Kids Blog-Cyrus helps the Exiles to return
Last week, kids leanred that God kept His promise and brought His people home to rebuild the temple to glorify God.
Bible Story: Rebuilding the Temple Ezra 1-3
Bible Verse: With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the LORD, "He is good; his love toward Israel endures forever." And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. Ezra 3:11
Two weeks ago, we learned that when Daniel was reading the Scriptures, he understood that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. So Daniel turned to the LORD God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting. Jeremiah 25:11-12 wrote, "This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years. But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians for their guilt," delcares the Lord," and will make it desolate forever." Jeremiah 29:10 said, "This is what the LORD says, "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place."
In Ezra 1, we witness God fulfilling His promise, the Word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah. And God uses Cyrus king of Persiato bring His people home from captivity. Ezra 1 tells us that God moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia and made a proclamation for His people to go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the LORD. People of Judah prepared to go up and build the house of the LORD and all their neighbors assisted them with articles of silver, gold, goods, livestock, valuable gifts, and freewill offerings. King Cyrus also brought out the articles that Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple of the LORD. When the Israelites arrived in Jerusalem, they began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it. They built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the LORD both the morning and evening sacrifices. They also celebrated the Festival of Tabernacles in according with what is written in the Law of Moses, presented burnt offerings, the New Moon sacrifices and the sacrifices for all the appointed sacred festivals of the LORD. When they builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests, and the Levites praised the LORD, with praise and thanksgiving, they sang to the LORD.
God fulfilled His promise and brought His people home from captivity. And when they arrived at the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, they gave freewill offerings toward the rebuilding of the house of God. They restored their worship, gave burnt offerings and kept God's instructions as written in the Law of Moses. They worked diligently, praised and gave thanks to God who brought them home to rebuild God's temple to glorify Him. Just as God rescued them from their captivity in Babylon, God rescued us from our captivity to sin. This week, as we think about the Israelites that returned home and recommited their lives to God with worship and thanksgiving, let us also thank God for all He has done and honor Him with worship and thankful heart daily.
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