Unit 1: Liberating Passover (Pesach)
Key Verse:
Ezra 2:68 NLT
68 When they arrived at the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, some of the family leaders made voluntary offerings toward the rebuilding of God’s Temple on its original site,
God’s people: All in…. In every different way!
What you need to know
Four deportations (the exile to Babylon):
605 BC: Jehoiakim surrenders to Nebuchadnezzar and forced to pay tribute. Selected royalty and state officials including Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are taken away to Babylon. This is the first exile. Daniel 1:1-7
598 BC - 597 BC: Jerusalem beseiged by Nebuchadnezzar. Jehoiakim killed. His son and successor, Jehoachin reigned 3 months, then was carried into exile into Babylon. This was the second deportation to Babylon. 2 Chronicles 36:6-11
587 BC - 586 BC: King Zedekiah executed by Nebuchannezer and the third deportation to Babylon occurs. The Temple is razed. 2 Kings 25
582 BC: The fourth and final deportation occurs as a result of the murder of the acting Governor of the province, Gedaliah. Jeremiah 41- 43
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Four returns: (The return from Babylon)
539 BC: Babylon is defeated by Persia under King Cyrus. Isaiah 48:14
538 BC: The first and second returns to Judah occur under Sheshbazzar and Zerrubabel respectively by order of King Cyrus of Persia. Ezra 1:8, Ezra 2:2
516 BC: The rebuilding of the Temple is complete during the reign of King Darius of Persia. Ezra 6:15
458 BC: Ezra leads the third return of exiles to Judah during the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia. Ezra 7- 8
445 BC: Nehemiah leads the fourth (last) return of exiles to Judah during the rule of King Artaxerxes of Persia. Nehemiah 1- 2
The Lesson
Ezra 1:1 NLT
1 In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia,[a] the Lord fulfilled the prophecy he had given through Jeremiah.[b] He stirred the heart of Cyrus to put this proclamation in writing and to send it throughout his kingdom:
Isaiah 45:13 NLT
13 “I will raise up Cyrus to fulfill my righteous purpose, and I will guide his actions. He will restore my city and free my captive people— without seeking a reward! I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!”
As has always been God’s way, after the time of the Babylonian captivity was complete, the Lord moved upon the hearts of men to bring His Word to pass. God’s intent was to re-establish the nation of Israel, so as to eventually create the path for His Son, Jesus Christ to redeem all of mankind. In order for this to happen, Israel would have to be restored. In order for that to properly occur, God’s people: the Hebrews would have to be freed from captivity. Some one hundred and fifty years prior to the reign of Cyrus, God identified him by name to the prophet, Isaiah. Now was the time. Not of Cyrus, but of God’s next move.
Ezra 1:2 NLT
2 “This is what King Cyrus of Persia says:
“The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build him a Temple at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
Much of what happens in this week’s lesson causes me to reflect on much of what’s happening in our world today. When you have some understanding of the political enviornment of that day, you can reasonably assume that Cyrus’ motivations were as much political as they were spiritual. In order to maintain control over as large an empire as the Medo-Persian empire was at that time, it would have been necessary to curry political favor with the variety of people groups over which he ruled. In the case of Israel, that would have involved freeing them from the imprisonment of Babylon and returning them to their homeland, whereby they might re-establish a burgeoning economy and eventually send tribute to the king. I’m only guessing, but whatever the motivation, it suited God’s purpose: the re-establishment of the holy nation of Israel.
Ezra 1:3 NLT
3 Any of you who are his people may go to Jerusalem in Judah to rebuild this Temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, who lives in Jerusalem. And may your God be with you!
Interestingly, Cyrus was astute enough to understand the power of worship within a given culture to inspire cohesion within that group and provide the motivation for them to travel several hundred miles to re-establish worship in their homeland. He was sending God’s people home with his blessing and with his desire for their God to bless them as well.
Ezra 1:4 NLT
4 Wherever this Jewish remnant is found, let their neighbors contribute toward their expenses by giving them silver and gold, supplies for the journey, and livestock, as well as a voluntary offering for the Temple of God in Jerusalem.”
