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Day 339: Ezra 1-3 | Read The Bible In A Year | Bible Study with Commentary by Dr. Manny Arango — Transcript

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0:00Hey Bible nerds, this is Dr. Manny
0:02Orango. Welcome to the Bible department
0:04podcast powered by Arma. We are walking
0:08through the entire Bible in a year. You
0:10can go to the description or the bible
0:13department.com to download a reading
0:15plan and join the journey
0:24family. Welcome to the book of Ezra. But
0:27we are on day 339 here at the Bible
0:30department podcast and we are finally
0:33diving into one of my favorite books of
0:34the Bible, the book of Ezra. Today we've
0:38got Ezra, chapters 1, 2, and three. If
0:43you haven't done the reading, then I
0:45want to challenge you to stop the video,
0:47pause the audio, go get the reading
0:50done. You are not going to want to miss
0:52all of the lessons from the books of
0:56Ezra and Nehemiah. Uh we've got three
0:59days in the book of Ezra and then we got
1:01four days in the book of Nehemiah. Now,
1:04you may be wondering like why is Dr.
1:07Manny kind of talking about Ezra and
1:09Nehemiah together? Well, uh I'm talking
1:12about them together because these were
1:15originally one book. Okay? uh these are
1:18designed to be seen together. The same
1:22way that we would not want to separate
1:24Luke and Acts from one another, we don't
1:27want to separate Ezra and Nehemiah from
1:30one another. There's a lot going on that
1:33connects these two works. And to be
1:36honest, everything is connected. Uh
1:39Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah, and all of
1:42Chronicles really, really, really
1:44interconnected books of the Bible. And
1:47uh we're going to dive into all of that.
1:50I guess uh I've already kind of started
1:53our context clues for the day. And our
1:55big piece of context is that Ezra and
1:57Nehemiah in our current Bibles in our
2:00modern Bibles appear as two separate
2:03books. But in order to translate or
2:06interpret what's going on in the books
2:08of Ezra and Nehemiah, well, we're
2:10actually going to need to see them as
2:13one work. Okay? as one book. And uh I'll
2:17kind of even give you like a mind map.
2:20The books of Ezra and Nehemiah are going
2:22to function in threes. Okay, threes. If
2:25there's a number that I want you to like
2:27get in your mind, it's threes. Okay, so
2:30this is just big overarching context for
2:32the whole book. Number one, the first
2:36idea is return. Okay, the people of
2:40Israel are currently living in Persia
2:43and they are going to return to
2:45Jerusalem. This is a big big big big
2:47deal. And uh I didn't realize how big of
2:50a deal this return to Jerusalem was
2:53until I really started diving into the
2:55books of Ezra and Nehemiah earlier this
2:58week. And actually, the Bible is going
3:01to frame the return from exile as a
3:05second exodus. We're going to dive into
3:07some of those nerdy nuggets in a moment.
3:10This is going to be seen as important,
3:12just as important as the people of
3:14Israel leaving Egypt in the Exoduses,
3:18returning from exile back into the
3:21promised land is going to be seen as a
3:22second exodus. In both the original
3:25Exodus and the second Exodus, they are
3:27going to Jerusalem to the promised land
3:31of Israel. But obviously in the original
3:34Exodus they are leaving the captivity of
3:36Egypt. But in the new Exodus they are
3:39going to be leaving the captivity of the
3:41Persian Empire and coming back to their
3:44homeland uh which is uh Judah, Judea,
3:49Jerusalem. Okay. All right. The book
3:52kind of flows in threes. Okay. And that
3:55first third is going to be return. Okay.
4:00Return. And there's going to be waves of
4:03return. We'll talk about the three waves
4:05of return, but the first is return.
4:08Okay, they returned with Zerubbable in
4:12538 BC. Now, you're going to realize
4:15quickly that dates are really, really
4:17important, but they return with
4:18Zerubbable in 538 BC. And then they're
4:23charged to rebuild. Okay, so the second
4:26part of Ezra is going to be all about
4:29rebuilding. And then the third movement
4:32of Ezra is going to be all about
4:34repentance. Okay? So there's three big
4:37Rs that we're going to focus on for both
4:41of these books, but for sure in Ezra is
4:44the return of the people, the rebuilding
4:47of Jerusalem, and the repentant hearts
4:49of the people. Okay? Return, rebuild,
4:52repent. Return, rebuild, repent. Now, I
4:55said that everything is going to happen
4:57in threes. So, let me kind of break down
4:59a structure that is actually going to
5:02span from Ezra all the way into
5:05Nehemiah. Okay, Ezra chapters 1-6.
