Ezra 1

The *Jews return to Jerusalem

Ezra

Robert Bryce

About the Book of Ezra

There are many dates in this *introduction. These dates are the number of years before the time that Jesus Christ was born. Each date has the letters ‘*BC’ after it. The letters mean ‘before Christ’. This *introduction also refers to places in the Bible where you can read about these things.

The history of the *Jews before their *exile

These are the events that happened in Israel before the time of Ezra. This account will help us to understand the book of Ezra better. We can read about these events in Nehemiah 9:5-37.

The people in Israel do not obey God

God chose the nation called Israel to be his special people (Leviticus 20:26). He wanted the people to love him and to *worship him. And he wanted them to obey him. In the city called Jerusalem, which was their capital, they built a great *temple. The people *worshipped God and they gave *sacrifices to him in this *temple. Israel became a powerful nation.

But the people in Israel did not obey God (Nehemiah 9:16-18 and 9:26). They *worshipped the gods of the other nations. So God caused them to suffer trouble and difficulties.

The *Israelites continued to *sin against God (Nehemiah 9:28). God sent many *prophets to warn them about this. But often the *Israelites did not listen to these men and they continued to do bad things (Nehemiah 9:29-30). God loved his people, that is, the *Israelites. He did not want them to suffer. Often their troubles were the result of their own evil behaviour. But God still cared about the *Israelites. He wanted them to turn away from *sin and to obey him again.

The nation divided into two parts. The name of the northern part was Israel and people called the inhabitants *Israelites. The name of the southern part was Judah and people called the inhabitants *Jews. Jerusalem was in the southern part. The Book of Ezra is about the people from Judah. However, sometimes Ezra calls them ‘the *people of Israel’. God gave Jacob the name ‘Israel’ when he promised to make Jacob’s *descendants God’s special people (Genesis 32:28). Most of the families who returned from *exile were originally from Judah. But they were still God’s special people.

Assyria overcomes Israel

In 722 *BC God allowed a powerful nation, the *Assyrians, to overcome Israel. See 2 Kings 17:1-23. (Israel was the northern part of the country.) The *Assyrians forced many *Israelites to live in other countries (2 Kings 17:6; 2 Kings 18:10-11). And they brought other people to live in Israel (2 Kings 17:24). These other people *worshipped false gods. They also tried to *worship the real God, but they did not *worship him properly (2 Kings 17:25-41). People called them *Samaritans because their chief city was Samaria (2 Kings 17:24). Samaria was not far from Jerusalem. The journey between the two cities took about two days to walk. The *Samaritans became enemies of the *Jews who returned from *exile. One of their leaders was Sanballat, who was Nehemiah’s chief enemy. (Jesus often spoke about the *Samaritans. We can read about his conversation with a *Samaritan woman in John chapter 4. He explained to her how people everywhere would *worship God properly. See John 4:23-24.)

The beginning of the *exile of the people from Judah

Many of the kings from Judah did not obey God. (Judah was the southern part of the country.) But some of them loved God and they encouraged the people to obey him. However, the people in Judah usually refused to obey God (Nehemiah 9:28-30), as the *Israelites had done. So, after many years, God had to punish them too.

In 701 *BC Sennacherib, king of Assyria, overcame some of the cities of Judah (2 Kings 18:13). But he did not overcome Jerusalem (2 Kings 19:32-36). God saved the city on that occasion.

Many years later, the *Assyrian army became weak and the *Babylonians took control of Assyria. The *Babylonians were the *Jews’ enemies, as the *Assyrians had been. The king of the *Babylonians was Nebuchadnezzar. During his rule, the *Babylonian army overcame Judah. The soldiers took most of the *Jews to Babylonia and forced them to live there. This is called the *Babylonian *exile. It lasted for about 70 years.

