#12 Understanding Scripture - Return Era (Teens)

Understanding Scripture The Return Era (Ezra - Esther) “The Story of God and Israel” Key Characters: ____________ & ___________________ Key Location: ___________________ Key Verses: _____________________ Key Concept: After God ___________________ Israel to her land following a ____________________, _________________________ lead the people in ________________________. Prophetic Background: • God kept His promise to Israel that the exile would only be 70 years (predicted by Jeremiah; Jer 25:12; 29:10). • In order to ful ll His word spoken by Jeremiah (Ezra 1:1), God stirred up Cyrus king of Persia to make a decree in 538 BC, allowing Israel to return to her land and begin rebuilding (predicted in Isaiah 44:24-45:4 over 100 years earlier). fi 1 Understanding Scripture Three Waves of Return: 1. Wave 1: _______________________ (Ezra 1-6) • How many people returned? ________________________________ • Who were the key leaders? ________________________________ • What year did they return? ________________________________ • Who prophesied during this time? ____________________________ • What was the purpose of this return? _________________________ ____________________________________________________ 2. Wave 2: _____________ (Ezra 7-10) • How many people returned? ________________________________ • Who was the key leader? __________________________________ • What year did they return? ________________________________ • What was the purpose of this return? _________________________ ____________________________________________________ 3. Wave 3: _________________________ (Nehemiah 1-13) • Who were the key leaders? ________________________________ • What year did they return? ________________________________ • Who prophesied during this time? ____________________________ • What was the purpose of this return? _________________________ ____________________________________________________ 2