The Ezra, Nehemiah narrative picks up where 2 Chronicles left off, with Cyrus issuing a decree to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem:

In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia—this fulfilled the Message of GOD preached by Jeremiah—GOD prodded Cyrus king of Persia to make an official announcement throughout his kingdom. He wrote it out as follows: From Cyrus king of Persia, a Proclamation: GOD, the God of the heavens, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has also assigned me to build him a Temple of worship in Jerusalem, Judah… (Ezra 1.1 – 2, MSG)

The rest of chapter 1 and all of chapter 2 continues with a list of the people and supplies they would need for the work, ending with:

The total count for the congregation was 42,360. That did not include the male and female slaves, which numbered 7,337. There were also 200 male and female singers, and they had 736 horses, 245 mules, 435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys. Some of the heads of families, on arriving at The Temple of GOD in Jerusalem, made Freewill-Offerings toward the rebuilding of The Temple of God on its site. They gave to the building fund as they were able, about 1,100 pounds of gold, about three tons of silver, and 100 priestly robes. The priests, Levites, and some of the people lived in Jerusalem. The singers, security guards, and temple support staff found places in their hometowns. All the Israelites found a place to live. (Ezra 2.64 – 70, MSG)

All those people, all those materials…but we’ll see next week that even with a good start and a lot of support, things can temporarily get off track. Stay tuned.

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1.6, ESV)