First Return from Babylon World Christian Fellowship 60, High Worple, Rayners Lane, Harrow Middlesex, HA2 9SZ, United Kingdom Tel: +44 208 429 9292 www.wcflondon.com wcflondon@gmail.com The Book of Ezra Cyrus (539 529), the king of Persia (Ezra 1:1), conquers Babylon - makes Persia a world empire. Daniel said Babylon would fall to the Persians (Daniel 5:25 31). Cyrus issues a decree to begin construction of the temple (Ezra 1:1 4). Isaiah had prophesied 200 years before Cyrus that the Jews would return under the reign of Cyrus to rebuild Jerusalem (Isaiah 44:26 28; 45:1,13). Ezra 1 6, Under the leadership of Zerubbabel, the Jews return (49,897; Ezra 2:2). Zerubbabel is the governor under the rule of Cyrus and/or Darius (Haggai 1:14; Zechariah 4:9). Perhaps a 4-month trip from Babylon to Jerusalem (Ezra 7:9). Joshua is the high priest (Ezra 2:2 & Haggai 1:4), built the altar and offered sacrifices(ezra 3:1 7). 7th month they The construction work of the Temple begins and is stopped (Ezra 3 & 4). 529 BC Ahasuerus or Artaxerxes (Ezra 4:6 & 11 24) issues a King s decree to stop the construction work. 520 BC 1
6th month, 1st day Haggai s call to build (Ezra 5:1,2; Haggai 1:1 11) 6th month, 24th day building begins (Haggai 1:13 15) 7th month, 21st day Haggai s second appeal (Haggai 2:1 9) 8th month Zechariah s opening address (Zechariah 1:1 6) 9th month, 24th day Haggai s third and fourth appeals (Haggai 2:10 23) 11th month, 24th day Zechariah s visions (Zechariah 1:7-6:15) 9th month, 4th day Zechariah s visions (Zechariah 7:1 14:21) Darius I (521 486) issues restoration decree for completion of the temple (520) (Ezra 6:1) 12th month, 3rd day temple completed (Ezra 6:15) (515 BC) 1st month, 14th to 21st days Passover (Ezra 6:19-22) Xerxes I (486 464) or Ahasuerus fought wars against Greece. Esther becomes Queen her marriage gave the Jews prestige at Persian court which effected. Mordecai made Prime Minister. Artaxerxes I (464-424) or Longimanus was the stepson of Esther (Ezra 7:1). Second Return Purpose: Establish worship Problem: Inter marriages with non-jews 2
Artaxerxes I issues a decree for Ezra to return and establish worship (Ezra 7:1). 457 BC, Ezra goes from Babylon to Jerusalem with 1,754 men (Ezra 7:7, 9; 8). 80 years after the Jews returned under Zerubbabel, and Ezra leads a reform of the Jewish people (Ezra 10:10 11). 445 BC Artaxerxes I issues decree to Nehemiah to return and rebuild the city wall (Nehemiah 2:6 8). Nehemiah goes to Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:1). Ezra had been there 13 years. Nehemiah is governor for 12 years (Nehemiah 5:14). Wall built (Nehemiah 2:13; 6:15). 432 BC Malachi was a prophet during this time (Nehemiah 13:10, 23; Malachi 2:11; 3:8). CHRONOLOGICAL RELATIONSHIP OFEZRA NEHEMIAH ESTHER 538-515 BC 483-473 BC 457 BC 444-425 BC Ezra 1 6 First Return of Jews from Babylonian Exile Book of Esther 58 Years Ezra 7 10 Second Return of Jews from Babylonian Exile 13- Year Gap Book of Nehemiah Third Return of Jews from Babylonian Exile 3
Ezra Book Chapterwise Years Year Description Chapter 537 BC The decree of Cyrus Ezra 1 537 BC The Jewish return from Babylon Ezra 2 535 BC Temple work begins Ezra 3 534 BC Temple work stopped by the enemies Ezra 4 534 BC Artaxerxes orders to stop Ezra 4:17 520 BC Tattenai s letter to Darius Ezra 5 520 BC Darius' decree and the resumption of work Ezra 6 515 BC Completion and dedication of the Temple Ezra 6:16 458 BC Ezra journeys to Jerusalem Ezra 7 458 BC Ezra commissioned by Artaxerxes Ezra 7:11 457 BC Families return to Jerusalem with Ezra Ezra 8 457 BC Ezra's reforms Ezra 9 456 BC Ezra's prayer about intermarriage Ezra 10 We will study the book of Ezra under the following four categories: 1. First return and restoration of the Temple under Zerubbabel (Ezra 1:1 2:70) 2. Construction of the Temple, 22 Years (Ezra 3:1 6:22) 3. Second return and reformation of people under Ezra (Ezra 7:1 8:36) 4. Restoration of the people (Ezra 9:1 10:44) 4
1. First Return and Restoration of the Temple under Zerubbabel (Ezra 1:1 2:70) Background history Daniel Chapter 5: Belshazzar s fall. Daniel shares the prophesy of Isaiah (chapter 44: 24 45:7). Cyrus issues a decree for the Temple to be restored (2 Chronicles 36:22 23; Ezra chapter 1: 1 4). The name Sheshbazzar means joy in tribulation The name Zerubbabel means a stranger at Babylon Cyrus returns the gold and other valuables brought by Nebuchadnezzar from the temple of Jerusalem. Chapter 2 gives you the list of people totalling 49,897. Many Christians know about the journey the Israelites took from Egypt to Israel, but not many know about this journey from Babylon to Jerusalem. The groups are listed by their family name (2:3 20; 36 63) or geographical origin (2:21 35). Laymen follow their leaders (2:3 35), and then come priests (36 39), Levites (40), singers (41), gatekeepers (42 ), Nethinim (43 54), descendants of Solomon s servants (55 58 ), those without proof of their descent (59 63), the total number of returnees (64), and personal servants and animals (65 67). The list concludes with a brief account of the offering given for the restoration of the temple (68 70). As slaves from Egypt, they just believed and walked away from their bondage, whereas in Babylonian captivity, they had settled down 5
with their belongings. Now they were so comfortable that when asked to return to Jerusalem, they did not, except 49,897. The same holds for us the spiritual Israel; we have been set free from our sin and released from Satan, when we first put our trust in Lord Jesus Christ. But for us to live a victorious Christian life, we need to overcome sin as per Romans 6:14. This list of those who returned is mentioned twice in the Bible Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 2. God has taken the time to write the name of the overcomers, twice. In Revelation chapters 2 and 3, Jesus writes to seven churches where He says the overcomers will be rewarded. Ezra 2:63, Urim and Thumim Urim and Thumim were precious stones (gems) carried by the high priest. He used them to find out about God s answers to certain questions. There is not a lot said about them in the Bible but there are some theories as to what they were and how they worked. Ephod: Ephod, a garment, is referred to in the priestly ordinances as a part of the official dress of the high priest. It was to be made of threads of blue and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen and embroidered in gold thread with cunning work (Exodus 28:4; 29:5; 39:2; Leviticus 8:7). Today, in the New Covenant we are led by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:14). 6
2. Construction of the Temple, 22 Years (Ezra 3:1 6:22) Ezra 3: 1 7 As they arrived in Jerusalem, they found no temple or altar to worship God. They joined as one! Remember what happened in Acts 2: on the day of Pentecost, how 120 people assembled as one! Fear of not worshiping the Lord fell upon the people and they came together and started to read the word of God to find out how to worship Him. Our fear of God should always drive us to our knees. To offer sacrifice to God for this poor people who had come all the way from Babylon was by far a greater price to pay, but they were willing to pay for it, whole heartedly, Willingly!! They made arrangements to build the temple without delay! Obedience to His guidance! When you obey whatever God has called you to do, you can surely depend on Him to provide for all the needs that He has called you into. Ezra 3: 8 13 There was a mixed reaction from the crowd. For one, they were shouting with joy that the temple foundation has been laid. As it says in Zachariah 4:10, do not despise the small beginnings. In their eyes, even a small foundation looked so great and they started parsing God. It may not be perfect or complete, but they rejoiced. Are you rejoicing wherever you are? 7
While the others who had seen the former temple in its glory could see that the foundation was so inferior to the earlier one so they started to weep very loudly! They forgot their forefathers sin and the judgment of God all they did was compare and dampen the whole spirit of rejoicing. How are you doing in this? Today, so many people are unhappy about the status they are in, thinking about their home country or their former life complaining, crying, weeping and not being thankful! Take a moment to thank God now. Ezra 4:1 5 Every work of God will be opposed by the enemy. If there are no adversaries, then please check whether you are doing God s work or your own. Here we see the same pattern. If one cannot oppose you directly, then they use this as a secret weapon to join you and slowly but steadily speak against you to demotivate you. If they see that you are still holding up, then they will work with you but under the cover working against you. Ezra 4:6 24 They send a letter to king Artaxerxes to halt the work with false accusations. The king also hears the accusation ands sends the letter to halt the work. We have been commanded to honour the authorities and are we not to obey their orders? True Godliness teaches us to obey God alone; we must obey God rather than man (Acts 5:29). When we do that, we will be facing some consequences and punishments, which we should take joyfully for our faith! 8
The book of Daniel has many incidents about disobeying the king but honouring God, leading to fiery furnace, lions den etc. From the end of Chapter 4 to the beginning of Chapter 5, there is a gap of 15 years: Nothing happened between these two chapters for 15 long years people went around doing their regular things building their own houses and started settling in happily. Ezra 5: 1 2 Haggai, along with the younger Zechariah the prophet, comes and preaches the sermon about how important it is to build the temple of God rather than look after oneself. What can a prophetic ministry do? Look at how he stirred up the people s spirit to come and build the temple of God (Please do take time to read the book of Haggai, which has only 38 verses.). Since Zechariah was young, he continued to minister even after the temple was built. These two Haggai and Zechariah urged the people to carry out the work, showing that God raises up ministers to do His work. God used His word through the prophet to raise up His temple and magnifies His word above all things. But it is sad to see in Christianity today that prophecy is being used like a crystal ball to see whether or not to marry this one, to take this job etc!! 9
Ezra 5: 3 17 When you have been called by God to do something for Him, then your eyes should be focused on Him alone, not on the events. Since He has called you to do, then His protection will be there for you. 2 Chronicles 16:7, For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars. We should keep doing our duty, not looking and wavering. The enemies of this temple building wrote a detailed account to King Darius. Proverbs 21:1, The king s heart is like a stream of water directed by the Lord; he guides it wherever he pleases. (NLT) God always uses the enemy to bring blessings upon the people of God. So don t be afraid of the enemies. God will fulfil His plans and purposes. Ezra 6:1 12 King Darius sends a decree asking the enemies to help build the temple! Proverbs 16:7; When a man s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. (NKJV) 10
Esther 6:1 2, That night the king could not sleep. So one was commanded to bring the book of the records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king. 2 And it was found written that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king s eunuchs, the doorkeepers who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. (NKJV) Now, not only did they get the permission to build the temple, but the supplies were also provided. So, whenever the enemy comes be glad that God is sending you the provision. Read 2 Chronicles 20! Ezra 6: 13 18 It almost took 22 years to complete the building of the temple from the time Zerubbabel left from Babylon to construct the temple work started 537 BC and completed by 515 BC. The building work of the temple was completed!! Both Haggai and Zechariah were instrumental in encouraging and prophesying to the people about the work of God. After the completion, they offered sacrifices to God with joy! Ezra 6: 19 22 Once again, they started celebrating the feasts what the Lord had commanded them to keep the Passover and the Feast of the Unleavened Bread. 11
3. Second Return and Reformation of People under Ezra (Ezra 7:1 8:36) Ezra 7:1 10 Ezra left Babylon for good for Jerusalem with 1754 men. It took about four months for them to reach Jerusalem. It was a long journey of about 600 kilometres (370 miles). But they arrived safely because God was helping them. Ezra made request to the king and since the king was kind to him he granted all his requests whatever Ezra desired to enable him to serve God and His people. Vv12 20, Though Artaxerxes and Kings Cyrus and Darius all who ruled never worshiped the true living God, they all helped the Jews return and rebuild the temple. This shows how God is the ruler over all people and all things. So God can and will use anyone to rule or to release the people!! The kings had a political motive to show the people that they are letting them to choose to worship their own gods, so that the gods of the people will be kind to them in turn (Ezra 6:10; 7:23)! God did not force the kings to do His work; they willingly did this as well. So, King Artaxerxes sent Ezra to Jerusalem. The king allowed other Jews to go with Ezra if they wanted to. The king told Ezra to make sure that the people in Judah were obeying the law of God. 12
