Ezra (Means Help) Part 1 (Nasb)

REESTABLISHING GOD’S PEOPLE / RESTORING THE TEMPLE; LOCATION = BABYLONIA (IRAQ) / JERUSALEM (OVER 79 YEARS; TIME PERIOD?, 6 PERSIAN (IRANIAN) KINGS); THE DECREE OF CYRUS RELEASED THE ISRAELITES FROM THEIR CAPACITY. EZRA TELLS OF THE RETURN TO JERUSALEM OF 2 GROUPS OF ISRAELITES AFTER THEIR RELEASE FROM CAPTIVITY. THE 1ST GROUP RETURNED WITH (GOVERNOR) ZERUBBABEL AND RESTORED THE TEMPLE. THE 2ND GROUP RETURNED WITH EZRA WHO RESTORED THE PEOPLE TO GODLY PEOPLE (PER MARILYN HICKEY)

Cyrus’ Proclamation

1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of (PROPHET) Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout his kingdom, and also put it in writing, WHAT IS THE LORD STIRRING IN YOUR SPIRIT? saying:

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 rebuild for Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. THIS SHOWS HIS POWER; GOOD REGARDING HIM REBUILDING.

3 Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him! [a]Go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem.

4 And every survivor, at whatever place he may [b]live, the people of [c]that place are to support him with silver and gold, with equipment and cattle, together with a [d]voluntary offering for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.’” GOD LOVES A CHEERFUL GIVER - 2 CORINTHIANS 9:7; IF WE ARE NOT CHEERFUL PERHAPS WE SHOULDN'T GIVE.

Holy Vessels Restored

5 Then the heads of fathers’ households of Judah and Benjamin and the priests and the Levites rose up, everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem. THERE WERE AT LEAST 4 GROUPS WHO WANTED TO HELP.

6 And all of those around them [e]encouraged them with articles of silver, with gold, with equipment, cattle, and with valuables, aside from everything that was given as a [f]voluntary offering. PLEASE DON’T BRING YOUR COWS IN HERE AS OFFERINGS. 😊

7 Also King Cyrus brought out the articles of the house of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and put in the house of his gods; POLYTHEISM IS THE WORSHIP OF MANY GODS.

8 and Cyrus, king of Persia, had them brought out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and he counted them out to Sheshbazzar, the leader of Judah.

9 Now this was their number: thirty gold dishes, a thousand silver dishes, twenty nine [g]duplicates;

10 thirty gold bowls, 410 silver bowls of a second kind, and a thousand other articles. IT'S IMPORTANT TO COUNT THE OFFERING CORRECTLY :) THE BIBLE GETS VERY SPECIFIC, WHICH HELPS WITH ITS VERACITY.

11 All the articles of gold and silver totaled 5,400. Sheshbazzar brought them all up with the exiles who went up from Babylon to Jerusalem.

It would encourage them to build the temple that they had so much rich furniture ready to put into it when it was built. https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/ezra/1.html

WE WANT THE BEST FOR GOD, BUT WE ALSO WANT TO TAKE CARE OF THE POOR.

Footnotes

Ezra 1:3 Lit he is to go up

Ezra 1:4 Or reside as a stranger

Ezra 1:4 Lit his

Ezra 1:4 Or freewill offering

Ezra 1:6 Lit strengthened their hands

Ezra 1:6 Or freewill offering

Ezra 1:9 Heb obscure; other possible meanings are knives, censers

Number of Those Returning

2:1 Now these are the [a]people of the province who came up out of the captivity of the exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had taken into exile to Babylon, and they returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his city.

THIS CHAPTER HAS A GENEALOGY WHICH I WILL NOT READ.

2 [b]These came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, [c]Seraiah, [d]Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, [e]Mispar, Bigvai, [f]Rehum, and Baanah.

This is the number of the men of the people of Israel:

3 the sons of Parosh, 2,172;

4 the sons of Shephatiah, 372;

5 the sons of Arah, 775;

6 the sons of Pahath-moab of the sons of Jeshua and Joab, 2,812;

7 the sons of Elam, 1,254;

8 the sons of Zattu, 945;

9 the sons of Zaccai, 760;

10 the sons of [g]Bani, 642;

11 the sons of Bebai, 623;

12 the sons of Azgad, 1,222;

13 the sons of Adonikam, 666;

14 the sons of Bigvai, 2,056;

15 the sons of Adin, 454;

16 the sons of Ater, of Hezekiah, 98;

17 the sons of Bezai, 323;

18 the sons of [h]Jorah, 112;

19 the sons of Hashum, 223;