SATURDAY, 8 MARCH 2025
TEXT:
Ezra 1:1-11
1: 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 of Cyrus king of Persia to make a
proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing:
2: “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.
3: Any of his people
among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the
God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them.
4: And in any locality
where survivors may now be living, the people are to provide them with silver
and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple
of God in Jerusalem.’”
5: 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.
6: 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.
7: 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.
8: Cyrus king of Persia
had them brought by Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to
Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah.
9: This was the
inventory: gold dishes 30 silver dishes 1,000 silver pans 29
10: gold bowls 30
matching silver bowls 410 other articles 1,000
11: In all, there were
5,400 articles of gold and of silver. Sheshbazzar brought all these along with
the exiles when they came up from Babylon to Jerusalem.
(New
International Version Holy Bible)
TOPIC:
THE KING’S HEART IS DIRECTED BY THE LORD
We see the fulfillment of
today's passage in Proverbs 21:1. God chose to use king Cyrus to fulfill
Jeremiah's prophesy re-directing the Jews to return from Babylon purposefully
to rebuild the temple. That responsibility was not to be for the Jews alone but
for other non-Jewish survivors as well.
Cyrus requested neighbors
to assist with silver and gold, livestock and freewill donations. Above all,
the items Nebuchadnezzar looted from the Temple in Jerusalem and carted to
Babylon were returned. Who is like unto God?
QUESTION:
What does today's text tell you about what God is capable of doing?
PRAYER:
Father, make me willing to do Your will as You would have kings do, in Jesus'
name. Amen.
Remain
Blessed
ECWA Food For The Day,
2025.
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