God Allows

• Why did God let “allow” to enter the picture when He had the ability to control everything… and still does?
• Free will
• When did God “allow”?
• Somewhere before Genesis 2
• I cannot understand the sovereignty of God.
• But I do know that God is love.

1 John 4
8 The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him. 10 Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice, for our sins. 11 Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God remains in us and his love is made complete in us. 13 This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and we testify that the Father has sent his Son as the world’s Savior. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God—God remains in him and he in God. 16 And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us.[1]
 
The Book of Job

• This book, like many others in the Old Testament, got its name from the central character in it rather than from its writer.
• Concerning the time the events recorded took place, there have been many views, ranging from the patriarchal age of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (beginning about 2100 B.C.) to the second century B.C.
• While Job may have written it, there is no concrete evidence that he did.
• The name "Job" means "hated" or "much persecuted."
• Perhaps Job was a nickname that his friends gave him during his suffering.
• Job is the title of the book in the Hebrew, Greek (Septuagint), Latin (Vulgate), and English Bibles.
• The book does not identify its writer. Furthermore, the ancient Hebrews could not agree on who wrote it.

 
It is quite clear from this book that God inspired it to reveal answers to questions that arise from God's nature and His dealings with human beings.

• Specifically, it answers the question: What is the basis on which God deals with people?
• Elsewhere in the Old Testament, we find God typically repaying good with good and evil with evil, but that is not how He dealt with Job.
• The book of Job places the stress on God's ways, not Job's suffering.

 
God blesses people for two reasons.

• These are: first, His sovereign choice to bless; second, people's response of trust and obedience to Him.
• Because we cannot control God's sovereign choice to bless some people more than others, we tend to forget that.
• We tend to focus on what we can control to some extent, namely, securing His blessing by trusting and obeying Him.
• This is understandable and legitimate, but it leads to a potential problem.
• The problem is that we may conclude that we can control God.
• Since God blesses those who trust and obey Him, and He curses those who do not, we may conclude that if we trust and obey God, He owes us blessing in this life.

 
JOB AND HIS FAMILY
JOB 1
1 There was a man in the country of Uz named Job.

•  Uz was probably located southeast of the Dead Sea.
• Show Map

He was a man of complete integrity, who feared God and turned away from evil.

• The fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom, was the hallmark of Job.
• Wisdom is to know that there is a God and He created us to love Him and others.

2 He had seven sons and three daughters. 3 His estate included seven thousand sheep and goats, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man among all the people of the east.

• Evidently there were several other great (wealthy) men in that part of the world in his day, but Job surpassed them all.

4 His sons used to take turns having banquets at their homes. They would send an invitation to their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

• Seven sons, a banquet for each night of the week.

5 Whenever a round of banqueting was over, Job would send for his children and purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for all of them.

• Evidently, he offered sacrifices each week for his children in case they had committed sins in their merriment.
• There were ten whole sacrifices offered by Job on each opening day of the weekly round, at the dawn of the Sunday; and one has therefore to imagine this round of entertainment as beginning with the first-born on the first day of the week."
• The author uses the numbers three, seven, and ten, all symbolic of completeness, to demonstrate that Job's wealth was staggering.

For Job thought, “Perhaps my children have sinned, having cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular practice.
 
SATAN’S FIRST TEST OF JOB
6 One day the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them.

• The term "sons of God" elsewhere refers to angels (38:7), though it usually refers to human beings.
• These verses reveal that angels, including Satan, periodically report to God on their activities.

7 The Lord asked Satan, “Where have you come from?”
“From roaming through the earth,” Satan answered him, “and walking around on it.”

• Did God need to ask Satan where he was?
• Similar to asking Adam & Eve, “Where are you?”

8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil.”

• Rather than offering up Job as a suggestion.
• Possibly another rhetorical question.

9 Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 Haven’t you placed a hedge around him, his household, and everything he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.

• Satan is implying that God has paid Job to love Him.

11 But stretch out your hand and strike everything he owns, and he will surely curse you to your face.”

• The Satan believes nothing to be genuinely good—neither Job in his disinterested piety nor God in His disinterested generosity.

12 “Very well,” the Lord told Satan, “everything he owns is in your power. However, do not lay a hand on Job himself.” So Satan left the Lord’s presence.

• This is just a reminder to Satan of what already was.
• Satan is also called the “prince of the power of the air” in Ephesians 2:2.
• He is the “ruler of this world” in John 12:31.
• These titles and many more signify Satan’s capabilities.
• He wields a certain amount of authority and power in this world.
• He is not a king, but a prince, a ruler of some sort.
• In some way he rules over the world and the people in it: “The whole world is under the control of the evil one” (1 John 5:19).


• This is not to say that Satan rules the world completely; God is still sovereign.
• God, in His infinite, inscrutable wisdom, has allowed Satan to operate in this world within the boundaries God has set for him.
• Satan’s limits are clearly seen in Job.
• Satan must give an account of himself to God, and it seems he must have God’s “allowance” to carry out his plans.
• At no time can Satan do all he wants, for God restricts his actions.

13 One day when Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, 14 a messenger came to Job and reported, “While the oxen were plowing and the donkeys grazing nearby, 15 the Sabeans swooped down and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
16 He was still speaking when another messenger came and reported, “God’s fire fell from heaven. It burned the sheep and the servants and devoured them, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
17 That messenger was still speaking when yet another came and reported, “The Chaldeans formed three bands, made a raid on the camels, and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
18 He was still speaking when another messenger came and reported, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house. 19 Suddenly a powerful wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on the young people so that they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
20 Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head.

• Tearing one's robe typically expressed great grief in the ancient Near East.
• It symbolized the rending of one's heart.
• Shaving the head evidently symbolized the loss of personal glory.
• When a person mourned, he or she put off all personal adornments, including what nature provided.
• Hair in the ancient world was a symbol of one's glory.

He fell to the ground and worshiped, 21 saying:
Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will leave this life.

• Mother’s womb is another term for earth.

The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
22 Throughout all this Job did not sin or blame God for anything.[2]

• A man may stand before God stripped of everything that life has given him, and still lack nothing.

