Introduction

This morning we are going to begin a new series through the Book of Ezra. I am excited about this series precisely because most people don’t get excited about Ezra. I say this because of all the Historical Books, Ezra gets the least attention.

We all know the stories of Israel’s major leaders like Abraham, Moses, Joshua, and David. We love the stories of Ruth, Esther, Job, and Daniel. And most Christians at least know that Nehemiah built a wall. But I doubt that most Christians know the story of Ezra.

Yet Ezra tells an essential piece of the biblical story that connects the OT to Christ. Ezra’s story is very important for pulling together a lot of seemingly stray threads within the OT and for providing context to the NT. And it tells a practical story about a humble group of people who faced difficult odds and hostile opposition. But they persevered in obedience, and God was faithful. We’ll see that their struggle has many similarities to our own, and there is much we can learn from their example.

With that said, this morning, I want to give a broad flyover of Ezra because one reason why people get frustrated with Ezra and ignore it is because they don’t understand where it fits in the biblical story. But with a little context, it’s fairly easy to follow. And we’ll conclude by reflecting on the major themes of Ezra and by considering how they should encourage and challenge us. But before we get to all of that, I first want to rehearse a couple important principles that we need to keep in mind whenever we study biblical stories.

I.  Reminders about OT Narrative

I would imagine that most of us love the biblical stories. They are among the greatest stories ever told, and they teach some powerful lessons.

But we sometimes struggle to apply them. Afterall, most stories never say “The moral of the story is…” Therefore, we need a good strategy for recognizing what God is trying to say. Therefore, it is important that we…

Look at the pieces in light of the big picture. So often when we read stories, we immediately get caught up in details. We want to know about every town or city. We want to know why a character did this instead of that. And our application, focuses exclusively on what actions we should imitate or reject.

For example, Esther 1 tells a fascinating story of how Queen Vashti lost her throne. It’s filled with greed, drunkenness, lust, and pride. And it does serve as a sober warning about the consequences of these sins. But if that’s all we see, we have missed the forest for the trees. In particular, we will miss God’s providential hand in the story.

So, whenever you study a narrative, you must stay focused on the big picture. Who was this story written for? What is God trying to tell them? What is the theme of the book as a whole and how does this story contribute to that theme? Otherwise, you will often miss the primary point. Second…

Look at the big picture in light of God’s eternal purpose. The story of the Bible is not ultimately about us. It is about God’s pursuit of his own glory. Specifically, “Through Him (Christ) (God is seeking) to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven” (Col 1:20).

God is working to undo the effects of sin. He is building a kingdom of glorified saints who will live in a perfect creation and enjoy his presence for all eternity. And Jesus and his work on the cross are at the center of this story.

We must see every part of the biblical story in light of this purpose. From Genesis 12 through Malachi 4, Israel takes center stage in God’s program as he promises to bless the nations by raising up Messiah from them.

This is important to remember when we study Ezra because when the story begins the Jews have no king, no land, and no temple. It’s kind of hard to raise up Messiah or to fulfill God’s promises about a kingdom when you are scattered throughout Babylon.

So, Ezra is not just about political strategies and building projects. No Israel’s enemies were assaulting God, the redemption he promised through Christ, and our eternal hope. We must remember these primary concerns as we study the book; otherwise, we will miss God’s hand of grace in the story. With that said, let’s jump into Ezra. I’d like to begin by reviewing the historical background because most people’s confusion about Ezra results from confusion over the OT timeline.

II.  Historical Background

Brice designed this timeline for me a couple years ago, and it provides important context for Ezra.

Destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. No event is more foundational to Ezra than the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Yes, Babylon invaded Jerusalem 3xs, but by the last invasion was the most devastating.

Nebuchadnezzar burned the city and destroyed its walls, every major structure, and most importantly, the temple. Then he took every remaining skilled citizen into captivity, and he only left the poorest and least useful people to tend the land.

Yes, the prophets had repeatedly warned Israel that this was coming, but the captivity devastated the faithful remnant. Afterall, Israel’s hopes depended on the Davidic kings and the land of Israel. But now David’s heirs were in captivity, and they had lost their land. And Israel’s pride and glory was that God lived among them in the temple. But now they had no temple, no place to seek atonement, and no place to meet with God.

Psalm 137 expresses Israel’s sorrow (read). You can really feel the sorrow, confusion, and anger, can’t you? The destruction of Jerusalem was a terrible blow to the faithful remnant.

But Israel was not without hope. First, when Assyria destroyed the Northern Kingdom in 722 B.C., they settled thousands of pagan refugees in the land. That makes retaking the land very difficult. But the Babylonians basically left Judah empty except for a few Jews they left behind. So, if the people could just get back, they could have their land.

