Lesson 11

Summary:

Upon learning of the people’s unfaithfulness through intermarriage with surrounding nations, Ezra is deeply grieved and leads the community in heartfelt confession before God. This moment sparks a covenant renewal as the people turn from their sin, seeking to restore holiness and faithfulness to the Lord. The passage highlights the power of genuine repentance and God’s mercy in renewing His people.

Scripture References:

Ezra 9:1-15 – ESV (audio 🔊)

1. After these things had been done, the officials approached me and said, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with their abominations, from the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.
2. For they have taken some of their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands. And in this faithlessness the hand of the officials and chief men has been foremost.”
3. As soon as I heard this, I tore my garment and my cloak and pulled hair from my head and beard and sat appalled.
4. Then all who trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the faithlessness of the returned exiles, gathered around me while I sat appalled until the evening sacrifice.
5. And at the evening sacrifice I rose from my fasting, with my garment and my cloak torn, and fell upon my knees and spread out my hands to the LORD my God,
6. saying: “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens.
7. From the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt. And for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame, as it is today.
8. But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant and to give us a secure hold within his holy place, that our God may brighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our slavery.
9. For we are slaves. Yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to grant us some reviving to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us protection in Judea and Jerusalem.
10. “And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments,
11. which you commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land that you are entering, to take possession of it, is a land impure with the impurity of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations that have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness.
12. Therefore do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.’
13. And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, seeing that you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a remnant as this,
14. shall we break your commandments again and intermarry with the peoples who practice these abominations? Would you not be angry with us until you consumed us, so that there should be no remnant, nor any to escape?
15. O LORD, the God of Israel, you are just, for we are left a remnant that has escaped, as it is today. Behold, we are before you in our guilt, for none can stand before you because of this.”

Ezra 10:1-44 – ESV (audio 🔊)

1. While Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, a very great assembly of men, women, and children, gathered to him out of Israel, for the people wept bitterly.
2. And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, of the sons of Elam, addressed Ezra: “We have broken faith with our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land, but even now there is hope for Israel in spite of this.
3. Therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God, and let it be done according to the Law.
4. Arise, for it is your task, and we are with you; be strong and do it.”
5. Then Ezra arose and made the leading priests and Levites and all Israel take an oath that they would do as had been said. So they took the oath.
6. Then Ezra withdrew from before the house of God and went to the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib, where he spent the night, neither eating bread nor drinking water, for he was mourning over the faithlessness of the exiles.
7. And a proclamation was made throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the returned exiles that they should assemble at Jerusalem,
8. and that if anyone did not come within three days, by order of the officials and the elders all his property should be forfeited, and he himself banned from the congregation of the exiles.
9. Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled at Jerusalem within the three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month. And all the people sat in the open square before the house of God, trembling because of this matter and because of the heavy rain.
10. And Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have broken faith and married foreign women, and so increased the guilt of Israel.
11. Now then make confession to the LORD, the God of your fathers and do his will. Separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.”
12. Then all the assembly answered with a loud voice, “It is so; we must do as you have said.
13. But the people are many, and it is a time of heavy rain; we cannot stand in the open. Nor is this a task for one day or for two, for we have greatly transgressed in this matter.
14. Let our officials stand for the whole assembly. Let all in our cities who have taken foreign wives come at appointed times, and with them the elders and judges of every city, until the fierce wrath of our God over this matter is turned away from us.”
15. Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah opposed this, and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite supported them.
16. Then the returned exiles did so. Ezra the priest selected men, heads of fathers’ houses, according to their fathers’ houses, each of them designated by name. On the first day of the tenth month they sat down to examine the matter;
17. and by the first day of the first month they had come to the end of all the men who had married foreign women.
18. Now there were found some of the sons of the priests who had married foreign women: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah, some of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brothers.
19. They pledged themselves to put away their wives, and their guilt offering was a ram of the flock for their guilt.
20. Of the sons of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah.
21. Of the sons of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah.
22. Of the sons of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.
23. Of the Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (that is, Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.
24. Of the singers: Eliashib. Of the gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem, and Uri.
25. And of Israel: of the sons of Parosh: Ramiah, Izziah, Malchijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Hashabiah, and Benaiah.
26. Of the sons of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah.
27. Of the sons of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza.
28. Of the sons of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai.
29. Of the sons of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeremoth.
30. Of the sons of Pahath-moab: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh.
31. Of the sons of Harim: Eliezer, Isshijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon,
32. Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah.
33. Of the sons of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei.
34. Of the sons of Bani: Maadai, Amram, Uel,
35. Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluhi,
36. Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib,
37. Mattaniah, Mattenai, Jaasu.
38. Of the sons of Binnui: Shimei,
39. Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah,
40. Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,
41. Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah,
42. Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph.
43. Of the sons of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah.
44. All these had married foreign women, and some of the women had even borne children.