 
SATAN’S SECOND TEST OF JOB
JOB 2
1 One day the sons of God came again to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them to present himself before the Lord. 2 The Lord asked Satan, “Where have you come from?”
“From roaming through the earth,” Satan answered him, “and walking around on it.”
3 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil. He still retains his integrity, even though you incited me against him, to destroy him for no good reason.”
4 “Skin for skin!” Satan answered the Lord. “A man will give up everything he owns in exchange for his life. 5 But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
6 “Very well,” the Lord told Satan, “he is in your power; only spare his life.” 7 So Satan left the Lord’s presence and infected Job with terrible boils from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. 8 Then Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself while he sat among the ashes.[3]

• Job's illness resulted in an unclean condition that made him a social outcast (cf. Exod. 9:9-11).
• He had to take up residence near the city dump where beggars and other social rejects stayed.
• He had formerly sat at the city gate and enjoyed social prestige as a town judge (29:7).

The change in his location, from the best to the worst of places, reflects the change in his circumstances, from the best to the worst of conditions.

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), 1 Jn 4:8–16.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Job 1:1–22.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Job 2:1–8.

Nehemiah

• Cup Bearer to the King
  • The years of history that this book covers are 445-431 B.C., or perhaps a few years after that.

 
REBUILDING THE WALLS
NEHEMIAH 3
1 The high priest Eliashib and his fellow priests began rebuilding the Sheep Gate. They dedicated it and installed its doors. After building the wall to the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel, they dedicated it. 2 The men of Jericho built next to Eliashib, and next to them Zaccur son of Imri built.
 
FISH GATE
3 The sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate. They built it with beams and installed its doors, bolts, and bars. 4 Next to them Meremoth son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz, made repairs. Beside them Meshullam son of Berechiah, son of Meshezabel, made repairs. Next to them Zadok son of Baana made repairs. 5 Beside them the Tekoites made repairs, but their nobles did not lift a finger to help their supervisors.
 
OLD GATE, BROAD WALL, AND TOWER OF THE OVENS
6 Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah repaired the Old Gate. They built it with beams and installed its doors, bolts, and bars. 7 Next to them the repairs were done by Melatiah the Gibeonite, Jadon the Meronothite, and the men of Gibeon and Mizpah, who were under the authority, of the governor of the region west of the Euphrates River. 8 After him Uzziel son of Harhaiah, the goldsmith, made repairs, and next to him Hananiah son of the perfumer made repairs. They restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall.
9 Next to them Rephaiah son of Hur, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs. 10 After them Jedaiah son of Harumaph made repairs across from his house. Next to him Hattush the son of Hashabneiah made repairs. 11 Malchijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-moab made repairs to another section, as well as to the Tower of the Ovens. 12 Beside him Shallum son of Hallohesh, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs—he and his daughters.
 
VALLEY GATE, DUNG GATE, AND FOUNTAIN GATE
13 Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate. They rebuilt it and installed its doors, bolts, and bars, and repaired five hundred yards of the wall to the Dung Gate. 14 Malchijah son of Rechab, ruler of the district of Beth-haccherem, repaired the Dung Gate. He rebuilt it and installed its doors, bolts, and bars.
15 Shallun son of Col-hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah, repaired the Fountain Gate. He rebuilt it and roofed it. Then he installed its doors, bolts, and bars. He also made repairs to the wall of the Pool of Shelah near the king’s garden, as far as the stairs that descend from the city of David.
16 After him Nehemiah son of Azbuk, ruler of half the district of Beth-zur, made repairs up to a point opposite the tombs of David, as far as the artificial pool and the House of the Warriors. 17 Next to him the Levites made repairs under Rehum son of Bani. Beside him Hashabiah, ruler of half the district of Keilah, made repairs for his district. 18 After him their fellow Levites made repairs under Binnui son of Henadad, ruler of half the district of Keilah. 19 Next to him Ezer son of Jeshua, ruler of Mizpah, made repairs to another section opposite the ascent to the armory at the Angle.
 
THE ANGLE, WATER GATE, AND TOWER ON OPHEL
20 After him Baruch son of Zabbai diligently repaired another section, from the Angle to the door of the house of the high priest Eliashib. 21 Beside him Meremoth son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz, made repairs to another section, from the door of Eliashib’s house to the end of his house. 22 And next to him the priests from the surrounding area made repairs.
23 After them Benjamin and Hasshub made repairs opposite their house. Beside them Azariah son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah, made repairs beside his house. 24 After him Binnui son of Henadad made repairs to another section, from the house of Azariah to the Angle and the corner. 25 Palal son of Uzai made repairs opposite the Angle and tower that juts out from the king’s upper palace,, by the courtyard of the guard. Beside him Pedaiah son of Parosh 26 and the temple servants living on Ophel made repairs opposite the Water Gate toward the east and the tower that juts out. 27 Next to him the Tekoites made repairs to another section from a point opposite the great tower that juts out, as far as the wall of Ophel.
 
HORSE GATE, INSPECTION GATE, AND SHEEP GATE
28 Each of the priests made repairs above the Horse Gate, each opposite his own house. 29 After them Zadok son of Immer made repairs opposite his house. And beside him Shemaiah son of Shecaniah, guard of the East Gate, made repairs. 30 Next to him Hananiah son of Shelemiah and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph made repairs to another section.
After them Meshullam son of Berechiah made repairs opposite his room. 31 Next to him Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs to the house of the temple servants and the merchants, opposite the Inspection Gate, and as far as the upstairs room on the corner. 32 The goldsmiths and merchants made repairs between the upstairs room on the corner and the Sheep Gate.[1]
 
PROGRESS IN SPITE OF OPPOSITION
NEHEMIAH 4
1 When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious. He mocked the Jews 2 before his colleagues and the powerful men of Samaria and said, “What are these pathetic Jews doing? Can they restore it by themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they ever finish it? Can they bring these burnt stones back to life from the mounds of rubble?” 3 Then Tobiah the Ammonite, who was beside him, said, “Indeed, even if a fox climbed up what they are building, he would break down their stone wall!”

• This is precisely what I told the campers would happen to them as soon as they got home last night.
• They could be attacked by their parents, siblings, friends, and others.
• The evil one doesn’t matter who he uses.

