Today, we move to Ezra. The events of Ezra follow immediately after the end of 2 Chronicles. Ezra was a leader in the third wave of exiles who returned to Judah under the permission of King Cyrus of Persia. The amazing reality we see here is once again, the LORD used a pagan king to bring about His will and purpose. In Ezra 1, we read King Cyrus’ decree, which directed the exiles from Judah to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the House of the God of heaven. Cyrus permitted any of the priests and people who wanted to return to do so. He also sent back all the items from the Temple in Jerusalem, which King Nebuchadnezzar had carried off when he destroyed Jerusalem. What an amazing reality! While Jeremiah had prophesied this event, when it happened, the people of Judah must have been overjoyed at the opportunity to return home. Most of them would surely have been born in exile, because the nation’s time away from Judah had been seventy years.
The return of the exiles to Jerusalem was massive, as we read in Ezra 2. More than 42,000 people returned with Zerubbabel. We read long lists of names, and the number of “sons” they had. We find they were divided by whether they were priests, or Levites, or other factors. We also find some who returned did not have proof of their ancestry. This was a key factor in the return, because the nation was being reestablished, and just as the LORD had called forth a people through Abraham, now He was reestablishing His people. That meant those who couldn’t prover their ancestry were prohibited from being priests, if that was their work, until after the priests could consult the “urim and thummim.” In other words, the LORD had to confirm they were able to be reinstated. This was no hodge-podge process, but a well-organized and well-orchestrated movement of the Lord’s people back into their land.
In Ezra 3 we read the first action the returning exiles took was to rebuild the LORD’s altar and to reinstitute the morning and evening sacrifices. They also reinstituted the feasts required in the Law of Moses and followed its direction with regard to serving the LORD. In the second year after they returned, they started construction on the Temple. When the foundation was laid, the priests and Levites gathered, and sang praises to the LORD. Those who gathered divided into two groups: the older returnees who had seen the first Temple, who wept when they saw the foundation–this could have been because it was smaller or because they were overwhelmed to realize it was being restored; and a group who shouted with joy. These were the younger ones who were so overjoyed at the reality of the Temple being rebuilt they praised the LORD. This shows us that depending on our stage of life, different events can bring joy to one and sorrow to another, or at the very least joy to one and overwhelm to another.
In Ezra 4 we read of those who opposed the rebuilding of the Temple. They had lived in Judah while the returning exiles were living in Babylon. They had worshiped the LORD in some manner, since they had been put in the land by the Assyrians. They asked to become part of the project, but the returning Jews were adamant about not letting these outsiders participate in the project. As a result, the opponents wrote a letter to the new king of Persia, Artaxerxes. They warned him to stop the building, because the Jews had always been rebellious against any occupying force. Artaxerxes was unaware of King Cyrus’ order, so he commanded the building to stop, and it remained that way until the rise of King Darius.
As we return to Matthew 3, we read about John the Baptist’s ministry of preparing the way for Jesus. Matthew gives us extensive detail about John’s ministry, and particularly how John challenged the religious leaders to true repentance, rather than relying on their heritage as “Abraham’s children.” John’s point is so helpful, because we can never rely on our heritage to be made right with the LORD. Our relationship with Him cannot be through any other person, but only directly with Him. When Jesus came to be baptized by John, John was unwilling to do it. He wanted Jesus to baptize him, but eventually Jesus convinced John it was necessary to fulfill all righteousness. When Jesus came out of the water, the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus. Then God the Father spoke to Him, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” What an amazing moment! Jesus was the Son of God, and yet at the outset of His earthly ministry, His Heavenly Father affirmed His love for Jesus and affirmed His action. If Jesus needed or at least received His Father’s love and affirmation, we certainly need that from our own earthly dads, and if we are dads, we need to pass it on to our children in situations where we can do that.