1 - God's working in leaders

Ezra 1:1-4 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD

spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart (stirred, awakened, open the eyes) of Cyrus king of

Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing: "This is what Cyrus

king of Persia says: "'The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and

he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Anyone of his people among

you-may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the

LORD, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem."

Prov 21:1 The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he

pleases.

1 Cor 2:6 ...rulers of this world, who are being brought to nothing.

Ezra 1:5-6 Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites-everyone whose

heart God had moved-prepared to go up and build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem.

Ezra 2:64-67 The whole company numbered 42,360, 65 besides their 7,337 menservants and maidservants;

and they also had 200 men and women singers. 66 They had 736 horses, 245 mules, 67,435 camels and

6,720 donkeys. Note: Babylon was a 2-4 month trip (720 miles) to Jerusalem.

2 - God's working to release resources

Ezra 1:6-7, 11 All their neighbors assisted them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and

livestock, and with valuable gifts, in addition to all the freewill offerings. Moreover, King Cyrus

brought out the articles belonging to the temple of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away

from Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his god...In all, there were 5,400 articles of gold

and of silver.

Ezra 2:68-69 When they arrived at the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, some of the heads of the

families gave freewill offerings toward the rebuilding of the house of God on its site. According

to their ability they gave to the treasury for this work 61,000 drachmas of gold, 5,000 minas of

silver and 100 priestly garments. (Drachmas = $100+ million).

3 - God's working through people's worship

Ezra 3:1-4, 11 The people assembled as one man in Jerusalem...Despite their fear of the peoples

around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the

LORD, both the morning and evening sacrifices...With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the LORD:

"He is good; his love to Israel endures forever." And all the people gave a great shout of praise

to the LORD.

4 - God's working through people's efforts

Ezra 3:7-8 They gave money to the masons and carpenters, and gave food and drink and oil to the

people of Sidon and Tyre, so that they would bring cedar logs by sea from Lebanon...(the priests and

the Levites and all who had returned from the captivity to Jerusalem) began the work, appointing

Levites twenty years of age and older to supervise the building of the house of the LORD.

5 - People's opposition to stop the work

Ezra 4:4-6 The peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to

go on building. They hired counselors to work against them and frustrate their plans during the

entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia. At the

beginning of the reign of Xerxes, they lodged an accusation against the people of Judah and

Jerusalem.

Ezra 4:23-24 As soon as the copy of the letter of King Artaxerxes was read to Rehum and Shimshai the

secretary and their associates, they went immediately to the Jews in Jerusalem and compelled them by

force to stop.

Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill

1 John 4:4-5 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you

is greater than the one who is in the world.

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DAILY BIBLE READINGS: This week read Ezra 6-10, Ps 61-62