4 Listen, our God, for we are despised. Make their insults return on their own heads and let them be taken as plunder to a land of captivity. 5 Do not cover their guilt or let their sin be erased from your sight, because they have angered the builders.

• This was Nehemiah’s prayer.

6 So we rebuilt the wall until the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had the will to keep working.

• This is the process we go through every year with students.
• Take them to camp and spend the first few days clearing their heads from the past year.
• Now start building the wall for the upcoming year.

7 When Sanballat, Tobiah, and the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites heard that the repair to the walls of Jerusalem was progressing and that the gaps were being closed, they became furious. 8 They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and throw it into confusion. 9 So we prayed to our God and stationed a guard because of them day and night.

• Prayer was important once again.

10 In Judah, it was said:
The strength of the laborer fails,
since there is so much rubble.
We will never be able
to rebuild the wall.

• Doubt will always be waiting to pounce.

11 And our enemies said, “They won’t realize it until we’re among them and can kill them and stop the work.” 12 When the Jews who lived nearby arrived, they said to us time and again, “Everywhere you turn, they attack us.” 13 So I stationed people behind the lowest sections of the wall, at the vulnerable areas. I stationed them by families with their swords, spears, and bows. 14 After I made an inspection, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the great and awe-inspiring Lord, and fight for your countrymen, your sons and daughters, your wives and homes.”

• Nehemiah responded to these threats by increasing security, focusing the workers' attention again on God, and reminding them of their duty to protect their families and property.
• We need to be constantly reminded of our identity in Jesus.
• Realize that it is impossible to lead without facing opposition.
• It is essential that your first response to opposition be prayer.
• Prayer may not be all that is necessary if opposition intensifies.

 
SWORD AND TROWEL
15 When our enemies heard that we knew their scheme and that God had frustrated it, every one of us returned to his own work on the wall. 16 From that day on, half of my men did the work while the other half held spears, shields, bows, and armor. The officers supported all the people of Judah, 17 who were rebuilding the wall.

• Each person had their assignment based on skill and abilities.

The laborers who carried the loads worked with one hand and held a weapon with the other. 18 Each of the builders had his sword strapped around his waist while he was building, and the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me. 19 Then I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “The work is enormous and spread out, and we are separated far from one another along the wall. 20 Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us!”

• Nehemiah continued to encourage the workers. He made arrangements so that, if the enemy attacked any portion of the wall, trumpeters would announce it and summon the other workers to help those who were being attacked.
• This is basically what our Sunday Gatherings are… the sounding of the trumpets for war.

21 So we continued the work, while half of the men were holding spears from daybreak until the stars came out. 22 At that time, I also said to the people, “Let everyone and his servant spend the night inside Jerusalem, so that they can stand guard by night and work by day.” 23 And I, my brothers, my servants, and the men of the guard with me never took off our clothes. Each carried his weapon, even when washing.[2]
 
Nehemiah 5 highlights the importance of justice, compassion, and leadership in addressing social issues.

• Nehemiah's actions demonstrate his commitment to God's principles and his care for the well-being of the community, setting a standard for righteous leadership.

 
ATTEMPTS TO DISCOURAGE THE BUILDERS
NEHEMIAH 6
1 When Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall and that no gap was left in it—though at that time I had not installed the doors in the city gates--2 Sanballat and Geshem sent me a message: “Come, let’s meet together in the villages of the Ono Valley.” They were planning to harm me.

• The plain of Ono, to which Nehemiah's adversaries invited him for a meeting, probably lay about 25 miles west and a little north of Jerusalem, near the town of Ashdod and Judah's border with Samaria.
• Israel's present international airport at Lod, just east of Tel Aviv on the Mediterranean coast, is very close to this site.
• It was in a kind of no-man's land between Judah and Samaria.
• If Nehemiah had accepted this invitation, he would have been many miles from Jerusalem for at least two days.
• This would have given the people of the land an opportunity to attack the Jewish workmen.

3 So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing important work and cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?” 4 Four times they sent me the same proposal, and I gave them the same reply.

• The evil one is relentless.
• Stay focused.

5 Sanballat sent me this same message a fifth time by his aide, who had an open letter in his hand. 6 In it was written:
It is reported among the nations—and Geshem agrees—that you and the Jews plan to rebel. This is the reason you are building the wall. According to these reports, you are to become their king 7 and have even set up the prophets in Jerusalem to proclaim on your behalf, “There is a king in Judah.” These rumors will be heard by the king. So come, let’s confer together.
8 Then I replied to him, “There is nothing to these rumors you are spreading; you are inventing them in your own mind.”

• Another tactic of the evil one.

9 For they were all trying to intimidate us, saying, “They will drop their hands from the work, and it will never be finished.”
But now, my God, strengthen my hands.

• Return to prayer

 
ATTEMPTS TO INTIMIDATE NEHEMIAH
10 I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was restricted to his house. He said:
Let’s meet at the house of God,
inside the temple.
Let’s shut the temple doors
because they’re coming to kill you.
They’re coming to kill you tonight!
11 But I said, “Should a man like me run away? How can someone like me enter the temple and live? I will not go.” 12 I realized that God had not sent him, because of the prophecy he spoke against me. Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 He was hired, so that I would be intimidated, do as he suggested, sin, and get a bad reputation, in order that they could discredit me.
14 My God, remember Tobiah and Sanballat for what they have done, and also the prophetess Noadiah and the other prophets who wanted to intimidate me.

• Prayer for the fourth time.

 
THE WALL COMPLETED
15 The wall was completed in fifty-two days, on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul. 16 When all our enemies heard this, all the surrounding nations were intimidated and lost their confidence, for they realized that this task had been accomplished by our God.

• It was a God-Sized task accomplished through men and women.

17 During those days, the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah’s letters came to them. 18 For many in Judah were bound by oath to him, since he was a son-in-law of Shecaniah son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berechiah. 19 These nobles kept mentioning Tobiah’s good deeds to me, and they reported my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to intimidate me.[3]

• Even after the spectacular accomplishment of rebuilding the wall, Nehemiah was still being attacked.
• Any attempt to fulfill God's desires will almost certainly draw opposition from God's enemies.
• "If you start building, you will soon be battling; so, be prepared!"
• "Whenever the saints say, 'Let us arise and build,' the enemy says, 'Let us arise and oppose.'
• There is no triumph without trouble.

