FESTIVAL OF BOOTHS

BY THE END OF THE LESSON, WE WILL:

UNDERSTAND the significance of acknowledging God's blessings; REFLECT on our own attitudes towards God's blessings; and CELEBRATE God's blessings in meaningful and worshipful ways. 

FOCAL VERES NEHEMIAH 8:13-18

KEEP IN MIND 

"And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness" (Nehemiah 8:17).

AT-A-GLANCE 

1. Festival of Booths Reinstated (Nehemiah 8:13-16)

2. Festival of Booths Marks Great Celebration (vv. 17-18)

IN FOCUS 

Olivia couldn't help smiling as she watched her grandmother move about in preparation for the family celebration tomorrow. Standing at the bedroom door, she saw Grandma Ellis flip through old albums, some with pictures and others with tattered papers of faded handwriting. 

"Ah, yes. This is the one," Grandma Ellis said out loud. Every year during the family's Juneteenth gathering, she made a point of reading a poem passed through her ancestors in commemoration of slavery's end in United States. 

"What's that? Olivia asked, already knowing but anxious to hear the story all over again. Hearing it in her family's stories made it more real than the lectures in her African-American studies classes. She'd learned that the celebration that began June 19th, 1865, occurred two-and-half years after President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. Still, nothing topped the history of how her family marked the knowledge of their new-found freedom over the years. Making herself comfortable on the bed, Olivia waited to hear the familiar words. 

Festival and celebrations are a great way to acknowledge and express gratitude to God for His many wonderful blessings. 

BACKGROUND

Israel was in exile for nearly 150 years and Judah for 70 years. When Judah was conquered, the Babylonians took the scrolls from the Temple and the Temple artifacts. The captives were forced also to abandon their native language in favor of the language of the captors. Aramic was the language of business for Babylon and later  Persia. As was the case in most cultures, only the most elite in society were literate. With the scrolls of God's Word taken and a new language spoken, the people only knew God's Word through the stories of their families and other captives. They had neither seen the word given to Moses nor heard them. Their faith in God was largely based on the accounts kept by those who remembered the Word. 

In 538 B.C., 70 years after Israel had been in exile, the first group of Israelites returned to Judah under the leadership of Zerubabbel. A number of years later, in 458 B.C., under the leadership of Ezra, a second group returned. Under Ezra's faithful teaching, most of the people turned from their sins and agreed to reestablish their relationship with God and follow His will for their lives. In 444 B.C., 14 years after Ezra, Nehemiah returned and succeeded in rebuilding the walls. The book of Nehemiah overlaps the book of Ezra, as indicated in today's lesson where the covenant renewal occurs.

SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES

1. What were the people to live in during the Festival of Booths (Nehemiah 8:14)?

2. What did the people gather in order to make the booths (v. 15)?

3. What was read to the people during this celebration, and how long did the celebration last (v. 18)?

DISCUSS THE MEANING

1. Why is it important to celebrate significant historical/cultural events?

2. Why was it important that the ancestral leaders studied the Law to execute the Festival of Booths celebration?

3. Consider Olivia's family celebration (In Focus). Did this gathering honor God? What would make it an even better celebration of God's deliverance?

LESSON IN OUR SOCIETY

How soon we forget when we are delivered from trials and trouble. Today's lesson teaches us that God is concerned about how we receive His blessings, deliverance, and restitution. The Festival of Booths was a joyous occasion, and God wanted His people to keep Him at the center of attention. It lets us know that God loves His people to have a good time. As saints, we can have joy and celebrate life while acknowledging God as the source of every good and perfect gift. However, great celebration should also be coupled with reverent honor of God and His holiness so that He is not taken for granted and our celebrations please Him. How can you turn your next celebration of a family, church or national event into a celebration that honors the Lord's deliverance?

MAKE IT HAPPEN

When you have a celebration, is God invited? Would He be a welcome guest? Would He attend your festivities? As you gather with family and friends, think about how you can plan to incorporate God in every aspect of your joyous occasion in a way that He would be glorified; it would be a great witness to unsaved family and friends. 

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On-Lesson

GIFTS FOR THE TEMPLE

BY THE END OF THE LESSON, WE WILL:

KNOW that as an act of worship, we should be willing to give generously of our time and talents to the Lord; FEEL honored to serve the Lord; and GIVE to the Lord with generosity and humility. 

FOCAL VERSES  EZRA 8:24-30

KEEP IN MIND 

"And I said unto them, Ye are holy unto the LORD; the vessels are holy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering unto the LORD God of your fathers" (Ezra 8:28).

AT-A-GLANCE

1. Doing Service (Ezra 8:24-27)

2. Consecrated for Service (vv. 28-30)

IN FOCUS

I remember what it felt like, wondering if the shelter where I slept was actually safe. I remember being hungry. I remember the kindness in the eyes of the pastor as she permitted me to sit at the church until I could check in at the shelter. Her praying with me that day led me to the Lord and to receive the Holy Ghost. 

I am very thankful for how God kept me and still does. Since then, God has blessed me and now I am giving back by volunteering at the shelter, cooking for the soup kitchen, and worshipping at the church where my tithes help to pay for badly needed repairs. I praise God for what He has done for and through me. 

Generously giving of our money and time is one way to worship God. When we give, we act as God's instruments to bless those who do not have. By generously giving, we show that what we have really does belong to God, and we are just stewards of those possesions. In today's lesson, we see howEzra prepared gifts of precious metals that were to be carried by the priests and the Levites to the House of God. 

BACKGROUND

The first six chapters of the book of Ezra record how the exiled people of the southern tribe of Judah returned to Jerusalem. "Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath changed me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? His God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem. And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem. Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, with all them whose spirit God had raised, to go to build the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem" (Ezra 1:1-5).

Fifty-eight years had passed between the dedication of the Temple in 516 B.C. and the arrival of Ezra in Jerusalem. "Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra ... went up from Babylon" (7:1, 6). The words, "after these" connects the completion of the building of the Temple with the arrival of Ezra in Jerusalem. Because of his skill with the Law of Moses, Ezra came to Jerusalem to deal with questions related to the Law. 

After discovering no Levites were traveling with them, Ezra stopped at the Ahava Canal, sent leaders of his traveling party to approach Iddo, and made a request of Iddo that he permit some of his ministers to travel with them. Ezra then proclaimed a fast to seek protection from God while they traveled because he had refused the protection of the king. After the fast, they departed, going toward Jerusalem. 

Traveling with the money given by the Persian people and the remaining Babylonian exiles, Ezra declared the money they were traveling with as holy of God. "And I said unto them, Ye are holy unto the LORD; the vessels are holy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering unto the LORD God of your fathers" (8:28). The declaration to call the men and the money they carried holy transferred them from the secular realm to divine service. 

SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES

1. What was the purpose in giving an account of the offerings (Ezra 8:26, 30)?

2. Why did Ezra set the 12 leaders of the priest apart (vv. 24, 28)?

DISCUSS THE MEANING 

1. What can we learn from Ezra 8?

2. What God has designated for His use will always prosper. If we agree with his statement, why do we act first, before seeking guidance from God?

3. The In Focus story records the testimony of someone who remembered what God did and offered everything back to the Lord. Are we faithful in doing this? If not, what hinders us?

LESSON IN OUR SOCIETY

Giving is an act of worship to God. So if we truly believe in God and we truly intend to be the light in the world that God has directed us to be, we need to identify one need where we can sincerely make a contribution. Some suggestions are to volunteer at a local school; establish an after-school tutorial at our churches; volunteer at a local women or men's homeless shelter; or permit a 12-step substance abuse program to meet at our facilities. Once we have identified the need, our next step is to commit to that need with our time and, when appropriate, our finances. 

MAKE IT HAPPEN

As our community is experiencing unusually high rates of unemployment, underemployment, and lack of affordable health care and decent housing, the one way to show that Jesus' compassion is to extend ourselves as children of God. Consider how you can get others to help you meet a need. If you are lacking because of these economic situation, what can you do to give unto the Lord? (Remember, God is still blessing you!)

(Except for The Apostolic Way)

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On-Lesson

FASTING AND PRAYING

BY THE END OF THE LESSON, WE WILL:

KNOW that we can fast and pray for God's help in dire situations; DESIRE to fast and pray; and PLAN to fast and pray in times of need. 

FOCAL VERSES EZRA 8:21-13

KEEP IN MIND

"So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was intreated of us" (Ezra 8:23).

AT-A-GLANCE 

1. Why Ezra Proclaimed a Fast (Ezra 8:21-22)

2. What Happened after the Fast (v. 23)

IN FOCUS 

Celeste recently graduated from college with a degree in social work. She was given a full-time position as an intern. Some of Celeste's work surroundings made her uneasy, causing her to consider her own safety. She didn't say anything, not wanting to cause alarm while new on her post. However, her appetite had been affected; she hadn't been eating. She found herself seeking God for answers. She heard a message concerning the purpose of fasting and decided to turn her recent eating habits into a fasting sacrifice for guidance and protection. 