Lesson Links

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• Lesson 6
• Lesson 7
• Lesson 8
• Lesson 9
• Lesson 10
• Lesson 11
• Lesson 12
• Lesson 13
• Lesson 14
• Lesson 15
• Lesson 16
• Lesson 17
• Lesson 18
• Lesson 19
• Lesson 20
• Lesson 21
• Lesson 22
• Lesson 23
• Lesson 24
• Lesson 25
• Lesson 26

Lesson 10

Summary:

Ezra, a skilled scribe devoted to the Law of the Lord, leads the second wave of exiles back to Jerusalem under God’s gracious hand. His mission highlights a heart fully set on studying, practicing, and teaching God’s Word to the people. Through divine favor and careful preparation, Ezra exemplifies faithful leadership that restores proper worship and obedience among God’s people.

Scripture References:

Ezra 7:1-28 – ESV (audio 🔊)

1. Now after this, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah,
2. son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub,
3. son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth,
4. son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki,
5. son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the chief priest —
6. this Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses that the LORD, the God of Israel, had given, and the king granted him all that he asked, for the hand of the LORD his God was on him.
7. And there went up also to Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king, some of the people of Israel, and some of the priests and Levites, the singers and gatekeepers, and the temple servants.
8. And Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king.
9. For on the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylonia, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, for the good hand of his God was on him.
10. For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel.
11. This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, a man learned in matters of the commandments of the LORD and his statutes for Israel:
12. “Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven. Peace. And now
13. I make a decree that anyone of the people of Israel or their priests or Levites in my kingdom, who freely offers to go to Jerusalem, may go with you.
14. For you are sent by the king and his seven counselors to make inquiries about Judah and Jerusalem according to the Law of your God, which is in your hand,
15. and also to carry the silver and gold that the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem,
16. with all the silver and gold that you shall find in the whole province of Babylonia, and with the freewill offerings of the people and the priests, vowed willingly for the house of their God that is in Jerusalem.
17. With this money, then, you shall with all diligence buy bulls, rams, and lambs, with their grain offerings and their drink offerings, and you shall offer them on the altar of the house of your God that is in Jerusalem.
18. Whatever seems good to you and your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do, according to the will of your God.
19. The vessels that have been given you for the service of the house of your God, you shall deliver before the God of Jerusalem.
20. And whatever else is required for the house of your God, which it falls to you to provide, you may provide it out of the king’s treasury.
21. “And I, Artaxerxes the king, make a decree to all the treasurers in the province Beyond the River: Whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, requires of you, let it be done with all diligence,
22. up to 100 talents of silver, 100 cors of wheat, 100 baths of wine, 100 baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much.
23. Whatever is decreed by the God of heaven, let it be done in full for the house of the God of heaven, lest his wrath be against the realm of the king and his sons.
24. We also notify you that it shall not be lawful to impose tribute, custom, or toll on anyone of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the doorkeepers, the temple servants, or other servants of this house of God.
25. “And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God that is in your hand, appoint magistrates and judges who may judge all the people in the province Beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God. And those who do not know them, you shall teach.
26. Whoever will not obey the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be strictly executed on him, whether for death or for banishment or for confiscation of his goods or for imprisonment.”
27. Blessed be the LORD, the God of our fathers, who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king, to beautify the house of the LORD that is in Jerusalem,
28. and who extended to me his steadfast love before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty officers. I took courage, for the hand of the LORD my God was on me, and I gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me.