 
Note the following lessons in leadership from Nehemiah 1 through 6:

• A leader must be a person of prayer (ch. 1)
• Have a vision (2:1-3), and be a wise planner (2:4-8).
• He must inspire his followers (2:11-20), organize his task (ch. 3), and combine faith and common sense (ch. 4).

He needs to be compassionate (5:1-13), possess personal integrity (5:14-19), be absolutely impartial (ch. 5), and display a sense of mission (ch. 6).

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ne 3:1–32.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ne 4:1–23.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ne 6:1–19.

Nehemiah

• Cup Bearer to the King
• Rusty’s DISC
• Current situation between Israel & Iran

 
586 BC – King Nebuchadnezzar came in, destroyed the Temple at Jerusalem, and took the Israelites into Babylonian captivity.
 
Artaxerxes I (465-424 BCE): Artaxerxes is the king mentioned in the Book of Ezra who allows Ezra to return to Jerusalem to teach the Law and implement reforms (Ezra 7:1-28).

• He is also the king during Nehemiah's time, who permits Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the city's walls (Nehemiah 2:1-8).
• In Judah, the Jews did not continue to fortify Jerusalem.
• The years of history that this book covers are 445-431 B.C., or perhaps a few years after that.

 
NEHEMIAH 1
1 The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah:
 
NEWS FROM JERUSALEM
During the month of Chislev in the twentieth year, when I was in the fortress city of Susa, 2 Hanani, one of my brothers, arrived with men from Judah, and I questioned them about Jerusalem and the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile. 3 They said to me, “The remnant in the province, who survived the exile, are in great trouble and disgrace. Jerusalem’s wall has been broken down, and its gates have been burned.”
 
NEHEMIAH’S PRAYER
4 When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for a number of days, fasting and praying before the God of the heavens. 5 I said,
Lord, the God of the heavens, the great and awe-inspiring God who keeps his gracious covenant with those who love him and keep his commands, 6 let your eyes be open and your ears be attentive to hear your servant’s prayer that I now pray to you day and night for your servants, the Israelites. I confess the sins we have committed against you. Both I and my father’s family have sinned. 7 We have acted corruptly toward you and have not kept the commands, statutes, and ordinances you gave your servant Moses. 8 Please remember what you commanded your servant Moses: “If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples. 9 But if you return to me and carefully observe my commands, even though your exiles were banished to the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place where I chose to have my name dwell.” 10 They are your servants and your people. You redeemed them by your great power and strong hand. 11 Please, Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant and to that of your servants who delight to revere your name. Give your servant success today, and grant him compassion in the presence of this man.
At the time, I was the king’s cupbearer.
 
NEHEMIAH SENT TO JERUSALEM
NEHEMIAH 2
1 During the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was set before him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad in his presence, 2 so the king said to me, “Why do you look so sad, when you aren’t sick? This is nothing but sadness of heart.”
I was overwhelmed with fear 3 and replied to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should I not be sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”
4 Then the king asked me, “What is your request?”
So I prayed to the God of the heavens 5 and answered the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor with you, send me to Judah and to the city where my ancestors are buried, so that I may rebuild it.”
6 The king, with the queen seated beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you return?” So I gave him a definite time, and it pleased the king to send me.
7 I also said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let me have letters written to the governors of the region west of the Euphrates River, so that they will grant me safe passage until I reach Judah. 8 And let me have a letter written to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, so that he will give me timber to rebuild the gates of the temple’s fortress, the city wall, and the home where I will live.”, The king granted my requests, for the gracious hand of my God was on me.
9 I went to the governors of the region west of the Euphrates and gave them the king’s letters. The king had also sent officers of the infantry and cavalry with me. 10 When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard that someone had come to pursue the prosperity of the Israelites, they were greatly displeased.
 
PREPARING TO REBUILD THE WALLS
11 After I arrived in Jerusalem and had been there three days, 12 I got up at night and took a few men with me. I didn’t tell anyone what my God had laid on my heart to do for Jerusalem. The only animal I took was the one I was riding. 13 I went out at night through the Valley Gate toward the Serpent’s Well and the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that had been broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire. 14 I went on to the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but farther down it became too narrow for my animal to go through. 15 So I went up at night by way of the valley and inspected the wall. Then heading back, I entered through the Valley Gate and returned.

• Perhaps Nehemiah only surveyed the southern parts of Jerusalem's wall because those were the only sections still standing.

16 The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, for I had not yet told the Jews, priests, nobles, officials, or the rest of those who would be doing the work. 17 So I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins and its gates have been burned. Come, let’s rebuild Jerusalem’s wall, so that we will no longer be a disgrace.” 18 I told them how the gracious hand of my God had been on me, and what the king had said to me.
They said, “Let’s start rebuilding,” and their hands were strengthened to do this good work.
19 When Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about this, they mocked and despised us, and said, “What is this you’re doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”
20 I gave them this reply, “The God of the heavens is the one who will grant us success. We, his servants, will start building, but you have no share, right, or historic claim in Jerusalem.”[1]
 
[1] He established a reasonable and attainable goal.
[2] He had a sense of mission.
[3] He was willing to get involved.
[4] He rearranged his priorities in order to accomplish his goal.
[5] He patiently waited for God's timing.
[6] He showed respect to his superior.
[7] He prayed at crucial times.
[8] He made his request with tact and graciousness.
[9] He was well prepared and thought of his needs in advance.
[10] He went through proper channels.
[11] He took time (three days) to rest, pray, and plan.
[12] He investigated the situation firsthand.
[13] He informed others only after he knew the size of the problem.
[14] He identified himself as one with the people.
[15] He set before them a reasonable and attainable goal.
[16] He assured them God was in the project.
[17] He displayed self-confidence in facing obstacles.
[18] He displayed God's confidence in facing obstacles.
[19] He did not argue with opponents.
[20] He was not discouraged by opposition.
[21] He courageously used the authority of his position.

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ne 1–2:20.

586 BC – King Nebuchadnezzar came in, destroyed the Temple at Jerusalem, and took the Israelites into Babylonian captivity.
 
