Ezra, the Final Chapter (10)

In yesterday's writing I told you of the incredible pain that Ezra was in due to the transgressions of the people of Israel... they had really gone against the laws of God. So at this point, Ezra talks to some of the people and he says to them that they need to deal with the situation, they need to take care of the intermarriages that have taken place, and that they need to completely deal with the situation. Not just a little piece of it, but all of it.  

So one of the men, Shechaniah, says that they need to put away these wives that they have taken, from the pagens, as well as the children that were born of these marriages.  Ezra knew that this was the best thing to do, but he didn't want to say this...he felt that this was going to be a better situation all around if one of the people came up with this consequence. So once this was established within this group that this was the accepted course of action to be taken;  Ezra speaks, and says to all present that this will be a covenant between the people of Israel and their God.

Now therefore, let us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and those who have been born to them, according to the advice of my master and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. Arise, for this matter is your responsibility. We also are with you. Be of good courage, and do it.”

So a proclamation was sent out that all the peoples of the exile were to come to Jerusalem within three days, and if they didn't come they would forfeit any property that they had in Israel.  Well needless to say this got the people there..

They were then all informed that this covenant had been established ad that this was what the were doing.  Someone said that this thing was going to take some time to be done correctly...there were many things to be considered.  And so it was established that the cases would be heard over a three month period.  If the women (of the pagans) decided to embrace the God of Israel they could continue as a family.  If not they were gone...and the husbands had to provide for these women and for any children that had resulted from the unions.  Although because of the hand of God there were very few children.  At the end of it all there were about 144 lost souls that would not embrace the God of the Israeli's.

The people decreed, if you would, that they would not do this again.  That they would marry within their faith.  

Now it is that time of day for me to get ready for work and have some breakfast.  So it is time for you to consider, who can you bless today...your husband, your wife, your children, your parents, a stranger...way not all of them?

Ezra Chapter 9...some sadness...

Ezra 9 is a chapter so full of sadness, trespass, transgressions, iniquities, filthiness, and uncleanness.  After Ezra and the priest's had take care of everything that was taken care of in Chapter 8, it was now time to get down to the nitty gritty...and the nitty gritty was horrific to Ezra.

I must have listened to a sermon at some time in the past on this particular chapter, and it must have been some very sever teaching because I have the following things underlined in my Bible, and they are underlined in red...have not separated themselves, trespass-three times, transgression, iniquities-two times, filthiness, unclean land, uncleanness, give not (your sons or daughters), neither take (their sons or daughters), nor seek (their peace or wealth), "that ye may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever."

This entire chapter is about the things that the Jewish people have done and how they have defiled themselves and their God.

When Ezra heard of these things he tore his garments, plucked off the hair of his head and his beard (can you imagine how much this would have hurt...ladies we pluck our eyebrows, and let's face it, the occasional stray hair on our chins, you laugh young ones...just wait, and men just imagine plucking your beards...) after Ezra had done this he knelt  down (before God) he put his hands in the air...basically saying my God, what have they done?  Ezra's laments were so filled with sadness for his people to God!  The people had really made a lot of mistakes, and did Ezra feel they could come back from them?  I believe he felt they could....but can you imagine the amount of time and effort it would take.  It was going to take years.

The people had intermarried, they had done this out of making alliances, to prevent fights, not battles, but little feuds, and in doing this they had relaxed some of their innate promises to God.  They had really compromised their way of life.  What have you compromised?

Ezra was so sad for his people...in reading verse 6 thru 9, poor Ezra sounds as if he is drowning in his utter sadness...he sounds so completely lost and sad.  Then in verse 10, Ezra is crying out to God, you have watched us come out of our exile, we were slaves and you watched us become free, you caused us to become free...and now look how we have repaid you....we have been punished so much less than we deserve.  In other words they deserve much more and much stronger a punishment than they received.  But not to worry, these people are in for a very long struggle until they repair the damage that the have wrought on themselves.  Ezra continues in prayer and in supplications before God and he does so on his knees because he doesn't feel adequate enough to stand before God.   Ezra must have been so completely dismayed.  I can't even imagine.

As you digest this reading for today, do not stay mired in your sins, ask for forgiveness from our intercessor, Jesus, and practice being a blessing to those you come into contact this day....

Ezra Chapter 8

Well I have just read Chapter 8, and I have read the preface to all of Ezra in my study Bible (I have an "Open Bible Expanded Edition," with a lot of study aids) and then I read over a bit of the notes from the teaching I received on Sunday at church...I am trying to form a time line in my head for the way things were going for the rebuilding of Gods house in Jerusalem.  I wish I had the ability to read and understand three different sources at the same time...wouldn't that be neat?  But I do not so I will have to try very hard to put this information together for you all as best as I can...and again I would ask that any of my Bible scholarly friends out there if you see fit to comment and give me any corrections to my thinking ....have at it!  I will not be offended.

When we were in church on Sunday I learned that it had been 14 years since some of the Jews had returned to Jerusalem and that things were not going so well...now this teaching was from Haggai.... and that the reason things were not going well is that the people had started to back slide.

Now if you have been a Christian for a period of time you know what it is to back slide...for the babes in Christ, this simply means that you have not been attentive to the Lord and that you have not been paying attention to your relationship with God.  And I am sure that you know when you do this, as in any relationship,  this will mean trouble.

