In the book of Ezra, Ezra said, “And when the seventh month was come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem. Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and builded the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God. And they set the altar upon his bases; for fear was upon them because of the people of those countries: and they offered burnt offerings thereon unto the LORD, even burnt offerings morning and evening. They kept also the feast of tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the custom, as the duty of every day required”, and in chapter three and verse five of Ezra, Ezra shared how the priest, “offered the continual burnt offering” where we read,
And afterward offered the continual burnt offering, both of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of the LORD that were consecrated, and of every one that willingly offered a freewill offering unto the LORD.
The verse reads, “And afterward offered the continual burnt offering, both of the new moons, ...” Ezra began with the words, “and afterward offered” which means “and following the initial keeping of the feasts and daily sacrifices” “the continual burnt offering” which means “the perpetual and constant presenting of whole sacrifices that have been burned as if going up in smoke upon the altar”, “both of the new moons” or “during the first day of the month and monthly moon time sacrifices”. (See Exodus 29:38-42) Ezra said the priest were constantly presenting whole burning sacrifices which were offered during the times of the “new moons”.
The verse goes on to say, “... and of all the set feasts of the LORD that were consecrated, ...” Ezra continued with the words, “and of all the set feasts” or “and in accordance with each, every, the whole and everyone of the appointed sacred festivals and meeting places” “of the LORD” which means “belonging to Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name for the One True God” “that were consecrated” or “that existed as sanctified, dedicated, prepared and hallowed”.Ezra included how the priests observed every one of Jehovah God's dedicated and hallowed festivals.
Finally the verse says, “... and of every one that willingly offered a freewill offering unto the LORD.” Ezra concluded this verse with the words, “and of every one” which means “and each, the whole, all and everyone of the people” “that willingly offered” or “who freely were incited and impelled to give” “a freewill offering” which means “a voluntary or spontaneous sacrifice” “unto the LORD” or “to Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name for the One True God”. Ezra ended this verse by including the people who were freely impelled to give a voluntary sacrifice to Jehovah God.
When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn through Ezra how “Jeshua, Zerubbabel and their brethren”continued to make sacrifices of worship to Jehovah God in accordance with the “new moons, all set feasts and voluntary offerings” which were sacred and in keeping with the law of Moses. God's desire was for the people of Israel to make Him the priority of their lives, and after returning from seventy years of captivity in Babylon, they were conducting themselves in accordance with His ways and not just their own. God wants us to be in alignment with Him as well, and He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for our sins because He knew we violated His law and direction for how to live. When we receive Jesus as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put within us a desire worship Him as our “first” priority before everything else we do.
Next time Ezra shared how the priest offered burnt offerings, “from the first day of the seventh month”, 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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