Luke 1:5-17
Luke 1:39-55
Psalm 98
Luke 2:8-12

joy – noun
1 - the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires: delight
         B - the expression or exhibition of such emotion: gaiety
2 - a state of happiness or felicity: bliss
3 - a source or cause of delight[1]

Bible Dictionary – joy - A quality or attitude of delight and happiness, which is ultimately grounded in the work of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Among the many situations in which joy is experienced, Scripture recognizes as supreme being accepted in the presence of God.[2]

Galatians 5:22-26
Philippians 1:3-6
Philippians 1:12-20

-     To rejoice you have to do more than just accept your circumstances.
-     You have to trust and be thankful.
-     The trust is based on the character of the one who began the good work (1:6).
-     It is trust in the faithfulness which He has shown.
-     For Paul, this meant trusting God because He chose him—an unlikely leader of the early church—to be an apostle.
-     Without trust, what else would Paul cling to? Nothing.
-     Too often our trust in the Lord is based on our own understanding, or only engages part of our heart.
-     When the storms of life come, faulty foundations are destroyed. What we need to do is trust the Lord with all of our heart and not lean on our own understanding.
-     One of the greatest litmus tests for trust is thanksgiving, a theme that resonates throughout Philippians.
-     If I’m afraid of my situation or grumbling about it, then chances are I’m leaning on my own understanding.
-     This same perspective leads me to say my situation is wrong, unfair, or needs to change.
-     If I’m really trusting God to be in control of all things, then this will be reflected in my perspective.
-     I may not like my predicament, but I can still choose to trust God to accomplish His purposes no matter how dire things get.
-     My choice to trust in God’s character enables me to give thanks for His provision even though it is not what I would choose.[3]
-     Joy is understood when you have to trust and are thankful.

John 16:20-24

[1] Merriam-Webster, I. (2003). Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary. (Eleventh ed.). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc.
[2] Manser, M. H. (2009). Dictionary of Bible Themes: The Accessible and Comprehensive Tool for Topical Studies. London: Martin Manser.
[3] Runge, S. E. (2011). High Definition Commentary: Philippians (Php 1:18–20). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

     - Describe the spirit and attitude of the people the Sunday immediately after 9/11/2001.
     - Several months have passed since the company arrived in Jerusalem; it is now the ninth month (see 10:9).[1]

Ezra 9
         - Deuteronomy 7:1-6 - 1 “When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess, and He drives out many nations before you—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and powerful than you 2 and when the Lord your God delivers them over to you and you defeat them, you must completely destroy them. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy. 3 Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, 4 because they will turn your sons away from Me to worship other gods. Then the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and He will swiftly destroy you. 5 Instead, this is what you are to do to them: tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn up their carved images. 6 For you are a holy people belonging to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be His own possession out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.[2][3]
        vs 2 - Loyalty to God alone was the issue at stake: Jewish men had married foreign women and made the mistake of adopting their wives’ gods (Mal 2:10–16).
         - It is likely that Jewish women were also marrying foreign men and adopting their gods and religious practices.
         - This directly opposed God’s desire to be exclusively worshiped and threatened the entire faith of the nation.[4]
        vs 3 - Ezra knew that it was for just this sort of sin that his nation had gone into captivity (cf. v. 7).
         - Perhaps he was afraid they would go into captivity again.[5]
         vs 15 - Ezra’s response is…
         1) He publicly grieved
         2) He sat down at the temple and processed
         3) He knelt in prayer
         4) Confessed
         5) Repented

