FEED 210/212 Mentoring Through The Old Testament/Historical Books Session # 4B: Ezra-Nehemiah OBJECTIVES: By the end of this session the participants should be able to: 1) Put in chronological context the 3 deportations, 3 returns and the period of the books of Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther. 2) Articulate the purpose of Ezra-Nehemiah. 3) Make a simple comparison between Ezra and Nehemiah. 4) Articulate the overview of the book of Ezra together with important lessons learnt. 5) Articulate the overview of the book of Nehemiah together with important lessons learnt. 1) EZRA-NEHEMIAH a) Introduction i) Ezra-Nehemiah records the fulfillment of God s promise to Israel through Jeremiah to bring them back to their land after 70 years of captivity (2 Chron 36:21; Jer 25:11; 29:10; Ezra 1:1; Dan 9:2). POST EXILIC PERIOD First deportation. Daniel and other youths taken to Babylon. Second deportation. 10,000 taken (including Ezekiel). Fall of Babylon to Persians 606 597 539 536 E X I L E 722 586 536 516 536 FALL OF FALL OF RETURN TEMPLE ISRAEL JUDAH FROM EXILE REBUILT 3 rd & Final Deportation Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. 1 st Return Zerubbabel leads about 50,000 exiles back to Jerusalem. E Z R A 2 nd Return Led by Ezra 3 rd Return Led by Nehemiah (446-433) NEHEMIAH 538-516 458-457 444-425 E S T H E R 483-473 Session 4B: Ezra-Nehemiah (11 April, 2015) Page 1 of 5
b) Background i) The books Ezra and Nehemiah were originally bound together and viewed as book in the Hebrew canon. (1) Ezra and Nehemiah were divided into two books probably only from the century AD onwards and apparently in the Christian circles. ii) Together with Chronicles, the section was viewed as one continuous historical record. (1) Priestly history of Israel. (2) Most likely, the author for Ezra-Nehemiah could be. The Three Returns from Exile Zerubbabel Ezra Nehemiah Captivity Temple People Walls Neh s 400 70 years rebuilt reformed rebuilt second silent return yrs 430(?) Gap Gap 57 yrs 12yrs 538 515 458 457 446 433 Haggai 520 Esther 483-473 Malachi 450-430 (?) Zechariah 520-518 c) Purpose i) To demonstrate the and of God in the restoration of the Jews to their land despite both external and internal problems. (1) Return from exile (2) Rebuilding of the temple (3) Re-establishment of religious life (4) Rebuilding of the walls (5) Reconstitution as covenanted people Session 4B: Ezra-Nehemiah (11 April, 2015) Page 2 of 5
d) Comparison between Ezra and Nehemiah Contributions as a Person Focus Ezra A scribe, the most learned interpreter of the Law. He shaped the returned exiles into the people of the book. Reform Nehemiah An efficient organizer of men and a leader of unswerving determination in rebuilding the walls of the city of Jerusalem which lay in ruins. Political, Geographical and Reform. Chpts Kings of Persian Empire 1-6 Cyrus (538-530) (a) 550 BC: Conquered the Medes (b) 539 BC: Conquered Babylon (i) Respected religious beliefs of subjects and general policy of allowing exiles to return to their homeland. (ii) Close to 50,000 Jews returned under Zerubbabel. Cambyses (530-525 BC: Conquered Egypt. 522) (Not mentioned in the Bible) Smerdis aka (Not mentioned in the Bible) Gaumata (522) Darius I aka (a) Gave the empire its definitive Hystaspes (522- organization and greatest stability and 486) extent. 4:6 Xerxes I aka Ahasuerus (486-465) 4:7-23 Artaxerxes I aka Longimanus (464-424) 7-10 Xerxes II (424) Darius II aka Nothus (423-404) (b) Only failure was the attack on Greece. The king during Esther s time: Allowed the Jews to protect themselves against Haman s attempt to eliminate the Jews. 1) Stopped construction of Jerusalem. 2) The king under whom Nehemiah served as cupbearer. 3) Allowed both Ezra and Nehemiah to return with people to Jerusalem. Other Books Haggai (520) Zechariah (520-515) Esther (474) Malachi (450-400) Nehemiah (445-425) Session 4B: Ezra-Nehemiah (11 April, 2015) Page 3 of 5
2) EZRA a) The Person i) The name Ezra means "." ii) He was a descendant from the priestly line of Aaron, and the author of the Old Testament Book of Ezra. iii) He was the leader of a group of Jews returning to Jerusalem from the Babylonian Exile in 458 BC, during the reign of King Artaxerxes. b) Outline (1) Chapters 1 6: First exilic return under and rebuilding of the temple (a) Emphasis: To restore the (2) Chapters 7 10: Events after Ezra returned from Persia in 458 B.C. where Ezra enters the historical picture (a) There is a shift from the third person to the first person (7:27-9:15). (b) Emphasis: To restore the. c) Lessons from Ezra i) God s sovereignty to use even non-believers to fulfill his purpose (a) Ez 1:1-2; 5:5, 11, 12; 6:22; 7:23 (b) The temple reconstruction was finished by the command of the God of Israel and by the decree of Cyrus (Ezra 6:14) ii) What is true redemption? (1) Return from exile (2) Rebuilding of the temple (i) It symbolized God s presence: (ii) It symbolized worship. (3) Reconstitution as covenanted people (a) God s Redemption: The Exodus motif (1:6) (i) Israel threw off its vesture of statehood and monarchy and saw itself as what it truly is: a covenanted people. (4) God s Holiness: Sanctification (a) Divorce foreign wives (Ezra 7) iii) How to be an effective teacher of God s Word (7:10)? (From Ezra s example) (1) Study the law of the Lord, (2) Practice it (3) Teach it. Session 4B: Ezra-Nehemiah (11 April, 2015) Page 4 of 5
3) NEHEMIAH a) The Person i) The name Nehemiah means "." ii) Nehemiah, son of Hacaliah, was a cupbearer of the Persian King Artaxerxes. iii) In 444 BC the king appointed Nehemiah to be the governor of Judah and permitted him to go to Jerusalem to help his fellow Jews. iv) He rallied the people to rebuild the damaged walls around Jerusalem. b) Outline i) Ch 1-12 Nehemiah s first administration in Jerusalem. (1) Ch 1-7 The of Jerusalem is rebuilt under the leadership of Nehemiah. (2) Ch 8-10 The people of Judah are revived. Error! No topic specified. (3) 11:1 12:26 The residents of Jerusalem and Benjamin are recorded. (4) 12:27 43 Dedication of the wall of Jerusalem. (5) 12:44 47 Leaders are appointed to oversee the contributions for the priests and the Levites. ii) Ch 13 Nehemiah s second administration in Jerusalem. c) Leadership Lessons from Nehemiah. i) Vision (1:4) ii) Prayer (1) Throughout the book, we saw him praying: (a) After receiving news of Jerusalem (1:4-11) (b) During his conversation with the king (2:4) (c) After being taunted by Sanballat and Tobiah (4:4-5) (d) After threats by the enemies (4:9) (e) More threat (6:9) (f) Reflections (5:19; 13:14, 22, 29, 31) iii) Management & Planning (1) Nehemiah used careful planning, teamwork, and problem solving to get things done. iv) Facing Problems (1) After the work began, Nehemiah faced scorn, slander, and threats from enemies, as well as fear, conflict, and discouragement from his own workers. (2) Nehemiah responded with prayer, encouragement, guard duty and consolidation. (ch 4) (3) Confronting Evil. (ch 5) Session 4B: Ezra-Nehemiah (11 April, 2015) Page 5 of 5