BibleProject | One Story That Leads to JesusSample

Today, light breaks on the horizon. After more than 70 years, the exile is finally over. Israel is going home.

In the Writings (Hebrew: Ketuvim) leading up to this moment, the brightness of principled wisdom in Proverbs meets the darker, harsher reality of life’s suffering, where the proverbs don’t all work out. The poetry in Lamentations plunges the reader into the black night of Israel’s exile.

Esther and Daniel glimmer with hope for a better way, even in exile. However, those glimmers also emphasize Israel’s longing for home and a new day to come. Ezra and Nehemiah (originally compiled as one book in the Hebrew Bible) explode that glimmering hope into a full dawn.

The book of Ezra begins with the rule of a new Persian king who shows favor to Israel. He grants freedom and allows safe passage back to their land, generously supplying their needs for the journey.

Israel’s first project upon returning home: to rebuild Yahweh’s temple. Zerubbabel leads a team back to Jerusalem to start the project. They bring back the golden dishes that the Babylonians plundered. They set up a new altar, and even import cedar from Lebanon—the same wood Solomon used to build the first temple.

Things are looking good and starting to sound like the restored Israel that the prophets promised! People are feeling motivated, working together in a huge restoration project, which surely feels better than unending oppression in exile. But will this rebuilding project work? And will this second temple live up to its hype?

Watch today’s video to learn about prophetic expectations and post-exilic reality in the book of Ezra-Nehemiah.

Reflection Questions

• Imagine you were one of the Israelites who returned to the promised land with Zerubbabel. What might you feel walking into Jerusalem—the holy city, your home, but a charred shell of its former glory? What hopes and fears might you have for your new life back in the land, but under Persian rule?
• Meditate on Proverbs 21:1. Where do you see God channeling the hearts of kings in Ezra-Nehemiah?