THE K I NG ' S BUS I NESS
836
AUGUST 20, 1922 THE SECOND RETURN FROM EXILE Golden Text. The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him. Ezra 8:22. LESSON TEXT Ezra 7:10; 8:21-32. (Read Ezra 7:1-10:17.)
(10) For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law o f the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and Judgments. (8:21) Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we m ight a f flict ourselves before God, to seek o f him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our sub stance. (22) For I was ashamed t<5 require of. the king a band of so l diers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the w ay: be cause we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all _them fo r good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him. (23) So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was en treated of us. (24) Then I separated twelve of the chief of the priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them. (25) And weighed unto them the silver, and the. gold, and the vessels, even the offering o f the house of our God, which the king, and his counsellors, and his lords, and all Israel there present, had offered. (26) I even Outline: (1) Purpose, Prayer and Proclama tion, 7:10; 8:21-23. (2) Priests and Provision, 8:24-30. (3) Preservation and Presentation, 8:3T-35. Introduction: Seventy-eight years previous to our lesson, the Jews, under the leadership of Zerubbabel, had returned to Jeru salem. Fifty-eight years had elapsed since the completion of LESSON the second temple. The EXPOSITION times had been trou- T. O. Horton blous. The enemies of the Jews had not ceased their efforts to break down the walls of exclusiveness. The walls of Jerusalem had not been finished. The Jews had determined to abandon their exclusiveness and join with the half-breed Samaritans and idolatrous people. This policy brought
weighed unto their hand six hundred and fifty talents o f silver, and sil ver vessels a hundred talents, and of gold a hundred talents; (27) Also twenty basons o f gold, of a thou sand drams; an'd two vessels of fine copper, precious as gold. (28) And I said unto them, Ye are holy unto the Lord; the vessels are holy also; and, the silver and the gold are a freew ill offering unto the Lord God o f your fathers. (29) W atch ye, and keep them, until ye weigh them be fore the chief o f the priests and the Levites, and chief o f the fathers of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the cham bers o f the house o f the Lord. (30) So took the priests and the Levites the w eight of the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem unto the house of our God. (31) Then we departed from the river Ahava on the tw elfth day of the first month, to go unto Jeru salem: and the hand o f our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way. (32) And we came to Jerusalem, and abode there three days. no blessing and the Jews were deter mined to stop the mixed marriages. Ezra, with 6,000 Jews from the scene of the captivity, now appears on the scene, bringing new inspiration to his brethren. (1) PURPOSE, PRAYER AND PROC LAMATION, 7:10; 8:21-23. The teacher who seeks to teach this lesson intelligently must read the his tory of this splendid specimen of real manhood. The lesson is one of leader ship. Ezra was probably born in Baby lon, during the reign of Darius, and was living, as a young man, when Xerxes was king. Ezra means “ help” , and he was appropriately named. He was a Levite, a descendant of Aaron (7 :5 ). He was a ready scribe in the law of Moses. He was also a priest, descended from Hilkiah (7 :1 ), who found the book of the Daw in the house of the Lord (2 Chron. 34:14). DEMAND YOUR RIGHTS!
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