Ezra 1-3
Return to the Ruins
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Psalm 65:6-13 Rejoicing in the God of Power
being girded with might; 7 who stills the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples, 8 so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs.
You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.
9 You visit the earth and water it;
you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
you provide their grain,
for so you have prepared it. 10 You water its furrows abundantly,
settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
and blessing its growth. 11 You crown the year with your bounty;
your wagon tracks overflow with abundance. 12 The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
the hills gird themselves with joy, 13 the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
the valleys deck themselves with grain,
they shout and sing together for joy.
Application
The God whom the nations fear and earth praises, desires a personal and intimate relationship with you; there is nothing He can't do for those rightly related to Him; don't forget to ask.
Prayer
Lord, thanks that You invite me to come into Your presence and access Your infinite power; may I experience Your divine protection and provision as I trust You. Thanks again. Amen.
Proverbs 17:8-9 Prosperity and Friends
wherever he turns he prospers. 9 Whoever covers an offense seeks love,
but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.
Application
We prosper in our relationships by being other-centered in word and deed.
Prayer
God, help me think of the needs and interests of others so I may benefit them, and influence them for You. Amen.
Ezra 1-3 Return to the Ruins
Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther are the last Historical books of the Old Testament, describing the return from Exile and rebuilding of the temple and nation. Historically, they are followed by about 400 years of “silence” until the New Testament opens. In the Bible, they are followed by the books of Poetry and Prophecy, which occurred in the timeframes before (ie, Isaiah and Jeremiah), during (ie, Ezekiel and Daniel), and after (ie, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi), the exile.
The book of Ezra was written to encourage the returning exiles to persevere in the pure worship of Yahweh. Chapters 9-10 are considered the central highlight of the book (see under Digging Deeper), when the people separate themselves from the sin what would lead them astray again. The chapters in this post describe the first of three returns from Babylon to Israel, in which Zerubbabel rebuilds the rubble of the temple. In the next return, Ezra will rebuild the people. In the third return, Nehemiah will rebuild the wall.
Ezra 1 Return to the Ruins
The Proclamation of Cyrus
1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: 2 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem. 4 And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.”The Exiles Plan Their Return
5 Then rose up the heads of the fathers' houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the LORD that is in Jerusalem. 6 And all who were about them aided them with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, with beasts, and with costly wares, besides all that was freely offered.Cyrus Restores the Holy Vessels
7 Cyrus the king also brought out the vessels of the house of the LORD that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the house of his gods. 8 Cyrus king of Persia brought these out in the charge of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. 9 And this was the number of them: 30 basins of gold, 1,000 basins of silver, 29 censers, 10 30 bowls of gold, 410 bowls of silver, and 1,000 other vessels; 11 all the vessels of gold and of silver were 5,400. All these did Sheshbazzar bring up, when the exiles were brought up from Babylonia to Jerusalem.Application
God's Spirit works to cause the willingness/desire and the doing of His good pleasure. All we have to do is respond in obedience.
Philippians 2:12 "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure."
Prayer
God, may I be sensitive to Your Spirit, to drop whatever I'm doing, to do Your pleasure, for that is why I exist. Amen.
Ezra 2 Zerubbabel Rebuilds the Rubble of the Temple
The List of Returning Exiles
1 Now these were the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of those exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried captive to Babylonia. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town. 2 They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah.The number of the men of the people of Israel: 3 the sons of Parosh, 2,172. 4 The sons of Shephatiah, 372. 5 The sons of Arah, 775. 6 The sons of Pahath-moab, namely the sons of Jeshua and Joab, 2,812. 7 The sons of Elam, 1,254. 8 The sons of Zattu, 945. 9 The sons of Zaccai, 760. 10 The sons of Bani, 642. 11 The sons of Bebai, 623. 12 The sons of Azgad, 1,222. 13 The sons of Adonikam, 666. 14 The sons of Bigvai, 2,056. 15 The sons of Adin, 454. 16 The sons of Ater, namely of Hezekiah, 98. 17 The sons of Bezai, 323. 18 The sons of Jorah, 112. 19 The sons of Hashum, 223. 20 The sons of Gibbar, 95. 21 The sons of Bethlehem, 123. 22 The men of Netophah, 56. 23 The men of Anathoth, 128. 24 The sons of Azmaveth, 42. 25 The sons of Kiriath-arim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, 743. 26 The sons of Ramah and Geba, 621. 27 The men of Michmas, 122. 28 The men of Bethel and Ai, 223. 29 The sons of Nebo, 52. 30 The sons of Magbish, 156. 31 The sons of the other Elam, 1,254. 32 The sons of Harim, 320. 33 The sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, 725. 34 The sons of Jericho, 345. 35 The sons of Senaah, 3,630.