Artaxerxes I (465-424 BCE): Artaxerxes is the king mentioned in the Book of Ezra who allows Ezra to return to Jerusalem to teach the Law and implement reforms (Ezra 7:1-28).

• He is also the king during Nehemiah's time, who permits Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the city's walls (Nehemiah 2:1-8).

 

• A period of 58 years separates Ezra 6 from Ezra 7 (515-458 B.C.). During this time, the events in the Book of Esther took place in Persia and, specifically, in Susa, one of the Persian capitals.
• In Judah, the Jews did not continue to fortify Jerusalem.
• They were content to worship at the temple.
• Their earlier zeal to return to the Mosaic Law, which included separation from non-Jews, waned.
• Over this 58-year period, some of them intermarried with unbelieving Gentiles (9:1-2).
• Evidently, the Levites neglected the teaching of the Law (7:25; cf. Neh. 8:1-12), and temple worship became more formal than heartfelt (7:23).

 
EZRA’S ARRIVAL
EZRA 7
1 After these events, during the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia, Ezra--

• In Jerusalem, Ezra's ministry consisted primarily of leading the people to return to observance of their Law.
• Since his time, the Jews have regarded Ezra as a second Moses, because he re-established Israel on the Mosaic Law.

Seraiah’s son, Azariah’s son,
Hilkiah’s son, 2 Shallum’s son,
Zadok’s son, Ahitub’s son,
3 Amariah’s son, Azariah’s son,
Meraioth’s son, 4 Zerahiah’s son,
Uzzi’s son, Bukki’s son,
5 Abishua’s son, Phinehas’s son,
Eleazar’s son, the chief priest Aaron’s son
6 —came up from Babylon. He was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses, which the Lord, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted him everything he requested because the hand of the Lord his God was on him. 7 Some of the Israelites, priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants accompanied him to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.
8 Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, during the seventh year of the king. 9 He began the journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month and arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month since the gracious hand of his God was on him.

• Ezra and his companions left Babylon in the spring of 458 B.C.
• Ezra and his fellow travelers completed their 900-mile journey exactly four months later because of God's enablement.[

10 Now Ezra had determined in his heart to study the law of the Lord, obey it, and teach its statutes and ordinances in Israel.

• Ezra's resolve provides an excellent example for every believer.
• He first proposed to study the Law of God, then to apply that teaching to his own life, and then to teach others the revealed will of God.
• This was the key to Ezra's impact.
• He is a model reformer in that what he taught he had first lived, and what he lived he had first made sure of in the Scriptures.

 
LETTER FROM ARTAXERXES
11 This is the text of the letter King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest and scribe, an expert in matters of the Lord’s commands and statutes for Israel:

•  Ezra held a position in the Persian court equivalent to Secretary of State for Jewish Affairs.
• Artaxerxes gave any of the Jews in his kingdom permission to return to the Promised Land, if they chose to do so.

12 Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, an expert in the law of the God of the heavens:
Greetings.
13 I issue a decree that any of the Israelites in my kingdom, including their priests and Levites, who want to go to Jerusalem, may go with you. 14 You are sent by the king and his seven counselors to evaluate Judah and Jerusalem according to the law of your God, which is in your possession. 15 You are also to bring the silver and gold the king and his counselors have willingly given to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, 16 and all the silver and gold you receive throughout the province of Babylon, together with the freewill offerings given by the people and the priests to the house of their God in Jerusalem. 17 Then you are to be diligent to buy with this money bulls, rams, and lambs, along with their grain and drink offerings, and offer them on the altar at the house of your God in Jerusalem. 18 You may do whatever seems best to you and your brothers with the rest of the silver and gold, according to the will of your God. 19 Deliver to the God of Jerusalem all the articles given to you for the service of the house of your God. 20 You may use the royal treasury to pay for anything else needed for the house of your God.
21 I, King Artaxerxes, issue a decree to all the treasurers in the region west of the Euphrates River:
Whatever Ezra the priest, an expert in the law of the God of the heavens, asks of you must be provided in full, 22 up to 7,500 pounds of silver, 500 bushels of wheat, 550 gallons of wine, 550 gallons of oil, and salt without limit. 23 Whatever is commanded by the God of the heavens must be done diligently for the house of the God of the heavens, so that wrath will not fall on the realm of the king and his sons. 24 Be advised that you do not have authority to impose tribute, duty, and land tax on any priests, Levites, singers, doorkeepers, temple servants, or other servants of this house of God.

• And he allowed the temple personnel to be tax-free.
• All this was to be done "diligently" and "with zeal".

25 And you, Ezra, according to God’s wisdom that you possess, appoint magistrates and judges to judge all the people in the region west of the Euphrates who know the laws of your God and to teach anyone who does not know them. 26 Anyone who does not keep the law of your God and the law of the king, let the appropriate judgment be executed against him, whether death, banishment, confiscation of property, or imprisonment.
27 Blessed be the Lord, the God of our ancestors, who has put it into the king’s mind to glorify the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, 28 and who has shown favor to me before the king, his counselors, and all his powerful officers. So I took courage because I was strengthened by the hand of the Lord my God, and I gathered Israelite leaders to return with me.[1]
 

• Artaxerxes' decisions were influenced by a combination of respect for the Jewish people's religious traditions, the desire for political stability, and trust in the leadership abilities of Ezra and Nehemiah.

 
THOSE RETURNING WITH EZRA
EZRA 8
1 These are the family heads and the genealogical records of those who returned with me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes:

• 2-14 lists all the people and their descendants who returned to Israel with Ezra.
• Seems as if Ezra is writing in first person now.

15 I gathered them at the river that flows to Ahava, and we camped there for three days. I searched among the people and priests, but found no Levites there.

• No Levites had volunteered to return to Judah.
• In view of his plans for the restoration, Ezra needed more Levites than those already in Judah.
• Ezra gathered leaders and sent them to Casiphia where he knew there were temple servants.
• 250+ Levite men came to Ezra.

 
PREPARING TO RETURN
21 I proclaimed a fast by the Ahava River, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us, our dependents, and all our possessions.

• Fasting in the New Covenant is a personal decision that can be used to refocus on Christ and His grace.
• It is not a requirement or a means to gain spiritual merit, but rather an opportunity to remember and celebrate the freedom and blessings we have in Jesus.

