Historical Background

When Harold Macmillan became Britain’s prime minister, he was asked what would determine his government’s course. He replied, “Events, dear boy, events.” Events are powerful, shaping, and revealing. They are, however, not sovereign. The books Ezra and Nehemiah, once a single volume, are episodic narratives that chronicle events that follow from a single event so powerful that it marked Israel’s identity forever. That event is called the exile, and the ones who experienced it are sometimes called the exiles. Behind this determining event was a gracious God of faithful covenant.

The Jews of the exilic period watched waves of events sweep over them. The Temple in Jerusalem suffered at the hands of Babylon in 597 B.C. The Babylonians removed temple treasures and began to deport people. This date marks the beginning of the exile. In 586 B.C. the temple was totally destroyed.

The Babylonians settled Jews throughout Babylon to supply labor and generally strengthen the empire. Life for many Jews was reasonably prosperous. They labored in agriculture, commerce, and administration. During the captivity Aramaic became the principal language of the Jewish people. The Babylonians allowed the exiles a measure of autonomy. This freedom included latitude to practice their religion.

During the exile the prophecies of Jeremiah and Ezekiel shaped the captives in rich ways. Before the fall of Jerusalem, many ignored the messages of God’s prophets. Their predictions of the fall of the city and the razing of the temple seemed overly alarmist. That was, until it happened. The prophesies would nourish the faith of the Jews in captivity. Both Ezekiel and Jeremiah mingled strong words of judgement with stronger words of continued purpose and hope. They spoke of a return from captivity and the coming of Messiah. Jeremiah looked like a total failure during his life and ministry. Sometimes sermons have long fuses. His messages became one of the main reasons for the survival of the Jewish faith during the captivity.

Cyrus II, the leader of the Persian dynasty, conquered Babylonia in 538 B.C. He quickly instituted new policies. He issued a decree that the exiled Jews could return to Jerusalem to rebuild the city and reestablish worship in the temple. The Jews interpreted this decree as a gracious move of God. Ezra 1:1 reads, “In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia’s rule, to fulfill the Lord’s word spoken to Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Persia’s King Cyrus….” Ezra-Nehemiah’s episodic narratives offer stories that further illustrate God’s stirring grace in the midst of challenge, victory, disappointment, discouragement, sin, and hope-filled repentance.

Sermon Series

I began a five-part series on July 19, 2020, titled But Now There’s Hope. The big idea for the series was taken from the concluding chapter of Ezra. The community faced a critical problem. Decades after their return, it appeared that they had forgotten the lessons of the exile and were again falling into religious idolatry. This idolatry manifested itself in intermarriages with neighboring people. The priests and Levites were complicit along with scores of others. Ezra prays about this situation in chapter 9, and the community responds in chapter 10. In Ezra 10:2 a man named Shecaniah becomes the heart and voice of the congregation. He says, “We’ve been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the neighboring peoples. But even now, there is hope for Israel in spite of this.” The book of Ezra chronicles “in spite of this” hope. The “this” of idolatry is met by the hope of God. I chose five episodes from Ezra that illustrate God’s hope in the face of and in spite of sin.

Episode 1: But Now There’s Hope Because of God’s Providence

Text: Ezra 1-2

• Ezra 1:1 opens the book with a strong note of providence. God is acting on his word in the midst of his world. The exilic judgment was met with grace. The Persian king would promote the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s temple.
• God’s hand would touch his people, and his way would be marked by:
• Prompting (1:5a): The God that stirred the heart of the king stirred God’s people to respond to the challenge.
• Preparation (1:5b): Spiritual renewal required organized religion.
• Pluriformity (1:6): Some exiles moved to rebuild, but ALL were part of the movement to restore worship in Jerusalem.

Episode 2: But Now There’s Hope Because of Prosperity Under the Word

Text: Ezra 3-6; Haggai

• Ezra tells the story of the work, led by Zerubbabel, to rebuild the house of God. The project would prove to be a roller coaster of a ride that would take decades to complete. The job would be marked by highs and lows. Only God’s word would bring them through. The episode is marked with:
• Praise (3:10-11): God’s people quickly celebrated when the altar was rebuilt. This note of praise would prove short-lived.
• Pain (3:12-4:5): The exiles experienced the pain of disappointment and discouragement. The disappointment came from the size of the foundations in comparison to the Solomonic temple. The ancients wept with disappointment when they saw the new construction underway. The Jews were also actively discouraged by those already living in the land when they returned.
• Paralysis (4:24): The work came to a full stop: “At that time the work on God’s house in Jerusalem stopped and was suspended until the second year of the rule of Persia’s King Darius.”
• Prosperity Under the Word (6:14): “And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai and the prophet Zachariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.”
• The prophets stepped into the paralysis and spoke the word of God. We see this proclamation in Haggai’s brief book. In Haggai, the faithful preacher called for the:
  • Reapplication of the Word (1:5)
  • Repentance (1:12)
  • Revival (1:13-15)
  • Refocus (2:3)
• The Word worked. God used it to minister to the pain and overcome the people’s paralysis. They finished what God began.