Ezra 8:1-36 – ESV (audio 🔊)

1. These are the heads of their fathers’ houses, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylonia, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king:
2. Of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom. Of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel. Of the sons of David, Hattush.
3. Of the sons of Shecaniah, who was of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah, with whom were registered 150 men.
4. Of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him 200 men.
5. Of the sons of Zattu, Shecaniah the son of Jahaziel, and with him 300 men.
6. Of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him 50 men.
7. Of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him 70 men.
8. Of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him 80 men.
9. Of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him 218 men.
10. Of the sons of Bani, Shelomith the son of Josiphiah, and with him 160 men.
11. Of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah, the son of Bebai, and with him 28 men.
12. Of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him 110 men.
13. Of the sons of Adonikam, those who came later, their names being Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and with them 60 men.
14. Of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zaccur, and with them 70 men.
15. I gathered them to the river that runs to Ahava, and there we camped three days. As I reviewed the people and the priests, I found there none of the sons of Levi.
16. Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, leading men, and for Joiarib and Elnathan, who were men of insight,
17. and sent them to Iddo, the leading man at the place Casiphia, telling them what to say to Iddo and his brothers and the temple servants at the place Casiphia, namely, to send us ministers for the house of our God.
18. And by the good hand of our God on us, they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons of Mahli the son of Levi, son of Israel, namely Sherebiah with his sons and kinsmen, 18;
19. also Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, with his kinsmen and their sons, 20;
20. besides 220 of the temple servants, whom David and his officials had set apart to attend the Levites. These were all mentioned by name.
21. Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods.
22. For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, “The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.”
23. So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.
24. Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests: Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their kinsmen with them.
25. And I weighed out to them the silver and the gold and the vessels, the offering for the house of our God that the king and his counselors and his lords and all Israel there present had offered.
26. I weighed out into their hand 650 talents of silver, and silver vessels worth 200 talents, and 100 talents of gold,
27. 20 bowls of gold worth 1,000 darics, and two vessels of fine bright bronze as precious as gold.
28. And I said to them, “You are holy to the LORD, and the vessels are holy, and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the LORD, the God of your fathers.
29. Guard them and keep them until you weigh them before the chief priests and the Levites and the heads of fathers’ houses in Israel at Jerusalem, within the chambers of the house of the LORD.”
30. So the priests and the Levites took over the weight of the silver and the gold and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem, to the house of our God.
31. Then we departed from the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes by the way.
32. We came to Jerusalem, and there we remained three days.
33. On the fourth day, within the house of our God, the silver and the gold and the vessels were weighed into the hands of Meremoth the priest, son of Uriah, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas, and with them were the Levites, Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui.
34. The whole was counted and weighed, and the weight of everything was recorded.
35. At that time those who had come from captivity, the returned exiles, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel, twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and as a sin offering twelve male goats. All this was a burnt offering to the LORD.
36. They also delivered the king’s commissions to the king’s satraps and to the governors of the province Beyond the River, and they aided the people and the house of God.

Title: Lesson 9

Summary:

Zechariah prophesies the coming of Israel’s King who will first arrive in humility, bringing salvation and peace, yet later return in power to judge and deliver His people fully. These chapters foretell both Messiah’s suffering and rejection, as well as His ultimate triumph and reign over all nations. God’s covenant faithfulness is displayed as He promises final deliverance, restoration, and the defeat of every enemy when His victorious King reigns.

Scripture References:

Zechariah 9:1-17 – ESV (audio 🔊)

1. The oracle of the word of the LORD is against the land of Hadrach and Damascus is its resting place. For the LORD has an eye on mankind and on all the tribes of Israel,
2. and on Hamath also, which borders on it, Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise.
3. Tyre has built herself a rampart and heaped up silver like dust, and fine gold like the mud of the streets.
4. But behold, the Lord will strip her of her possessions and strike down her power on the sea, and she shall be devoured by fire.
5. Ashkelon shall see it, and be afraid; Gaza too, and shall writhe in anguish; Ekron also, because its hopes are confounded. The king shall perish from Gaza; Ashkelon shall be uninhabited;
6. a mixed people shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of Philistia.
7. I will take away its blood from its mouth, and its abominations from between its teeth; it too shall be a remnant for our God; it shall be like a clan in Judah, and Ekron shall be like the Jebusites.
8. Then I will encamp at my house as a guard, so that none shall march to and fro; no oppressor shall again march over them, for now I see with my own eyes.
9. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.
11. As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
12. Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double.
13. For I have bent Judah as my bow; I have made Ephraim its arrow. I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and wield you like a warrior’s sword.
14. Then the LORD will appear over them, and his arrow will go forth like lightning; the Lord GOD will sound the trumpet and will march forth in the whirlwinds of the south.
15. The LORD of hosts will protect them, and they shall devour, and tread down the sling stones, and they shall drink and roar as if drunk with wine, and be full like a bowl, drenched like the corners of the altar.
16. On that day the LORD their God will save them, as the flock of his people; for like the jewels of a crown they shall shine on his land.
17. For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty! Grain shall make the young men flourish, and new wine the young women.

