Ezra – Part 1 The First Return of A Remnant to Rebuild the Temple Memory Verse Ezra 1:1-3 {Now in the first year of <Cyrus> king of Persia, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, so that he <made a proclamation> throughout all his kingdom, saying, <“[(The Lord)] God of heaven [(has commanded me /Cyrus/ to build Him a house) at Jerusalem.] Who is there among you of all His people? Now let him go up to Jerusalem and build the house of the Lord> God of Israel.”} (NKJV) Portion for each class as marked: (PS), [PM], <MD>, {SR} Introduction Last week we concluded our study of the book of 2 Chronicles. It ends with the sad story of the captivity of the people of the southern kingdom of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar. However, the last verses tell us of the Lord’s promise through the prophet Jeremiah that there would be a return of His people after a period of 70 years. Now we come to the book of Ezra. It is a continuation of the history given in 2 Chronicles. This book begins with the return of the first group of Israelites from their captivity in Babylon under Zerubbabel. It ends with the return of the second group of the remnant under Ezra. We want the Lord to teach us something from these two returns in our two lessons from the book of Ezra. Lesson and Application for the SR and MD Classes (1) The captivity of God’s people. (2 Kings 17:5-18; 2 Chronicles 36:13-20) In our last lesson on the book of 2 Kings, we learned that the people of the northern kingdom of Israel were taken as captives to Assyria. The southern kingdom of Judah went on for more than 100 years. During that time, the Lord continued to send His prophets to warn His people of their sinful ways. In spite of the reforms of Hezekiah and Josiah whom we have studied, the people kept returning to sin against the Lord their God. They did not listen to the Lord. They disobeyed His commandments and continued to worship idols; they provoked (caused) the Lord to anger. (By then, the strongest nation in that part of the world was Babylon. It also ruled Assyria.) The Lord allowed Nebuchadnezzar (NEB-u-kad-NEZ-er), the king of Babylon, to come and attack Jerusalem. As we learned last week, Nebuchadnezzar captured the people of Judah and took them to Babylon to be slaves to him and his descendants. He took away all the precious things from the Temple and set it on fire. God was merciful and faithful to the covenant He made with the people of Israel (with Abraham, through Moses, and later with David). Otherwise, this would have been the end for the Israelites. They were redeemed by God out of Egypt and cared for by God for over 1000 years. Now they were removed far away from the land of Canaan where God had settled them. It was not only their loss, but also God’s. Because the Temple, where God had put His name, was destroyed and His people were gone, God was no longer called the God of heaven and earth. He was only called the God of heaven. It seemed that God had no part on earth anymore. It was all 1 Ezra – Part 1 because of the sins of His people. Like the people of Israel, we often do not realize how our sins affect God. We rob Him of what He wants, as well as robbing Him of His glory and honor. Even though it seemed to be the end for the people of Israel, God did not give them up. God knew that the only way His people would learn their lesson was through the captivity. Babylon was full of idols. God said, “If you want to worship idols, go to the land of idols.” The Jews (the Israelites were now called Jews) became so sick of idols in Babylon, they never worshiped idols again. Before they were led away as captives from Jerusalem, God spoke through Jeremiah (29:10), “When 70 years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill My gracious promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you. Then you will call upon Me and pray to Me. When you seek Me with all your heart, I will be found by you, and I will bring you back from captivity.” God’s love for His people never changed. (2) The royal proclamation. (Ezra 1:1-4; 2 Chronicles 36:21-23; Daniel 9) Today we come to the book of Ezra. In order to understand the events in this book, we need to look in the book of Daniel. Daniel was living during this time. He understood Jeremiah’s prophecy that Jerusalem was to be desolate (lie wasted) for 70 years. (God told His people that every seventh year, the land was to have a rest and not be farmed. But they disobeyed. The 70 years of captivity were to make up for these years of Sabbath rests that the people had not kept.) Daniel realized the 70 years were almost over, and it was time for the return of God’s people to rebuild Jerusalem. So Daniel began to pray earnestly to the Lord. Daniel prayed, “O Lord, You are the great and awesome God. You keep Your covenant of love with all who love You and obey Your commands. You are merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against You. See all the terrible things that have happened to us and the desolation (ruin) of the city that is called by Your Name.” God was indeed faithful. He heard Daniel’s prayers. God moved the heart of Cyrus, the king of Persia, to issue a royal proclamation about the rebuilding of God’s House and thus fulfill God’s promise through Jeremiah. Why did Cyrus do that? At that time, Daniel was serving in Cyrus’ court (palace). It was most likely that Daniel told Cyrus what God had said through Jeremiah, as well as the prophecy about Cyrus 250 years before through the prophet Isaiah. In Isaiah 44:28 God mentioned Cyrus by name, saying, “He is My shepherd, and he will accomplish all that I please. He will say to Jerusalem, ‘Let it be rebuilt,’ and tell of the Temple, ‘Let its foundations be laid.’ ” Even though Cyrus did not know God, he must have been impressed. So King Cyrus made a proclamation throughout his empire. He said, “The Lord God of heaven has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem. Who is there among you of all His people? Now let him go up to Jerusalem and build the house of the Lord God of Israel.” By this proclamation, any of God’s people, who wanted to, could now return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple of the Lord. He ordered those who did not wish to return to supply gold and silver, goods and livestock, and freewill offerings for the Temple. 2 Ezra – Part 1 (3) The response of a remnant. (Ezra 1:5-11) In answer to Daniel’s prayer, God not only moved the heart of Cyrus, He also stirred the hearts of a remnant (a small part that is left) of the people in captivity. God made them want to return to Jerusalem. It was not easy, because Jerusalem was in ruin, and the people had settled down in Babylon. They had good homes and even synagogues where they could gather to worship God. The only thing they could not do was to offer sacrifices to God for their sins. That could only be done in the Temple in Jerusalem. Many responded: family heads of Judah and Benjamin, priests and Levites. But out of all the Jews that were in Babylon, only about 50,000 people wanted to return. They prepared to take the long trip (about 700 miles) back to Jerusalem to rebuild the House of the Lord. (For us today, 700 miles is not far, maybe 2 hours by plane or 1 day by car. But in those days, the people had to walk or ride on donkeys.) Even though God Himself had stirred their hearts, their response was very precious to Him. So the Lord had their names or their family names recorded in Chapter 2. To us, they are only names, hard to pronounce. But these names belonged to real people, and someday the Lord will reward each one of them for what they did. All their neighbors gave them things to take with them for the journey and to help in the rebuilding. King Cyrus gave them the gold and silver articles belonging to the Temple, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem 70 years before. From this we see how faithful God was and always will be to His promise. The desire of His heart, then and now, is to have a dwelling place among His people. Sometimes we make God wait, like those 70 years, because we are rebellious. If we do not cooperate with Him, He will leave us, as He did with those who decided to stay in Babylon. But He will stir the hearts of others, like the remnant who returned to rebuild His Temple. Those who did not return missed out. So let us respond and not miss out when God calls His people to go on with Him in His plan.