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There is something about studying the Bible as opposed to reading the Bible that provides such depth to the Scriptures. For instance, upon first glance of the passage below, one would not see the full meaning. Hence, why I created the Altared Freedom Scripture Study Journal to guide and help others dig out hidden treasures!
"Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building. And hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius King of Persia " (Ezra 4:4-5).
Context of the passage (there is a section in the journal to help you find the context):
They were rebuilding the temple that was once destroyed, and we know that we are now the temple (keep this in mind).
Now look at the meanings of the highlighted words (green = Hebrew; blue= Websters):
Land - Sheol, land w/o return, underworld, wilderness world
Weakened - debilitate, undermine, cripple, disable
Hands - strength, power, work
Building - Structure for permanent use
Counselors - determine, devise, guide, purpose
Frustrate - Induce feelings of insecurity, discouragement, or dissatisfaction; bring to nothing
Purpose - Plan
So, now the Scripture's meaning reads:
Then the people of the underworld undermined and crippled the work of the people and troubled them in accomplishing their permanent structure. They also hired other people of the underworld whose sole purpose was to devise and guide the workers away from God's plan and purpose for them. How? By bringing on feelings of insecurity, discouragement, and dissatisfaction. Wow!
More Context:
The passage goes on to tell us that the people did actually cease building for a while, but the restoration of the temple was resumed when they were prophesied to "in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them" (Ezra 5:1). They reminded the people of who they were!!! That's not all! After the prophets encouraged and spoke life into them, the people "rose up and began to build the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and the prophets of God were with them helping them" (vs 5:2).
If you love to learn, and in particular, want to learn more about God, do yourself a favor and order this journal. In finding out who God is, you will know who you are! All proceeds (100%) help fund Seek and Find Yourself, Inc, and the residents at the Hope House in Charleston, TN. See link below:
God is so faithful! Everything you’ve envisioned is coming to fruition! We are blessed to have you in our lives!!! We love you!