Now that Ezra has been teaching in Israel for a while, the returned exiles are beginning to see their sinful ways of living. We see how, once again, Israel’s problem is the worship of other gods, or marrying from other nations, and the process of Israel’s recovery.

In Ezra 7 and 8, the priest and scribe, Ezra, arrives on the scene for the first time in the book. Ezra is authorized by the Persian king, Artaxerxes, to lead a 2nd wave of exiles from Babylon back to Jerusalem to see to the restoration of faithfulness to the Law of God. How did Ezra find such favor in the eyes of the Persian King? The hand of the LORD was upon him and He had set his heart to seek, obey, and teach the Law of  the LORD.

This week, we read in Ezra 5 how the prophets Haggai and Zechariah restarted and finished the Temple building project after it had been abandoned for many years. Dean talks about how the Temple, as well as it’s restoration, was meant to put God at the center of the Israelite’s lives, and how we should do this today.

This week, we read about the first steps the returning exiles take towards rebuilding the temple. Johnny recognizes the work it takes to rebuild this temple, and the laments of the oldest exiles as they compare the new foundations to Solomon’s temple.

As we begin the series on Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther, Johnny takes us through the beginning of Ezra, and the history surrounding the Israelite’s exile in Babylon and Persia.