The Man Born Blind

By Mary Vee
John 9 

Peter

Photo by Mary Vee. View from the Mount of Olives facing
the Temple area

My name is Peter, I am a disciple of Jesus. 

Jesus walked in the courts of the temple and saw a man who had been blind since birth. I asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents. One of them had to be responsible for his being born blind?"

"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus. "This happened so others could see the work of God displayed in his life. We must do the work of my Father as long as we have days on earth. The night is coming, though, when no one can work. While I am here in this world, I am the light of the world."

Jesus turned back to the blind man and spat on the ground, made some mud from it, and put it on the man's eyes. "Go wash in the Pool of Siloam." 

Photo by Mary Vee.
The pool where people came to be healed.
Jerusalem

The man's friends helped him find the way to the pool. He knelt down to the water and washed his eyes. He blinked water from his eyes and shouted, "I can see!! I can see!!"

His neighbors and friends who had seen him begging asked, 'Isn't this the blind man? The one who sat and begged all these years?" 

"Yes, that's him."

Others said, "No. That man can see. He only looks like the one we know."

The once blind man said, "Believe me. I am the one you want. I once was blind and now I see."

Photo by Mary Vee
The blind man wasn't the only person
Jesus healed. This sign is near the pool
shown above. Jerusalem

The neighbors said, "How is it that you can see?" They scoffed at him. Clearly, they didn't believe him.

The once blind man said, "The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to the Pool of Siloam and wash. I did what he said and washed. Now I can see."

The people looked beyond the crowd, "Where is this man?"

The blind man looked into the crowd and said, "I don't see him. I don't know where he went."



What happened next? Next week I will tell you more. 

 Come back to read the next story.

*Author of blog's note: If you have questions, please feel free to leave them in the comment section. I will see them and will answer as best I can or direct you to a source.


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sources: 
*A Harmony of the Gospels for Historical Study, An Analytical Synopsis of the Four Gospels by William Arnold Stevens and Ernest DeWitt Burton, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York 1932
*New International Version, New King James Version. 
*My Bible College training.
*My notes and walk through classes I've taught in Children's church. Answers to student questions, etc.
*Pastoral sermons on this time
*Matthew Henry Commentary
*F. LaGard Smith Commentary
*My notes from my trip to Israel.
*Photos from my trip to Israel.

Ezra- The Temple is Finished!!!

By Mary Vee
Ezra 6

From Ezra's Journal

Photo Courtesy

My name is Ezra. I am a prophet, which means God trusts me to give His message to His people.

Six years have passed since we have returned to the city of Jerusalem.

The good news is THE TEMPLE IS FINISHED!! 

We had a difficult time getting started. So many bullies came and threatened us if we built the temple. But, as you read in the last post from Zechariah, God gave us a message of encouragement. He told us to go ahead and build. That He would protect us and show His power.

So we did.

And now the temple is finished. 

This building is nowhere as magnificent as Solomon's temple. That temple was magnificent, so big, so...well, let's just say that anyone walking in Solomon's temple couldn't help but be silent and look. The evil Nebuchadnezzar burned Solomon's temple the very one that had once stood on these very grounds.

The Almighty told us this temple may not look as glorious as Solomon's, but it would have greater importance. We didn't fully understand what that meant, and may never, but we can  celebrate our new temple. A place to worship the living God.

The priests, Levites and the rest of the exiles celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy. The offerings given by the people were great. The priests were installed in each division and the Levites given their jobs in the temple according to what was written in the Book of Moses.

Then, on the fourteenth day of the first month we celebrated the Passover. The priests and Levites did their ceremonial cleaning for the event. Offerings were given by the people.

We ate together and gave up all the wrong habits we had been doing. This was a time to celebrate and praise God.

For seven days we celebrated with joy the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because the Lord had filled us with joy by changing the attitude of the king of Assyria. This change of mind caused him to to help us in the work on the house of God. The God of Israel.

Wow. Join us! You can celebrate, too! Take time to thank God for what He has done for you and given to you.