The king also gave Ezra silver and gold from Babylonia to pay for the work of the temple to pay for the sacrifices to God. If Ezra needed anything more for the work of the temple, then the king would pay the cost. Vv21 24, The king s letter also gave orders to the leaders of the people in the district around Judah. The king ordered his officials to help the Jews. He told them to give the Jews all that they needed for their sacrifices to God. He even told them not to take taxes from the people who worked in the temple. The king did not want the God whom the Jews served to be angry with him. Vv25 26, King Artaxerxes wanted the people to obey the law of God as well as the laws of the kingdom. So, the king gave the authority to Ezra to appoint men who would be good judges. The king also ordered Ezra to teach the law of God to the people, also giving him legal authority. Ezra should punish anyone who did not obey the law of God or the law of the king. Vv27 28, Ezra might have been afraid to go to the king for help. (See Esther 4:11.) But he knew that God was with him. He knew that God had made the king do all these things to help Ezra and the Jews. Chapter 8 Vv1 14, We read about the journey that Ezra made to Judah with some of the people of Israel. Ezra took some of the chief men of Israel to go with him (Ezra 7:28). These chief men brought members of their families with them. And Ezra recorded the names of these men and the number of family members who came with them. Many of them were relatives of the 13
first Jews to return from the exile almost 80 years earlier (Ezra 2:3 65). These people might have had a very comfortable life since Babylon was the most thriving city and very powerful. They now have to take a very brave decision to go to a place which is in ruins, not bustling with activity, and not even a place they have seen before. They have to work hard in the new place to make it habitable and make something out of it to make it a nation! Vv15 17, During their journey, they stopped by the river to rest and Ezra took this opportunity to take an account of all those traveling. He found there were no Levites traveling with them. Look who is missing in the return journey! The Levites!! The Levites are the helpers to the priests in managing their priestly duties in the temple! So Ezra knew that as soon as he reaches Jerusalem, he needs to find the Levites! Ezra knew God will help him to find the Levites in Jerusalem so he took some wise men from the group and he sent them to a place called Casiphia. A lot of them who used to work in the temple were living there. So, they requested the leaders in that town to send some levities to help them to work in the temple, and they accompanied them. But it would not be easy for them. They had to leave their homes in order to travel to an unfamiliar country. Sometimes today, God may ask us to do a similar thing. And sometimes we may not even consider ourselves capable to do His work. But when our lives are 14
difficult, we can always trust God. God will provide the skills that we need to do His work. Vv18 20, Ezra found favour in the eyes of God that the Jews at Casiphia found some good men who were willing to go to Judah. They sent several Levites to Ezra. They even sent many other men who would help in the work at the temple. Vv21 23, Before they left their camp by the river the people prayed. Ezra told them not to eat food. Sometimes people do not eat food for a short time in order to be humble. Ezra knew that it was important to pray to God about the long journey ahead of them. They needed God to protect them. And they needed his protection for the precious things that they were carrying (Ezra 7:15 16; 7:22; 8:25 27). Ezra had not asked the king for soldiers to go with them to protect them. He had told the king about God s care for the people who love Him. And, again, God helped Ezra. He protected them on the journey although they did not have any soldiers with them. That was how God answered Ezra s prayer. (A few years later, Nehemiah led another group of Jews back to Judah. The king did send soldiers with Nehemiah on that journey. Nehemiah believed that God helped him in that way. God made the king give Nehemiah everything that he asked for Nehemiah 2:8; 2:18.) Vv24 30, The king, his officials and the people gave many gifts like gold, silver and bronze. Ezra gave the people the task of cleaning and polishin 15
g them and the people did it very sincerely. We must be very careful with the money and other gifts that people give for the work of God. We must find people whom we can trust to look after these things. And we too must be people whom other people can trust. Other people should be able to trust us with anything, not just God s money. Ezra wrote this part of the book himself. In the book, he refers to Israel. There was not actually a nation called Israel at the time. But that was God s name for his special people, the Jews. Vv31 36, After a 4-month journey with the protection of God, they reached Jerusalem and brought the gifts safely to the temple. After they reached Jerusalem, they rested for three days and then entered the temple. Everything was brought back safe! They wanted to thank God for the journey so they offered sacrifices to God. They also asked God for their forgiveness. They delivered the letter of the king to the officials and to the rulers in the district and they also obeyed the king s command to help with the work of the temple. God had helped Ezra and his companions on their journey. The first part of Ezra s task had been successful. The next part of Ezra s task was to teach God s law to the Israelites. 16
