Ezra

Ezra and Nehemiah  are both about Israelites returning after the Diaspora.  The writer shared about how God used the Persian king let God’s people returning to Israel and rebuild the temple.  The two books narrated the changes in the Israelites, the country and their faith. 

There are three major changes: 

1. From relying on the spiritual leaders, like Abraham, Noah, Moses, David etc, to emphasizing the religious life of the whole nation. In these two books, we see how the Israelites worked as a team to accomplish God’s mission and returned to Yahweh. 

2. From the temple being God’s holy land to the whole Jerusalem as His Holy Land. 

3. From relying on oral tradition passing down through generations to re-emphasizing the importance of studying God’s Word. 

The books of Ezra and Nehemiah becomes a boundary for the new generation.  First, it was a spiritual boundary.  Through obedience to the Torah, the books guided the Israelite away from disobedience.  Second, during this period, the Israelites built an actual wall as the boundary between them and the gentiles, to protect their cultures from affecting the Israel.  Although some of the methods being used were quite extreme by today’s standard, it was a proactive step to bring the Israelites back to Yahweh. 

Even though we may not be under the threat of war, the culture in our society may still have impact on us and captivate us culturally and spiritually. These two books are good reminders for God’s people about the constant need to return to God.