Zechariah 10:1-12 – ESV (audio 🔊)

1. Ask rain from the LORD in the season of the spring rain, from the LORD who makes the storm clouds, and he will give them showers of rain, to everyone the vegetation in the field.
2. For the household gods utter nonsense, and the diviners see lies; they tell false dreams and give empty consolation. Therefore the people wander like sheep; they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd.
3. “My anger is hot against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders; for the LORD of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah, and will make them like his majestic steed in battle.
4. From him shall come the cornerstone, from him the tent peg, from him the battle bow, from him every ruler — all of them together.
5. They shall be like mighty men in battle, trampling the foe in the mud of the streets; they shall fight because the LORD is with them, and they shall put to shame the riders on horses.
6. “I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back because I have compassion on them, and they shall be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them.
7. Then Ephraim shall become like a mighty warrior, and their hearts shall be glad as with wine. Their children shall see it and be glad; their hearts shall rejoice in the LORD.
8. “I will whistle for them and gather them in, for I have redeemed them, and they shall be as many as they were before.
9. Though I scattered them among the nations, yet in far countries they shall remember me, and with their children they shall live and return.
10. I will bring them home from the land of Egypt, and gather them from Assyria, and I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon, till there is no room for them.
11. He shall pass through the sea of troubles and strike down the waves of the sea, and all the depths of the Nile shall be dried up. The pride of Assyria shall be laid low, and the scepter of Egypt shall depart.
12. I will make them strong in the LORD, and they shall walk in his name,” declares the LORD.

Zechariah 11:1-17 – ESV (audio 🔊)

1. Open your doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour your cedars!
2. Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen, for the glorious trees are ruined! Wail, oaks of Bashan, for the thick forest has been felled!
3. The sound of the wail of the shepherds, for their glory is ruined! The sound of the roar of the lions, for the thicket of the Jordan is ruined!
4. Thus said the LORD my God: “Become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter.
5. Those who buy them slaughter them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, I have become rich,’ and their own shepherds have no pity on them.
6. For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of this land, declares the LORD. Behold, I will cause each of them to fall into the hand of his neighbor, and each into the hand of his king, and they shall crush the land, and I will deliver none from their hand.”
7. So I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep traders. And I took two staffs, one I named Favor, the other I named Union. And I tended the sheep.
8. In one month I destroyed the three shepherds. But I became impatient with them, and they also detested me.
9. So I said, “I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die. What is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed. And let those who are left devour the flesh of one another.”
10. And I took my staff Favor, and I broke it, annulling the covenant that I had made with all the peoples.
11. So it was annulled on that day, and the sheep traders, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the LORD.
12. Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver.
13. Then the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter” — the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD, to the potter.
14. Then I broke my second staff Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
15. Then the LORD said to me, “Take once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd.
16. For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs.
17. “Woe to my worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May the sword strike his arm and his right eye! Let his arm be wholly withered, his right eye utterly blinded!”

Zechariah 12:1-14 – ESV (audio 🔊)

1. The oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him:
2. “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah.
3. On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it.
4. On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.
5. Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the LORD of hosts, their God.’
6. “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem.
7. “And the LORD will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah.
8. On that day the LORD will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, going before them.
9. And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10. “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.
11. On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.
12. The land shall mourn, each family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves;
13. the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves;
14. and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves.

