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Speaker 1: Let us pray. They gave money also unto the Masons

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Speaker 1: and to the carpenters, and meat and drink and oil

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Speaker 1: unto them of Zidon and to them of Tire, to

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Speaker 1: bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the Sea of Joppa,

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Speaker 1: according to the grant that they had of Cyprus, King

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Speaker 1: of Persia Ezra threey seven. Father in Heaven, at this moment,

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Speaker 1: I come to you and ask you to do a

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Speaker 1: diagnostic of my life. Search me and search my heart,

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Speaker 1: so that any place in me that has become hardened

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Speaker 1: through disappointment and defeats would turn back into flesh, like

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Speaker 1: the heart of the Israelites in the books of Ezra

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Speaker 1: and Haggay.

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Speaker 2: Eye.

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Speaker 1: When I feel rejected from those who are building your church,

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Speaker 1: give me the proper perspective to know that I do belong,

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Speaker 1: and that you have called all people from all nations

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Speaker 1: to partake in your glorious blessings of forgiveness and newness.

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Speaker 1: As the longing for more of you in my life increases,

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Speaker 1: I will look in expectation to your word, For it

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Speaker 1: is in your word that you point me to the

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Speaker 1: greatest love and acceptance ever known, the love of Jesus. Therefore,

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Speaker 1: my heart will remain at rest even when others push

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Speaker 1: me away, because in You, Lord, I have full access

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Speaker 1: and acceptance. I belong in your temple. I have an

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Speaker 1: assignment to help build the House of the Lord. And

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Speaker 1: I belong to the Body of Christ, which is your Church.

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Speaker 1: In Jesus name, Amen, thanks for making prayer a priority

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Speaker 1: in your life. To hear the Bible come to life,

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Speaker 1: Stay tuned for the Bible in a Year, brought to

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Speaker 1: you by Bible in a Year dot com.

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Speaker 2: The exiles return. In our last story, Daniel was saved

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Speaker 2: from the jaws of ravenous lions. The Lord protected him.

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Speaker 2: This spoke to the King of the Meads, Darius. He

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Speaker 2: proclaimed the goodness of God and the Lord became famous

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Speaker 2: in the land. Now we fast forward over fifty years.

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Speaker 2: The Persians had complete control over Babylon. The Lord tugged

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Speaker 2: on the heart of the king and the exiles are

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Speaker 2: sent back home to rebuild their city and restore their culture.

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Speaker 2: Inspired by the books of Ezra, Hagai, Daniel, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel.

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Speaker 3: Hello everyone, this is Jack Graham with today's episode of

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Speaker 3: the Bible In. In our latest episode, we heard how

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Speaker 3: God rescued Daniel from the lion's mouths. Daniel had refused

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Speaker 3: to hide his faith, his prayer, his worship of God,

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Speaker 3: or to bow to King Darius, and was thrown into

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Speaker 3: the lion's den his punishment. As a regretful King Darius

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Speaker 3: looked on, hoping Daniel's God would somehow save him. God

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Speaker 3: did indeed rescue Daniel, and Darius praise the Lord for

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Speaker 3: his greatness. Today's reading picks up more than fifty years

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Speaker 3: later after last episode's events. God moved in the heart

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Speaker 3: of the Persian king to allow his people to return

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Speaker 3: home and rebuild their city. God was now taking his

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Speaker 3: people out of their exile and restoring their rightful home.

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Speaker 3: Let's listen now to the reading of God's word.

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Speaker 2: Dawn scattered across the Persian landscape. The air was filled

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Speaker 2: with the smell of new spring bloom. The budding sun

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Speaker 2: splattered colors across the sky, and King Cyrus of Persia

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Speaker 2: basked in its morning light. The King of Persia had

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Speaker 2: conquered all that was once Babylon. As a result, he

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Speaker 2: had been introduced to the ways of the Jewish exiles.

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Speaker 2: King Darius had told him of all that happened with

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Speaker 2: Daniel in the lions Den. He had heard tales of

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Speaker 2: the seas parting and the reign of King David. He

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Speaker 2: had a new found love for the exiles. As he

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Speaker 2: sat on his rooftop, basking in the glory of the

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Speaker 2: new day, the Lord tugged on the Persian king's heart.