5:09Okay, Ezra chapters 1-6 is the first
5:13wave of return. And this is led by
5:17Zerubbable in 538 BC. Ezra is not even
5:21going to get mentioned or talked about
5:24until chapter 7. And that's going to
5:27mark the second part of Ezra, which is
5:30chapter 7 to chapter 10. So Ezra chapter
5:331-6 is all about Zerubbable and that
5:37first original wave of Jews leaving
5:41Persia, coming back to their homeland to
5:45rebuild the temple. Okay, the altar of
5:49sacrifice and the temple. They are there
5:52to rebuild the temple. They've come back
5:55out of exile, back to their homeland to
5:58ruins and rubble. Okay, can you imagine?
6:02You know, I I the only event that I
6:04could like communicate to kind of put
6:06this in context would be 9/11. Like
6:09could you imagine if you had an
6:11apartment or a condo anywhere near uh
6:15where the Twin Towers fell, you know,
6:18and it and you just you you had to
6:20evacuate and then you come back years
6:22later and it's just rubble and ruins and
6:26you have to take rubble and ruins and
6:28rebuild in your life. The other example
6:32that I would give is like Katrina. Like
6:35could you imagine like your life just
6:37being totally sent into a spiral because
6:41you had to evacuate and then when you
6:44came back everything is in ruins and you
6:47have to rebuild your life. Okay, this is
6:49the scenario that God's people find
6:51themselves in when Ezra begins. They're
6:55allowed to go back but honestly for many
6:57of them their life in Babylon, their
7:00life in the Persian Empire would have
7:03been better. So it's actually a
7:05sacrifice to go back to Jerusalem to
7:08rebuild. Okay. So that first wave that
7:11goes with the Zerubbable, this is Ezra
7:13chapters 1 2 3 4 5 and six. Then Ezra
7:17chapter 7, we're actually introduced to
7:19Ezra. Okay. The entire book is named
7:22after after Ezra and we don't even get
7:24introduced to this man until chapter 7.
7:26Well, chapter 7 to chapter 10, Ezra
7:29comes on the scene 80 years after
7:31Zerubbable. Okay, so 80 years have gone
7:34by and this is 458 BC. Ezra brings a
7:38second wave of exiles who were in the
7:41Persian Empire back to Jerusalem. And
7:44then Nehemiah chapters 1 to7 in 446 BC.
7:50So about 12 years later after Ezra,
7:55Nehemiah is going to lead a group from
7:59Persia back to Jerusalem and he is going
8:02to rebuild the walls. Okay? So
8:04Zerubbabible, his main objective is
8:07rebuild the temple. Ezra's main
8:09objective is to get people to recommmit
8:13to the Torah. And then Nehemiah's main
8:15objective is to get the walls that are
8:19supposed to be around the city built and
8:22established so that people that are
8:24living in Jerusalem can be protected.
8:26Okay? Three waves of return, three
8:30different leaders and three different
8:33generational time periods. Okay? 80
8:36years separates Zerubbable from Ezra.
8:40And then I would say, you know, less
8:42than that, Ezra and Nehemiah would have
8:44been closer in age, but Ezra still would
8:46have been older than him by about who
8:49knows, you know, anywhere from 10 to 20
8:51years older. So, three waves of return,
8:55three main leaders, and three big
8:58projects. The first project being the
9:00temple, the second project being Torah,
9:03and the third project being the walls.
9:06All right, I think that's all the
9:08context that we need in order to really
9:10appreciate and understand the book of
9:12Ezra. Let's dive into some nerdy
9:14nuggets. Okay, chapter 1, verse one.
9:16Just going to start reading here. Says,
9:18"In the first year of Cyrus, king of
9:20Persia, in order to fulfill the word of
9:23the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord
9:26moved the heart of Cyrus, king of
9:28Persia, to make a proclamation
9:30throughout his realm and also to put it
9:32in writing." Okay? And what is Cyrus
9:36going to put in writing? It says in
9:38verse two, this is what Cyrus, king of
9:40Persia, says, "The Lord, the God of
9:43heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of
9:46the earth and has appointed me to build
9:48a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah."
9:52Okay? So, hey, gather up all these
9:55Jewish people who are here in exile, who
9:59are stuck in captivity.
10:01Hey, I I'm called by God to build the
10:05God of heaven a temple in Jerusalem.