For the Jews in Haggai's time, this meant that there crops failed, there juice turned to vinegar, instead of to wine,  their grapes where sour and not sweet.  Things were just not going well.  I remember a time in my life like that and the best way to describe it is to say that I had just about completely lost my joy!  I was sad a lot...but once I renewed my relationship with Jesus I was good to go...I will not let that happen again!  This was pretty much the situation for the Jews, they were back slidden and God was unhappy with them and He was showing them that He was unhappy with them....you know God can get our attention, but sometimes it takes a little while for us to realize that it is something that we are doing or not doing that is causing the problem.

For the Jews, that had stopped working on the temple, they weren't offering their sacrifices as they should have been, they were maybe doing things that they shouldn't have been doing..and things started to go down hill....

So this is where we pick up in Ezra Chapter 8...Ezra brings another band of Jewish exiles back to Jerusalem.  And when they were first leaving Babylon they stopped for three days and camped by the river that runs to Ahava and Ezra looked over the people and realized that there were no sons of Levi.  So long story short, he sent for some.  Now Ezra was concerned that they had not asked the king for any soldiers, but he really didn't want to look a gift horse in the face if you would, so he proclaimed a fast, while they were there camped by the river, and the fast was for the purpose, not necessarily solely, of God's hand of protection to be upon them as they traveled to Jerusalem. Remember they were carrying a lot of gold and some silver with them....Ezra had gathered out of the people twelve of the chiefs of the priests. And they were the ones carrying all the valuables.

Well after the three days of fasting and praying they left that area and proceeded on their way to Jerusalem, when they had arrived in the promised land, and had finally gotten to what is now the city of Jerusalem they had an accounting of the the gold and silver that had been carried from Babylon to Jerusalem...someone wanted to make sure that these men that Ezra had brought with him were reputable.  There was then a huge offering,  sacrifice, made to God as well as a sin offering, and the final need to be taken care of in Chapter 8 was to give a commission to the kings lieutenant's and to the governors on the Jerusalem side of the river Euphrates.

Well it is that time of day, for me to get ready for work, but first....don't forget to be a blessing t all the people you come into contact with today....I know that is a tall order but with God all things are possible!

Ezra 7:10 and on.....

¹⁰ For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.

Have you ever considered what it means to prepare your heart?  My thought would be that you may spend some hours or perhaps some days in fasting.  Now when I was younger, I thought that fasting was nothing but water for a period of time.  Well if you have been reading my blog for any amount of time then you know that my husband, Tim and I did the Daniel fast for three weeks....now when we did this I was asking God to give me clarity and restoration.  The clarity was for myself as well as for members of my family to have clarity of thought and direction in their relationship with God.  And the restoration was for those in my family to have their powerful relationship's with God restored. 

When Ezra returned to Jerusalem he had with him a letter from King Artaxerxes, and the letter said many things as to who was going to be traveling with Ezra and what all they would be taking with them, more gold and silver that needed to be returned to Gods Temple, these were some things that had been overlooked on the first journey.

Any way Ezra returned with his letter with the primary goal of spending time with God, studying God's laws, teaching God's laws.  Ezra felt, I believe, a great gratitude towards King Artaxerxes, for this king to have these thoughts played upon his heart and to then act upon them was and is a wonderful thing....The king didn't just send Ezra, he also sent some of the leading men of Israel  who hadn't gone on the first journey.  The letter contained many instructions that were to be applied to the people of Jerusalem.  And in regards to taxes and who was and who wasn't to be taxed. 

Can you even imagine this?  We are so used to the instant availability we have for communication.  Just as an example...these blogs that people write.  Years back we would have had to have written a book and had it published to reach as many people as we do now....only reading a blog is free and to publish a book and get it into the hands of readers costs.  This letter that was written by the king had to be written out by a scribe and then carried by Ezra to the city if Jerusalem and then eventually read to the people there.  This was certainly not instant.

Please take the time to read this chapter the letter is quite lengthy and has a lot in it....but for now go and have a blessed day and remember to bless someone or two or three someones today!

I Promised You Pictures....

We heat with wood...as you can see...so there are times during the winter that time is spent cutting wood.  My husband has been doing a great deal of this with our one son Scott.  Yesterday morning we headed out to the lower side of the pasture, it had to be early because the ground is still frozen...to collect the wood that was already cut to gather it up and on the truck.  So Tim loaded up the wood stove before we went out.

Louis was so excited!  He loves to be outside, but boy oh boy can he get dirty.  So at the end of the day I bring a 22 quart stock pot out to the back porch, with warm water and give him a quick bath.  It works, when it is to cold to have the hose connected.

Didn't quite catch this one...

This was the second load, and we took this one to Rose and Bills...They burn wood as well, but it is not there main source of heat.

Tim and I taken with the timer on my camera.  I know we both look somewhat disreputable, but you don't wear good clothes when you are out cutting wood....Tim is out there again this morning...I am doing laundry and I am also going to make a pumpkin roll when I am finished here.

So make sure you spend some time blessing someone today, and I can guarantee that you will be blessed as well!

Cold Weather and Wood

Good morning....God is Great!  My husband and I are going out to an area of the farm where we had to wait for the ground to be good and frozen to get to, to get to get to the wood that he has already cut...so today is that day....I will be back on Ezra tomorrow morning and will try to post some pictures as well.

So you all have a wonderful day and please find someone to bless this fine and wonderful and God given day!

Ezra Chapter 7, we are finally going to hear about Ezra....

Aaron was Ezra's Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great Grandfather...15 greats.  That is just so awesome.

