Class 19
Class 19 looks at 3 waves of return to Jerusalem.
Temple: Zerubbabel
Law: Ezra
Walls: Nehemiah
The restoration was not merely physical. It involved worship, truth, and covenant identity.
New outline blank: Ezra 1-6 – Restoration of the Temple
Jeremiah 25:12-13–“Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation” Jeremiah 29:10-“When seventy years are completed for Babylon…I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.”
God gets specific about which king will allow God’s people to return. Isaiah 44:28 – “who says of Cyrus.” Isaiah named Cyrus approximately 150 years before Cyrus issued the decree to rebuild Jerusalem. When Persia took over Babylon, Cyrus allowed displaced peoples throughout the empire to return to their ancestral lands and restore their temples.
Temple: Zerubbabel
The Burnt Offerings
Work on the temple
The Samaritans offered to help rebuild
They say, “We worship your God as you do,” but that is not true. “The sins of Jeroboam” and John 4.
Haggai and Zechariah prophesy
Rebuilding the temple continues
The temple is completed!
New outline blank: Esther 1-10 – Redemption Unstopped
The book of Esther happens between Ezra 6 and 7
New outline blank: Ezra 7-10-Restoration of the Law
Ezra left from Persia and went on a 4-month journey to Jerusalem, 60-80 years after the first group returned.
Ezra 7:10 – “Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel.”
Ezra 8:1-2 specifically mentions descendants of the priests and the name of David.
1. The Davidic line had survived the exile.
2. It reminds us that God’s promises had not failed.
3. It keeps alive the hope of the Messiah.
New outline blank: Nehemiah 1-13 – Restoration of the Walls of Jerusalem
The book of Nehemiah focuses on the physical and spiritual restoration of Jerusalem. Nehemiah, a Jewish cupbearer to the Persian king, is moved to action when he hears that Jerusalem’s walls remain in ruins. With divine guidance and the king’s support, Nehemiah leads the effort to rebuild the walls, despite opposition. The project is completed in 52 days, symbolizing the renewal of the people’s faith and identity. Nehemiah also oversees the spiritual restoration of the people through the reading of the Law and the renewal of their covenant with God, marking a renewed commitment to covenant faithfulness.
Then….that’s it. That’s the end of the Old Testament. 400 years of “silence.” About 400 years passed without inspired prophets or new biblical revelation before the coming of Christ.
And we wait for the coming of the promised One.
Notes and PowerPoint from each week will updated here every Wednesday.
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