10:09Now, this may seem random, okay,
10:14random. However, this is not random at
10:17all. This was actually prophesied in the
10:21books of both Isaiah and Jeremiah. So
10:25it's going to say that in Ezra chapter 1
10:28in order to fulfill the word of the Lord
10:31spoken by Jeremiah. All right. So let's
10:36find what Jeremiah actually said. Okay.
10:39Let's find it. We're going to look at
10:41Jeremiah chapter 29 verse 10. I know
10:45we're so used to looking at Jeremiah
10:4729:11, but we're going to back up one
10:49verse and look at Jeremiah 29:10.
10:52And it says these words. This is what
10:54the Lord says. When 70 years are
10:57completed for Babylon, I will come to
11:00you and fulfill my good promise to bring
11:03you back to this place. What's this
11:06place? Jerusalem. Okay? For I know the
11:09plans I have for you, declares the Lord.
11:11Plans to prosper you, not to harm you,
11:13plans to give you a hope and a future.
11:16Then you will call on me and come and
11:18pray to me, and I will listen to you.
11:20You will seek me and find me when you
11:23seek me with all your heart. I will be
11:24found by you, declares the Lord, and
11:27will bring you back from captivity. I
11:31will gather you from all the nations and
11:33places where I have banished you,
11:34declares the Lord, and will bring you
11:37back to the place from which I carried
11:39you into exile. Okay. So, there's a
11:43promise here in Jeremiah chapter 29 that
11:46the exile, the captivity would last for
11:5070 years. And then once the 70 year mark
11:53hits, boom, God said, "I'm coming back
11:55for you." And it's going to be like a
11:57second exodus. Okay? You are going to be
12:01led back to Jerusalem from the nations
12:04from which I to which I banished you. So
12:07when Cyrus is like the words of
12:10Jeremiah, this is what he's talking
12:11about. He's saying, "Oh, great. Hey,
12:13it's been 70 years. I'm the appointed
12:15leader." Now, we need one more piece of
12:17this puzzle and that's Isaiah 44:28.
12:22Isaiah 44:28.
12:25I'll find it for us and then I'll read
12:27it. We're actually going to start
12:29reading in verse 24. Okay, this is what
12:33the Lord says. your redeemer who formed
12:35you in the womb. I am the Lord, the
12:38maker of all things, who stretches out
12:40the heavens, who spreads out the earth
12:42by myself. Okay? And then every line is
12:45going to be who. Okay? So, who foils,
12:48who overthrows, who carries, who says of
12:50Jerusalem, who says of the watery deep,
12:53be dry, and I will dry up your streams.
12:55who says of Cyrus, here we go, Cyrus, he
13:00is my shepherd AND WILL ACCOMPLISH ALL
13:02THAT I PLEASE. He will say of Jerusalem,
13:06"Let it be rebuilt." And of the temple,
13:08"Let its foundation be laid." Now, this
13:12prophecy in Isaiah chapter 44 happens
13:16150 years prior to Cyrus being born. 150
13:22years. Let's think about that, okay? If
13:25if if someone showed me a prophecy with
13:27my name in it 150 years before I'm born,
13:31yeah, you may believe I'm going to
13:33respond like it says in Ezra chapter 1.
13:37This is what Cyrus, king of Persia,
13:38said, "The Lord, God of heaven, has
13:40given me all the kingdoms of the earth,
13:42and he has appointed me to build a
13:44temple for him at Jerusalem and Judah."
13:47Now, Josephus, who is a Jewish
13:49historian, is going to claim that
13:53someone must have given Cyrus a copy of
13:57the scroll of Isaiah and told him, you
14:00know, that the the God of the Hebrews
14:02was prophesied about you 150 years ago
14:05and that Cyrus was clearly taken it back
14:09because Isaiah 44:28 is not the only
14:11place it's going to prophesy about
14:13Cyrus. Chapter 45:es 1-3 is also going
14:16to prophesy about Cyrus. Says this
14:18Isaiah chapter 45 starting in verse one.