Ezra came up from Babylon and he was known as a "skilled scribe in the law" (Ezra 7:  6).  Now what exactly does that mean, was he a secretary of sorts, that wrote down what other people said?  Okay I just went to my commentary and did a little reading and I have learned two things.  The first being, that Ezra was one of the later group of Jews to return from Babylon and 2, that a scribe who is very learned in the "Laws of God," would be more like an indescribable lawyer.  In other words Ezra really knew his stuff, his stuff being, Gods laws!  

In verse 9 the Bible says that Ezra left Babylon on the first day of the first month and arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month.  That would be like leaving on a camping trip on January 1st and arriving at your destination on May 1st.  Now that would be a little bit too long a camping trip for me.  And just think what all these people had to deal with and the inconveniences that they had to deal with as well...Try taking a nice heavy blanket in about April, the tail end of April, and spend one week outside....hmmm...I really don't think I would enjoy this very much.

Ezra had prepared himself to go to Jerusalem and to seek the laws of God...Bible scholars out there...to me this means that Ezra really wanted to understand why God says the things that He says, and to have a very complete understanding of God's law's and to live completely under God, as God would like Ezra to live...Are you living as God wants you to live?  Is this correct?

I know we are a little short today, but this is what happens when I have a schedule to deal with and a lot of reading back and forth to do in order to give you what I think is good information.   We will continue with this chapter tomorrow.

Time to go and be a blessing...so do it, just do it...be a soldier for God!

Ezra Chapter 6

Wow!  I am constantly enthralled by the reading of the scriptures anymore.  I told you yesterday that I didn't always understand what I was reading, but lately it is just wonderful.  This is truly the best, absolutely the best, history book.

So yesterday I wrote to you about the Israelite elders asking King Darius to find the edict that was issued by King Cyrus... and Darius did make a search of the scrolls that were kept in the palace at Achmetha in the province of Media.  ( This would have been the equivalent of our courthouses). And low and behold, the scroll was found.  And this is a portion the of portion of Chapter six that is the decree....

“Let the house be rebuilt, the place where they offered sacrifices; and let the foundations of it be firmly laid, its height sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits, ⁴ withthree rows of heavy stones and one row of new timber. Let the expenses be paid from the king’s treasury.⁵ Also let the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple which is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and taken back to the temple which is in Jerusalem, each to its place; and deposit them in the house of God”

The decree goes on to say the the province of King Cyrus will fund the needs of the elders and will provide the animals necessary for the sacrifices....

⁶ Now therefore, Tattenai, governor of the regionbeyond the River, and Shethar-Boznai, and your companions the Persians who are beyond the River, keep yourselves far from there. 

The leaders beyond the Euphrates River are not to interfere with the rebuilding.  And if you do there will be consequences....read on

⁷ Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God on its site.

⁸ Moreover I issue a decree as to what you shall do for the elders of these Jews, for the building of this house of God: Let the cost be paid at the king’s expense from taxes on the region beyond the River; this is to be given immediately to these men, so that they are not hindered. ⁹ And whatever they need—young bulls, rams, and lambs for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the request of the priests who are in Jerusalem—let it be given them day by day without fail, ¹⁰ that they may offer sacrifices of sweet aroma to the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king and his sons.

¹¹ Also I issue a decree that whoever alters this edict, let a timber be pulled from his house and erected, and let him be hanged on it; and let his house be made a refuse heap because of this. ¹² And may the God who causes His name to dwell there destroy any king or people who put their hand to alter it, or to destroy this house of God which is in Jerusalem. I Darius issue a decree; let it be done diligently.

I would not have wanted to stand in their way, because I would not have wanted King Darius, the current king, to penalize me for interferring with the work of rebuilding God's house.  God is definitely a God of love and His patience is not able to be measured, but do not anger Him....I don't believe God would do anything to us, but He would remove his blessings from us...I always want to have Gods blessings raining down on me....when the temple was completed, and I do not know how much time had transpired, but the Passover was celebrated for all the Jews who had left in the first exile to come back to Israel and they also  later celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread..and seven days of joy and God made His people joyful, God also made King Assyria's heart to be kind towards the Israelis, this king wanted them to succeed and to do well in their work in God's House.   

Now it is that time of the day....time for breakfast and to get ready for work...remember always that God is good...even if things are not perfect.... look to God for your strength and blessings...oh and go and be a blessing to someone...

Ezra Chapter 5

It is so wondrous to me the understanding that our God is giving to me now as I read His word...it used to be that I would sit down to study the Bible and it was such a struggle...but now there seems to be a whole lot of enlightenment going on.  I think that our God must be happier with me, that he is giving me a larger portion of understanding and/or discernment that I can better comprehend His word....Live in His word, pray without ceasing (constantly be in conversation with God), follow His rules....believe me I am not perfect, but I am aware of what I am supposed to be doing....and while I am struggling to do this always, I know that I am not.  But I am striving in that direction.   I need to just do it....I will let you know how this works out for me.

Now Chapter 5.....the people of Israel had gotten a bit slothful and were content to live in their little shacks if you would, and God spoke to them thru prophets (who are spoken of in Haggia), and told them, why are you content to live like this, get up and go to the woods and bring back timbers to continue building my temple so that I may be glorified...the people had been a bit lacking in their attitude, but God, was able to help them change their thought patterns,  I think He may have helped them to realize that having a slothful attitude towards anything can get you into trouble.  Just like it had when the temple was originally destroyed and the people were take away to Babylon.