In the weeks following Celeste's fasting, she became calm and confident of God's protection. Celeste continued to travel to her appointments faithfully. Her superiors acknowledged her dedication, and she was later reassigned to a paying position inside the main office. Celeste felt that God made away and because she honored Him with faith, fasting, and prayer.

Today's lesson discuss how fasting and praying can move God in dire situations. 

BACKGROUND

In today's passage. Ezra moves from a prophetic role to a leadership role. After he bragged about having God's protection, he led the people in prayer and fasting to ensure it in their return to their homeland. Typically, the Persians would have provided military escort for Ezra as they were carrying with them contributions made by the Persians. Apparently, however, the Persian king had been convinced of God's protection for the returning exiles. 

SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES

1. Who proclaimed (gave orders for) a fast (Ezra 8:21)?

2. What was the most important influence on the people's safe arrival after their 720-mile journey (v.23)?

DISCUSS THE MEANING

1. What types of fasts are acceptable by God? Make a list.

2. Why is it important to pray during a fast? List the reasons?

3. Was Celeste's fast (In Focus) acceptable since she was dieting anyway? Why or why not?

LESSON IN OUR SOCIETY

As we go through life, we learn that we will face things where a solution is not readily apparent. Often, these answers are obtained through fasting and prayer. Once God begins to work in our lives, it's important that we share with others His many miracles and blessings. We should understand that others will gain faith in what God can do by our testimonies. How does the Holy Ghost help?

MAKE IT HAPPEN

Set aside a few days for fasting and prayer over a situation in your own life that you know only God can deliver or supply the need. If you do not have a need at this time, consider a family member, friend, coworker, etc., for whom your testimony about God's guidance will provide support during their time of questioning or need. 

(Except for The Apostolic Way)

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On-Lesson

DEDICATION OF THE TEMPLE

BY THE END OF THE LESSON, WE WILL:

UNDERSTAND that we should celebrate with joy what God has done in our lives; DESIRE to share God's blessings with others as a witness to His goodness; and CELEBRATE the goodness of Jesus. 

FOCAL VERSES EZRA 6:13-22

KEEP IN MIND 

"And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy" (Ezra 6:16). 

AT-A-GLANCE 

1. The People Dedicate the New Temple (Ezra 6:13-16)

2. The People Offer Sacrifices to God for the New Temple (vv. 17-18)

3. The People Celebrate Passover in the New Temple (vv. 19-22)

IN FOCUS 

James and Valerie have been waiting on the Lord for a new home. Valerie, in the second trimester of her pregnancy, did not want to raise their child in a tiny apartment. Valerie's dad asked James, "What are your plans, son? You're going to be a father and the baby will be here before you know it." James asked his father-in-law to join in prayer for God's favor as they searched for a home. James found what he thought was the perfect home not too far from Valerie's parents in a area with a good school district. After fasting and prayer, James and Valerie heard from the Lord and decided to move forward. God gave them favor with the bank, and they were able to get a mortgage and purchase a new home. Not only did they have enough room for the baby, but they decided they would make sure to always have a prayer closet that the dedicated to the Lord for His many wonderful blessings. They hosted a housewarming party, inviting family and friends over to celebrate with them; they rejoiced in the Lord for always giving them what they needed. 

In today's lesson, we will study how the Children of Israel celebrated the successful rebuilding and dedication of God's Temple just in time for Passover. 

BACKGROUND

After release from captivity in Babylon for 70 years, King Cyrus issued a decree in 538 B.C. giving clearance for the Children of Israel to rebuild the temple (Ezra 1:1-4). The work was under way when the contingency was met wit resistance from the neighboring provinces. The foundation of the rebuilding of the Temple was laid, but the work was halted under Artaxerxes's reign between 537 and 520 B.C. (Ezra 4).

Within the second year of the reign of King Darius, he reviewed the documents issued by King Cyrus and reversed the previous ruling by King Artaxerxes (Ezra 4:24). King Darius issued a decree (Ezra 6:8, NIV): "Moreover, I hereby decree what you are to do for these elders of the Jews in the construction of this house of God."

The expenses of these men were to be fully paid out of the royal treasury. God's justice prevailed; He not only provided favor with the king to complete the work, but he made sure the had more than enough to do it at someone else's expense. As we embark on today's lesson, we will study the celebration of the completed work and how the Children of Israel memorialized this God-given victory. 

DISCUSS THE MEANING

1. What was the significance of the offerings unto the Lord, particularly the sin offerings, as the new Temple was dedicated?

2. Discuss why the Passover celebration was especially meaningful as the new Temple was dedicated. Why do you think it was important to keep the Passover?

