Book of Ezra, chapter 1
The people from Jerusalem and the land of Judah lived many years in Babylon and the nearby country; many of them built houses for their families, but worked for the king; some were servants in his palaces. After a few years the great king who made them captive died, and other kings conquered the land; some of them were good to the Jewish captives; some were not.
You remember it was because these people had worshiped idols and done so wickedly, that God had let them be taken from their own land. But they had found that the idols could not help them, and that only the Lord was true and right. Many were sorry for their sins, and wished to honor God, but could not offer sacrifices. in the heathen land (Deut. 12).
They had been told by Jeremiah that God would send them back after seventy years, but they seem to have forgotten that promise until Daniel read the letter of Jeremiah, and prayed to God to forgive the people’s sins, and let them return to Jerusalem (Jeremiah 29:1010For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. (Jeremiah 29:10), Dan. 9:1-201In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; 2In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. 3And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: 4And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; 5We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: 6Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 7O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. 8O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. 9To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; 10Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. 11Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. 12And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. 13As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth. 14Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice. 15And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. 16O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us. 17Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake. 18O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. 19O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name. 20And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God; (Daniel 9:1‑20)). But how could these people leave Babylon, for they could not go anywhere except by the king’s order?
There was a new king over the land, named Cyrus, who ruled also over all the world, of whom you may read in school. The Lord caused this great king to plan for the return of the Jewish people to rebuild the House of God, and he sent this writing to all places of the land.
“Thus saith Cyrus, king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and He hath charged me to build Him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all His people? His God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem ... .and build the house of the Lord God of Israel.”
This writing of the king gave the Jewish people, who wanted to worship thy Lord, full permission to return to Jerusalem, and very many men and their families made ready to go. Some of the people seemed to be satisfied to remain in the country of Babylon, although they gave much to help those who returned and later many of these also went back.
King Cyrus gave them the many valuable gold and silver dishes which had been taken from the temple in Jerusalem and kept all those years in the idols’ temple, in Babylon, to carry back there.
Do you know that many years before, God had said Cyrus should be the one in have the people rebuild the city and temple of Jerusalem? He had told this to Israel at least one hundred and eighty years before this, and long before Cyrus was born. (Isa. 1:11The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. (Isaiah 1:1); Isa. 45:28; Isa. 46:11Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth, their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: your carriages were heavy loaden; they are a burden to the weary beast. (Isaiah 46:1)).
So all came true for the captive Jews and after seventy years in Babylon all who wished, started for the land of Judah, just as God had said; and we will read another time of how they rebuilt the temple.
What did the king say should be given to the people who returned to Jerusalem: Did the people obey? (Ezra 1:4,64And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem. (Ezra 1:4)
6And all they that were about them strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, and with beasts, and with precious things, beside all that was willingly offered. (Ezra 1:6)).
From what tribes of Israel were the Jewish captives who returned? (Ezra l:5).
ML 11/19/1939