Reviving the Remnant

Introduction

Ezra is a book that was originally combined with Nehemiah to tell the story of the return from Captivity.

It is a return that happens after enough time has passed for Israel to “get comfortable” in Babylon (Jer. 29:11).

Not many answer the first or the second call.

But a remnant does respond and the people return to build the temple, to reestablish worship, and to build the walls.

All of this likely happened over nearly a century but it is possible that the timeline is much more abbreviated.

God’s Plan

God stirred Cyrus to make his decree (Ezra 1:1-4).

This does not mean that Cyrus became a proselyte.

He remains thoroughly pagan.

Yet the people accept his generosity and Ezra even says it is from God.

This is quite different than the offer of help from the enemies of the people (Ezra 4:1-3).

One is accepting what is helpful to God’s people with no other attachments. The other is an acceptance of fellowship where is should not be.

The Order of Revival

In chapter 2 we are treated to a list of names that Paul did not warn us against.

These names are important not because of pure bloodlines but because of the promises of God.

Bloodlines are shown to be secondary over and over again.

They started with personal devotion to God according to the pattern.

There is public worship here but it is inclusive of personal worship.

They only have the altar and so start off simply.

This shows that worship has never (at its core) been about trappings but has a simple foundation.

They move on to build a more permanent place of worship.

Finally, their work moves outward to the building up of the city as a whole.

Notice the role of singing in all of this (Ezra 3:10-11).

Personal Revival

Ezra set his heart to study the word.

To practice the word.

To teach the word.

Righting Wrongs

The first thing is to recognize the seriousness of our sin and possibly the consequences (Ezra 9:13).

The only path to hope is repentance (Ezra 10:2).

Repentance is a process and sometimes a lengthy one (Ezra 10:11, 16-17).

Each case needs to be examined because in all the foreign wives, there may be Rahabs and Ruths.

Conclusion

We are living in a prosperous place as captive pilgrims.

Have you maintained a zeal to be called home or have you made too much of a home here?