Today is the fifth message in our series: Timeless - Truth For Today. We are covering the entire Bible in a 3 month period.
If we want to read the entire Bible in a year, it would require around 12 minutes each day. Are we really that busy that we can't spend 12 minutes each day?

So far in this series we've covered the first 12 books of the Old Testament (just about 1/3). They are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings and 2 Kings.
These books have taken us from the moment of creation, through the call of Abram, the Jewish Exodus from Egypt, the settling of the Promised Land, and the rise and fall of the nation of Israel. This is about a 2,000 year period.

This morning we are looking at 5 more books that review God's judgment and confinement of Israel by the pagan empires of Assyria and Babylon.
These books are 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.

1 & 2 Chronicles:

The name means "the words of the days" and as one writer said, "Chronicles served like a daily logbook, similar to the U.S. Congressional Record detailing the various accounts and events of government."

While having some similarities to 1 & 2 Kings, the books of Chronicles have a very different slant or perspective:
-The books of the Kings give us the history of Israel from the viewpoint of the prophets, while Chronicles gives us the history from the viewpoint of the priests.
-The books of the Kings give us history from the human standpoint, Chronicles from the divine standpoint.
-The Kings show man ruling, while the Chronicles show God overruling.
-The Kings are written for Jews in exile, to show them how they got there, thus spending a lot of time talking about the sins of the nation and its leaders. The books of Chronicles, however, are written for Jews who have returned from exile wondering if their covenant with God is still in force.

And in Chronicles the hope of Israel is renewed and once again they learn that God never gives up on His people, in spite of their sins.
1 Chronicles 16:34

In understanding these two books you will want to check and see if you have read these 5 key passages and learned their lessons for your spiritual life:

First - The PRAYER of Jabez.
1 Chronicles 4:9-10
A big prayer of faith that refused to concede that the circumstances of life would shape and dictate his life course.

Second - A PICTURE of Presumption.
1 Chronicles 13
Here we learn the hazzards of disobeying God and attempting to do things that we think are right, but are done in the wrong way.

Third - A PSALM of Thanksgiving.
1 Chronicles 16:4-36
This passage is an excellent training source on the subject of worship.

Fourth - The PLEASURE of God.
2 Chronicles 1
We see that God delights to bless those who have His interests at heart.

Fifth - A PROMISE of Restoration.
2 Chronicles 7:11-18
God presents the key ingredients to bring about spiritual restoration to a nation.

Next we'll look at the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.
These 3 books cover the history of the Jewish people in exile and relate their trials, tribulations, and the triumphs of their return to the Promised Land.
At the time of Solomon's death, Israel was divided into a Northern and Southern Kingdom.
While these two Israelite Kingdom's fought with each other and the surrounding "ite" monarchies, they fell into the shadow of 3 emerging empires that God used to humble His rebellious children.
-Assyria: crushed and deported the Northern Kingdom in 722 B.C.
-Babylon: overcame Assyria, invaded and deported Judah 3 times - 586 B.C.
-Media-Persian: conquered Babylon and became the greatest empire of all time stretching 3,000 miles and comprising 2 million square miles.

Ezra can be broken into 2 general sections:

1. REBUILDING the Temple Walls.
Ezra 1-6 (Ezra 1:1)

-Cyrus the Great of Persia, upon conquering Babylon, was led by God to read an edict allowing the Jews to return to the Promised Land.
-A man by the name of Zerubbabel (descendant of David) led the first group of Jews back to Judah and they laid the foundation walls of the new temple in 536 B.C. - completing the 70 years of predicted captivity.
-King Darius of Persia stood up for the Jews and encouraged the rebuilding of their temple.
-At this time 2 Jewish prophets, Haggai and Zechariah appeared and began to motivate the people to finish the temple, which was completed in 516 B.C.

2. RESTORING the Temple Worship.
Ezra 7-10

Back in Persia, a new king named Artaxerxes let Ezra, a priest of the tribe of Levi, lead a large group of Jews back to Judah some 60 years after the temple is completed.
The rest of the book deals with the revival he led, restoration of temple worship, and the rebuke of those who are living in sin and contrary to God's word.

Esther:

This book chronologically takes place next.
In between King Darius and Artaxerxes, Persia had a king named Xerxes whom history records as an ego-maniacal tyrant. During his reign, one of his political flunkies named Haman was offended by a Jew named Mordecai. Haman hatched a plot to execute Mordecai, exterminate all Jews in the Kingdom of Persia, and to establish great power for himself.
The book revolves around a Jewish woman named Esther who the King has taken to be his Queen.
With wisdom and great boldness she saved the day for her people.
The most famous passage in the book is when Mordecai challenges her to stand up for that is right - Esther 4:12-16.

Nehemiah:

This book is chronologically the last of the history books that talk about the good times and bad times of the nation of Israel.
God moved the heart of Nehemiah to do something significant for Him. He is the cup-bearer for King Arataxeres of Persia.
In Nehemiah 1:1-3, Nehemiah got word from those who had earlier moved back to Judah. The temple had been re-built, but the city walls of Jerusalem lay in ruin. This stirred his heart into action and he led the people back to having a national and spiritual identity.
The book is considered a masterpiece on the subject of management, administration, and motivation and is studied in business and military schools around the world.
The secret of his success are the 11 recorded prayers that he offered as he sought God's protection, provision, and providential guidance.

These books cover the good times and the bad of the nation of Israel. One lesson that stands out is the importance of prayer. It keeps us humble, grateful, and focused on God, regardless of the circumstances we face.

Birthdays and Anniversaries We're Celebrating This Week!

Monday, January 30th - Chris Webster