It was discovered by the governor ( Tattenai ) of the area beyond the Euphrates River that the Jews had taken back up the construction of the temple and the walls surrounding it. And the governor and his companions went to the location of the construction and asked the men who had told them to resume the building.  And basically the men told them who had instructed them and that the eye of God was on them and had told them to not stop the building until a report was sent to King Darius.  

 So again a letter was written by this governor to King Darius, telling Darius of the resumed building and that they just wanted let him know this.  So, and this is paraphrased a bit, Darius wanted to know who had said they could resume building and the Jewish people said that when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the temple and took the people away and all the goblets and vessels of gold and silver and the vessels and all were put in Babylon's temple for their gods and that when Cyrus became king, in his first year, he decreed that the Jews could return to Jerusalem and that they could take all the vessels of gold and silver with them, and that they were told by Cyrus, that they where to rebuild the temple on the original foundation, which the original foundation was still there.

They, the Jews, then asked that a search be made in the archives of Babylon to find the decree that King Cyrus had made for the rebuilding of the temple, and they would wait to hear the results from King Darius.  And there ends Chapter 5...wow, we made it thru a whole chapter.  Awesome!

Now...go and be a blessing, show someone a kindness today, maybe show a few people a kindness today...

Ezra Chapter 4 continues starting with verse 6, but first...

Yesterday I introduced you to Alexander Macleran, and something that he said.  For convenience sake here is the quote again...

“There cannot be a temple without an altar, but there may be an altar without a temple. God meets men at the place of sacrifice, even though there be no house for His name,” Macleran. 

After I had reread this quote a few times I wanted to also point something else out.  Do you all know what a sacrifice is?  A sacrifice can be one of many different things...as long as it cost the person performing it, something.  Otherwise it is no sacrifice.  
So you go to your parents house for a visit, and you notice that there are some dishes in the sink.  So after visiting a bit you calmly walk out to the kitchen to get a cup of tea, and wash up the dishes, the sacrificial part of this little gift is that it did cost you a few minutes of your time, time that you gave up from visiting with your parents, so you stay a little longer, perhaps having to give up something else that you had wanted to get accomplished...well this is little sacrifice, it did cost you something, not a lot, but something.

Okay now onto Ezra...If you have continued to read in Chapter 4, you will see that the king of Persia has received a letter from the king that has charge over Israel.  And that was Ahasuerus, boy oh boy some of these names are a little difficult.  He wrote a letter to King Artaxerxes, king of Persia.  Basically the letter says, that right now as the Jews are rebuilding their city, all is well and good, they are still paying their dues to the king of Persia, however once the walls of the city are completed they will then be considered by the ruling king of the area of Israel to be part of his tax base....I hope that is understandable.  So I think the ruling king of Israel is trying to insight the king of Persia to realize that he will be losing a great deal of money from his coffers if the walls are completed.  The temple has been completed and now the whole rebuilding process has extended to the rebuilding of the city as a whole.  And the ruling king of the area of Israel says that King Artaxerxes of Persia will have no income coming to him from beyond the river.
So the king of Persia sent a letter back saying that the Jews are not allowed to complete the city until HE say they can finish the rebuilding.  So King Ahasuerus immediately and with a show of force goes to Jerusalem and forcibly stops the rebuilding process. (If you want to see all the other reasons that existed for the kings to be upset about the whole rebuilding situation, and there are many, read chapter 4, it  is full of very interesting information.)

²⁴ Thus the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem ceased, and it was discontinued until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

But don't worry God will prevail, He always does, He's God. 

Now don't forget...

Be a blessing!

Ezra Chapter 4......but first.....

In yesterday's writing I had a quote from Alexander Macleran, this is a man I think I would have liked to have known.  And this is based solely on reading this one quote from him.

“There cannot be a temple without an altar, but there may be an altar without a temple. God meets men at the place of sacrifice, even though there be no house for His name,” Macleran. 

I was just so taken by this quote. Every now and again we are given the opportunity to be a part of something that is so much greater than what we are used to being a part of, and this is the case for me in this one statement. It is such a precisely spoken statement.  And frankly there are few people that can and do speak so succinctly as this.

We must remember the the Jews do not believe that Jesus is the son of God.  And there are many other reasons for this as well...but that is a whole other subject.  For us, as born again believers, we have Jesus as our sacrifice, the Jews had to bring offerings to the alter for the the forgiveness of their sins.  And in the portion of the quote where Macleran speaks of God meeting men at the place of sacrifice, he is referring to the alter.  I am really glad that I don't have to go to an alter in order to speak to God...I can if I want to, and there are times when I am at church that I do go to the alter to seek out God.  But in reality I could just stay in my seat and speak to God.

Okay now we will move on to chapter 4...

Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the descendants of the captivity were building the temple of the LORD God of Israel, they came to Zerubbabel and the heads of the fathers’ houses, and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do; 

Well as you can plainly see there were other people who hadn't been part of the captivity, that had been in residence in Israel during the time that the Jewish people were in their captivity, we must remember that the Jews were gone for two generations, that is a long time, and these new residents wanted to help.  Well apparently these were not necessarily the most savory individuals, they were actually early Samaritans, they were the people who had remained after the captivity and from the time when Israel was under the command of Assyrians, and there had been marriages and pro creations as a result. We all remember that Samaritan's were not looked on kindly, people avoided them, pretty much at all costs.  And during the ceremonies at the end of Chapter 3, apparently this was a rather loud celebration, and the now resident heard the noise and realized the the returning Jews were really serious about reestablishing themselves in Israel....don't you think they would have realized this right away?