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Speaker 2: As Jeremiah had prophesied years before, it was time for

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Speaker 2: the people of God to return home. So a decree

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Speaker 2: was sent across the land that the exiles were free

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Speaker 2: to return to Jerusalem and the surrounding region of Judah

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Speaker 2: and Israel. Not only were the people free to go,

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Speaker 2: but they were sent back with the sacred items King

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Speaker 2: Nebuchonezer's stole from the temple. Among the people was a

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Speaker 2: man named ze Ubbable. He led the exiles back home

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Speaker 2: and helped them sett Then the land seemed strange. It

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Speaker 2: had been over seventy years since they were taken. Some

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Speaker 2: people still remembered the great nation. Others had been born

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Speaker 2: and raised as exiles in Babylon. Many homes were still broken,

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Speaker 2: and the city of Jerusalem seemed to be a ghost

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Speaker 2: of its former glory. Zerubabel and his leaders walked the

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Speaker 2: city streets filled with sorrow. Dust and ash had collected

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Speaker 2: on the old roads, and they led up to the

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Speaker 2: plot of ash and debris where the Great Temple of

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Speaker 2: God once stood. Two years had passed and the city

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Speaker 2: of Jerusalem was beginning to look as it once had.

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Speaker 2: The old dust had been wiped away, and new families

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Speaker 2: were settling in and making homes for themselves. Yet the

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Speaker 2: temple still loomed over the city like a giant grave.

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Speaker 2: It oppressed the people, especially Zerrubebel. With the new resources

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Speaker 2: that had been gained, as Irubebel decided it was time

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Speaker 2: to restore the temple. It would be no easy task,

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Speaker 2: as it was almost completely destroyed during the Babylonian siege.

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Speaker 2: Every able bodied man was put to work. Slowly, the

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Speaker 2: temple began to regain its former image. It still had

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Speaker 2: much to go, but the foundation itself was built to last.

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Speaker 2: Zi Rubbabel and his men rejoiced. The elders and levites

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Speaker 2: of the city bowed with joyful tears. They praised God

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Speaker 2: for his faithfulness. He had promised to return them to

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Speaker 2: their home, and he did. Yet the elderly in the

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Speaker 2: city looked upon it and wept their tears were drowned

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Speaker 2: out by the noise of cheering. Yet they could not

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Speaker 2: help but mourn over what the temple once was. Yes,

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Speaker 2: the building was restored, but the presence of gods seemed

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Speaker 2: to be far still. They wept and nobody noticed. Yet

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Speaker 2: their tears revealed a deep need still left unmet in

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Speaker 2: the heart of Israel. There were some in the land

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Speaker 2: of Judah who had remained when the nation was overtaken.

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Speaker 2: They grew up in the land awaiting the return of

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Speaker 2: their kin. When the Remnant heard that the temple was

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Speaker 2: being restored, they jumped into help. We have been worshiping

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Speaker 2: the God of Israel all our lives, they shouted with joy.

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Speaker 2: Please let us aid you in the building of the temple.

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Speaker 2: Ziubabul was a good leader, but ignorant of the heart

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Speaker 2: of God in many ways. He turned the Remnant away, saying,

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Speaker 2: this work is for us and for us alone. You

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Speaker 2: shall have nothing to do with us. The Remnant was

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Speaker 2: shocked and hurt at his words. Cast aside, they steeped

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Speaker 2: in bitterness towards the returned exiles. Zi Rbebel made a

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Speaker 2: great error in turning them away. He had failed to

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Speaker 2: understand that the Lord desired that every nation should be

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Speaker 2: welcomed into the family of God, especially those who share

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Speaker 2: the name of Abraham. The people of the land were

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Speaker 2: discouraged and became enemies towards the exiles. They bribed counselors,

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Speaker 2: vandalized their building sites, and wrote accusations against them. To

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Speaker 2: the king. They sowed lies and rumors that Israel planned

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Speaker 2: to rebel against Persia once it regained its strength. This

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Speaker 2: proved to be a great barrier to thriving as a nation,

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Speaker 2: so for a while, King Cyrus ordered for the rebuilding

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Speaker 2: project to cease until he was sure of their true

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Speaker 2: intentions and loyalties. Cyrus was a generous king, but no fool.