Zechariah 13:1-9 – ESV (audio 🔊)

1. “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.
2. “And on that day, declares the LORD of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness.
3. And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the LORD.’ And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies.
4. “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive,
5. but he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.’
6. And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?’ he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.’
7. “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me,” declares the LORD of hosts. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones.
8. In the whole land, declares the LORD, two thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one third shall be left alive.
9. And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people’; and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’”

Zechariah 14:1-21 – ESV (audio 🔊)

1. Behold, a day is coming for the LORD, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst.
2. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3. Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle.
4. On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward.
5. And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.
6. On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost.
7. And there shall be a unique day, which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light.
8. On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter.
9. And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one.
10. The whole land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem shall remain aloft on its site from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses.
11. And it shall be inhabited, for there shall never again be a decree of utter destruction. Jerusalem shall dwell in security.
12. And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.
13. And on that day a great panic from the LORD shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other.
14. Even Judah will fight at Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance.
15. And a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever beasts may be in those camps.
16. Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths.
17. And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them.
18. And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain; there shall be the plague with which the LORD afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths.
19. This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths.
20. And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the LORD.” And the pots in the house of the LORD shall be as the bowls before the altar.
21. And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the LORD of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the meat of the sacrifice in them. And there shall no longer be a trader in the house of the LORD of hosts on that day.

Lesson 8

Summary:

Zechariah’s visions culminate with the crowning of Joshua as a prophetic sign of the Coming Branch, the Messiah who will unite the offices of priest and king to bring peace and rebuild God’s temple. God calls His people to true worship marked by justice, mercy, and compassion rather than empty ritual. The Lord promises to return to Zion, transform fasting into joyful feasts, and draw nations to seek His presence, highlighting the future reign of His righteous Messiah.

Scripture References:

Zechariah 6:9-15 – ESV (audio 🔊)

1. And the word of the LORD came to me:
2. “Take from the exiles Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon, and go the same day to the house of Josiah, the son of Zephaniah.
3. Take from them silver and gold, and make a crown, and set it on the head of Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest.
4. And say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD.
5. It is he who shall build the temple of the LORD and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And there shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”’
6. And the crown shall be in the temple of the LORD as a reminder to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen the son of Zephaniah.
7. “And those who are far off shall come and help to build the temple of the LORD. And you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. And this shall come to pass, if you will diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God.”

Zechariah 7:1-14 – ESV (audio 🔊)

1. In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev.
2. Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men to entreat the favor of the LORD,
3. saying to the priests of the house of the LORD of hosts and the prophets, “Should I weep and abstain in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?”
4. Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me:
5. “Say to all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh, for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted?
6. And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves?
7. Were not these the words that the LORD proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous, with her cities around her, and the South and the lowland were inhabited?’”
8. And the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying,
9. “Thus says the LORD of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another,
10. do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.”
11. But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear.
12. They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the LORD of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great anger came from the LORD of hosts.
13. “As I called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear,” says the LORD of hosts,
14. “and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known. Thus the land they left was desolate, so that no one went to and fro, and the pleasant land was made desolate.”

Zechariah 8:1-23 – ESV (audio 🔊)

1. And the word of the LORD of hosts came, saying,
2. “Thus says the LORD of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath.
3. Thus says the LORD: I have returned to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the LORD of hosts, the holy mountain.
4. Thus says the LORD of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age.
5. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets.
6. Thus says the LORD of hosts: If it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, should it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the LORD of hosts?
7. Thus says the LORD of hosts: Behold, I will save my people from the east country and from the west country,
8. and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.”
9. Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Let your hands be strong, you who in these days have been hearing these words from the mouth of the prophets who were present on the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built.
10. For before those days there was no wage for man or any wage for beast, neither was there any safety from the foe for him who went out or came in, for I set every man against his neighbor.
11. But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, declares the LORD of hosts.
12. For there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.
13. And as you have been a byword of cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing. Fear not, but let your hands be strong.”
14. For thus says the LORD of hosts: “As I purposed to bring disaster to you when your fathers provoked me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the LORD of hosts,
15. so again have I purposed in these days to bring good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; fear not.
16. These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace;
17. do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the LORD.”
18. And the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying,
19. “Thus says the LORD of hosts: The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love truth and peace.
20. “Thus says the LORD of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, even the inhabitants of many cities.
21. The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, ‘Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the LORD and to seek the LORD of hosts; I myself am going.’
22. Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD.
23. Thus says the LORD of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’”

Lesson 7

Summary:

In Zechariah 4–6, God reveals that His redemptive work will not be accomplished through human strength or ingenuity but through His Spirit’s power. The visions of the golden lampstand and olive trees highlight God’s anointed leaders—Zerubbabel and Joshua—through whom He would rebuild His temple and shepherd His people. The flying scroll and basket visions expose sin and wickedness that God will remove from His land, while the four chariots demonstrate His sovereign control over the nations. Altogether, these visions affirm that God Himself empowers and purifies His people to accomplish His kingdom purposes.