Again we have a quote from Macleran... “The proposal to unite in building the Temple was a political move; for, in old-world ideas, co-operation in Temple-building was incorporation in national unity. The calculation, no doubt, was that if the returning exiles could be united with the much more numerous Samaritans, they would soon be absorbed in them.”

Yes they wanted to be a part of, this rebuilding effort, because they did worship the Jewish God, but the Jews knew that they also worshiped other gods (small g)....but at this point Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the fathers proved their abilities in politics...the said no, we will build the temple completely ourselves as commanded by King Cyrus, they maybe should have spoken more truthfully, that this would have gone against the will of God...but in my view they were speaking to quill any possible dispute before it could occur.  However the others were not happy about this result at all and did their best to hamper the Jews efforts in the rebuilding process, I am sure that some building went on, but perhaps not as much as could have, had they not been constantly harangued...this went on throughout the reign of King Cyrus and throughout the reign of Darius... 

Then the people of the land tried to discourage the people of Judah. They troubled them in building, and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Well we gotten thru verse 5 and that is were we will pick up next time.

Be a blessing.....

Ezra Chapter 3 thru verse 5

Chapter three starts out speaking of the children of Israel gathering together, in one unite, as it were, in Jerusalem.  Remember the ones who had gone back to Israel hadn't all land and stayed in one spot...they went to there own different areas of Israel.

But in the seventh month, there was a lot going on.  There was the Day of Atonement, the Feast of Trumpets, and the Feast of the Tabernacles. And apparently it was the practice of the Jewish people to gather in Jerusalem for these major feasts.  Well it looks like this was a really good sign to some of the priests, that everyone who had returned on this first re-immigration to their homeland, had taken the time and money to come from all their separate towns and little cities (as was commanded) to Jerusalem for these major feasts.

I am sure that God looked at this and was quite pleased.

The first thing to be done was for the alter to be rebuilt on it's original foundation, once this was done then offerings could be made, and were made to God.  And the alter was rebuilt by Jeshua and Zerubbabel, well let's just say they were the foreman, they were the two main leaders of the rebuilding and according to the Bible it says, and there brethren.

Apparently the alter was exceedingly important.  This was were the common people were able to bring offerings for the Lord to atone for their sins, and this was very important, Macleran wrote, "There cannot be a temple without an altar, but there may be an altar without a temple. God meets men at the place of sacrifice, even though there be no house for His name.”   Isn't  that wonderfully said? Well I think so anyway, even if you don't.  This is what the people of God did before they had Jesus...they needed to atone for there sins somehow, and this was what they did.

Do you all realize that the very large majority of the people that were gone from Israel where gone for two generations...that is a pretty long time, considering that the people lived to about 120 years...
Well I know we didn't get very far, but I have to much other stuff happening around me at the moment, and I have spoiled myself, I like to write in relative quiet...not happening this morning so I will be back with you tomorrow.  God bless and read on.

Remember to be a blessing to someone today!

Ezra Chapter 2

Yesterday we spoke of the decree that the king of Persia, King Cyrus, had decreed, and in Chapter 2, we start out with list upon list upon lists of leaders and then thru the families.  And the families that are listed, only the males are listed.  Thus there are many more that made this trip, simply because of the females, not being named.

Then the priests are listed, and the the Levites, and then the servants, and then there are more people listed.  Well we finally have the number of people that made the trip...are you ready for this?  Forty and two thousand, three hundred and three score, now we will put this in numbers, 42,360 that is a lot, but we aren't finished.... then we have servants and maids, seven thousand, three hundred thirty and seven. Or 7,337!  Plus 200 singing men and women.

Now animals...animals played a huge part in peoples lives back then, and they were extremely important.  736 horses, 245 mules, 435 camels, 6,720 donkeys.  That is a lot of animals.

Let's think about something...have you ever gone on a camping trip?  I have...my dad and I used to go on a canoe camping trip...every year from about my age of 12.  When you go on a camping trip you need a lot of stuff.  If you are hiking you are limited by what you can carry, at least in a canoe, you can take a bit more.  But you are still limited.  Okay just consider what all is necessary...clothes, cooking gear, matches, fire starters, food, sleeping bags or blankets, tents, a towel or two, now you may not think this is much.  But I challenge you to put all this stuff in a pile and figure out how to put it all in a back pack, in some kind of order, and onto your back.  Okay now you add to the mix that you are going to take your pets with you.  Well if you have a dog okay....how many days will you be traveling, how much food does your dog eat each day...that must be taken along.  In my case I have two goats and a dog.  Well I wouldn't need hay, because they could graze along the way, but I would need grain for them...that is something else that would need to be carried.  Wow..lot of stuff!

Now just imagine that you are going to be taking all the vessels for the new temple, remember all the vessels and chargers we spoke of yesterday, as well as all the tools that you will need to take with you to help you to accomplish your task.

This is a little bit mind boggling and yes I am being facetious.  I can not even imagine the amount of just regular stuff you would need for this kind of endeavor.  It really brings these people to a whole new level, doesn't it?

Well now it would seem that going of to work today and trying to find someone to bless some how seems a lot less difficult...but please go and do it anyway!

Ezra Chapter 1 verses 5 on....

Well it appears that the tribes of Benjamin, Judah, and the Levites and those that the Lord had ignited a fire within that were inspired to g.o to their homelands and to build a temple to the Lord.
And they took with them vessels (container) of silver and gold and other goods .  They also took with them beasts.  And it appears that those that didn't return with them gave them some of the goods and beasts that they needed, and these displaced Jews did this willingly. I would think that they may have felt that they secretly wanted to go home, but maybe they didn't feel they were up to the travel.  Remember the travel that they participated in was a lot different than the way that we travel today.  Also where they were going was demolished and they would not have homes until the built them, plus where they were going was under the control of a different empire...they were really walking into the lions den if you would!

Okay back some years when Nebuchadnezzar had conquered Jerusalem, he had ordered the removal of the gold and silver vessels from the house of the Lord and had taken them away to his house of his gods.  Well when Cyrus became king he then returned these items to the Jewish people to take with them to place them back were they belonged....there were 
  
                30 chargers of gold
                            1000 chargers of silver
                                             29  knives
                                                           30 basons of gold, silver basins of a second sort 410
                                                                         1000 and other vessels.  And more....

All the vessels totaled up to 5400 silver and gold vessels.  Can you imagine the weight of all of these items.  And they didn't have an F150 Diesel truck with a trailer attached to pile everything on....they had donkeys and maybe some camels.  Anyway there journey was, I am sure quite arduous.  But our God is great and He will bring us thru any and all difficulties. 

Wow can you just imagine this journey, I would love to know how long this trip took but I can seem to find this, if any of you come across this information please jot a note to me...and you know it....go and be a blessing to someone today, and tomorrow we will start on the second chapter of Ezra.

Ezra Chapter 1 first 4 verses....

When I was bit younger, approximately 21 years ago, I was pregnant with my third and last child.  23 years ago, I had my son Samuel, and when we got pregnant again, for some reason we felt sure we were having another boy...and we called this child Ezra for nine months.  Well Ezra turned into Ruth.  But I realized that I had never really looked at the book of Ezra, please don't miss interpret this, I have read it in full and I have read parts of it.  And perhaps in reading parts I understood those little portions...but I have never really studied the entire book.  So that is what we will do.

In the very first four verses Ezra writes about Cyrus, King of Persia, forming and reading a decree....The decree was about building a house for the Lord in Jerusalem in Judah, as well as allowing the exiled Jewish people that were not living in their home lands, to return to their home country.  That must have been an awesome time to be alive. This is basically what this book is about...the pioneers of Israel and the writer of this book, Ezra, who doesn't show up until we get to Chapter 7.  

So now we have an idea what this book is about, and what is really neat is that some of this book is living out the prophecy's in Daniel... With this book being largely about the return of the exiled people returning to their home land,  why more didn't move back is a bit of a mystery, they must have been happy where the were...I don't know about you all, but I would have thought they all would have jumped at the chance to return...but they all did not.  But, and this is my thought alone, perhaps the Jews that did return, were the more refined Jews.  And by this I mean, we are all refined by the refiners fire..I am not speaking of the other kind of refined, I am simply speaking of those Jews who were refined by the Lord.  Those Jews who perhaps had been thru some more difficult times, they are the ones who may have been more interested in returning to their roots.  The ones who were comfortable in their current surroundings, would probably be more inclined to stay in their comfortable surroundings.   This makes sense to me, does it to you? Like that pair of really comfortable pair of sneakers or slippers...that look kinda of ratty, but you just can't bring yourself to dispose of them...they have been thru a lot with you..they have been tried by life and have prevailed.  Well we will have to pick up here tomorrow.  

So I pray you all have a blessed day and that you all spend some time with the Lord.

Proverbs 31 rather than Ezra...what?

I had wanted to start to go over Ezra, but I have decided that I need to revisit Proverbs 31....now you may ask why? Simple answer I want to be the best bride (or wife) that I can be.

Proverbs is wonderful book in the Bible.  Any new Christian, I have a word of advice for you...read one chapter of Proverbs each day of the month.  And there are 31 chapters. How convenient.  Proverbs can teach you how to live your life as a Christian, so it is very helpful.

Wow I just read some very interesting stuff about King Lemuel, and that is that Lemuel means (belonging) to God, and that Lemuel is actually symbolic for Solomon and that since Bathsheba was Solomon's mother, she is possibly the author of verses 1 thru 9.  And the balance is direction to us on a virtuous how to be virtuous.

The virtuous part, is the part I feel lead to deal with this morning.

The Virtuous Wife

¹⁰ Who^[b] can find a virtuous^[c] wife?   Now this is a good question, only one who looks shall find a virtuous woman.
For her worth is far above rubies. She will be very valuable to the man who finds her as well as to her children.
¹¹ The heart of her husband safely trusts her;  Her husband will be able to trust her in all matters.
So he will have no lack of gain.  She will always have his back..even if she doesn't want to, she still does.
¹² She does him good and not evil. Hmmmmm, I know this is a tough one, but doing This is import, yesterday I struggled with this one.  I wasn't happy with my husbands decisions for our day.  And he probably knew it.  I didn't really speak to him, I didn't ignore him, but I didn't go out of my way to converse with him.  This was my "evil". 
All the days of her life.  ALWAYS, not sometimes, ALWAYS!

¹³ She seeks wool and flax,

And willingly works with her hands.  Do what needs done for your family and home.

¹⁴ She is like the merchant ships,

She brings her food from afar.  Take care of your family whatever it takes.

¹⁵ She also rises while it is yet night, if you need more time to do your work get up earlier so that you are prepared when your family is up.

And provides food for her household,  feed your family well, (and not just with food.)

And a portion for her maidservants. If you people that work for you, take good care of them as well.

¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it; 

From her profits she plants a vineyard.  Be diligent about the way you spend your money.

