that you
Speaker 1: do on our behalf, and we thank you Lord that
Speaker 1: you are present with us today. We commit this day
Speaker 1: to your care, and we pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen,