Ezra-Nehemiah intro – When restoration is not a quick fix

There are times when we need to hear uplifting stories where everything ends well; despair is overcome by joy, illness by healing, loneliness by a deep and meaningful relationship. We want to know that such things are possible, that we can be confident and full of hope that this could be our experience. There are, however, other times when our lives do not conform to a jubilant and victorious pattern and such stories taunt us with their happy endings making us feel deficient and inadequate because we cannot get there. Thankfully, the Bible has a testimony that includes both sides: the things that the Lord heals and transforms beyond recognition, as well as the ongoing life struggles that continue to test us.

The exile – a rude awakening

The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah are about God bringing restoration to a deeply traumatised people and about the continuing challenges they face. Because God’s people turned away from Him for centuries and refused to listen to the prophets’ warnings, the Lord sent them into exile: the northern kingdom of Israel to Assyria in 722 BC (2 Kings 17:1-23), never to return from there, and the southern kingdom of Judah to Babylon in 587 BC (2 Kings 25:1-21).[1] Their temple, which symbolised God’s presence in their midst, was destroyed and they lost the land God had promised to their ancestor, Abraham (Gen 15:18). This was a people who have been shocked out of complacency, stripped of their confidence that God was with them and pitchforked into a foreign place. It was a rude awakening, but one that led to a new beginning.

Challenges of a new beginning

The Book of Ezra opens with the new Persian king, Cyrus, who took Babylon in 539 BC and gave permission to the exiles from Judah to return home and rebuild their temple. It is not a triumphalist account, but one that recognises that restoration and recovery can take time with dips into discouragement and inactivity, even a drifting into compromise. While many know the story of Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the Jerusalem wall, Ezra is probably less familiar to most. Yet, these two belong together, which is evident from the way ancient manuscripts include these books on one scroll. It is also clear from the structure of the two books, which demonstrate a similar pattern. First God brings about an element of external restoration (temple, wall building), followed by a work of spiritual renewal and the ongoing challenge of faithfulness (see below).

Structure of Ezra-Nehemiah

Lessons from Ezra-Nehemiah

While some of the problems the returned exiles encountered are alien to us, there are plenty of lessons that we can learn from these books. First, when people have been through so much, have lost their sense of identity and confidence in the Lord, the path to healing and restoration is slow work, not a quick fix. It should encourage those who have known trauma and its ongoing effects not to give up hope even when progress is slow. Secondly, restoration often involves both external components (changed life circumstances) as well as internal renewal. Both are necessary and God graciously enables both. Ezra-Nehemiah especially emphasise the engagement with God’s Word in spiritual renewal that can bring about a change in understanding and practice. Finally, the golden thread running through Ezra-Nehemiah is God’s patient involvement as He works through inner and outer obstacles to achieve His purposes. He is faithful and He will not abandon the works of His hands (Ps 138:8).

[1] Israel split into two kingdoms after the reign of Solomon (1 Kings 11:9-13; 12:1-20). Judah (the southern kingdom) stayed with Solomon’s son, while the rest formed the northern kingdom of Israel.

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