¹⁷ She girds herself with strength,

And strengthens her arms.  Take care of yourself s that you can take good care of your family.

¹⁸ She perceives that her merchandise is good,

And her lamp does not go out by night.  Like verse 15, if you need to stay up a little later to get finished what needs finished, ask God for strength, He will provide you with the energy you need.

¹⁹ She stretches out her hands to the distaff,

And her hand holds the spindle.  I am not100% sure about this one, I think it may have something to do with providing clothe, and clothing for the household.

²⁰ She extends her hand to the poor,

Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.  This is easy to understand, do what you can for those that are less fortunate than you...

²¹ She is not afraid of snow for her household,

For all her household is clothed with scarlet.  Take good care of your families, value them!

²² She makes tapestry for herself;  wall coverings?

Her clothing is fine linen and purple. Do all things as unto the Lord. 

²³ Her husband is known in the gates,

When he sits among the elders of the land.  Her husband is know because she takes such good care of him and her children.

²⁴ She makes linen garments and sells them,

And supplies sashes for the merchants.  She works hard!

²⁵ Strength and honor are her clothing;

She shall rejoice in time to come.  She is happy and honored to do as she does.

²⁶ She opens her mouth with wisdom,

And on her tongue is the law of kindness. As she does everything else, she chooses her words carefully and speaks in kind and gentle words.

²⁷ She watches over the ways of her household,

And does not eat the bread of idleness.  This is very understandable.  Don't waste your time.

²⁸ Her children rise up and call her blessed;  Her children love her and trust her.

Her husband also, and he praises her:  as does her husband.

²⁹ “Many daughters have done well, 

But you excel them all.”  Understandable 

³⁰ Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,  We will age, do say gracefully and don't fight it!

But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.  God is so good, always have faith and trust in the Lord.

³¹ Give her of the fruit of her hands,  and let her own words praise her in the gates.   We are known by our works, they truly show what kind of women we are.

I need to work on verses 12 and 26.   Where do you need to put forth more effort?

Now go find someone to bless!

Affects of Music (On me.)

There is pretty much one type of music that I listen to....Christian!  Imagine that!  I want to feel the presence of Jesus in my life at all times, don't you?  And I have found that by having myself fairly often in His word and surrounded by music that praises Him, I feel closer to God.

Not to long ago I had purchased a double set of music from World Changers.  This is an awesome bunch of mostly young people who love the Lord and sing His praises.  I had listened to the CD in the car several times but I hadn't taken the time to sit down, I spent more time standing, and listen to the DVD....I did last night...WOW!  Wonderful! Powerful!  Needless to say, I enjoyed it.  And a little bonus was that I got to hear one of the Pastor's from our church sing, just one song, but I was thankful for that one song and to see how on fire for God he is (Pastor Todd White) and how he can help others to really feel the presence of God, you put Jesus together with Todd and awesome things start to happen!

Okay so I was listening and watching this DVD and the song was "Rein in Me". With rein meaning like a King reins over His kingdom.  And as I was listening to and singing along I got to thinking about the home that we provide for Jesus to reside in...(there is a word I need to change, and that is reign...sometimes....do you ever wonder about how your brain works....I was thinking about this writing, and God told me I had misspelled this word, "Thank you Jesus!"

Now let us think about this.  I received a visual image of a heart shaped abode, and not like a Valentine's heart, but like the shape of our actual heart.  And I was seeing it as having some areas that looked fairly comfortable, you know lush grass growing, the kind that you like to walk on in bare feet....and....other areas that looked like they where paved with jagged crystals...each area of jagged crystals are areas of sin that are still in my life.  You all know what I am speaking of.  Can't fool me and what is more important, you can't fool God.  Remember, if you are a Christian, you are the one who invited Jesus into your heart...He didn't just Willy Nilly take up residence.

Okay, everyone has someone in their lives that they hold in high esteem, someone that they really love and admire. Someone that they want to think well of themselves and someone that they wouldn't want to hurt in any way shape or form.  For me it would have to be my Aunt Joyce, this women is awesome, she is one of those people who is beautiful inside and out.  And I have always loved and admired her, she is just an awesome women.  If she came to my house for a visit I would want everything to be perfect!  I would probably take about a week off from work to clean every cubic inch of my house. Just so that Aunt Joyce would be comfortable.  When she would arrive I would offer her the most comfortable chair to sit on and make sure that she is warm and comfortable.

Now let's talk about the home we have for Jesus.  If he's in your heart, if you have invited Him in.  Then don't you think that Jesus should have the same type of courtesy extended to Him, as does that special family member or friend that you have thought about?  If you, like me, have areas within your heart that are paved with sharp and pointy and jagged crystals, needless to say each and everyone of these pointed objects represent a sin, that still remains within our being, either it is something that we listen to, or something that we eat, or something that we smell, something that we see, or something that we speak....it could be so many different things.  In order for our Jesus to be totally comfortable with in our hearts we need to clean house!

So do it!  Just do it!

I may have been a little hard on you this morning, and guess what, I am not sorry, I am speaking kindly and gently in truth.  I like you, I am sure, want to be the best little Jesus I can be.  So go out into the world and find someone to bless.....






.....

Did Sandy Hook Happen?

Do you use "Google?"  I use Google all the time...last night being Wednesday, I was at church.  Our topic of conversation was....Sandy Hook.

Now I want to pose another question or two or three.
      Do you like to be manipulated?
           Are you stupid? (not a word I like to use.)
                 Are you naive?
                       Do you enjoy being treated like any of the above?
I don't!

