Transcript Document

POST EXILIC PERIOD
First deportation.
Daniel and other youths
taken to Babylon.
Second deportation.
10,000 taken
(including Ezekiel).
606 597
Fall of Babylon
to Persians
539 536
E X I L E
536
722
586
536
516
___________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ____________________________
FALL OF
ISRAEL
FALL OF
JUDAH
3rd & Final
Deportation
Destruction of
Jerusalem and
the Temple.
RETURN
TEMPLE
FROM EXILE REBUILT
1st Return
Zerubbabel leads
about 50,000 exiles
back to Jerusalem.
2nd Return
Led by Ezra
E Z R A
3rd Return
Led by Nehemiah
(446-433)
NEHEMIAH
538-516
444 - 425
458-457
ESTHER
483-473
a) Background
i.
The books Ezra and Nehemiah were
originally bound together and viewed
as one book in the Hebrew canon.
1. Ezra and Nehemiah were divided
into two books probably only from
the 15th century AD onwards and
apparently in the Christian circles.
II.
Together with Chronicles, the section was viewed
as one continuous historical record.
1.
2.
“Priestly history of Israel”
Most likely, the author for Ezra-Nehemiah could be
Ezra
b. Purpose
i) To demonstrate the sovereignty and
faithfulness of God in the restoration
of the Jews to their land despite both
external and internal problems.
(1)Return from exile
(2)Rebuilding of the temple
(3)Re-establishment of religious life
(4)Rebuilding of the walls
(5)Reconstitution as covenanted people
c) Comparison between Ezra and Nehemiah
Ezra
Nehemiah
An efficient
organizer of men
A scribe, the most
and a leader of
learned interpreter of
unswerving
Contributions the Law. He shaped
determination in
as a Person the returned exiles
rebuilding the walls
into the “people of the
of the city of
book.”
Jerusalem which lay
in ruins.
Political, Geographical
and Economical
Focus
Religious Reform
Reform.
2. EZRA
a) The Person
i) The name Ezra means "God helps."
ii) He was a descendant from the priestly line of
Aaron, and the author of the Old Testament
Book of Ezra.
iii) He was the leader of a group of Jews returning
to Jerusalem from the Babylonian Exile in 458
BC, during the reign of King Artaxerxes.
b) Outline of Ezra
The book Ezra covers two distinct time periods:(a) Chapters 1—6: First exilic return under and
rebuilding of the temple.
(b) Chronologically, 4:6 fits between chapters 6 &
7 while 4:7-23 refers to events between Ezra 7
and Nehemiah 1.
Ezra grouped them here to highlight the
persistent opposition to God’s people over
the years and God’s ability to overcome.
Emphasis: To restore the Temple
(2) Chapters 7—10: Events after Ezra returned from
Persia in 458 B.C. where Ezra enters the
historical picture.
(There is a shift from the third person to the first person (7:27-9:15)
Emphasis: To restore the People
c) Lesson from Ezra
i) God’s sovereignty to use even non-believers
to fulfill his purpose
(a)Ez 1:1-2; 5:5, 11, 12; 6:22; 7:23
(b)The temple reconstruction was finished “by the
command of the God of Israel and by the decree of
Cyrus…” (Ezra 6:14)
ii) What is true redemption?
(1)Return from exile
(2)Rebuilding of the temple
(i)It symbolized God’s presence:
(ii)It symbolized worship.
(3)Reconstitution as covenanted people
(a)God’s Redemption: The Exodus motif (1:6)
(i)Israel threw off its vesture of statehood and
monarchy and saw itself as what it truly is: a
covenanted people.
(4)God’s Holiness: Sanctification
(a)Divorce foreign wives (Ezra 7)
iii) How to be an effective
teacher of God’s Word
(7:10)? (From Ezra’s
example)
(1)Study the law of the Lord,
(2)Practice it
(3)Teach it.
3) NEHEMIAH
i) The Person
ii)The name Nehemiah means "God has comforted.“
iii)Nehemiah, son of Hacaliah, was a cupbearer of
the Persian King Artaxerxes.
iv)In 444 BC the king appointed Nehemiah to be the
governor of Judah and permitted him to go to
Jerusalem to help his fellow Jews.
v)He rallied the people to rebuild the damaged walls
around Jerusalem.
i) Ch 1-12 Nehemiah’s first administration in Jerusalem.
(1)Ch 1-7 The wall of Jerusalem is rebuilt under the leadership of
Nehemiah.
(2)Ch 8-10 The people of Judah are spiritually revived.
(3)11:1—12:26 The residents of Jerusalem and Benjamin are
recorded.
(4)12:27–43 Dedication of the wall of Jerusalem.
(5)12:44–47 Leaders are appointed to oversee the contributions
for the priests and the Levites.
ii)Ch 13 Nehemiah’s second administration in Jerusalem.
c. Leadership Lessons from Nehemiah
i) Vision (1:4)
c. Leadership Lessons from Nehemiah
ii) Prayer
(1)Throughout the book, we saw him praying:
(a)After receiving news of Jerusalem (1:4-11)
(b)During his conversation with the king (2:4)
(c)After being taunted by Sanballat and Tobiah (4:4-5)
(d)After threats by the enemies (4:9)
(e)More threat (6:9)
(f)Reflections (5:19; 13:14, 22, 29, 31)
c. Leadership Lessons from Nehemiah
iii) Management & Planning
(1)Nehemiah used careful planning, teamwork, and
problem solving to get things done.
3c. Leadership Lessons from
Nehemiah
iv) Facing Problems
(1)After the work began,
Nehemiah faced scorn,
slander, and threats from
enemies, as well as fear,
conflict, and discouragement
from his own workers.
(2)Nehemiah responded with
prayer, encouragement,
guard duty and consolidation
(ch 4).
(3)Confronting Evil (ch 5)
EZRA MEHEMIAH ESTHER
Fill in the blanks:
1. ___________ foretold the Jews would be captives in a foreign land for
seventy years.
2. The period of the Babylonian Captivity began in ____________ B.C.
3. The second group of captives was taken to Babylon in _________ B.C.
4. ___________________, king of Babylon, destroyed Jerusalem in 586
B.C.
5. The Babylonian Empire was conquered by the Medes and
_____________in 539 B.C.
6. King _____________ permitted the Jews to return to their homeland.
7. ________________ was the leader of the first group to return.
8. The Babylonian Captivity lasted from 606 B.C. to _______________ B.C.
9. The __________________ of God was rebuilt under Zerubbabel’s
leadership.
10. _______________ reorganized the temple worship.
11. ______________ rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem.
12. The book of _________________ tells how a Jewish girl came to be the
queen of Persia.
13. Esther was raised by a relative named ________________________.
14. ________________ was hanged on a gallows he had built for Mordecai.
15. Esther and ____________ are the only books in the Bible named after a
woman.
True or False
1. Ezra was a descendant of King David.
2. Jews were taken into Babylon three different times.
3. Jews returned from Captivity three different times.
4. Esther tells about God’s people who remained in Persia.
5. Ezra and Nehemiah encouraged the Jews married to pagans to stay
together.
6. If one approached a Persian king without being invited, he could be
killed.
8. Mordecai was hanged on the gallows he had built for Haman.
9 Ezra demanded the Jews come out of their unscriptural marriages.