00A.00i Introduction

Introduction

Ezra means ’help’, or ’helper’. There is no doubt that Ezra, personally, was a great help to his people. The account of his mission which is described in Ezra 7:1-28, Ezra 8:1-36, Ezra 9:1-15, Ezra 10:1-44 proves the point. Not only did He teach the people as a ready scribe but he also humbled himself under their sins and shortcomings (Ezra 9:1-15). This was echoed by a confession of the people and it let to a great restoration. But the book of Ezra can also be a great ’help’ for Christians today. Let me explain why. Ezra gives us a historical account of the return of some of God’s people to Jerusalem. Many of the events that happen are fitting illustrations for God’s people today. As we go through the book, we will discover many parallels between the time it speaks of and ours. In this sense, Ezra is very up to date and pertinent in relation to many issues we face in our Christian testimony today. This old book sheds so much light on many questions which Christians ask today, such as - How should Christians gather?

- Can a minority be right?

- The unity of the church, what does it mean for us today?

- What do we do when many turn their back on biblical teaching?

- Separation from evil and the unity of the church, a contradiction?

- How can we recognise a true revival?

- Etc. The book of Ezra describes a wonderful revival which occurred after 70 of the darkest years of the history of God’s people. What had happened? In 722 BC the 10 tribes had been led captive into Assyria (2 Kings 17:6). Over time, they vanished completely, and we still do not know where they are today. Only two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, were left in the country. Just over one hundred years later, in 606 BC, Nebucadnezzar came and took the vessels of the temple, as well as the most promising young people as captives (2 Chronicles 36:6-7). A captivity of 70 years followed, just as Jeremiah had predicted (Jeremiah 25:12; Jeremiah 29:10). Here they were, far from Jerusalem, without temple, without sacrifices, without their national feasts, and unable to sing the songs of Zion (Psalms 137:1-4). At the end of these 70 years, a Persian king, Cyrus, conquered the Babylonian Empire and founded the Medo-Persion Empire. This new king made a proclamation stating that all the Jews who wished to do so were free to go back to Jerusalem and to build the house of the Lord there.

About 43,000 people responded to this call and went up to Jerusalem. Their experiences are extremely instructive for believers today. Their return to Jerusalem encourages us to return to first principles, that is New Testament teaching, not modified by the ideas of men. The faith of those who returned, their failure, their work, their ’ups and downs’ all speak volumes to the believer today. To the extent that we, similarly, are not satisfied with ’Bablylon’ but have a heart for the place God has chosen, we will be able to derive much ’help’ from this book of Ezra.