Scripture References:

Zechariah 4:1-14 – ESV (audio 🔊)

1. And the angel who talked with me came again and woke me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep.
2. And he said to me, “What do you see?” I said, “I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it.
3. And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.”
4. And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?”
5. Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.”
6. Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.
7. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’”
8. Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
9. “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.
10. For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. “These seven are the eyes of the LORD, which range through the whole earth.”
11. Then I said to him, “What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?”
12. And a second time I answered and said to him, “What are these two branches of the olive trees, which are beside the two golden pipes from which the golden oil is poured out?”
13. He said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.”
14. Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”

Zechariah 5:1-11 – ESV (audio 🔊)

1. Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a flying scroll!
2. And he said to me, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a flying scroll. Its length is twenty cubits, and its width ten cubits.”
3. Then he said to me, “This is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole land. For everyone who steals shall be cleaned out according to what is on one side, and everyone who swears falsely shall be cleaned out according to what is on the other side.
4. I will send it out, declares the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter the house of the thief, and the house of him who swears falsely by my name. And it shall remain in his house and consume it, both timber and stones.”
5. Then the angel who talked with me came forward and said to me, “Lift your eyes and see what this is that is going out.”
6. And I said, “What is it?” He said, “This is the basket that is going out.” And he said, “This is their iniquity in all the land.”
7. And behold, the leaden cover was lifted, and there was a woman sitting in the basket!
8. And he said, “This is Wickedness.” And he thrust her back into the basket, and thrust down the leaden weight on its opening.
9. Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, two women coming forward! The wind was in their wings. They had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven.
10. Then I said to the angel who talked with me, “Where are they taking the basket?”
11. He said to me, “To the land of Shinar, to build a house for it. And when this is prepared, they will set the basket down there on its base.”

Zechariah 6:1-8 – ESV (audio 🔊)

1. Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four chariots came out from between two mountains. And the mountains were mountains of bronze.
2. The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses,
3. The third white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled horses — all of them strong.
4. Then I answered and said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?”
5. And the angel answered and said to me, “These are going out to the four winds of heaven, after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth.
6. The chariot with the black horses goes toward the north country, the white ones go after them, and the dappled ones go toward the south country.”
7. When the strong horses came out, they were impatient to go and patrol the earth. And he said, “Go, patrol the earth.” So they patrolled the earth.
8. Then he cried to me, “Behold, those who go toward the north country have set my Spirit at rest in the north country.”

Lesson 6

Summary:

Zechariah 1–3 shows God’s call for His people to repent and turn back to Him, assuring them of His return and favor. Through prophetic visions, God promises to rebuild and protect Jerusalem, silence Satan’s accusations, and cleanse His people from sin. These visions highlight God’s mercy and the coming restoration through His chosen servant, bringing renewal and hope for His people.

Scripture References:

Zechariah 1:1-21 – ESV (audio 🔊)

1. In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying,
2. “The LORD was very angry with your fathers.
3. Therefore say to them, Thus declares the LORD of hosts: Return to me, says the LORD of hosts, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts.
4. Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’ But they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the LORD.
5. Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?
6. But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers? So they repented and said, ‘As the LORD of hosts purposed to deal with us for our ways and deeds, so has he dealt with us.’”
7. On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying,
8. “I saw in the night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen, and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses.
9. Then I said, ‘What are these, my lord?’ The angel who talked with me said to me, ‘I will show you what they are.’
10. So the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered, ‘These are they whom the LORD has sent to patrol the earth.’
11. And they answered the angel of the LORD who was standing among the myrtle trees, and said, ‘We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth remains at rest.’
12. Then the angel of the LORD said, ‘O LORD of hosts, how long will you have no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which you have been angry these seventy years?’
13. And the LORD answered gracious and comforting words to the angel who talked with me.
14. So the angel who talked with me said to me, ‘Cry out, Thus says the LORD of hosts: I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion.
15. And I am exceedingly angry with the nations that are at ease; for while I was angry but a little, they furthered the disaster.
16. Therefore, thus says the LORD, I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy; my house shall be built in it, declares the LORD of hosts, and the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.
17. Cry out again, Thus says the LORD of hosts: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.’”
18. And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four horns!
19. And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these?” And he said to me, “These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.”
20. Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen.
21. And I said, “What are these coming to do?” He said, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no one raised his head. And these have come to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter it.”

