Bible in 90 Days - Day 34 (2 Chronicles 35:16 through Ezra)

Blessed are you, God of all creation.

You spoke in the beginning, and all things came to be.

You spoke, and your Word came to live with us,

full of grace and truth.

Bless this place where we would hear your voice.

Bless this place where we would hear your story.

As we listen, may our ears be attuned to you.

As the Word is spoken, may you speak to us.

May all we hear lead us to you.

Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

For the first time we are getting a view of life in Israel after the exile to Babylon. The Babylonians took much of the southern kingdom of Judah into exile (to Babylon) in 597 B.C., and Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians in 587. The Persians defeated the Babylonians in 539, and Zerubbabel returned to Jerusalem in 538. The temple was rebuilt and completed in 515, and in 458 Ezra led the second of 3 waves of returning exiles. Ezra comes back 80 years after Zerubbabel returns to rule in Jerusalem. Chapters 1-6 of Ezra occur before Ezra’s time. The little phrase “After these things” in 7:1 covers a lot of time!

Ezra 3:2 is a very hopeful verse. The people are using the “Law of Moses the man of God” as their rule for living. Their goal is to live within the boundaries of the covenant again. 3:11-13 also give us a great picture of the contrast in the temple. This is an allegory for Israel itself. It is being rebuilt, and that is glorious, but the glory is not equal to its former glory. Both joy and lament are appropriate.

The opening story of chapter 4 is a good reminder that not everyone who claims to be an ally of the church really is.

Just a commercial: The prophets Haggai and Zechariah are mentioned in 5:1. We will read their books when we get to the end of the Old Testament.

Personal note: Ezra 7:10 has become my own vision statement. In The Message it reads this way: “Ezra had committed himself to studying the Revelation of God, to living it, and to teaching Israel to live its truths and ways.”