EZRA AND NEHEMIAH Overview The books of Ezra and Nehemiah (one book in the Hebrew Bible) trace the story of the return of the people of God to the land of Israel after the 70-year captivity in Babylon. Ezra In Ezra, the book divides naturally into the ministries of two men: Zerubbabel, chapters 1-6 and Ezra, chapters 7-10. Both of these men led expeditions of Jewish captives back to Jerusalem from Babylon. Zerubbabel was a descendant of David and thus of the kingly line. (See Matthew 1:12-13.) Ezra descended from Aaron and was therefore a priest. This suggests immediately that in the work of restoration both a king and a priest are needed. The work of the king is to build, or in this case, to rebuild. The work of the priest is to cleanse. Today, Jesus Christ is our priest-king. He is restoring His people to Himself and purging them of their sins. Nehemiah Nehemiah gives us the story of the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. Walls are universally the symbol of strength and protection. Nehemiah had to deal with 2 types of people: his adversaries who taunted him and tried to stop the rebuilding of the walls, and his own people who were not following the Mosaic Law. Nehemiah exhibited his leadership qualities by doing two things, praying and keeping watch. He always committed all his dealings to the Lord and kept his guard too. His workers laboured with their weapons beside them, keeping watch and building at the same time. Nothing was going to stop the work God had set out for him to do. At first instance, this would seem as an indication of lack of faith on Nehemiah s part. In actual fact, he was confident that God would be on his side. At the same time he was showing his adversaries their persistence in rebuilding the walls, until to the point of death if need be. The History To begin, we have to first understand the history prior to the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. Captivity: The sins of the Israelites led them into captivity under the Assyrian and Babylonians. Assyrian Captivity - The ten tribes of the Northern kingdom of Israel were deported to Assyria, after the fall of Samaria in 722 BC. (2 Kings 17). Babylonian Captivity The two tribes of the Southern kingdom of Judah were deported to Babylon, after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. (2 Kings 25).
Prophesy: Jeremiah prophesied that the duration of exile in Babylon would be 70 years. The exile began with Nebuchadnezzar s first invasion of Judah in 605 BC and ended with the first return of the Jews in 536 BC. The Story The books of Ezra and Nehemiah record the return of the Jews from captivity in Babylon to their promised land. It is not surprising that Ezra and Nehemiah are one book in the Hebrew Bible, for they are part of the same story. There were three returns under different leaderships: First return (536 BC) under Zerubbabel; the restoration of the temple. [Ezra 1-6] Second return (458 BC) under Ezra; the restoration of the people. [Ezra 7-10] Third return (445 BC) under Nehemiah; the restoration of the city wall. [Nehemiah 1-13] The Lessons I am most intrigued by the three-step approach adopted by the leaders in the two books: God-People-Physical. The sequence of the return is significant, starting from rebuilding of the temple, the return of the people and the restoration of the city wall. The sequence reflects the priority and relative importance of each stage. What are your priorities in life? Is it: first; worship of God; second, fellowship among your brethren; and then your material needs? What is the priority if a church is embarking on building program? Do we consider the sanctity of worship and fellowship among God s people before we consider the grandeur of the physical building? The Challenge There are many lessons in these two books, such as the faithfulness of God and the fulfillment of God s prophesy. I consider the three-step approach (God-People-Physical) to be an interesting guiding principle for our daily decision making. Will you apply three-step (God-People-Physical) approach in your life? THE FIRST RETURN (Under Zerubbabel - Restoration of temple and worship) God s Promise This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. Jeremiah 29:10 God s Promise Fulfilled After Cyrus, king of Persia, conquered Babylon in 539 B.C. he issued the decree permitting the Jews to return to the land of their fathers (Ezra 1: 3-4). God s promise was fulfilled by Zerubbabel. And it was no simple return, but a glorious one!
