By Sam E. Stone Today’s lesson is the last of five studies in the life and ministry of the respected Old Testament leader Ezra. In the book that bears his name, he describes how the Jews came to return to Israel from their Babylonian captivity. Ezra includes seven official documents or letters, in addition […]
By Sam E. Stone The book of Ezra is composed of two sections: chapters 1–6 record how the Jews returned from captivity to rebuild the temple; chapters 7–10 describe how Ezra came back to Jerusalem and led reforms. A period of some 57 years passed between the end of Ezra 6 (515 BC) and […]
By Sam E. Stone Worship with both song and sacrifice was once again practiced by the people of Israel after their return to the promised land. Ezra, a famous priest and scribe, tells us of the event. In Ezra 4 he describes the opposition faced by the Jews as they worked to rebuild the […]
By Sam E. Stone This is the second week of studies from the book of Ezra. It describes the time when God’s people were able to worship in Jerusalem once again. Being released from Babylonian captivity was not enough. Now they needed not only to rebuild the altar but also to restore the entire […]
By Sam E. Stone Continuing this quarter’s theme, “God’s People Worship,” we now turn from Isaiah to two other helpful resources—the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Along with the book of Esther, these two writings form the closing section of Old Testament history. They tell of the Jews’ return from Babylon, the rebuilding of […]
