In the book of Ezra, Ezra shared how, “Cyrus the king brought forth the vessels of the house of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem, and had put them in the house of his gods ... All the vessels of gold and silver were five thousand and four hundred. All these did Sheshbassar bring up with them of the captivity that were brought up from Babylon unto Jerusalem”, and in chapter two and verse one of Ezra, Ezra shared about, “the children of the province that went up out of the captivity” where we read,
Now these are the children of the province that went up out of the captivity,
of those which had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away unto Babylon, and came again unto Jerusalem and Judah, every one unto his city.
The verse reads, “Now these are the children of the province that went up out of the captivity, ...” Ezra began with the words, “now these are the children” or “here is the list of the offspring and progeny” “of the province” which means “belonging to the jurisdiction, district and region” “that went up” or “who withdrew, ascended and were roused up” “out of the captivity” which means “from being exiled and as prisoners”. Ezra began to share the list of the offspring of the people who were from the region who ascended to Jerusalem after being exiled in Babylon for seventy years.
The verse continues, “... of those which had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away unto Babylon, ...” Ezra added the words, “of those which had been carried away” or “pertaining to the people who were removed and exiled”, “whom Nebuchadnezzar” which means “that Nebuchadnezzar whose name means may Nebo protect the crown” “the king of Babylon” or “the royal ruler and leader belonging to Babylon whose name means confusion and was Babel or Babylon, the ancient site and/or capital of Babylonia (modern Hillah) situated on the Euphrates” “had carried away” which means “and removed and exiled” “unto Babylon” or “to Babylon the ancient site and/or capital of Babylonia”. Ezra shared how “the children of the province” included the people of Israel who were removed from “Jerusalem” and exiled in “Babylon” by “King Nebuchadnezzar”.
Finally the verse says, “… and came again unto Jerusalem and Judah, every one unto his city.” Ezra concluded this verse with the words, “and came again” which means “and returned” “unto Jerusalem” or “to Jerusalem whose name means teaching of peace and is the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split” “and Judah” which means “and Judah whose name means praised and was the kingdom comprised of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin which occupied the southern part of Canaan after the nation split upon the death of Solomon”,“every one unto his city” or “each, all and the whole of the people toward their own dwelling place, habitation, abode and town”. Ezra ended this verse by sharing how the people of Israel returned to “Jerusalem and Judah” and to their own towns.
When we meditate upon Ezra's words in this verse, we discover how the Hebrew people returned to Jerusalem at the commission of King “Cyrus”. These were the offspring of the people who were removed from Jerusalem and exiled into Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar. Now they were returning to their homeland, and each of them would go back to their own towns. We can imagine the excitement and trepidation they must have had along the way, but we know this, God was with them. God desires to have this type of personal relationship with us through His Son Jesus who was sent into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and when we surrender our lives to Him, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put within us as desire to be led by Him wherever He desires that we be.
Next time we see Ezra share about the children, “which came with Zerubbabel”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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