Ezra Ch 1

Historical Context:

What happening for the Israelites in 5:38 BC:

When Jerusalem was captured by Nebuchadnezzar, he took the last king of Judah, Zedekiah to Syria, executed his sons in front of him, then cut out his eyes, so that his last memory was that of his sons being killed. He was never heard from again, probably locked away in a dungeon and paraded in front of the king at times for his pleasure.

-Smart people taken

-Useless left behind

-Temple is destroyed

Night had fallen on the Hebrew kingdoms.

Prophets that are alive during this time:

-Daniel, Ezekiel, Haggai, Zephaniah, Nehemiah, Ezra

What is happening in the rest of the world in 538 BC:

-Pythagoras is born

-Egypt is part of the Persian Empire

-6th century sees the earliest evidence of atheism

-Moab no longer exists

-Thales is alive(Named the first Philosopher)

-Confucius is teaching in China

-The Chinese cast Iron for the first time in the history of the world

There is a LOT going on in the world while this small, seemingly insignificant nation gets to return from exile.

There is a LOT going on in the world while this small, seemingly insignificant nation gets to return from exile.

Matthew Henry says it like this: “The dry bones here live again. The yoke of captivity is taken off, but the marks of it in their galled necks remain. The crown has fallen from their heads.”

-This means that they never again return to the glory that was theirs in the times of David and Solomon. They return, but as subjects.

They are in Exile. Have been for 70 years as prophesied by Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 25:12 ESV

12 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, making the land an everlasting waste.

Jeremiah 29:10 ESV

10 “For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.

jer 29:

-Daniel, Ezekiel, Haggai, Zephaniah, Nehemiah, Ezra

What is happening in the rest of the world in 538 BC:

-Pythagoras is born

Verse 1-4

-Egypt is part of the Persian Empire

-6th century sees the earliest evidence of atheism

-Moab no longer exists

-Thales is alive(Named the first Philosopher)

-Confucius is teaching in China

-The Chinese cast Iron for the first time in the history of the world

There is a LOT going on in the world while this small, seemingly insignificant nation gets to return from exile.

-This means that they never again return to the glory that was theirs in the times of David and Solomon. They return, but as subjects.

And this is where Ezra picks up. They are in Exile. Have been for 70 years as prophesied by Jeremiah.

Ezra 1:1–4 ESV

1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: 2 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem. 4 And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.”

Ezra 1:1 ESV

1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing:

Why do things happen the way they do?

Ezra 1:

Why do things happen the way they do?

-Smart people taken

-What prompted Cyrus to to send the Israelites home?

Cyrus:

-Useless left behind

-probably in favor of religious tolerance

-Temple is destroyed

-probably syncretistic at heart

-Was a worshipper of Marduk

We can look at all these things, but ultimately, “Man proposes, God disposes.”

There is a sovereignty at work here that painfully obvious to the Israelites.

highlights the the fulfillment of the promises of God

What does going home look like?

-Never met their families who remained in Jerusalem

-Had now idea what it looked like

-No idea where they would live

-Didn’t know what to expect

-They had never experienced what Temple Worship looked like, but look at verse 5:

Ezra 1:5 ESV

5 Then rose up the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem.

-They were returning to worship God.

How do they get home?

Ezra 1:4 ESV

4 And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.”

Does that remind you of anything?

The exodus

Exodus 12:35–36 ESV

35 The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. 36 And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.

Exodus

We are seeing another Exodus. And what was the reason that the Hebrews were leaving Egypt?

Exodus 8:1 ESV

1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let my people go, that they may serve me.

Exodus 8:

The reason for the exile was so that God’s people may worship him properly.

What is the reason(Look back at verse 5) that God is bring his people out of exile in Ezra?

-So that they might properly worship him.

And why were they in captivity?

Jeremiah 25:4–11 ESV

4 You have neither listened nor inclined your ears to hear, although the Lord persistently sent to you all his servants the prophets, 5 saying, ‘Turn now, every one of you, from his evil way and evil deeds, and dwell upon the land that the Lord has given to you and your fathers from of old and forever. 6 Do not go after other gods to serve and worship them, or provoke me to anger with the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.’ 7 Yet you have not listened to me, declares the Lord, that you might provoke me to anger with the work of your hands to your own harm. 8 “Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: Because you have not obeyed my words, 9 behold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, declares the Lord, and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I will devote them to destruction, and make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting desolation. 10 Moreover, I will banish from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the grinding of the millstones and the light of the lamp. 11 This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

Because they failed to properly worship him.

God demands our worship on his terms.

Ezra 1:5–11 ESV

5 Then rose up the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem. 6 And all who were about them aided them with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, with beasts, and with costly wares, besides all that was freely offered. 7 Cyrus the king also brought out the vessels of the house of the Lord that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the house of his gods. 8 Cyrus king of Persia brought these out in the charge of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. 9 And this was the number of them: 30 basins of gold, 1,000 basins of silver, 29 censers, 10 30 bowls of gold, 410 bowls of silver, and 1,000 other vessels; 11 all the vessels of gold and of silver were 5,400. All these did Sheshbazzar bring up, when the exiles were brought up from Babylonia to Jerusalem.

Whats missing from this?

The Ark.

The ark represented God’s presence. And it never entered the new temple. And Temple Worship was never the same.

Ark=Gods presence(David)

God was slowly preparing them for a time when Temple worship would be obsolete