King Cyrus continues by encouraging any Jews choosing to remain in Babylon (or other foriegn lands) to contribute monetarily toward the repatriation of Israel. How this must have thrilled the hearts of those Jews too old or feeble to make the long trip home. Or perhaps they were gainfully employed or had built families in their current environs and saw that as home. No desire to return, but so many reasons to contribute to the effort. God is now moving on many hearts. How proudly could they now remember and be remembered with this gift for the return.
Ezra 1:5 NLT
5 Then God stirred the hearts of the priests and Levites and the leaders of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple of the Lord.
The depth of the sense of heritage in the people of God is reflected in the verse above. The people of God have maintained their tribal and familial distinctions. Additionally, they have maintained the integrity of the priesthood. Thus, when called upon to return to Israel to rebuild, they have the people in place to begin to rebuild at the heart of what makes Israel unique: the Temple of God.
Ezra 1:6 NLT
6 And all their neighbors assisted by giving them articles of silver and gold, supplies for the journey, and livestock. They gave them many valuable gifts in addition to all the voluntary offerings.
And for those who could not return, their ability to participate by giving demonstrated their faithfulness and adherence to the principles and precepts of of God. God loves a cheerful giver. They gave freely and extravagantly toward the financing of the return to ISrael. In my mind, regardless of the value of the overall offering, the joy and fervor with which they participated in giving was so much more significant in the eyes of God.
Ezra 1:7 NLT
7 King Cyrus himself brought out the articles that King Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Lord’s Temple in Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his own gods
Even King Cyrus contributes to the effort by returning the articles that had been taken from the Temple in Jerusalem by Neberchadnezzar. How humbling it must have been for the Jews returning home to realize that they would be able to re-establish worship in their homeland with the antiquities of worship that had been handed down to them by their forefathers. They would be able to re-establish worship with the articles originally declared holy by God.
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Daniel 5:22-30 NLT
22 “You are his successor,[c] O Belshazzar, and you knew all this, yet you have not humbled yourself. 23 For you have proudly defied the Lord of heaven and have had these cups from his Temple brought before you. You and your nobles and your wives and concubines have been drinking wine from them while praising gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone—gods that neither see nor hear nor know anything at all. But you have not honored the God who gives you the breath of life and controls your destiny! 24 So God has sent this hand to write this message.
25 “This is the message that was written: Mene, mene, tekel, and Parsin.
26 This is what these words mean:
Mene means ‘numbered’—God has numbered the days of your reign and has brought it to an end. 27 Tekel means ‘weighed’—you have been weighed on the balances and have not measured up. 28 Parsin[d] means ‘divided’—your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.” 29 Then at Belshazzar’s command, Daniel was dressed in purple robes, a gold chain was hung around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom. 30 That very night Belshazzar, the Babylonian[e] king, was killed.[f]
Just a reminder that it was this mishandling and disregard for these very vessels, these holy vessels from the Temple of God that resulted in the last king of Babylon, Belshazzar being condemned by God and killed on the very night that he committed the act of sacrilege described in the above passage; not against a few vessels from the Temple of the God of Israel, but against the God of Israel. For that, he lost his life and the kingdom of Babylon was conquered, never to rise again. When we weigh Cyrus’ actions in light of these events, it is no wonder that he had all of these vessels returned to Israel.
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Ezra 1:8 NLT
8 Cyrus directed Mithredath, the treasurer of Persia, to count these items and present them to Sheshbazzar, the leader of the exiles returning to Judah.[c]
In fact, Cyrus took official measures. He directed the treasurer of the kingdom of Persia to find and give an official accounting for all of the vessels take from the Temple and return them to Sheshbazzar, the appointed leader of the Jews. Cyrus would ensure that his hands and the hands of his people were clean regarding their intentions toward the people of Israel and the articles of worship that belonged in their Temple. He wanted to take no risks concerning the continuance of his kingdom.
Ezra 1:11 NLT
11 In all, there were 5,400 articles of gold and silver. Sheshbazzar brought all of these along when the exiles went from Babylon to Jerusalem.
And so a proper accounting of all of the holy articles of the Temple of God were returned to Jerusalem. Again, for a moment, pause and imagine the humility of the Jews, in fact of all of the parties involved in the returning of these articles of worship to Jerusalem.
