Ezra-Nehemiah
How to reconnect with God and strengthen the relationship? (Ezra 3:1-7)
Ezra 3:1-7 We have all known times when our connection to the Lord was lost or weakened. Weeks went by without praying to God or we read our Bible with one eye on the clock and thoughts buzzing with the…
Were the exiles racist in their definition of identity? (Ezra 2:1-70)
Ezra 2:1-70 Throughout the book of Ezra and Nehemiah, Israel (i.e. God’s people) are defined as Jews who returned from exile (Ezra 2:2). For modern readers with a greater sensitivity to racial and ethnic exclusion and to related atrocities in…
The importance of understanding our identity (Ezra 2:1-70)
Ezra 2:1-70 Trawling through meaningless names and numbers is admittedly tedious, so if you skipped most of the reading above, I don’t blame you. Even Bible devotionals tend to miss out this chapter assuming that its details have no relevance…
The unexpected ways of God (Ezra 1:1-11)
Ezra 1:1-11 In my twenties I was working at an English language school in Budapest but found that language teaching was not a very good fit and decided to leave. Having no idea what else to do, I felt quite…