Book: Ezra
Ezra 1
- Devotional Ezra 1: God is still in control
Things had gone terribly wrong for God’s People in the Old Testament. They had lost their independence, been taken into exile, the temple destroyed. There was not much to sing…
Ezra 2
- Devotional Ezra 2: God Keeps His Promises
Ezra 2 is all about God keeping his promises. Yes, it is a long list of names. But they were the faces that went with the fulfilment of God’s promises…
Ezra 3
- Devotional Ezra 3:1-6: Prioritising Worship
For the Israelites who returned to the ruins of the Promised Land, you might think that rebuilding homes, building businesses, planting crops, and repairing public facilities would take top priority.…
- Devotional Ezra 3:6-13: Building God’s House
The returnees from exile were also starting something new, rebuilding what had been destroyed and ruined. For them, it was a time of excitement and initial progress. A time of…
Ezra 4
- Devotional Ezra 4:1-5: Opposition and Discouragement
We see Satan’s opposition and discouragement agenda play out with the returnees from exile to Judah. While things had started mostly well, with the rebuilding of the altar, the resumption…
- Devotional Ezra 4:6-24: Ongoing Opposition
The point of this passage is that the devil is always opposing God’s work. Whether it was in the days of Cain and Abel, Israel in Egypt, or Ezra and…
Ezra 5
- Devotional Ezra 5: God’s Presence Despite Opposition
Opposition is an ongoing reality. We have been warned. But Jesus is with us. We have been encouraged. The eyes of God watch over us and our labours. We are…
Ezra 6
- Devotional Ezra 6:1-15: Completed at the King’s Command
Just the same today, God can move the hearts of bureaucrats and leaders to complete his will. While that may mean opposition decreed for our spiritual growth, it also can…
- Devotional Ezra 6:16-18: Celebrating God’s Goodness
Today we do not have a physical temple at a central location, but God’s temple is his church. Wherever his church meets to worship God and give thanks for our…
- Devotional Ezra 6:19-22: New Exodus, New Passover
The returned exiles had finally restored and rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem, and in March 516 BC celebrated its completion. In April, they celebrated the Passover for the first time…
Ezra 7
- Devotional Ezra 7:1-10: Ezra Arrives On Scene
Nearly sixty years pass between the end of chapter 6 and the beginning of chapter 7. At the end of chapter 6, a group of exiles had returned. They had…
- Devotional Ezra 7:11-28: Doing the King’s Bidding
Ezra was a man who was placed in the blessed position. Ezra wanted to return to Jerusalem to reform worship and life there. Thankfully, he had the Persian king’s bidding…
Ezra 8
- Devotional Ezra 8:1-14: Exiles Come Home
This list also gives us a cultural check. In our culture, youth is idolised. Everyone wants to look young. Sometimes it feels like everything is catered to children, including the…
- Devotional Ezra 8:15-20: Lacking Levites
Ezra was returning to Jerusalem to bring about further reform of the worship and rule of God's People there. He went as a man appointed by his earthly king, on…
- Devotional Ezra 8:21-36: Stepping out in faith
Ezra’s example is one we can follow as well as we walk through our own seasons of change. As believers, we know that for all those in Christ God works…
Ezra 9
- Devotional Ezra 9:1-15: Prayer for God’s Mercy
We need to understand the point of the laws, and what they meant for the Jewish people and for us today in the light of Christ. That is true of…
Ezra 10
- Devotional Ezra 10:1-17: Holiness and Repentance
That repentance brought the same from many of God’s People who observed him, and were convicted by the Holy Spirit to do the same. It also brought a sense of…
- Devotional Ezra 10:18-44: No Sin Left Uncovered
Read Ezra 10:18-44 Any parent or adult who has supervised children knows that the time that is most fearful is when they go suddenly, terribly, quiet. Usually that means they…