Redemption is instantaneous but restoration is a process. In spending time figuring out the theme for this new series that begins in the book of Ezra, Judah is being restored into the land that God had given them. There was a decree that set everything in motion in an instant, but that was only the beginning of the process of restoring them to the land, and the land as well. When we expect instant restoration, we can get discouraged when it is taking some time. What is restoration for the New Testament believer, when is it needed, and how do we come into it?

Tonight we take on a few topics from Chapter 1, like how was God able to use a heathen king to accomplish His will? What is meant by “all whose spirits God had moved, arose to go up and build the house of the LORD?” Did God not want all the Jewish people to go home? Why would some people not feel led to leave a land of idolatry to return to their homeland? There is more we will get into tonight and I hope you can join in as we begin the study of Ezra.