April 29, 2025, Ezra 7:1-28
7 Now
after this, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the
son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, 2 son
of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, 3 son of Amariah,
son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, 4 son of Zerahiah,
son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, 5 son of Abishua, son of
Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the chief priest— 6 this
Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses
that the Lord, the God of
Israel, had given, and the king granted him all that he asked, for the
hand of the Lord his God
was on him.
7 And
there went up also to Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king,
some of the people of Israel, and some of the priests and Levites,
the singers and gatekeepers, and the temple servants. 8 And
Ezra[a] came
to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the
king. 9 For on the first day of the first month he
began to go up from Babylonia, and on the first day of the fifth month he came
to Jerusalem, for the good hand of his God was on him. 10 For
Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and
rules in Israel.
11 This is
a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe,
a man learned in matters of the commandments of the Lord and his statutes for
Israel: 12 “Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra
the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven. Peace.[b] And
now 13 I make a decree that anyone of the people of
Israel or their priests or Levites in my kingdom, who freely offers to go to
Jerusalem, may go with you. 14 For you are sent by
the king and his seven counselors to make inquiries about Judah and
Jerusalem according to the Law of your God, which is in your hand, 15 and
also to carry the silver and gold that the king and his counselors have
freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, 16 with
all the silver and gold that you shall find in the whole province of Babylonia,
and with the freewill offerings of the people and the priests, vowed
willingly for the house of their God that is in Jerusalem. 17 With
this money, then, you shall with all diligence buy bulls, rams, and lambs, with
their grain offerings and their drink offerings, and you shall offer them
on the altar of the house of your God that is in Jerusalem. 18 Whatever
seems good to you and your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold,
you may do, according to the will of your God. 19 The
vessels that have been given you for the service of the house of your God, you
shall deliver before the God of Jerusalem. 20 And
whatever else is required for the house of your God, which it falls to you to
provide, you may provide it out of the king's treasury.
21 “And I,
Artaxerxes the king, make a decree to all the treasurers in the province Beyond
the River: Whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of
heaven, requires of you, let it be done with all diligence, 22 up
to 100 talents[c] of
silver, 100 cors[d] of
wheat, 100 baths[e] of
wine, 100 baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much. 23 Whatever
is decreed by the God of heaven, let it be done in full for the house of the
God of heaven, lest his wrath be against the realm of the king and his
sons. 24 We also notify you that it shall not be
lawful to impose tribute, custom, or toll on anyone of the priests, the
Levites, the singers, the doorkeepers, the temple servants, or other servants
of this house of God.
25 “And
you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God that is in your
hand, appoint magistrates and judges who may judge all the people in the
province Beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God. And
those who do not know them, you shall teach. 26 Whoever
will not obey the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be
strictly executed on him, whether for death or for banishment or for
confiscation of his goods or for imprisonment.”
27 Blessed
be the Lord, the God of our
fathers, who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king, to
beautify the house of the Lord that
is in Jerusalem, 28 and who extended to me his
steadfast love before the king and his counselors, and before all the king's
mighty officers. I took courage, for the hand of the Lord my God was on me, and I
gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me.
God led a foreigner ruler
to supply the financial needs of God’s house. How is God providing for you and
your church’s needs? Have you allowed God to use you for financial support of
His house?
Debbie Walker
Comments
Post a Comment