Day 220: May It Be Upon Us

Welcome to Day 220 of the Bible 365 Podcast! I'm so excited you are joining me on this journey through the entire Bible this year. Reminder that each episode in 2026 will have a brand new devotional.

Today we'll be reading through Ezra 7, 8:1-20; I Corinthians 4; Psalm 30; and Proverbs 20:28-30. Invite a family member or friend to join you as we grow in our knowledge of God through His Word.

I'm so glad that you are here!

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Welcome to day 220 of the Bible 365 Podcast. My name is Randy Goudo and today we're going to be reading through Ezra chapters 7 and 8, verses 1 through 20, 1 Corinthians 4, Psalm 30, and Proverbs 20, verses 28 through 30. The translation I'm using throughout this podcast is the Berean Standard Bible, also known as the BSB. Let's read. Ezra chapter 7. Many years later, during the reign of Artaxerxes, king of Persia, Ezra son of Sariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, the son of Shalom, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Mereoth, the son of Zirahiah, the son of Uzai, the son of Buckeye, the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eliezer, the son of Aaron, the chief priest. This Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses, which the Lord, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted Ezra all his request, for the hand of the Lord his God was upon him. So in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes, he went up to Jerusalem with some of the Israelites, including priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants. Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh year of the king. He had begun the journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month. For the gracious hand of his God was upon him. For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord, to practice it, and to teach its statutes and ordinances in Israel. This is the text of the letter King Artaxerxes had given to Ezra the priest and scribe, an expert in the commandments and statutes of the Lord to Israel. Artaxerxes, King of Kings. To Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven. Greetings. I hereby decree that any volunteers among the Israelites in my kingdom, including the priest and Levites, may go up with you to Jerusalem. You are sent by the king and his seven counselors to evaluate Judah and Jerusalem according to the law of your God, which is in your hand. Moreover, you are to take with you the silver and gold that the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, together with all the silver and gold you may find in all the province of Babylon, as well as the free will offerings of the people and priest to the house of their God in Jerusalem. With this money, therefore, you are to buy as many bulls, rams, and lambs as needed, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings, and offer them on the altar at the house of your God in Jerusalem. You and your brothers may do whatever seems best with the rest of the silver and gold, according to the will of your God. You must deliver to the God of Jerusalem all the articles given to you for the service of the house of your God. And if anything else is needed for the house of your God that you may have occasion to supply, you may pay for it from the royal treasury. I, King Artaxerxes, decree to all the treasurers west of the Euphrates, whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, may require of you, it must be provided promptly, up to a hundred talents of silver, a hundred cores of wheat, a hundred baths of wine, a hundred baths of olive oil, and salt without limit. Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven must be done diligently for his house. For why should wrath fall on the realm of the king and his sons, and be advised that you have no authority to impose tribute, duty, or toll on any of the priest, Levites, singers, doorkeepers, temple servants, or other servants of this house of God. And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God, which you possess, are to appoint magistrates and judges to judge all the people west of the Euphrates, all who know the laws of your God, and you are to teach these laws to anyone who does not know them. If anyone does not keep the law of your God and the law of the king, let a strict judgment be executed against him, whether death, banishment, confiscation of property, or imprisonment. Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, who has put into the heart of the king to so honor the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, and who has shown me favor before the king, his counselors, and all his powerful officials. And because the hand of the Lord my God was upon me, I took courage and gathered the leaders of Israel to return with me. Ezra 8, verses 1-20. These are the family heads and genealogical records of those who returned with me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes, from the descendants of Phinehas, Gershem, from the descendants of Ithamar, Daniel, from the descendants of David, Hadish of the descendants of Shekaniah, from the descendants of Parosh, Zachariah, and with him were registered one hundred and fifty men, from the descendants of Pahath Moab, Eli Ehonei, son of Zirahiah, and with him two hundred men, from the descendants of Zatu, Shechaniah, son of Jehaziel, and with him three hundred men. From the descendants of Aden, Ebed, son of Jonathan, and with him fifty men. From the descendants of Elam, Joshiah, son of Athaliah, and with him seventy men. From the descendants of Shephiah, Zebediah son of Michael, and with him eighty men. From the descendants of Joab, Obadiah son of Jehael, and with him two hundred and eighteen men. From the descendants of Bani, Shalomath, son of Josapiah, and with him one hundred and sixty men. From the descendants of Bebai, Zachariah, son of Bibai, and with him twenty eight men. From the descendants of Azgad, Johannon, son of Hakatan, and with him one hundred and ten men. From the later descendants of Adonikem, these were their names, Oliphalet, Jael, and Shemea, and with them sixty men. And from the descendants of Bigvi, both Uthai and Zachar, and with them seventy men. Now I assembled these exiles at the canal that flows to Ahava, and we camped there three days. And when I searched among the people and priests, I found no Levites there. Then I summoned the leaders, Eli Ezir, Ariel, Shemiah, El Nathan, Jerob, El Nathan, Nathan, Zachariah, and Meshulam, as well as the teachers Joarib and El Nathan. And I sent them to Ido, the leader at Cassifiah, with a message for him and his kinsmen, the temple servants at Cassiphia, that they should bring to us ministers for the house of our God. And since the gracious hand of our God was upon us, they brought us Sherubiah, a man of insight from the descendants of Mali, son of Levi, the son of Israel, along with his sons and brothers, eighteen men, also Hashabiah, together with Joshiah, from the descendants of Morari, and his brothers and their sons, twenty men. They also brought two hundred and twenty of the temple servants, all designated by name. David and the officials had appointed them to assist the Levites. So then, men are to regard us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Now it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. I care very little, however, if I am judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not vindicate me. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore, judge nothing before the appointed time. Wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God. Brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us not to go beyond what is written. Then you will not take pride in one man over another. For what makes you so superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not? Already you have all you want. Already you have become rich. Without us you have become kings. How I wish you really were kings, so that we might be kings with you. For it seems to me that God has displayed us apostles at the end of the procession, like prisoners appointed for death. We have become a spectacle to the whole world, to angels as well as to men. We are fools for Christ, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored, but we are dishonored. To this very hour we are hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clothed, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are vilified, we bless. When we are persecuted, we endure it. When we are slandered, we answer gently. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world. I am not writing this to shame you, but to warn you as my beloved children. Even if you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I urge you to imitate me. That is why I have sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which is exactly what I teach everywhere in every church. Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you, but I will come to you shortly, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only what these arrogant people are saying, but what power they have. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. Which do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and with a gentle spirit? Psalm chapter 30. I will exalt you, O Lord, for you have lifted me up and have not allowed my foes to rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you healed me. O Lord, you pulled me up from Sheol, you spared me from descending into the pit. Sing to the Lord, O you His saints, and praise His holy name, for His anger is fleeting, but His favor last a lifetime. Weeping may stay the night, but joy comes in the morning. In prosperity I said, I will never be shaken. O Lord, you favored me, you made my mountain stand strong. When you hid your face, I was dismayed. To you, O Lord, I called, and I begged my Lord for mercy. What gain is there in my bloodshed, in my descent to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness? Hear me, O Lord, and have mercy. O Lord, be my helper. You turned my mourning into dancing. You peeled off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks forever. Proverbs twenty verses twenty eight through thirty. Loving devotion and faithfulness preserve a king. By these he maintains his throne. The glory of young men is their strength, and grey hair is the splendor of the old. Lashes and wounds scour evil, and beatings cleanse the inmost parts. Today's devotional is coming from Ezra chapter seven, and three times in this chapter there's a particular phrase that is said in regards to Ezra. And I want this so bad to be said about me, and I want it to be said about you also. And it's this phrase that says, The hand of the Lord his God was upon him. One time it says, The gracious hand of his God was upon him. The first time we see this is in verse 6. It says, The king had granted Ezra all his request, for the hand of the Lord his God was upon him. So this king that was not an Israelite, he was not Jewish, he did not serve God yet. Because the hand of the Lord was upon Ezra, the king granted Ezra all his requests. This should encourage all of us to pray, to seek the Lord for presidents, kings, governors, rulers, because God can cause government officials, kings and princes and presidents to grant our request if the hand of the Lord our God is upon us. The second time we see this phrase is in verses nine and ten, where it says, For the gracious hand of his God was upon him. For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord, to practice it, and to teach it statutes and ordinances in Israel. So because Ezra had set his heart towards these things, the gracious hand of his God was upon him. I wonder what would happen if we set our heart to study the Word of God, to practice it, and to teach that word to others. Could it be possible that the gracious hand of our God would be upon us? And now the third time we see this phrase, it's in verses twenty-seven and twenty-eight where Ezra is blessing God. He says, Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, who has put it into the heart of the king to so honor the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, and who has shown me favor before the king, the counselors, and all his powerful officials. And now listen here. And because the hand of the Lord my God was upon me, I took courage and gathered the leaders of Israel to return with me. So if the hand of the Lord our God is upon us, we can take courage. Powerful and wonderful things can happen to us when the hand of the Lord our God, the gracious hand of our God is upon us. Let's pray. Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus. And what I pray for all of our listeners today, for all of us, is that your hand, your gracious hand, the hand of the Lord our God, would be upon us. Draw us close by the presence of your Holy Spirit and reveal your Son to us. We ask all these things in the precious name of Jesus. Amen. Well, I sure hope you enjoyed today's devotional. If you're getting something out of the Bible 365 podcast, consider sharing it with your family and with your friends. Please continue to pray for me. I am praying for you. Have a great day, and I'll see you tomorrow with day two twenty one.