Ezra 10
         vs 12 - God used individual leaders to bring community unity. In God’s work it is important to seek community decisions that indicate a unity of thought and heart.[6]
         vs 13 - It was December, the middle of the rainy season (October to mid-April), and the crowd trembled, not only because of the weather, but also because they were sure the heavy rain was a prelude to the judgment of God.
         vs 14 - It was suggested that Ezra empower the committee of priests and Levites to work with the leaders of the tribes, as well as the elders and judges of the towns (who knew their people), and let them determine who was guilty. It was impractical to try to interrogate so many people in one place, especially when the weather was so inclement; and the work couldn’t be done in a day.
         - On December 19, 458, the men of the two main tribes, Judah and Benjamin, plus exiles from the other tribes, gathered in the street before the temple to start the solemn investigation.
         vs 15 - Except for four men who dissented, the crowd agreed with this idea and promised to obey.
         vs 16 - Ezra made it clear that the mixed marriages would have to be dissolved, and he called upon the faithful Jews to separate themselves from those who had disobeyed God’s law.
         - Once again, Ezra was given counsel by others, and he accepted it. (Blessed is the leader who has open ears to the ideas of others!)
         vs 17 - Ten days later (v. 16), on December 29, Ezra and the leaders sat down together and began to investigate the matter.
         - Three months later, on March 27, 457, their work was finished.
         - They discovered over 100 offenders, including 27 priests, Levites, temple singers, and gatekeepers, people you would have expected to be models of obedience.
         - When spiritual leaders begin to sin, it doesn’t take long for other people to follow.
         - The total number of offenders was probably less than 1 percent of the residents.
         - However, it’s better to deal with these matters when the numbers are low, because the longer you wait, the more the sin will spread. Even one offender is one too many (Ecc. 9:18).
           vs 18 -     The guilty priests promised to put away their heathen wives, and they offered sacrifices to seek God’s forgiveness (Ezra 10:18–19). We assume that the other offenders listed followed their example.
           - God in His grace accepted their repentance and confession and granted them forgiveness.[7]

[1] Barry, J. D., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Mangum, D., & Whitehead, M. M. (2012). Faithlife Study Bible (Ezr 9:1). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
[2] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Dt 7:1–6). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Dt 23:3–6). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[4] Barry, J. D., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Mangum, D., & Whitehead, M. M. (2012). Faithlife Study Bible (Ezr 9:2). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
[5] Martin, J. A. (1985). Ezra. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 669). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[6] Breneman, M. (1993). Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (electronic ed., Vol. 10, p. 160). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[7] Wiersbe, W. W. (1997). Be heroic (pp. 57–58). Colorado Springs, CO: ChariotVictor Pub.
[8] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Ezr 9:1–10:44). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.

Ezra 7
      - The temple was completed in 515 BC in the reign of Darius I.
      - After Darius’ death in 486 his son Xerxes ruled for 20 years (485–465).
      - Since Xerxes was the Ahasuerus mentioned in the Book of Esther, the events of that book occurred between Ezra 6 and 7.
      - Then Xerxes’ son Artaxerxes ruled from 464 to 424.
      - From 515 (Temple Built) to 458 (Artaxerxes’ seventh year) was 57 years.[1]
      - The name Ezra is probably a shortened form of Azariah, meaning “the Lord has helped.”
      vs 6 - The word also referred to a learned man who could read and write and a learned man who could teach what he read in God’s Law.
         - Ezra was called a “teacher” (sōp̱ēr) four times (Ezra 7:6, 11–12, 21; cf. v. 25).
         - The law of Moses is literally “the Torah of Moses”.
         - This refers to the Pentateuch, that is, the first five books of the Old Testament that were called the Torah.
         - Ezra had the blessing of the pagan King Artaxerxes as well as the blessing of the covenant God of Israel.
         - A few years later Nehemiah had an official position before the king (Neh. 1:11), but Ezra held no such position.
         - For the first of eight times in the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah, mention is made of God’s hand being on Ezra and Nehemiah (Ezra 7:6, 9, 28; 8:18, 22, 31; Neh. 2:8, 18).
         - It means that God’s active presence was with Ezra or that God acted with favor toward Ezra.
         vs 8 - Which was 458 BC
         vs 9 - The heart was the center of emotions for the Hebrews.
         - It was also the source of thought and the basis for decision-making and thus it was a symbol for one’s whole being.
         - Ezra had set his heart. The verb is a perfect form that has a basic meaning of “to be firm, ready, certain.”
         - The verbal form used here has a causative meaning, that is, “to direct, to set.”
         - In other words, Ezra “had devoted himself” or “had committed himself” to the purpose of studying, interpreting and teaching the Law.
         - Ezra’s action took place before the event of the previous verse; that is, because of what Ezra did, God’s hand was upon him.
         -To study in this context means “to inquire” or “to seek.”
         - I had 4 different mean this week seek me out and tell me that they wanted to seek wisdom, they wanted to pursue God, they wanted to know the heart of God.
         vs 11- No reason for the decree was given.
         - It can be surmised that Ezra had asked for permission to take a group back and that this decree was the official granting of his request.
         - The decree was sent to Ezra personally.
        vs 25 -  In return for granting these privileges the king was to receive some benefits from the expedition.
         - He wanted to avoid uprisings or feelings of anger against him (v. 23) and to have order in that part of his empire (vv. 25–26).
         vs 27 - Ezra added that the purpose of all this was to bring honor to the house of the Lord.
         - The privileges granted by Artaxerxes were for God’s glory, not Ezra’s.

