Christ in Ezra: Our Restoration

After seventy years in Babylonian captivity, God’s promise to restore Israel to her land was fulfilled.  The book of Ezra tells us about that restoration, up to and including the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem over a period of 121 years.  The author was most likely Ezra, and his writing was probably completed between 456 and 444 B.C.  Ezra would have had existing documents, genealogies, and personal memoirs to use as resource materials since the people of Israel, specifically the scribes, were accustomed to keeping meticulous records.
 

King Cyrus of Persia was obviously influenced by the children of Israel, most probably by the teaching and writings of Daniel, since he had been elevated to a position of influence by Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar many years earlier.  The first few verses of the book tell us very specifically when these events took place.  King Cyrus reigned from 538 – 530 B.C., so we know that Ezra’s story begins in 538 B.C., and we know that this foreign king was being used by God to fulfill His promise to Israel.  As you read the following, you might find it very surprising that King Cyrus not only allowed and encouraged the Israelites to leave captivity, but he also provided funding for their trip and the rebuilding of God’s temple in Jerusalem!

In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia’s rule, to fulfill the Lord’s word spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Persia’s King Cyrus. The king issued a proclamation throughout his kingdom (it was also in writing) that stated:  “Persia’s King Cyrus says: ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has commanded me to build him a house at Jerusalem in Judah. If there are any of you who are from his people, may their God be with them! They may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the house of the Lord, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem. And as for all those who remain in the various places where they are living, let the people of those places supply them with silver and gold, and with goods and livestock, together with spontaneous gifts for God’s house in Jerusalem.’”  (Ezra 1:1-4)

But God was not surprised!  As a matter of fact, the Israelites should not have been surprised, either!  The prophet Isaiah had told them, 150 years earlier, before they were even taken into captivity, that a king named Cyrus would command that the temple be rebuilt, before the city of Jerusalem and the temple were even destroyed!

The Lord your redeemer who formed you in the womb says: “I am the Lord, the maker of all, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself, who frustrates the omens of diviners and makes a mockery of magicians, who turns back the wise and turns their knowledge into folly. But who confirms the word of my servant, and fulfills the predictions of my messengers; who says about Jerusalem, ‘It will be resettled’; and who says about the cities of Judah, ‘They will be rebuilt, and I will restore their ruins’; who says to the ocean depths, ‘Dry up; I will dry your streams’; who says about Cyrus, ‘My shepherd -- he will do all that I want’; who says about Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt’ and who says about the temple, ‘You will be founded once again.’” (Isaiah 44:24-28)

The book of Ezra and the story of the Jewish people are a foreshadowing of the story of Christ and His church.  God continues to seat people in places of authority, including kings, presidents, governors, just as he did King Cyrus.  He can cause those leaders to further His plan, even if they are not aware that they are doing so:

Every person should place themselves under the authority of the government. There isn’t any authority unless it comes from God, and the authorities that are there have been put in place by God. So anyone who opposes the authority is standing against what God has established. People who take this kind of stand will get punished. (Romans 13:1-2)

When Pilate heard this word, he was even more afraid. He went back into the residence and spoke to Jesus, “Where are you from?” Jesus didn’t answer. So Pilate said, “You won’t speak to me? Don’t you know that I have authority to release you and also to crucify you?” Jesus replied, “You would have no authority over me if it had not been given to you from above. (John 19:8-11)

The first temple that was built by Solomon was destroyed by Babylon in 586 B.C.  The temple that was rebuilt in the day of Ezra was later enlarged by Herod in the first century A.D., but then destroyed by Rome in 70 A.D.  When Christ died on the cross, the veil in the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom, removing the barrier between man and God.  He is our High Priest, and we (the church) are His temple.  The temple that Jesus Christ restored will never be destroyed:

Again Jesus cried out with a loud shout. Then he died. Look, the curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split, (Matthew 27:50-51)

Brothers and sisters, we have confidence that we can enter the holy of holies by means of Jesus’ blood, through a new and living way that he opened up for us through the curtain, which is his body, and we have a great high priest over God’s house. (Hebrews 10:19-21) 

Because the scribes of Israel kept such precise records, Ezra was able to list in chapter 2 all the people who left Persia to rebuild the temple, and in chapter 8 all the people who left Persia some 120 years later.  Jesus Christ is also described as a Scribe.  He has a book called The Lambs Book of Life in which are listed all the names of all the people who have accepted His sacrifice, The Lamb of God, as payment for their sins.

I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and scrolls were opened. Another scroll was opened too; this is the scroll of life. And the dead were judged on the basis of what was written in the scrolls about what they had done. (Revelation 20:12)

Nothing unclean will ever enter it (Heaven), nor anyone who does what is vile and deceitful, but only those who are registered in the Lamb’s scroll of life. (Revelation 21:27)

I hope your name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.  I hope that your relationship with God that was destroyed by sin has been restored by the blood sacrifice of the Lamb of God.  If not, trust Him now.  Confess your sins to our Great High Priest.  The perfect, spotless sacrifice has been made, so apply it to your life, and receive the forgiveness He offers.  Allow Him to live in and through you, making your heart, your mind, and your body His temple.

My prayer for you and for myself this week is loosely taken from Ezra 7:27, 28:

Bless the Lord, the God of our ancestors, who (is in control of the nations) and who has demonstrated his graciousness for me (in spite of my sins). I (take) courage because the Lord my God’s power (is) with me. (Thank you, Lamb of God, for forgiving me.  Thank you Holy God for restoring me to fellowship with You. Thank you Living God for your promise of eternal life with you.) Amen.