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Speaker 2: He would not give power to a nation that planned

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Speaker 2: to war against him before the temple was to be repaired.

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Speaker 2: The relationship with Persia must be repaired first, so King

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Speaker 2: Darius was able to brok a peace between Persia and Israel. Ezra,

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Speaker 2: a scholar of the Word of God and proclaimer of truth,

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Speaker 2: was appointed to teach the people the law of God.

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Speaker 2: As the temple was slowly restored, so the word of

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Speaker 2: God went forth among the people. The temple restoration was completed,

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Speaker 2: and it stood proud among the people of Judah and Benjamin.

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Speaker 2: They stood in awe of its majesty and awaited the

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Speaker 2: connection with God to be restored as well. Ezra knew

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Speaker 2: this would take time. He knew that the word of

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Speaker 2: the Lord had to dwell richly in the hearts of

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Speaker 2: men and women. It would be a task that would

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Speaker 2: take a lifetime. Slowly, the culture of Israel and Judah

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Speaker 2: began to reform. Sacrifices were made in the temple, and

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Speaker 2: God's law was proclaimed in the courts. Yet there was

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Speaker 2: something missing. There was a lingering emptiness that all in

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Speaker 2: the land felt. There was a longing for the presence

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Speaker 2: of God to be near, and felt the temple was

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Speaker 2: supposed to be that place where God would meet with

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Speaker 2: his beloved. Yet there was a hidden sense that something

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Speaker 2: greater was coming, something that the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel

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Speaker 2: spoke of. Not just a rebuilding of the Temple of God,

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Speaker 2: not just a rebuilding of the city's streets, not just

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Speaker 2: a rebuilding of the schools and teachings. No, there needed

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Speaker 2: to be a rebuilding of the heart. Their hearts of

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Speaker 2: stone needed to be replaced with hearts of flesh. This

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Speaker 2: would not come to pass until much later, until the

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Speaker 2: true presence of God dwelled in the city streets of Erusalem.

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Speaker 2: One day the fullness of God would re enter the Temple.

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Speaker 2: That it would not be via sacrifices or incense, it

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Speaker 2: would be through the footsteps of the Messiah.

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Speaker 3: As we begin today's reading, there is a change in

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Speaker 3: the air. Persia had conquered all of Babylon. Their ruler,

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Speaker 3: King Cyrus, had become well acquainted with the Jewish people

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Speaker 3: and knew of what God had done through his servant

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Speaker 3: Daniel and others. His heart was soft and kind towards

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Speaker 3: the exiles, a sign that God was working in his

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Speaker 3: life to accomplish his sovereign purpose and will. After more

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Speaker 3: than seventy years away from their homeland, it was finally

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Speaker 3: time for the remnant of Israel to return home. Here

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Speaker 3: again we see God's over arching will and purposes being

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Speaker 3: accomplished not just through his chosen people, but also through

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Speaker 3: rulers that He had placed in positions of power to

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Speaker 3: carry out his plans. And so Cyrus issued a decree

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Speaker 3: releasing all the exiles to return to Jerusalem and the

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Speaker 3: regions of Judah and Israel. It was just as God

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Speaker 3: had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah. These exiles were seeing

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Speaker 3: the fulfillment of God's promise to give his people a

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Speaker 3: hope and a future. That's one of the great verses

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Speaker 3: of the Bible in Jeremiah twenty nine eleven. What's incredible

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Speaker 3: is that Cyrus didn't merely send the people away and

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Speaker 3: wish them the best. He allowed them to take back

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Speaker 3: the sacred elements from the temple, things carried off by

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Speaker 3: Nepica Deezer so many years before. So another sign of

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Speaker 3: God's faithfulness and his hand of provision we see in

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Speaker 3: all of this. The returning Jews were led by a

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Speaker 3: man by the name of Zerubabyl. But as joyous as

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Speaker 3: this return was, it wasn't all easy. There was so

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Speaker 3: much work to be done. Years of wars, pillaging, and

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Speaker 3: neglect had left Judah and Israel in a sad state.

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Speaker 3: God's Temple lay in ruins, so they set to work

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Speaker 3: rebuilding what was lost. Of course, they weren't alone. There

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Speaker 3: were those who had stayed behind, kin folks who were

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Speaker 3: now strangers. They were eager to help rebuild the temple

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Speaker 3: and the city. But Zerubabyle's heart harbored pride and bitterness.

