Ezra

Author: Ezra
Date of Writing: 5th Century BC
Type of Book: Historical
Theme: Return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple

The books of Ezra and Nehemiah are one book in the Hebrew Bible and were written by Ezra the priest.  Jewish tradition also says he wrote the books of Chronicles.  Ezra was an eyewitness to many of these events and a key character.

Sometime in the fifth century BC, the northern tribes of Israel had been taken captive by Assyria.  The Assyrians repopulated the territory in the north and intermarried with the children of Israel, resulting in the Samaritan people.  During the same time, the Babylonians conquered the southern kingdom of Judah and carried most of the Jewish people from the south into captivity in Babylon.  The region of Judah became mostly deserted, and it laid waste for seventy years.

While the children of Israel were in captivity, the Persians conquered the Babylonian Empire, and they allowed Israel to return to the area to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple.  In the first phase of this return, Zerubbabel took around 50,000 people to begin the reconstruction of the temple, and later Ezra followed with about 2000 more.  Nehemiah came later to help restore the city walls of Jerusalem.

The book of Ezra begins with the declaration from Cyrus, the king of Persia, giving the Jews permission to return to Jerusalem to rebuild their temple.  This started the clock ticking as to the actual date of the first coming of the Messiah, as Daniel prophesied in Daniel 9:25.

The first six chapters chronicle the efforts of Zerubbabel and those who worked on the building project - and the problems they endured.  Then, chapters 7 through 10 tell of Ezra's involvement as he came to encourage the people, leading them into a spiritual reform.  He wasn't just interested in finishing a building project; he cared about the spiritual condition of the people.  He realized that Israel's rejection of God's Law was what caused their captivity in the first place.

Ezra is an important writer and an outstanding leader who followed the Word of God and encouraged others to obey it.  May the book of Ezra encourage us to do the same.

-from Pastor Chuck Smith: The Word for Today Bible