Zechariah 2:1-13 – ESV (audio 🔊)

1. And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand!
2. Then I said, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, “To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length.”
3. And behold, the angel who talked with me came forward, and another angel came forward to meet him
4. and said to him, “Run, say to that young man, ‘Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of people and livestock in it.
5. And I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the LORD, and I will be the glory in her midst.’”
6. Up! Up! Flee from the land of the north, declares the LORD. For I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heavens, declares the LORD.
7. Up! Escape to Zion, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon.
8. For thus said the LORD of hosts, after his glory sent me to the nations who plundered you, for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye:
9. “Behold, I will shake my hand over them, and they shall become plunder for those who served them. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me.
10. Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the LORD.
11. And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.
12. And the LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem.”
13. Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.

Zechariah 3:1-10 – ESV (audio 🔊)

1. Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.
2. And the LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, O Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?”
3. Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments.
4. And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.”
5. And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD was standing by.
6. And the angel of the LORD solemnly assured Joshua,
7. “Thus says the LORD of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my charge, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here.
8. Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch.
9. For behold, on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its inscription, declares the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day.
10. In that day, declares the LORD of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor to come under his vine and under his fig tree.”

Lesson 5

Summary:

In Ezra 5:1 and Haggai 1–2, the prophets Haggai and Zechariah confront the returned exiles for neglecting the rebuilding of God’s temple while focusing on their own homes. Haggai calls the people to realign their priorities with God’s will, promising that obedience will bring His blessing and that the future glory of the temple will surpass the former. God assures His people of His presence, stirs them to renewed work, and points to a coming kingdom where His chosen servant will reign in glory.

Scripture References:

Ezra 5:1 – ESV (audio 🔊)

1. Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them.

Haggai 1:1-15 – ESV (audio 🔊)

1. In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest:
2. “Thus says the LORD of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the LORD.”
3. Then the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet,
4. “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?
5. Now, therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways.
6. You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.
7. “Thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways.
8. Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the LORD.
9. You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the LORD of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house.
10. Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce.
11. And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.”
12. Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him. And the people feared the LORD.
13. Then Haggai, the messenger of the LORD, spoke to the people with the LORD’s message, “I am with you, declares the LORD.”
14. And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and worked on the house of the LORD of hosts, their God,
15. on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.

Haggai 2:1-23 – ESV (audio 🔊)

1. In the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet:
2. “Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, and say,
3. ‘Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes?
4. Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the LORD. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the LORD. Work, for I am with you, declares the LORD of hosts,
5. according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not.
6. For thus says the LORD of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land.
7. And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of hosts.
8. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the LORD of hosts.
9. The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the LORD of hosts.’”
10. On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet,
11. “Thus says the LORD of hosts: Ask the priests about the law:
12. ‘If someone carries holy meat in the fold of his garment and touches with his fold bread or stew or wine or oil or any kind of food, does it become holy?’” The priests answered and said, “No.”
13. Then Haggai said, “If someone who is unclean by contact with a dead body touches any of these, does it become unclean?” The priests answered and said, “It does become unclean.”
14. Then Haggai answered and said, “So is it with this people, and with this nation before me, declares the LORD, and so with every work of their hands. And what they offer there is unclean.
15. Now then, consider from this day onward. Before stone was placed upon stone in the temple of the LORD,
16. how did you fare? When one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten. When one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were but twenty.
17. I struck you and all the products of your toil with blight and with mildew and with hail, yet you did not turn to me, declares the LORD.
18. Consider from this day onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Since the day that the foundation of the LORD’s temple was laid, consider:
19. Is the seed yet in the barn? Indeed, the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have yielded nothing. But from this day on I will bless you.”
20. The word of the LORD came a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month,
21. “Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I am about to shake the heavens and the earth,
22. and to overthrow the throne of kingdoms. I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and overthrow the chariots and their riders. And the horses and their riders shall go down, every one by the sword of his brother.
23. On that day, declares the LORD of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, the son of Shealtiel, declares the LORD, and make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you, declares the LORD of hosts.”

