The bible - The book of Ezra

1. The Bible - The Book of Ezra – 20th
January 2017
"…this Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a teacher well versed in the Law of Moses, which
the LORD, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted him everything he asked, for the
hand of the LORD his God was on him." (Ezra 7:6).
Ezra was an ancientJewish priestandscribe whowasone of the primaryleadersof Israel whenthey
returnedfromexile torebuild JerusalemandSolomon’sTemple.Hisstorybeginsaround480 BC, which
iswhere he appearsinthe Bible TimelineChart.
Ezra was a knowledgeableleaderof Jewishlaw,andhe wasalsoa descendantof the highpriest Aaron,
whowas the brotherof Moses.God hadblessed Ezraand waswithhim, so the kingof Persia(King
Artaxerxes)gave Ezrawhateverhe neededtomake the journeyandtorebuildthe temple.Ezrawasa
devoutservantof the Lord whomade it a pointto studyand doall thatthe Lord has commandedhim.
The Bookof Ezra doesnotspecificallyname itsauthor.The traditionisthatthe prophetEzrawrote the
Bookof Ezra. It isinterestingtonote thatonce Ezra appearsonthe scene inchapter7, the authorof the
Bookof Ezra switchesfromwritinginthe thirdpersontofirstperson.Thiswouldalsolendcredibilityto
Ezra beingthe author.The Bookof Ezra was likelywrittenbetween460 and440 B.C.
The Book of Ezra isdevotedtoeventsoccurringinthe landof Israel atthe time of the returnfrom the
Babyloniancaptivityandsubsequentyears,coveringaperiodof approximatelyone century,beginning
in538 B.C. The emphasisinEzrais on the rebuildingof the Temple.The bookcontainsextensive
genealogical records,principallyforthe purpose of establishingthe claimstothe priesthoodonthe part
of the descendantsof Aaron.
The book maybe dividedasfollows: Chapters1-6—The FirstReturnunderZerubbabel,andthe Building
of the SecondTemple. Chapters7-10—The Ministryof Ezra. Since well overhalf acenturyelapsed
betweenchapters6and 7, the characters of the firstpart of the bookhaddiedby the time Ezra began
hisministryinJerusalem.Ezraisthe one personwhoisprominentinthe Booksof Ezra and Nehemiah.
Both booksendwithprayersof confession (Ezra9;Nehemiah9) anda subsequentseparationof
the people fromthe sinful practicesintowhichtheyhadfallen.The Bookof Ezra coversthe returnfrom
captivitytorebuildthe Temple uptothe decree of Artaxerxes,the eventcoveredatthe beginningof the
Bookof Nehemiah.Haggai wasthe mainprophetinthe dayof Ezra, and Zechariahwasthe prophetin
the day of Nehemiah.
Whenthe Israeliteswere takenintocaptivityinEgypt,GoddeliveredHisremnantandtookthemtothe
PromisedLand.Some fiftythousandpeoplereturntothe landof Judeaas we can learnfrom inEzra
2:64-67, “The wholecompanynumbered 42,360, 65
besidestheir 7,337 male andfemale slaves;and
they alsohad 200 maleand femalesingers. 66
They had736 horses,245 mules, 67
435 camels and6,720
donkeys.”Yet,astheycompare themselveswiththe numbersinIsrael duringitsprosperousdaysunder
KingDavid,theircommentis,“We are leftthisdayas a remnant.”
The remnanttheme iscarriedintothe New Testamentwhere Paul tellsus:“Sotoo,at the present time
there isa remnant chosen by grace.”(Romans11:5). Who are referredas‘remnants’.The Bible speaks
of a time whenrighteousnesswillfill the earthandwickednesswill be nomore,the sadfact isthat in
everygeneration,onlyafew,relativelyspeaking,are faithful tothe Lord.These are the Remnant.They

2. are the Godlyminority,those whoremaintrue tothe Word andgo againstthe grainof society.There
are a fewpeople chosenbyGrace. “Butsmall is the gate and narrow the road that leadsto life,and
onlya few find it.”(Matthew7:14). Thisremnantof true believerswillcontinueto grow until they
constitute "a great numberof people,somanythatno one couldcount them as we can read from
Revelation7:9, “After this I looked,and there before me wasa great multitudethat noone could
count,from every nation,tribe,people and language,standingbeforethe throne andbefore the
Lamb. They were wearingwhite robes and were holdingpalmbranchesintheir hands.” The bible also
tellsusthat: “Butthe meek will inherit the landand enjoypeace andprosperity."(Psalm37:11).
The practical application of the Bookof Ezra is a chronicle of hope andrestoration.Forthe Christian
whose life isscarredbysinand rebellionagainstGod,there isgreathope thatours isa God of
forgiveness,aGodwho will notturnHis backon us whenwe seekHiminrepentance andbrokenness as
statedin 1 John1:9, “If we confessour sins,he isfaithful andjust andwill forgive usour sins andpurify
us fromall unrighteousness.” The returnof the IsraelitestoJerusalemandthe rebuildingof the Temple
are repeatedinthe life of everyChristianwhoreturnsfromthe captivityof sinandrebellionagainstGod
and findsinHima lovingwelcome home.Nomatterhow longwe have been away,He isreadyto forgive
us and receive usbackintoHisfamily. We maybe Prodigalsbut He iswillingtoshow ushow to rebuild
our livesandresurrectourhearts,whereinisthe templeof the HolySpirit.Aswiththe rebuildingof the
temple inJerusalem,Godsuperintendsthe workof renovatingandrededicatingourlivestoHisservice.
The oppositionof the adversariesof Godtothe rebuildingof the templedisplaysapatternthatis typical
of thatof the enemyof our souls.Satanusesthose whowouldappeartobe in syncwithGod’s purposes
to deceive usandattempttothwart God’splans.We are to be onguard againstsuch deceivers,respond
to themand refuse tobe fooledbytheirsmoothwordsandfalse professionsof faith.
KeyVerses:
Ezra 3:11 “Withpraiseandthanksgivingtheysang to the LORD: ‘He isgood; hislove to Israel endures
forever.’ And all the people gave a great shout ofpraise to the LORD, because the foundationofthe
house ofthe LORD was laid.”
Ezra 7:6, "…thisEzra came up fromBabylon.He was a teacher well versed in the Law ofMoses, which
the LORD, the Godof Israel, hadgiven. The king hadgranted himeverything he asked, for the handof
the LORD his Godwas onhim."