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sources: Matthew Henry's Commentary volume 4, Hendrickson Publishers. 2000,  

1.  How long did it take for the people to finish the Temple?
2.  What made them take so long?
3.  Who helped them, encouraged them, protected them?
4.  What did the people do when they finished?
5.  What did the people stop doing?
6.  How did the people feel.

Zechariah-The Temple WILL Be Built, Says God

By Mary Vee
Zechariah 4

From Zechariah's Journal

Photo Courtesy

An angel of the Lord visited me in a vision. It happened at night when I was alone.  Actually the angel ended up showing me several visions. This is the fifth vision. You can scroll down to past posts to read the other visions.

The first vision happened while I was in Jerusalem. We were rebuilding the temple. Darius was in his second year of reign in Babylon. The second, third, and fourth followed, all in the same night. This is the fifth vision I saw:

I had apparently fallen asleep. The information, seeing the angels, and everything else in the vision had overwhelmed me. I think the angel let me sleep a bit before waking me. When he woke me, I didn't understand where I was.

The angel said, "What do you see?"

That is when I really looked around and remembered I was seeing a vision. 

I blinked and let my eyes focus before answering. "I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lights on it, with seven channels to the lights. On each side of the lampstand is an olive tree, one on the right and the other on its left.

I asked the angel, "What are these my lord?"

He answered, "Do you know what these are?"

I know, I had asked already, but I had just woken from a deep sleep and maybe missed something. I looked again and answered, "No, my lord."

The angel said, "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel."

Yes, now I understand. This message is to be given to Zerubbabel, the one in charge of the rebuilding of the Temple. 

The angel continued with the Lord's message, "'The temple will not be finished by might, nor by power, but by My spirit,' says the Lord Almighty." The angel pointed to where the temple was being built. "What are you, O mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of 'God bless it! God bless it!"

At that moment God explained the meaning to me. "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple. His hands will also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.

"Don't be afraid of those who try to stop the work. Keep building. The men of Jerusalem will rejoice when they see the level in the hand of Zerubbabel.

The seven lights on top of the lamp stand are the seven eyes of the Lord. They see everywhere throughout the earth.

Then I asked the angel, "What are these two olive trees on the right and left of the lampstand?"

He didn't answer me.

I asked again, "What are these two olive trees on the right and left of the lampstand?

The angel said, "Don't you know?"

I really didn't. I lowered my head a bit and said, "No, my lord."

The angel said, "These are the two who are anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth."

Author's note: In time, scholars learned that the lampstand represented those who believed in Jesus. The Olive Branch was Christ who died for our sins, giving us life as the fire of the candle had life. The Holy Spirit was the second Olive tree, sent to be the comforter.

God showed Zechariah a few more visions. Come back next time to see the rest of the story.

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source: Matthew Henry's Commentary volume 4, Hendrickson Publishers. 2000.

1.  Who was Zachariah? 
2.  What did Zachariah see in this vision?
3.  What did the lampstand refer to?
4.  What did the two olive trees refer to?
5.  Who was Zerubbabel?
6.  What message was to be given to Zerubbabel? 

Ezra-Darius and the LAST Time the Advisors Tricked Him

By Mary Vee
Ezra 6 

From Darius' Chronicles

Photo Courtesy

My name is Darius. I am king over the territory belonging to the Medes and the Persians which includes the Babylonian provinces. 

One of the problems I am forced to deal with as king is bickering people. 

One recent event really blew up and it was because I listened and didn't check the facts. Well, I made sure to not let that happen again.

What was the problem, you ask? 

Well, a few of my advisors took it upon themselves to spy on the Jews who returned to Jerusalem. I must admit I didn't have the whole story. Before I became king,  the Jewish captives had been given permission to return to their home. Some did. Some did not. I had too many other issues to worry about and didn't have time to deal with this.

A few of my advisors, though, didn't like the situation. They went to Jerusalem and saw the Jews rebuilding their temple. I knew a former king of Babylon, a man named Nebuchadnezzar, had conquered the Jewish city and burned their temple to the ground. 

The advisors wrote me, reporting all the work the Jews were currently doing. They seemed to think this Jewish temple would give power to the Jewish people. They requested I have the work stopped. I didn't see anything wrong with the request. I ordered the work to stop.

