Ezra 7

God has changed the attitude of the king of Persia, the Temple has been completed, and 60 largely uneventful years have passed for the Jews in Jerusalem between Ezra 6:22 and 7:1.  The ruler of Persia is now Artaxerxes, the successor to Xerxes and the king who marries Esther in the Book of Esther.  Meanwhile the Jews have repopulated the land of Judea.  Ezra comes to Jerusalem from Babylon as one of the later Jews returning from the captivity to Judea and Jerusalem.  Though there was a first great return (described in Ezra 1-2), there were also many others who returned in the following years while many Jews chose to stay in the land of their captivity, some until the mid-20th century.

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Ezra 6
As you read Ezra 6, watch for the following 3 main points and write down the verses that demonstrate them:

1. God provides above and beyond what is asked
2. God provides others to help us when the enemy opposes us
3. God provides great joy when we obey Him and celebrate His provisions.

The enemies of God’s people have tried to stop them from building the temple. They have gone to the highest authority in their minds to do so. They send a letter to King Darius to find out if the Israelites have permission to build the temple.

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Ezra 5

It is now 520 BC, the second year of King Darius.  The exiles have been back in Judah for sixteen years and they have become content.  They made the Big Move, built themselves houses and established new lives and that was good enough.  The work of rebuilding the temple has come to a complete halt and the opposition to that building has now moved within the people (Haggai 1:2).

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Ezra 4
The exiles have made the journey and begun the work they were called to do, building the altar and laying the foundation of the temple, all with great joy.  Now, as these exiles continue to answer the call and do the work, opposition begins.  Chapter four of the book of Ezra is an overview of the history of the opposition to the rebuilding of the Jerusalem and the temple and covers a period of nearly one-hundred years from the immediate context in the reign of King Cyrus down to the events that probably lead to Nehemiah asking King Artaxerxes for permission to go to Jerusalem to ramrod the building of it’s walls (See Historical Notes below for a short timeline).  There are textual issues here that are a major part of the whole controversy surrounding the dating and sequence of events of Ezra and Nehemiah.

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Ezra 3

Read Ezra 3 and as you do, ask what was important for the people of Israel to learn and why it is still important to us today.

When the Israelites started rebuilding the temple altar, they had to overcome their fears and doubts including their fear of the people around them.  The people who had taken over the land would not be happy that the Israelites were back and even angrier that they were establishing their religion again.  Fear of these people could have kept the Israelites from even starting.  But they rebuilt the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the LORD, both the morning and evening sacrifices (Ezra 3:3).

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Ezra 2

Moving day has arrived.  Cyrus has published his proclamation, those who are leaving and those who are staying have all made their decisions.  They have sold property, packed all their belongings and said their good-byes.  For the older generation among them, this is a return home, going back to the place of their youths.  For the younger ones, they are leaving the only home they have ever known to follow after the stories of their parents and grandparents.

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Ezra 1

The inhabitants of the southern kingdom of Judah are in exile, held captive in Babylon after suffering several deportations.  The first of these occurred in 605 BC, when Nebuchadnezzar appeared before the wall of Jerusalem, demanding King Jehoiakim’s submission as vassal.  When Jehoiakim submitted, Nebuchadnezzar imposed tribute, took hostages that included Daniel, Meshach, Shadrach and Abed-Nego as well as articles from the temple to prove that his god had triumphed over the God of Judah.  Jehoiakim rebels against Nebuchadnezzar and is deposed and a second tribute and deportation imposed in 597 BC.  The final humiliation for the people of God comes in 587 BC when the last king of Judah, Zedekiah, rebels and the city is sacked, the temple is destroy and anyone of any worth taken off to Babylon. (2Kings 23:36-25:26)

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