Today’s passage: Ezra 3:1-7

Helpful thoughts:

• Seventy years after the exile, the High Priest and the man who would have been king (Zerubbabel) led the people to worship the Lord again in Jerusalem.
• In the midst of their fear (Verse 3), they offered sacrifices for their sins.  (Acts 5:29)
• All that was needed to get started was the altar.  However, following the pattern of Solomon, the Jews sent money for skilled labors and materials from Sidon and Tyre (1 Kings 5).

Questions to consider:

1. Why were the people who opposed Israel in the land in the first place?  How did they get there?  Why had there been land to inhabit over the last seventy years?
2. What was the significance of beginning to offer sin offerings and being obedient to the Lord’s commands concerning sacrifices and festivals (Like the Feast of Booths/Tabernacles)?
3. What had the kings in Jerusalem been doing prior to their exile?  How were they evidencing repentance?

Today’s passage: Ezra 2

Helpful thoughts:

• We know that God moved in the hearts of His people to return them to the Promised Land.  Now we get to read who those people are.  (High-five for finishing that!)
  • Many in the genealogy are given by town as the people would settled into their ancestral towns once they returned.
• Zerubbabel is listed in the line of Christ in Matthew 1:12-13.  He was the heir to the throne, though he would never rule as king (Jeremiah 22:28-30).
• Jeshua/Joshua was in the High Priestly line.
  • How amazing that the Lord allowed these men to lead these Israelites back to the Promised Land!
• The Urim and Thummim were used by the High Priest to determine God’s will under the Old Covenant (Exodus 28:30, Numbers 27:21).  Those who could not prove their Israelite ancestry had to wait until the High Priest (Jeshua) could ask God if they were truly a part of the nation.

Questions to consider:

1. In what ways is this return a cause for celebration?  In what ways does it remain a sad reminder of all they had lost?  Is Judah called a kingdom or something else in verse 1?  Who remained their earthly king?
2. How does the number in this voyage compare to their first journey to the Promised Land from Egypt? (See verse 64 along with Numbers 26:51 and note, these lists only include the men so there were more who came if you count the women and children.)
3. Why would it be wrong for them to find or lose confidence because of their numbers?  Who had brought them “home”?  Who was their protection?  Who’s heart had God moved to bring about His will (1:1)?  How can the presence of God encourage us to move forward in obedience today?  (Matthew 28:18-20)

Today’s passage: Ezra 1

Helpful thoughts:

• The books of Ezra and Nehemiah were likely written by the same person who wrote 1 and 2 Chronicles (Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, of course).  Many believe the human author to be Ezra himself.
  • The book, being written after the events, was probably written in the mid 400s B.C.
• “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.” –  Proverbs 21:1
  • God stirred up the heart of a mighty king (Verse 1), and the hearts of His own people (Verse 5), to bring about His promised will. (Jeremiah 25:11)
  • One of the ways God could have stirred up the heart of the king of Persia was through the ministry and service of Daniel (Daniel 6:25-28).
• God’s promises to the exiles included the restoring of their “fortunes” (Jeremiah 29:10-14).

Questions to consider:

1. What do we learn about God in this chapter?  What does He do when He makes a promise?  Is there anyone who He cannot use to bring about His purposes?  How can this encourage us as we think about the promises we claim in Christ through the gospel?
2. Why do you think God had to also move in the hearts of the Jews to return?  What might have been their comfort level with their current situation after seventy years of living there?
3. How might God’s grace be more active in our lives than one would expect?  How could He use the ministry of His word today to encourage you in His grace?