Participants: Kelly Mowrer
Series Code: HWAL
Program Code: HWAL000581
|
00:15 Hello, and welcome to His Words are Life.
00:18 I'm Kelly Mowrer and today we're going to be reading 00:21 in the book of Ezra. But before we start, let's pray together. 00:24 Dear God, we thank you for an opportunity to come now apart 00:31 from the business of life. We ask you to be with us in a 00:35 special way as we read your words. And we ask that your 00:40 still small voice will speak to our hearts and teach us the 00:44 truth that has come down through the ages to be relevant to our 00:48 lives today. Thank you for loving us and we love you so 00:52 much. Amen. We're reading in the book of Ezra his account of the 00:58 rebuilding of Jerusalem. Starting in chapter 8, verse 32, 01:02 this is the King James Version. And we came to Jerusalem and 01:06 abode there three days. Now on the 4th day was the silver and 01:12 the gold and the vessels weighed in the house of our God by the 01:16 hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest; and with him 01:20 was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them was Jozabad 01:24 the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui, Levites; 01:29 By number and by weight of every one: and all the weight was 01:33 written at that time. Also the children of those that had been 01:37 carried away, which were come out of the captivity, 01:40 offered burnt offerings unto the God of Israel, 12 bullocks 01:44 for all Israel, ninety and six rams, seventy and seven lambs, 01:49 12 he goats for a sin offering: all this was a burnt offering 01:55 unto the Lord. And they delivered the king's commissions 01:59 unto the king's lieutenants, and to the governors on this 02:02 side the river: and they furthered the people, 02:05 and the house of God. Continuing with Ezra's account 02:10 of the rebuilding of the temple, in the book of Ezra, chapter 9, 02:14 and this is the King James Version. 02:16 Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, 02:21 The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, 02:25 have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, 02:29 doing according to their abominations, 02:32 even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, 02:35 the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, 02:39 and the Amorites. For they have taken of their daughters 02:43 for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed 02:47 have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: 02:50 yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief 02:55 in this trespass. And when I heard this thing, 02:59 I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair 03:04 of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied. 03:09 Then were assembled unto me every one that trembled 03:13 at the words of the God of Israel, because of the 03:16 transgression of those that had been carried away; 03:18 and I sat astonied until the evening sacrifice. 03:22 And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; 03:27 and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, 03:32 and spread out my hands unto the Lord my God, and said, O my God, 03:39 I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God, 03:44 for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass 03:49 is grown up unto the heavens. Since the days of our fathers 03:54 have we been in a great trespass unto this day: 03:58 and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, 04:02 been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, 04:04 to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion 04:09 of face, as it is this day. And now for a little space 04:16 grace hath been shewed from the Lord our God, to leave us 04:20 a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place 04:24 that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little 04:26 reviving in our bondage. For we were bondmen; yet our God 04:31 hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy 04:35 unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a 04:39 reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the 04:43 desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah 04:45 and in Jerusalem. And now, O our God, what shall we say 04:52 after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments, 04:55 Which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets, 04:58 saying, The land, unto which ye go to possess it, 05:01 is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people 05:04 of the lands, with their abominations, which have filled 05:07 it from one end to another with their uncleanness. 05:09 Now therefore give not your daughters unto their sons, 05:12 neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek 05:16 their peace or their wealth for ever: that ye may be strong, 05:20 and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance 05:23 to your children for ever. And after all that is come upon us 05:29 for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, 05:31 seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our 05:35 iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance 05:38 as this; should we again break thy commandments, and join in 05:42 affinity with the people of these abominations? 05:44 wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed 05:49 us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping? 05:52 O Lord God of Israel, thou art righteous: for we remain yet 05:57 escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before thee 06:03 in our trespasses: for we can not stand before thee 06:07 because of this. Continuing in the book of Ezra, 06:11 chapter 10, and this is the King James Version. 06:13 Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping 06:19 and casting himself down before the house of God, 06:23 there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation 06:28 of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore. 06:32 And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, 06:37 answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, 06:41 and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: 06:45 yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing. 06:49 Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put 06:54 away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to 06:58 the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble 07:01 at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to 07:04 the law. Arise; for this matter belongeth unto thee: 07:08 we also will be with thee: be of good courage, and do it. 07:13 Then arose Ezra, and made the chief priests, the Levites, 07:18 and all Israel, to swear that they should do according to this 07:23 word. And they sware. Then Ezra rose up from before the house 07:27 of God, and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of 07:30 Eliahaib: and when he came thither, he did eat no bread, 07:34 nor drink water: for he mourned because of the transgression 07:39 of them that had been carried away. And they made proclamation 07:43 throughout Judah and Jerusalem unto all the children of the 07:47 captivity, that they should gather themselves together 07:50 unto Jerusalem; And that whosoever would not come 07:53 within three days, according to the counsel of the princes 07:56 and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, 08:00 and himself separated from the congregation of those that had 08:04 been carried away. Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin 08:09 gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within 3 days. 08:12 It was the 9th month, on the 20th day of the month; 08:16 and all the people sat in the street of the house of God, 08:20 trembling because of this matter and for the great rain. 08:25 And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, 08:29 Ye have transgressed, and have taken strange wives, 08:33 to increase the trespass of Israel. Now therefore make 08:38 confession unto the Lord God of your fathers, and do his 08:41 pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people 08:44 of the land, and from the strange wives. 08:46 Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud 08:51 voice, As thou hast said, so must we do. 08:55 But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, 08:59 and we are not able to stand without, neither is this a work 09:02 of one day or two: for we are many that have transgressed 09:05 in this thing. Let now our rulers of all the congregation 09:09 stand, and let all them which have taken strange wives 09:13 in our cities come at appointed times, and with them the elders 09:17 of every city, and the judges thereof, until the fierce wrath 09:21 of our God for this matter be turned from us. 09:25 Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah 09:32 were employed about this matter: and Meshullam and Shabbethai 09:37 the Levite helped them. And the children of the captivity did so 09:42 and Ezra the priest with certain chief of the fathers, 09:45 after the house of their fathers and all of them by their names, 09:49 were separated and sat down in the 1st day of the 10th month 09:53 to examine the matter. And they made an end with all the men 09:58 that had taken strange wives by the 1st day of the 1st month. 10:05 To finish out the book of Ezra, there is another long listing of 10:10 names as they separated themselves from the strange 10:13 wives. And so this will conclude our reading of the book of Ezra. 10:16 We'll turn over to the book of Nehemiah, chapter 1, 10:20 and this is the King James Version. 10:22 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass 10:29 in the month Chisleu, in the 20th year, as I was in Shushan 10:34 the palace, that Hanani, one of my brethren, came, 10:37 he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning 10:42 the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, 10:45 and concerning Jerusalem. And they said unto me, 10:49 The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province 10:52 are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem 10:58 also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned 11:00 with fire. And it came to pass when I heard these words 11:05 that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, 11:08 and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven, 11:13 And said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and 11:18 terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them 11:21 that love him and observe his commandments: Let thine ear now 11:26 be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear 11:30 the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, 11:33 day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, 11:37 and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we 11:41 have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house 11:44 have sinned. We have dealt very corruptly against thee, 11:48 and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, 11:50 nor the judgments, which thou commandest thy servant Moses. 11:53 Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst 11:59 thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you 12:03 abroad among the nations: But if ye turn unto me, and keep my 12:09 commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast 12:13 out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather 12:17 them from thence, and will bring them unto the place 12:20 that I have chosen to set my name there. 12:22 Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast 12:27 redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand. 12:31 O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the 12:36 prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, 12:39 who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, 12:43 thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this 12:48 man. For I was the king's cupbearer. 12:51 We're continuing with Nehemiah's account in chapter 2. 12:55 This is the King James Version. And it came to pass in the month 13:01 Nisan, in the 20th year of Artaxerxes the king, 13:03 that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it 13:07 unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in 13:11 his presence. Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy 13:16 countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else 13:21 but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid, 13:25 and said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: 13:28 why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of 13:34 my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof 13:38 are consumed with fire? Then the king said unto me, For what dost 13:44 thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven. 13:48 And I said unto the king, If it please the king, 13:52 and if thy servant have found favor in thy sight, 13:55 that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city 14:00 of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it. 14:02 And the king said unto me, the queen also sitting by him. 14:07 For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? 14:12 So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time. 14:17 Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, 14:21 let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, 14:24 that they may convey me over till I come into Judah; 14:29 Thank you for joining with me today to read the word of God, 14:33 and when we come together again next time, we'll continue 14:36 the story of Nehemiah. God bless. Goodbye. |
Revised 2014-12-17