What I read today
Ezra 7; Job 23; Micah 3; Acts 7; 2 Peter 1-2
In Jeremiah 29 the prophet, Jeremiah proclaims that the Jewish people would be taken captive for 70 years. In 586 BC King Nebuchadnezzar led the Babylonian army into Jerusalem, burned the temple and the palace to the ground, killed the princes of Israel and took King Zedekiah into captivity.
But there was a promise made. A promise that this wouldn’t last forever. God’s covenant had not been withdrawn. God’s promise of a savior was still alive and well. God chose to end the nation of Israel due to its idolatry and sin. But God is always faithful.
In Ezra 7 we see God keep his promise. The remnant of Israel returns to rebuild the temple. God puts the law of the Lord into the heart of Ezra who made it his life’s ambition to know God through his word. Finally, God put mercy and grace into the hearts of three Persian rulers who allowed the temple of God to be restored and rebuilt.
God keeps his promises. He does it in spite of our sinful nature. God does it in spite of how we behave or act towards others. He keeps his promises because that’s who our God is. He is a God of mercy, love, and grace. No matter how far a person falls from God, he’s never fallen so far as to be out of reach of a loving Savior!
