Ezra 1–2 — God’s Faithfulness to His Word

Key Verse

“Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah” (Ezra 1:2).

The events recounted in this book illustrate the fulfillment of God’s Word spoken through Jeremiah concerning the return of the Jews from Babylon at the end of seventy years in exile. These events attest to God’s faithfulness to His people Israel and to His Word. If God was faithful then, we can be assured that He is faithful now and will be faithful in the future. “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19).

Josephus writes:

In the first year of the reign of Cyrus which was the seventieth from the day that our people were removed out of their own land into Babylon, God commiserated the captivity and calamity of these poor people, according as he had foretold to them by Jeremiah the prophet, before the destruction of the city, that after they had served Nebuchadnezzar and his posterity, and after they had undergone that servitude seventy years, he would restore them again to the land of their fathers, and they should build their temple, and enjoy their prosperity.¹

Josephus records Cyrus saying:

Since God Almighty had appointed me to be king of the habitable earth, I believe that he is that God which the nation of the Israelites worship; for indeed he foretold my name by the prophets, and that I should build him a house at Jerusalem, in the country of Judea. This was known to Cyrus by his reading the book which Isaiah left behind him of his prophecies …²

Often Daniel’s Seventy Weeks prophecy is linked to the decrees in Ezra. However, upon closer review, the clock does not start by any of the decrees found in Ezra, because none of them fulfill the “command to restore and to build Jerusalem” (Daniel 9:24–25).

Daniel was told that this 490-year period would begin “from the going forth of the commandment to restore Jerusalem” (Daniel 9:24). In the Scriptures are contained several decrees that have to do with the restoration of the Jews from the Babylonian captivity. There was the decree of Cyrus (Ezra 1:1–3); the decree of Darius in Ezra 6:3–8; and the decree of Artaxerxes in Ezra 7:7. However, in all these, permission was granted for the rebuilding of the temple, and nothing was said about the rebuilding of the city. In Ezra 4:1–4 the rebuilding of the temple was stopped because the Jews were rebuilding the city without authorization. In none of these decrees was the condition of Daniel 9:25 met. When we turn to the decree of Artaxerxes, made in his twentieth year, recorded in Nehemiah 2:1–8, for the first time is permission granted to rebuild the city of Jerusalem. This then becomes the beginning of the prophetic time appointed by God in this prophecy.³

The Lord is faithful to His Word through all generations! The diligent study of His Word will be rewarded.

Observation

1.      Read Ezra 1:1–11. Briefly note what stands out to you in this section at first reading.

2.     Read Ezra 2:1–70. Briefly note what stands out to you in this section at first reading.

Interpretation

1.      When God says He will do something, we can be certain that it will be done. Prophecy can be understood as hearing the Word of God directly from God. Through His prophets, God has already fulfilled many promises—and more will be fulfilled.

Read Jeremiah 25:12–14 and 29:10–15.

According to these passages, what does God reveal about His character, His faithfulness, and Israel’s future?

2.     Even when the world or life seems chaotic, God remains sovereign and fully in control. We see only part of the story—He sees the whole.

Read 2 Chronicles 36:22–23 and Proverbs 21:1.

How do these verses show the way God directs Cyrus (and people in general) to accomplish His purposes?

3.     Hebrews 4:12 reminds us that God’s Word discerns the thoughts and intentions of every heart. Isaiah 44:28–45:13 was written 140 years before the first temple was destroyed, yet Cyrus’s decree fulfilled it exactly—seventy years after Jeremiah’s prophecy.

Read Isaiah 44:28–45:13. How does this passage describe God’s influence over Cyrus’s heart, decisions, and actions?

4.     Read Ezra 1:3–5.

What do these verses reveal about the spiritual state of the people who chose to return?

Do you see any similarities between these events and the Exodus account? If so, what parallels stand out?

5.     Of the more than two million Jews sent into exile, only about 50,000 returned! Josephus notes, “Yet did many of them stay at Babylon, as not willing to leave their possessions.”4 After seventy years in captivity, Babylon was the only home most of them had ever known.

What factors might have motivated some to return to Jerusalem? What reasons might others have had for staying?

“Everything in God’s work rises and falls with leadership. When God wants to accomplish something, He calls dedicated men and women to challenge His people and lead the way. A decay in the quality of a nation’s leaders is an indication that trouble is ahead.”⁵

6.     Read Ezra 1:5. Who stepped forward to lead the return to Jerusalem? Based on this verse—and considering Luke 5:11, 14:33, and 18:22–23—what seems to matter most to these leaders? Why do you think that?

7.     The Urim and Thummim were tools given to the high priest for discerning God’s will (Exodus 28:30; Numbers 27:21). Today, what has God given us to help us know His will?

8.     How are believers called to discern God’s will today? Reflect on the following Scriptures and summarize what each teaches about God’s direction:

Mark 3:35

John 14:26

Romans 12:1–2

1 Thessalonians 4:3; 5:18

1 Peter 2:15

1 John 2:17

9.     What other Scriptures connect well with the themes in Ezra 1 and 2?

Consider using the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK) or any other scriptural reference tools available to you.6

Faithfully Stirred

“Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing” (Ezra 1:1).

1.      What does this verse reveal about God—His character, His faithfulness, His sovereignty, or His ways of working?

2.     What can this verse teach us about life or people in general?

3.     What does this verse show you about yourself—your heart, tendencies, faith, etc.?

4.     Does this verse offer you hope? Briefly share your thoughts.

5.     How might you share the truth of this verse with someone who needs encouragement?

Application

“The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21b).

Second Kings 25:13–16 details the account of Nebuchadnezzar pillaging the temple as he dragged Israel to Babylon. After they spent seventy years in exile, the Lord returned everything He had allowed the Babylonians to take.

Life is full of highs and lows. Jesus assured us that in this life we would face tribulation (see John 16:33). As for the Israelites, their tribulation was self-inflicted through disobedience, and it resulted in God’s judgment. Sometimes, our tribulations are self-inflicted because of our poor decisions. At other times, the trials we face are simply the result of living in a broken and fallen world and are unrelated to our behavior. The Lord gives and the Lord takes; blessed be the name of the Lord.

1.      Faithfulness is a major theme throughout this chapter. As you reflect on your own life, are there areas that need deeper examination? Is there something in your life that you are not giving over to the Lord?

2.     God often works through the obedience of men and women who are willing to lead. In this season of your life, where do you sense the Lord inviting you to step into leadership or influence?

3.     After seventy years in exile, some Israelites willingly forsook the comfort and familiarity they had established in Babylon to follow God’s call, while others chose to stay. Where is the Lord prompting you to step out into a place of deeper faith or obedience and out of your comfort zone?

Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:11–13)

4.     As you have walked through this chapter, what additional applications has the Holy Spirit brought to your attention?

NOTES

References

1 Flavius Josephus, The Antiquity of the Jews (Wilder, 2009), 416.

2 Josephus, The Antiquity of the Jews, 416.

3 Dwight J. Pentecost, Things to Come (Dunham, 1958), 244.

4 Flavius Josephus, The Antiquity of the Jews (Wilder, 2009), 417.

5 Warren Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary: Joshua–Esther (David C. Cook, 2003), 607.

6 The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Hendrickson Publishers, 1990). Also available at blueletterbible.org.