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?

Amy Carmichael- Three Requests

By Mary Vee

Year: January, 1904-1906 

Amy Carmichael: 36 years old

From Amy's Journal

Photo Courtesy

My name is Amy Carmichael. I am a missionary in India.

Last week I introduced you to ten-year-old Arulai. Her story of asking Jesus into her heart has been so wonderful to share.This is now the third week I am sharing more of her story. 

Yes, a ten-year-old can have an amazing story! If you want to read the first two parts of Arulai's story here are the links: Part 1 Part 2

Arulai returned to the well at the same time the next day hoping to hear the foreign man and two women speak about the living God. 

She heard them call the living God the Lord Jesus and invited the people listening to a meeting. 

Arulai went to the meeting and sat with other children. The words spoken touched her heart but she had doubts. Is this man really talking about the living God. How do I know He is real? Maybe I just want it so badly their words seem true. 

Ten-year-old Arulai decided to ask this living God for three things. If, she thought, he gives me two of the three I will believe he is the living God.

Because she had gone to the meeting she arrived home later than usual. Her mother stood at the doorpost with a broom in her hand. Her face was very angry and Arulai knew she would be beaten. 

"Living God," she prayed, "For my first request I ask you keep my mother from punishing me."

But stepped close to the house, her mother grabbed her by the arm and hit her. Her mother yelled, "You are a disgrace to our family. What will others say when they hear you have gone to listen to those low-caste people? I will beat this idea out of you." 

This was not the first time Arulai had been beaten. But it didn't mean the pain was any easier to take. The real problem was Arulai worried that the living God didn't answer her prayer.

The next day she went to another meeting and heard the man speak. Again she sat with other children. The man asked, "Have any of you been punished for coming here to learn about the Lord Jesus?"

The other children pointed to Arulai. One of the women said, "The Lord Jesus will give you strength to face this if you call on Him."

Arulai left the meeting feeling happy inside. She loved to hear the stories and words from the man and women. On her walk home she decided to ask for the second request from the living God. She saw a tamarind tree with ripe fruit hanging from the branches. The law in the country said it was illegal to pick fruit from the trees that do not belong to you. But if the fruit fell to the ground, it could be taken. 

"Living God, Lord Jesus, please make this fruit fall at my feet." A piece of fruit fell to the ground. Arulai picked up the fruit and smiled. It looked delicious and she was sure this was a gift from the living God.

Still there was a third prayer that she would need to ask the living God to prove He was real. She neared her house and saw her mother in the doorway. "Please, living God, don't let my mother beat me. Show me you are real."

She neared the house and cowered like usual. Her mother reached out her arm but this time she did not hit Arulai. She gently hugged her daughter and said, "You're here! I thought you were lost!"

Arulai smiled. Jesus Lord truly is the living God. And He is the one who could help her with her temper problem.

Unfortunately this is not the end of her story. God is not a genie. He has a plan for our lives. Sometimes that plan involves problems that help us learn more about Him .


Come back next time to read the more of this exciting story about little Arulai.


Resources used for this series:. 
Benge, Janet, and Geoff Benge. Amy Carmichael: Rescuer of Precious Gems. Seattle, WA: YWAM Pub., 1998. Print.
Davis, Rebecca Henry. With Daring Faith: A Biography of Amy Carmichael. Greenville, SC: Bob Jones UP, 1987. Print.
Dick, Lois Hoadley. Amy Carmichael: Let the Children Come. Chicago: Moody, 1984. Print.
Meloche, Renee Taft., and Bryan Pollard. Amy Carmichael: Rescuing the Children. Seattle, WA: YWAM Pub., 2002. Print.
Wellman, Sam. Amy Carmichael: A Life Abandoned to God. Uhrichville, OH: Barbour Pub., 1998. Print.

Don't forget to comment! 
Let Amy hear from you!

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?

Ezra-When Rebellion is Good

By Mary Vee
Ezra 5 

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.

Haggai and Zechariah were sent by God to give messages to the people. The words meant so much to us. 

I must admit we had been slack in following through with rebuilding the temple. Our eyes had been on ourselves and our own needs. The prophets Haggai and Zechariah not only encourage us to get to work, point out our errors, but also reminded us how much God loves us.

Spies came into our city. They didn't like seeing the work. They had written a letter to the king of Babylon and he had ordered us to stop building. We did. In fear of our lives.

But God's message through Haggai and Zechariah encourage us to work no matter what the king of Babylon or the spies said. Haggai, Zechariah, and I rolled up our sleeves and worked with the others. The men of Jerusalem needed to see the prophets of God committed to God's work, too.

