Faithful God Restores His People
After 70 years of exile, God Fulfils
His Promise to return His people to
their homeland. Under His direction,
King Cyrus of Persia now rules
Babylonia, and the Jews are free
to go home. The first group of
returnees rebuild the temple in
Jerusalem (Ezra 1-6). 58 years later,
Ezra leads a second group back to
Jerusalem to rebuild the spiritual
character of the people (Ezra 7-10).
By returning to the land of Israel
from Babylon, the Jews showed
their faith in God’s promise to restore
them as a people. They returned
not only to their homeland; but
also to the place where their fore-
fathers had promised to follow God.
Friends, Father God also shows His
mercy to every generation. And He
compassionately restores His people.
No matter how difficult our present
“captivity,” we are never far from
His love and mercy. For He will
restore us when we return to Him.
Lord, we Trust You Are In Control.
Lord, we’ll Use Gifts for Kingdom.
Lord, we’ll Not Fear but Praise You.
In Jesus’ precious name we pray.
Lord, we Trust the world In Yr Hands:
To fulfil the word of the Lord spoken
by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the
heart of Cyrus…to make a proclam-
ation: Thus says Cyrus king of Persia:
All the kingdoms of the earth the
Lord God of heaven has given me.
And He has commanded me to build
Him a house at Jerusalem (Ezra 1:1-2)
God stirred the hearts of the priests
and Levites and the leaders of
the tribes of Judah and Benjamin
to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the
Temple of the Lord (Ezra 1:5).
Lord, You enabled Cyrus to conquer
the Babylonians and guided Cyrus
to allow Judah return to their home
-land to fulfil Jeremiah’s prophecy.
Remind us Lord to trust that You
are actively at work even when
we may not be able to see how.
Lord, stir up people to come to You
for that’s where true security can
be found. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Lord, we’ll Use Gifts for Kingdom:
So a total of 42,360 people
returned to Judah, in addition to
7337 servants and 200 singers…
When they arrived at the Temple of
the Lord… some of the leaders gave
generously toward the rebuilding
of God’s Temple… and each leader
gave as much as he could. The total
of their gifts came to 61,000 gold
coins, 6250 pounds of silver and 100
robes for the priests (Ezra 2:64-69).
Lord, we realise that generosity
is a strong mark of Faithfulness.
We also realise God’s servants
need dedication, perseverance and
generosity in furthering His work.
Help us Lord volunteer cheerfully
and use the gifts God has given us
in His service. In Jesus’ name, Amen
Lord, we’ll Not Fear but Praise You.
With praise and thanksgiving
they sang to the Lord: He is good;
His love to Israel endures forever.
And all the people have a great
shout of praise to the Lord,
because the foundation of the
house of the Lord was laid (Ez3:11)
Lord, You are Almighty, far above
all things; and Your presence is
greater than anything we fear. For
Faith in You and in Your Word will
conquer all challenges in our lives.
Help us Lord when we struggle
or doubt; to make praise the first
response to fearful situations.
Help us not to dwell on problems
but instead praise Your mighty name.
And as we praise and thank You
Help us by taking away our fear
and instead give us peace. Amen.