Nehemiah 2:1-20The King was willing to let Nehemiah go to Jerusalem to do the work ofrestoring the wall. Nehemiah made many requests to the King (passports,materials, etc.) and the King granted them all. The reason is not simply because King Artaxerxes favoured Nehemiah. It is because God was at work (vv.8, 18), including using the[…]
Jesus presents himself as a good godly leader, an example to be followed by all leaders. The one who does not follow his example is a thief and robber. Many of the leaders in Israel had become thieves and robbers as it is stated in Ezekiel 34:1-6, Jeremiah 12: 10, 23:1-4, 50:6, Zechariah 11:16-17, Isaiah[…]
Text: Nehemiah 1:1-11Nehemiah receives a visit from his brother, who tells Nehemiah about the sad state Jerusalem is in – the people and the wall. Nehemiah is greatly grieved, he fasts for a number of days, as he prays. First, he confesses the sin of Israel as a nation, then he acknowledges that the exile[…]
The ACP Team continues to thank God for His faithfulness for the Cathedral Building project through the tough year and lock-down season. Phase 3 works are ongoing and hence the site remains under restricted access. This year 2020 has been optimized through Transition Works in small lots, despite the continuing effect of the Covid-19 pandemic[…]
Text: Ezra 10:1-44People from all over Judah are summoned to assemble in Jerusalem. Those who do not attend are to have all their property taken, and are further threatened with excommunication (v.8). Why such a harsh stance? The reason is that the integrity of the nation was at stake. If the people did not maintain[…]
Text: Ezra 9:1-15This issue of marrying foreigners is an extremely important one for us tounderstand and obey. The issue is not about forbidding marriage to nonIsraelites. Ezra’s concern is about marriage to persons who do not believe.Remember that Rahab (the prostitute from Jericho) was rescued by Joshua and brought into the nation of Israel (Jos.6:25).[…]
Text: Ezra 8:1-36In the first part of this chapter there is a long list of those who will be travelling with Ezra to Jerusalem. Then we read of a special call to fasting and prayer, vv.21-23. Why? Ezra was concerned about the safety of their journey. Apparently the king offered to send soldiers for protection,[…]
Text: Ezra 7:1-28More than 50 years pass between chapter 6 and 7, and we finally meet thepriest/Scripture-scholar Ezra. The Persian King, Artaxerxes, is sending Ezra back to Jerusalem with more people (especially priests and Levites) and treasure. Ezra is returning so that he can help restore worship in Jerusalem. Ezra was a scholar who loved[…]
Text: Ezra 6:1-22The people of God now have the Persian King supporting their work. He even ordered tax money and foreign supplies be contributed to the effort. King Darius probably was not a believer in Yahweh. It is likely that being kind to Jerusalem was just a political strategy (v.10). But Darius’ thinking doesn’t really[…]
Text: Ezra 5:1-17After the work stopped (chapter 4) Yahweh sent His prophets, Haggai andZechariah, to encourage the people to continue building. The people were emboldened and started building again. Even when the enemies returned and saw the Jews continuing to build and they threatened to report the rebellion to the King of Persia, the people[…]