14:21This is what the Lord says to his
14:23anointed to Cyrus. Okay. Not Jesus. No,
14:27to Cyrus, a pagan ruler is being called
14:31the anointed one of God. This is what
14:34the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus,
14:36whose right hand I take hold of to
14:39subdue nations before him and to strip
14:41kings of their armor, to open doors
14:44before him so that gates will not be
14:47shut. I will go before you and will
14:49level the mountains. I will break down
14:52gates of bronze and cut through bars of
14:55iron. I will give you hidden treasures,
14:58riches stored in secret places, so that
15:00you may know that I am the Lord, the God
15:02of Israel, who summons you by name. That
15:06is like that. Knowing that that was
15:08prophesied about Cyrus 150 years before
15:11he was born gives me goosebumps. Now,
15:14how did Cyrus overthrow the Babylonians?
15:18Because Cyrus is a Persian king who
15:19overthrows the Babylonians. Well, the
15:21Euphrates River runs through Babylon and
15:26months before the overthrow, the Persian
15:29army figured out how to reroute the
15:31Euphrates so that the gates of the city
15:35where the water typically since there's
15:38water that runs through these channels
15:40where the gates are, you can't get in
15:42and out of the city uh because the water
15:45is too high. But because they had damned
15:47up the water and rerouted the the river,
15:50it meant that the water was super super
15:52shallow. And guess what? Just like verse
15:56two of Isaiah 45 says, "I will break
15:59down gates of bronze and cut through
16:01bars of iron." Okay, they literally the
16:05Persian army just marched right on in
16:09like with no
16:11conflict, with no problems because they
16:14had rerouted that river. Okay. So,
16:16because they were at ground level with
16:18the water, they were able to just
16:21literally go right through the bars, go
16:23right through the gates, and then
16:24overtake the city. That's it. It's a
16:26wrap. And the Persian Empire becomes the
16:28most wealthy empire on the planet. And
16:31so, these words here in Isaiah chapter
16:3445 are eerily similar in terms of what
16:38actually happened in history to Cyrus,
16:42uh, king of Persia. All right, let me
16:44give you as many nerdy nuggets as I can.
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17:38wrote a good one. I think you should get
17:40a copy today. All right, back to the
17:43episode. There are two different options
17:47for the 70 years that Ezra is that Ezra
17:51chapter 1 is is going to talk about.
17:54Cyrus says, "Hey, in fulfillment of
17:57Jeremiah's words, okay, what were
17:59Jeremiah's words? That the people would
18:00be in captivity for 70 years and they
18:02would go back home." All right, so we
18:04got to map out the 70 years. There's two
18:07reasonable options. The 70 years is
18:10either going to start with the very very
18:12very very very first deportation which
18:15started in 606 BT BC. This is when
18:18Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
18:20get deported to Babylon from Jerusalem.
18:23Remember, there were multiple waves of
18:25deportation. Actually, to be precise,
18:29there were three waves out of
18:32deportation and now there's going to be
18:34three waves of return in. I want you to
18:36think about this as an ocean. Three
18:38waves out, three waves in. Okay? So that
18:42first wave of deportation included
18:44Daniel, Shadrach, Mach, and Abedneo.
18:48Okay? That was 606. 605 606 BC. Okay? If
18:53you fast forward 70 years, this is Cyrus
18:58now in 536
19:00BC giving the order that Zerubbable
19:04needs to take the Jewish people back to
19:07Jerusalem. Okay? So that would that
19:09could be 70 years. Okay? Or we could
19:13take the 586 BC date, which is the date
19:16that the temple is destroyed. Now, what
19:19does the rubbable go into Jerusalem to
19:21do? Rebuild the temple. And when is it
19:23going to get rebuilt? In 516 BC. Which
19:26means from 586 BC when the temple is
19:29destroyed to 516 BC when the temple is
19:32rebuilt. That's 70 years. So 70 years
19:36could either happen be happening from
19:39the very very very first wave of exile
19:42and then the first wave of return or the
19:4770 years could be attached to the time
19:50that the people were without a temple.
19:52Both make tons of sense because with no
19:56temple there is no worship of Yahweh.
19:59With no temple there are no sacrifices.
