Today is the fifth day of August.

Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible.

I am Brian grateful.

Grateful to be here with you today, deeply.

Glad that we have this place to be.

Glad we can come around the global campfire together, gather, be together,

in each other's presence, a new day, another step forward.

So we started 1st Corinthians yesterday, but we also finished 2nd Chronicles.

So the books of kings and chronicles,

we've now covered that territory.

And we're moving forward in the Old Testament.

Our next journey leads us into the book of Ezra.

And so from a historical perspective, we're picking up where Second Chronicles leaves off.

And that is with the children of Israel having been conquered and taken into exile to Babylon.

And this is all due to their unfaithfulness, their rebelliousness to God.

So the book of Ezra will cover about 80 years and three different kings of Persia, Cyrus the Great, Darius, and then

Arctic Xerxes, all who are favorable and provide cover for the Israelites who are being

allowed to go back to their homeland. It won't be their homeland, but they're allowed to go back

to the land. Cyrus, the Great, begins this process, literally wanting, having a desire to rebuild

the temple in Jerusalem for the worship of God, so that that will be favorable to him.

And then God will be favorable to him. So around 42,000 Israelites who have been carried away

into exile have been crying and weeping for a day that God would restore them, finally get to take steps in the direction of Jerusalem

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