Ezra: The Sovereign God Desires Holiness
                Last week, we saw that God blesses those who seek Him and obey Him.  Things have been pretty great.  The Temple is rebuilt, God’s promises are secure, and Ezra has arrived with abundance!  Today, in our final study in Ezra, things take a turn for the worse.  

                Last week, we left off with the temple about to be completed.  God overcame the obstacles the Israelites faced when they took a step of faith.  Today, we will see a success story and we will witness God’s amazing faithfulness to His promises.

The Completion and Celebration

Read Ezra 6:13-22
                We have finally made it!  The Israelites have completed the Temple!  Is there hope for God’s people?  Yes!  The sovereign God has rescued His people from exile.  He has brought them home.  He has overcome all of their obstacles.  Verse 14 tells us why the Temple was finished.  It’s because God Himself decreed it.  There is hope for God’s people because God is sovereign and God is with them!

The Ezra Project

As part of my studies at the Moody Theological Seminary, I have been doing an in depth literary study through the book of Ezra.  I’ve learned a lot and been convicted by God’s Word through this study.  As a result of that work, I’d like to share what I’ve gleaned with you.  Would you join me over the next five Tuesdays on this study?   You’ll be able to choose the depth of your involvement, but the more you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it.  I’ll give you reading assignments, study questions, and homework that will help you apply the book of Ezra to your life.  Its up to you how deep you want to go.  If you choose to study along with me, please let me know in the comment section of the blog and please share what you are learning and any questions you have.  I look forward to doing this study with you!

Where is Ezra?  That’s somewhere after Genesis and before Revelation right?

                Have you ever read Ezra?  Don’t feel too bad.  Most Christians I know haven’t.  And if you have read Ezra, chances are you’re like me before I started this project for class.  I had read through Ezra before and I knew it was inspired by God and good for me.  But I found it boring.  Its full of genealogies, lists, numbers, and seemingly unimportant details about who got to carry the gold from one city to another.  It seemed to me that this book was a dry historical account about the rebuilding of the temple and that’s it.  

So why Ezra?  Because there is much more to it than what you or I might see on our first reading.  It really is God’s Word and is useful for our lives today.  Let me set the stage.

Its Monday again.  This post will be more of a mix of my own commentary and thoughts than a devotional.  If you like that sort of thing, then dig in.  If not, normal devotionals start again tomorrow.

Ephesians 1:3


Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

In the previous verses, Paul identifies himself and then prays for a blessing for the saints in Ephesus, namely that they would receive peace and grace from God.  Here, instead of praying for a blessing, He declares "blessed be God".  He isn't praying a blessing over God, He is saying that God is blessed.  The word for "blessed" here is "eulogetos" which can also be translated "praised".  He is saying that God is praised and blessed.  This is a mini declaration of worship from Paul who is honoring God with his words.


Its interesting where the definite article comes in that sentence.  (Definite article = "the").  It doesn't say "Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."  Instead, it says "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."  With this sentence construction, it implies that the Person we are talking about here is not only the Father of Jesus Christ but also the God of Jesus Christ.  There is plenty of biblical support for the Trinity and we know that Jesus is the second member of the Trinity and therefore He is very God.  But what we see here is that even though Jesus is equal in power, authority, eternality, glory, creativity, knowledge, and every way with the Father, He submits to the Father.  This is a really big truth tucked away in this little positioning of the word "the."  This fact that an equal can submit to an equal will come up later in Ephesians in regards to marriage, work, and family.

When you speak of God, do you bless and praise Him?  Do you make sure to say something wonderful about Him or just toss His name out carelessly?

I'm going to be going through the book of Ephesians on Mondays.  I'm going to only do a couple of verses at a time and it may look more like a commentary than a devotional.  Hopefully, it will be a mix of both.  This might be more of a study type thing for anyone who reads it than a pure devotional, but if that's what you're looking for then you can find it here on Mondays.

Ephesians 1:1


Paul an apostle


Paul introduces himself here as the author of the letter to the Ephesians.  He also identifies himself here as an apostle of Christ Jesus.  The word apostle comes from the Greek word apostolos which has the meaning of a delegate or envoy or a "sent out one".  The title means that Paul has been sent out and commissioned by Jesus.  Paul can say this because the resurrected Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus and called him.