Episode 3: But Now There’s Hope Because of God’s Provision

Text: Ezra 7:6-10

• Sixty years passed from the time God’s people got unstuck through the preaching Haggai and Zechariah and the coming of Ezra in chapter 7. Ezra arrives to nurture the community in the ways and word of God. In this episode we see the importance of:
• An Understanding of God’s World (7:6-9)
  • G. Ernest Wright once said, “History is the arena of God’s activity.” Verses 6-9 show that history is marked with clocks and calendars and is touched by the “gracious hand of God.” This phrase is taken from the secular court and illustrates divine provision for the work. God’s people are simply unable to do what God has called them to do without his supply. We see this principle of supply in Philippians 1:19 where Paul gives thanks for the Philippians’ prayers and the “supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.”
• A Commitment to God’s Word (7:10)
  • Ezra 7:10 is one of the finest summaries of faithful ministry in all the Bible: “Ezra had determined to study and perform the Lord’s Instruction, and to reach law and justice in Israel.” The description of the good parson in Canterbury Tales fits Ezra and every other faithful pastor: “He was a model his flock could understand, for first he did and afterward he taught.” Seek + Do + Teach = A Commitment to God’s Word.
  • A clear understanding of history as the arena of God’s work and a deep commitment to the word bring hope in spite of the residual power of sin.

Episode 4: Now There’s Hope Because of the Process of Spiritual Leadership

Text: Ezra 8:15-23

• This episode tells the story of how Ezra left Babylon for Jerusalem leading a group that would serve in the rebuilt temple. This story shows that hope is kindled through godly leadership. The reader can discern a process of spiritual leadership marked by purposeful acts of spiritual leaders:
• Spiritual Leaders Convene (8:15a)
  • Ezra said, “I gathered them….” A godly leader is given convening power. There are three levels of convening power. Positional convening power comes with office. Unofficial convening power comes through character and proficiency. The third type of convening power is the power to convene the self, to consolidate the scattered parts of one’s own soul. This ability is also known as integrity. It gives the leader stability in a shaky world. James 1:8 says that to be double-minded is to be “unstable.”
• Spiritual Leaders Coordinate (8:15b)
  • Spiritual leaders bring hope by bringing perspective and honesty. Ezra showed oversight and clarity. Max Dupree said that the first job of a leader is to define reality. It was not easy to say, “We have no Levites.” It was necessary.
• Spiritual Leaders Collaborate (8:16-20)
  • The Jews began to build capacity when they went to Casiphia to recruit Levites. Spiritual leaders bring hope by calling communities to remember that God can and will bring needed help.
• Spiritual Leaders Consecrate (8:21-31)
  • Ezra modeled treating God’s work as the holy thing it is. He led the next crew of builders to journey as an act of worship and upon arrival in Jerusalem led them to rest for three days. Sabbath is a witness to God’s goodness and our need.

Episode 5: Now There’s Hope Because of Penitence

Text: Ezra 9-10

• The final chapters in the Ezra memoir are sad yet hopeful. They illustrate most profoundly an “in spite of this” hope. This thread runs through the course of the Ezra-Nehemiah material. Nehemiah has a Kafkaesque ending. We are left to wonder if God’s people will always return to tempting idols. Will they always taste bitter troubles? The compiler notes in 9:38, “In spite of all this, we are making a firm agreement.” In spite of sin and trouble, there is ample reason for hope and firm commitment. Ezra 9-10 illustrates the pathway of penitence in a broken world. We can:
• Rend our Hearts (9:1-3)
  • Ezra modeled the proper sensitivity and brokenness needed in the face of sin.
• Revere God (9:4)
  • The people of God trembled at his word. Hope is not kindled by diminishing God’s glory.
• Rest in Our Relationship with God (9:5-9)
  • In response to fellowship-damaging sin, Ezra leaned into a covenant relationship with God. He emphasizes both “our” and “my” when talking about the Jewish connectedness to God. It was the covenant and God’s grip of grace that gave them hope in spite of their own weakness and failure.
• Repent (9:10-10:1)
  • Hope is stirred when we turn from idols and back to God. One day hope and history will finally rhyme. Until then we will need hope in spite of “this,” whatever “this” may be.

Application

The episodic narratives in Ezra lend themselves to various applications. Some of these are:

Hope in a Broken World

I believe that the great theme of the book is hope in spite of sin. In 10:2 Shecaniah spoke with the voice of the congregation when he said, “We’ve been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the neighboring peoples. But even now, there is hope for Israel in spite of this.” The broader context of restoration following exile further supports this application.

