Day 100 – Ezra: Return led by Zerubbabel

“Then God stirred the hearts of the priests and Levites and the leaders of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple of the Lord. And all their neighbours assisted by giving them articles of silver and gold, supplies for the journey, and livestock. They gave them many valuable gifts in addition to all the voluntary offerings.” Ezra 1:5-6 NLT

Reading Ezra 1:1 to Ezra 6:22

After 70 years in exile, the captives of Judah are finally allowed to return to their homeland. Upon arrival, they begin to rebuild the Temple. Despite opposition from surrounding enemy nations, God sent the prophets Haggai and Zachariah to encourage them to continue the work. These messages from the prophets continue to speak to us today, encouraging us to continue our work in building God’s church.

By returning from Babylon, the Jews showed their faith in God’s promise to restore them as His people. They returned not only the land they knew as home, but the place where their ancestors had promised to follow God. God shows His mercy to every generation and compassionately restores His people. No matter how difficult our present “captivity”, we are never far from His love and mercy, and He restores us when we return to Him.

I found it interesting that God changed the king’s heart (their present enemy) before He worked in the hearts of His chosen people, and they were given all they needed for the journey and restoration before they left, just like when they left Egypt. We might feel stuck in a situation with no outcome, but God will give abundantly from resources we could never have thought were possible.

Prayer: Father, thank You for showing us Your love and mercy through changing hearts and lives to return to where You need us. Thank You for the abundance You release for us to make our work possible, and that we only need to trust You. Amen.