Today’s passage: Ezra 8
Helpful thoughts:
- The list of people (Heads of households are named, most if not all their households would have made the journey with them) who traveled with Ezra back to Judah is recorded here. This was not the only caravan of people who made the journey. And, there were many who never went back.
- Ezra had to make an appeal to get Levites to go home in order to serve the Lord and the people at the Temple.
- Ezra and the people showed a concern for the glory of God which overcame their fear of man (Verse 21-23).
Questions to consider:
- How did Ezra’s desire for God to be known among the Persians affect his actions? If he had only been concerned for himself, how might he have acted? What does love for God and others do to our thinking and actions (1 John 4:18)?
- Why was it so important for Ezra to ensure there were Levites to go back to Jerusalem? If they had a Temple and no one to serve in it, what could they do?
- How can this apply to the church today? Who has been called to serve (1 Corinthians 12:4-7)?