Lesson 4

Summary:

As the exiles gather in unity, they rebuild the altar and lay the foundation of the temple, restoring sacrificial worship to God. Despite their obedience and celebration of God’s faithfulness, opposition from surrounding peoples arises, discouraging and ultimately halting the temple’s construction. This passage highlights both the resolve to honor God and the real challenges faced when restoring true worship amidst hostility.

Scripture References:

Ezra 3:1-13 – ESV (audio 🔊)

1. When the seventh month came, and the children of Israel were in the towns, the people gathered as one man to Jerusalem.
2. Then arose Jeshua the son of Jozadak, with his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel with his kinsmen, and they 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.
3. They set the altar in its place, for fear was on them because of the peoples of the lands, and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, burnt offerings morning and evening.
4. And they kept the Feast of Booths, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number according to the rule, as each day required,
5. and after that the regular burnt offerings, the offerings at the new moon and at all the appointed feasts of the LORD, and the offerings of everyone who made a freewill offering to the LORD.
6. From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD. But the foundation of the temple of the LORD was not yet laid.
7. So they gave money to the masons and the carpenters, and food, drink, and oil to the Sidonians and the Tyrians to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, according to the grant that they had from Cyrus king of Persia.
8. Now in the second year after their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak made a beginning, together with the rest of their kinsmen, the priests and the Levites and all who had come to Jerusalem from the captivity. They appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to supervise the work of the house of the LORD.
9. And Jeshua with his sons and his brothers, and Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together supervised the workmen in the house of God, along with the sons of Henadad and the Levites, their sons and brothers.
10. And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests in their vestments came forward with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the LORD, according to the directions of David king of Israel.
11. And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.” And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.
12. But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted aloud for joy,
13. so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people shouted with a great shout, and the sound was heard far away.

Ezra 4:1-24 – ESV (audio 🔊)

1. Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the LORD, the God of Israel,
2. they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ houses and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria who brought us here.”
3. But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers’ houses in Israel said to them, “You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the LORD, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”
4. Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build
5. and bribed counselors against them to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.
6. And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
7. In the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam and Mithredath and Tabeel and the rest of their associates wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated.
8. Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows:
9. Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates, the judges, the governors, the officials, the Persians, the men of Erech, the Babylonians, the men of Susa, that is, the Elamites,
10. and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River.
11. (This is a copy of the letter that they sent.) “To Artaxerxes the king: Your servants, the men of the province Beyond the River, send greeting. And now
12. be it known to the king that the Jews who came up from you to us have gone to Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are finishing the walls and repairing the foundations.
13. Now be it known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and the royal revenue will be impaired.
14. Now because we eat the salt of the palace and it is not fitting for us to witness the king’s dishonor, therefore we send and inform the king,
15. in order that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers. You will find in the book of the records and learn that this city is a rebellious city, hurtful to kings and provinces, and that sedition was stirred up in it from of old. That was why this city was laid waste.
16. We make known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls finished, you will then have no possession in the province Beyond the River.”
17. The king sent an answer: “To Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe and the rest of their associates who live in Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River, greeting. And now
18. the letter that you sent to us has been plainly read before me.
19. And I made a decree, and search has been made, and it has been found that this city from of old has risen against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made in it.
20. And mighty kings have been over Jerusalem, who ruled over the whole province Beyond the River, to whom tribute, custom, and toll were paid.
21. Therefore make a decree that these men be made to cease, and that this city be not rebuilt, until a decree is made by me.
22. And take care not to be slack in this matter. Why should damage grow to the hurt of the king?”
23. Then, when the copy of King Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their associates, they went in haste to the Jews at Jerusalem and by force and power made them cease.
24. Then the work on the house of God that is in Jerusalem stopped, and it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.