Reading: Ezra 4-7, Psalm 46
Yesterday we read the story of the returned exiles, a greatly diminished people, sent by the king of Persia to rebuild the temple of the God of Israel. Cyrus’ motives are questionable, but his name appears in the book of Isaiah, so we might be inclined to trust him. Anyway, the people show up, get organized, and start building the temple. In the wrong order. With a motivation of fear of the people around them. We hear wailing from the elders who saw Solomon’s Temple. Things are starting to move a little bit in our story, but there are strong hints that the people involved are every bit as questionable as the ones who came before them.
The reading today begins with local opposition to the temple building. The people who remained in the land, descendants of those who were brought to settle it by the Assyrians, ask to help with the construction of the temple. This is an interesting question for the returned exiles. Should they refuse in order to maintain separation from the people around them, or should they take the opportunity to teach these people about the proper worship of the creator God? They choose the former. It is hard to see them in too bad a light for this, because of all the judgment meted out on them for not staying separated from the nations around them. On the other hand, every prophecy about the restoration of Jerusalem involves the nations streaming into the Temple to worship the God of Israel. So, you know, you’d think they might want to start with these people, who are literally asking to help. On the third hand, they are described as the adversaries right out the gate, which might be a shorthand way of telling us their motives weren’t all that great. In any event, they are rebuffed, get mad, and use political maneuvering to stop the work on the temple.
Over the next 80 years, this political battle will continue. Sizable parts of this book of the Bible is made up of actual letters sent back and forth between the exiles, the adversaries, and the royal court in Persia. In the end, the prophets Haggai and Zechariah appear, telling the returned exiles to get to work, nevermind the opposition. Eventually the king in Persia looks through his records and finds that Cyrus did indeed command the temple be rebuilt, and the people are able to complete it without further harassment. There is a celebration of Passover, and a dedication ceremony that is greatly diminished from the one that dedicated the Temple of Solomon. Also, the glory of God does not occupy this temple the way it did Solomon’s Temple and the Ezekiel’s Temple in the prophecy. This section of the book closes with a rebuilt temple, but a stall in the story. The exiles are doing something, but maybe not quite the right thing.
Chapter 7 introduces the title character, Ezra. He was a man who set his heart to study the law of God, to do it, and to teach it. Ezra was a Bible nerd. The king in Persia has apparently heard that while the temple of the God of Israel has been rebuilt, the people don’t know correct worship. They are doing it wrong. So he finds the biggest nerd in the Jewish population and sends him to teach them what is what. In the process, a second return from exile occurs. Ezra brings a whole bunch of other nerds with him- the priests and scribes who had remained in Persia and Babylon. Maybe this will be the kick start that the nation of Israel needs to get things moving again.