Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther

THESE three little books present a beautiful cluster of divine truth, and may be, for a moment, looked at together. Ezra shows the power, goodness and faithfulness of God to His people when acting collectively, in returning to Him, and seeking to walk in His ways according to the authority of His word. In Nehemiah we see the same gracious acting’s of God with an individual, who goes forth in faith and love in the energy of the Spirit of God, seeking the welfare of His people, and establishing the things of. God in separation from all that is contrary to His Word. Esther touchingly teaches us how God loves and cares for all of His people, though they have not returned in separation to Him and His ways, but are still found in association with that on which He cannot inscribe His name. Self-judgment, humiliation, fasting, prayers, the assertion of the claims of God upon His people, the authority of Scripture, and strict discipline, especially characterize these books. These ways, too, must always mark the faithful who come upon a scene that has been connected with deep failure and departure from God. (Compare Daniel 9:3.) We will now consider each of these books separately.