Heralds Digest

“On the first day of the first month he began his journey from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him. For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.” ‭‭Ezra‬ ‭7:9-10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/ezr.7.9-10.nkjv Finding focus in the midst of strongly diverse interests in life is always a challenge. While the scriptures didn’t provide the reason why it took Ezra five months to travel from Babylon to Jerusalem, it does underscore the reason why any difficulty in arriving in Israel was not the focus of Ezra. “For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel”. Unfortunately, many often lose focus on the purpose for life’s existence on the platform of finding the path of least resistance. While career choices, classic residences, proud ministerial pursuits, and ...

“And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy; for the LORD made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.” ‭‭Ezra‬ ‭6:22‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/ezr.6.22.nkjv When the sacrifices of sincere seekers align with the spirit of the sovereign Saviour in every sanctuary at home and the places of worship, there is no doubt the impact of the Spirit’s freshness on the heart of man. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is always freedom, freshness, and fullness of grace and the glory of the Lord. Unfortunately, life outside the spirit-inspired sanctuary, either in the workplaces or in the general society, is full of challenges that threatens the freshness of the Spirit. After the dedication of the rebuilt temple of God, the returning Jews resuscitated the various feasts (Passover, Unleavened bread, etc) with the joy of the Lord. However, God also ensured that t...

“So the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they built and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the command of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.” ‭‭Ezra‬ ‭6:14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/ezr.6.14.nkjv In our fast-paced competitive world, prosperity is measured on the scale of its charisma rather than its character. The preferred prosperity must be quick, fast, and easily attainable. The hall of fame, Guinness book of record, and fortune diaries are created to celebrate the youngest achievements of excellence with inconsequential penalties for youthful exuberances. However, the charisma of prosperity observed in the building of temple of God in Jerusalem by the elders of the Jews was not quick, not fast and not easily attainable. Often times, heavenly-inspired prosperity is characterized by discouraging metrics of incessant interruption...

“Now therefore, Tattenai, governor of the region beyond the River, and Shethar-Boznai, and your companions the Persians who are beyond the River, keep yourselves far from there. Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God on its site.” ‭‭Ezra‬ ‭6:6-7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/ezr.6.6-7.nkjv When good works in the life and affairs of the people of God appear to face delay, disappointment and denial, there is always a sincere burden in the heart: what moves between God and people, especially when actions are considered to align with the perfect will of God? When king Cyrus gave the initial decree concerning the rebuilding of the temple of God, the good work started but later got stopped by the enemies. It took many years before the work could be restarted through another decree from king Darius. However, it is instructive to note that neither the decree of Cyrus nor the declaration of Darius does started...

“But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel said to them, “You may do nothing with us to build a house for our God; but we alone will build to the LORD God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.” Then the people of the land tried to discourage the people of Judah. They troubled them in building, and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.” ‭‭Ezra‬ ‭4:3-5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/ezr.4.3-5.nkjv Resistance to the pursuit of the glory of God has been recognized as one of the evidences of living for a course higher than self. Discipline and dedication are absolutely necessary in order to avoid distractions from enemies of progress. While the enemies of the people of Judah and Jerusalem have perfected their schemes of insurrection, the people of God countered by appealing to the science of isolation. And although the ...

“When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the LORD, according to the ordinance of David king of Israel. And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD: “For He is good, For His mercy endures forever toward Israel.” Then all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.” ‭‭Ezra‬ ‭3:10-11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/ezr.3.10-11.nkjv The work of a supervisor is only easy to lazy-minded people; while fellows who understand the weight of responsibility would appreciate the opportunity of a genuine break. In the kingdom work, supervisors pay more attention to the owner of the work than the people on the field of work. Otherwise, what the eyes of supervisors see can mislead them away from the reality in the heart of God. When the Levites that were assigned t...

“Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his brethren, arose and built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God.” ‭‭Ezra‬ ‭3:2‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/ezr.3.2.nkjv There is always a silent call to worship in all of life’s affairs. Those who dare to defile the lay down institution for worship must weigh the consequences; and be prepared to provide alternative to institutional call to worship. The returning Israelites from the captivity have the option of building good settlement relationships and servicing a cooperation with the people of the countries at the cost of building an altar of God for divine guidance and worship. But when they chose to heed the divine call to worship, they had the fear of the people of the countries to contend with. Whereas, loyalty to constituted authority and the acceptance of a corporate social responsibility sho...