Ezra 4:4

Ezra 4:4 says, Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building,  The people of Israel had been given permission to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the wall, but when they began to do so, they met with opposition from the countries around them.  If we are doing God's work, even if we have a legal right to do what we are doing, we can expect to meet with opposition from the world.  Still, we should never allow this to keep us from continuing to do what God has called us to do. 

Verse five adds, And hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. Those who opposed the rebuilding of the wall hired counselors to frustrate the people of Israel as they worked to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, from the days of Cyrus the king of Persia until the days of Darius the next king of Persia.  They were looking for a legal way to stop the building of the wall, and people today still look for legal ways to stop the church from growing.  They weren't giving up quickly or easily in their opposition to the wall being rebuilt, and people who oppose Christianity today will not give up on their opposition either. Of course, in order to do God's work, we must first become a part of His everlasting kingdom by putting our faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord. 

Verse six continues, And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they unto him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.  After Cyrus died, those who opposed the rebuilding in Jerusalem wrote a letter to Ahasuerus or Artaxerxes as he is called in the next verse, complaining about the people of Judah and Jerusalem who were doing the work of rebuilding.  He knew very little about the people of Judah and Jerusalem or their God as Cyrus had.  Christians today may find their situation in the world and with those in power changing from time to time, and the less those in power know about God, the worse their situation may be.  

Verse seven states, And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their companions, unto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the Syrian tongue.  This letter to Artaxerxes was written in the Syrian language.  I don't know if this really mattered, except that it wasn't written in Hebrew, the language of God's people and was also written in the language someone who didn't know God would understand.  I do know that those who do not know Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord do not understand God's word, since understanding comes from God Himself. 

Verse eight adds, Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this sort: We are told the names of those who did the actual writing of the letter.  One was Rehum the chancellor and the other was Shimei the scribe.  I would suppose Rehum dictated and Shimshai put the words down on paper, which is much the way the Bible was written.  God dictated the words of the Bible, and many different authors wrote them down.  We either accept this fact or to us the Bible becomes less than what it really is. 

Verse nine continues, Then wrote Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions; the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Susanchites, the Dehavites, and the Elamites, This verse simply identifies some other people who were involved in writing the letter. I believe we can accurately say that those who oppose God will always have others that support them in their opposition.  

Verse ten concludes And the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Asnapper brought over, and set in the cities of Samaria, and the rest that are on this side the river, and at such a time.  The people of several other cities or nations who opposed God's people were named, and we know that there are many nations that stand against God and His people today.  There are only two sides.  There are those who stand against God, and those who by faith Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord stand for Him.

Ezra 4:1

Ezra 4:1 says, Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the Temple unto the Lord God of Israel;  As the people of Israel were starting to build the Temple, they met opposition not from their known enemies but from those who considered themselves a part of Israel, the Samaritans. They considered themselves to be the true Israelites according to Matthew Henry and looked on the true Israelites with suspicion.  I do know that there was a lot of animosity on the part of each group towards the other.   Still, as followers of Christ, we should not look on ourselves as being better than anyone else for any earthly reason.  No one is saved because they deserve to be.  There are still groups today who profess themselves to be the true Christians, even as they change God's word, and they look on true Christians as being unsaved. Verse two adds, Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assur, which brought us up hither. They came to Zerubbabel claiming worship the same God and offering to help build the Temple.  Matthew Henry says that even though they had professed to worship the same God that they worshipped other gods as well.  We cannot allow those who follow false teachings to insert themselves into the church today claiming to worship the same God. There is but one God, and anyone who believes anything else is not a part of the family of God and we need to make sure that they never gain power in the church. On the other hand, if they have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, which is the only way to salvation, and offer to help, even if they are somehow different than us in some earthly way, we should not refuse their help.  All Christians are spiritually the same and none is better than any other because of worldly standards.  Verse three continues, But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto the Lord God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us.  Zerubbabel and Joshua and the other elders told them that they had nothing to do with the building of the Temple, and anyone who isn't a Christian still doesn't have any part in building the church today. God's church cannot be built by those who hold beliefs that are not in accordance with God's word. Still, the good news is that if they accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord, then they are a part of His family and can begin helping in the building of the church. 