The Priests
36 The priests: the sons of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, 973. 37 The sons of Immer, 1,052. 38 The sons of Pashhur, 1,247. 39 The sons of Harim, 1,017.The Levites, Singers, Gatekeepers
40 The Levites: the sons of Jeshua and Kadmiel, of the sons of Hodaviah, 74. 41 The singers: the sons of Asaph, 128. 42 The sons of the gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, and the sons of Shobai, in all 139.The Temple Servants
43 The temple servants: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth, 44 the sons of Keros, the sons of Siaha, the sons of Padon, 45 the sons of Lebanah, the sons of Hagabah, the sons of Akkub, 46 the sons of Hagab, the sons of Shamlai, the sons of Hanan, 47 the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, the sons of Reaiah, 48 the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda, the sons of Gazzam, 49 the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, the sons of Besai, 50 the sons of Asnah, the sons of Meunim, the sons of Nephisim, 51 the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur, 52 the sons of Bazluth, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha, 53 the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Temah, 54 the sons of Neziah, and the sons of Hatipha.Descendants of Solomon's Servants
55 The sons of Solomon's servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Hassophereth, the sons of Peruda, 56 the sons of Jaalah, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel, 57 the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth-hazzebaim, and the sons of Ami. 58 All the temple servants and the sons of Solomon's servants were 392. 59 The following were those who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer, though they could not prove their fathers' houses or their descent, whether they belonged to Israel: 60 the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, and the sons of Nekoda, 652.Priests Removed
61 Also, of the sons of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, and the sons of Barzillai (who had taken a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by their name). 62 These sought their registration among those enrolled in the genealogies, but they were not found there, and so they were excluded from the priesthood as unclean. 63 The governor told them that they were not to partake of the most holy food, until there should be a priest to consult Urim and Thummim.The Full Number and Possessions
64 The whole assembly together was 42,360, 65 besides their male and female servants, of whom there were 7,337, and they had 200 male and female singers. 66 Their horses were 736, their mules were 245, 67 their camels were 435, and their donkeys were 6,720.The Exiles' Offerings
68 Some of the heads of families, when they came to the house of the LORD that is in Jerusalem, made freewill offerings for the house of God, to erect it on its site. 69 According to their ability they gave to the treasury of the work 61,000 darics of gold, 5,000 minas of silver, and 100 priests' garments. 70 Now the priests, the Levites, some of the people, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants lived in their towns, and all the rest of Israel in their towns.Ezra 3 Weeping and Joy
Altar and Sacrifices Restored
1 When the seventh month came, and the children of Israel were in the towns, the people gathered as one man to Jerusalem. 2 Then arose Jeshua the son of Jozadak, with his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel with his kinsmen, and they built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. 3 They set the altar in its place, for fear was on them because of the peoples of the lands, and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, burnt offerings morning and evening. 4 And they kept the Feast of Booths, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number according to the rule, as each day required, 5 and after that the regular burnt offerings, the offerings at the new moon and at all the appointed feasts of the LORD, and the offerings of everyone who made a freewill offering to the LORD. 6 From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD. But the foundation of the temple of the LORD was not yet laid. 7 So they gave money to the masons and the carpenters, and food, drink, and oil to the Sidonians and the Tyrians to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, according to the grant that they had from Cyrus king of Persia.Temple Restoration Begins
8 Now in the second year after their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak made a beginning, together with the rest of their kinsmen, the priests and the Levites and all who had come to Jerusalem from the captivity. They appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to supervise the work of the house of the LORD. 9 And Jeshua with his sons and his brothers, and Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together supervised the workmen in the house of God, along with the sons of Henadad and the Levites, their sons and brothers. 10 And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests in their vestments came forward with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the LORD, according to the directions of David king of Israel. 11 And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD,“For he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.”
And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. 12 But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers' houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted aloud for joy, 13 so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people's weeping, for the people shouted with a great shout, and the sound was heard far away.
Application
Sin has enduring consequences, among them, loss of glory and joy.
Prayer
God, help me see where I might be going off the path of blessing, so that I can quickly repent, and not lose out on the blessings You've planned. And where I've blown it, and am living in Plan B, give me grace to live it abundantly, for Your glory. Amen.
Digging Deeper
Ezra and Nehemiah were originally considered one book, as indicated by the following chiastic arrangement. (Merrill, The Old Testament Explorer)
A. Zerubbabel's return and list of returnees (Ezra 1-2)
B. Building of the temple and opposition (Ezra 3-6)
C. Return of Ezra (Ezra 7-8)
D. Center: Purification of the people (Ezra 9-10)
C.' Return of Nehemiah (Neh 1-2)
B.' Building of the walls and opposition (Neh 3:1-7:3)
A.' Zerubbabel's return and list of returnees; final reforms (Neh 7:4-13:31)
In the Scriptures, these books are arranged more topically (above) than chronologically. For a consideration of the chronological order, see Bullinger's Companion Bible, page 617 which places the dedication of the temple at the center of the material in the two books; and Appendix 58, which gives historical dates for the events in both books.
God in a nutshell: God is faithful to His promises, and will move pagan kings, and His people to accomplish His purposes. Those who cooperate with Him will be blessed, those who don't will suffer. God preserves and protects His people, even when they are not living in the center of His will, in order to fulfill His promises. He invites people to serve Him, and those who do will find both difficulties and resources to meet their needs. God provides both material and spiritual encouragement to those who are seeking to serve Him. Correct worship (response to revelation, not singing on key) is at the heart of restoring spiritual life.
Us in a nutshell: We are given an opportunity to serve God, as long as we do it His way, by the book. Failure to trust and obey has a cost, forfeiting the glory and blessings of Plan A. Plan B, God's second best, might not have all the glory of Plan A, but if we respond correctly to God, He can make it more fulfilling than any other path we could take.
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