Zerubbabel Led the Captives HomeDear Parents,
This week in The Gospel Project® for Kids, our journey takes us to Babylon. God’s people had been living in Babylon for 70 years. Some of God’s people had died in Babylon. Some of their children and grandchildren were born in Babylon and grew up there. But Babylon was not their home. Before the people of Judah were exiled, God had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah. These are the words of the Lord: “When 70 years for Babylon are complete, I will attend to you and will confirm My promise concerning you to restore you to this place” (Jer. 29:10). The time had come for God’s people to go back home. Cyrus, the king of the Persian empire, overthrew Babylon. Cyrus took over the kingdom, including the lands of Israel and Judah. In the following year, the Lord did something miraculous in Cyrus’s heart. He prompted Cyrus to issue a decree: All the Jewish exiles are free to return to their ancestral homes. The exile was over! God’s people were free to return to their own land. The first group of Judean exiles returned home under the leadership of Zerubbabel (zuh RUHB uh buhl). Zerubbabel was the grandson of King Jehoiachin, who had been taken to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar. Ezra 2:64-65 says nearly 50,000 people traveled back to Judah. When they got to Jerusalem, they began working to rebuild the temple that the Chaldeans had destroyed. Zerubbabel led God's people back to the temple to rebuild it. The temple was the place where God met with His people on earth. Jesus came to earth to rescue God’s people. One day Jesus will return to restore a greater home for all of God's people, and we will spend eternity with Him. |
Zerubbabel Led the Captives Home
Ezra 1:1–2:2; 2:64–3:13
Many years before God’s people were taken to Babylon, God made a promise. He told the people His promise through the prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah said that the exile would last 70 years, and then God would bring His people back home. This was God’s promise, and God always keeps His promises.
Cyrus was king of Persia when God gave him an idea. King Cyrus made a decree. A decree is like a law; everyone had to obey it. Cyrus said, “Let all of God’s people go back to Jerusalem so they can rebuild the Lord’s temple. Give them gold and silver and animals. Give them gifts for God’s temple.”
What wonderful news! The exile was over! God’s people were free
to go back to Judah—to their homes. God’s people got ready. Their neighbors gave them gifts like Cyrus had commanded—gold and silver and animals and other expensive things. King Cyrus gave them the things Nebuchadnezzar had taken from God’s temple when the exile began.
Zerubbabel (zuh RUHB uh buhl) and the high priest led God’s people back to Judah. They hadn’t been home in 70 years. Many of the people were born in Babylon; they had never seen the land God had given their parents and grandparents. In all, thousands of people went back to Judah. They took with them all the gifts and many animals. They settled in their hometowns and set up their houses. Then the people met together in Jerusalem to rebuild the Lord’s temple.
First, the priests rebuilt the altar in the same place it used to be. They followed all the laws of God for building. When the altar was nished, they offered burnt offerings to God. The people also obeyed the law about special celebrations. They had a festival like God had told them to do, and they made sacri ces to God.
Then God’s people gave money to stonecutters and carpenters who would work on God’s temple. They paid people to bring cedar logs
to Jerusalem. Finally, when everything was ready, the people started to work. They laid the foundation of the temple. The foundation was important; it would make the building strong.
When the foundation was nished, the priests put on special clothes, and the people praised God. They sang, “The Lord is good. His faithful love will last forever.” Then the people shouted and praised God. They were so happy! The foundation of the temple was complete!
Not everyone was happy though. Some of the older people remembered what the temple had looked like 70 years ago, before it had been destroyed. They cried. The noise of the crying and shouting was so loud that the people could be heard far away.
Christ Connection: Zerubbabel led God’s people back to the temple
to rebuild it. The temple was the place where God met with His people
on earth. Jesus came to earth to rescue God’s people. One day Jesus will return to restore a greater home for all of God’s people, and we will spend eternity with Him.
Ezra 1:1–2:2; 2:64–3:13
Many years before God’s people were taken to Babylon, God made a promise. He told the people His promise through the prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah said that the exile would last 70 years, and then God would bring His people back home. This was God’s promise, and God always keeps His promises.
Cyrus was king of Persia when God gave him an idea. King Cyrus made a decree. A decree is like a law; everyone had to obey it. Cyrus said, “Let all of God’s people go back to Jerusalem so they can rebuild the Lord’s temple. Give them gold and silver and animals. Give them gifts for God’s temple.”
What wonderful news! The exile was over! God’s people were free
to go back to Judah—to their homes. God’s people got ready. Their neighbors gave them gifts like Cyrus had commanded—gold and silver and animals and other expensive things. King Cyrus gave them the things Nebuchadnezzar had taken from God’s temple when the exile began.
Zerubbabel (zuh RUHB uh buhl) and the high priest led God’s people back to Judah. They hadn’t been home in 70 years. Many of the people were born in Babylon; they had never seen the land God had given their parents and grandparents. In all, thousands of people went back to Judah. They took with them all the gifts and many animals. They settled in their hometowns and set up their houses. Then the people met together in Jerusalem to rebuild the Lord’s temple.
First, the priests rebuilt the altar in the same place it used to be. They followed all the laws of God for building. When the altar was nished, they offered burnt offerings to God. The people also obeyed the law about special celebrations. They had a festival like God had told them to do, and they made sacri ces to God.
Then God’s people gave money to stonecutters and carpenters who would work on God’s temple. They paid people to bring cedar logs
to Jerusalem. Finally, when everything was ready, the people started to work. They laid the foundation of the temple. The foundation was important; it would make the building strong.
When the foundation was nished, the priests put on special clothes, and the people praised God. They sang, “The Lord is good. His faithful love will last forever.” Then the people shouted and praised God. They were so happy! The foundation of the temple was complete!
Not everyone was happy though. Some of the older people remembered what the temple had looked like 70 years ago, before it had been destroyed. They cried. The noise of the crying and shouting was so loud that the people could be heard far away.
Christ Connection: Zerubbabel led God’s people back to the temple
to rebuild it. The temple was the place where God met with His people
on earth. Jesus came to earth to rescue God’s people. One day Jesus will return to restore a greater home for all of God’s people, and we will spend eternity with Him.