A second letter came from my advisors claiming the people had indeed stopped their work at first, but then, resumed. When asked why they were disobeying orders, the Jews claimed Cyrus gave them permission to rebuild.

Cyrus? Really? A former king of the Medes and Persians? 

This new information turned the whole issued into a huge problem. Cyrus was not only a Mede, but also my relative. I couldn't undo one of his orders. I called the guard to conduct a search for Cyrus's decree. It took some time but they finally found it. And to my great disappointment, the Jews were right.

Great. Now I have to undo what I said to the advisors. That doesn't look good for a king.

I called the complaining advisers, Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates and Shethar-Bozenai and their officials to come to my chambers. 

I said to them, "You are to stay away from Jerusalem. Do not interfere with the work on this temple of God. Let the governor of the Jews and the Jewish elders rebuild this house of God on its site. 

I also decree you must pay out of the royal treasury all the funds needed for the construction, specifically from the Trans-Euphrates funds. Whatever is needed--young bulls, rams, male lambs for offerings to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine, and oil, as requested by the priests in Jerusalem must be given to them daily for sacrifices pleasing to the God of heaven and then pray for the well-being of the king and his sons without fail.

AND, I decree that if anyone, ANYONE at all changes this edict, a beam is to be pulled from his house and he is to be lifted up and impaled on it. And for this crime his house is to be made a pile of rubble. May God, who has caused his Name to dwell there, overthrow any king or people who lifts a hand to change this decree or to destroy this temple in Jerusalem.

I, Darius, have decreed it. Let it be carried out with diligence.

MOVE IT!!!

Those advisors left with a panic look on their faces. 

I must admit, I found my chat with those advisors rather entertaining. 

Especially when I received the report that they carried out my orders with diligence. That should be the last time they trick me.


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1.  Who was Darius?
2.  Why was he upset with his advisors from Trans-Euphrates?
3.  What did he tell them to do?

Ezra-Hah! The Proof Backed Up The Jews Word

By Mary Vee
Ezra 6 

From Ezra's Journal

Photo Courtesy Bringing Cedars logs to rebuild the temple

My name is Ezra. I am a prophet sent by God to give His message to the Jews living in Jerusalem.

Spies came to the city of Jerusalem. Spies that didn't want to see the temple being built. They bullied us and threatened us to stop the work. 

At first we listened. We were afraid. But then God sent the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to encourage us to keep building. 

The spies saw us disobeying their orders and wrote to the king of Babylon. They paced, waiting to hear news from him.

King Darius received the letter from the spies. Scroll down to the last story to read their letter. 

Darius didn't know about the arrangements the former king, Cyrus had made years ago. He had taken the spies word and believed their first letter. "Now the Jews are saying they had permission from King Cyrus?"

Darius said, "I can't undo a decree made by Cyrus. If these Jews are right, they need to be able to build this temple of theirs." He called for his soldiers. "Go, search in the archives stored in the treasury at Babylon. Look for one written by King Cyrus giving the Jews permission to rebuild their temple."

The men left for the citadel of Ecbatana in the province of Media and were gone for a long time. They searched through all the scrolls, wanting to be sure they had the correct one. One of the men held up the parchment, "I found it."

They took the scroll to Darius. "Read me what it says," Darius ordered.

These words were read: 
In the first year of King Cyrus, the king issued a decree concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem.

Let the temple be rebuilt as a place to present sacrifices, and let its foundations be laid. It is to be ninety feet high and ninety feet wide with three courses of large stones and one of timbers. The costs are to be paid by the royal treasury. Also, the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, are to be returned to their places in the temple in Jerusalem. They are to be deposited in the house of God.

Come back next time to see what Darius said to those spies.

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1.  Why did the spies try to get the Jews in trouble?
2.  What king did they ask for help?
3.  Where did the king search for the records?
4.  What did the scroll say?

Zechariah-Don't Be Like Those Who Disobeyed Before You

By Mary Vee
Ezra 5 and Zechariah 1, Haggai 2

From Zechariah's Journal

Photo Courtesy The Prophet Haggai

My name is Zechariah. I am a prophet sent by God to give His message to the Jews living in Jerusalem.

