Nielson / Ortlund Ezra and Nehemiah

A 12-Week Study
1. Auflage 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4335-4919-9
Verlag: Crossway
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, 96 Seiten

Reihe: Knowing the Bible

The Knowing the Bible series is a resource designed to help Bible readers better understand and apply God's Word. These 12-week studies lead participants through books of the Bible and are made up of four basic components: (1) reflection questions help readers engage the text at a deeper level; (2) 'Gospel Glimpses' highlight the gospel of grace throughout the book; (3) 'Whole-Bible Connections' show how any given passage connects to the Bible's overarching story of redemption, culminating in Christ; and (4) 'Theological Soundings' identify how historic orthodox doctrines are taught or reinforced throughout Scripture. With contributions from an array of influential pastors and church leaders, these gospel-centered studies will help Christians see and cherish the message of God's grace on every page of the Bible. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah tell of God's steadfast love toward Israel after their return from exile. The Lord rasied up Ezra and Nehemiah to reestablish the nation by rebuilding the temple and city walls and by turning the people back to his Word. In this 12-week study, Kathleen Nielson shows readers God's mercy and faithfulness demonstrated in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, encouraging Christians toward sincere repentance and persevering hope. Part of the Knowing the Bible series.

Kathleen Nielson (PhD, Vanderbilt University) is an author and speaker who loves working with women in studying the Scriptures. After directing the Gospel Coalition's women's initiatives from 2010-2017, she now serves as senior adviser and book editor for TGC. She and her husband, Niel, make their home partly in Wheaton, Illinois, and partly in Jakarta, Indonesia. They have three sons, two daughters-in-law, and five granddaughters.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Nielson, Kathleen

Ortlund, Dane

Leseproben

WEEK 2: THE FIRST RETURN—BY GOD’S STIRRING

Ezra 1–2

The Place of the Passage

These first chapters set the narrative in its historical context and establish the main action: King Cyrus releases God’s people from exile to return home to Jerusalem and Judah. But these chapters also establish the larger narrative perspective: this is the story of God being faithful to his Word and acting on behalf of his people (see Ezra 1:1).

The Big Picture

Ezra 1–2 tells of King Cyrus’s decree that the people of Judah be released from exile to return and rebuild God’s house in Jerusalem. Gifts and provisions are given, and stolen treasures from the Jerusalem temple are restored—all to be carried home by those listed in a detailed census.

Reflection and Discussion

Read Ezra 1–2, praying for insight as you begin and observing carefully as you go. Then write your reflections on the following questions. (For further background, see the ESV Study Bible, pages 804–807; available online at www.esvbible.org.)

1. The Proclamation of King Cyrus (1:1–4)

First, let’s set this story in context. Turn one page back and read 2 Chronicles 36. Make several observations about how the conclusion of Chronicles connects to the opening of Ezra.

Read Jeremiah 25:11–14 (Jeremiah prophesied during Judah’s fall to the Babylonians). Read also Isaiah 44:24–45:7 (Isaiah foresaw these events a century in advance). What truths about God do these verses reveal?

King Cyrus sent numerous groups of exiles back to their various countries in order to curry the favor of as many local gods as possible. He calls God what the Jews called him: “the LORD, the God of heaven.” What ironies are here in 1:1–4? Compare and contrast the Persian king’s perspective with God’s perspective.

2. Getting It All Together (1:5–11)

Consider the words about God’s stirring up people’s spirits (Ezra 1:1, 5). Why are these glimpses into the activity of God so important here? What difference do these glimpses make to you today?

Find the references to the “house of the LORD” in Ezra 1 and then read about the dedication of the temple in 1 Kings 7:51–8:11 (skim the rest of 1 Kings 8). Briefly sum up what the temple represented for God’s people.

Why is such attention given to these treasures in Ezra 1:4–11? (Read Ex. 12:35–36 and comment on parallels here.)

3. The People (2:1–70)

Read chapter 2. What do you notice? Why are these lists wonderful and crucial at this point in salvation history?

Read in Numbers 3:1–20 about God’s choosing the Levites to care for temple worship, with only Aaron’s line serving as priests.1 In what ways does Ezra 2 highlight the importance of the temple and its workers?

The leaders listed first are Zerubbabel and Jeshua (v. 2). Read more about them in Haggai 1, and write a few brief observations.

Read through the following three sections on Gospel Glimpses, Whole-Bible Connections, and Theological Soundings. Then take time to consider the Personal Implications these sections may have for you.