God used a foreign king, Nebuchadnezzar, to punish the *Jews. Nebuchadnezzar took them away from the country that God had given to them. At that time, Nebuchadnezzar did not give honour to the real God. He gave honour to false gods. But God still used him to punish the *Jews. In Jeremiah 25:9 and Jeremiah 27:6, God said that Nebuchadnezzar was his servant. But Nebuchadnezzar did not know that. God also said that he would punish the *Babylonians 70 years later. They were wicked too (see Daniel 5:23). God is more powerful than any nation. He often uses people to carry out his purposes. He can even use people who do not know him.

The *Babylonians overcame Judah in three phases:

• In 605 *BC they took King Jehoiakim’s family and the people who served the king (2 Chronicles 36:5-7; Daniel 1:1-7). They forced them to go to Babylonia and to live there. Daniel was one of these people and he became a very important official in Babylonia (Daniel 1:17-21; Daniel 5:29-6.3; 6:28). He wrote the Book of Daniel.

• Then, 8 years later, the *Babylonians took Jehoiachin, the next king of Judah, to Babylonia. And they appointed his uncle, Zedekiah, to be king of Judah. They also took all the leaders, soldiers and skilled workmen. The *Babylonians also stole the beautiful and valuable things in the *temple and they took them to Babylonia (2 Kings 24:10-17).

• Later, in 586 *BC, the *Babylonians came again. They destroyed the *temple and the city called Jerusalem. They took King Zedekiah, and most of the people who remained in Judah, to Babylonia. They allowed only the poorest people to live in Judah (2 Kings 25:1-12).

God had warned his people about these terrible events. He would allow these events to happen if the people refused to obey him (Leviticus 26:27-39; Deuteronomy 28:15; Deuteronomy 28:64-68; 2 Chronicles 36:15-16; Isaiah 39:6-7 and Micah 4:10). God waited for a long time for his people to confess their *sins and to obey him. But the people did not listen to him. They did more and more evil things and they gave honour to false gods.

The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah

The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah are two parts of the same story. They tell us about the time when the *Jews returned from Babylonia to their own country, Judah. Babylonia was a long way from Judah. The journey between Babylonia and Judah took about 4 months to walk. The *Babylonians had defeated the people from Judah. They had forced most of the *Jews to go to Babylonia and to live there. After many years, the *Persians defeated the *Babylonians. Then Cyrus, the king of Persia, allowed the *Jews to return to Judah.

The Book of Ezra is the first part. It tells us about the first two groups of *Jews who returned to Judah. This happened about 70 years after the *Babylonians had taken the *Jews into *exile. The book also explains how the *Jews built their *temple again. Many years later a man called Ezra helped the *Jews. He helped them to know God’s commands and to obey them.

The Book of Nehemiah is the second part. It tells the story of a man whose name was Nehemiah. He was a very important official of the king of Persia. God sent him so that he could help the *Jews to build the walls of the city called Jerusalem again. He arrived in Judah about 13 years after Ezra went there. The king appointed Nehemiah to be the ruler of Judah. Nehemiah, like Ezra, helped the *Jews to obey God’s commands.

Notes to explain the book of Ezra

Chapter 1

v1 In the first year of the rule of Cyrus king of Persia, the *LORD spoke into the heart of Cyrus. The *LORD told Cyrus to make a declaration. Cyrus made this declaration to his whole *kingdom and he also wrote it in the records. Jeremiah had spoken the words of the *LORD. Jeremiah said that this would happen.

Verse 1 The army from Babylonia had defeated God’s people the *Jews. The *Babylonians had taken most of the *Jews into *exile in Babylonia. Almost 70 years later the *Persians defeated the *Babylonians. Cyrus was the king of Persia. He did not serve the real God (Isaiah 45:5), but God had an important job for Cyrus to do.

God had allowed the *Babylonians to take the *Jews into *exile. But God also intended to allow the *Jews to return to their own country (called Judah) after 70 years. In fact, God had told his people this by the words of his *prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 29:10).

