THROUGH THE BIBLE (Ezra)

By Bishop Elijah H. Hankerson III, BA, MA, DD

LESSON NOTES:

I.                  THE KEY TO UNDERSTANDING THE ENTIRE BIBLE. If you understand that the Bible is written to show us how humanity was created for God, fell into sin, was reconciled through Christ (who was the product of a family) and God will restore everything through His sacrifice on the Cross; then you have the message of the entire Bible.

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 ¹⁷Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. ¹⁸And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. ²⁰Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. ²¹For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

II.                  THE AUTHOR OF EZRA. It is believed that Ezra himself wrote the book. Whether he did or did not, we believe that it is the inspired Word of God; even though we do not know who the earthly writer was.

2 Timothy 3:16 ¹⁶All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

III.            WHAT IS THE THEME AND PURPOSE OF EZRA? This book really shows God’s faithfulness to His Covenant he made to redeem us from our sins.

                                     A.                        GOD PROMISED A REDEEMER. He is to save us from our sins and the penalty of sin (death)

Genesis 3:15 ¹⁵And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."

                                     B.                        THE REDEEMER WAS GOING TO COME THROUGH ABRAHAM. Abraham would have a child, then a family, and the family would become a nation. From the nation Messiah will come.

Genesis 12:1-3 ¹The LORD had said to Abram, "Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you. ²"I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. ³I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

                                     C.                        JUDAH WAS THE TRIBE DESIGNATED FOR THE REDEEMER TO BE PRODUCED.

Genesis 49:10 ¹⁰The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his.

                                     D.                        THE NEW NATION WAS COMMANDED TO OBEY.

Deuteronomy 11:26-28 ²⁶See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse- ²⁷the blessing if you obey the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you today; ²⁸the curse if you disobey the commands of the LORD your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.

                                     E.                        DAVID OBEYED.

1 Chronicles 14:16-17 ¹⁶So David did as God commanded him, and they struck down the Philistine army, all the way from Gibeon to Gezer. ¹⁷So David's fame spread throughout every land, and the LORD made all the nations fear him.

                                      F.                        SOLOMON WAS BLESSED.

1 Kings 2:45 ⁴⁵But King Solomon will be blessed, and David's throne will remain secure before the LORD forever."

2 Chronicles 1:11-12 ¹¹God said to Solomon, "Since this is your heart's desire and you have not asked for wealth, possessions or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, ¹²therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth, possessions and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have."

1.               SOLOMON BUILT THE TEMPLE.

1 Kings 6:1 ¹In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites came out of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, the second month, he began to build the temple of the LORD.

2.               GOD’S GLORY FILLED THE TEMPLE.

2 Chronicles 7:1-2 ¹When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. ²The priests could not enter the temple of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled it.

3.               BUT GOD SAID HE WOULD HAVE IT DESTROYED IF THE PEOPLE DISOBEYED.

2 Chronicles 7:19-22 ¹⁹"But if you turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, ²⁰then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. ²¹This temple will become a heap of rubble. All who pass by will be appalled and say, 'Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this temple?' ²²People will answer, 'Because they have forsaken the LORD, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them-that is why he brought all this disaster on them.'"

                                    G.                        THE NATION OF JUDAH DISOBEYED.

1.               70 YEARS OF BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY WAS PROPHECIED.

Jeremiah 29:8-11 ⁸Yes, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. ⁹They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them," declares the LORD. ¹⁰This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. ¹¹For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

2.               NEBUCHADNEZZAR DESTROYED SOLOMON’S TEMPLE AND THE CITY OF JERUSALEM.

Ezra 5:12 ¹²But because our ancestors angered the God of heaven, he gave them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar the Chaldean, king of Babylon, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon.

                              H.                              NOW, A REMANT OF PEOPLE RETURN. Understand that this would be hard work to rebuild the nation of Judah again.

1.               THE PERSIANS WOULD ALLOW THE JEWS TO RETURN TO THEIR HOMELAND. Because at this time the Persians had overtaken the Babylonians as the superpower of the region.

Ezra 1:1-11 ¹In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing: ²"This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: "'The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. ³Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the LORD, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them. ⁴And in any locality where survivors may now be living, the people are to provide them with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem.'" ⁵Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites-everyone whose heart God had moved-prepared to go up and build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem. ⁶All their neighbors assisted them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with valuable gifts, in addition to all the freewill offerings. ⁷Moreover, King Cyrus brought out the articles belonging to the temple of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his god. ⁸Cyrus king of Persia had them brought by Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. ⁹This was the inventory: gold dishes30silver dishes1, 000silver pans29 ¹⁰gold bowls 30 matching silver bowls 410 other articles 1, 000 ¹¹In all, there were 5, 400 articles of gold and of silver. Sheshbazzar brought all these along with the exiles when they came up from Babylon to Jerusalem.

