daily reading 18.3 (Ezra 5:8–17)

 5-days-a-week through Daniel and other late OT books in 2023

Our opening prayer for this Easter week:

Jesus, shepherd of the sheep,
Who your Father’s flock does keep,
Safe we wake, and safe we sleep,
Guarded still by you.

In your promise firm we stand;
None can take us from your hand.
Speak— we hear— at your command,
We will follow you.

By your blood our souls were bought; 
By your life salvation wrought; 
By your light our feet are taught,
Lord to follow you. 

Father draw us to your Son; 
We with joy will follow on 
Till the work of grace is done, 
There to live with you.

We in robes of glory dressed,
Join the assembly of the blest,
Gathered to eternal rest
In the fold with you. Amen.

Ezra 5:8–17

  • To King Darius: All greetings.
  • 8 Let it be known to the king that we went to the house of the great God in the province of Judah. It is being built with cut stones, and its beams are being set in the walls. This work is being done diligently and succeeding through the people's efforts.
  • 9 So we questioned the elders and asked, "Who gave you the order to rebuild this temple and finish this structure?" 10 We also asked them for their names, so that we could write down the names of their leaders for your information.
  • 11 This is the reply they gave us: We are the servants of the God of the heavens and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished. 12 But since our fathers angered the God of the heavens, he handed them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon.
  • 13 "However, in the first year of King Cyrus of Babylon, he issued a decree to rebuild the house of God.  14 He also took from the temple in Babylon the gold and silver articles of God's house that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and carried them to the temple in Babylon. He released them from the temple in Babylon to a man named Sheshbazzar, the governor by the appointment of King Cyrus.
  • 15 "Cyrus told him, 'Take these articles, put them in the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its original site.'
  • 16 "Then this same Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundation of God's house in Jerusalem. It has been under construction from that time until now, but it has not been completed.
  • 17 "So if it pleases the king, let a search of the royal archives in Babylon be conducted to see if it is true that a decree was issued by King Cyrus to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. Let the king's decision regarding this matter be sent to us."
Helpful notes on Ezra 5:8–17

Darius gets Tattenai's letter

For yourself pray:

  • That God is your rock and stronghold today as you wait for him

For others pray:

  • That God reduces the casualties and directs all things to end the war between Russia and Ukraine

A psalm to listen to, as time allows:



  


 


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