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Ezra 5-6 Study Guide

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Ezra 5-6 Study Guide Small Group Study Lakeview Community Church (Ezra 1–6) (Week of: 2/12/12) Study Guide: Ezra 1–6 Start Talking… 1. Quick—don’t think about this too long—Chinese food, Mexican food, Italian food, or American cuisine (burgers, fries, apple pies, American flags, etc.)? Be ready to defend your answer against a hostile crowd who disagrees with you! Reflect Back… 2. What was “the takeaway” (the most important point) from Sunday’s sermon and/or the sermon text, in your opinion? 3. What insight from Sunday’s sermon (or the study guide) did you find most helpful, or eye- opening, or troubling (pick any or all of the above)? [Note: also use this space to record your questions from the sermon or the remainder of the study guide] The Take Away(s)… 4. Have you ever gone through a time in your life when God seemed distant or silent? [Or, are you going through it now?] What was it like, and what was it like when God “showed up” again? 5. Think of one key concept, idea, or lesson, that stood out to you, either from the sermon or the study guide. How is God speaking to you through this passage? Write out one S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-specific) goal that will put you in a better position to align your life with that lesson. Share this lesson and your S.M.A.R.T. goal with your small group and end with prayer for each other directed along these lines. 1 of 4 Small Group Study Lakeview Community Church (Ezra 1–6) (Week of: 2/12/12) Into the Bible… • Day One: According to M. A. Throntveit, Ezra 1–6 is arranged concentrically.1 Take a look at what he suggests and then answer the questions below. A: Hebrew version of the Cyrus Edict to rebuild temple (1:1-11) B: List of returnees (2:1-70) C: Worship/Temple building begins (3:1-13) D: Surrounding enemies conspire to stop temple building (4:1-5) X: Opposition to building walls documented (4:6-23) D’: Building of temple stops (4:24) C’: Temple building begins again (5:1-2) B’: Demand for list of returnees (5:3-17, esp. vv.3-4, 10) A’: Aramaic version of Cyrus Edict, temple rebuilt (6:1-22) In your opinion, why would an account of temple-rebuilding be shaped this way? What’s the lesson, in other words? Boil the main idea of this account down to one sentence. The story begins in 538 BC when the people return to Jerusalem (Ezra 1:1), and it ends in 515 BC when they finally finish the work (Ezra 6:15). Does this time-frame, coupled with your one sentence summary (above), bring comfort to you in some way? Do you have a “project” you’re currently working on or a part of, in other words? Explain. • Day Two: What do we do as believers when God doesn’t meet our expectations? How should we handle confusion and doubt? That is to say, God’s ways are not always comprehensible to us, and how should we think about that? Along with the struggles he allows his people to go through in Ezra 3–4, see also: Deut 29:29; Ps 115:3; Prov 25:2; Eccl 5:2; Isa 55:8-9; Rom 11:33-35 [if you’d like to dig even deeper, see also YHWH’s speeches to Job, and Job’s responses: Job 38–40:5; Job 40:6–42:6]. Notice any themes emerging? What might all these passages seem to suggest? Explain [note: you might want to talk about some of this with your small group!].2 1 M. A. Throntveit, Ezra-Nehemiah (IBC; Louisville: John Knox, 1992), 21. Eminent evangelical OT scholar B. K. Waltke agrees with the concentric arrangement, but divides the text up slightly differently. B. K. Waltke and C. Yu, An Old Testament Theology: An Exegetical, Canonical, and Thematic Approach (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007), 775-776. Note: Waltke’s book is worth 10x its weight in gold for its ability to help you make sense of the OT (at times, a bit technical, but overall an incredible bible study tool). If you’d like to see it (before you invest in it!), stop by my office some time... 2 If you’re interested, I can recommend two books that have to do with our human struggle to, as we say “seek God’s will” for our lives. Both are excellent, though one is much shorter than the other. Shorter: B. K. Waltke, Finding the Will of God: A Pagan Notion? (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995). Longer: G. Friesen, Decision Making and the Will of God: A Biblical Alternative to the Traditional View (Portland: Multnomah, 1980). Note: I have both of these in my office if you’d like to take a look. 2 of 4 Small Group Study Lakeview Community Church (Ezra 1–6) (Week of: 2/12/12) • Day Three: According to Ezra 5–6 (esp. 5:1-2; 6:14-15), the prophet Zechariah ministered alongside the prophet Haggai to encourage and exhort the people to rebuild the temple. Read Zech 8, and compare/contrast that sermon with Haggai’s overall message. Do they relate at all? If so, how? • Day Four: Throntveit also suggests the account of the temple rebuilding (5:1–6:15) is arranged concentrically in an A-B-C-C’-B’-A’ pattern.3 As it turns out, the inner C-C’ portions are also highly stylized and arranged. Consider the outline below and answer the following questions. A: Haggai & Zechariah encourage rebuilding of temple (5:1-2) B: Tattenai et al. inquire about authorization (5:3-5) C: Tattenai’s letter of inquiry to Darius (5:6-17) a: Report: “Work is being done diligently” (5:7-8) b: Inquiry as to authorization (5:9-10) c: Reply of Jewish elders: Cyrus Edict (5:11-16) d: Request: Search for Cyrus Edict (5:17) C’: Darius’ letter of reply to Tattenai (6:1-12) d’: Successful search for Cyrus Edict (6:1f.) c’: Text of Cyrus Edict (6:3-5) b’: Darius’ authorization (6:6-12a) a’: Decree: “Let it be done with all diligence” (6:12b) B’: Tattenai et al. comply with authorization (6:6:13) A’: Temple rebuilt as encouraged by Haggai & Zechariah (6:14-15) In your opinion, what’s the main idea of this section and why? God, who’s been noticeably absent from the telling of the story so far (esp. from the central 4:6-23) show up in a big way in this section. Where do you find God showing up in this account and what might the arrangement of the story (in both this smaller section and the larger 1–6) suggest about God’s activities? Explain. • Day Five: Ezra 1–6 ends with three big celebrations: a temple dedication (6:16-18), Passover (6:19-21), and the Feast of Unleavened Bread (6:22). Compare/contrast the temple dedication 3 Throntveit, Ezra-Nehemiah, 31-32. 3 of 4 Small Group Study Lakeview Community Church (Ezra 1–6) (Week of: 2/12/12) ceremonies here (6:16-18) with that of Solomon (1 Kgs 8:62-66; 2 Chron 7:1-10). What do you notice? Does this shed light on the significance of this occasion? God’s people celebrated Passover every year, but it is only recorded in Scripture at certain points. Compare 6:19-21 with 5 other recorded Passover celebrations (Num 9:5; Josh 5:10; 2 Kgs 23:21; 2 Chr 30; 35). What do their contexts have in common? How, if at all, does this help us understand what to make of this occasion? Looking back over 1–6, what is the “success” that God granted to the people, and does this relate in any way to the kind of success that can be expected in our own lives? If so, how? • Suggested closing prayer exercise4: Looking back over these exercises (and passages), do you find something especially troubling, convicting, or perhaps encouraging? Talk to God about it. Can you think of an instance where (like Day Two), God has not met your expectations? Take this up with God. Also, ask God to help you align your idea of “success” with his. Next, think of areas of your life where God might be working more “behind the scenes” and thank him for those areas. Ask him for the “eyes of faith” to see these areas more clearly. Next, spend some time thanking God for his Words to us, specifically for Ezra, which is indeed “useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work” [2 Tim 3:16-17]. And while you’re at it, ask God to grow your love for his Scriptures all the more as you study it diligently. Finally, spend time praying for others in your small group, and also the church, that we would also grow through our study of Ezra and also for our willingness to respond to it as we should. 4 This is for you, if you like, to direct you in prayerful reflection on the portions of Scripture that we study. 4 of 4.
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