20:02And so the temple is going to be an
20:06insanely important piece of the worship
20:09puzzle. Okay, so two options. Next nerdy
20:14nugget. Okay, Zerubbable is going to
20:16lead a group of people back to Jerusalem
20:18and they're going to start the work of
20:20rebuilding the temple. Now this temple
20:22building process is not going to go too
20:25hot. They're going to get back. They're
20:27going to be excited. They're going to
20:28start doing the work. And then it lays
20:30dormant for almost two decades. And God
20:33is going to send two prophets, Haggi and
20:36Zechariah, to prophesy to the people to
20:39kick their rear in gear. And they're
20:40going to get the temple going again. So
20:42I want to read Haggi 1:8 and Zechariah
20:468:9 because you may not have realized
20:49that Haggi and Zechariah were a part of
20:53this era of ministry. But the reason
20:57that they that Haggi and Zechariah are
20:59active prophets are because Zerubbable
21:02has led a group of people back to
21:03Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. And the
21:05people have gotten complacent. They've
21:06gotten comfortable and they don't want
21:08to build. Uh, and so remember the theme
21:11is return and then rebuild. So God's
21:14going to send Haggi and Zechariah. So
21:16let's put Haggi 1 vers8 and Zechariah
21:198:9 in context together. Haggi chapter 1
21:24vers8 says this, "Go up into the
21:26mountains and bring down timber and
21:28build my house so that I might take
21:31pleasure in it and be honored, says the
21:34Lord." Okay. Go build my house. What
21:37house? The temple. Okay, that's what the
21:39people had been called back from Persian
21:43exile into Jerusalem to do to build
21:46God's house, to build a temple.
21:48Zechariah 8:9, Haggi and Zechariah are
21:52preaching the same message to the same
21:54group. Okay. Right here in the in this
21:59exact season of of biblical history.
22:04Okay. In this sliver of life. Let's read
22:07Zechariah 8:9. Zechariah says to the
22:10people, "This is what the Lord Almighty
22:12says." Now hear these words. Let your
22:14hands be strong so the temple may be
22:16built. This is also what the prophet
22:20said who were present when the
22:22foundation was laid for the house of the
22:24Lord God Almighty. Okay. So both Haggi
22:28and Zechariah are both like hey let's
22:31get busy like build the temple. Let's
22:35build this temple. We'll get into way
22:37more detail on tomorrow's episode. Okay
22:40last nerdy nugget. it. I really want to
22:43make this parallel clear that this is a
22:46second exodus, okay? That the return of
22:50the exiles is going to be seen from a
22:53biblical perspective just as important
22:55as the Exodus event. It's a second
22:57exodus. So number one, Ezra chapter 1
23:00vers6 says, "The articles of silver and
23:03gold supplied by the exiles neighbors,
23:05okay, is actually the exact same as the
23:09plunder of the Egyptians motif in the
23:11Exodus story. You can look this up in
23:13Exodus 3:22, Exodus 11:2, and Exodus
23:1712:35." So that's one correlation
23:21between this second Exodus and the
23:23original Exodus. Next, Ezra 1:1 says
23:27that the exiles to be brought up out of
23:30Babylon to Jerusalem is deliberately
23:33similar to the classic Exodus formula,
23:36the people who I brought you, I brought
23:39up out of the land of Egypt to the land
23:42of promise flowing with milk and honey.
23:45That's Exodus chapter 33:11 if you need
23:47context. Next, Ezra is going to
23:51culminate, and we'll see this tomorrow,
23:53that the rebuilding, the return of the
23:56exiles, and the rebuilding is going to
23:58climax with the celebration of Passover.
24:02Okay, we're going to see this in Ezra 6
24:0519-22, just as the Israelites did as
24:08they left Egypt. Exodus chapters 12 and
24:1013. As if three correlations aren't
24:13enough, I'm going to give you as many
24:16more as I can. Four, we're going to get
24:18a big census. What did we get in the
24:21book of numbers? Okay, as the people
24:24left Egypt and prepared to go into the
24:26promised land, they had to get counted.
24:28And so, what are we going to have in
24:29Ezra? Oh boy, you're going to get
24:31genealogies galore. Okay, because we
24:35have that theme that this a new Exodus.
24:37Okay. Lastly, Ezra chapter 2 68- 69 say
24:41this. The exiles provide a free will
24:44contribution to the new temple which
24:46parallels with the free will
24:48contributions to the of the Exodus
24:50generation for the tabernacle. Okay. And
24:54one last little nerdy detail that we'll
24:57really talk about over the next couple
24:58of days is that once we get to Nehemiah,
25:01we are going to be talking to a new
25:03generation of God's people, which is
25:06really going to be a lot like
25:08Deuteronomy. Remember how Moses had to
25:11give a second law? Deuteronomos Nomos's
25:14law dudero second. Okay? Why? Because
25:18there was a new generation. Okay?
25:21Zerubbable's name means planted in
25:23Babylon. Zerubbable has never lived in
25:25Jerusalem. Okay? This is someone who was
25:28born in captivity, born in exile, and
25:30now he's going to lead God's people back
25:32home. This is huge. They they've been
25:36waiting for this for 70 years. This is a
25:38huge, huge, huge moment. All right,
25:40let's recap. Three waves out, three
25:44waves in. Those three waves in are going
25:47to be marked by three different leaders.