22 I did this because I was ashamed to ask the king for infantry and cavalry to protect us from enemies during the journey, since we had told him, “The hand of our God is gracious to all who seek him, but his fierce anger is against all who abandon him.” 23 So we fasted and pleaded with our God about this, and he was receptive to our prayer.
24 I selected twelve of the leading priests, along with Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers. 25 I weighed out to them the silver, the gold, and the articles—the contribution for the house of our God that the king, his counselors, his leaders, and all the Israelites who were present had offered. 26 I weighed out to them 24 tons of silver, silver articles weighing 7,500 pounds, 7,500 pounds of gold, 27 twenty gold bowls worth a thousand gold coins, and two articles of fine gleaming bronze, as valuable as gold. 28 Then I said to them, “You are holy to the Lord, and the articles are holy. The silver and gold are a freewill offering to the Lord God of your ancestors. 29 Guard them carefully until you weigh them out in the chambers of the Lord’s house before the leading priests, Levites, and heads of the Israelite families in Jerusalem.” 30 So the priests and Levites took charge of the silver, the gold, and the articles that had been weighed out, to bring them to the house of our God in Jerusalem.
 
ARRIVAL IN JERUSALEM
31 We set out from the Ahava River on the twelfth day of the first month to go to Jerusalem. We were strengthened by our God, and he kept us from the grasp of the enemy and from ambush along the way. 32 So we arrived at Jerusalem and rested there for three days. 33 On the fourth day the silver, the gold, and the articles were weighed out in the house of our God into the care of the priest Meremoth son of Uriah. Eleazar son of Phinehas was with him. The Levites Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui were also with them. 34 Everything was verified by number and weight, and the total weight was recorded at that time.
35 The exiles who had returned from the captivity offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, and seventy-seven lambs, along with twelve male goats as a sin offering. All this was a burnt offering for the Lord. 36 They also delivered the king’s edicts to the royal satraps and governors of the region west of the Euphrates, so that they would support the people and the house of God.[2]
 
ISRAEL’S INTERMARRIAGE
EZRA 9
1 After these things had been done, the leaders approached me and said, “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the surrounding peoples whose detestable practices are like those of the Canaanites, Hethites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. 2 Indeed, the Israelite men have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy seed has become mixed with the surrounding peoples. The leaders and officials have taken the lead in this unfaithfulness!”

• The Mosaic Law strictly forbade intermarriage with the native Canaanites (Exod. 34:11-16; Deut. 7:1-5; cf. Lev. 18:3).

3 When I heard this report, I tore my tunic and robe, pulled out some of the hair from my head and beard, and sat down devastated.
 
EZRA’S CONFESSION
4 Everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathered around me, because of the unfaithfulness of the exiles, while I sat devastated until the evening offering. 5 At the evening offering, I got up from my time of humiliation, with my tunic and robe torn. Then I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God. 6 And I said:
My God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face toward you, my God, because our iniquities are higher than our heads and our guilt is as high as the heavens. 7 Our guilt has been terrible from the days of our ancestors until the present. Because of our iniquities we have been handed over, along with our kings and priests, to the surrounding kings, and to the sword, captivity, plundering, and open shame, as it is today. 8 But now, for a brief moment, grace has come from the Lord our God to preserve a remnant for us and give us a stake in his holy place. Even in our slavery, God has given us a little relief and light to our eyes. 9 Though we are slaves, our God has not abandoned us in our slavery. He has extended grace to us in the presence of the Persian kings, giving us relief, so that we can rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.
10 Now, our God, what can we say in light of this? For we have abandoned the commands 11 you gave through your servants the prophets, saying, “The land you are entering to possess is an impure land. The surrounding peoples have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness by their impurity and detestable practices. 12 So do not give your daughters to their sons in marriage or take their daughters for your sons. Never pursue their welfare or prosperity, so that you will be strong, eat the good things of the land, and leave it as an inheritance to your sons forever.” 13 After all that has happened to us because of our evil deeds and terrible guilt—though you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserve and have allowed us to survive,--14 should we break your commands again and intermarry with the peoples who commit these detestable practices? Wouldn’t you become so angry with us that you would destroy us, leaving neither remnant nor survivor? 15 Lord God of Israel, you are righteous, for we survive as a remnant today. Here we are before you with our guilt, though no one can stand in your presence because of this.[3]

• Ezra's prayer contains four primary characteristics: solidarity, confession, readiness to change, and faith in God's mercy.

 
SENDING AWAY FOREIGN WIVES
EZRA 10
1 While Ezra prayed and confessed, weeping and falling facedown before the house of God, an extremely large assembly of Israelite men, women, and children gathered around him. The people also wept bitterly. 2 Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, an Elamite, responded to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the surrounding peoples, but there is still hope for Israel in spite of this. 3 Therefore, let’s make a covenant before our God to send away all the foreign wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the command of our God. Let it be done according to the law. 4 Get up, for this matter is your responsibility, and we support you. Be strong and take action!”

• Even today, some Jewish leaders view intermarriage with non-Jews as the significant threat to the continuation of Judaism:
• Therefore, the greatest danger to Jewish survival outside Israel today is not anti-Semitism but assimilation, epitomized by the threat of intermarriage.

5 Then Ezra got up and made the leading priests, Levites, and all Israel take an oath to do what had been said; so they took the oath. 6 Ezra then went from the house of God and walked to the chamber of Jehohanan son of Eliashib, where he spent the night. He did not eat food or drink water, because he was mourning over the unfaithfulness of the exiles.
7 They circulated a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem that all the exiles should gather at Jerusalem. 8 Whoever did not come within three days would forfeit all his possessions, according to the decision of the leaders and elders, and would be excluded from the assembly of the exiles.
9 So all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered in Jerusalem within the three days. On the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the people sat in the square at the house of God, trembling because of this matter and because of the heavy rain. 10 Then the priest Ezra stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful by marrying foreign women, adding to Israel’s guilt. 11 Therefore, make a confession to the Lord, the God of your ancestors, and do his will. Separate yourselves from the surrounding peoples and your foreign wives.”
12 Then all the assembly responded loudly, “Yes, we will do as you say! 13 But there are many people, and it is the rainy season. We don’t have the stamina to stay out in the open. This isn’t something that can be done in a day or two, for we have rebelled terribly in this matter. 14 Let our leaders represent the entire assembly. Then let all those in our towns who have married foreign women come at appointed times, together with the elders and judges of each town, in order to avert the fierce anger of our God concerning this matter.” 15 Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah opposed this, with Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite supporting them.
16 The exiles did what had been proposed. The priest Ezra selected men who were family heads, all identified by name, to represent their ancestral families. They convened on the first day of the tenth month to investigate the matter, 17 and by the first day of the first month they had dealt with all the men who had married foreign women.
 
