T H E K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S
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ing because he favored the Hebrews? Are the Persians still in existence today because of their gifts and favor toward these Hebrews? Does God bless the na tion that helps the Jews? Gen. 12:3. Does God curse the nation that perse cutes the Jews? Gen. 15:13, 14. Is real life, after all, the finding of God’s plan for us through His Word and then doing It? Rom, 12:1-3. God’s People Return Home. Ezra 1: 1 - 11 . Memory Verse.— “The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.” Psalm 126:3. Approach.-—-Were any of you boys and girls ever away from home and mother for quite a while? Clara, how long were you away? For two months when mother was BEGINNERS sick, and you were AND PRIMARY sent out in the coun- Mabel L. Merrill try to your Uncle’s home. Clara, after you had been there a little while, I won der if you got a little homesick and wanted very much to go back home? Yes, of course you did. Now you were with your Uncle and Aunt and they did everything they could, to make you happy, but the people we are going to hear about in our story were in a strange country as captives, and they knew their beautiful city of Jerusalem was in ruins, and their homes were destroyed, and O, they were so home sick to go back, for they had been here a great many years. Let us bow our heads and thank God for our homes and parents. Lesson Story.— Earl, can you tell me why God let His people be carried away into a strange land, and allowed their homes to be destroyed? Yes, because they would not listen to God’s preachers whom He sent to tell the people of their disobedience. Now they had been in the land of Babylon for a great many
years, and the time for them to go back to their own land had come, so God made the king of Babylon willing to let them go back. This Is the- message king Cyrus gave to the people one day. “ The Lord has commanded me to build up His house in Jerusalem,” that is the temple or church. “ Who is there among you who wishes to go back to his own land? Let him go now and build up the house of the Lord; and let the peo ple of my kingdom help those who go, by giving them silver and gold, and cat tle, and raiment, to take with them.” Then the chief men of the Jews, and the priests, and all those whom the Lord made willing to go, prepared to start on their journey. Then king Cyrus brought out the vessels of the temple which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple before.it was destroyed, and gave them to the prince of Judah who was going back. The trip back was a long, hard Journey, and when they got back they found everything in very bad order. All the walls were broken down
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