I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my covenant with you and with all the earth.

The narrative in Ezra 1-3 paints a vivid picture of Israel’s fervent passion for the restoration of the temple, and a revival of their worship practises.

Then the people hired masons and carpenters and bought cedar logs from the people of Tyre and Sidon, paying them with food, wine, and olive oil.

In early autumn, when the Israelites had settled in their towns, all the people assembled in Jerusalem with a unified purpose.

Another group returned at this time from the towns of Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Kerub, Addan, and Immer. However, they could not prove that they or their families were descendants of Israel.

Here is the list of the Jewish exiles of the provinces who returned from their captivity. King Nebuchadnezzar had deported them to Babylon, but now they returned to Jerusalem and the other towns in Judah where they originally lived.

In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, the Lord fulfilled the prophecy he had given through Jeremiah. He stirred the heart of Cyrus to put this proclamation in writing and to send it throughout his kingdom…

When the builders completed the foundation of the Lord’s Temple, the priests put on their robes and took their places to blow their trumpets.