Outline
Introduction
- Authorship of Ezra
- Date of the writing
- Nature of the book
- Purpose of the book
I. The return under Zerubbabel (1:1-2:70)
- The decree of Cyrus (1:1-4)
- The response to the decree (1:5-11)
- A list of the people returning (2:1-70)
II. Building Enterprises (3:1-6:22)
- The altar of burnt offering erected (3:1-3)
- Offerings renewed and Feast of Tabernacles observed (3:4-7)
- Work on the temple (3:8-23)
- Hindrance from adversaries (4:1-5)
- Letter to Artaxerxes which brought the work to a stop (4:6-24)
- Haggai and Zechariah encourage the work to resume, and approval is obtained from Darius (5:1-6:12)
- The temple finished and dedicated (6:13-22)
III. The return of the second group (7:1-10:44)
- The decree of Artaxerxes and Ezra’s expedition (7:1-28)
- A list of those going with Ezra (8:1-14)
- Events at the river Ahava (8:15-36)
- Ezra mourns upon learning of intermarriages with foreigners (9:1-4)
- Ezra’s prayer (9:5-15)
- The Reformation (10:1-44)
Conclusion
- The mercy of God is seen in the return of the people.
- We also witness God’s faithfulness to His promises.
- God’s purpose for His people is carried a step farther.
- We also see the power of God’s word in human lives.
Introduction
Authorship: Jewish tradition has it that Ezra wrote Ezra and Nehemiah and then the two books of Chronicles. The style of the writing certainly points to the same author, and since much of the book of Ezra is in the first person singular, there is good reason to believe that Ezra wrote the entire book. In chapter 8 he speaks of those who went up with me from Babylon. The principal objection to Ezra’s authorship arises from the change from the first person to the third person in 10:1. But in as much as other documents of the times mingle the first and third persons, even the prophets at times doing it, this is insufficient reason upon which to base a denial of Ezra’s authorship. Ezra was a priest and a scribe who “set his heart to study the law of God, and to do it, and to teach it”. He was the great grandson of Hilkiah, the priest who had assisted in Josiah’s Reformation 160 years before. He went up from Babylon to Jerusalem in 457 BC. Tradition says he was the originator of the synagogue and the president of the Great Synagogue, which is supposed to have compiled the Old Testament canon.
Date: Various dates have been suggested for the writing of the book. It must have been a time near the close of Old Testament history. The date of 400 BC cannot be far from wrong.
Nature of the book: It is historical in nature. However, it contains compilations of genealogical lists, letters and edicts, memoirs and chronicles. That which is begun in Chronicles is continued in both Ezra and Nehemiah. The principal subjects treated are the return from captivity, the rebuilding of the temple, and the inauguration of religious and social reforms.
Purpose of the book: It shows that God fulfilled His promise to restore His exiled people to their land. It shows how God did this through the instrumentality of the great heathen monarch and through chosen men from among the people as: Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Ezra, etc. The material furnished in this book is invaluable to our knowledge of the post-exilic period. The Jews were restored to their land that they might bring forth the Christ.
Discussion
The Return under Zerubbabel
The beginning point of the book of Ezra is the decree of Cyrus, king of Persia. He made a decree in fulfillment of a prophecy of Jeremiah. Jeremiah had prophesied that the Babylonian captivity should terminate at the end of 70 years (25:12; 29:10). This decree of Cyrus liberates the Jews and gives them permission and encouragement to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple of the Lord. It is noteworthy that while everyone was at liberty to return, no one was forced to return. Those who did not go were commanded to assist those who went. The response to the decree of Cyrus is seen in these words: “Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priest, and the Levites, with all them whose spirit God had raised, to go up to build the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem”. These were greatly encouraged by those who strengthened their hands in free will offerings. Vessels of silver and gold, precious things, and beasts are mentioned as being freely contributed for their assistance. Cyrus also volunteered to restore the sacred vessels for the temple. It will be remembered that these had been taken from Solomon’s temple by Nebuchadnezzar.
A list and the number of those returning under Zerubbabel, along with an enumeration of various items of property, is given in chapter two of Ezra. The first contingent, about 50,000 in all, returned in 536 BC. Jeshua the priest and Zerubbabel the governor were their leaders. The people, upon arriving in their land, went to those cities which belonged originally to their respective families.
Building Enterprises
In the seventh month the people assembled in Jerusalem, and the altar of burnt offerings was erected, “as it is written in the law of Moses”. After that the various offerings were renewed, and the Feast of Tabernacles was again observed.
In the second month of the second year of the return, work was begun on the temple. This work was accompanied with praise and thanksgiving, but many of those wept who had known the previous temple. “So that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people; for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard a far off” (3:13). The people of the land, adversaries of Judah and Benjamin, upon hearing of the building of the temple, came to Zerubbabel and the other leaders and asked that they be permitted to help in the work. They said, “For we seek our God as you do”. However, this offer was rejected by the leaders who said, “You have nothing to do with us to build a house unto our God”.
