CHAPTER 19
God’s House

Ezra 3:7–6:22

King Cyrus was a good king. God told King Cyrus to let the people go back home to Jerusalem. It was time for God’s people to build a temple. God’s people were very happy.

“Hurray!” they shouted.

God’s people started to build the temple. They worked very hard. But after they finished the foundation of the temple, God’s people stopped working on it. Instead, they started working on their own houses and planting food for their own families.

“You must work on my temple first,” God told them. “Don’t worry about yourselves. I will make sure you all have food and a place to live.”

When the temple was finished, the people said, “This temple belongs to God! And we belong to God! We will obey and worship him. We are his people.”