I’ve been teaching a Bible study on Ezra & Nehemiah with guys from our church, Bowling Green (Kentucky) Christian Church. Here are my notes from the first session.

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Introduction to Ezra/Nehemiah (Haggai and Zecharaiah)

1. Timeline from Nebuchadnezzar through Ezra & Nehemiah
   1. 605-562 — Nebuchadnezzar ruled Babylon.
      1. Some captives were taken into exile in 605.  
      2. The Jews were a pain for whoever ruled over them.
   2. 597-587 — Tens of thousands of people from Judah exiled to Babylon, in multiple waves.  Fall of Jerusalem (587).  Most exiles were urban elites, or military, or wealthy or educated or tradesmen.  Poor and rural populations left behind to fend for themselves. 
   3. 539 — Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon, decreed that the people Babylon had conquered could return & rebuild their homelands.
      1. How 70 years (see Jeremiah’s prophecy below)?  Maybe counting to 539 from first exiles in 605.  Maybe counting from destruction of Temple (587) to completed rebuilding in 515. Not exactly 70 years in either case. Biblical numbers are sometimes “round” numbers.
      2. Cyrus’ role in Judah’s history foretold in Isa 44.28 – 45.6, mentioned by name.
      3. Journey back to JM would be long (4 months by caravan) and dangerous.
   4. Early/mid 530’s — First group of returnees from Babylon.  But ….
      1. Altar rebuilt
      2. Temple foundation laid
      3. Work stops, partly due to opposition from surrounding groups
   5. 520 — Prophets (Haggai, Zechariah) encourage the people to finish the Temple. Rebuilding recommences.
   6. 515 — Second Temple completed
   7. Mid 450’s — Second group of returnees from Babylon.  But …  This group was led by Ezra the priest.  Likely Haggai & Zechariah were long gone by this point.
      1. But … not everyone came back.  In Babylon, the exiles could own property, earn money, advance in govt service.  Jer 29 tells them to make their homes in Babylon; some did just that. They had “good” lives in Babylon, didn’t want to return. Or they put off returning.
   8. Mid 440’s — Third group of returnees, led by Nehemiah.
      1. Rebuilds the walls of Jerusalem.
      2. Spiritual renewal under Ezra & Nehemiah.
2. The books: Ezra (Haggai, Zechariah), Nehemiah
   1. 1-2 Kings & 1-2 Chronicles precede the return, and they cover the same period but from diff perspectives, purposes.
      1. Kings written during exile in Babylon (500’s).
         1. The central question on their minds: Why did God do this?
         2. Central sin is idol worship.
         3. Begins with death of David, describes both Judah and Israel through invasions by Assyria and Babylon.
         4. The exile was a time of profound changes to Judaism. Jer 29.
         5. Even as the exile ended, many Jews remained in Babylon and did not return to Jerusalem.
      2. Chronicles (and Ezra/Nehemiah) written at least 150 years later, after return (late 400’s). Centers on the place of worship.
         1. The central question on their minds: Now that we are back in the land, how do we guard against repeating the failures that sent us into exile?
         2. Central sin is not honoring the Temple; also against intermarriage (example of Solomon).
         3. Chronicles begins with genealogies from Noah through David, covers the history of Judah (not Israel) until Babylonian exile.  Why not Israel?
         4. There is next to nothing negative about David or Solomon in Chron.
         5. Development of second Temple Judaism.
      3. The Hebrew canon is called “Tanakh” (T-N-Kh), an acronym for Torah (the Law), Nebi’im (the prophets), and Khetubim (the writings)
         1. Torah = the five books of Moses
         2. Nebi’im has two sections:
            1. Former prophets (Joshua, Judges, 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings)
            2. Latter prophets (Isaiah – Malachi, without Daniel, Lamentations) 
            3. So: 1-2 Kings are in the prophets.  But 1-2 Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah are in a different section, the writings.
         3. Ketubim:
            1. Books of poetry & wisdom (also written poetically) (Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Job)
            2. Other writings, including Daniel, Lamentations, Ezra/Nehemiah, and 1-2 Chronicles.
            3. In the Tanakh, Ezra/Nehemiah PRECEDES Chronicles. These books are thought to have been written by the same person or group of people.

EZRA 1 – 2

• Prophecies of Jeremiah and Ezekiel:
  • “This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, declares the Lord…” Jeremiah 25:11–12; “seventy years” also mentioned in 29.10.
  • “Therefore say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will gather you from the nations and bring you back from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you back the land of Israel again.’” Ezekiel 11:17
• 1.5: returnees mostly from tribes of Judah & Benjamin, even though Cyrus allowed all to return.  Northern tribes had been dispersed by Assyria (different policies on conquered peoples than Babylon and Persia).
  • “Remnant”: not everyone who is a Jew genetically is a Jew spiritually.  Warning for us.
• Notice 1.4, 6; remind you of anything?  History doesn’t repeat, but it rhymes.  (Same in 2.68).
  • Rebuilding would be a group effort.  Those who give and pray also work.
• List of names in 2.1-2ff. Notice two (three?) characters.
  • Zerubbabel; Jewish vassal “king”; really more like a governor (under authority of Persia), grandson of Jeconiah (next to last Davidic king).
    • Who is Sheshbazzar? 
      • Could be a Persian official who helped return and rebuilding. 
      • Or “Sheshbazzar” could be the Babylonian name for Zerubbabel.
        • Both were governors of Judah.
        • Both were present at the building of the foundation of Temple (Ezra 3.8 & 5.16). 
        • Remember early in the exile, the Babylonians gave Babylonian names to Daniel (Belteshazzar), Hannaniah (Shadrach), Mishael (Meshech), Azariah (Abednego).
  • Joshua; high priest.
    • Both were criticized by Haggai etc. for letting the people compromise (rebuilding, intermarriage with non-Jews.)  Some of Joshua’s sons intermarried with the left-behinders; this echoes 2 Kings, the worries over Solomon, who was led astray by his many foreign wives, whom he allowed to worship their own gods.
• What do we learn about God and how he keeps his promises?
  • He is faithful to his people, even when they are not faithful to him. 2 Tim 2.13: 

If we are faithless,

    he remains faithful,

    for he cannot disown himself.

• God DOES keep his promises, BUT:
  • He keeps them HIS way, …
  • So that they fit his long-term plans, which we seldom understand.
• What do we learn here about human nature and how it works with God’s faithfulness?
  • Has God ever done good things for you in unexpected ways?
  • Doing what God wants CAN cost us; returnees left comparative wealth & homes behind in Babylon for hardship & comparative poverty.
  • Jews weren’t ready to return until they were humbled, they had to be willing to give up security to obey.  God’s will is born in our lives when we are willing to give ourselves.
  • Our resources may be limited, but God’s resources are not.  He delights in using unexpected means to achieve his ends.