Haggai and I were sent by God to give messages to the people. Haggai was like a father to me. He had seen the temple before the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, destroyed it. 

He knew how magnificent the temple was. I could only imagine with what he and the other priests told me. I would have liked to have seen that temple. The good news is the message Haggai last gave the people. 

God told him to tell the older people a special message. They had cried because they remembered how wonderful the temple was. God told Haggai to tell the people "The glory of this temple will be greater than the glory of the former temple. And in this place I will grant peace," declared the Lord Almighty."

A year had gone by. The Lord spoke to me and asked me to bring a message to the people. This is what He said:

"I, the Lord was very angry with your forefathers. Return to me, and I will return to you. Don't be like your forefathers, the ones who would not turn from their evil ways.

I sent prophets to tell them, to remind them to listen, but they wouldn't. Where are they now? And will the prophets live forever to constantly remind you to turn from evil?"

"Your forefathers repented of their ways, but they waited too long. They said, 'God has done to us what our evil ways deserve. He is a just God.'"

The next month Haggai received another message from God. This one he was to deliver to those working in the house of the Lord. 

"You men who work in the house of the Lord, don't assume that because you work in the temple that you are holy. Your personal lives must be holy as well. Follow the laws that have been given to you. You are my example to the people. Holiness is to be in every part of your lives.

"Think about the seed you have tried to plant. There has not been strong crops, right? Now that you are doing the work on the temple and are obeying my words, From this day on I will bless you."

This was the last message God sent with Haggai. The people continued their work on the temple as God commanded...until...

Come back next time to see what happened.

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1.  Who is Zechariah?

2.  What message did God give Zechariah for the people?

3.  God asked Haggai to deliver one last message. What was it?

4.  Why do you think God asked certain prophets to give certain messages. Like in today's story God asked Zechariah to say one message, and he gave Haggai a different message?

Ezra-Why We Have Failed

By Mary Vee
Ezra 5 and Haggai 1

From Ezra's Journal

Photo Courtesy The Prophet Haggai

My name is Ezra. I am with the Hebrews who chose to return to Jerusalem after the captivity. King Cyrus gave us permission to return home and rebuild the temple for the Lord. We should be happy, but aren't.

You can read in the last stories how time has passed and the temple has not been built. King Cyrus and his son have died. 

Evil men came to Jerusalem and watched the work on the temple. They didn't want us to succeed. They wrote to the king and received permission to make us stop the work.

In truth, many of the Jews in Jerusalem didn't mind. Their goal was to prosper in their homeland. Plant crops, build businesses, and great homes. Yet, no matter how hard they tried something went wrong. Unwilling to give up, the men continued to plant and care for their crops. They cared for their animals and maintained their homes. Still none of them succeeded in becoming prosperous.  

Droughts and famine came. Sickness followed. 

The men pushed forward, not understanding the problem.

One day the prophets Haggai and Zechariah came to Jerusalem with a message from God. Haggai was older, he had seen the temple before Nebuchadnezzar destroyed it. Zechariah was younger. He was born in Babylon but had trained with the priests and had heard about the great temple in Jerusalem.

Darius, a relative of Cyrus, was now the king of Persia where many of the Jewish captives still lived. Darius had been on the throne for two years when Haggai delivered God's message to the Jews in Jerusalem. 

He said, "You Jews in Jerusalem say the time has not yet come for the Lord's house to be built. But God says, 'Is it a time for you to be living in your paneled houses while the temple remains a ruin?

"Give careful thought to your ways. You've planted but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are never warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a wallet with holes.

"You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. Why? because of my temple which remains a ruin while each of you is busy with your own house."

Come back next time to see what happened.

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1.  What prophets did God send with a message?

2.  What did the people in Jerusalem want?

3.  What were they sent to do?

4.  What were they doing wrong?
5.  How can they fix the problem?

Ezra-The Scoundrels Convinced the King

By Mary Vee
Ezra 4

From Ezra's Journal

Photo Courtesy

My name is Ezra. I am with the Hebrews who chose to return to Jerusalem. Not everyone wanted to come back to our homeland. Some of our brothers preferred to stay in their new homes in Babylon. At this moment I think they are better off.

