July 6

Ezra 7, 8
Luke 4

In reading some background information for these chapters, I learned there is a 58 year gap between chapter 6 and chapter 7 – during this time the events recorded in the book of Esther take place. 

 

In the first return, 50,000 people came to Jerusalem. Zechariah and Haggai preached the word of God and encouraged the people to keep building while they faced resistance from their enemies.

 

In the second return, Ezra, a priest and teacher, lead 1,400 people back.  King Artaxerxes (whose name interestingly means “whose reign is through truth”) sent a letter with Ezra ordering all the treasurers of Trans-Euphrates to give him whatever he asked – as much as 3.75 tons of silver, 600 bushels of wheat, 600 gallons of wine, 600 gallons of olive oil, and as much salt as he wanted. 

The King Artaxerxes seems to recognize that God is the God of heaven.  What struck me in particular about this, especially after reading through I and II Kings and I and II Chronicles, is that here we have a foreign king acting more in accordance with God’s will than so many of the actual kings of Israel and Judah had acted!  God will raise up for Himself people who follow Him no matter what, no matter where.  All times are Now to him and all places are Here.

Luke 4 begins with the temptation of Jesus by the devil who offers him easy access to food and power, then tries something similar to what worked with Eve in the garden - he twists a bit of what God said.  He quotes scripture, but takes it out of the context of the whole of scripture and tells Jesus it’s okay for him to do something as obviously perilous as jumping off a high place.   Jesus rightly answers each temptation with what God really says. 

 

Later, Jesus drives an evil spirit out of a man.  Interesting, isn’t it, that the evil spirit says, “I know who you are—the Holy One of God” and other demons he later casts out of people say to him, “You are the Son of God!”  How true it is that even the demons believe in God – and tremble (James 2:19), it’s what we do with that knowledge that matters.