Category: Scripture

Praise the Lord, the God of our ancestors, who made the king (Artaxerxes) want to beautify the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem! And praise Him for demonstrating such unfailing love to me by honoring me before the king, his council, and al his mighty nobles! I felt encouraged because the gracious hand of the lord my God was on me. And I gathered some of the leaders of Israel to return with me to Jerusalem. (vv 27-28, NLT)

Tattenai, governor of the province west of the Euphrates River, and Shethar-bozenai and their colleagues complied at once with the command of King Darius. So the Jewish elders continued their work, and they were greatly encouraged by the preachings of prophets Haggai and Zechariah, son of Iddo. The Temple was finally finished, as had been commanded by the God of Israel and decreed by Cyrus, Darius, and Ataxeres, the kings of Persia. The temple was completed on March 12, during the sixth year of King Darius’s reign.

The Temple of God was then dedicated with great joy by the people of Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the people who had returned from exile. (vv. 13-16, NLT)

At that time the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem. They prophesied in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jehozadak responded by starting again to rebuild the Temple of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets helped them.

But Tattenai, governor of the province west of the Euphrates River, and Shethar-bozeni and their colleagues soon arrived in Jerusalem and asked, “Who gave you permission to rebuild this Temple and restore this structure.?”They also asked for the names of all the men working on the Temple. But because their God was watching over them, the leaders of the Jews were not prevented from building until a report was sent to Darius and he returned his permission. (vv. l1-5, NLT)

The enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were rebuilding the Temple to the Lord, the God of Israel. So they approached Zerubbabel and the other leaders and said, “Let us build with you, for wer worship your God just as you do. We have sacrificed to Him ever since King Esarhaddon of Assyria brought us here.”

But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the other leaders of Israel replied, “You may have no part in this work We alone will build the Temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, just as King Cyrus of Persia commands us.”

Then the local residents tried to discourage and frighten the people of Judah to keep them from their work. They bribed agents to work against them and to frustrate their plans. This went on during the entire reign of King Cyrus of Persia and lasted until King Darius of Persia took the throne. (vv. 1-5, NLT)

When the builders had completed the foundation of the Lord’s Temple, the priests put on their robes and took their places to blow the trumpets. And the Levites, descendants of Asaph, clashed their cymbals to praise the Lord, just as King David has prescribed. With paise and thanks, they sang this song to the Lord:

“He is good! His faithful love for Israel endures forever!”

Then all the people gave a great shout, praising the Lord because the foundation of the Lord’s Temple had been laid.

But many of the older priests, Levites, and other leaders who had see the first Temple wept aloud when they saw the new Temple’s foundation. The others, however, were shouting for joy. The joyful shouting and weeping mingled together in a loud noice that could be heard far in the distance. (vv. 10-13, NLT)

In early autum, when the Israelites had settled in their towns, all the people assembled in Jerusalem with a unified purpose. Then Jeshua son of Jehozadak joined his fellow priests and Zerubabel son of Shealtiel with his family in rebuilding the altar of the God of Israel. They wanted to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, as instructed by the Law of Moses, the man of God. Even though the people were afraid of the local residents, they rebuilt the altar at its old site. Then they began to sacrifice burnt offerings on the altar to the Lord each morning and evening.

They celebrated the Festival of Shelters as prescribed by the Law, sacrificing the. number of burnt offerings specified for each day of the festival. They also offered the regular burnt offerings and the offerings required for the new moon celebrations and the annual festivals as prescribed by the Lord The people also gave voluntary offerings to the Lord. Fifteen days before the Festival of Shelters began, the priests had begun to sacrifice burn offerings to the Lord. This was even before they had started to lay the foundation of the Temple. (vv. 1-6, NLT)

In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, the Lord fulfilled the prophesy he had given through Jeremiah. He stirred the heart of Cyrus to put this proclamation in writng an to send it through out the his kingdom:

“This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: “The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build Him a Temple at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Any of you who are His people may go to Jerusalem in Judah to rebuilt this Temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, who lives in Jerusalem. And may your God be with you! Wherever this Jewish remnant is found, let their neighbors contribute towards their expenses by giving them silver and gold, supplies for the journey, and livestock, as well as a voluntary offering for the Temple of God in Jerusalem.

Then 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. And all their neighbors assisted by giving the articles of silver and gold, supplies for the journey and livestock. They gave them many valuable gifts in addition to all the voluntary offerings.

King Cyrus himself brought out the articles that King Nebuchadnezzar had taken fro the Lord’s Temple in Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his own gods. Cyrus directed Mithredath, the treasurer of Persia, to count these items and present them to Sheshbazzar, the leader of the exiles returning to Judah. (vv 1-8, NLT)

In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, the Lord fulfilled the prophesy He had given through Jeremiah. He stirred the heart of Cyrus to put this proclamation in writing ant to sent it through out his kindom:

“This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: “The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build Him a Temple at Jerusalem, which is Judah. Any of you who are the Lord’s people may go there for this task. And may the Lord your God be with you!” (vv. 22-23, NLT)

Then Josiah announced that the Passover of the Lord should be celebrated in Jerusalem, and so the Passover Lamb was slaughtered on the fourteenth day of the first month. Josiah also assigned priests to their duties and encouraged them in their work at the Temple of the Lord. He issued this order to the Levites, who were to teach all Israel and who had be set apart to serve the Lord. “Put the holy Ark in the Temple that was built by Solomon son of David, the king of Israel. You no longer need to carry it back and forth on your shoulders. Now spend your time serving the Lord your God and His people Israel. Report or duty according to the family divisions of King David of Israel and his directions of his son Solomon.” (vv. 1-4, NLT)

The entire for the Lord’sPassover was completed that day. All the burnt offerings were sacrificed on the altar of the Lord, as King Josiah had commanded. All the Israelites present in Jerusalem celebrated Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days. Never since the time of the prophet Samuel had there been such a Passover. None of the kings of Israel had ever kept Passover as Josiah did, involving all the priests and Levites, all the people of Jerusalem, and all the people from all over Judah and Israel. This passover celebration took place in the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign. (vv. 16-19, NLT)

Then the king summoned all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. And the king went up to the Temple of the Lord with all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, along with the priests and the Levites-all the people from greatest to least. There the king read to the the entire Book of the Covenant that had been found in the Lord’s Temple. The king took his place of authority beside the pillar and renewed the covenant in the Lord’s presence. He pledge to obey the Lord by keeping all His commands, laws, and decrees with all his heart and soul. He promised to obey all the terms of the covenant that were written in the scroll. And he required everyone in Jerusalem and the people of Benjamin to make a similar pledge. The people of Jerusalem did so, renewing their covenant with God, the God of their ancestors.

So Josiah removed all the detestable idols from the entire land of Israel and required everyone to worship the Lord their God. And throughout the rest of his lifetime, they did not turn away from the Lord, the God of their ancestors. (vv. 29-33, NLT)