THOSE MARRIED TO FOREIGN WIVES
18 The following were found to have married foreign women from the descendants of the priests:
from the descendants of Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah. 19 They pledged to send their wives away, and being guilty, they offered a ram from the flock for their guilt;
20 Hanani and Zebadiah from Immer’s descendants;
21 Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah from Harim’s descendants;
22 Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah from Pashhur’s descendants.
23 The Levites:
Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (that is Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.
24 The singers:
Eliashib.
The gatekeepers:
Shallum, Telem, and Uri.
25 The Israelites:
Parosh’s descendants: Ramiah, Izziah, Malchijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malchijah, and Benaiah;
26 Elam’s descendants: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah;
27 Zattu’s descendants: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza;
28 Bebai’s descendants: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai;
29 Bani’s descendants: Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeremoth;
30 Pahath-moab’s descendants: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh;
31 Harim’s descendants: Eliezer, Isshijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, 32 Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah;
33 Hashum’s descendants: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei;
34 Bani’s descendants: Maadai, Amram, Uel, 35 Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluhi, 36 Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, 37 Mattaniah, Mattenai, Jaasu, 38 Bani, Binnui, Shimei, 39 Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, 40 Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, 41 Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah, 42 Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph;
43 Nebo’s descendants: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah.
44 All of these had married foreign women, and some of the wives had given birth to children.[4]
 

• Ezra then returned to Babylonia, where tradition said he died and where his alleged tomb may still be visited.
• The Book of Ezra-Nehemiah presents Ezra as a strong personality.

He did not emphasize the law as an end in itself; instead, he was convinced that the covenant community needed to return to God by taking seriously his revelation and applying it to every aspect of life.

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ezr 7:1–28.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ezr 8:1–36.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ezr 9:1–15.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ezr 10:1–44.

Books of the Bible

• 5-12-5-5-12    4-1-21-1

 
586 BC – King Nebuchadnezzar came in, destroyed the Temple at Jerusalem, and took the Israelites into Babylonian captivity.
 
Cyrus the Great (559-530 BCE): Cyrus is the Persian king who conquered Babylon in 539 BCE and issued a decree in 538 BCE allowing the Jewish exiles to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple (Ezra 1:1-4).

• This marked the end of the Babylonian Captivity.

 
Cambyses II (530-522 BCE): Although not mentioned in the Bible, Cambyses was Cyrus's successor.

• His reign is a transitional period between Cyrus and Darius.

 
Darius I (522-486 BCE): Darius is mentioned in the Book of Ezra as the king who confirmed the decree of Cyrus and supported the completion of the Second Temple in Jerusalem.

• The temple was completed in the sixth year of Darius's reign, around 516 BCE (Ezra 6:1-15).

 
Xerxes I (486-465 BCE): Known as Ahasuerus in the Book of Esther, Xerxes is the king during whose reign the events of Esther take place.

• Esther becomes queen, and through her courage, she saves the Jewish people from Haman's plot to annihilate them (Esther 1:1, 2:16-17).

 
Artaxerxes I (465-424 BCE): Artaxerxes is the king mentioned in the Book of Ezra who allows Ezra to return to Jerusalem to teach the Law and implement reforms (Ezra 7:1-28).

• He is also the king during Nehemiah's time, who permits Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the city's walls (Nehemiah 2:1-8).

 
THE DECREE OF CYRUS
EZRA 1
1 In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah, the Lord roused the spirit of King Cyrus to issue a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom and to put it in writing:
2 This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: “The Lord, the God of the heavens, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed me to build him a house at Jerusalem in Judah. 3 Any of his people among you, may his God be with him, and may he go to Jerusalem in Judah and build the house of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem. 4 Let every survivor, wherever he resides, be assisted by the men of that region with silver, gold, goods, and livestock, along with a freewill offering for the house of God in Jerusalem.”
 
RETURN FROM EXILE
5 So the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and Levites—everyone whose spirit God had roused—prepared to go up and rebuild the Lord’s house in Jerusalem. 6 All their neighbors supported them, with silver articles, gold, goods, livestock, and valuables, in addition to all that was given as a freewill offering. 7 King Cyrus also brought out the articles of the Lord’s house that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem and had placed in the house of his gods. 8 King Cyrus of Persia had them brought out under the supervision of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. 9 This was the inventory:
30 gold basins, 1,000 silver basins,
29 silver knives, 10 30 gold bowls,
410 various silver bowls, and 1,000 other articles.
11 The gold and silver articles totaled 5,400. Sheshbazzar brought all of them when the exiles went up from Babylon to Jerusalem.[1]
 
THE EXILES WHO RETURNED
EZRA 2
1 These now are the people of the province who came from those captive exiles King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had deported to Babylon. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town. 2 They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah… [2]

• List of descendants

 
64 The whole combined assembly numbered
 
         42,360
 

65 not including their 7,337 male and female servants,
and their 200 male and female singers.
66 They had 736 horses, 245 mules,
67 435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys.
 
