Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Urban Renewal

"When they arrived at the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, some of the heads of the families gave freewill offerings toward the rebuilding of the house of God on its site." ~Ezra

Imagine a group of 42,360 people with 7,337 servants and 200 singers come riding into town on 736 horses, 245 mules, 435 camels and 6,720 donkeys! These were people that had been captives in Babylon for 70 years. They had counted the years until they could return to the land of thier fathers and now they were there! They set to work right away. I love to think about the revitalizing effect that these people had on a desolate, poverty-stricken city.

The sounds of carpenters, singers and joy returned to the streets. They traded with thier neighbors to get building materials and set up and worked out plans for the reconstruction. The city was having new life breathed into it and it vibrated with activity. It thrills me to think of the effect this would have on the children of Jersalem!  

"No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away." ~Ezra

Praying for all those working hard today to make the world a brighter place!

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