(a) The king returned the plundered articles and the Jews received many gifts from their neighbours. (Ezra 1:5-11) (b) It was a contingent of 42,000 returnees together with 7,000 servants, 200 singers, and livestock, numbering 8000. (Ezra 2:1-67) (c) It culminated in the rebuilding of the temple and the restoration of worship. (Ezra 3 6) God is Great [1] God is faithful: Man forgets, but God never does. Man gives up, but God never does. Man loses faith, but God never does. [2] God s blessing is bountiful. Although the Jews were dispersed in disgrace, God let them return in glory. The Jews had servants, singers, livestock, presents from their neighbours and the articles that had been plundered from them. Can you imagine modern people returning from exile with their own foreign maids, gold, cars, and even a symphony orchestra! God is truly marvelous! The Challenge: In the first return from exile led by Zerubbabel, the temple was rebuilt and public worship was restored. We all have our own exile experience. It could be a period of spiritual dryness when we feel so far away from God because of sin. In this trying time, do we avoid God or do we rebuild the temple within us? Do we continue to wallow in sin or do we restore the worship within us? SECOND RETURN Under Ezra (Restoration of people) God s Law We must read the second half of the book of Ezra with God s law in mind. Intermarriage and pagan worship were prohibited, When the Lord your God brings you into the land. Make no treaty with them,... Do not intermarry with them for they will turn your sons away from following me to serve other gods, and the Lord s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you. - Deuteronomy 7: 1-6 Who was Ezra? Ezra was burdened by the Israelites disobedience to God. His name means helper in Hebrew. He was a priest and scribe; a descendant of Aaron. In modern times Ezra would be a teacher. Restoration of the Law and People What was the sin of the Israelites? Inter-marriage? Idolatry? (The Israelites, a holy race, had taken for themselves wives of other races who worshipped idols. These included the Israelite priests.) Whatever it was, the people needed to be restored to God. Through Ezra, God brought restoration to His people. We can see restoration taking place through Ezra s actions:
Ezra tore his tunic and cloak, thus showing his grief. [Ezra 9:3] Ezra made sacrifice, thus paying the price for past sins. [ Ezra 9:5] Ezra rebuked his people, thus explaining the sins. [Ezra 9:6-15] Ezra made it a three-day event, thus showing the gravity of the situation. [ Ezra 10:9] Ezra initiated an investigation, and sins were revealed starting from the priests families. [Ezra 10:16-44] It was a sad ending that inter-marriages were dissolved. [Ezra 10:10-12] Price of Disobedience The book ended with a sad note of children in broken families when the marriages of their parents was dissolved [Ezra 10:44]. Sin will have its consequences. The priests were not spared. In fact, the list of offenders names actually started from the families of the priests [Ezra 10:18]. This is a strong reminder for those who are leaders or hold teaching positions in the church that we have a greater responsibility to remain as God s obedient children. The Challenge Are you Ezra the teacher, who is God s instrument of restoration or are you the Israelites, God s disobedient children, awaiting God s restoration? THIRD RETURN Under Nehemiah (Restoration of City Wall) Who Was Nehemiah? Nehemiah was born of Jewish parents in exile. Nehemiah means the comfort of Jehovah. It is interesting to see the 3 roles of Nehemiah: The Cupbearer [Ch 1]: He was the Persian king s cupbearer, who tasted the food before the king ate it. It was a position of great responsibility and trust. (Such a trusted servant often became a close advisor.) He heard that the wall in Judah was in ruins and wept [Nehemiah 1:4]. Through his position of influence and trust, he sought permission from the king for the rebuilding project. The Labourer [Ch 2-6]: He then began the project of rebuilding the city wall. It was a humble beginning, surveying the wall at night with only few people [Nehemiah 2:11-12]. It was a challenge overcoming opposition and threats, and assigning people to the rebuilding of the wall [Ch 3]. The Governor He was appointed as the governor of Judah [Ch 7-13]. As governor, Nehemiah supported the reestablishment of true worship by Ezra, such as the reading of the law [Ch 8], commitment to praise [Ch 9], confession of sin, prayer for God s grace [Ch 9], and renewal of obedience [Ch 10]. As governor, Nehemiah also addressed national issues [Ch 11-13]. Nehemiah did not work alone; he worked with Ezra and men of integrity [Nehemiah 7:2].
Who Am I? The Cupbearer: Do we use our position of influence to serve God? When God s work is not done, do we see the ruins and weep or just stand afar and remain apathetic? Also, sometimes God puts us in a cupbearer position, which is honorable but difficult. Nehemiah held a high position, but one that was lifethreatening as there would be traitors who would want to poison the king! Nehemiah placed his life in God s hands, because he knew that he could trust no one but God. The Labourer: What is your field of labour? Do not be discouraged if your ministry is insignificant now. Nehemiah started surveying the ruins at night with only a few people, but ended up being the governor of Judah. Allow others to work in your field! Nehemiah delegated the rebuilding of the wall to various families! The Governor: Do not forget that worship is central and that people are essential. Nehemiah worked with Ezra. Ezra, the teacher, re-established the order of worship. Work with other people for the glory that belongs to God! Do you aspire to be God s Nehemiah in Your Church?