Devotionals through Ezra/Nehemiah-Introduction

Ezra 1:1a

Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation through out all his kingdom, and also put it in writing…

I’m not normally a very trusting person when I first meet someone. I will always come across as friendly but trust is not something that I exhibit up front unless I really have a good feeling about somebody. Normally it is all based on the openness of the other person. Even though I may show some trust with people initially it doesn’t mean that I always trust them completely. Trust takes time and it becomes stronger over time. What is true in friendships is true in marriages as well as business relationships.

Over the next several months I would like to do a devotional study through the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. But before I can start theses devotionals we need to familiarize ourselves with these men, the backgrounds as well as the purposes for these testimonies. In order to trust the word of God and build a greater trust in Him we must understand what these writings are talking about.

When looking at the first chapter there is a realization that we are jumping off into the middle of a story. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah are put together in the Jewish Bible, are viewed as one complete work. It is possible that they were written or assimilated by the same person who put 1^st and 2^nd Chronicles together. There are many reasons scholars believe this but one of the biggest is because of the name listings throughout all four books. The other reason would be that 2^nd Chronicles 36 and Ezra 1 read very similar. One of the simularities is that Ezra and Nehemiah were both written from a personal view even though Nehemiah starts off from that view and Ezra does not show a personal view until Ezra 7:27. Other similarities between the two books include the fact that they are both concerned with rebuilding. They also mentioned king Artaxerxes as the one who commissions both men to carry out these acts. There are also three enemies mentioned in both books, even though they are different people in each writings. Both men rely heavily on Jeremiah 25:12 where Jeremiah the prophet foretells of the destruction of Babylon, “‘Then it will be when seventy years are completed I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,’ declares the LORD, ‘for their iniquity and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it an everlasting desolation.’” Anyone who reads Daniel chapter 5 will understand what happened. God used king Cyrus to end the barbaric reign of the Babylonians who God used to bring judgment on His own people. But the Babylonians over extended their calling and began to abuse the people of Judea, because of that God judged them. Both books also have heathen kings paying for the rebuilding projects and both men have a very poor attitude toward the people who had inter-married in the land.

Some of the differences between the two books are that Ezra is concerned with rebuilding the Temple while Nehemiah is rebuilding the wall. Ezra happen over a 30 to 60 year period while Nehemiah’s rebuilding process deals with 30 to 60 days. At the end of Ezra, Ezra demands those who have inter-married to get a divorce, while at the end of Nehemiah, Nehemiah stays silent about what action should be taken by the men.

The date of the writing or gathering of Ezra and Nehemiah is somewhere around 430 B.C. The reason for the books is somewhat difficult to conclude. Some ministers like to go through Nehemiah as opposed to Ezra because they can look at the issue of leadership skills or servant attitude. While admirable this is a misappropriation of the books. It is not a misapplication of the books because those things are there but it is a misappropriation of the books in that this is not the original intent of the writings. Some may study them in regards to the struggle of God’s people in doing God’s will, this too is a misappropriation of the two books, while again not a misapplication. Some look at the manuscripts as a study of rebuilding an individual’s life. While this may sound good it is a misapplication. I will deal with this misapplication in a minute. Some believe that these books are good stories teaching moral lessons. The truth is there are moral lessons in these books but they are also true historical events. In the 1990’s a letter was discovered written to Nehemiah the governor of the region, regarding Joshua the high priest and mentioned Sanballat. This letter is evidence that such people did exist and therefore such events did occur.

Some teach that these books are personal journals discussing personal journeys regarding the rebuilding process. While in part this is true it is not totally accurate because the first six chapters of Ezra do not mention Ezra but give some history building to Ezra’s introduction. Chapters 1-6 of Ezra are almost third party in its tone.

While most of these thoughts have valid reasons to them, I believe we must look at these books in light of the two volumes just proceeding them, 1^st and 2^nd Chronicles. All four books go together. They are separate works but may have been compiled for a specific reason. Both Ezra and Nehemiah tell of false accusations being made against the people of Jerusalem. 1^st Chronicles through Nehemiah would then be a compilation of works put together for the sake of answering those accusations. These selections may have played the same role for the Jewish people as the books of Luke and Acts in the New Testament did in regards to Paul’s trials in the first century A.D. If this is true then these books would have been official Persian governmental records making these accounts historical in nature. While this study will approach the books of Ezra and Nehemiah as narratives it will do so in light of their historical accuracies.

This leads us to the theme of Ezra and Nehemiah. It is found in a statement made seven times in these writings; five times in Ezra and twice in Nehemiah. It is found in variation in Ezra 7:6, 9; 8:18, 22, 31 and in Nehemiah 2:8, 18. That theme is the “good hand of God.” Ezra and Nehemiah will constantly remind us that no matter how bad things have been or how hard things are in the present God is always good and He is always at work. The idea is not that of rebuilding an individual’s life, but the re-establishing of the community of faith. As we move through this study it is my hope and prayer that you will begin to view life beyond of yourself. I want you to look and see how God is at work in your community. Many churches today are in trouble. They have placed themselves into this dilemma through inactivity and unwillingness to carefully assess what the needs of the community are surrounding them. They simply refusing to evangelize because they may reach people who were different from them. Regardless, the message of these two books is that God is good and He is at work. The question which remains is what will we as a community of faith do? Continue to allow people to go to Hell, while we curse the darkness? Or, fall on our knees, repent, and ask God to open our eyes to the need of evangelism and do it? Your comments are welcomed.

All Bible verses come from the New American Standard Version unless otherwise noted.