Exposition of Ezra

Setting

Ezra and Nehemiah document the return of the Judean exiles from their 70 years of captivity, which were actually cut short by God’s mercy. The book of Ezra begins by documenting the return of the first group of exiles to the Promised Land and the rebuilding of the temple, a process that occupies most of the book, and occurs before Ezra himself actually arrives back in Jerusalem.

In addition to Ezra documenting this return, we must also observe that this return is the fulfillment of prophecy, specifically the prophecy recorded in Isaiah 44:28 . Not only does the book of Ezra contain the fulfillment of that prophecy, but prophecies contained in other books as well, such as Haggai and Zechariah.

This is a record of God’s grace and the redemption of his chosen people, his continued mercy upon them, his protection over them, and his loving call to repentance to them.