In His Image Ministries

Thursday August 17 Bible Reading:      Ezra 2: 1 - 19 Topic:                   Faithful God This passage gives a long list of the families of the first set of exiles who returned from the captivity in Babylon, led by Zerubbabel the Governor and Jeshua the High Priest (v. 2; Neh. 7: 7; Haggai 1: 14) Those mentioned in verse 2 were probably the leaders of the returning exiles. Each returned to his own town (v. 1) The Babylonian exile had been a very humiliating experience for Israel as a Nation. A large number of the people died by the sword or from starvation (Jer. 52: 10 - 11). Others were forced into exile to different cities in the vast Babylonian Empire. Only the very poor were left in the land probably under worse conditions than those who had been exiled (Jer. 52: 15 - 16) Yet after 70 years of desolation, the Faithful God remembered...

Wednesday August 16 Bible Reading:      Ezra 1: 1 - 12 Topic:                   A Prophecy Fulfilled In Jer. 25: 12, the Lord declared that the captivity of Jerusalem in Babylon would last 70 years. This same God moved people like Daniel to pray for its fulfillment (Dan. 9: 1 - 4) and God used a pagan King Cyrus to accomplish it (vs. 1 - 4). He also used a large number of people, led by Zerubbabel to fulfill His promise (2: 2). God declares clearly in several places that every word He proclaims must surely come to pass (Ezek. 12: 25; Matt 5: 18) Our responsibility is to believe God's word and pray for its fulfillment like Daniel. More importantly, we must be willing to be used by God to accomplish His purposes just as those Jews who left the comfort of their life in Babylon to return to Judah to rebuild their Country. However it ...