So God ‘spoke into the heart of Cyrus’. Cyrus did not actually hear God’s voice. But he knew what was the right thing to do. God showed Cyrus that he should allow the *Jews to return to their own country (called Judah). So Cyrus announced that the *Jews could leave Babylonia and he wrote this in the official records. Then everyone would know that this was the king’s command.

v2 This is what King Cyrus says, ‘The *LORD, the God of heaven, has given to me all the *kingdoms in the world. He has ordered me to build a house for him in Jerusalem, which is in the country called Judah. v3 Any of God’s people who so desires may go to Jerusalem in Judah. I desire that your God will be with you. Go to Jerusalem and build the *temple of the *LORD, the God of Israel. He is the God who is in Jerusalem. v4 And the inhabitants of any place where God’s people still live must help. They must give silver and gold. And they must give goods and animals. They must also give gifts for the *temple of God in Jerusalem.’

Verses 2-4 Cyrus ruled over many nations. We know that Cyrus respected the gods of those nations. This made the people from those nations more loyal to him. And although Cyrus did not really serve the real God, he did give honour to God. He said that God had given to him his vast *kingdom. He believed that God wanted him to build God’s special house, the *temple, in Jerusalem in Judah. Some people think that he knew about the words of the *prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 29:10). They think that he wanted to make those words become true.

The Bible tells us the real reason why Cyrus allowed the *Jews to return to Judah. God made him do it. So although Cyrus was not a real servant of God, God had a special job for Cyrus to do (Isaiah 44:28).

So Cyrus allowed God’s people to return to Judah in order to build the *temple. Anyone could go who wanted to. Cyrus ordered other people to give gifts for the *temple. And he also ordered them to help the people who would build the *temple.

v5 And God spoke into the hearts of many people. So the heads of the families of Judah and Benjamin and the priests and *Levites prepared to go to Jerusalem. They intended to rebuild the house of the *LORD there. v6 All their neighbours helped them. The neighbours were generous and gave them silver and gold. They also gave goods and animals. They gave other valuable things and other gifts.

Verses 5-6 God had spoken into the heart of Cyrus. Then he also spoke into the hearts of many of the *Jews. Perhaps, like Cyrus, they did not hear God’s voice. But they knew in their hearts what was the right thing to do. God gave them a desire to go to Jerusalem to build his special house, the *temple.

The *Jews were living in Babylonia which was far from their own country called Judah. They were sad about the state of Judah and Jerusalem (Psalms 137:1-4). But they had lived in Babylonia for many years. Most of the *Jews were born in Babylonia and they had never travelled to Judah. They probably had comfortable lives in Babylonia. Judah was far away and it would take about 4 months to walk there. When they arrived there, they would have to build new homes for themselves. And it would be a hard task to rebuild the *temple. So not all the *Jews wanted to go to Judah. But God spoke into the hearts of many of them. In other words, he gave them a desire to go. God would make them into a real nation again. He did not need all the people to do this. He would do it with those people who really wanted to obey him.

Their neighbours gave them gifts for themselves. And the neighbours gave special gifts for the *temple. These neighbours were probably the people from Babylonia as well as the *Jews who did not want to go to Judah. This would have reminded the *Jews about the time in their history when God rescued them from Egypt. At that time, the people from Egypt had given gifts to the *Jews (Exodus 12:35-36).

v7 Also, King Cyrus brought out the objects which belonged to the *temple of the *LORD. Nebuchadnezzar had taken these objects away from Jerusalem. He had put them in the *temple of his gods. v8 Cyrus (king of Persia) ordered Mithredath, who looked after the king’s money, to bring out the objects. Mithredath counted them out to Sheshbazzar, the leader of Judah. v9-10 These are the numbers of the objects. There were 30 gold plates, 1000 silver plates, 29 knives, 30 gold bowls, 410 matching silver bowls and 1000 other objects. v11 In total, there were 5400 gold and silver objects. Sheshbazzar brought all these objects when the people left *exile in Babylonia to go to Jerusalem.

Verses 7-11 King Cyrus also gave the *Jews something to take back to Jerusalem for God’s *temple. He gave back the special objects that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the *temple in Jerusalem many years before (Daniel 1:2). Although Nebuchadnezzar had been careful with these objects, a later king, Belshazzar, was not careful (Daniel 5:1-4). But God kept his holy objects safe for the new *temple which the *Jews would build.

