Ezra 1-3

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The Book of Ezra is devoted to events occurring in the land of Israel at the time of the return from the Babylonian captivity and subsequent years, covering a period of approximately one century, beginning in 538 B.C. The emphasis in Ezra is on the rebuilding of the Temple. The book contains extensive genealogical records, principally for the purpose of establishing the claims to the priesthood on the part of the descendants of Aaron.

The book may be divided as follows:

- Chapters 1-6—The First Return under Zerubbabel, and the Building of the Second Temple.

- Chapters 7-10—The Ministry of Ezra.

Since well over half a century elapsed between chapters 6 and 7, the characters of the first part of the book had died by the time Ezra began his ministry in Jerusalem. Ezra is the one person who is prominent in the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Both books end with prayers of confession (Ezra 9; Nehemiah 9) and a subsequent separation of the people from the sinful practices into which they had fallen.

The Book of Ezra covers the return from captivity to rebuild the Temple up to the decree of Artaxerxes, the event covered at the beginning of the Book of Nehemiah. Haggai was the main prophet in the day of Ezra, and Zechariah was the prophet in the day of Nehemiah.

Here are a few life lessons we can learn the first 3 chapters of Ezra:

1) God punishes and then restores! Israel and Judah had sinned horribly. That's why God allowed them to be exiled. Some 70 years had to pass (as prophesied by Jeremiah) before God would put it in the heart of a pagan king (King Cyrus of Persia) to send them back to Jerusalem to worship God. God used a pagan king to accomplish His purpose of restoring His people and sending them back to the promised land.

Simply put, God punishes us when we sin. When we seek His forgiveness, He forgives us completely, but it may be a while before things are back to normal. We may have to live out the consequences of our sinfulness. However, when God does punish us it is for the purpose of restoring us and making us more faithful and obedient to His commands.

God is a God of second chances!

2) God uses unbelievers to accomplish His purpose! Not only did God use a pagan king to send the Jews back to their homeland to rebuild the Temple and worship their God, but he commanded that their neighbors supply them with enough gold, silver, and money to make this possible. It's really interesting to see how God (just like the Egyptians did when Israel left Egypt) moved on the hearts of their neighbors to supply them with all they needed for the journey and for the successful rebuilding of the Temple.

3) A right relationship with God brings REAL JOY! It's exciting to read the end remarks of chapter 3! The emotional outcry from both shouting and weeping was so significant that the noise could be heard from miles around. Even though the Temple had not yet been completed, they first rebuilt the altar and began sacrificing on the altar in order to restore their relationship with God. That reuniting with God brought great peace and joy to the people!

4) A right relationship with God takes priority over a ministry for God. The leaders did what was right! The rebuilding of the Temple was second to making sure that they had a right relationship with God. This reminds me of how ministry is second to making sure that our relationship with God is the foremost priority of our lives.

I hope this ministers to you! Have a great day in the Lord!