As well, Jeremiah had prophesied that after 70 years, God would restore Israel and judge Babylon for their sins against God’s people. “This whole land will be a desolation and a horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years. ‘Then it will be when seventy years are completed I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,’ declares the Lord, ‘for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it an everlasting desolation” (Jer 25:11–13). This prophecy meant so much to the exiles. It inspired Daniel, for example, to pray for a return in Daniel 9.

Exile: But in the meantime, the Jews had to adapt. And ancient records say that they adjusted quite well. Daniel and his friends thrived. And ancient records say that Jews became royal officials, bankers, businessmen, etc.

But they also did a remarkable job maintaining their national and religious identity. In fact, the region around Babylon remained an important center of Judaism well into the Christian era. But God didn’t want the Jews to get too comfortable, and he began to move toward fulfilling the prophecies of Jeremiah, Isaiah, and others with…

Fall of Babylon (539 B.C.) and Rise of Persia: Almost 200 years prior, God had said through Isaiah that someday he would use a king named Cyrus to deliver his people (Isa 44:24–45:7). Therefore, the Jews must have been extremely excited when the Medo-Persian army took Babylon, and Cyrus became king.

We’ll talk about it more next week, but Cyrus was a shrewd guy. All of a sudden, he is the head of a massive kingdom consisting mostly of people who were his subjects against their will. How can he inspire their loyalty without losing their tax dollars? His solution was to help exiles from many nations return home and rebuild their temples and sacred spaces.

In fact, archaeologists have recovered this quote from Cyrus, “I returned to these sacred cities…, the sanctuaries of which have been in ruins for a long time, the images which (used) to live therein and established for them permanent sanctuaries. I (also) gathered all their (former) inhabitants and returned (to them) their habitations.”

It was a shrewd political move, but ultimately it was the work of a sovereign God who always keeps his promises. Just as God promised, he made a way for Israel to return home.

However, as you can see, all the Jews did not immediately pack up and go home. Instead, Ezra and Nehemiah tell the story of 3 returns that took place over a span of almost 100 years. First, Ezra 1–7 tells the story of…

1^st Return and the Building of the Temple: We are going to talk in far greater detail about this return in the weeks to come. But for now, an important detail to remember is that Ezra was not even born when this return took place. He’s not going to appear in the story for another 80 years. No, Zerubbabel, who was in the Davidic line, led the first return and the reconstruction of the temple.

Again, this was a big deal after the devastating destruction of Jerusalem. But you can’t really appreciate the book of Ezra without appreciating the fact that the returnees stepped into a very difficult situation. For one, this map illustrates the fact that Israel’s territory was only a fragment of what it had once been. It was only 25 miles north to south and 32 miles east to west. San Bernardino County is roughly 25xs bigger than Judah’s territory!

As a result, the returnees didn’t have anywhere near the financial and military resources that Judah had once enjoyed. And Israel’s rivals were closer than they had ever been. On top of it all, the returnees had lived all their lives among pagans. They hadn’t mastered the Law, and they didn’t know how to be a holy nation.

So, while they succeeded in rebuilding the temple, they were a long way from the great and holy nation that the OT promised. But they limped along for about 40 years until…

2^nd Return under Ezra (458 B.C.): Ezra 8–10 record Ezra’s story. He was a descendant of the last high priest before the destruction of Jerusalem. That’s significant because his family probably remained prestigious throughout the exile, which enabled him to rally a return. It also meant he was trained as a scribe with a thorough knowledge of the Law.

So, he led a 2^nd return in 458 B.C., and he immediately went to work teaching the Law and calling Israel to obey it. And God used him to lay a spiritual foundation for Israel that continued into the NT period. Then just 13 years later Nehemiah records…

3^rd Return under Nehemiah (445 B.C.): While Ezra was a religious leader, Nehemiah was the king’s cupbearer. So, he had a political background. He was a bold, godly, and capable leader who inspired the people to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and to create more national structure.

Ezra was still around, and together these men paved the way for the national and religious identity of the nation we meet when we arrive in the NT. That’s the historical background. Now let’s turn to the Book of Ezra itself.

III.  Introduction to Ezra-Nehemiah

One Work: I’m saying it this way because even though our Bibles split Ezra and Nehemiah into two books, they were almost certainly originally a single book. The ancient Jewish sources all treat them as one book, and they are one book in our oldest Hebrew MSS. In fact, we don’t have any record of them being viewed as separate books until the church father Origen who wrote in the 3^rd century A.D.!

So, we should assume they were originally a single book. As such, we may continue into Nehemiah once we finish Ezra. We’ll see how things are going. Next, let’s talk about…

Authorship: Ezra-Nehemiah never states who wrote the book; however, the book includes several 1^st-person sections from both men that are mixed with 3^rd person accounts. For example, Ezra 7:1 talks about Ezra in the 3^rd person (read). But then notice the switch to 1^st person in 8:15. The back and forth continues in Nehemiah.

This back and forth has inspired a lot of debate about who produced the final version of the book. Many people have argued that the author is the same individual who wrote 1, 2 Chronicles, and some have argued that all these books were completed by Ezra himself.

