Ezra: 536 B.C. - 10 Chapters and 280 Verses

Narrator: Chris Genthree

Ezra • 3 min. read • grade level: 12

The return of a portion of Judah to her land, after a lengthened and sore captivity of 70 years in Babylon, was according to the prophecies of Jeremiah (Jer. 29:10¹⁰For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. (Jeremiah 29:10)), and in answer to the confession of sin and intercession of Daniel (Dan. 9¹⁰Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. (Daniel 9:10)). The name of the deliverer and destroyer of Babylon is pointed out by Isaiah (Isa. 44:28; 45:1²⁸That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid. (Isaiah 44:28)
¹Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut; (Isaiah 45:1)).

The exile of Judah was effected on three separate occasions; under the reign of Jehoiakim, also under Jehoiachin, his son (2 Kings 24), and again under the reign of Zedekiah (2 Kings 25). We have also recorded two returns of the people to Jerusalem; first, during the reign of Cyrus (Ezra 1:2²Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. (Ezra 1:2)); second, during the reign of Artaxerxes (Ezra 7²The son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, (Ezra 7:2), 8). Scripture also notes two future returns of Judah to her land; first, a national return in unbelief (Isa. 18²That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled! (Isaiah 18:2)); second, an individual restoration (Isa. 27:12, 13¹²And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel. ¹³And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem. (Isaiah 27:12‑13)).

There are four commandments or decrees recorded in this book, but all of them have reference to the temple. This is important to note, as the commandment anent the building of Jerusalem, and which has an important bearing as fixing the commencement of the prophecy of the 70 weeks, or 490 years (Dan. 9:24-27²⁴Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. ²⁵Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. ²⁶And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. ²⁷And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. (Daniel 9:24‑27)) is not found here, but in the book of Nehemiah, Neh. 2⁴And next unto them repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of Koz. And next unto them repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabeel. And next unto them repaired Zadok the son of Baana. ⁵And next unto them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord. ⁶Moreover the old gate repaired Jehoiada the son of Paseah, and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah; they laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, and the locks thereof, and the bars thereof. ⁷And next unto them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite, and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon, and of Mizpah, unto the throne of the governor on this side the river. (Nehemiah 3:4‑7). The first company who assembled in the deserted city of Jerusalem numbered about 50,000; the second company, conducted by Ezra many years afterward, was a small but select one (Ezra 8²⁴Then I separated twelve of the chief of the priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them, ²⁵And weighed unto them the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, even the offering of the house of our God, which the king, and his counsellors, and his lords, and all Israel there present, had offered: ²⁶I even weighed unto their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and silver vessels an hundred talents, and of gold an hundred talents; ²⁷Also twenty basons of gold, of a thousand drams; and two vessels of fine copper, precious as gold. (Ezra 8:24‑27).). The foundation of the temple was laid by the first company of returned captives under Zerubbabel (Ezra 3¹¹This is the copy of the letter that they sent unto him, even unto Artaxerxes the king; Thy servants the men on this side the river, and at such a time. ¹²Be it known unto the king, that the Jews which came up from thee to us are come unto Jerusalem, building the rebellious and the bad city, and have set up the walls thereof, and joined the foundations. ¹³Be it known now unto the king, that, if this city be builded, and the walls set up again, then will they not pay toll, tribute, and custom, and so thou shalt endamage the revenue of the kings. ¹⁴Now because we have maintenance from the king's palace, and it was not meet for us to see the king's dishonor, therefore have we sent and certified the king; (Ezra 4:11‑14).), amidst mingled weeping and rejoicing, and its completion and dedication was celebrated with joy (Ezra 6²The son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, ³The son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth, ⁴The son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki, ⁵The son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest: (Ezra 7:2‑5).). Some time after the house of the Lord was finished, Ezra was commissioned to beautify the house, and conducted the second return to Jerusalem after a four months' journey. Considerable energy of faith and devotedness to God, along with strict adherence to the written law of Moses characterized these remnants. They observed the Feast of Tabernacles, which had not been kept since the days of Joshua, even during the palmy days of Solomon; the authority of God and of the law are once again established amongst the people; unholy fellowships, sacred and domestic, are sternly rejected; the priesthood is again set up, and all regulated according to the law and genealogy, which was carefully verified. Idolatry—of which the land was purged, from the deportation to the coming of Christ—and the ways and uncleanness of the heathen were carefully shunned.

Ezra, being a priest and a scribe, unfolds the religious side, or history of returned Judah, and that for about 80 years. This distinguished scribe and ecclesiastical historian is generally regarded as the compiler of the books of the Old Testament, and his memory is still held in great reverence by the Jews. Work and worship are characteristic features of the book.

It may be worth noting by the reader that, from Ezra 4:8⁸Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this sort: (Ezra 4:8) till Ezra 6:18¹⁸And they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses, for the service of God, which is at Jerusalem; as it is written in the book of Moses. (Ezra 6:18), and from Ezra 7:12-26¹²Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace, and at such a time. ¹³I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee. ¹⁴Forasmuch as thou art sent of the king, and of his seven counsellors, to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of thy God which is in thine hand; ¹⁵And to carry the silver and gold, which the king and his counsellors have freely offered unto the God of Israel, whose habitation is in Jerusalem, ¹⁶And all the silver and gold that thou canst find in all the province of Babylon, with the freewill offering of the people, and of the priests, offering willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem: ¹⁷That thou mayest buy speedily with this money bullocks, rams, lambs, with their meat offerings and their drink offerings, and offer them upon the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem. ¹⁸And whatsoever shall seem good to thee, and to thy brethren, to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, that do after the will of your God. ¹⁹The vessels also that are given thee for the service of the house of thy God, those deliver thou before the God of Jerusalem. ²⁰And whatsoever more shall be needful for the house of thy God, which thou shalt have occasion to bestow, bestow it out of the king's treasure house. ²¹And I, even I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers which are beyond the river, that whatsoever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you, it be done speedily, ²²Unto an hundred talents of silver, and to an hundred measures of wheat, and to an hundred baths of wine, and to an hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much. ²³Whatsoever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be diligently done for the house of the God of heaven: for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons? ²⁴Also we certify you, that touching any of the priests and Levites, singers, porters, Nethinims, or ministers of this house of God, it shall not be lawful to impose toll, tribute, or custom, upon them. ²⁵And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God, that is in thine hand, set magistrates and judges, which may judge all the people that are beyond the river, all such as know the laws of thy God; and teach ye them that know them not. ²⁶And whosoever will not do the law of thy God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily upon him, whether it be unto death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment. (Ezra 7:12‑26), are portions written in the Chaldee or Aramean language—the tongue of the Babylonians and Assyrians.

GENERAL DIVISIONS.

1.-The return to Jerusalem of Zerubbabel's company, and the energy of faith which, spite of all obstacles and opposition, completed the building of the temple, established the priesthood, etc., according to the law of Moses. Ezra 1-6.

2.-The second return from Babylon under Ezra the priest, and the holiness of priests and people maintained. Ezra 7-10.

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