A Teaching Outline for the Book of Ezra

Just before the Israelites went into Babylonian captivity in 605 BC (the first of three deportations), the prophet Jeremiah gave them a timeline of prophetic comfort: “For thus says the Lord, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.’” (Jer. 29:10-11). And right on time, God kept His word. In 535 BC—70 years later—after the Lord “stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia” (Ezra 1:1), the Israelites officially laid the foundation for their new temple back in land. Not only did that return fulfill Jeremiah’s prophecy, but it fulfilled the prophet Isaiah’s as well—an astonishingly accurate prophecy given over 150 years beforehand: “‘It is I who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd! And he will perform all My desire.’ And he declares of Jerusalem, ‘She will be built,’ and of the temple, ‘Your foundation will be laid.’” (Isa. 44:28). Just as there were three major deportations out of the land of Judah, so it was that there were three resettlements back into the land of Judah. The book of Ezra documents the first two of the returns, while the book of Nehemiah (originally part of the same book as Ezra in the Hebrew text) documents the third.

The first return was led by Zerubbabel, an heir to the Davidic throne through Jehoiachin, whom God had preserved in exile (cf. Jer. 52:34). Having been given freedom (cf. Ezra 1:3), finances (cf. Ezra 1:4), and even the firepans (cf. Ezra 1:9) necessary to resume worship in their land, Zerubbabel, along with a paltry 42,360 people, arrived and rebuilt the bronze altar, reinstated corporate praise, and laid the foundation for the new temple. Though it was a glorious moment to see the beginning of a new temple, those Jews who were alive as children prior to the Babylonian captivity remembered what Solomon’s temple looked like—and wept at the new temple’s mediocrity in comparison (cf. Ezra 3:12, Hag. 2:3).

When the nearby Samaritans (people who were descendants of intermarriages between Israelites and pagans after the Assyrian conquest of 722 BC) heard about the reconstruction of the temple, they claimed to worship the same God as the Jews, and offered to help rebuild. But Zerubbabel rejected their help, refusing to acknowledge them as fellow worshipers of the one true God. And so it was that the offended Samaritans began disrupting their temple construction (which would bring about centuries’ worth of hostility between the two groups). The Samaritans’ interference led to a sixteen-year delay in rebuilding the temple, during which time the building sat unfinished. Only by a move of the Spirit, through the preaching of Haggai and Zechariah, were the Jews reinvigorated to finish their work (cf. Ezra 5:1-2). Naturally, this was followed by a great celebration, as the Jews recognized that it was only by the providential hand of God that they finished what they started.

The second return, occurring roughly fifty-eight years after the completion of the temple, was led by Ezra, a man prepared by God with both the lineage and the learning needed to renew the nation (cf. Ezra 7:5-6). As one who was dedicated to studying, practicing, and teaching God’s Word, Ezra brought with him not only additional material support for those already in Judah, but additional spiritual support. And spiritual support was desperately needed. That’s because in the nearly six decades between the dedication of the rebuilt temple and this second return, the Jews had fallen right back into their sinful ways—joining themselves to, and producing families with, nearby pagans who worshiped false gods. Not only was this a direct violation of Mosaic Law (cf. Deut. 7:3-4), but it is precisely the sin that had led to their their nationwide exile to Babylon in the first place (cf. Josh. 23:11-13, 2 Chron. 36:14). In other words, they hadn’t learned their lesson as punished exiles in Babylon, nor as favored returnees in Judah. Of course, far from having to do with any kind of interethnic violation, their corporate-wide sin was actually an interfaith violation. Although any Gentile who turned to genuine faith in Yahweh was always welcome to intermarry with Israelites (as in the case of Ruth and Boaz, cf. Ruth 1:16), the Gentiles in Ezra’s day were still committed to “their abominations” (cf. Ezra 10:11). Thus, the disastrous nature of this sin could not be overstated, especially as the nation needed to remain distinct in order to provide a Davidic lineage for the coming Messiah.

Thankfully, with Ezra’s priestly leadership, in which he not only interceded for the people but also orchestrated nationwide repentance, the sin was able to be resolved. After counsel from a number of other leaders, he spent the next several weeks overseeing an investigation into each relationship to determine which ones had violated God’s Law and needed to be dissolved—meaning the foreign women, and even their children, would be sent away (cf. Ezra 10:3). Though many readers today misunderstand this to be a horrific sanctioning of divorce (an act which God clearly hates, cf. Mal. 2:16), the reality is that these relationships were not actually marriages, and consequently, the sending away of these pagan women was not actually divorce. On the contrary, not only were these unions against God’s Law, and thus not legally recognized, but the Hebrew word for “married” (as found in Ezra 10:2) is a word not typically used for such a covenant relationship; instead, it literally means “given dwelling to.” Thus, these relationships were more akin to cohabitation than to marriage, and in that additional regard they held no more legitimacy in the eyes of God than would a modern-day, so-called “common law marriage” (married status granted to a couple simply based on factors such as buying a home and living together for a long period of time). With these things in mind, Ezra’s leadership in terminating these relationships was indeed an act of doing God’s will (cf. Ezra 10:11).

