Children Bible Overview 90 18/1/09

ISRAEL’S SECOND RETURN TO JERUSALEM –

TURN BACK THE HEARTS OF ISRAEL

Teachers to read bible scripture: <Ezr 7-10>

Children to memorize bible scripture: <Hos 3:5>

Recap
Last week, we saw that after 70 years, through King Zerubbabel, God led Israel back to Jerusalem.
Despite many attacks, God still helped Israel complete the building of the temple. That was the first
time Israel return to Jerusalem.
Introduction
Although the holy temple was built and completed, the hearts of the Israelites were still very distant
from God and did not listen to him completely. This was because God’s people did not have God’s
Books of the Law, worshipping God in any manner as they like. They also married Gentile women
who did not know God. Therefore, after several years, in Persia, there was a high priest who was an
Israelite called Ezra. He was a teacher who knew very well the Books of Moses/the Law that God had
given Israelites. He was an Israelite teacher who often pondered, observed and taught the Books of
the Law. When Ezra heard about the situation of Israel, he brought many Israelites from Persia back
to Jerusalem (That was the second return). When they returned, Ezra taught the Israelites regarding
God’s Books of the Law daily, teaching all Israel about what God had given the Israelites on the 4
Gospelization (the promise of Abraham) and the 5 Mysteries (the establishment of Israel). Ezra also
told the Israelites the reason why they were being destroyed and put in exile, which was because they
did not follow God’s Books of the Law, but followed other gods instead. In the midst of teaching, Ezra
discovered that there were many Israelites (including priests and leaders) who married Gentile
women who did not know God and they had also given birth to children. Ezra was very upset and
hence went before God to repent on behalf of Israel and also asked God to forgive them. Because the
Israelites heard the words of Ezra and knew that they had been sinning against God, it had resulted in
Israel being put into exile. Therefore, they greatly repented and eventually, they even sent away their
wives and children who did not know God. Therefore, Ezra’s second return was to bring in God’s
Books of the Law, so that Israel knew God’s will, repented from their sins and turned back to God.

1. What God truly wanted was not the holy temple but the hearts of Israel
1) In Israel’s first return to Jerusalem, although the holy temple was built and completed,
they did not give their hearts to God. Instead, they lived their lives according to their
will and often did not listen to God. = Although we attend Sunday School regularly,
we do not use what we learn in our daily lives.
2) Because Israel did not give their hearts to God, they worshipped God in the holy
temple on one hand, and married women who did not know God on the other. When
they lived together with these women, they began to like what they like and pursue
what they went after. = Although we attend Sunday School regularly, we do not give
our hearts to God. Therefore, we often love God on one hand and love the world on
the other [money, fun and entertainment, etc]
3) Therefore, although Israel had a holy temple, several of their enemies continued to
attack them. Israel’s problems were hence not ceased, and they also had no strength
to overcome the enemies = Because we did not give God our hearts, although we
attend Sunday School regularly, the devil still has power to attack us regularly and
give us a lot of problems. [e.g. quarrel with friends, fall sick, things that make us
unhappy]
2. With the Books of the Law, Israel understood God’s will and hence turned their
hearts to Him
1) God’s desires are in the Books of the Law. Therefore, the Teacher, Ezra, took out the
Books of the Law and taught the Israelites. They hence understood God’s will and
placed God’s words in their hearts. [The Books of the Law is like how God gives us
the holy bible). Therefore, we must read, ponder, submit and even teach others often
so that we can keep God in our hearts.]
2) There are 2 most important contents in the Books of the Law (holy bible):
(1) The promise that God gave Abraham [in other words: 4 Gospelization = Individual,
Family, Regional and World Gospelization]
(2) The promise that God gave Israel [in other words: 5 Mysteries = Exodus (God’s
saves and is always with us), Cross the Red Sea (Overcome problems), Build
Tabernacle (Talk to God), Follow the Tabernacle (Follow God), Conquer the land of
Canaan (Evangelize)]
3) Therefore, today, we must understand and believe the meaning of Jesus Christ,
which equals to understanding and believing the 4 Gospelization and 5 Mysteries.

3. Israel repented and turned back to God

1) Israel repented and turned back to God when they heard God’s words through the
Books of the Law. [Children, today when we hear about the story of Israel, can we
also hear God talking to us? Do we hear God telling us, the things we often think
about, the things we do, pursue and like are not related to the 4 Gospelization and
the 5 Mysteries?]
2) When the Israelites heard that, they turned their hearts towards God and repented
[Children, if we truly hear God talking to us today, we first tell God, “Heavenly Father,
I am sorry that I often do not listen to your words and do not have your heart. I only
love the world and myself, I am selfish and self-centered. Forgive me.” God will
surely forgive us.]
3) After that, Israel sent away their wives and children who did not know and believe
God. [Therefore, Children, when we truly repent before God, we must really not
repeat our mistakes again. E.g. If we are selfish, do not be selfish but instead share
with others; if we often dislike others, we must start to love others; if we often love
the world and love to play, we must learn to manage our time and study when we
need to study, with a balance between study and play; if we are often late for Sunday
school, we must be punctual; we must pray to God to help us to change!]