Ezra 3:10

 Ezra 3:10 says, And when the builders laid the foundation of the Temple of the Lord, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the Lord, after the ordinance of David king of Israel.  When the foundation of the Temple of the Lord was laid, the priests began to rejoice with trumpets and cymbals.  As I have said before, the people of Israel rejoiced a lot with the use of musical instruments, and even though some Christians today do not want any musical instrument played in church, I believe that God has always expected His people to rejoice with the use of musical instruments.  Some people believe that only certain instruments should be played in church, but we read in the Bible that many different instruments were played, and I believe that it is the attitude of worship when instruments are played and not the instrument itself that is important.  They did this we are told in accordance with the ordinance of David, which I believe God led him to.  Verse eleven adds, And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.  They not only played instruments, but they sang praises to God.  I am a lyric man myself more than a music man, and I like the old hymns, but I also enjoy the new songs if they have a good message in them.  The people shouted to God because the foundation of the Temple was laid.  We today as Christians should shout praises because Jesus Christ Himself is the foundation of the Temple of God.  As stated here, they gave thanks because the Lord is good, and His mercy endures forever. Once we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, His mercy to us endures forever, and that should make us want to shout out the good news.  Verse twelve continues, But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy: Many of those who had seen the first temple began to weep loudly because as Matthew Henry says they believed it would be inferior to the original, but also some who had never seen the first temple shouted aloud with joy.  What we today need to celebrate is that Jesus Christ removed the need for a physical temple and His gift of salvation by faith in His sacrifice on the cross is superior to any man-made temple.  As a matter of fact, as Christians our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and this should cause us to continually sing praises to God.  Verse thirteen concludes, So that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people: for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.  It was hard to tell the noise of weeping from the noise of joy and it was heard afar off. Sometimes, worship may cause us to weep as we remember that Jesus Christ died for us, but it should also lead us to rejoice because He was willing to do so. 

Ezra 3:1

Ezra 3:1 says, And when the seventh month was come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem.  The people of Israel had returned to their cities, which as Matthew Henry points out were pretty much in ruins.  They had a lot of work to do and could have put that above serving and worshipping God, as many people do today.  Still, without anyone summoning them, the gathered in Jerusalem as one man.  It was unusual, but they were unified in preparing to serve and worship God instead of grumbling and complaining.  We as Christians need to be unified in doing God's work and worshipping Him without grumbling and complaining.  

Verse two adds, Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and builded the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God.   Jeshua, the high priest and the other priests built an altar to God to offer burnt sacrifices on.  They may not have had a Temple or even a tabernacle but that didn't stop them from worshipping God. We may not have a building in which to worship God, but we can easily have an altar, a place dedicated to God.  

Verse three continues, And they set the altar upon his bases; for fear was upon them because of the people of those countries: and they offered burnt offerings thereon unto the Lord, even burnt offerings morning and evening.   Even though we are told that they feared the people around them, they offered burnt offerings to God in the morning and in the evening.  We should never allow fear of the people of the world to stop us from worshipping God and we should worship Him all day long in everything we do.  

Verse four states, They kept also the feast of tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the custom, as the duty of every day required;  They observed the Feast of Tabernacles as God's word said it should be observed.  We need to make sure that our worship services are in accordance with God's word.  

Verse five adds, And afterward offered the continual burnt offering, both of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of the Lord that were consecrated, and of every one that willingly offered a freewill offering unto the Lord.  They kept a continual burnt offering going and observed all the feasts that God's word called for, and they willingly offered free will offerings to God.  We today as Christians are not forced to offer anything to God, but we should willingly give to support the church.  If we understand that everything that God blesses us with is already His, then we should have no problem in giving back to Him since He has blessed us with everything.  

Verse six continues, From the first day of the seventh month began they to offer burnt offerings unto the Lord. But the foundation of the Temple of the Lord was not yet laid.  They were giving and offering burnt offerings to God, but the foundation of the Temple of the Lord was not yet laid.  We do not need to worry about church buildings in order to worship God.  All we have to do is accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord and then be led by the Holy Spirit.