Nevertheless, the fact that Ezra’s wise and courageous leadership was even needed for such a situation indicated the overall disastrous conclusion to the first two returns from exile, making it crystal clear that the long-awaited kingdom of God was still yet to come. Cyrus may have been a messiah (cf. Isa. 45:1), but he was not the Messiah. Artaxerxes could restore the Jews to the land, but he couldn’t restore them to God. Zerubbabel could rebuild the temple of God, but he couldn’t reinstate the glory of God (cf. Hag. 2:7). Haggai and Zechariah could help overcome Jewish opposition, but they couldn’t eliminate Jewish opposition. Ezra could bring about a renewed remnant, but not a renewed kingdom. And so it is that with an incomplete return, inferior temple, and immoral nation, the truth becomes even more evident that only the Son of God—the Lord Jesus Christ—can restore Israel (cf. Acts 1:6). When He comes for the second time, He will gather His people from the four corners of the earth (cf. Isa. 11:12), rebuild a far grander temple (cf. Ezek. 40:48-42:14, Hag. 2:9), remove all opposition (cf. Jer. 30:20), and regenerate the entire nation to spiritual fidelity (cf. Ezek. 36:26-28). And like those Gentiles of old who were welcomed into the former kingdom after turning from their idols to trust in the one true God, so it is that Gentiles today who repent and trust in Jesus will one day be welcomed into a far greater kingdom. May you prepare your disciples for that coming restoration by studying this book verse by verse. The following outline is offered to help.

The Resources for the First Return (Ezra 1:1-11)

Freedom (Ezra 1:1-3)

Finances (Ezra 1:4-6)

Firepans (Ezra 1:7-11)

The Record of the First Return (Ezra 2:1-70)

The Leaders (Ezra 2:1-2a)

The Lineages (Ezra 2:2b-20)

The Locations (Ezra 2:21-35)

The Levitical Priests (Ezra 2:36-39)

The Levites (Ezra 2:40-42)

The Liturgical Servants (Ezra 2:43-58)

The Lost Lineages (Ezra 2:59-63)

The Ledger (Ezra 2:64-70)

The Restoration of Worship (Ezra 3:1-13)

Constructing Moses’ Altar (Ezra 3:1-7)

Continuing David’s Praise (Ezra 3:8-11)

Comparing Solomon’s Temple (Ezra 3:12-13)

The Resistance from the Samaritans (Ezra 4:1-24)

The Temple Contested under Cyrus (Ezra 4:1-5)

The People Contested under Ahasuerus (Ezra 4:6)

The Walls Contested under Artaxerxes (Ezra 4:7-23)

The Temple Continued under Darius (Ezra 4:24)

The Report to the King (Ezra 5:1-17)

Inspiration (Ezra 5:1-2)

Interrogation (Ezra 5:3-5)

Investigation (Ezra 5:6-17)

The Response from the King (Ezra 6:1-22)

Confirmation (Ezra 6:1-5)

Correction (Ezra 6:6-12)

Completion (Ezra 6:13-15)

Consecration (Ezra 6:16-22)

The Resources for the Second Return (Ezra 7:1-28)

Support (Ezra 7:1-7)

Safety (Ezra 7:8-10)

Supplies (Ezra 7:11-26)

Strength (Ezra 7:27-28)

The Record of the Second Return (Ezra 8:1-36)

The Lineages (Ezra 8:1-14)

The Levites (Ezra 8:15-20)

The Leading Priests (Ezra 8:21-30)

The Ledger (Ezra 8:31-35)

The Letter (Ezra 8:36)

The Remorse of Ezra (Ezra 9:1-15)

The Problem (Ezra 9:1-15)

The Prayer (Ezra 9:5-15)

The Reforms of Ezra (Ezra 10:1-44)

The Plan (Ezra 10:1-4)

The Proclamation (Ezra 10:5-8)

The Policy (Ezra 10:9-11)

The Process (Ezra 10:12-17)

The People (Ezra 10:18-44)