About Ezra & Nehemiah...

Chronological Bible 2024

Nehemiah Views the Ruins of Jerusalem’s Walls, Gustave Dore

Let’s talk about Ezra and Nehemiah, shall we? But like, first of all, who do I think I am joining these two books together? Well, back in the day (that nebulous historical time period), Ezra and Nehemiah were considered one book in the Hebrew Bible, written about the same subject, and thought to have the same author.

The author is historically thought to be Ezra, a priest and a scribe. It may not have been Ezra though, as some scholars (smart people, amirite?) attribute authorship to someone known solely as The Chronicler. Spoiler alert: Chronicles is written by him, too. Shocking, I know. Regardless, whoever it may be, Ezra, The Chronicler, or someone else, the same person is believed to have written all of these books, two in the Hebrew Bible, divvied up into four books in the Christian Bible.

What are they about? Ezra and Nehemiah tell the tale of the exiled Israelites being permitted to return to their homeland, Israel, and begin the rebuilding process. Ezra focuses more on the rebuilding of the Temple while Nehemiah focuses on the rebuilding of Jerusalem and its wall. Both encounter challenges, as one might guess, through this process.

The first challenge is the return home. Babylon is a five-hundred-mile journey to Jerusalem. And they would walk five hundred miles, and they would walk five hundred more, just to be the dudes who walked a thousand miles to rebuild Jerusalem. Legit, Nehemiah traveled back and forth, so indeed one thousand miles may be an understatement.

King Cyrus of Persia sends the willing exiles home to Jerusalem. This to me suggests that not everyone decided to return. Cyrus was the last king mentioned in the book of Daniel. If we’re told that Daniel returns home, I’m unaware of it. The kings featured during the time of Ezra-Nehemiah are Cyrus, Darius, Xerxes, and Artaxerxes. Xerxes was Esther’s hubby and I’m pretty sure she stayed put. All of that to say, I find it interesting that an option was given to the people. The Empire didn’t force anyone to return to Israel, and as it appears, many prominent people decided to remain where they were. The intent of this first wave of exiles was to rebuild the temple. Offerings were given from the king himself as well as others for the rebuilding process.

Once in their homeland, the Israelites began work on rebuilding the temple. It was not without its challenges. The Israelites were facing threats from those who still resided in the land. These people, who were not Israelites, wanted a hand in rebuilding the temple. The Israelites politely declined their assistance because they were doing this for their God, and it was solely up to them to do the work. This refusal didn’t sit well with these other actors. In turn, these other dudes decided that if they couldn’t do what they wanted to do, no one could. Tattenai, the Euphrates governor, decided to nip the Israelites’ work in the bud by sending a cease-and-desist letter to them while he inquired of the king. The people responded to the rule of their land in obedience to the government there, even though it was against them. As Tattenai decides to climb the chain of command, his request makes it to King Darius who in turn finds Cyrus’ edict. The king says the Israelites may continue rebuilding. To add insult to Tattenai’s already injured pride, the king instructs Tattenai to make all the necessary provisions for the Israelites.

Another letter is written, this time to Artaxerxes. Ezra, still in Babylon at this time, catches wind of this and heads to Jerusalem with Artaxerxes’ blessing to continue to rebuild the temple. Ezra decides not to ask the king for military protection for his journey because he has bragged about God to the king. Ezra doesn’t want Artaxerxes thinking that God can’t protect His own people, so Ezra proclaims a time of fasting and prayer for God to provide every protection they need. And He does.

Now it’s time for Nehemiah. He holds the position of being cupbearer to Artaxerxes. Nehemiah hears from some of the exiles who have returned from the rebuilding process in Jerusalem. The news is not great, sending him into mourning and prayer. Art notices his cupbearer’s somber appearance and inquires as to what’s bothering him. Neh fills the king in and is sent on his way to Jerusalem with infantry for protection, and support from the king.

At this point, the Israelites are working on rebuilding Jerusalem’s wall. As with Ezra’s rebuilding project, some ne’er-do-wells want to get in the way of progress. The Israelites keep at it…working day and night with a trowel in one hand and a sword in the other.

There’s this dude named Sanballat and he’s all up in Nehemiah’s business. San opposes the rebuilding and he decides to plot harm to Neh. But Nehemiah, man, he’s a prayer warrior. He prays in Babylon, he prays before responding to the king, he prays about the proposal San has given him, and he ain’t fallin’ for it. This is further exemplified in another ploy someone plots in an attempt to get Neh to sin so that his name will be discredited. Nehemiah sees right through it. Even prophets were involved in attempting to intimidate Neh. None of it touched him. Affected him? Sure. Caused him to do something against God’s will? Nope.

Jerusalem is now getting back on its feet. There’s a public reading of the Law causing peeps to weep, but Ezra and the Levites instruct them to celebrate instead. After all, the joy of the Lord was their strength. They hold a festival. The Israelites participate in a national confession of their sin…can you even imagine? They make vows of faithfulness. And of course, they don’t follow them. Nehemiah had returned to Babylon to serve the king, but he ends up having to head back to Israel to propose and enforce reforms. And Jerusalem’s wall is dedicated.

So, what does all of this teach me about God?

After finishing my reading of the Torah this year, I’m reminded that God means what He says. I’ve just been reading about the Israelites preparation and eventual takeover of the promised land in Deuteronomy and Joshua. God warned the Israelites that if they didn’t abide by His law, He would spit them out of the land just as He was doing to the Canaanites. Another spoiler alert…they didn’t and He did. He also numbered at that time how long they’d be in exile. The Israelites were in exile for the amount of time God said. It’s almost like He knows stuff. It’s almost as if He means what He says. It’s almost as if He’s a God of His word.

But God is also patient. He was patient with the Israelites for four decades in the wilderness. If the dating of the fall of Jericho in 1400 BC is accurate as well as the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC, that’s over 800 years of dealing with disobedience. That’s over 800 years of sending judges and prophets and kings to attempt to lead these people to repentance with His kindness. Some times it worked. Some times it didn’t. But you can’t say God isn’t patient. I would have smite my own self a long time ago. Not God. He’s patient.

He's also kind. God could have kept the Israelites dispersed abroad and been done with them, but He brought them home. A new temple was constructed. It will be in this second temple where Gabriel will appear to Zechariah to tell him of the birth of his son, John the Baptist. God is a relational God, He communicates with His people, and I so appreciate that about Him.

Because of God’s relationship with each of us, our walks are similar but not the same. Ezra didn’t want to bother the king about protection on his journey back. He turned to fasting and prayer. Nehemiah, very much a man of prayer himself, got sent back with protection and didn’t turn it down. I’ve often read these two accounts and compared them. Which one was wiser? Which one was more righteous?

I don’t think those are the right questions. At this moment, I believe both of these men were on a path to the same destination, but how they each needed to get there looked different. Different doesn’t have to mean better or worse, though I often try to make it such. I think that Ezra did what he thought was best and so did Nehemiah. In the end, they both achieved the God-given purpose God had placed on their lives. There’s probably a sermon there.

Idk. I guess I just simply love how God knows each of us so intimately and I wonder if He isn’t ready for all of us to get over ourselves, stop worrying about what so and so may be doing or how she’s doing it, and simply just walk with Him…however He leads us. He knows what is best. He knows the steps we need to take.

May we each put one foot in front of the other, increasing our trust in Him as He leads. After all, you can trust God. Why? Because He’s just good like that.