                                         I.                        IT IS FROM THE REMNANT THAT MESSIAH WILL COME! Messiah will come from Judah!

Ezra 1:5 ⁵Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites-everyone whose heart God had moved-prepared to go up and build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem.

IV.            THE NATION OF JUDAH IS REBUILT; MINUS THE IDOLATRY (THAT GOT THEM INTO THIS FIX IN THE FIRST PLACE).

                         A.            A RECORD OF EVERYONE THAT RETURNED. This is pretty much the subject of chapter 2. It is very important to list the priests and Levites that return, because these are the ones legally assigned to the work of the new Temple that will be rebuilt.

Ezra 2:1 ¹Now these are the people of the province who came up from the captivity of the exiles, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken captive to Babylon (they returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to their own town,

                         B.            PREPARATION TO REBUILD THE TEMPLE. Even though everything is put in place to rebuild the temple. The young people are excited because they had not seen the old temple of Solomon. The old people are grieved because this new temple will be a shack compared to their old place of worship.

Ezra 3:10-13 ¹⁰When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise the LORD, as prescribed by David king of Israel. ¹¹With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the LORD: "He is good; his love toward Israel endures forever." And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. ¹²But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. ¹³No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away.

                         C.            ALTHOUGH THERE IS MUCH CONFLICT AND ISSUES THE TEMPLE IS REBUILT.

1.               AT ONE POINT THE WORK EVEN HALTS.

                                                               a.                        THE SAMARITANS WERE A CONSTANT BOTHER. These were their own family members. Remnants of the old Northern kingdom of Israel that had intermarried with all the nations around them. Remember, the Samaritans had built their own temple of Mount Gerizim and established their own priesthood. This was a conflict through the time of Christ; and even yet today.

Ezra 4:4-5 ⁴Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building. ⁵They bribed officials to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia.

John 4:19-24 ¹⁹"Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. ²⁰Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem." ²¹"Woman," Jesus replied, "believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ²²You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. ²⁴God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth."

                                                                           b.            ALL THE WORK IS HALTED.

Ezra 4:24 ²⁴Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

2.               BUT THE NEW TEMPLE IS EVENTUALLY FINISHED. The first thing the Jews did was sacrifice and observe the Passover.

Ezra 6:14-16 ¹⁴So the elders of the Jews continued to build and prosper under the preaching of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah, a descendant of Iddo. They finished building the temple according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia. ¹⁵The temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius. ¹⁶Then the people of Israel-the priests, the Levites and the rest of the exiles-celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy.

                                                               a.                        HAGGAI LET THEM KNOW THAT (EVEN THOUGH THE ARK WAS NOW GONE) THE GLORY WOULD YET FILL THAT HOUSE. There was no Ark in the second temple. No one knows where it is at or if it even exists anymore.

Haggai 2:3-9 ³'Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? ⁴But now be strong, Zerubbabel,' declares the LORD. 'Be strong, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,' declares the LORD, 'and work. For I am with you,' declares the LORD Almighty. ⁵'This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.' ⁶"This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. ⁷I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,' says the LORD Almighty. ⁸'The silver is mine and the gold is mine,' declares the LORD Almighty. ⁹'The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,' says the LORD Almighty. 'And in this place I will grant peace,' declares the LORD Almighty."

 V.            WHAT DOES THE NAME EZRA MEAN? The name Ezra means help or aid.

                         A.            EZRA SHOWS UP TO HELP THE PEOPLE IN THEIR DEVOTION TO GOD. He traced his genealogy all the way back to Aaron the first High Priest of the nation. Thus, Ezra was both a priest and a highly respected Jewish scholar. Some traditions claim that he is the one that created what became the Sanhedrin (the Jewish supreme court), the synagogue system (to ensure the survival of Judaism, with or without a temple) and put together the Old Testament canon. True or not he was a great leader.

Ezra 7:1-7 ¹After these things, during the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, ²the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, ³the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth, ⁴the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki, ⁵the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest- ⁶this Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a teacher well versed in the Law of Moses, which the LORD, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted him everything he asked, for the hand of the LORD his God was on him. ⁷Some of the Israelites, including priests, Levites, musicians, gatekeepers and temple servants, also came up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.

                         B.            NO MIXED MARRIAGES. The book closes in Ezra 9-10 by Ezra’s reform of mixed marriages.

1.               MEN HAD TO LEAVE THEIR FOREIGN WIVES AND MIXED CHILDREN. Ezra puts out a list all of those who had mixed marriages and enforces the dissolution of those families.

