Navigating the Bible: Ezra

“Praise the Lord, the God of our ancestors, who made the king want to beautify the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem! And praise him for demonstrating such unfailing love to me by honoring me before the king, his council, and all his mighty nobles. I felt encouraged because the gracious hand of the Lord my God was on me.” Ezra 7:27-28The book of Ezra continues the narrative of the people of Israel into what is known as the post-exilic period. When we left things in 2 Chronicles, the king of Babylon had conquered Jerusalem and the temple had been destroyed. But the final part of the book ends with a glimpse of what’s to come. 2 Chronicles 36:23 says, “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. Any of you who are the Lord’s people may go there for this task. And may the Lord your God be with you.” That then ushers us right into the heart of the story of Ezra. Ezra 1 begins with this same retelling of Cyrus’s words and then continues the story from there as we the Zerubbabel lead a group of exiles back to Jerusalem followed by Ezra’s group. What follows is a story of rebuilding, opposition, and restoration. Ezra is a book that doesn’t often get the credit it deserves as it sits alongside Nehemiah, but it is a beautiful picture of the God of continued second-chances and a people who so desperately need them. To help us navigate the book of Ezra is Dr. Tiberius Rata, Associate Dean and Professor of Old Testament at Grace College and author of a commentary on Ezra. Doable Discipleship is a podcast produced and hosted by Jason Wieland. Resources Related to This Episode:https://www.amazon.com/Ezra-Nehemiah-Commentary-Tiberius-Rata/dp/1845505719Subscribe to the Doable Discipleship podcast at Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/doable-discipleship/id1240966935) or Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/1Zc9nuwQZOLadbFCZCmZ1V)Related Doable Discipleship Episodes: Navigating the Bible: 2 Chronicles - https://youtu.be/Xs7k9ntEcuENavigating the Bible: 1 Chronicles - https://youtu.be/eagXyo9oepgNavigating the Bible: 2 Kings - https://youtu.be/vuCefx3wha0Navigating the Bible: 1 Kings - https://youtu.be/EQjzZ0lvLjoNavigating the Bible: 2 Samuel - https://youtu.be/9UOoIvfwXy0Navigating the Bible: 1 Samuel - https://youtu.be/kWKqWlB8pkENavigating the Bible: Ruth - https://youtu.be/shGuoDkiFkgNavigating the Bible: Judges - https://youtu.be/Sz6TL_w-gpcNavigating the Bible: Joshua - https://youtu.be/5gldD5FM-wkNavigating the Bible: Deuteronomy - https://youtu.be/JidwMnYL51kNavigating the Bible: Numbers - https://youtu.be/V60gGr-9pHwNavigating the Bible: Leviticus - https://youtu.be/1-I-QdjB700Navigating the Bible: Exodus - https://youtu.be/1ELkgAlWFGgNavigating the Bible: Genesis - https://youtu.be/5zXHObysL6gInspiring Dreams by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoonMusic promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/Creative Commons CC BY 4.0https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/