Ezra 2:1

Ezra 2:1 says, Now these are the children of the province that went up out of the captivity, of those which had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away unto Babylon, and came again unto Jerusalem and Judah, every one unto his city;  This is listing of all the people of Israel that returned from captivity in Babylon after 70 years of exile.  They were to be in better shape than when they were in exile, but still not as glorious as before.  If we as followers of Christ fall into sin once again, we will be restored if we confess our sins and ask forgiveness, but we may not be as effective in the eyes of the world as we were before. 

Verse two adds, Which came with Zerubbabel: Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mizpar, Bigvai, Rehum, Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel:  After being told some of the leaders of Israel during the return, most of the rest of the chapter simply lists the people by family, so I am gong to simply list them.  

Verse three says, The children of Parosh, two thousand an hundred  seventy and two.  

Verse four adds, The children of Shephatiah, three hundred seventy and two.  

Verse five continues, The children of Arah, seven hundred seventy and five.  

Verse six states, The children of Pahathmoab, of the children of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and twelve.  

Verse seven adds, The children of Elam, a thousand two hundred fifty and four. 

 Verse eight continues, The children of Zattu, nine hundred forty and five.  

Verse nine says, The children of Zaccai, seven hundred and threescore.  

Verse ten adds, The children of Bani, six hundred forty and two.  

Verse eleven continues, The children of Bebai, six hundred twenty and three.  

Verse twelve states, The children of Azgad, a thousand two hundred twenty and two. 

Verse thirteen adds, The children of Adonikam, six hundred sixty and six.  

Verse fourteen continues, The children of Bigvai, two thousand fifty and six.  

Verse fifteen says, The children of Adin, four hundred fifty and four.  

Verse sixteen adds, The children of Ater of Hezekiah, ninety and eight.  

Verse seventeen continues, The children of Bezai, three hundred twenty and three.  

Verse eighteen states, The children of Jorah, an hundred and twelve.  

Verse nineteen adds, The children of Hashum, two hundred twenty and three.  

Verse twenty continues, The children of Gibbar, ninety and five.  

Verse twenty-one says, The children of Bethlehem, an hundred twenty and three.  

Verse twenty-two adds, The men of Netophah, fifty and six.  

Verse twenty-three continues, The men of Anathoth, an hundred twenty and eight.  

Verse twenty-four states, The children of Azmaveth, forty and two.  

Verse twenty-five adds, The children of Kirjatharim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty and three.  

Verse twenty-six continues, The children of Ramah and Gaba, six hundred twenty and one.  

Verse twenty-seven says, The men of Michmas, an hundred twenty and two. 

Verse twenty-eight adds, The men of Bethel and Ai, two hundred twenty and three.  

Verse twenty-nine continues, The children of Nebo, fifty and two.  

Verse thirty states, The children of Magbish, an hundred fifty and six.  

Verse thirty-one adds, The children of the other Elam, a thousand two hundred fifty and four.  

Verse thirty-two continues, The children of Harim, three hundred and twenty.  

Verse thirty-three says, The children of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred twenty and five.  

Verse thirty-four adds, The children of Jericho, three hundred forty and five.  

Verse thirty-five continues, The children of Senaah, three thousand and six hundred and thirty. 

Verse thirty-six states, The priests: the children of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred seventy and three.  

Verse thirty-seven adds, The children of Immer, a thousand fifty and two. 

Verse thirty-eight continues, The children of Pashur, a thousand two hundred forty and seven.  

Verse thirty-nine says, The children of Harim, a thousand and seventeen.  

Verse forty adds, The Levites: the children of Jeshua and Kadmiel, of the children of Hodaviah, seventy and four. 

Verse forty-one continues, The singers: the children of Asaph, an hundred twenty and eight.  

Verse forty-two states, The children of the porters: the children of Shallum, the children of Ater, the children of Talmon, the children of Akkub, the children of Hatita, the children of Shobai, in all an hundred thirty and nine.  

