Bible Studies
The Exiles Return (Ezra 1:1-4)
Series: Studies In EzraIntroduction:
1. I cannot begin to imagine what it must have been like for Israel to be able to return home to Jerusalem. 2. They had been in captivity for 70 years.a. Only those that had been taken into captivity as children would have ever seen the city.
b. Now they were old.
3. About 50,000 (Ezra 2:64) would make the trip north along the Tigris River and then turn south toward Jerusalem. It was some 900 miles. It is probably not necessary to suppose that all 50,000 traveled together. Perhaps they traveled in groups. 4. King Cyrus of Persia had released captives from many nations (Cyrus Cylinder).a. He authorized the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem.
b. He returned the vessels of the house of the Lord (1:5ff) that king Nebuchadnezzar had taken.
c. The captives were to support the rebuilding with silver and gold, goods and cattle and a freewill offering.
5. It was a difficult task that lay ahead of them. We could understand that some might not be so excited about the prospects of returning. 6. Those who did must have had a vision instilled in them by the teaching of their parents and grandparents. 7. Ezra, Jeshua and Zerubbabel were just such men! They led the first group of returnees. It was 536 B.C.Discussion:
I. Their vision stemmed from their recognition of God’s activity in their lives.A. Indeed they saw the actions of Cyrus as prompted by the revelation of God through Jeremiah.
1. Jeremiah had prophesied 70 years of captivity (25:11-12; 29:10).
2. Isaiah had predicted their release under Cyrus (Isa. 44:28).
3. Daniel saw the actions of Cyrus as fulfilling the word of God (Dan. 9:1ff).
4. The Chronicler also saw what was occurring as part of the plan of God (2 Chron. 36:22-23).
B. They saw what they were doing as conforming their lives to the plan of God.
1. They were acting in faith upon what had been revealed by Jeremiah.
2. Understand that what they were doing was a matter of great upheaval in their lives.
3. They would be immigrating 900 miles. It would affect them economically. They would be leaving people behind. They would have to integrate back into the land of Israel that had now been occupied by others. There was really no way that they could anticipate all the difficulties.
C. Their return was a matter of faith.
D. Do you see yourself as a part of the unfolding plan of God?
1. Maybe you do not see yourself as an Ezra, Jeshua or a Zerubbabel.
2. Are you one of the ones numbered in chapter 2. Is your name at the head of a group of your descendants who see themselves as part of the plan of God?
3. Maybe you are just one of those numbered. Maybe number 319 of the sons of Harim (2:32).
4. There are different roles that individuals play in executing the plan of God. Each one must hear the voice of God. Each one needs to see the vision. Each one must make the sacrifices. Each one must act in faith.
5. Some of those who were of priestly lineage could not produce their ancestral registration. They were excluded from the priesthood until it could be determined that they were indeed descendants of the priestly lineage.
II. The predictions were that they would come out of exile, but there was a special sense in which they were called out of exile.A. Before they were taken into exile God had called on the people in Jerusalem to surrender to the Babylonians in order to be preserved alive (Jer. 21:8-10; 29:10-14).
B. Isaiah wrote approximately 100 years prior to Jeremiah. Speaking of the Assyrian captivity in particular he reflected on a time when God would bare his holy arm and deliver His people like He had delivered them from Egypt (52:3-11).
1. Verse 11: “Depart, depart, go out from there, touch nothing unclean; go out of the midst of her, purify yourselves, you who carry the vessels of the Lord.”
2. The Assyrian captives had been absorbed by the Babylonians and then by the Persians.
3. God’s message was that they were to come out and separate themselves from these foreign cultures.
4. It was to be like the exodus from Egypt. At that time God made a covenant with His people saying, “I will be your God and you shall be My people” (Ex. 29:45).
C. The really interesting thing about all this is that Paul uses Ex. 29:45 and Isa. 52:11 in 2 Cor. 6:14ff. There he calls the Corinthians come out and be separate from unbelievers.
1. This idea of the uniqueness of the people of God permeates all of Scripture.
2. As people in special covenant relationship with God they are cut off from the world and cut off to God in a circumcision of the heart (cf. Col. 2:11-12).
3. Like the ancients were to come out of bondage and be separate so the people of God today are to come out of bondage and be the special people of God (Col. 3:1ff).
D. The people of Ezra’s day are coming out of captivity and they are going to have to make some radical changes (Ezra 6:21). They had not been following the commands of God. As these lessons proceed we will see some of the things they had done in unfaithfulness.
III. The rebuilding process began.A. They lived in their cities (2:70).
B. They built the altar of God in Jerusalem (3:1).
C. They restored on the basis of what was written in the law of Moses, the man of God (3:2).
D. They laid the foundation of the temple and they celebrated (3:10ff).
E. They praised God according to the directions given by God through David. There was great celebration.
F. But there was also weeping. Why were these weeping?
1. Were they weeping over what had been lost in the captivity?
2. Were they weeping over the sins that had taken them into captivity in the first place?
3. Were they weeping because it was such an emotional experience beginning again?
4. Were they weeping out of thanksgiving that God had brought them this far?
G. Is it not normal for us to experience such emotion when brought out of captivity from sin? We rejoice over our deliverance. We sing praises and thanksgiving to God. We weep over sorrow for our sins and so there is a mixture of tears and rejoicing as we celebrate the work of God in our lives.
Conclusion:
1. Are you captive to the things and the ways of this world? 2. Come out and be separate says the Lord and I will be your God and you will be My people. 3. “Having such great promises beloved let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Cor. 7:1). 4. Circumcise your hearts, cutting off the ways of the world. Put on the things the things of God (Col. 3:5ff).
