Bible Chapter: Ezra 3 & 4

Because the Bible is practical, here are some statements to get you thinking.

1.  Write one or two key thoughts that come from today’s reading.
    The first group of exiles returned to Jerusalem and got working right away on building the altar of God so they could offer burnt offerings.  They started worshiping God.  They also had a healthy fear of the people around them and they knew they needed God’s protection.  They kept the feasts and offered sacrifices to God.  They hired workers to begin building the temple.  As the foundation was laid there was great rejoicing to see what was happening.
    As is often the case, God’s people ran into adversaries.  There were those who were trying to interfere with what was happening. They wanted to stop the work in process. The enemies acted as if they were friendly and offered to work with them.  They refused, for they knew the purpose was only to cause problems.  They tried to discourage the people of Judah and did all they could to frustrate the work.

2.  What can I apply in my life from the reading?
    Doing what God wants will bring rejoicing.  It is sad that they had let things happen that brought them to the place of needing to repair the temple.  If they had remained faithful, the temple would not have fallen apart.  But, God helped them and the got to work on the project.  They had enough sense to see that their adversaries were out to hurt them, not help them when they volunteered to work along side them.  There will always be enemies out to frustrate God’s work.
    Memo to self: learn to recognize those who are with you and those who pretend to be with you.  There will always be some whose greatest goal is my failure.

3.  How can I help someone?
    There are people whose goal in life is to make you fail, to make you fall away from God.  Don’t let them cause you to give up on God.  God is always ready to help those who are living in obedience to Him.