5. Ezra

Two tribes in the south continued under kings in the line of David. Most of these kings led the people to worship other gods, and this idolatry was so offensive to God that He gave His people into the hands of their enemies.

The king of Babylon laid siege to the city of Jerusalem and reduced it to a pile of rubble. The temple was destroyed, and those who survived were taken into exile in Babylon. The books of Ezekiel, Daniel, and Lamentations were all written during this dark time. But God always keeps His promises, and even in this darkest hour, there was still hope for God’s people.

But this I call to mind,

    and therefore I have hope:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;

    his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;

    great is your faithfulness.

“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,

    “therefore I will hope in him.” (Lamentations 3:21–24)

Seventy years after God’s people were taken into exile, Babylon fell to the rising empire of the Medes and the Persians. The new king, Cyrus, decreed that any Jewish exiles who wished to return to Jerusalem were free to do so, and a group of about fifty thousand people caught the vision of creating a new community in the city of God.

Most of God’s people remained in exile, but eighty years later, Ezra led a second group of exiles back to Jerusalem. Ezra was a priest and a scribe, and God’s hand was on him in a special way:

He [Ezra] came to Jerusalem, for the good hand of his God was on him. (Ezra 7:9)

I took courage, for the hand of the Lord my God was on me, and I gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me. (Ezra 7:28)

The hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes by the way. (Ezra 8:31)

Ezra’s story is not primarily about what he did for God, but what God did through him.

Restoring God’s people

When Ezra arrived in Jerusalem, he found that God’s people had adopted the detestable, idolatrous practices of the surrounding nations (Ezra 9:1–4). Ezra tore his clothes, pulled out his hair, and cried out:

“O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. . . . And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments.” (Ezra 9:6, 10)

Eighty years after the first exiles returned to Jerusalem, their grandchildren had lost sight of their distinct calling to worship and serve the Lord. But God used Ezra to lead a great restoration among His people.

The good hand of his God was on him. For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel. (Ezra 7:9–10)

God’s hand was on Ezra as he studied and obeyed the Scriptures, and God’s hand will be on you when the Word of God is in you.

Ezra’s strategy for restoring God’s people was to gather them around God’s Word:

So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard. (Nehemiah 8:2)

The Levites supported him by reading, explaining, and applying the Word of God:

They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. (Nehemiah 8:8)

The first response of God’s people was to weep because they saw how far they were from fulfilling God’s commands: “All the people wept as they heard the words of the Law” (Nehemiah 8:9).

When the light of God’s Word comes into our lives, we begin to see how far we are from Him, and we feel our own need. So don’t be surprised if your first reaction to opening the Bible is to feel your own unworthiness. God’s Word will bring you there, but it will never leave you there.

Then Ezra said, “Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). Opening the Bible brings great joy because, from beginning to end, the Bible is good news. God’s people didn’t go home preoccupied with their sins and failures. When the Bible was opened, they discovered the grace and mercy of God, and this gave them strength.

Still waiting

From the stories of Adam, Abraham, Moses, David, and Ezra, we have seen that God was constantly at work. He raised up many prophets who spoke His Word, many priests who offered prayers and sacrifices on behalf of the people, and many kings who led the people in triumph. But despite all their efforts, little had changed.

God’s people kept turning away from Him, and God kept calling them back. In the last book of the Old Testament, God says,

“From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.” (Malachi 3:7)

The curse God had pronounced in the garden of Eden was still hanging over His people.

“You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you.” (Malachi 3:9)

And God’s people were still waiting.

“For still the vision awaits its appointed time;

    it hastens to the end—it will not lie.

If it seems slow, wait for it;

    it will surely come; it will not delay.” (Habakkuk 2:3)

But God had promised that a deliverer would come.

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!

    Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!

Behold, your king is coming to you;

    righteous and having salvation is he.” (Zechariah 9:9)

God’s promise was fulfilled when Jesus Christ was born. The Old Testament explains why we need Him. The New Testament tells us what happened when He came.