Today’s reading: 
Tuesday, May 21: Ezra 1-3

Fast forward from the end of Chronicle about 70 years. The Israelites have been living in exile. Some in Assyria. Some in Babylon. It’s been a long time since many of them have been home. The older generations have passed away. The younger generations might have a fleeting memory of the glory and splendor of Jerusalem. Now, as Cyrus has some divine guidance, a select group of people are allowed to return to Jerusalem. The words that come to us from Ezra and Nehemiah tell their story. Some of them are stories of great rejoicing, others tell of hardships they experience. Some tell of rebuilding the Temple, others tell of rebuilding the city itself.

As we read, we have to keep in mind, much has changed. The mindset of the people has changed. The dynamics of life have changed. Even their faithfulness has changed. We’ll have to see how it all comes together as we venture back to Jerusalem, now 70 years after the reign of Zedekiah. But before we get too far into our reading, let’s take a look a the summary that is provided by thebibleproject.com

Peace,
Pastor Bailey

Our next readings: 
Wednesday, May 22: Ezra 8-10 
Thursday, May 23: Nehemiah 1-3
Friday, May 24: Nehemiah 4-6

Side note: I’m getting ready for some travel, and I’ve decided that it’s okay to not take work with me. Once we get through Ezra, I’ll probably “blog-off” for a few weeks so I can enjoy some time with family and serve with our youth on their mission trip. I know I’ll keep reading. Hope you will too. And maybe, I’ll just surprise you with a few posts along the way. Be sure to stay tuned . . . 
PB