Ezra 6, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: GOD’S GRACE IS SUFFICIENT

You wonder why God doesn’t remove temptation from your life? You know, if he did, you might lean on your strength instead of his grace. A few stumbles might be what you need to convince you his grace is sufficient for your sin. You wonder why God doesn’t remove the enemies in your life? Perhaps because he wants you to love like he loves. Anyone can love a friend, but only a few can love an enemy. You wonder why God doesn’t heal you? Oh, he has healed you. If you are in Christ, you have a perfected soul and will have a perfected body. His grace is sufficient for gratitude.

We can be sure of this: God would prefer we have an occasional limp than a perpetual strut. God has every right to say no to us. We have every reason to say thanks to him. His grace is sufficient.

Ezra 6

So King Darius ordered a search through the records in the archives in Babylon. Eventually a scroll was turned up in the fortress of Ecbatana over in the province of Media, with this writing on it:

Memorandum

In his first year as king, Cyrus issued an official decree regarding The Temple of God in Jerusalem, as follows:

3-5 The Temple where sacrifices are offered is to be rebuilt on new foundations. It is to be ninety feet high and ninety feet wide with three courses of large stones topped with one course of timber. The cost is to be paid from the royal bank. The gold and silver vessels from The Temple of God that Nebuchadnezzar carried to Babylon are to be returned to The Temple at Jerusalem, each to its proper place; place them in The Temple of God.

6-7 Now listen, Tattenai governor of the land beyond the Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai, associates, and all officials of that land: Stay out of their way. Leave the governor and leaders of the Jews alone so they can work on that Temple of God as they rebuild it.

8-10 I hereby give official orders on how you are to help the leaders of the Jews in the rebuilding of that Temple of God:

1.?All construction costs are to be paid to these men from the royal bank out of the taxes coming in from the land beyond the Euphrates. And pay them on time, without delays.

2.?Whatever is required for their worship—young bulls, rams, and lambs for Whole-Burnt-Offerings to the God-of-Heaven; and whatever wheat, salt, wine, and anointing oil the priests of Jerusalem request—is to be given to them daily without delay so that they may make sacrifices to the God-of-Heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons.

11-12 I’ve issued an official decree that anyone who violates this order is to be impaled on a timber torn out of his own house, and the house itself made a manure pit. And may the God who put his Name on that place wipe out any king or people who dares to defy this decree and destroy The Temple of God at Jerusalem.

I, Darius, have issued an official decree. Carry it out precisely and promptly.

13 Tattenai governor of the land across the Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai, and their associates did it: They carried out the decree of Darius precisely and promptly.

The Building Completed
14-15 So the leaders of the Jews continued to build; the work went well under the preaching of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo. They completed the rebuilding under orders of the God of Israel and authorization by Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia. The Temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.

16-18 And then the Israelites celebrated—priests, Levites, every last exile, exuberantly celebrated the dedication of The Temple of God. At the dedication of this Temple of God they sacrificed a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, and four hundred lambs—and, as an Absolution-Offering for all Israel, twelve he-goats, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. They placed the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their places for the service of God at Jerusalem—all as written out in the Book of Moses.

* * *

19 On the fourteenth day of the first month, the exiles celebrated the Passover.

20 All the priests and Levites had purified themselves—all, no exceptions. They were all ritually clean. The Levites slaughtered the Passover lamb for the exiles, their brother priests, and themselves.

21-22 Then the Israelites who had returned from exile, along with everyone who had removed themselves from the defilements of the nations to join them and seek God, the God of Israel, ate the Passover. With great joy they celebrated the Feast of Unraised Bread for seven days. God had plunged them into a sea of joy; he had changed the mind of the king of Assyria to back them in rebuilding The Temple of God, the God of Israel.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Tuesday, March 09, 2021

Read: Job 36:26–29; 37:5–7

How great is God—beyond our understanding!
    The number of his years is past finding out.

27 “He draws up the drops of water,
    which distill as rain to the streams[a];
28 the clouds pour down their moisture
    and abundant showers fall on mankind.
29 Who can understand how he spreads out the clouds,
    how he thunders from his pavilion?

God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways;
    he does great things beyond our understanding.
6 He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’
    and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’
7 So that everyone he has made may know his work,
    he stops all people from their labor.[a]

INSIGHT
The book of Job is renowned as a treatise on how suffering impacts us as human beings, so much so that the bulk of the book’s content is devoted to Job (and his friends) processing and trying to understand his pain and loss. As such, it breaks down into three major sections: the events of Job’s suffering (chs. 1–2), the dialogue about his suffering (chs. 3–37), and God’s response to his complaint about his suffering (chs. 38–42). In the lengthy middle section, Job and his friends engage in debate about the meaning of suffering, with three friends taking turns to reflect on Job’s situation. It’s a fourth friend, Elihu, who joins the discussion in today’s biblical text. The theme of his discourse? That Job is wrong for questioning God because His mysterious works are beyond our comprehension and should be viewed with trust in His perfect, trustworthy character.

To learn more about the book of Job, visit ChristianUniversity.org/courses/the-book-of-job/.

Snow Muse -By Our Daily Bread
He says to the snow, “Fall on the earth,” and to the rain shower, “Be a mighty downpour.” Job 37:6

Named for a tough blue-collar neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio, the grassroots musical group Over the Rhine sings about a transformation that took place each year in the city. “Whenever we’d get our first real snowfall of the year, it felt like something sacred was happening,” explains band co-founder Linford Detweiler. “Like a little bit of a fresh start. The city would slow down and grow quiet.”

