Overview of the Book of Ezra: We Never Plan to Stop for Long

The Book of Ezra records one of the most remarkable moments in Israel's history: the return of the Jews from seventy years of exile in Babylon. This overview of the Book of Ezra will give you the framework you need to understand the post-exilic period — the three returns from exile, the rebuilding of the temple, and why the prophet Haggai had to preach to a people who had stopped working on God's house. But more than history, Ezra confronts us with a sobering spiritual truth: we never plan to stop for long, but temporary breaks have a way of quietly becoming permanent. https://youtu.be/M-hKikTI-6k When I first became a Christian, I knew almost nothing about the Bible, and I had lots of questions. But God, in His kindness, put a man in my life who never seemed to tire of them: Barry Branaman. Barry was the first person to make me feel like the Bible was not too big for me to understand. After a midweek study at his house, we would sit in his living room for hours — sometimes late into the evening — as he helped me understand the Old Testament. So when I opened a book like Haggai, a book many people might skip right over, I was not lost. In 2012, my wife, Katie, and I drove down to California to stay with Barry and his wife, Kathy. By then, I had been a pastor for about five years, and I wanted to look him in the eye and tell him that the hours he had spent with me in that living room had borne fruit. Sadly, he unexpectedly passed away in his sleep two years later at only 58, so I am glad I had that opportunity. Here is a verse that comes to mind when I think of Barry: Hebrews 11:4 — Though he died, he still speaks. I know this verse is not about Barry, but many things I teach today are influenced by what he taught me. In that sense, though he died, he still speaks when I pass along what he taught me. So in this post, I want to do for you what Barry did for me: give you some Old Testament framework so you can better understand Ezra and Haggai. Table of ContentsHow the Old Testament Fits TogetherPre-Exile, Exile, and Post-ExileEzra 1: God Keeps His WordLesson One: We Can Trust God to Keep His WordHow God Stirred Up CyrusA Spiritual Mission, Not Just a HomecomingOnly 2% ReturnedThe Three Returns in the Book of Ezra and NehemiahEzra 7: The Second ReturnLesson Two: God Turns Kings' HeartsThe Work Stops for Sixteen YearsLesson Three: We Let Temporary Breaks Become PermanentLesson Four: We Start Again When God Stirs UsConclusion: Let God's Word Stir You How the Old Testament Fits Together Here is a simple way to view the 39 books of the Old Testament: 17 history books — Genesis to Esther 5 wisdom books — Job to Song of Solomon 17 prophets — Isaiah to Malachi And here is a high-level view of the story contained in the historical books. God created a people for Himself and gave them a land — the Promised Land — and at the center of that land, in the city of Jerusalem, He gave them a temple. The temple was the great sign that God dwelt in the midst of His people. As long as it stood, the message was unmistakable: God is here with us. But over time, the people turned from God and worshiped idols. God sent prophets to rebuke and warn them about what would happen if they did not repent, but they refused. Eventually, God did what He said He would do. He sent the nation of Babylon, and in 586 BC, Babylon tore down the walls of Jerusalem, burned the temple to the ground, and carried the Jews into exile — hundreds of miles from home, in a foreign land. But here is the interesting thing. God prophesied through Jeremiah that the Jews would be in exile for only seventy years, and then they would return to their land: Jeremiah 25:11–12 — [The Jews] shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation. God said that after seventy years, He would punish the Babylonians. He raised up the Persian Empire to do so, and then Cyrus, the king of Persia, allowed the Jews to return to their land. Pre-Exile, Exile, and Post-Exile This allows us to divide the Jews' history into three sections: pre-exile (before 586 BC), exile (586–538 BC in Babylon), and post-exile (after 538 BC, the return). It is important to notice that no historical books record the Jews' exile. The historical books cover the period before the exile (Genesis through 2 Chronicles) and after the exile (Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther). To understand the Jews' history during the exile, we have to use the prophets — and the prophets can be divided into the same three sections: Pre-exile prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah Exile prophets: Ezekiel and Daniel — they were in exile with the Jews, so their books show us what the exile was like Post-exile prophets: Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi Because Haggai prophesied after the exile, we r