Verse forty-three adds, The Nethinims: the children of Ziha, the children of Hasupha, the children of Tabbaoth,  

Verse forty-four continues, The children of Keros, the children of Siaha, the children of Padon,  

Verse forty-five says, The children of Lebanah, the children of Hagabah, the children of Akkub, 

Verse forty-six adds, The children of Hagab, the children of Shalmai, the children of Hanan,  

Verse forty-seven continues, The children of Giddel, the children of Gahar, the children of Reaiah,  

Verse forty-eight states, The children of Rezin, the children of Nekoda, the children of Gazzam, 

Verse forty-nine adds, The children of Uzza, the children of Paseah, the children of Besai,  

Verse fifty continues, The children of Asnah, the children of Mehunim, the children of Nephusim,  

Verse fifty-one says, The children of Bakbuk, the children of Hakupha, the children of Harhur,  

Verse fifty-two adds, The children of Bazluth, the children of Mehida, the children of Harsha,  

Verse fifty-three continues The children of Barkos, the children of Sisera, the children of Thamah, 

Verse fifty-four states, The children of Neziah, the children of Hatipha. 

Verse fifty-five continues, The children of Solomon's servants: the children of Sotai, the children of Sophereth, the children of Peruda, 

Verse fifty-six says, The children of Jaalah, the children of Darkon, the children of Giddel,  

Verse fifty-seven adds, The children of Shephatiah, the children of Hattil, the children of Pochereth of Zebaim, the children of Ami.  

Verse fifty-eight continues, All the Nethinims, and the children of Solomon's servants, were three hundred ninety and two.  

Verse fifty-nine states, And these were they which went up from Telmelah, Telharsa, Cherub, Addan, and Immer: but they could not shew their father's house, and their seed, whether they were of Israel:  

Verse sixty adds, The children of Delaiah, the children of Tobiah, the children of Nekoda, six hundred fifty and two.  

Verse sixty-one continues, And of the children of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Koz, the children of Barzillai; which took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called after their name:  

Verse sixty-two says, These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but they were not found: therefore were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood.  Some of this particular group who were children of priests tried to register as part of the priesthood but were consider polluted because their names could not be found in the genealogy records.  We cannot be a part of the priesthood of believers if our name is not written in the Lambs Book of Life.  

Verse sixty-three adds, And the Tirshatha said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and with Thummim. 

Verse sixty-four continues, The whole congregation together was forty and two thousand three hundred and threescore,  

Verse sixty-five states, Beside their servants and their maids, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred thirty and seven: and there were among them two hundred singing men and singing women.  

Verse sixty-six adds, Their horses were seven hundred thirty and six; their mules, two hundred forty and five;  

Verse sixty-seven continues, Their camels, four hundred thirty and five; their asses, six thousand seven hundred and twenty.  

Verse sixty-eight says, And some of the chief of the fathers, when they came to the house of the Lord which is at Jerusalem, offered freely for the house of God to set it up in his place:  

Verse sixty-nine adds, They gave after their ability unto the treasure of the work threescore and one thousand drams of gold, and five thousand pound of silver, and one hundred priests' garments.  

Verse seventy concludes, So the priests, and the Levites, and some of the people, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinims, dwelt in their cities, and all Israel in their cities.   I debated on the best way to discuss these verses, and there really is little to add except that quite often in the Bible, God had His people numbered, or counted, so maybe it is a good thing if we count the number of people in the church today as long as we don’t do it to boast about how many people attend our local fellowship compared to others.  I believe it is a good thing to know how many of us there are in a particular congregation and in the church as a whole.  Also, after numbering the people, we are told that even as they were returning from exile, that the people gave to the treasure of the work as they were able, and I believe this tells us that even if we have been suffering financially, we should still give to God's work as we are able.  So, I guess these verses speaking of Israel's return from exile basically deal with two things we never seem to want to talk about, and that is numbers and giving.  It seems to me that these were important things to God then and maybe they should be important to us today as well. Of course, in order to return to the land that God had given them, they had to be a part of God's people to begin with.

