Surely the children of Israel will be thrilled to follow the One who loved them so much that He delivered them from the clutches of Egypt.
These chapters look prophetically to the day of the Lord. This will be a day when God will come in wrath and will judge the wicked. However, all is not lost. Those who fear the Lord will be remembered and will be spared. To them, the Sun of righteousness will rise will healing and will care for them as calves that are brought up in the stall. In closing, they are told to look backward to the law of Moses and forward to the coming of Elijah as the herald of the day of the Lord and the Messianic Kingdom to follow.
The temple was indeed completed by Zerubbabel. But that was almost sixty years ago and the people have again come to a place of spiritual deadness. They need a revival and God has prepared a special man. Ezra had dedicated his life to learning, doing, and teaching the law of the Lord (Ezra 7:10). God gives him favor with the king of Persia and he organizes a successful return to the land of promise.
Satan has robbed the church blind of its daughters. Do names like Jessie Daniels, Kelly Clarkson, Missy Elliott, Mariah Carey, Shelly King, and Britney Spears ring a bell? They all started out either going to Church as children or are in Church now. Who’s next? It may be that my daughter or your daughter is the next target of Satan. So what shall we do?
Man, in his dealings with the faults and sins of others, usually falls into one of two extremes. He either over-condemns or he over-tolerates. We either condemn like a Pharisee or allow anything like the Corinthians. Phinehas was a man who knew when a stand had to be taken. His zeal was well-placed.<br />
<h4>Numbered List</h4>
<h4>Numbered List</h4>