Ezra 10:3 ³Now let us make a covenant before our God to send away all these women and their children, in accordance with the counsel of my LORD and of those who fear the commands of our God. Let it be done according to the Law.

Ezra 10:7-15 ⁷A proclamation was then issued throughout Judah and Jerusalem for all the exiles to assemble in Jerusalem. ⁸Anyone who failed to appear within three days would forfeit all his property, in accordance with the decision of the officials and elders, and would himself be expelled from the assembly of the exiles. ⁹Within the three days, all the men of Judah and Benjamin had gathered in Jerusalem. And on the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the people were sitting in the square before the house of God, greatly distressed by the occasion and because of the rain. ¹⁰Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, "You have been unfaithful; you have married foreign women, adding to Israel's guilt. ¹¹Now honor the LORD, the God of your ancestors, and do his will. Separate yourselves from the peoples around you and from your foreign wives." ¹²The whole assembly responded with a loud voice: "You are right! We must do as you say. ¹³But there are many people here and it is the rainy season; so we cannot stand outside. Besides, this matter cannot be taken care of in a day or two, because we have sinned greatly in this thing. ¹⁴Let our officials act for the whole assembly. Then let everyone in our towns who has married a foreign woman come at a set time, along with the elders and judges of each town, until the fierce anger of our God in this matter is turned away from us." ¹⁵Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah, supported by Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite, opposed this.

Ezra 10:18-44 New International Version

¹⁸ Among the descendants of the priests, the following had married foreign women:

From the descendants of Joshua son of Jozadak, and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib and Gedaliah. ¹⁹ (They all gave their hands in pledge to put away their wives, and for their guilt they each presented a ram from the flock as a guilt offering.)

²⁰ From the descendants of Immer:

Hanani and Zebadiah.

²¹ From the descendants of Harim:

Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel and Uzziah.

²² From the descendants of Pashhur:

Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad and Elasah.

²³ Among the Levites:

Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (that is, Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah and Eliezer.

²⁴ From the musicians:

Eliashib.

From the gatekeepers:

Shallum, Telem and Uri.

²⁵ And among the other Israelites:

From the descendants of Parosh:

Ramiah, Izziah, Malkijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malkijah and Benaiah.

²⁶ From the descendants of Elam:

Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth and Elijah.

²⁷ From the descendants of Zattu:

Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad and Aziza.

²⁸ From the descendants of Bebai:

Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai and Athlai.

²⁹ From the descendants of Bani:

Meshullam, Malluk, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal and Jeremoth.

³⁰ From the descendants of Pahath-Moab:

Adna, Kelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui and Manasseh.

³¹ From the descendants of Harim:

Eliezer, Ishijah, Malkijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, ³² Benjamin, Malluk and Shemariah.

³³ From the descendants of Hashum:

Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh and Shimei.

³⁴ From the descendants of Bani:

Maadai, Amram, Uel, ³⁵ Benaiah, Bedeiah, Keluhi, ³⁶ Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, ³⁷ Mattaniah, Mattenai and Jaasu.

³⁸ From the descendants of Binnui:

Shimei, ³⁹ Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, ⁴⁰ Maknadebai, Shashai, Sharai, ⁴¹ Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah, ⁴² Shallum, Amariah and Joseph.

⁴³ From the descendants of Nebo:

Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel and Benaiah.

⁴⁴ All these had married foreign women, and some of them had children by these wives.

2.               WHY SUCH A HARSH THING?

                                                                           a.            IT WAS FORBIDDEN BY GOD. But, worse than anything else, it would pollute the pure family line. The pure family nine was necessary for the Redeemer (Jesus Christ) to be the legal heir to the throne of David. You could not have this with a polluted blood line.

1 Kings 11:2 ²They were from nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, "You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods." Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love.

                                                                           b.            IF YOUR SPOUSE IS NOT SAVED; SHOULD YOU PUT THEM AWAY? Paul answered that question. Thank God for Jesus and grace.

1 Corinthians 7:12-16 ¹²To the rest I say this (I, not the LORD): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. ¹³And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. ¹⁴For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. ¹⁵But if the unbeliever leaves, let it be so. The brother or the sister is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace. ¹⁶How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

X.               PRAYER FOR SALVATION. As we close, if you have not received this Jesus pray this simple prayer:

"Father, I know that I have sinned against You. Please forgive me. Wash me clean. I promise to trust in Jesus, Your Son. I believe that He died for me—He took my sin upon Himself when He died on the cross. I believe that He was raised from the dead. I surrender my life to Jesus today.

"Thank You, Father, for Your gift of forgiveness and eternal life. Please help me to live for you. In Jesus' name, Amen."