This tradition goes back to the ancient Jewish Talmud. It makes a lot of sense because he was a well-educated scribe who cared about teaching the people.

But if Ezra was the final editor, it’s hard to see why he would talk about himself in the 3^rd Therefore, most conservative scholars believe that shortly after the ministries of Ezra and Nehemiah concluded, a close disciple of them used their personal memoirs along with other sources and compiled them into the book we hold.

Date (by 400 B.C.): And we should assume for the sake of accuracy that he finished the book relatively close to the events, probably by 400 B.C. So, even though Ezra-Nehemiah is located toward the middle of our OT, it’s actually one of the very last OT books to be completed, quite possibly the last. Again, it plays a very important role in setting the stage for the NT. Finally, I’d like to wrap up by pointing our attention to the major themes of Ezra. Going back to where we began today, this is very important if we are going to see the pieces in light of the big picture.

IV.  Major Themes

God’s Faithfulness to His Promise: If you want to really appreciating the significance of these books, imagine the scene in Daniel 9. As a teenager he was carried off into captivity, and Daniel had lived a very exciting and blessed life. But now he is an old man. Most likely the Persians had just defeated Babylon, but Cyrus has not yet made the decree of Ezra 1.

Daniel remembers the prophesy of Jeremiah’s 70 years, and he begins to pray and fast with sackcloth and ashes. He is desperately longing for God to bring his people home and keep his promises. This, even though, a return probably seemed like nothing but a pipe dream. Jerusalem was in ruins, and Israel didn’t have any political power.

But Proverbs 21:1 states, “The king’s heart is likechannels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes.” And Ezra tells us that God proved it. God moved Cyrus to write a decree and God set into motion a promise that I imagine seemed too good to be true to most Jews.

So, the entire story of Ezra is a testament to the faithfulness of God. He is never fickle. He always keeps his promises. Therefore, you absolutely can trust him to do everything he has promised for you. If you are in Christ, he will give grace for every trial, he will be enough for every temptation, he will hear every confession of sin and every plea for help. And most importantly, he will bring you to glory someday. You can trust God. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Praise God! A 2^nd closely related theme is…

Perseverance through Hardship: Something that really has stood out to me in my prep for this series is that everything about the story of Ezra is hard. Yes, God is fulfilling some incredible promises, but every turn in the book is filled with opposition, fear, and temptation. Have you ever gone through a period where everything seems hard, and you wish that God would let just one thing be easy? That’s how the characters in Ezra had to feel.

Yet they persevered through it all. They trusted the Lord, cried out to him for help, and they kept doing the right thing. It’s a reminder that the Christian life is a marathon, not a sprint. Most of the time it’s not romantic and exciting. Rather, it’s about putting one foot in front of the other even while everything in your body is screaming to stop and lay down.

If you are there right now, keep going. God is faithful. He will keep his promises, and he is worthy of our obedience. You can make it so persevere through hardship.

Worship: The first thing the returnees did when they arrived in Jerusalem was to clear a space in the temple rubble, set up an altar, and offer sacrifices. And the primary focus of Ezra 1–7 is the rebuilding of the temple. It didn’t come easy. It was a lot of work amidst a lot of opposition. But worship matters, so they persevered.

As we watch their efforts, it should remind us that there is no greater priority in life than to be near to God in worship. He deserves our praise, and the answers to our greatest needs are only available in his presence. Therefore, we must value every opportunity to worship the Lord, and we must prioritize worship both privately and publicly.

Holiness amidst Worldliness: One of the biggest adjustments Israel had to make during the captivity and continuing into the return is that they had to learn how to serve God under a pagan king surrounded by pagan people. They couldn’t lean on the spiritual insulation they had during the reigns of David, Hezekiah, and others.

This challenge plays a big role in Ezra as the returnees wrestle through their relationship to the pagan peoples around them. Will they partner with them, benefit from their help, and intermarry? Or will they invite hostility by remaining holy to the Lord?

Do we ever struggle with similar questions? Absolutely! We also live in an ungodly environment that is often hostile to holiness. It’s hard. The characters in this book had to make some hard choices, and it cost them at times. But God’s blessing was worth it, and he was faithful. So, I’m really looking forward to considering what we can learn from Ezra about how we should pursue holiness in our own ungodly context.

Conclusion

So, to sum it all up, I plan to call this series “Trust and Obey.” Ezra is a story about the faithfulness of God, and our struggle to trust his promises. So, I want to challenge you to keep trusting. God is always faithful, and his will is always God. You can trust everything he has said.

And the ultimate test of our trust is our obedience. How do I know if I really believe all the things I say about God and his Word? The answer is in how I obey his will. So, this week, keep your eyes on the Lord, and trust what he has said. And then do the right thing over and over even when it is hard believing that God is worth it and will be faithful every step.