Ezra 1:7

Ezra 1:7 says, Also Cyrus the king brought forth the vessels of the house of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem, and had put them in the house of his gods;  Not only did Cyrus authorize the rebuilding of the Temple, he returned all the vessels of the Temple that Nebuchadnezzar had seized and put in the temple of his gods.  Though these vessels of God had been held by a pagan king and probably used in the worship of pagan gods, they were still preserved. People may seize the things of God today and use them in the worship of other gods, but they can never permanently destroy them and one day they will be returned to God. For example, some people misuse God's word to promote ideas that are in opposition to their meaning, but we are told and thereby should know that God's word will never change in its meaning. Like these Temple vessels, it has been preserved for us for centuries. Sometimes, we just need to reclaim it in its meaning as revealed by God. 

Verse eight adds, Even those did Cyrus king of Persia bring forth by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and numbered them unto Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah. Cyrus returned these vessels to Sheshbazzar, after having the treasurer number them.  Matthew Henry points out that Sheshbazzar, which he says means joy in tribulation is the Babylonian name for Zerubbabel which means a stranger in Babylon.  I can say that we as Christians should have joy in tribulation that comes from those people who do not believe in God because of our relationship with God and that we will always be strangers in this world.  The next three verses simply list the items returned. 

Verse nine says, And this is the number of them: thirty chargers of gold, a thousand chargers of silver, nine and twenty knives, 

Verse ten adds, Thirty basons of gold, silver basons of a second sort four hundred and ten, and other vessels a thousand. 

Verse eleven concludes, All the vessels of gold and of silver were five thousand and four hundred. All these did Sheshbazzar bring up with them of the captivity that were brought up from Babylon unto Jerusalem.  This was quite an expensive amount of vessels that somewhere along the line could have been melted down just for their monetary value, but God had preserved them, and Cyrus willingly returned them.  God will always preserve what is His, and that especially means those who are His by accepting Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord.

Ezra 1:1

Ezra1:1 says, Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,  This was after the Babylonnians had been defeated in fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophecy. These had been very bleak years for the people of Israel under the harsh rule of Nebuchadnezzar. They had no king and no Temple and if they sang hymns of praise they were mocked.  Still, as Matthew Henry points out, they had prophets. We today sometimes face ridicule for worshipping God and in some places in the world it is unlawful to worship God at all.  Now, this time was coming to an end.  We are told that the Spirit of the Lord stirred up Cyrus, the king of Persia, even though Cyrus did not really believe in God.  God can and does work through those who do not even believe in Him.  

Verse two adds, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. We were told that Cyrus made a proclamation, and here we are told what it was.  Cyrus said that the Lord of heaven had given him all the kingdoms of the earth which would acknowledge God's sovereignty. This occurred in his first year of reigning over Babylon, and not his first year ruling Persia.  Cyrus said that God had charged him with building Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.  We do not need to question how God accomplishes His work, but we only need faith that He will.  

Verse three continues, Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem.  Cyrus asked who there was among them who was willing to do what their God was commanding.  We as God's people need to go where God sends us when He sends us. Cyrus said that those whom God called should go to Jerusalem and build His house there.  Hopefully, when God's work needs to be done, He will not have to use non-believers to get Christians to moving to do His work.  

Verse four states, And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.  Cyrus did not leave those who were not going out of the work.  They were to supply silver and gold, beasts and goods and freewill offerings to help those who did go.  We may not all be able to go to where God's work needs to be done, but we can all help support those who do.  Some will be able to help more than others, but we can all do something under the guidance and empowerment of the Holy Spirit.  

Verse five adds, Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, with all them whose spirit God had raised, to go up to build the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem.  Those that God called, the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, the priests and Levites, and all that God's Spirit moved, left for Jerusalem to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem. Once God calls us, we need to move as the Holy Spirit directs us. 

Verse six adds, And all they that were about them strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, and with beasts, and with precious things, beside all that was willingly offered.  Those who didn't go willingly gave to help those who did.  God never forces us to give to support His work, but if we cannot go, I believe He expects us to willingly give to support those who do.