- First Generation (Creation - 2500 BC)
- Noah and the Flood (2500 - 2166 BC)
- The Pariarchs (2166 - 1660 BC)
- Egypt to Canaan (1660 - 1445 BC)
- Judges (1445 - 1050 BC)
- United Kingdom (1050 - 930 BC)
- Divided Kingdom (930 - 586 BC)
- The Exile (585 - 457 BC)
Rebuilding Jerusalem
Cyrus the II sent Zerubbabel to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. Zerubbabel was the governor of Judea, and he wanted to reestablish the nation of Israel/Judah as much as was possible under Persia. It was primarily a governmental push.
What we learned from the story of the people of God from the beginning, is that when we separate the government of God from the Word of God, it all falls apart.
The Temple was finished being built in 515 BC and Nehemiah didn’t come to finish the wall until 444 BC. That whole time the people were mixing their Biblical beliefs about the Law with the Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian cultures of the day.
The had forgotten the WORD OF GOD!
John 1:1-2
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.
Part of our reason for the devotion to the Word of God, is that like the Word of God, Jesus is the ultimate tangible expression of the character of God. God knew that if the Jews got so caught up in culture and forgot about the Word of God that they would miss the physical PERSON of God: Jesus.
Ezra 7-8
Ezra 7:1
1 After these things, during the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,
...
6 this 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.
In Ezra 7:11-26, we see that letter to Ezra and it gives him the power to:
- Take any Israelites with him that wanted to go
- Implement the Law of God however he saw fit
- Take a bunch of Persian and Babylonian money with them, and raise support from other Jews
- Spend the money however he sees fit
- Take whatever stuff they need from the Royal Treasury
And it commands other people to Give Ezra whatever money he needs up to a hundred talents of silver, wheat, wine, olive oil, and salt.
Ezra 7:25-27
25 And you, Ezra, in accordance with the wisdom of your God, which you possess, appoint magistrates and judges to administer justice to all the people of Trans-Euphrates—all who know the laws of your God. And you are to teach any who do not know them. 26 Whoever does not obey the law of your God and the law of the king must surely be punished by death, banishment, confiscation of property, or imprisonment. 27 Praise be to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, who has put it into the king’s heart to bring honor to the house of the Lord in Jerusalem in this way
Then Ezra assembles a group to go with him on the 5 month, 550 mile journey to bring a passion for the Word of God back to Jerusalem, because they knew that without a devotion to the Word of God the people were doomed to repeat the past.
Right before they leave, they stop to fast.
Ezra 8:21-23
21 There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. 22 I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, “The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him.” 23 So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.
Ezra 8:26-27
26 I weighed out to them 650 talents of silver, silver articles weighing 100 talents, 100 talents of gold, 27 20 bowls of gold valued at 1,000 darics, and two fine articles of polished bronze, as precious as gold.
So, they travelled 550 miles across Persia with AT LEAST $600 million and no security because they knew the power of God.
Ezra 8:31,34
31 On the twelfth day of the first month we set out from the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us, and he protected us from enemies and bandits along the way.
34 Everything was accounted for by number and weight, and the entire weight was recorded at that time.
