Paraphrased from the Old Testament book of Esther During the time of Ezra, another part of God’s perfect timing is being experienced by the Jews in Persia. King Ahasuerus has a beautiful queen, Vashti, who refuses to attend a magnificent banquet. The king was furious. He was advised to replace her, never to see […]
The book of Nehemiah is all about building Jerusalem’s destroyed walls. Nehemiah is in Susa, the capital of Persia. (Persia is Iran today.) Men came to the capital from Jerusalem. Nehemiah, a man of God and the king’s cupbearer, wanted to know: about the returned people, the city of Jerusalem. How was it […]
Ezra set his heart on studying the Law of the Lord and put it into practice. He determined to teach the other Israelites who returned to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon to know God’s statutes and ordinances God put in place for Israel. Ezra 7:10 A teacher can only take others as far as […]
The world domination of the Assyrians ended with the Babylonian Empire taking control. Then the Medes-Persia empire defeated the great Babylonian empire. This is where Ezra begins his book. 1st Letter ~ Ezra 1:2-4 The first letter was written in Hebrew to the Hebrews living in Babylon by king Cyrus. Seventy long years had passed […]
2 Chronicles provides a blueprint on how to live a holy life, a life set apart to God. The kings of Judah before the exile to Babylon is chronicled. This history focuses on the kings and their relationship to the living God from the time of king Solomon until the Babylonians force them […]
Judah, exiled in Babylon for 70 years, was allowed to go back to their homeland. Babylon was conquered by the Medes-Persian empire and King Cyrus permitted all exiles the opportunity to return to their homeland. When those who took up this powerful head of a new empire by returning to their homeland in […]
In the book of 2 Kings, the last days of two countries is told. How they went away from the living God and was judged by God for their rejection of Him. Today, are you rejecting the living God? Repentance is telling the Lord God your sins against Him and asking His forgiveness. Turning […]
Compassion ~ 2 Kings 4:1-7 A widow woman talked with the prophet Elisha. She had no money to pay her bills so her children would be taken away from her to serve as slaves. Elisha asked what she had in the house. Only a jar of oil. Elisha told her to send her sons […]
There are many pivot points in history… which will establish a nations direction for years to come. Either good or bad. Before King David died, he made sure Solomon was crowned king. Another son of David, Absalom, tried to usurp the throne. He was killed as he ran away. Solomon was a godly king, at […]
Samuel anointed David as king – many years before David actually ruled as king in Israel. David had the heart of a poet, he wrote many of the Psalms. He also had a heart for God. As you read the Psalms he wrote, you can see his heart for God. God saw that David had a […]