Ezra & Nehemiah Message

EZRA – The Nation of Judah is the main focus here – Two Tribes

• Had a record of Good Kings, bad times; Times of Revival less and less
• Finally, Babylon conquers Judah and Jerusalem; God promised Judah that oppression will not last forever. 
• Jeremiah 29:10 – This is what the LORD says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place
• Were taken to Babylon  and disciplined for they did not listen to GOD. They came back to the land of Judah when the came back to GOD

A Story of Judah coming back home and coming back to their God

A return to where God wanted them to be spiritually and physically

• Return occurred over a three year period; First wave was under Zerubbabel. 
• Proclamation of Cyrus was a permission to go back to to the city and rebuild the nations, rebuild their families and rebuild the city. 
• Isaiah 44:24 -28 – “This is what the LORD says- your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the LORD, the Maker of all things, who stretches out the heavens, who spreads out the earth by myself, ²⁵who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who overthrows the learning of the wise and turns it into nonsense, ²⁶who carries out the words of his servants and fulfills the predictions of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be inhabited,’ of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be rebuilt,’ and of their ruins, ‘I will restore them,’ ²⁷who says to the watery deep, ‘Be dry, and I will dry up your streams,’ ²⁸who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say of Jerusalem, “Let it be rebuilt,” and of the temple, “Let its foundations be laid.”‘
•  Prophetic word in 750 BC of rebuilding the city and the rebuilding of the temple.  (250 years before Cyrus becomes King 

First Wave of Return 

Led by Zerrubabel 

• Descendant of David, tribe of Judah. Ancestor of Jesus 
• Purpose of return, to rebuild the city, rebuild the temple and re-establish temple worship, start sacrifices
• What did not happen under Zerrubabel was that there was no revival that swept through Judah. NO REVIVAL. They established worship, but they continue the same patterns of sins of moving away from the LORD

SECOND WAVE and Real REvival

Began under Ezra

Under his leadership, real revival occurred. 

This revival began in the heart of Ezra himself. Ezra was a descendant of Moses’ brother Aoran. He belonged to the priestly tribe and he was one of the priests, but he was more than a priest, he was also a teacher of the law. He also kept the law.

Why did God raise this man to the kind of leadership he raised him to and used him the way he used him in the lives of the people of Judah? 

Ezra was both devoted to the study of and the keeping of God’s law. He just didn’t teach, he showed by example how to live for the LORD. He was called by God the leadership position that he rose to {Ezra 7:6}

• This Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a teacher well versed in the Law of Moses, which the LORD, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted him everything he asked, for the hand of the LORD his God was on him.

God chose Ezra for the task he chose him to do. You can see how he responded to the King. He testified of the power of GOD. The King knew it was a dangerous trip to move back from Babylon to Judah. There were robbers, police, etc and were ready to give the military escort. But Ezra says God protects his people. In an act of faith, Ezra did not ask for military escort. INstead he trusted in the protection and power of God. 

Ezra was a man of repentance. Instead of railing at the people of Judah for the way they were living, Ezra in chapter 9 falls to his knees on personal repentance to see if there were ways he was living that were displeasing to God. He expressed persona l repentance and his own and his own people 

Revival begins in the hearts of people who repent themselves and then leads the people around them in repentance too. 

Third Return – Under Nehemiah

Work of Revival began in his heart

Of the tribe of Judah, serving as Cupbearer to the King.

Nehemiah 1:4 – 7 when I heard these things I. Did not point the finger of judgement on Judah, but pointed the finger of Judgement on back on his own heart.

There was a return to the word of God and a careful attention to the God’s. Nehemiah brought all people together and asked Ezra to come and read the word (Nehemiah 8). Heart for hearing the word of God. There was an outbreak of worship (NEhemiah 8:6). 

• Appointing people to lead worship and even hiring people to lead in worship. 
• There was sincere repentance (Nehemiah 9:1-2). 
• Repentance restored them to a time of blessing and revival. 

God wants to work in the same way in our lives

God invites all of us to come home

I see some parallel of Judah’s return home and return home to our own return.

For revival to occur, there are three things needed

1. There must be a move of GOD. It was not a good idea but an initiative of God. The word says God moves through the heart of King.

Those who returned with Zerrubabel were those whom God has moved in their hearts.  The hand of God was with Ezra (7) Nehemiah (2). God gave opportunity to all, but not all responded (Ezra 8:22) The righteous hand of GOD is on everyone who looks to him. 

It is the same with us. Before we are saved, there is a move of God in our lives.

Before we return home, there is a move of God

God initiates opportunities for us to become the children of God. 

Let us pray for a move of God in your own life, in the lives of your family, your children, our city, our community, our nation. 

2. There must be God appointed leaders.

There were leaders that initiated the return of God’s people to the LORD. 

Zerrubabel – Haggai 2:23- He was chosen by GOd

Ezra (7:6) – Hand of God was upon him

Nehemiah 2:8 – Gracious hand of God was upon me 

There were GOd- appointed leaders. You see that principle all over the Bible. Leaders who would speak for God, leaders who would proclaim God’s word, Leaders who would provide an example as people come back to God. 

If our families will ever return to God, it will require leaders. If our community is to return to God, it will require leaders, who will lead our people back to GOd. THere is still hope for our families, there is still hope for our city, there is still hope for our nations. 

The for the people of Judah was not economic power, military power, powers of attorney or any other thing, but return to GOD. Men and women of integrity, or spiritual strength are needed to lead people back to GOD; people who have faced their own sins. 

Nehemiah 7:2 – what characteristic did Nehemiah seek? NOt intelligence, not Charisma, not physical strength, not economic power, not military strategy, but integrity and reverence for GOd. Those are the qualities we should look for for leaders to lead our community, our churches and our nation back to revival. 

3. There must be repentance

It began with the heart of Ezra and Nehemiah then swept through the people they led. Ezra 10 – calls people to repentance and we see them repentance. 

Change was required for the people of Judah to come home 

C. S. Lewis said Fallen men are not simply perfect creatures who need improvement. He is a rebel who must lay down his arms, surrendering saying you are sorry, realizing that you have been on the wrong track and ready to stay life again from ground zero. 

Repentance is a description of a way home. God wants all of us to come home. 

Jesus called us to repentance. The path towards  home , is the path of repentance. 

Prodigal son and a return home. We  have left God and we are in captivity because of it. God is waiting anxiously for us to come home.