4. Restoration of the People (Ezra 9:1 10:44) Exodus 34:11 16 Deuteronomy 7:2 6 & 18:9 13 The above law clearly forbids the people of Israel, the priests and the Levites from mixing with the people of the land. Here Ezra finds the bad news that the people have sinned, the very reason being its Jewish leaders. It is impossible for the leaders to tell the people to follow God when they themselves are not following!! Some of the Jewish men had married women from other nations, which is completely forbidden in the law of God. This they did so that they can be friendly with the other nations and improve their business! For trade purposes. This is why Apostle Paul warns us in 1 Timothy 6:10 that Christians should aim to be content with whatever God has provided for them. The person who cares too much about wealth will damage his relationship with God. Nations called Ammonites and Moabites were descendants of Moab and Benammi. Moab and Benammi were the sons of Lot. They were born out of incestuous relations with his daughters (Genesis 19:30 38). The Ammonites and Moabites were always the enemies of the Jews. And the Moabites persuaded the Jews to serve false gods at the time of Moses (Numbers 25:1 5). 17
God made King Solomon to be very wise. But even Solomon was not so wise when he married foreign women. And they led him to worship other false gods (1 Kings 11:1 13). Vv3 7, Hence, Ezra felt a great shock because of this bad news and he was very sad. He tore his clothes and he pulled out his hair. These things showed how very sad he was. Some of the people did want to obey God. They knew that this sin would make God very angry. So, they were ashamed too and sat with Ezra. Ezra sat down waiting until the time when the priests would burn the evening sacrifice. Then, Ezra prayed, going down on his knees and spreading out his hands. He wanted to show God that he felt very humble and ashamed. He did not eat food. Often people did not eat food when they were very sad. Then, they would have more time to pray. Ezra did obey God. His job was to teach God s law to the people (Ezra 7:10). He had not done the wrong things that some of the Jews had done. But he prayed to God as if he too had done them. Ezra confessed to God that the people had done wrong things all through their history. He knew that God had punished the people in the past because of their sins. God had allowed other nations to defeat the Jews because the Jews had not obeyed God. Even now, in Ezra s time, the people still did not obey God s laws. Vv8 12, In spite of the all the sins committed by the Jews throughout history, God still loved them. Though He punished them by sending the enemy to capture and rule them, yet his unwavering love was always upon them. 18
Now God had allowed some of the people to return to Judah from their captivity. He had helped them to build the temple in Jerusalem again. He had even made the kings of Persia to be kind to them. Although God had been kind to his people once again, they still did not obey his laws. God had given to their ancestors the good country called Israel. God had been angry with the people who had lived in the country. These other people had done very wicked things, so God told the Jews to be separate from them. God told the Jews not to marry people from these other nations. But the Jews during Ezra s time did not obey God. They did the same things that their forefathers had done. Ezra knew that they had no proper excuse for their actions. Vv13 15, Ezra knew that God had punished those ancestors. They had not obeyed God, so many bad things happened to them. But Ezra also knew that God had still been kind to them. God had punished them less than their sins deserved. Ezra knew that the people had not only neglected God s law but were also fully immersed in sin. Again they were guilty. So, Ezra asked God to show his kindness, as he had done so many times before. The people deserved nothing from God apart from punishment and death. But God is good and full of love and mercy. He does not desire the death of His people. He wants them to turn to Him with a humble and sincere attitude. He wants them to trust Him. He wants to forgive. 19
