Introduction
The Assyrians were the great world power that destroyed the 10 tribes of Israel (734-722 BC). Before they could expand further, the Babylonian Empire (with the Medes) defeated the Assyrians (612-609 BC). Unfortunately for the tribe of Judah, the Babylonians had their eyes on their land.
Decades earlier, while the Jewish king Hezekiah ruled (715-687 BC), he had been a very good king and was faithful to the Lord, but he made a foolish mistake in showing a visiting embassy from Babylon everything they had in the treasuries and the armory.
The Prophet Isaiah recognized the foolishness and prophesied (Isaiah 39:1-7) that the time was coming when everything would be taken and carried off to Babylon.
When Babylon defeated Egypt and the remnants of Assyria in the Battle of Carchemish (605 BC) there was nothing to stop them from invading Judah. Over the next 20 years, Judah would begin to fall to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon with the final defeat of Jerusalem in 586 BC. The Jews were sent into exile to Babylon.
- 606-597 B.C. – Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon
- 586 B.C. – Jerusalem falls, large exile of Jews to Babylon
- 539 – Babylon conquered by the Persians
- 537 – Cyrus (Persian King ) decree of Jewish Return
- Cambyses (530-522) (Persian King)
- Darius I (522-486) (Persian King)
- Xeres I (485-465) (Persian King)
- Artaxerxes I (465-424) (Persian King )
Ezra Returns (457)
Nehemiah Returns (445)
Other chapters and books to read about the Exile period.
- Jeremiah 25 (Prophesy of 70 years in Babylon)
- Daniel Chapter 1 (Babylonians’ defeat of Jerusalem, the deportation of Daniel, and mention of King Cyrus)
Chapter 1
- Decree of Cyrus
- Judah and Benjamin
- Some Treasures Returned
When the Persians defeated the Babylonians, King Cyrus of Persia let the Jews return to Jerusalem after 70 years in Exile. This proclamation is consistent with the Cyrus Cylinder, discovered in the ruins of Babylon in 1879.
The 2 tribes returning were Judah and Benjamin. The other 10 tribes of Israel were defeated by the Assyrians approximately 200 years earlier and exiled to other lands.
Cyrus restored to the Jews, the vessels that Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had taken from them. Even their neighbors helped in any way they could in donating silver, gold, food, and livestock.
- From this point forward they are often referred to as the Jews as they were mostly from the tribe of Judah but also included the remnant of Benjamin.
Chapter 2
- Record of Return
- Protection from False Priests
- Offerings to Rebuild the Temple
As with other historical books of the Bible, the writer is careful and in recording the names of families that were returning.
This had significance in helping to preserve the faith from false teachers as the priests had to prove their ancestry to be allowed to practice. Some could not and were excluded until the high priest could decide otherwise (Verse 61-63). There is no record of a reversal of the decision.
When the people returned to Jerusalem, several heads of ancestral households made voluntary offerings to rebuild the Temple where Solomon had built the original. The people gave what they could to reestablish the Temple services.
The priests, Levites, and some of the people moved to live in Jerusalem while the rest moved to neighboring cities of Judea.
Chapter 3
- Building the Altar
- Foundations of the Temple
- Sorrow and Joy
Once the people had settled in their homes they met at Jerusalem to begin preparations for rebuilding the Temple. The high priest with his priests and governor with his men built the altar first so they could give an offering to the Lord.
- Jeshua, son of Jozadek, was the high priest
- Zerubbabel was the governor.
The people offered to God from their livelihood; mostly animals, grain, and food so that they would not suffer Pride in thinking it all came by their own doing, to build a bond of trust with the Lord.
They began hiring people to do work on the Temple; people from Tyre and Sidon, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon just as Solomon had done. They appointed priests to look over the work as it was a holy site.
They followed rituals and prayers of praise to the Lord as laid down by King David, almost 500 years earlier, using the psalms and other prayers.
Some, who had seen the prior Temple cried in sorrow. Why? It doesn’t say. Perhaps the original one was more beautiful and ornate. Perhaps it brought back memories of the horror of seeing the original destroyed.
Many others were joyful at the opportunity of having a Temple again. It was a momentous occasion.
Chapter 4
- Opposition
- Complaints to the King of Persia
- Work on the Walls was stopped
Once the enemies of Judah and Benjamin saw serious construction taking place they wanted to infiltrate the work so they could follow what was happening and devise plans to undermine it.
Zerubbabel and Jeshua were wise enough not to allow it to happen. Showing everything to outsiders was the foolish mistake that Hezekiah made in showing the Babylonians everything and the Babylonians came back to take it all. Zerubbabel denies them by saying King Cyrus only gave the Jews permission to do the work.
Those opposed to the rebuilding (neighboring powers) resorted to trying to scare the Jews and bribing officials to frustrate their plans.
The opposition even resorted to writing to the King of Persia, accusing the Jews of conspiring against the King, saying that once the city and walls were completed, the Jews would no longer pay taxes or tributes. They told the King to look at past records to see the rebellious nature of the Israelites and why their city was destroyed.
The King of Persia listened to the opposition and the work on the Temple was stopped by force of arms. This can explain why Nehemiah was later upset and re-started the work on the walls.
Chapter 5
- Opposition Again to Stop the Temple
- Appeal to Look for the Decree of Cyrus
With the support of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, Zerubbabel and Jeshua continued work on the Temple.
The opposition questioned them and tried to stop the work. They took down all the names of the Jews and attempted to pursue the matter in the same way as before to complain to the King of Persia to stop them.
But the Lord was with the Jews and gave them the wisdom to respond without having to stop the work. They requested King Darius of Persia to look into the archives, back to when King Cyrus made the decree which allowed the Jews to rebuild the Temple. Furthermore, the Temple treasures and vessels which had been taken by Nebuchadnezzar were returned. The decree from Cyrus indicated the Babylonians (the enemies of the Persians) were the ones who caused the problems, not the Jews.
