As we read the story of the Bible, we all naturally think that Israel will eventually learn its lesson, get its act together, and seek God's blessing through simple obedience. After all, at this point in the story, Babylon has removed the Davidic king from the throne, destroyed Jerusalem (along with the Temple), and taken Israel into captivity where everyday they get a good, old fashioned beat down. It appears that God's promises have literally been left in shambles. And so with Israel's back against a wall we naturally think that turning back to God would be a no-brainer. But has Israel learned its lesson and will it get its act together? This is what the book of Ezra-Nehemiah sets out to answer.
JEREMIAH'S PROPHECY FULFILLED?
The story begins on a positive note; the author tells us that God's word to Jeremiah is being fulfilled and that Cyrus, the king of Persia, is allowing the people of Israel to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple on his own dime. This turn of events is quite amazing. God had told Jeremiah that Israel would be exiled from the land for 70 years (Jeremiah 25:8-14) because, among other things, it had failed to observe any of the Sabbath years (2 Chronicles 36:21). And right on schedule, God is at work to reverse the bad fortunes of Israel. But God's promise included much more than a simple return to Jerusalem. We read in Jeremiah 25:12-14 that God promised to decimate the nation of Babylon as judgment for its acts of injustice. This is precisely what has happened at the time of Ezra as we read that a Persian king sits in the seat of power. God is clearly on the move again; prophetic anticipation fills the air!
GOD'S PROMISES REINSTATED?
But what about the promise to David that one of his descendants will rule as king over an everlasting kingdom (2 Samuel 7:12-14)? And what about God dwelling among His people? Will God's presence return to Jerusalem? The people certainly hope so! And so the first thing the people do is rebuild the altar and offer the 'prescribed' sacrifices to God 'in accordance with what was written in the Law of Moses the man of God' (Ezra 3:2). Clearly the people have learned from the examples of the former kings Hezekiah and Josiah that when you truly repent (that is, turn away from sin and pursue God) God responds with favor and kindness. Couple this penitent response with the return of Joshua, a priest, and Zerubbabel, a descendant of David (Matthew 1:12-13), and it appears that the stage is set for the return of God's presence and the restoration of His kingdom!
WILL GOD'S PEOPLE TRUST HIM?
But just when the stars seem to be aligning and the end of the exile seems to be just over the horizon, adversity arises. Through bribes and intimidation, a group of foreigners attempts to stop the building of the temple. AND THEY SUCCEED! So how do the people of God respond? They simply put down their shovels and go on with their lives! They don't even cry out to God for help! Where's the faith? Wasn't there a renewed passion for God in the air? If so, apparently it was short lived. Adversity can have that kind of affect on people's passion!
But then Haggai and Zechariah, true prophets of God, come on the scene and demonstrate TRUE faith...they BELIEVE that God has called His people to accomplish a specific task and so they ACT on that BELIEF! God honors their faith and the building of the temple reaches completion. And then a man named Ezra who is well versed in God's commands and decrees comes to the people. He tells stories of God's faithfulness to him on his journey to Jerusalem. But then, Ezra's faithfulness is contrasted with the people's unfaithfulness. We learn what the people had been doing while the temple stood unfinished...they had been intermarrying with the neighboring people; The very practice that had gotten them exiled in the first place! I guess old habits die hard!
THE CYCLE OF SIN TERMINATED?
It's probably pretty easy to predict where the story goes from here. We've seen this script played out before, haven't we? The people repent...God raises up a godly leader to reestablish order...the people rebel again...the people's sin gets them into trouble...they cry out to God...God rescues them...and the cycle repeats itself. This is precisely what happens in the book of Nehemiah. It is a replay of the book of Ezra (and the entire Old Testament for that matter). God calls Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem...the people experience opposition from neighboring people...God's people respond by demonstrating faithLESSness...Nehemiah's faithFULLness inspires the completion of the wall...the people recommit themselves to God...BUT that's NOT the final word! Nehemiah 13 (the final chapter!) tells of the people's return to their old habits. The people settle for the status quo. And with that, the cycle of sin lives on.
THE BOTTOM LINE
So what are we to make of all of this? In many ways, the book of Ezra mimics the account of the original building of the temple. The wood comes from Lebanon (1 Kings 5:6, 9; 2 Chronicles 2:10, 16), the temple is dedicated by making lots of sacrifices (Ezra 6:16-18; 1 Kings 8:62-64), and a great feast is held after the completion of the temple (Ezra 6:19-22; 1 Kings 8:65-68). But one important detail is missing: God's presence. Unlike the building of the first temple, God's presence is never said to enter the second temple. And so it appears that God's presence doesn't come to dwell among His people! Why? Based on what we learned above, might it be that the people don't seem to NEED or WANT God?
But don't be fooled. God's presence is not completely absent from the story. In fact, the author goes out of his way to tell us that 'the good hand of the Lord' was upon Ezra and Nehemiah and that 'the God of Israel was over' Zechariah and Haggai (Nehemiah 2:8, 18; Ezra 5:1, 5; 7:6, 9, 28; 8:18, 22, 31). So what does this tell us? God's presence comes to those who NEED and WANT Him. And this makes sense. After all, why do we need the comfort of God's presence if we're already living a comfortable life? COMFORT can mask our NEED for God. And so maybe COMFORT is the reason people don't feel the NEED for God's presence more often. This leaves us with the question: When our experience of God feels bland and mundane might this be the result of the fact that we are COMFORTABLE and not fully engaging in God's supernatural mission? It's worth considering.
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