If you’ve experienced a heavy snowfall, you understand how it can inspire a song. A magical quietness drapes the world as snow conceals grime and grayness. For a few moments, winter’s bleakness brightens, inviting our reflection and delight.

Elihu, the one friend of Job who may have had a helpful view of God, noted how creation commands our attention. “God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways,” he said (Job 37:5). “He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’ ” Such splendor can interrupt our lives, demanding a sacred pause. “So that everyone he has made may know his work, he stops all people from their labor,” Elihu observed (vv. 6–7).

Nature sometimes seizes our attention in ways we don’t like. Regardless of what happens to us or what we observe around us, each moment—magnificent, menacing, or mundane—can inspire our worship. The poet’s heart within us craves the holy hush.

What events or things motivate you to ponder God’s greatness and creativity? How can you experience His wonder in your ordinary moments today?

Father, help me to see Your hand in everything today. Give me a heart to appreciate Your amazing works.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, March 09, 2021
Turning Back or Walking with Jesus?

Do you also want to go away? —John 6:67

What a penetrating question! Our Lord’s words often hit home for us when He speaks in the simplest way. In spite of the fact that we know who Jesus is, He asks, “Do you also want to go away?” We must continually maintain an adventurous attitude toward Him, despite any potential personal risk.

“From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more” (John 6:66). They turned back from walking with Jesus; not into sin, but away from Him. Many people today are pouring their lives out and working for Jesus Christ, but are not really walking with Him. One thing God constantly requires of us is a oneness with Jesus Christ. After being set apart through sanctification, we should discipline our lives spiritually to maintain this intimate oneness. When God gives you a clear determination of His will for you, all your striving to maintain that relationship by some particular method is completely unnecessary. All that is required is to live a natural life of absolute dependence on Jesus Christ. Never try to live your life with God in any other way than His way. And His way means absolute devotion to Him. Showing no concern for the uncertainties that lie ahead is the secret of walking with Jesus.

Peter saw in Jesus only someone who could minister salvation to him and to the world. But our Lord wants us to be fellow laborers with Him.

In John 6:70 Jesus lovingly reminded Peter that he was chosen to go with Him. And each of us must answer this question for ourselves and no one else: “Do you also want to go away?”

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Sincerity means that the appearance and the reality are exactly the same. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1449 L

Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 8-10; Mark 11:19-33

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, March 09, 2021

Responding to the Dispatcher - #8912

Some jobs are just plain old monotonous - pretty much the same thing every day. Not if your job is serving as a police officer in a patrol car. Every day is full of surprises. You really don't know where that day's work is going to take you. Basically, an officer on patrol is a responder. His radio crackles with a call from the dispatcher, who tells him where he's supposed to go, "Car 22, go to 160 Elm Street. Domestic disturbance." And so, he's off to a place he hadn't planned to go until he got orders from the dispatcher.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Responding to the Dispatcher."

Now, an officer on patrol doesn't know where he's needed - the dispatcher knows. The officer's job isn't to decide where he or she is going to be assigned. It's to respond to the assignment given by the dispatcher. That's your job as a follower of Jesus Christ. His "Dispatcher" is called the Holy Spirit who has assignments for you each new day - often unexpected assignments. The extent to which you will be involved in the great plans of God for this planet depends on how responsive you are to those directions from headquarters.

There's a graphic example of this dynamic of being dispatched spiritually in our word for today from the Word of God. Acts 8 tells about Philip's powerful ministry in Samaria where God was moving mightily through his preaching. I'm sure Philip had no plans to leave in the middle of these amazing events, but according to verse 26, "An angel of the Lord said to Philip, 'Go south to the road, the desert road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.' So he started out." The heavenly Dispatcher led Philip to leave the revival for a road in the desert, and Philip went.

On that road, Philip met an official from the royal court of Ethiopia who was a spiritual seeker. The Bible says, "The Spirit told Philip, 'Go to that chariot and stay near it.' Then Philip ran up to the chariot..." Philip found this man investigating an Old Testament prophecy about Christ. And it says, "Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus." Well, the man came to Christ, he was baptized on the spot, and carried the Gospel back to Africa. But here comes the Dispatcher from heaven again, "When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away. Philip traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns."

See, that's how it's supposed to work. We wake up in the morning with our plans. Hopefully, plans made prayerfully with God's guidance. But we turn our heart to heaven's frequency in the early moments of the day and say, "Lord, I've got my plans, but I'm staying tuned to your Holy Spirit, your dispatcher. Direct me where You want me. Help me be the right person at the right place at the right time with the right people doing the right thing. I'm Yours to assign.``

Your "to do" list may include things that He's already directed you to do. But He's a God of surprises, too. If you're always dropping everything to do something spontaneous, you probably haven't sought the Lord enough about what you're planning each day. But if you almost never drop what you're doing to follow the Spirit's unexpected prompting, you're probably too rigid for God to redirect. So stay flexible. Rigid people make lousy followers.

God may prompt you to make a call, or send an email, or text, write a letter, stop to pray, go somewhere, pray with someone. Stay tuned for those Spirit-promptings. He may have an unscheduled life for you to touch or to be touched by. He may direct you somewhere to get an answer to your prayer or to be the answer to someone else's prayer.

Those who are on patrol to do God's work in the world are supposed to be responders; responding to the directions of the dispatcher from heaven. When you get your assignments from Him, you're going to find yourself right in the middle of the amazing plans of God.