April 24, 2025, Ezra 5:1-5 5  Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them.  2  Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and the prophets of God were with them, supporting them. 3  At the same time Tattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and their associates came to them and spoke to them thus: “Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure?”  4  They also asked them this: “What are the names of the men who are building this building?”  5  But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them until the report should reach Darius and then an answer be returned by letter concerning it. In every generation, Go...

April 23, 2025, Ezra 4:17-24 17  The king sent an answer: “To Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe and the rest of their associates who live in Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River, greeting. And now  18  the letter that you sent to us has been plainly read before me.  19  And I made a decree, and search has been made, and it has been found that this city from of old has risen against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made in it.  20  And mighty kings have been over Jerusalem, who ruled over the whole province Beyond the River, to whom tribute, custom, and toll were paid.  21  Therefore make a decree that these men be made to cease, and that this city be not rebuilt, until a decree is made by me.  22  And take care not to be slack in this matter. Why should damage grow to the hurt of the king?” 23  Then, when the copy of King Artaxerxes' letter was read before Rehum...

April 22, 2025, Ezra 4:7-16 7  In the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam and Mithredath and Tabeel and the rest of their associates wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated.  8  Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows:  9  Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates, the judges, the governors, the officials, the Persians, the men of Erech, the Babylonians, the men of Susa, that is, the Elamites,  10  and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River.  11  (This is a copy of the letter that they sent.) “To Artaxerxes the king: Your servants, the men of the province Beyond the River, send greeting. And now  12  be it known to the king that the Jews who came up...

April 21, 2025, Ezra 4:1-6 4  Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the  Lord , the God of Israel,  2  they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers' houses and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria who brought us here.”  3  But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers' houses in Israel said to them, “You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the  Lord , the God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.” 4  Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build  5  and bribed counselors against them to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Dar...

April 20, 2025, Ezra 3:8-13 8  Now in the second year after their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak made a beginning, together with the rest of their kinsmen, the priests and the Levites and all who had come to Jerusalem from the captivity. They appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to supervise the work of the house of the  Lord .  9  And Jeshua with his sons and his brothers, and Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together supervised the workmen in the house of God, along with the sons of Henadad and the Levites, their sons and brothers. 10  And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the  Lord , the priests in their vestments came forward with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the  Lord , according to the directions of David king of Israel....

April 19, 2025, Ezra 3:1-7 3  When the seventh month came, and the children of Israel were in the towns, the people gathered as one man to Jerusalem.  2  Then arose Jeshua the son of Jozadak, with his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel with his kinsmen, and they built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God.  3  They set the altar in its place, for fear was on them because of the peoples of the lands, and they offered burnt offerings on it to the  Lord , burnt offerings morning and evening.  4  And they kept the Feast of Booths, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number according to the rule, as each day required,  5  and after that the regular burnt offerings, the offerings at the new moon and at all the appointed feasts of the  Lord , and the offerings of everyon...

April 18, 2025, Ezra 2:1-70 2  Now these were the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of those exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried captive to Babylonia. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town.  2  They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel:  3  the sons of Parosh, 2,172.  4  The sons of Shephatiah, 372.  5  The sons of Arah, 775.  6  The sons of Pahath-moab, namely the sons of Jeshua and Joab, 2,812.  7  The sons of Elam, 1,254.  8  The sons of Zattu, 945.  9  The sons of Zaccai, 760.  10  The sons of Bani, 642.  11  The sons of Bebai, 623.  12  The sons of Azgad, 1,222.  13  The sons of Adonikam, 666.  14  The sons of Bigvai, 2,056.  15  The sons of...

April 17, 2025, Ezra 1:1-11 1  In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the  Lord  by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the  Lord  stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: 2  “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The  Lord , the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.   3  Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the  Lord , the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem.   4  And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.” 5  Then ...

April 16, 2025, 2 Kings 26:28-54 28  The sons of Abraham: Isaac and Ishmael.  29  These are their genealogies: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebaioth, and Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,  30  Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema,  31  Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. These are the sons of Ishmael.  32  The sons of Keturah, Abraham's concubine: she bore Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. The sons of Jokshan: Sheba and Dedan.  33  The sons of Midian: Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the descendants of Keturah. 34  Abraham fathered Isaac. The sons of Isaac: Esau and Israel.  35  The sons of Esau: Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.  36  The sons of Eliphaz: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, Kenaz, and of Timna, Amalek.  37  The sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. 38  The sons of Seir: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, ...

April 15, 2025, 2 Kings 26:1-27 1   Adam, Seth, Enosh;  2  Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared;  3  Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech;  4  Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 5  The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.  6  The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.  7  The sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Rodanim. 8  The sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan.  9  The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabta, Raamah, and Sabteca. The sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan.  10  Cush fathered Nimrod. He was the first on earth to be a mighty man. 11  Egypt fathered Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim,  12  Pathrusim, Casluhim (from whom the Philistines came), and Caphtorim. 13  Canaan fathered Sidon his firstborn and Heth,  14  and the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites,  15  the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites,...

April 14, 2025, 2 Kings 25:27-30 27  And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously freed Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison.  28  And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon.  29  So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life he dined regularly at the king's table,  30  and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, according to his daily needs, as long as he lived. Oh, what just a little bit of kindness can do.   I wonder why amidst all this chaos and evil, this one king shows some kindness to this one who was now a prisoner.   Who do you know that might be a prisoner, maybe not in the sense we typically think of as prisoner, but someone who is st...

April 13, 2025, 2 Kings 25:22-26 22  And over the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, governor.  23  Now when all the captains and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor, they came with their men to Gedaliah at Mizpah, namely, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite.  24  And Gedaliah swore to them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid because of the Chaldean officials. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.”  25  But in the seventh month, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men and struck down Gedaliah and put him to death along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah....

April 12, 2025, 2 Kings 25:1-21 25  And in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem and laid siege to it. And they built siegeworks all around it.  2  So the city was besieged till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.  3  On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land.  4  Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, by the king's garden, and the Chaldeans were around the city. And they went in the direction of the Arabah.  5  But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him.  6  Then they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Ri...

April 11, 2025, 2 Kings 24:18-20 18  Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.  19  And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.  20  For because of the anger of the LORD it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he cast them out from his presence. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.   These verses share King Zedekiah’s reign of eleven years to be evil as seen in previous verses under his predecessors ultimately causing Jerusalem and Judah to be destroyed.   What can we learn for these passages about disobedience and repentance?   Are you in the midst of a situation were you know you are being disobedient to God?   Do you understand the need for repentance?   How can you move from a disobedient state to one of repen...

April 10, 2025, 2 Kings 24:8-17 8  Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.  9  And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had done. 10  At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.  11  And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it,  12  and Jehoiachin the king of Judah gave himself up to the king of Babylon, himself and his mother and his servants and his officials and his palace officials. The king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign  13  and carried off all the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold in the temple ...

April 9, 2025, 2 Kings 23:36-24:7 36  Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zebidah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah.  37  And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done. 24 In his days, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him.  2  And the LORD sent against him bands of the Chaldeans and bands of the Syrians and bands of the Moabites and bands of the Ammonites, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by his servants the prophets.  3  Surely this came upon Judah at the command of the LORD, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done,  4  and also for the innoce...