GIFTS FOR THE WORK
68 After they arrived at the Lord’s house in Jerusalem, some of the family heads gave freewill offerings for the house of God in order to have it rebuilt on its original  site. 69 Based on what they could give, they gave 61,000 gold coins, 6,250 pounds of silver, and 100 priestly garments to the treasury for the project. 70 The priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, temple servants, and some of the people settled in their towns, and the rest of Israel settled in their towns.[3]
 
SACRIFICE RESTORED
EZRA 3
1 When the seventh month arrived, and the Israelites were in their towns, the people gathered as one in Jerusalem. 2 Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers the priests along with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his brothers began to build the altar of Israel’s God in order to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God. 3 They set up the altar on its foundation and offered burnt offerings for the morning and evening on it to the Lord even though they feared the surrounding peoples. 4 They celebrated the Festival of Shelters as prescribed, and offered burnt offerings each day, based on the number specified by ordinance for each festival day. 5 After that, they offered the regular burnt offering and the offerings for the beginning of each month, and for all the Lord’s appointed holy occasions, as well as the freewill offerings brought to the Lord.
6 On the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, even though the foundation of the Lord’s temple had not yet been laid. 7 They gave money to the stonecutters and artisans, and gave food, drink, and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre, so they would bring cedar wood from Lebanon to Joppa by sea, according to the authorization given them by King Cyrus of Persia.
 
REBUILDING THE TEMPLE
8 In the second month of the second year after they arrived at God’s house in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers, including the priests, the Levites, and all who had returned to Jerusalem from the captivity, began to build. They appointed the Levites who were twenty years old or more to supervise the work on the Lord’s house. 9 Jeshua with his sons and brothers, Kadmiel with his sons, and the sons of Judah and of Henadad, with their sons and brothers, the Levites, joined together to supervise those working on the house of God.
 
TEMPLE FOUNDATION COMPLETED
10 When the builders had laid the foundation of the Lord’s temple, the priests, dressed in their robes and holding trumpets, and the Levites descended from Asaph, holding cymbals, took their positions to praise the Lord, as King David of Israel had instructed. 11 They sang with praise and thanksgiving to the Lord: “For he is good; his faithful love to Israel endures forever.” Then all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord because the foundation of the Lord’s house had been laid.
12 But many of the older priests, Levites, and family heads, who had seen the first temple, wept loudly when they saw the foundation of this temple, but many others shouted joyfully. 13 The people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shouting from that of the weeping, because the people were shouting so loudly. And the sound was heard far away.[4]
 
OPPOSITION TO REBUILDING THE TEMPLE
EZRA 4
1 When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles, were building a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, 2 they approached Zerubbabel and the family heads and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we also worship your God and have been sacrificing to him since the time King Esar-haddon of Assyria brought us here.”
3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the other heads of Israel’s families answered them, “You may have no part with us in building a house for our God, since we alone will build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia has commanded us.” 4 Then the people who were already in the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build. 5 They also bribed officials to act against them to frustrate their plans throughout the reign of King Cyrus of Persia and until the reign of King Darius of Persia.
 
OPPOSITION TO REBUILDING THE CITY
6 At the beginning of the reign of Ahasuerus, the people who were already in the land wrote an accusation against the residents of Judah and Jerusalem. 7 During the time of King Artaxerxes of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of his colleagues wrote to King Artaxerxes.[5]
 

• Timeline of Temple Rebuild

 
11 This is the text of the letter they sent to him:
To King Artaxerxes from your servants, the men from the region west of the Euphrates River:
12 Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came from you have returned to us at Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and evil city, finishing its walls, and repairing its foundations. 13 Let it now be known to the king that if that city is rebuilt and its walls are finished, they will not pay tribute, duty, or land tax, and the royal revenue will suffer. 14 Since we have taken an oath of loyalty to the king, and it is not right for us to witness his dishonor, we have sent to inform the king 15 that a search should be made in your predecessors’ record books. In these record books you will discover and verify that the city is a rebellious city, harmful to kings and provinces. There have been revolts in it since ancient times. That is why this city was destroyed. 16 We advise the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are finished, you will not have any possession west of the Euphrates.
 
ARTAXERXES’S REPLY
17 The king sent a reply to his chief deputy Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues living in Samaria and elsewhere in the region west of the Euphrates River:
Greetings.
18 The letter you sent us has been translated and read, in my presence. 19 I issued a decree and a search was conducted. It was discovered that this city has had uprisings against kings since ancient times, and there have been rebellions and revolts in it. 20 Powerful kings have also ruled over Jerusalem and exercised authority over the whole region west of the Euphrates River, and tribute, duty, and land tax were paid to them. 21 Therefore, issue an order for these men to stop, so that this city will not be rebuilt until a further decree has been pronounced by me. 22 See that you not neglect this matter. Otherwise, the damage will increase and the royal interests will suffer.
23 As soon as the text of King Artaxerxes’s letter was read to Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their colleagues, they immediately went to the Jews in Jerusalem and forcibly stopped them.[6]
 
EZRA 6
13 Then Tattenai governor of the region west of the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai, and their colleagues diligently carried out what King Darius had decreed. 14 So the Jewish elders continued successfully with the building under the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo. They finished the building according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius, and King Artaxerxes of Persia. 15 This house was completed on the third day of the month of Adar in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.
 
TEMPLE DEDICATION AND THE PASSOVER
16 Then the Israelites, including the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles, celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy. 17 For the dedication of God’s house they offered one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, and four hundred lambs, as well as twelve male goats as a sin offering for all Israel—one for each Israelite tribe. 18 They also appointed the priests by their divisions and the Levites by their groups to the service of God in Jerusalem, according to what is written in the book of Moses.
19 The exiles observed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month. 20 All of the priests and Levites were ceremonially clean, because they had purified themselves. They killed the Passover lamb for themselves, their priestly brothers, and all the exiles. 21 The Israelites who had returned from exile ate it, together with all who had separated themselves from the uncleanness of the Gentiles of the land, in order to worship the Lord, the God of Israel. 22 They observed the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, because the Lord had made them joyful, having changed the Assyrian king’s attitude toward them, so that he supported them in the work on the house of the God of Israel.[7]
 
This is religion.
 
Ezra-Nehemiah is a scriptural manual on revival.

• God's people wax and wane during their spiritual journey, and God has given in Ezra-Nehemiah a book to address this consistent issue.

 
God does not discard what He has chosen, but He remakes it when it fails.
 
In today’s cancel culture, with most people, if someone fails a few times, that person is out.
With God, if a person fails, he gets many other opportunities.

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ezr 1:1–11.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ezr 2:1–2.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ezr 2:64–70.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ezr 3:1–13.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ezr 4:1–7.
[6] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ezr 4:11–23.
[7] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ezr 6:13–22.