Ezra 2:64 NLT
64 So a total of 42,360 people returned to Judah, 65 in addition to 7,337 servants and 200 singers, both men and women.
Beloved, very nearly fifty thousand souls returned to Judah. What a homecoming that must have been! As we get older, our family reunions and our class reunions get smaller. There are some who, for any variety of reasons, just can’t attend. At some point, we see more family at funerals than we do at reunions, don’t we? I’m struck by the desire of so many Jews to return to their homeland. In fact, by all appearances, more Jews returned to Israel than were taken away into Babylon. Second Kings, Twenty-four records that ten thousand souls were taken into captivity. Remarkably, it seems that God multiplied and prospered his people in the Babylonian captivity in much the same way that he multiplied and prospered them during the Egyptian captivity some twelve hundred years earlier. As I write this, I’m reminded that one day, we will be caught up to meet Christ in the air, accompanied by all of those who have gone before us in faith. What a homecoming that will be.
Ezra 2:66-67 NLT
66 They took with them 736 horses, 245 mules, 67 435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys.
Additionally, they took livestock. Enough to work the land. Enough to start herds. Enough to restart their lives.
Ezra 2:68-69 NLT
68 When they arrived at the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, some of the family leaders made voluntary offerings toward the rebuilding of God’s Temple on its original site, 69 and each leader gave as much as he could. The total of their gifts came to 61,000 gold coins,[a] 6,250 pounds[b] of silver, and 100 robes for the priests.
And the giving continued. Before the building of the Temple began, worship to God began. Worship began in Persia with giving, then continued in Judah with more giving. In fact, the scriptures indicate that the people of God gave sacrificially. They gave as much as they could. They understood that God with them was greater than gold with them. Amen!
Ezra 2:70 NLT
70 So the priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, the Temple servants, and some of the common people settled in villages near Jerusalem. The rest of the people returned to their own towns throughout Israel.
And so to close, we note that the priests, the Levites, and all of the people who were designated to serve in the Temple took accomodations near Jerusalem, near the Temple. Everyone else went home. God brought everyone … home.
Selah,
wb
Isaiah 45:1-6 NLT
1
This is what the Lord says to Cyrus, his anointed one,
whose right hand he will empower.
Before him, mighty kings will be paralyzed with fear.
Their fortress gates will be opened,
never to shut again.
2
This is what the Lord says:
“I will go before you, Cyrus,
and level the mountains.[a]
I will smash down gates of bronze
and cut through bars of iron.
3
And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness—
secret riches.
I will do this so you may know that I am the Lord,
the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name.
4
“And why have I called you for this work?
Why did I call you by name when you did not know me?
It is for the sake of Jacob my servant,
Israel my chosen one.
5
I am the Lord;
there is no other God.
I have equipped you for battle,
though you don’t even know me,
6
so all the world from east to west
will know there is no other God.
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
Beloved, I alluded earlier to the thought that there are many who draw comparisons from the episode concerning Cyrus to those who are leaders in this present day. Most often, when these comparisons are made, they reflect a desire in the carnal hearts of the groups that make such comparisons to be lifted to a place of prominence through the machinations of wicked men by the hand of God. Beloved, whether it was old testament Israel or many of the sects that identify as Evangelical, this was and is a dangerous form of cultism called dominionism. It’s not Christianity. I caution those who would put their trust in an obviously, or not so obviously sinful political leader with the goal of establishing some kind of ‘righteous’ kingdom on earth. While the goal sounds godly and right, typically, the results are not. Dominionism is far from the heart of God. Be reminded that the religious leaders of Jesus’ day missed their day of visitation because of self righteousness. In this day, we need to take care to avoid that same pitfall. Be willing to preach the gospel, some planting, and some watering and rely on God to give the increase.
Psalm 146:3-9 NLT
3
Don’t put your confidence in powerful people;
there is no help for you there.
4
When they breathe their last, they return to the earth,
and all their plans die with them.
5
But joyful are those who have the God of Israel[a] as their helper,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.
6
He made heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them.
He keeps every promise forever.
7
He gives justice to the oppressed
and food to the hungry.
The Lord frees the prisoners.
8
The Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down.
The Lord loves the godly.
9
The Lord protects the foreigners among us.
He cares for the orphans and widows,
but he frustrates the plans of the wicked.
Selah
wb
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