The spies returned. Needless to say they were not happy. Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates asked, "Who said you could rebuild this temple and restore this structure?" Before anyone could answer he raised his voice and pointed to our leaders, "What are the names of the men constructing this building?"

We stood there, not answering the questions. The spies became so angry they stomped away threatening to send King Darius a letter.

Dear King Darius:

Cordial greetings.

The king should know that we went to the district of Judah. The people are building the temple with large stones and placing timbers in the walls. The work is being carried on with diligence and is making rapid progress under their direction.

We asked the leaders who authorized the work and for the names of those who were working.

They answered: "We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, one that a great king of Israel built and finished. But because our fathers angered the God of heaven, he handed them over to Nebuchadnezzar who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon.

"In the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, he issued a decree to rebuild this house of God. He even sent gold and silver articles from the original temple to be put back where they belonged. He said, to rebuild the temple on its original site. We have been working on the temple but have not finished it yet."

"Now it if pleases the king, let a search be made in the royal archives of Babylon to see if King Cyrus did in fact issue a decree to rebuild this house of God in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us his decision in this matter."

While the spies waited for the king to answer, we worked to rebuild the temple.

Come back next time to see what happened.

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1.  What two prophets encouraged the people to build the temple?
2.  What king did the people say gave them permission to build the temple.
3.  Who did the spies tattle to?
4.  What did the people and the prophets keep doing?
5.  Why didn't the people obey the spies?

Amy Carmichael-Arulai's story About the Living God

By Mary Vee

Year: January, 1904-1906 

Amy Carmichael: 36 years old

From Amy's Journal

Photo Courtesy

My name is Amy Carmichael. I am a missionary in India.

Last week I introduced you to ten-year-old Arulai. Before meeting Arulai, I had been discouraged. No one seemed interested in hearing about the great God who loved them. I began to doubt all the missionary stories I'd heard about men and women, boys and girls, who wanted to learn about Jesus. 

This all changed when I met Arulai. She told me her story. This is one well worth sharing with you. 

Arulai didn't have many friends because of her bad temper. She prayed to every god she could think of, begging for help to control her temper. Her father didn't have any answers for her. 

A few days later her baby brother died. Arulai asked her mother where her little brother went after he died. Her mother said, "He is with the spirits of the dead." Arulai worried about her brother floating around in a place where no one knew him. She heard him call out to her to come care for him. 

"How could a great God treat a little boy like that?" she asked. No one had the answer. 

She didn't know who the great God was, but she decided to pray to him at special times and places, hoping He would listen to her.

Then one day she walked to the well to get water for her family. Near the well an Indian man and other people stood talking with each other. Three of the people looked different. Their skin was white. They had trouble speaking her words. 

She listened while filling her bucket. The Indian man said, "There is a living God?" 

The foreigner answered. "Yes." 

The Indian man shouted with a happy voice, "There is a living God!" She wanted to stay and ask the foreigner questions but had to get home with the water.

The bucket was heavy. She thought about the foreigner's words as she walked. If there truly is one living God then Siva, her parents' god, was not real. If this was so, she wouldn't rub ashes on her forehead any more, not to a dead god. 

After the sun set and she finished her chores, Arulai thought abut the living God. She prayed to Him, hoping He would hear her. "Please God," she prayed. "Please send those foreign people to my village again. Let me hear their words about the living God."

The next day she went for water again and saw the foreigners speaking with other people. There were three, an older couple and a younger woman who wore a sari. 

She soon thought about what her parents would say if they knew she didn't want to worship Siva. They would become angry if they knew she wanted to worship the living God. 

She picked up her bucket and walked toward home, confident that the living God would help her speak to the woman with the sari. "Someday," she said, "I will become the daughter  of the woman with the sari and learn about about the living God."

Come back next time to read the more of this exciting story about little Arulai.


Resources used for this series:. 
Benge, Janet, and Geoff Benge. Amy Carmichael: Rescuer of Precious Gems. Seattle, WA: YWAM Pub., 1998. Print.
Davis, Rebecca Henry. With Daring Faith: A Biography of Amy Carmichael. Greenville, SC: Bob Jones UP, 1987. Print.
Dick, Lois Hoadley. Amy Carmichael: Let the Children Come. Chicago: Moody, 1984. Print.
Meloche, Renee Taft., and Bryan Pollard. Amy Carmichael: Rescuing the Children. Seattle, WA: YWAM Pub., 2002. Print.
Wellman, Sam. Amy Carmichael: A Life Abandoned to God. Uhrichville, OH: Barbour Pub., 1998. Print.