Dealing with the Pain of Discouragement and Disappointment

The work of rebuilding was frustrated by difficulty, disappointment, and discouragement. In 3:12-13 we witness the disappointment of the “ancients” over the size of the second temple’s foundation relative to the Solomonic temple. In 4:1 and following the reader learns that the work is actively opposed by enemies. The work grinded to a halt in 4:24. God sent prophets to deal with discouragement and disappointment.

The Riches of God’s Word

In 1:1 we read, “In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia’s rule, to fulfill the Lord’s word spoken by Jeremiah ….” Ezra begins with an affirmation of biblical fulfillment. In 5:1-2 we learn that God sent his word to encourage his people. A wonderful celebration of the word is seen in 6:14, “So the elders of the Jews built and prospered because of the prophesying of the prophet Haggai and Zechariah, Iddo’s son.” The people of God prospered because of the proclamation of the Word of God.

Faithful Leadership in Hard Times

One of the finest summaries of godly leadership is found in Ezra 7:10. “Ezra had determined to study and perform the Lord’s Instruction, and to teach law and justice in Israel.” Ezra fit the description of the good parson in Canterbury Tales, “He was a model his flock could understand, for first he did and afterward he taught.” We see him use convening power in 8:15. He coordinated ministry in 8:16. He demonstrated godly collaboration in 8:17-20. He consecrated the work in 8:21.

God’s Provision for God’s Work

We see generous giving in 1:6 and 2:68-69. Some of the exiles moved but all were part of the movement. In 7:9 we have the phrase, “the gracious hand of his God was upon him.” This is taken from the secular court and means provision was being supplied. This is very much like, “… the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ” in Philippians 1:19. God’s presence and provision ties the Book of Ezra together.

Theological Themes

The Doctrine of God

In 1:2 we see that God stirs the heart of Cyrus. The Lord of Israel was no tribal god. In 5:11 God’s people describe themselves as, “the servants of the God of heaven and earth.”

We see God’s sovereignty and grace clearly in the Ezra material: “… he’s shown us his graciousness” (9:9). God stirred both Jews and Persians to act according to his purpose. He acted according to covenant and love.

The Doctrine of sin

There is a clear tone of “It’s not supposed to be this way” in Ezra. Human sin is to blame. Sin touches each chapter and episode. We read in 5:12, “But because our ancestors angered the God of heaven, he gave them oven into the power of Babylon’s King ….” This sentence has a Romans 1:24 ring to it. Sin is the ultimate enemy in Ezra and the reason for their sorrow.

Faith Community

Ezra is about the Jewish people. It highlights God’s purpose in making a people for his name and illustrates the ways of community life. In 9:1 the people are called, “the people of Israel.” We see the constituent elements of soul culture in Ezra. They have a set of beliefs. They have values. They have goals both ultimate and immediate. They demonstrate unique attitudes. They have community shaping practices.

Perseverance

Time and again we see the weakness of the people and strength of God. The Ezra-Nehemiah materials leave the reader longing for a deeper solution to the problem of spiritual shallowness. There is a thirst for Messiah. There is also resilience in the people. A fine example of this is seen in the reply of the community recorded in 5:11-17. The people told their story of sin, judgment, hope, and future. The Books of Haggai and Zechariah also demonstrate the power of God’s Word to propel a people in a penultimate world.

Scripture

The Word of God works in the lives of the people. The power of the Word is illustrated in prophetic fulfillment. The book beings in 1:1, “… to fulfill the Lord’s word spoken by Jeremiah.” The prophetic ministries of Haggai and Zechariah highlight the importance of the work. Ezra 7:10 is a fine, time tested, pattern for encountering Scripture.

My Encounter with Ezra

I began reading Ezra and Nehemiah during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. It started as simple devotional/leisure reading. The narratives quickly gripped my heart and mind. I was first taken by the extraordinary power of events. An event was shaking our world. As the months moved on, racial unrest and a hunger for justice also rocked the United States, spilling over to other parts of the globe. It seemed like events were just pounding on the world. Sin was loose, and discouragement abounded. I was touched by the gracious hand in the messy exile and the hope that rises in spite of human sin and its consequences. I was also taken by the vicarious nature of ministry. This aspect seemed amplified in my own life and community by COVID-19. The priesthood of all believers had taken on new importance.

Interacting with the episodes in Ezra led to writing a piece for Preaching Today titled “I’ll Be There with Bells On: 7 Marks of Priestly Pastoral Ministry from the Book of Ezra” and the five-part sermon series “But Now There’s Hope” for First Baptist Church in Waco, Texas.

I have grown to love Ezra and plan on revisiting it for personal growth and teaching for years to come.

Commentaries

Thomas M. Bolin, Ezra, Nehemiah: New Collegeville Bible Commentary (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2012).

Mervin Breneman, Ezra Nehemiah Esther: The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 1993).

H.G.M. Williams, Ezra-Nehemiah: Word Biblical Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1985).

Matt Snowden is the pastor of First Baptist Church Waco, Texas.