3. Why do you think the Scripture notes in Ezra 6:22 that the Lord "made them joyful"? How does this relate to James and Valerie (In Focus)?

LESSON IN OUR SOCIETY

So often the picture of Christianity to the world is so solemn and devoid of joy that it does not reflect the true life the Lord Jesus came to gives us. While we are to be mindful and reverence does not mean that God does not want us to express His joy in our hearts at all times, especially when we experience great victory in His name. As saints, we are to make His name great, and nothing magnifies Him more than when we celebrate with joy the wonderful things he has done for us. 

MAKE IT HAPPEN

As we gave seen in today's lesson, there is a time and place for everything as we worship the Lord as a lifestyle. Here's an opportunity to make every effort to live life in balance, remembering that by grace we are saved and not ourselves. It is the gift of God. Therefore, we should boast in the Lord for His goodness. Practice boasting in the Lord this wee with great joy, giving Him glory for everything in your life. 

(Except for The Apostolic Way)

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On-Lesson

TEMPLE RESTORED

BY THE END OF THE LESSON, WE WILL:

KNOW that the Holy Ghost comforts and restores us; FEEL joy in restoration; and PRAISE God for His renewing power. 

FOCAL VERSES EZRA 3:8-13

KEEP IN MIND 

"And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when the praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid" (Eza 3:11).

AT- A- GLANCE

1. The Temple Work Begins (Ezra 3:8-9)

2. The Temple Work Incites Praise (vv. 10-11)

3. The Temple Work Sparks Lament and Joy (vv. 12-13)

IN FOCUS 

Betty thought she would never live to see this day: an African-American inaugurated as president of the 

United States. At 75 years old, she had seen lived through her share of injustices. She also recalled horrible stories of racism from her parents and foreparents who were slaves. Betty saved her money and God made special provision for her to make it to Washington, D.C., to attend the inauguration festivities. Betty took her granddaughter, Ashely, to teach her the importance of this moment in history. As the president was sworn in, Betty was overwhemled with joy and began to cry. she reflected on the years of oppression and degradation of her people, as well as the sacrifices made to make this day possible. When the ceremony concluded, she shouted for joy and praised God for His goodness.

God's Word promises that He would cause us to triumph in His Name and bring us to a place of victory. In today's lesson, we will read how God uses Jeshua, the Levitical priests, and Zerrubbabel, the governor of Jerusalem, to restore the Temple of God after returning from exile in Babylon. 

BACKGROUND

The book of Ezra is an account of Jewish history, which records their release from their 70 years of exile in Babylon as prophesied by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 25:11) and the return of the first wave of Jews in 537 B.C. through the second wave in 457-458 B.C. The first half of Ezra chronicles the rebuilding of the Temple after its destruction in 586 B.C. under the leadership of Jeshua, the high priest, and Zerubbabel, the governor of Jerusalem. One of the key task of these leaders in restoring the temple is to reinstitute worship according to the Law of Moses by offering up sacrifices unto God. The people were called upon to consecrate themselves and submit freewill offerings unto the Lord as well as provide the resources and talent to rebuild the Temple (Ezra 3:1-7). By the hand of God, the Jews also received favor from King Cyrus as he brought back the vessel of worship taken from the house of the Lord that King Nebuchadnezzar stole during their conquest (Ezra 1:7). Restoring worship and honor to God, since their captivity was consequence of their idolatry. 

SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES

Fill in the blanks. 

1. "And when the ____________ laid the ___________ of the temple of the LORD, they set the priests in their ___________ with trumpets..." (Ezra 3:10)

2. "And they _____________ together by course in _________ and giving ___________ unto the LORD; because he is ______________, for his ____________ endureth for ever toward Israel" (v. 11)

DISCUSS THE MEANING

1. What was the significance of having men ages 20 and older supervise the restoration of the Temple?

2. Discuss the role of praise and worship in the restoration of the Temple

3. Why do you think the ancient men wept and shouted once the foundation was laid?

LESSON IN OUR SOCIETY

In recent history, natural disasters such as hurricanes and tornadoes have devastated this nation, and most notably affected were the poor and disenfranchised. However, as we avail ourselves to God as His instruments, He has used people as an extension of his love to be a helping hand to those in need to restore lives. How does the Lord expect us to fulfill this obligation in (a) the church, (b) our communities, and (c) our families. 

MAKE IT HAPPEN 

Reflect on a time in you life when you have seen God move on your behalf to restore you after a moment of defeat or failure. How did you feel? Recall your praise unto God, and as an act of worship, ask in prayer where can use you to be light in dark places to restore someone else in need. 

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ON-LESSON