Coming Home
“Now in the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all who came from the captivity to Jerusalem, began the work and appointed the Levites from twenty years and older to oversee the work of the house of the Lord.
“Then Jeshua with his sons and brothers stood united with Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah and the sons of Henadad with their sons and brothers the Levites, to oversee the workmen in the temple of God. Now when the builders had laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord according to the directions of King David of Israel.
“And they sang, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, saying, ‘For He is good for His lovingkindness is upon Israel forever.’ And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.” Ezra 3:8-11
After 70 years in exile, the captives from Judah were finally allowed to return to Jerusalem. Nearly 50,000 people made the journey. When they arrived, they started with planning and organising the Temple rebuild. It was a mammoth task! After reaching the milestone of finalizing the foundation of the temple, they stopped to hold a great big thank you celebration to thank God for His faithfulness, mercy and love.
It reminds me of how God also works in our individual lives after we have wandered away from Him and turn back to follow Him. This Psalm is a thanksgiving we can all celebrate:
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Thy presence, and do not take Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit.” Psalm 51:10-12
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Take care with love, especially His, from Darlene, who still prays for you each day.
PS: You can also find the devotions on line/ on your mobile phone here: www.weakdaydevotion.com .
NOTES: I choose to believe the Bible because it's a reliable collection of historical documents written down by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses. They reported supernatural events that took place before, of specific prophecies; and claim that their writings are divine rather than human in origin.
The Five Solas: Individuals are saved by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone, as revealed by Scripture alone to the glory of God alone!
Find my full statement of faith: https://especiallyhislove.blogspot.com (where you will also find a series of Bible studies). For the books, go to Amazon books. For prayer requests/ updates, email: darlenerichard@gmail.com