SOMEBODY IS LISTENING! (PART 2 OF 5)
Ezra 3
Jerry Vines
4/9/00
The book of Ezra has to do with the children of
Israel, God's chosen people, the Jews, leaving the
land of bondage-Babylon, the land of captivity, and
returning to the city of Jerusalem for the purpose of
rebuilding the temple. There are three books in the
Old Testament that have to do with this period of time
in history-the book of Ezra, the book of Nehemiah, and
also the book of Esther.
The book of Esther has to do with those who
remained in Babylon and did not go back to Jerusalem.
On the other hand, Ezra and Nehemiah are the books
that have to do with that remnant of the people who
went back to the land of promise-Jerusalem.
Ezra talks about the rebuilding of the Temple.
Nehemiah talks about the rebuilding of the wall around
the city. In other words, Ezra talks about the work
on the inside; Nehemiah talks about the work on the
outside. Notice that the work on the inside goes
before the work on the outside. That is always God's
order. In I Thessalonians 5:23 the Bible says, "I
pray God your whole spirit, soul and body be
preserved". God starts to work on the inside-our
spirit-then He begins the work on the outside. That
is always the way God does it.
The book of Ezra tells us about the return
journey of this remnant back to the city of Jerusalem
and in the second chapter we have the beginning of the
journey and the end of the journey. As best I can
calculate it took about 4 months for them to travel.
They didn't have jet airplanes. They didn't have air
- conditioned cars, but they were riding on animals
and walking. It must have been a long, hard, arduous
journey.
The thing that struck me as I was looking at that
second chapter is because it tells us about the
beginning of the journey; it tells us about the end of
the journey; but there are no details given to us
about the journey itself. Of cour ...
Ezra 3
Jerry Vines
4/9/00
The book of Ezra has to do with the children of
Israel, God's chosen people, the Jews, leaving the
land of bondage-Babylon, the land of captivity, and
returning to the city of Jerusalem for the purpose of
rebuilding the temple. There are three books in the
Old Testament that have to do with this period of time
in history-the book of Ezra, the book of Nehemiah, and
also the book of Esther.
The book of Esther has to do with those who
remained in Babylon and did not go back to Jerusalem.
On the other hand, Ezra and Nehemiah are the books
that have to do with that remnant of the people who
went back to the land of promise-Jerusalem.
Ezra talks about the rebuilding of the Temple.
Nehemiah talks about the rebuilding of the wall around
the city. In other words, Ezra talks about the work
on the inside; Nehemiah talks about the work on the
outside. Notice that the work on the inside goes
before the work on the outside. That is always God's
order. In I Thessalonians 5:23 the Bible says, "I
pray God your whole spirit, soul and body be
preserved". God starts to work on the inside-our
spirit-then He begins the work on the outside. That
is always the way God does it.
The book of Ezra tells us about the return
journey of this remnant back to the city of Jerusalem
and in the second chapter we have the beginning of the
journey and the end of the journey. As best I can
calculate it took about 4 months for them to travel.
They didn't have jet airplanes. They didn't have air
- conditioned cars, but they were riding on animals
and walking. It must have been a long, hard, arduous
journey.
The thing that struck me as I was looking at that
second chapter is because it tells us about the
beginning of the journey; it tells us about the end of
the journey; but there are no details given to us
about the journey itself. Of cour ...
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