I would really like to know the truth about Sandy Hook.  Last evening we talked about the fact that the people of the United States are being totally manipulated by the powers at hand, so that their agendas can be realized.

Now you might ask "What is the government's agenda?" Well to answer this question we have to look back into history, back to WWII.  A very sad time in this worlds history, but something that happened none the less.  There are many aspects of WWII that are sad, what happened to the Jewish people primarily, that someone could actually conceive such a plan, and for the rest of the world to allow this atrocity occur.  Hitler systematically took away the guns of the good people so that they would not be able to defend themselves.  I am sure even back then, there was plenty of realization that "We shouldn't be allowing this!". But they did!  And look what happened.

Fast forward.  Do you know what a "crisis actor" is?  If you don't, you need to find out. When we were watching the newscasts, as things supposedly unfolded, in that tiny town.  We were actually watching "crisis actors." Paid actors that were playing a part to manipulate the people of the United States of America.

WAKE UP AMERICA.  Do we really want another WWII?  And this time it won't be just the Jewish people that will be murdered, it will be the Christians and anyone who fights back!

Please Google Sandy Hook Shooting Fully Exposed and judge for yourselves, but please, and  I am sure that you have heard the phrase "All it takes for evil to succeed is for a few good men to do nothing!"

I know that this is a lot to take in but we need to be very vocal about this, and not let it go until the truth is completely revealed.  So go and be a blessing to someone, even if it is just to spread this information around, the more people hear about this and react the more likely the truth may be to come out.

What has Been Happening....

Well it has been a while since I have had the opportunity to just visit with you all...how have you all been doing?  Tim and I have been awesome!  I really think that this Daniel Fast has been a wonderful for thing for Tim and I to do and to do as a couple.  And even now we are still eating some of the wonderful things that we learned about by default...like our oatmeal with apple pie spices and blueberries and coconut oil.  Mm mm yummy! And there was something else we came up with and that is brown rice pasta with sauteed leeks, zucchini and yellow summer squash, sauteed in olive oil and when it is almost finished I added about a half a box of organic vegetable stock.  Then just mix it up with the pasta...what an awesome dinner, lunch or whatever.  Since we have finished the fast I made this the other night and after the pasta was cooked I tossed it with some raw mixed up egg, the egg cooks around the hot pasta, the I poured over the vegetables mixed it up and sprinkled on some Parmesan cheese.  This was really good.

This pot of veggies will cook down to about half that amount.  A little bit of quick chopping and you are good to go...and the really fun thing is you can really get creative, I would add mushrooms, but my dear husband does not care for them.  And he has difficulty with onions, but he can and does enjoy the leeks.

One of the other things we have recently done was to go and visit a friend of mine who helps out with a clothes closet at her church.  The drive was beautiful and I was really sorry that I hadn't brought my camera.  We had a very nice visit and got to meet some of the other women there as well.  Deborah is an awesome and giving women that I really enjoy spending time with.  Have you ever meet someone and thought to yourself that you would really like to cultivate a friendship with that person?  If you have you should do it!  The only way things like this occur is if you do it!  

And I don't know about you but I believe it is a good thing to consider wisely who it is that you choose to spend time with and who you choose to have as your friends.  And I know there are probably a lot of younger people out there who are thinking, "You don't choose your friends!"  I beg to differ, you do!  Whether consciously or subconsciously, you do.  Even if you know down deep that someone who parties a lot could be trouble, that down deep thought is the one that you should listen to, because that is your conscious and that is God speaking to you, and you really don't want to ignore God!  He will get your attention, one way or the other...so beware and be warned!

Alright back to the lovely drive, I am going to have to try to recreate that little drive and this time I will be taking my camera with us.  Since Tim paints, sometimes the pictures get turned into paintings, we make a really great team.  And we love spending time together.  Isn't that great!  We think so!

Well it is time for me to get my breakfast and then hit the showers.  Soon time to get to work.  And I am thinking about working thru another book of the Bible, I just haven't decided which one...I will let you know when I know!  God bless you and be a blessing to someone yourself today!

Daniel 12: 5 on.....&....the Million Dollar Question....

The prophecy of the million dollar question.  When will these things occur?

In verse 5, Daniel finds himself standing on the river bank with two more people now with him, one is on the same side as is he and the other is on the other side.  And the one clothed in linen is above the water (archangel Michael).  And one of them asks Michael, when will these happen?  And of course the answer is wonderfully difficult to understand....."and when he had held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever, that it shall be for a time, times, and half a time; and when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished.".

So what does this mean.  Well if we knew what period of time a "time" is equal too, we might be able to understand this.  So I will look in my commentary...first of all this question is not asked by these two for the information for themselves...the question asked is asked for Daniel's benefit and for our benefit.  They are performing a scripted play if you would for us to watch, the holy people refers to the Hebrews and the fact that they will be completely devastated and at that point they will be rescued by the the Messiah.  In verse 8 Daniel asks"My lord, what shall be the end of these things?"
Daniel doesn't understand either....okay I don't feel so bad now, how about you.....Daniel doesn't understand and neither do I!  

We all do know one thing and that is that, "No man knows the day or the hour when the lord shall return..."   "He will come as a thief in the night...". In other words we will not now when the Lord is coming,  it could be today, tomorrow night or in five years from today.  We just don't know and that is the way of our Lord...and this is good.

Will you be ready for our Shepherd's return?  While you are waiting why not practice your being a blessing to others.....