King Cyrus had given us permission to return to Jerusalem to build the temple.

I must admit, the work has not gone well. Besides the lack of willingness to do the work on the part of nearly everyone here in Jerusalem, there are a group of Babylonian followers who are trying to stop the little progress we've made.

King Cyrus died. His son was murdered. The man who took his place received a letter asking for permission to make us stop our work. I just received news what the new king's answer to that letter was:

To Rehum the commanding officer Shimshai the secretary, and the rest of their associates living in Samaria and elsewhere in Trans-Euphrates:

Greeting.

The letter you sent has been read and translated in my presence. I investigated your accusations against the city of Jerusalem and found the city has indeed had a long history of rebelling against kings. Jerusalem has had powerful kings in the past, ruling over the whole of Trans-Euphrates. Taxes, tribute, and duty were paid to them. 

Because of this new report I am ordering the men of Jerusalem to stop work. They are not to rebuild until I so order. Be careful not to neglect any portion of this matter. I don't want this threat to grow to the detriment of the royal interests.

Your King, Artaxerxes
(also known as Cambyses)

Rehum, Shimshai, and their associates wasted no time traveling to Jerusalem. They showed us the letter and commanded us to stop, by order of the king.

As they ordered, the work on the temple came to a stop. 

Not long after, King Cambyses died. Darius, a relative, became the new king of Persia. Maybe Darius will listen and let us resume building.

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1.  What did the king say in his letter?

2.  Why did the men and their associates rush to Jerusalem?

3.  What did the Jews have to stop doing?

4.  Who is the new king?

Isaiah-Ahaz Shut the Doors of the Temple

By Mary Vee
II Kings 16, II chronicles 28

From the Journals of Isaiah

Photo courtesy

King Ahaz was still afraid of Pekah, king of Israel and Rezin, king of Aram. And so he should be since he hasn't stopped worshiping the Baals.

Rather than ask God for help, he sent a message to the king of Assyria. He knew better than to side with that wicked and powerful king, but he did it anyway.

Along with the letter, Ahaz took silver and gold from the temple of the Lord and riches from the palace treasury and sent them with his note. 

In the note Ahaz said, "Please come save us from our enemy, the king of Aram and the king of Israel. I am your servant."

If only Ahaz would have been an honorable servant of the Lord, the powerful Sovereign God, he wouldn't have had problems. But, noooo. He didn't.

Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria accepted Ahaz's gifts then sent his army to attack king Rezin and captured his cities. The soldiers took the people of Aram to Kir to be slaves and killed their king. 

Pleased with the news, Ahaz traveled to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser and to thank him for his help. While there Ahaz saw a magnificent altar which the people of Aram used to worship their gods. It was stunning.

Ahaz had one of his men draw a sketch of the altar and sent it to Uriah, one of his priests, along with this note. "Make me this same altar."

Sadly, Uriah followed the instructions and had the altar finished by the time king Ahaz returned to Jerusalem. Ahaz was impressed with Uriah's work. He offered sacrifices on the altar to the gods of Aram.

Let's think this through. If God was not pleased with Ahaz for worshiping the Baals, He definitely would not be happy to see Ahaz worshiping the gods from Aram. If only Ahaz would listen to my counsel.

But Ahaz said, "If I worship the gods of Aram, maybe their gods will protect us from their next attack."

Foolish man. Those very gods are what led to the downfall of Aram. Only God can help Judah.

Ahaz wanted no more offerings or worship to take place in the temple of the Lord. He removed all the important objects and shut the doors of the Lord's temple. In every town in Judah he set up places for the people to offer sacrifices to gods.

This angered the Lord, the God of his fathers. God is sure to punish Judah for Ahaz's choices.

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1. Who was king Ahaz afraid of? ___________ and ___________
2. Who should king Ahaz have asked for help? _____________________
3. Who did king Ahaz ask to help protect Judah? _____________________
4. What did king Ahaz give this king for payment? ____________________
5. What happened to king Rezin and his people? ________________
6. What did Ahaz like so much he wanted one made for himself? ___________
7. When Ahaz came back home what doors did he close and not allow to be opened? ____