This is a sermon comparing an upright walk with a perverted walk.
One of the most powerful biblical pictures of Jesus Christ is as our Shepherd. Here in Psalm 23, we see Him as the Good Shepherd who cares for the sheep.
One revival or restoration is never enough for the people of God. God’s people follow the natural lines of spiritual degeneration. They will naturally slide backwards toward the ways of the world. They require periodic revivals in order to remain close to the Lord. When the revivals cease, the people will fall further and further away from the Lord.
Some say that prophecy is too hard to understand. Everyone interprets the Bible differently and there is no correct way to interpret prophecy. This is not true. As in everything else, God gives us the guidance to understand the prophecy that He wrote.
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.