25:49Zerubbable, Ezra, and Nehemiah. Cyrus is
25:52prophesied about 150 years before he's
25:55born. Not only is Cyrus prophesied
25:57about, but what he's going to do is
26:00prophesied. And the 70 years that the
26:02people are going to spend in captivity,
26:04that's also prophesied about. Haggi and
26:07Zechariah are prophets prophesying
26:09during this general time period. There
26:12are two legitimate options for the
26:1570-year prophecy. and whether or not
26:17that is going from original deportation
26:20to the time of the first wave of return
26:22or if that's going from the destruction
26:25of the temple to the rebuilding of the
26:28temple. And then last but not least,
26:32this is a new exodus. And I gave tons of
26:34reasons as to why it should be seen as a
26:37new exodus. And so, let's get into our
26:39timeless truth. Only 50,000 Jews
26:43actually go back to Jerusalem. There are
26:46conservative estimations, hundreds of
26:47thousands of Jews living in Babylon. I
26:50would say some serious estimations are
26:52over a million Jews living in Babylon in
26:54this time and only 50,000 are actually
26:58going to go back. And uh I would say
27:00that they took the words of Jeremiah
27:02like too seriously. In Jeremiah chapter
27:0429 vers five, Jeremiah is telling the
27:08people, hey, you've been carried off
27:10into exile and you need to like hunker
27:13down. Like it's not going to be short.
27:15He says this, build houses and settle
27:17down. Plant gardens and eat what they
27:19produce. Marry and have sons and
27:21daughters. Find wives for your sons and
27:22give your daughters in marriage so that
27:24they too may have sons and daughters.
27:26Increase in number there. Do not
27:28decrease. also seek the peace and
27:30prosperity of the city to which I've
27:32carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord
27:35for it because if it prospers, you too
27:38will prosper. And so by the time the
27:40people are able to come back to
27:42Jerusalem, they don't want to. It's like
27:44they obeyed the words of Jeremiah too
27:47good. They like Babylon. And uh this is
27:51my Thomas truth for the day because
27:53there's a lot of Christians who like we
27:56we we are in love with the world.
27:58Getting us to actually maybe make a
28:03sacrifice so that we can be a part of
28:05Jerusalem and not Babylon is hard. And
28:09only 50 50,000 of them end up doing it.
28:12Out of let's say there's a million Jews
28:14living in Babylon. only 50,000 decide
28:17I'm gonna downgrade my life in terms of
28:20its comfort, in terms of my economics so
28:22that I can upgrade it in terms of my
28:24spirituality. And a lot of times an
28:27upgrade spiritually is going to come at
28:30the cost of a downgrade in other areas
28:33of your life. And that's not just true
28:35for these people who are trying to
28:37follow the rubber bell to Jerusalem, but
28:39who have found their favorite bakery,
28:42have found their favorite coffee shop,
28:44have found their favorite whatever
28:46whatever in Babylon. Going back home to
28:49Jerusalem is not appealing to them. It's
28:51it's a pile of rocks. It's ruins. It's
28:53rubble. Why would I go back there? But
28:56God actually consistently calls people
28:59not just forward, but also back so they
29:02can return, rebuild, and repent. And I
29:05hope that that's not just an encouraging
29:07word today from history. I hope that's
29:10an encouraging word from the Holy Spirit
29:12that you would apply that to your life
29:14and that you would make some hard
29:16decisions to maybe return, rebuild, and
29:20repent. Let's keep looking at Ezra uh as
29:24we dive into chapters 4, 5, and 6
29:26tomorrow for day 340. Uh I hope that
29:29this first day in the book of Ezra is
29:32met with tons of excitement. I love the
29:34book of Ezra. I tried to tell you not uh
29:37some information that you probably
29:38wouldn't have been able to find on your
29:40own. I hope I did a good job. I hope to
29:41see you tomorrow. I love you. I'm so
29:44proud of you. See you soon. Peace.
29:47Thanks so much for joining us on the
29:49Bible department podcast. If this
29:51episode was helpful, how about you leave
29:53a comment, share with a friend, and
29:55subscribe so that you never miss an
29:57episode. To learn more about the show,
29:59head to the bible department.com. We'll
30:02see you right back here tomorrow.

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