Don't forget to comment! 
Let Amy hear from you!

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?

Haggai-Something Amazing Will Happen In This Temple

By Mary Vee
Ezra 5 and Haggai 1

From Haggai's Journal

Photo Courtesy The Prophet Haggai

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

I was sad to see the people working so hard on fixing their homes, making clothes to wear, building up businesses, planting crops to store food.

I was sad because these people who have been chosen by God have neglected the most important job for their return. King Cyrus gave them permission to return to their home and build the temple.

They were even given supplies by the Jews who chose to stay in Babylon.

I've already told them of God's unhappiness. Now I will say the next part of the message to them. This is what I said and was told to me by God:

"Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house so I may take pleasure in it and be honored. You expected to have a lot to use in building the temple but as you see, it has turned out to be a little. Why is that? Because I blew it away with everything else you have wasted. Go now and get new materials."

The people listened. Because of their fear for the Lord, they set to work and within three weeks the construction of the temple began.

God gave me a new message for the people, "I am with you." Which meant He was pleased.

A month later, God gave me a new message. He saw the older men and women crying. These were the ones who saw the temple before Nebuchadnezzar burned it. The building was much larger and wonderful to look at. God told me to say,

"Who has seen the temple in its former glory. How does it look to you now? Does it seem like nothing? Don't weep. Be strong and work. For I am with you. I will keep my promises. My Spirit will remain with you. Do not fear.

"In a little while I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all the nations and I will fill this house with glory. The silver is mine and the gold is mine. 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.

Like the other leaders, I thought about God's words. Something amazing would happen in this temple we were now building. 


Come back next time to see what happened.

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1.  Who is Haggai

2.  What had the people done wrong?

3.  What did they need to do to fix the problem?

4.  What happened when they obeyed?
5.  Why did the older men and women cry?
6.  How did God comfort them?

Amy Carmichael-Arulai's Angry Temper

By Mary Vee

Year: January, 1904-1906 

Amy Carmichael: 36 years old

From Amy's Journal

Photo Courtesy

My name is Amy Carmichael. I am a missionary in India.

I'm going to tell you a story about a ten-year-old girl I met named Arulai.

Arulai didn't have many friends. Everyday at school her temper leaped like a lion. She yelled at the other kids and hit them.

She was always sorry afterwards. So sorry she prayed to her family's god begging for help to make her angry temper go away. 

She rubbed ashes on her head the next morning and prayed to her parents' god "Silva." She begged to be heard and to have the angry temper taken away.

Nothing happened. The next day at school her anger grew during recess. She yelled at her friends. None of the kids wanted to play with her.

After school she talked with her dad. "What can I do? I want to stop but I don't know how. I've prayed to our god Silva. I don't know what else to do."

Dad sighed. He kneeled and hugged his little girl. "Other than what you've done there is nothing, Arulai. You must find a way to calm your temper yourself."

At school Arulai's friends stayed away from her. She felt so lonely.

More than anything she wanted her bad temper to go away. Her parents' god, Silva wasn't helping. She tried praying to other Indian gods. One of them must be able to help her. She prayed to Brahma, Vishnu, and other gods. 

"Please," she begged, "take away my angry temper."

That day at school she became angry with the boys and girls in her class again. That night after supper she ran out to the field. "There must be a God who is powerful enough to help me. One I can worship." She fell to the ground and shouted. "Please show me who you are. Please help me with my angry temper."

She stood and brushed the dirt off her clothes hoping to find out who the great God was.

Come back next time to read the exciting story about the little girl!


Resources used for this series:. 
Benge, Janet, and Geoff Benge. Amy Carmichael: Rescuer of Precious Gems. Seattle, WA: YWAM Pub., 1998. Print.
Davis, Rebecca Henry. With Daring Faith: A Biography of Amy Carmichael. Greenville, SC: Bob Jones UP, 1987. Print.
Dick, Lois Hoadley. Amy Carmichael: Let the Children Come. Chicago: Moody, 1984. Print.
Meloche, Renee Taft., and Bryan Pollard. Amy Carmichael: Rescuing the Children. Seattle, WA: YWAM Pub., 2002. Print.
Wellman, Sam. Amy Carmichael: A Life Abandoned to God. Uhrichville, OH: Barbour Pub., 1998. Print.

Don't forget to comment! 
Let Amy hear from you!

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?