Ezra 8
         vs 14 - The total number of men who returned was 1,514 including 18 heads of families and 1,496 other men.
         - With the 258 Levites assembled later (Ezra 8:15–20) the number came to 1,772.
         - With women and children, the group may have totaled between 4,000 and 5,000.
         - Even so, this group was much smaller than the near-50,000 on the first return (2:64–65).
         vs 15 - Levites were to function as teachers of the Law.
         - Therefore they were to have an extremely important role in the reestablished community.
         - The people desperately needed to understand the importance of the Law as they faced their situation as returnees from exile.
         - The Levites would have a difficult time in the new land for they were to be involved in the disciplined ministry of temple service.
          vs 20 - The men were able to secure 38 Levites from two families—18 from Sherebiah’s family and 20 from Jeshaiah’s relatives—as well as 220 … temple servants.
         - Only then was Ezra ready to start on the important journey.
         - Without the Levite teachers of the Law and people to serve at the temple all would be lost and the trip futile.
         vs 23 - Being humble before God shows one’s spiritual dependence, his acknowledgment that God is in total control.
         - Ezra did not want to ask for military protection (soldiers and horsemen) because he had already publicly announced that God would take care of the people as they returned.
         vs 30 - All this would be valued at many millions of dollars today.
         - No wonder Ezra was concerned about the people’s safety.
         vs 31 - The total journey was about 850 miles and must have been difficult for a group without a military escort.
         - The caravanned an average of 7.5 miles a day.
         - At 7.5 MPD = 850 miles = 113 days roughly or 4 months.
         - 9 He began the journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month and arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month since the gracious hand of his God was on him. [2]
         vs 36 - Those living in surrounding communities were in such awe of the return and how God provided for them and protected them that they too wanted to join in and provide for the people of God.

[1] Martin, J. A. (1985). Ezra. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 665). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[2] Noss, P. A., & Thomas, K. J. (2005). A Handbook on Ezra and Nehemiah. (P. Clarke, S. Brown, L. Dorn, & D. Slager, Eds.) (p. 155). New York: United Bible Societies.

Ezra 3
Ezra 4
Ezra 5
Ezra 6

How many of you actually know the Books of the Bible?
Books of the Bible…
Map of Captivity…

Ezra 1

1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, the word of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah was fulfilled.
         - Cyrus reigned from 559-530 BC.
         - Jeremiah 25:12-14
         - 609 BC – Medes & Babylonians conquered the Assyrians
         - 539 BC – Cyrus defeated Babylonians
         - Babylon today is Iraq

The Lord put it into the mind of King Cyrus to issue a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom and to put it in writing:
-     Under the Holy Spirit’s guidance, the Prophet Isaiah referred to Cyrus by name about 150 years before the king made his decree. Josephus wrote that Cyrus was shown the prophecy in Isaiah 44:28 and wanted to fulfill it (The Antiquities of the Jews 11. 1. 1). [1]

Ezra 2

-     Ezra Timeline…

-     www.Leavener.com/Teachings

- What do you think is the biggest issue facing the Church today?

[1] Martin, J. A. (1985). Ezra. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 655). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.