And this is still the situation, even today. We deserve nothing from God. We have sinned and we cannot become right by our own efforts. But God sent Jesus, His son, to deliver us from our sin. And God will forgive us if we humbly confess our sins to him. We can only have a right relationship with God because of his great kindness. Daniel Chapter 9 Nehemiah Chapter 9 Ezra Chapter 9 One common thread runs through these chapters. All three prayed, God we have sinned!! Wept for the people of God!! Chapter 10 Vv1 11, This is the same as the previous chapter Ezra again tears his clothes, pulls his hair and prays in the temple. This time the people did not just stand and watch, but joined with him and wept aloud because they could see the sin they were in. One particular person, Shecaniah (did not marry a foreign wife), who also felt very sad about the sin of the people came and spoke to Ezra that there is still hope for the people of Israel. He spoke saying that if they put away their foreign wives, then God will forgive them. Also, the people will obey if the command was given by Ezra. Ezra agrees to this proposal. The people agree to send their foreign wives, yet Ezra is still sad. Ezra again goes alone and prays to God. Meanwhile, people called the Jews to come to Jerusalem for three days so that they can fulfil the promise they made to put away their foreign wives. People gathered in Jerusalem as per their leaders command. Ezra reminded the 20
people that they have disobeyed the law of God. They must repent and send the foreign wives away. Vv12 17, The people agreed with Ezra. They knew that they had sinned. They knew that they must obey Ezra s order. However, the people did not want to do this in a hurry. They would send their foreign wives away, but the arrangements would take time. So, the people made a recommendation to Ezra. They proposed that their leaders should judge each man with a foreign wife. Only a few men did not agree with this plan. Ezra agreed with the people s plan. And he chose the heads of the families who would judge the people. Ezra chose men who knew the people. They would be able to judge fairly. The heads of the families judged each man who had a foreign wife. They finished this task after three months. The Bible does not tell us what happened to these women afterwards. Probably they returned to their fathers families, as a widow might do. It is likely that the men also had to return the wedding gifts from the women s families. Perhaps the men also paid money to the women. Vv18 44, Ezra recorded the names of the men who had foreign wives. Some of them were priests and Levites. Some had responsibilities in the temple. Over 100 men had foreign wives yet serving God. Verse 18 mentions the descendants of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak. Jeshua was the chief priest when the first Jews returned from the exile (Ezra 3:2; 5:2). These men had not been good models for the people. 21
Some of these men had divorced their Jewish wives before they married their foreign wives. The prophet Malachi spoke God s word about this time. He said that the people had made God very angry. The people had married foreign women and they had divorced their first wives (Malachi 2:10 16). This chapter shows that it is very important to remain loyal to God. The men who married foreign wives had not been loyal to God. These men cared more about the affairs of this world than they cared about their relationship with God. And their sin had become so serious that it affected their whole nation. That is why the Jews told these men to divorce their wives. It was an extraordinary decision in an unusual situation. The New Testament also teaches that Christians should not marry unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14). Sometimes it is necessary for Christians to be separate from other people. Sin is dangerous. And it is easy for one person to imitate another person s sin. However, the Bible also teaches that divorce is not a right thing (Malachi 2:16; Matthew 5:32). A Christian who is married to an unbeliever should not divorce that person. If the unbeliever is content to live with that Christian, they should continue to be husband and wife (1 Corinthians 7:12 17). The Christian should pray for the unbeliever and for their children that they too will trust in Christ. A Christian should always show real love to other people, especially to his or her own family. 22
Conclusion: What do we learn from the book of Ezra? 1. When God gives us a command to leave our place and take up the work of God in a new place, only few people do that wholeheartedly. What will you do? 2. God knows who is loyal to Him and who is not: are you loyal to Him? 3. A prophet could raise up people and do the work of God. Are you raising up people to go after the work of God? 4. Building a place for God to dwell in our hearts is very important, how about you? 5. Separating from people and living for God is proclaimed by Ezra; Jesus said if you don t leave your relations and take up the cross you cannot be my disciple. Are you disciple of Jesus Christ? 23