These books were written 14‐16 years after the Jews went back to the land after their captivity. The return itself was a glorious work of God.

Once in the land, there were challenges when the surrounding people tried to stop them, but God intervened there also. The Israelites had seen God conquer and give victory in much greater problems and He took care of this situation also and they got permission from the king to continue building.

But they didn’t—even though God miraculously provided permission for them to continue building the temple, they got distracted, a lot like we do from the work God gives us to do. [Read more…]