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Speaker 3: Rather than accept the help and fellowship, he turned away

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Speaker 3: from those still in the land. His attitude unfortunately sowed

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Speaker 3: division and animosity, stunting the flourishing that God wanted for

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Speaker 3: his people. This is the reason we must be very

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Speaker 3: careful about creating divisions and separations between us and others,

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Speaker 3: especially in the family of God. As Jesus prayed in

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Speaker 3: John seventeen, we should ask for unity and pray that

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Speaker 3: God keeps us together in the work that He's called

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Speaker 3: us to do. The seed of bitterness grew and undermined

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Speaker 3: the process of rebuilding to the point that King Cyrus

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Speaker 3: halted any efforts for fear of a revolt against his kingdom.

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Speaker 3: King Darius intervened on behalf of Israel and help restore peace,

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Speaker 3: and efforts to restore the temple resumed. But all the

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Speaker 3: restoration would be for nothing if there was not a

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Speaker 3: change in the hearts of God's people. They needed to

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Speaker 3: return to God to know God's law and obey it.

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Speaker 3: And so Ezra was sent to Jerusalem because, as we

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Speaker 3: read in Ezra seven, verse ten, for Ezra had devoted

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Speaker 3: himself to the study and observance of the law of

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Speaker 3: the Lord and to teaching its decrees and laws. In Israel,

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Speaker 3: it is so very important that God's people have a

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Speaker 3: man of God like Ezra, who will teach and explain

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Speaker 3: his word and impart godly wisdom straight from the scripture.

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Speaker 3: Today's reading reminds us that we too must be careful

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Speaker 3: to hear, study, and obey God's word, for this is

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Speaker 3: the only path to flourishing to an abundant life. Slowly,

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Speaker 3: but surely, Israel and Judah began to return to a

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Speaker 3: place of devotion to God. Homes were rebuilt, including the

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Speaker 3: Temple of God, God's House, but the land would never

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Speaker 3: return to its former glory as in the days of

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Speaker 3: David and Solomon. Yet a time was coming when God

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Speaker 3: would send someone far greater than his temple and his courts,

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Speaker 3: one greater than Solomon, God's very presence. Jesus would come

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Speaker 3: to the earth as the Messiah to fulfill all of

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Speaker 3: the promises of God, and God would now dwell in

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Speaker 3: the hearts of his people. In the Old Testament, God

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Speaker 3: had a temple for his people, but now in Christ

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Speaker 3: God has a people for his temple. For you, we

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Speaker 3: are the temple of God. Because of what Christ has

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Speaker 3: done for us. Dear God, thank you for today's reading,

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Speaker 3: which reminds us that you are faithful to your promises

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Speaker 3: always and forever. Thank you that we can live in

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Speaker 3: a house not made with hands, but a temple made

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Speaker 3: by your hands, the work of the Holy Spirit. We

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Speaker 3: pray that our lives would be a sanctuary of your presence,

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Speaker 3: that we would live flourishing and an abundant life. That

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Speaker 3: You may be glorified in all that we do. That

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Speaker 3: Jesus would be first, and that your kingdom would advance

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Speaker 3: in Christ's name. Amen. Thank you once again for listening

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Speaker 3: to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham

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Speaker 3: from Dallas, Texas. You can download the pray dot com

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Speaker 3: app and make Bible study and prayer the priority of

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Speaker 3: your life. If you enjoyed this broadcast, let me encourage

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Speaker 3: you to share it with someone you know, someone that

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Speaker 3: you care about, because sharing God's word is a powerful

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Speaker 3: influencer in people's lives. Be a witness and tell people

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Speaker 3: about the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

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Speaker 3: And let me encourage you to go to Jack Graham

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Speaker 3: dot org. That's Jack Graham dot org for many resources

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Speaker 3: that are free and fully available to you if you

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Speaker 3: just check them out again. That's Jack Graham dot org.

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Speaker 3: God bless you.

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Speaker 1: This episode is sponsored by Medicare, an innovative healthcare solution

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Speaker 1: for Christians to save money without sacrificing quality