Ezra & Nehemiah

Timeline:
586 Temple Destroyed – People Exiled to Babylon
539 Beginning of Persian Rule (Defeating the Babylonians)
538 First Exiles Return to Palestine (Jerusalem & surrounding areas)
Temple and Jerusalem rebuilding begun
520 Rebuilding began again
515 Temple Completed

458 Ezra leads 2nd return of Exiles
445 Nehemiah leads 3rd return of Exiles
445 Walls of Jerusalem rebuilt (although the support of them took another 2 ½ years.)
(Some place this date at 440)

A Challenge for Israel: to discover their new identity as a people in their land ruled by outsiders.

Ezra – 440 BC
Mission: Faith Restoration and Return to Jewish Practice and Obedience to the Law

1-2 Exiles Return (538 BC)
3-6 Temple Rebuilt (515 BC)
7-8 Ezra’s Return (458 BC)
9-10 Ezra’s Ministry (457 BC)

Themes:
God’s Sovereignty - Ezra 6:19-22
How is God’s work shown to Israel and their neighbors in this?

Restoration of the Jewish Faith – Ezra 7:23-26
Why is this task so critical? Why was it necessary?
What did it entail?
Teaching the Law, Obedience, & creating a system of accountability
How did it work out for Israel?
Mass divorces for intermarried persons.
Why was this necessary?

Ezra is recognized as one of the most important characters in Israel’s history, almost a 2nd Moses. It was Ezra’s work that helped develop a renewed faith for Israel (Jews) that would lead them for the next many centuries (up through the end of the first Century AD).


Nehemiah – 430 BC
Mission: Community Restoration & Identity Restored

1-7:3 Rebuilding the Walls of Jerusalem
7:4-10:39 Changes under Ezra
11-12 Jerusalem Repopulated and Walls Dedicated
13 Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem

Themes:
Renewal of faith & Restoration of Community– Nehemiah 8-13
What would the mood of the people been? (Before, during, after)
What would the reform accomplish?
What would the restored walls accomplish?

Prayer – Nehemiah 1:4, 2:4, 4:4, 5:19, 6:9, 14, 13:14, 22, 29, 31
Nehemiah was a man of prayer. What can we learn from him?
What can we gain from prayer?

Resolve through opposition – Nehemiah 2:19-20; 4:1-15; 5:1-19; 61-14
Nehemiah’s strength and resolve was evident in this whole story.
-Pleading with the King of Persia
-Encouraging to work with one hand and defend with the other

Nehemiah knew that wall building was a community builder, binder. He was appointed by the king not only to go a rebuild a wall, but was called to rebuild an identity within Palestine. He was also given official rule over this newly separated province of “Abar-nahara” or Samaria. It created some conflict, but it also was a political move for Persia, as it created another buffer between it and the kingdoms of Africa (Egypt and Ethiopia). It was simply another miracle work of God to re-establish this people not only in this promised land, but also this faith covenant established so many generations ago. God hadn’t abandoned them, rather was working behind the scenes for their restoration.

It’s something God continues to do with us, too.