Upon the rejection of their offer to help in the building, the people of the land became violent oppossers. They gave considerable trouble to the people of Judah, hiring counselors against them to frustrate their purpose, and this was done all the days of Cyrus until the reign of Darius, causing a suspension of the work. After a long delay, the work was resumed. Haggai and Zechariah, the prophets, prophesied in Judah and Jerusalem and with their help Zerubbabel and Jeshua rose up and began again to build the house of the Lord. A governor of certain Persian provinces with certain of his cohorts made inquiries concerning the men engaged in the building activities. Then they wrote a letter to Darius the king telling him of the activities and of the allegations which they had heard concerning the decree of Cyrus. Then they suggested to Darius that a search be made in the king’s treasure house in Babylon to see if Cyrus had in reality made such a decree as the Jews alleged. A search was made in Babylon, and the decree was found. Then Darius made a decree to the effect that no interference was to be made with the building of the temple in Jerusalem.
Furthermore, he ordered expenses to be given to the Jews from the king’s tribute beyond the river, and that animals, wheat, salt, wine, and oil be provided for them for their sacrifices.
In the sixth year of the reign of Darius the temple was finished. There followed the dedication of the temple, and the people rejoiced with a great joy. The Passover was observed on the 14th day of the first month, and then The Feast of Unleavened Bread was kept with seven days of rejoicing.
The Return of the Second Group
Another Persian king, Artaxerxes, was very friendly toward the Jews. The book skips over many years in order to come to the events connected with Ezra in the reign of this king. Ezra had carefully prepared himself to teach, and being authorized by Artaxerxes, he came to Jerusalem after a journey of about four months. His company consisted of about 1,754 males. Again, no one was forced either to go or to stay. The king and his counselors had already made a contribution to the temple, and Ezra is now empowered to receive any contribution which any of the inhabitants of the province of Babylon may think proper to give. Ezra gives the praise to God, stating that God had put it into the heart of the king to beautify the house of Jehovah.
We find in chapter eight the genealogy of those who went with Ezra to Jerusalem. To the care of the priests Ezra delivered gold, silver, and sacred vessels that they might deliver them to the high priest in Jerusalem. The vessels were weighed, and the weight was recorded. Then they offered burnt offerings to God and delivered the king’s order to the lieutenants by whom they were encouraged in the work.
Then the princes came to Ezra telling him of conditions in the land. Ezra mourned when he heard of the sinful state of affairs. The people had intermarried with the inhabitants of the land. Ezra goes to God in a wonderful prayer of confession and intercession, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God. The people wept, being greatly affected by Ezra’s prayer.
An assembly of the people was called, and Ezra stood before them and told them of their sins. Here is what he told them to do: “Now therefore make confession unto the Lord God of your fathers and do His pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people of the land and from the strange wives” (10:11). The people consented and promised to do what he asked. The record tells us that some of the sons of the priests had taken strange wives, and they also joined in the reformation. They promised to put away these strange wives and offered a trespass offering.
Conclusion
Against the background of the Exile, which depicted the wrath of God, we now see the mercy of God as He brings the people again into the land of their fathers. He had promised that the people would return, and the events of this book testify once more to the faithfulness of God. He has a purpose for this people, and the return of their land and the re-establishment of their worship were essential to this great purpose. God is to give Christ to the world through this people in this land. We also see wonderful testimony to the power of the Word of God in the book of Ezra. Ezra had carefully prepared himself to teach that Word, and when it was taught, there followed a great reformation in the lives of the people.
Questions for Class Discussion
- Who is the author of the book of Ezra, and about when did he write the book?
- Was the book written after the events occurred?
- About when did Old Testament history close?
- Suggest some possible ways in which God may have stirred up the heart of Cyrus.
- Name some use that had been made of the sacred vessels while they were being kept in Babylon.
- Who led the first expedition back to Jerusalem, and about how many went with him?
- Where did the people dwell when they arrived back in their land?
- What was the first thing rebuilt in Jerusalem?
- Why was there weeping in connection with the building of the temple?
- Why do you think the Israelites rejected the offer of their adversaries to help in the work?
- Why did the work of rebuilding the temple cease for a long time?
- What prophets prophesied and assisted in the work when it was resumed?
- Was Darius able to find a record of the decree which Cyrus had earlier made? What resulted from this?
- Was the temple finished?
- What seems to have been Ezra’s main purpose in going to Jerusalem?
- What three things did Ezra prepare his heart to do?
- Can it be shown that it was wrong for the Israelites to marry people of the lands? If so, how?
- Tell about the reformation that followed Ezra’s prayer.