June 24, 2013
Lesson for June 30, 2013: Restoring Joyful Worship (Ezra 1:1″“3:7)
By Sam E. Stone Continuing this quarter”s theme, “God”s People Worship,” we now turn from Isaiah to two other helpful resources””the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Along with the book of Esther, these two writings form the closing section of Old Testament history. They tell of the Jews” return from Babylon, the rebuilding of the temple and Jerusalem, and the reestablishment of life in their homeland. J. Stafford Wright observes, “It is possible that sacrifices had been offered at times on the temple site during the exile (compare Jeremiah 41:5). But the purpose now was to reinstate the divinely prescribed