Jews ~ another name for the Israelites, especially those Israelites who were from Judah. (Judah was the southern part of the country called Israel.)
Israelites ~ descendants of Jacob who was also called Israel. Sometimes the word ‘Israelites’ means all of Jacob’s descendants. But sometimes it only means those descendants who were from the northern part of the country called Israel.
descendant ~ a later member of a family, town, or nation.
introduction ~ the first part of a book, which explains the book’s purpose.
BC ~ years Before Christ was born.
exile ~ a period when people cannot live in their own country. This period may be for many years.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much.
temple ~ the special building in Jerusalem where the Jews worshipped God.
Jews ~ another name for the Israelites, especially those Israelites who were from Judah. (Judah was the southern part of the country called Israel.)
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much.
Israelites ~ descendants of Jacob who was also called Israel. Sometimes the word ‘Israelites’ means all of Jacob’s descendants. But sometimes it only means those descendants who were from the northern part of the country called Israel.
descendant ~ a later member of a family, town, or nation.
sacrifice ~ a gift to God to ask him to forgive sins; or to thank him for something. The Jews offered these to God, often an animal or bird, when they asked God to forgive their sins. Jesus gave himself to die as a sacrifice for our sins.
sin ~ when people do bad things against God or other people; when people do not obey the commands of God.
Jews ~ another name for the Israelites, especially those Israelites who were from Judah. (Judah was the southern part of the country called Israel.)
Israelites ~ descendants of Jacob who was also called Israel. Sometimes the word ‘Israelites’ means all of Jacob’s descendants. But sometimes it only means those descendants who were from the northern part of the country called Israel.
descendant ~ a later member of a family, town, or nation.
Israelites ~ descendants of Jacob who was also called Israel. Sometimes the word ‘Israelites’ means all of Jacob’s descendants. But sometimes it only means those descendants who were from the northern part of the country called Israel.
descendant ~ a later member of a family, town, or nation.
sin ~ when people do bad things against God or other people; when people do not obey the commands of God.
prophet ~ someone who tells God’s messages; a person whom God sends to speak for him; someone who declares God’s words.'people of Israel ~ another name for the people who are Jews.
Jews ~ another name for the Israelites, especially those Israelites who were from Judah. (Judah was the southern part of the country called Israel.)
Israelites ~ descendants of Jacob who was also called Israel. Sometimes the word ‘Israelites’ means all of Jacob’s descendants. But sometimes it only means those descendants who were from the northern part of the country called Israel.
descendant ~ a later member of a family, town, or nation.
descendant ~ a later member of a family, town, or nation.'Assyrian / Assyrians ~ a person from Assyria or anything that has a relationship with Assyria.'Samaritan / Samaritans ~ a person from Samaria or anything that has a relationship with Samaria.'Samaritan / Samaritans ~ a person from Samaria or anything that has a relationship with Samaria.'Assyrian / Assyrians ~ a person from Assyria or anything that has a relationship with Assyria.'Babylonian / Babylonians ~ a person from Babylonia or anything that has a relationship with Babylonia.'Babylonian / Babylonians ~ a person from Babylonia or anything that has a relationship with Babylonia.'Persian / Persians ~ a person from Persia or anything that has a relationship with Persia.
LORD ~ a name for God. It means that he is always God.
kingdom ~ the place or territory or country where a king rules.
Levites ~ the people from one of the 12 families of the Israelites; they acted as assistants to the priests in the temple.
Israelites ~ descendants of Jacob who was also called Israel. Sometimes the word ‘Israelites’ means all of Jacob’s descendants. But sometimes it only means those descendants who were from the northern part of the country called Israel.
temple ~ the special building in Jerusalem where the Jews worshipped God.
descendant ~ a later member of a family, town, or nation.
Jews ~ another name for the Israelites, especially those Israelites who were from Judah. (Judah was the southern part of the country called Israel.)
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much.