The fourth week in the study of “The Dwelling Place of God” found us beginning in Ezra 6:1-5, where we found Darius digging for the truth about those who were involved in the rebuilding.

Only in digging did he discover the people were honest in their desire to rebuild the Temple. He discovers he had been lied to and allows the rebuilding to continue.

How often have we failed to dig for the truth in a situation, making a judgment based on face value or heresay?

In our homes, and in our families, we want to lead in truth and seek truth at all times. When we have been lied about, we want to be people who trust God to move on our behalf and reveal the truth.

It is important to remember this verse: “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:6 NIV). We want to be people who delight and rejoice in love.

Let’s examine ourselves to see if we have believed a lie about someone else, even in our own families. Let’s embrace love and truth and take delight in so doing.

~*~*~

Continuing on to read Ezra 6:13-18, we honed in on one verse:

“The Temple was finally finished, as had been commanded by the God of Israel and decreed by Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, the kings of Persia.” (verse 14b, NLT)

Ezra reminds us the Temple was finally finished because God had commanded it so. Oh, and the kings may have had a little to do with it. << That’s my paraphrase. Ezra used a little humor and threw in the kings of Persia, like an afterthought.

That should give us such hope today. It points us to the truth that God is ALWAYS in control. So much seems to be out of control in the world around us. We need to remember God is still in control, has never lost control, and everything is going according to His plans.

Is there an area of your life that seems out of control today? We can bring that area to the Lord, and put it under His control. In so doing, we will remind ourselves the truth that He knows our todays and our tomorrows; and He holds them all in His hands.

His Presence will go before us always. In that may we find rest today and endurance for tomorrow.

~*~*~

In Ezra 7:1-10, we find Ezra sharing about himself. Ezra was a scribe, a job much like a secretary. He was educated and considered reliable to interpret official documents. He was also able to study, teach, and preach the Law of Moses.

Ezra actually arrived on the scene 57 years after the completion of the Temple.

He arrives with a job to do but also a desire to fulfill his role as a teacher of God’s Word more than an important official.

“He [Ezra] studied and lived by God’s word and taught others to follow what God revealed. Ezra was a teacher and servant-leader, not an official who lorded it over other people … ” (from the NLT Study Bible)

This can be us in our daily lives as spouses, parents, employees, students, and bosses.

May our heart’s desire be to teach others to follow what God has revealed to us in His Word. May we teach both by our actions and our words.

The other interesting thing I was drawn to in our reading was that God’s gracious hand was on Ezra and “this was because Ezra determined to study and obey the Law of the Lord, and to teach those decrees and regulations to the people of Israel” (verse 10, NLT).

Here we see cause and effect; as we determine to study and obey God’s Word, His gracious hand of favor will be on us.

May we not put the horse before the cart.

How do you rate your determination to study and obey God’s Word? Is anything taking precedence over God?

~*~*~

As we delight in truth,
give God control of our days,
studying and obeying His Word,
His hand of favor will be on us.

Photo 1: by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
Photo 2: by Matt Botsford on Unsplash

Today I am joining … Tell His Story and Purposeful Faith and InstaEncouragements .