Chapter 6
- Search for Cyrus’ Decree
- Darius supports the Jews
- Temple Completed
King Darius of the Persians looked into the archives and found the decree of Cyrus. It contained details supporting the appeal from the Jews, that Cyrus was in favor of the rebuilding of their Temple and gave them back the items that were taken from the Babylonians.
The Jews were exonerated and allowed to continue work on the Temple. Those who opposed them, like Tattenai the governor West-of-Euphrates and Shethar-bozenai, were ordered to stay away from the work.
Furthermore, the Jews were to be compensated for their expenses from this incident with taxes collected from Tattenai’s region and whatever else was needed for the daily priestly requirements.
An even stricter blow to the enemies of the Jews, the King of Persia supported the Jewish worship of their own God and to overthrow any that opposed. The penalty for going against this new decree was death.
The Jews finished the Temple with the support of the prophets, the decrees, the Persian Kings, and the people.
There was a great celebration for the dedication of this 2nd Temple. As with the dedication of the 1st Temple of Solomon, there were sacrificial offerings of bulls, rams, lambs, and goats. The priests and Levites were set up according to the law in the book of Moses.
That year, the returning exiles were able to keep the Passover meal in their native land of Israel, giving thanks to the Lord!
Chapter 7
- Ezra Returns to Jerusalem
- Decree of Artaxerxes
Some Decades later, during the reign of Artaxerxes, Ezra, the priest-scribe, who was trained in the laws of Moses, and in the line of Aaron the high priest, returned from Babylon. Other Israelites, priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants returned as well.
It took Ezra 4 months to reach Jerusalem. Once there he set to studying the law of the Lord and the teaching of others.
King Artaxerxes of Persia gave Ezra a letter supporting any Israelite who wished to return to their homeland in Jerusalem. Ezra was entrusted by the king to look over Judah and Jerusalem in regard to the law of their God.
The king also allocated money from Babylon and voluntary donations to be used for the service of the house of God in Jerusalem, for the required sacrifices and to the Lord, even from all the treasuries West-of-Euphrates, as Ezra requested. The house of God will be free from taxes and tributes.
The king gave Ezra permission to appoint magistrates and judges, to teach and follow the laws of the Lord with justice, with a warning against those who would not.
The narrative turns to Ezra recollecting the journey to Jerusalem.
Chapter 8
- Those returning with Ezra
- Consecration and Journey
From the perspective of Ezra, he writes those who came with him. This adds to the historical accuracy of the text, giving proof of names.
As they were assembling to leave for the journey to Judah, no Levites were there so Ezra sent word to find some. Before their journey, Ezra had them fast and say a prayer to the Lord for protection.
Ezra consecrated 12 priestly leaders and divided the holy vessels, gold, and silver among them for the journey.
They were protected on the way. After arriving at Jerusalem, and resting for 3 days, they recounted all the consecrated vessels and offered sacrifices to the Lord.
The orders of the king of Persia were shown to the governors West-of-Euphrates so that all gave their support to the new arrivals and to the house of God.
Chapter 9
- Ezra Assess the Spiritual Situation
- Intermarrying false god worshippers
- Prayer of Repentance
Once the new people had arrived, Ezra began to assess the spiritual situation. The people were not following the laws of Moses. They were marrying people from all the surrounding lands who worshipped other false gods. This problem had occurred over and over before in Israel’s history. They would repeatedly break the first commandment by following people of other lands, to the worship of false gods.
When Ezra heard this, He tore his cloak in mourning, knowing they were already in sin. Those around him were scared of what the Lord would do because of their sin.
Ezra turned to the Lord in wretchedness and humility, recognizing the guilt the people had piled upon themselves, all the punishments they deserved, their disgrace.
Only a short time ago God had shown them mercy by saving them from slavery and allowing the people to return to the holy land. They had responded by not following the commandments or the laws. The land He would make clean they were making unclean by their abominations.
Ezra called for the people to return to the law, not to marry those of other nations who worshipped false gods. Would the people listen to God or anger God so much that there would be no remnant left?
Chapter 10
- The People Repent
- Covenant with God
When the people saw Ezra mourning and weeping for their guilt, they started to gather around him and also weep.
Shecaniah acknowledged that they had betrayed God. He then said there was hope if the people would enter into a Covenant with the Lord and dismiss all the wives who were attached to the lands of the false gods. And to follow the commandments and law of the Lord. The people, the priests, and the Levites swore an oath to this and returned to the laws of the Israelites.
All the Jews were required to gather together in Jerusalem. Ezra asked if they would give up their false ways against the Lord and return back to Him. They replied yes it was their duty.
The reversal of these false marriages was not undone in a day. Leaders from each city were assigned appointed times to bring the people involved until the last had turned away.
A list was taken of those who had transgressed the law in taking on the false wives.
Summary
Ezra returned to Jerusalem decades after the exiles had started to return to Judea. Instead of finding people of strong faith who had learned from past mistakes, he found people who had returned to the sins of their forefathers. They were being led astray to false gods by marrying women of people who believed in false gods.
Ezra, who was well versed in the law of Moses began to bring the Jews back into compliance with the law and the commandments. For now, their faith was not strong enough to endure other beliefs.
The Exile in Babylon was over. Rebuilding the Temple and the walls of Jerusalem would take decades. Ezra focused on the spiritual rebuilding of the people.
for more details about Ezra, see Nehemiah Chapters 8-13
For More Books of the Bible: Click Here
Gift Ideas: Crosses – Visit Our Online Store
Would You Like to Read a Quiet Psalm? – Click Here