In the book of Ezra, Ezra said, “whosoever remains in any place where he sojourns, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem. Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, with all them whose spirit God had raised, to go up to build the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem” and in chapter one and verse six of Ezra, Ezra said, “all they that were about them strengthened their hands” where we read,
And all they that were about them strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, and with beasts, and with precious things, beside all that was willingly offered.
The verse reads, “And all they that were about them strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, with gold, ...” Ezrabegan with the words, “and all they that were about them” or “and each, every, the whole and everyone who surrounded them on every side” “strengthened their hands” which means “made strong, firm, fast and secure the physical hands of people who were inspired by Jehovah God” “with vessels of silver” or “by the use of articles, implements and utensils made with silver metal”, “with gold” which means “and made with gold metal”. Ezra shared how everyone who surrounded the people inspired by God to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple made secure their physical hands with implements made of “silver and gold” metal.
The verse goes on to say, “... with goods, and with beasts, and with precious things, beside all that was willingly offered.”Ezra continued with the words, “with goods” or “accompanied by possessions, property, stores and utensils”, “and with beasts” which means “and accompanied by cattle, livestock and animals”, “and with precious things” or “and accompanied by choice and excellent gems”, “beside all that was willingly offered” which means “in addition to each, every, the whole and everything that was voluntarily, spontaneously and willingly given”. Ezra shared how those surrounding the people who were inspired to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple also provided possessions, livestock, choice gems and voluntary gifts to them.
When we think through the words in this verse, we learn through Ezra how the people who surrounded those who were inspired to return to “Jerusalem” to rebuild the temple of Jehovah God began to bring gifts and offerings to them. They brought implements made with “silver and gold, utensils, livestock, excellent gems and spontaneous gifts” to bestow upon the people who were leaving them. God inspires people to go and perform His work, and He calls others to give to His work. God was the model for going and giving as He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and when we yield our lives to Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and inspire us through His Holy Spirit to go and give in His Kingdom according to His perfect will and plan.
Next time Ezra says, “Cyrus the king brought forth the vessels of the house of the LORD”, 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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