Gospel Glimpses

RELEASE FROM CAPTIVITY. The Bible reveals a God who delivers a captive people. The exodus2 of God’s people from Egypt is the great Old Testament story of deliverance, retold by generations. The release from exile repeats the story of deliverance from captivity; Ezra 2:1 rings with the solemn import of it. Isaiah long before had connected Cyrus with God’s “anointed”3 who would save his people (Isa. 45:1). When Jesus the promised Christ appeared, he accomplished what was foreshadowed in the exodus and the release from exile: deliverance from the slavery of sin and death, through his death on sinners’ behalf and his resurrection from the dead. Praise God for his Son, who came to “proclaim liberty to the captives” (Isa. 61:1; Luke 4:16–21; John 8:34–36; Rom. 8:1–2).

A PEOPLE FOR HIMSELF. Ezra shows God’s hand on the precious remnant of God’s called-out people, through whom he is working his redemptive plan (Ezra 1:3; 2:1).4 Ezra highlights these “survivor[s]” (1:4; see Isa. 10:20–22), and his enumeration of them shows God’s faithful preservation through the dispersion of the exile. From the time of his promise concerning Eve’s seed (Gen. 3:15), God has been revealing a plan to redeem a people for himself through his Son. This plan was at work in his covenant with Abraham, that from him would come a great nation, blessed by God and a blessing to the nations. The Bible traces this covenant people from Abraham’s descendants, through the generations of those from whom the promised seed would come, through the line of David, to Jesus himself. In our time, Abraham’s descendants—not by bloodline but by faith in the blood of Christ—join the redeemed people who are God’s treasured possession (Gal. 3:7–9; 1 Pet. 2:9–10). The Bible tells of a called-out people, and the postexilic glimpse of the restored remnant of this people is a crucial episode in the salvation story.

Whole-Bible Connections

A STORY ABOUT GOD’S WORD. “Whole-Bible Connections” are at the heart of Ezra’s message! His opening point is that Cyrus’s decree fulfilled God’s word (Ezra 1:1). But it’s not just that specific prophecies were fulfilled. These books offer the final Old Testament link in the whole flow of redemptive history—set in motion by God’s spoken word at creation, ordained by God’s word to Eve, and channeled by God’s words of promise from Abraham all the way to the Word-made-flesh. Ezra’s account emerges in the bright background light of God’s unfailing word that has called out and preserved this people according to his promises. Amid the grim reality of rebuilding a broken-down city as slaves to a foreign king, the surety of God’s word supplies a foundation of faith in God and hope for the final fulfillment of all his promises.

THE TEMPLE. This book’s focus on the temple is established immediately, reminding us of the Lord’s eternal purpose to dwell with his people. After the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the garden of Eden because of their sin, the rest of Scripture tells of making a way for a holy God to dwell with an unholy people. God told Moses to have the people build a tabernacle “that I may dwell in their midst” (Ex. 25:8). The priesthood and sacrificial system were God’s merciful provision to allow a sinful people to approach him. The Jerusalem temple offers the climactic Old Testament picture of God’s presence with his people, with his glory filling it upon its dedication (1 Kings 8:10–11). After the exile, then, rebuilding this “house of the LORD” (1:3) is central for the regathered people of God. But the glory is gone—only to reappear in the One who came to tabernacle with us and show us God’s glory in the flesh (John 1:14). The New Testament shows Jesus himself to be the true temple (John 2:18–21), embodied in his people through his Spirit (Eph. 2:19–22), and ultimately shining among them in the heavenly Jerusalem (Rev. 21:3, 22).

RICHES FROM THE NATIONS. The temple vessels that had been carried off from Jerusalem were now restored to God’s people (Ezra 1:7–11), as Jeremiah had prophesied (Jer. 27:21–22). But there’s more: by Cyrus’s decree, rich gifts of silver and gold and cattle and supplies were given by the Persians as parting assistance to the Jews (Ezra 1:4, 6). How can we not find echoes here of Exodus 3:21–22, where God promises Moses that his released people would “plunder the Egyptians” as they leave? (See Ex. 11:2–3; 12:35–36; 36:2–7.) Scripture consistently shows that God owns the nations and all their goods—and will in fact have all of it for himself and his people in the end. Into the new Jerusalem will be brought the “glory and the honor of the nations” (Rev. 21:24–26; see also Isa. 60:10–14).

Theological Soundings

SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD.5 Along with showing the consequential actions of all the people in this story, Ezra reveals a sovereign God who directs all the action. We have seen God’s unfailing word revealed though his prophets. Ezra pulls back the curtain even...