The people of God were once a proud and powerful people, but now they were in a foreign land. They must have felt that God had deserted them.

All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharaoh King of Egypt. They worshipped other gods and followed the practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced.

But things start to pick up for the covenant people of God, and it was Ezra and Nehemiah who became key figures in a new era for God’s people. A new king in their land of exile wanted them back in Jerusalem, not only that, he wanted them to rebuild their city that was in ruins.

This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you—may their God be with them, and let them go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the LORD, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem. And in any locality where survivors may now be living, the people are to provide them with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem. Ezra 1:2-4

It was Ezra’s job to rebuild the temple and Nehemiah’s job to rebuild the walls of the city, and it opened up a new future. However, the people in Jerusalem who remained were now in charge, and they’d intermarried with Gentiles who’d taken advantage of the situation. This is where the Samaritans came from, and they were still hated in the time of Jesus. This gives the context to the Parable of the Good Samaritan where Jesus made a hated Samaritan the hero of a story.

As a result of all this, the rebuilding was not without its problems. But eventually the temple was rebuilt, the city restored and the walls completed. Ezra and Nehemiah restored the spirit and identity of the people, once again reminding us that God never forsakes his people.

This is one of a series of posts outlining all the books of the Bible. Previous Next

See also: Tears That Rebuild Foundations