God’s people, the Israelites, had been in a faraway land for 70 years. Now it was time to go back to Jerusalem. The king gave the people permission to return to Jerusalem and build a new temple for God. King Cyrus told the Israelites, “You may return to your homes. May God be with you.” The people were eager to return to their homeland. All the family leaders and the priests prepared to go. Neighbors were kind and gave the Israelites animals, gold and silver, and many other things they could use. The king gave the people things to take for the temple. Men, women, and children prepared for the journey to Jerusalem. When they arrived, the people gave offerings for the temple to be built. The people then found places to live. After a while, the people built an altar where they could worship God. They celebrated with a festival for many days. The people gave money to the workers and food to neighboring people who would bring them wood for building. Then the people began the work to build the temple. Everyone helped in some way.

Need to Know: When I'm Scared God Keeps Me Safe!

Jesus and His disciples were in Jerusalem. They went to the temple. Many of the temple leaders and teachers saw Jesus and began to ask Him questions. The leaders did not believe the things Jesus said. After a while, Jesus went to the temple treasury. This was the place where people gave their offerings. The disciples went with Jesus. Jesus watched how the crowd of people dropped money into the treasury. Many rich people put in lots of money. The rich people wanted others to see how much money they dropped into the offering containers. Then Jesus saw a poor woman drop in two tiny coins. It was not very much money at all. But Jesus knew the two coins were all the money the woman had. Jesus called His disciples to Him and He talked to them. “This poor woman has put in all the money she has. But it is more than all the money the rich people gave. She gave everything she had.”

Need to Know: When I'm Scared I Will Trust Jesus!