Summary
A remnant returns from exile to rebuild the temple and recover the Word.
by Dr. David Silver2 min read
Read the Summaryby Dr. David Silver2 min read
Ezra-Nehemiah originally were one book, but they were separated when the Vulgate was written by Jerome in 400 A.D. The book of Ezra covers two waves of Jews returning to Jerusalem after the exile to Babylon. After the Persians conquer Babylon, King Cyrus (538 B.C.) issues a decree for the Jews to return to their homeland and rebuild the temple. This first wave is led by Zerubabbel, and after some resistance, the temple is finally finished in 516 B.C. His contemporaries are Haggai and Zechariah, whose prophecies contain some details of the temple being finished. Ezra chapters 1-6 cover this first wave.
The second wave occurs about seventy years later with Ezra arriving in Jerusalem in 458 B.C. This wave is described in chapters 7-10. Parts of Ezra are written in Aramaic (like Daniel), which was a language of Babylon. Ezra may have been the author as he writes in the first person starting in chapter 7.
Jeremiah had prophesied that the exile would last seventy years. Isaiah spoke about a king named Cyrus (two centuries before the fact) who would allow the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple (Isaiah 44: 28-45:1). Chapter 1 states the decree of Cyrus and counts the articles he gave back to the Jews to carry to Jerusalem.
In chapter 2, a list of clans with the number of descendants is recorded which returned to Jerusalem. There were about fifty thousand counting all the people, priests, and those serving at the temple. In chapter 3, Zerubbabel, the governor, and Jeshua, the high priest, began to rebuild the alter to make sacrifices. They began to rebuild the temple and the foundation was laid.
In chapter 4, resistance to building the temple ensued and a letter was written to the king of Persia to support the effort to thwart the building. The king agreed with their plan, and they compelled the Jews by force to stop the project. In chapters 5-6, Tattenai, the governor of Trans-Euphrates wrote a letter to King Darius, who researched the issue and commanded that the building of the temple be continued with support. The temple was completed; the Passover was celebrated.
Ezra returned to Jerusalem as a teacher well versed in the law of Moses. King Artaxerxes gave a letter of support to Ezra, supplying him with finances and religious freedom. When Ezra and his entourage arrived in Jerusalem, Ezra learned about the problem of intermarriage with surrounding peoples. Ezra prayed, wept, and confessed, interceding for the people. This sin contributed to the exile which occurred, so Ezra desired to cleanse the nation of this. Israel made a covenant to put away their foreign wives, and Ezra put them under oath. He mourned for Israel’s unfaithfulness (Ezra 10: 6). The book ends with a listing of those who married foreign women.
Structure
Chapters 1–2
Cyrus sends the exiles home with the temple articles; about fifty thousand return under Zerubbabel.
Chapters 3–6
The altar and foundation are laid, opposition stops the work, Haggai and Zechariah stir it up again, and the temple is finished in 516 BC.
Chapters 7–8
Seventy years later a scribe devoted to the law of Moses arrives with the king’s backing and a second company of exiles.
Chapters 9–10
Ezra learns of intermarriage with the surrounding peoples, prays and confesses on the nation’s behalf, and the people covenant to put the matter right.
Key Themes
01
Pagan kings issue decrees, and it is God who has stirred their hearts.
02
Ezra sets his heart to study the law, to do it, and to teach it.
03
Good work attracts resistance, and the work stalls before it resumes.
04
Ezra confesses sin he did not personally commit, as one of the people.
05
Jeremiah’s seventy years and Isaiah’s naming of Cyrus both come true.
The Challenge We Face
A remnant comes home and an altar goes up before anything else, because a people who have been under judgment need a place of sacrifice first.
Ezra’s own pattern — study the word, live it, then teach it — describes the one who taught as having authority. And the return from exile is only ever partial here; the full homecoming waits for the one who ends the exile sin causes.
Apply Scripture
God moves people and governments who do not know Him to accomplish His purposes.
Study Scripture to do it, not only to know it.
Opposition stalling a good work is not the end of it.
Confession can be made on behalf of a community you belong to.
God keeps His word on His own timetable, down to the detail.
Study guides
You've seen the big picture. Now explore the book verse by verse with our practical Bible Study Guide.
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