Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Haggai, Zechariah & Malachi slides for Foundations Bible School (copyright Don Palmer).

1. Session # 10.
Encountering the Exile
Covering the books of Ezra,
Nehemiah, Esther
(& Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi )

2. 1 2 3
Fall of Samaria & 1st Return from
Assyrian captivity captivity: 538BC
ISRAEL 722BC
Jonah? Amos Hosea
Temple rebuilt
Fall of Jerusalem & 516 BC
Babylonian captivity
586BC Zechariah Malachi
JUDAH Haggai
Joel? Isaiah Nahum
Micah Zephaniah Ezra 458 BC
Habakkuk Daniel Nehemiah 444 BC
Obadiah Jeremiah Ezekiel
Before the exile During exile After the exile

3. Nebuchadnezzar II comes to power (in Babylon)
605 – 562 BCE (43 years)
1st deportation 605(Summer)
Daniel (& other teenage Hebrew nobles) taken to Babylon.
2nd deportation 597
10,000 more captives taken (cf. 2 Kings 24:14-16)
3rd deportation 586
Jerusalem razed, remainder of people taken,
(apart from the “poor of the land” cf. 2 Kings 25:11-12)
Fall of Jerusalem July, 586
(Three other successive Babylonian kings, 562-556)
Nabonidus (Belshazzar, his son) 556 – 539

4. Neo Babylonian (Chaldean) Empire

5. 16th century depiction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon (by Martin
Heemskerck). The Tower of Babel is visible in the background.

6. Fall of Babylon (to Cyrus II, the Great) Oct., 539 BCE
Cyrus II the Great, ruled 550–529 BCE
Cambyses II, his son, ruled 530–522 (& Smerdis 522)
Darius I the Great, son of Hystaspes, ruled 522–486
Xerxes I, his son, ruled 486–465
Artaxerxes I, his son, ruled 465–424
Following these rulers the Persian Empire gradually lost
it’s power and influence, until Darius III is eventually
defeated by Alexander (the Great) in 331 BCE.

7. Decree of Cyrus the Great. (2 Chr. 36; Ezra 1 & 6)
1st return 538 BCE (during 2nd year of Cyrus’ reign -
led by Sheshbazzar, Zerubbabel & Joshua)
 Work on temple stops (for 17 years/till Darius’ reign)
 Messages of Haggai & Zechariah
 Story of Esther (during 3rd year of Xerxes’ reign)
2nd return 458 BCE (during the 7th year of Artaxerxes’
reign - led by Ezra the priest & teacher, cf. Ez. 7:11)
3rd return 445 BCE (during the 20th year of Artaxerxes’
reign - led by Nehemiah the governor)

8. Zerubbabel (grandson of Jehoiachin/ descendant
of David – Matthew 1:12)
Ezra (a priest, scribe & teacher/ descendant of
Aaron the first high priest)
Nehemiah (a politician, administrator & governor)
Joshua/ Jeshua (a high priest)
Esther (a Jewish orphan who marries Xerxes)
Haggai, Zechariah & Malachi/ Hebrew prophets
Cyrus, Darius, Xerxes, Artaxerxes/ Persian kings

9. Politically Re-establish it…
Socially Restore it…
Morally Reform it…
Spiritually Revive it…

11. Return & rebuilding of Ezra’s return & reforms of
the Temple (Chaps. 1-6) the people(Chaps.7-10)
 Decree of Cyrus  Letter of Artaxerxes
 List of returning exiles  Ezra’s mission (458 BCE)
 Rebuilding of the altar …58 yrs after temple built
 Rebuilding of the temple  List of leaders
 Opposition & delay  Ezra’s prayer (holiness)
 Completion & dedication  Confession of sins
 Celebration of Passover

12. Restore a place of sacrifice (to God) – 3:1-6
Restore a place of worship (of God) – 3:7-13
 Expect opposition!
 Listen to the voice of God (Haggai & Zechariah)
Restore a place of service (for God) – 6:13-18
Restore a place of relationship (with God) –
6:19-22

13. “This Ezra” Chs. 7-10
…devoted himself to study/ observance of Law
…a teacher well-versed in Law of Moses
…the hand of the LORD his God was upon him
Letter of Artaxerxes (458 BCE)
List of (1500) heads of families who returned
Actual account of the return (Ch. 8)
Ezra’s prayer of intercession (repentance)
Corporate confession of sin by the people
The confession
The covenant
** God-ordained
The commitment divorce **

15. Chapters 1-2:10 Nehemiah the cupbearer
Chapters 2:11-7:3 Nehemiah the builder
Chapters 7:4-13:31 Nehemiah the governor

16.  Rebuilding of the wall  Restoration of the
Chs. 1-6 people Chs. 7-13
1. Preparation 1. Renewal of the covenant
 Reading of the law
2. Reconstruction  Confession of the people
 Pledges of the people
 Builders
 Opposition 2. Reformation of the people
 Problems  Resettlement
 Completion  Registration of priests
 Dedication of wall
 Further reforms

17. King of Persia (465-425 BCE)
 3rd son of Xerxes 1 (husband to Esther) & Amestris
 Father murdered (465). He then has 2 brothers murdered.
 Major revolts: Egypt & Athenians (460) & Syria (448)
 Surnamed “longimanus” (right hand longer than left)
Jewish letters:
 Request for him to order work on the city to cease – granted
(Ezra 4:7ff.) - sometime between 465-458.
 Letter granting Ezra permission to return & offer worship to
Yahweh (Ezra 7 – cf. v23) – 458.
 Permission granting Nehemiah to return & rebuild walls of
Jerusalem (Neh. 2:1-9) – 445.
 Further permission for Nehemiah to return (13:6) 433.

18. Nehemiah had a clear understanding of the need
was personally concerned with the need
took the need to God (in prayer)
was available to help meet the need
PRAYER (“For some days I mourned, fasted &
prayed”)
…makes me wait
…stills my heart
…clears my vision
…activates my faith

19. Preparation for building
 Inspection of the city (at night) investigation
 Exhorted the people (“come”) motivation
 Recognized the opposition determination
 Organized the workforce cooperation

20. Criticism:
Ridicule (v.1-2)
Sarcasm (v. 3)
Frustrate (v.7-9)
Discouragement (v.10-12)
How to deal with it!
Turn to God in prayer
Keep your hand to the task
Stay united & focused
Take care of your workers & celebrate successes

21. Reading the law of God
Having a broken heart
Reflection on the goodness of God
Recognition of our inherent sinfulness
Renewal of our obedience (covenant)
in our relationships/ at home
in our workplace
in our place of worship

22. And because the gracious hand of my
God was upon me, the king granted my
requests. Nehemiah 2:8
I also told them about the gracious hand
of my God upon me and what the king had
said to me. They replied, "Let us start
rebuilding." So they began this good work..
Nehemiah 2:18

23. Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a teacher well
versed in the Law of Moses, which the LORD, the God
of Israel, had given. The king had granted him
everything he asked, for the hand of the LORD his God
was on him. Ezra 7:6
He had begun his journey from Babylon on the first day
of the first month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the
first day of the fifth month, for the gracious hand of his
God was on him. Ezra 7:9
Because the hand of the LORD my God was on me, I
took courage and gathered leading men from Israel to
go up with me. Ezra 7:28
Because the gracious hand of our God was on us, they
brought us Sherebiah, a capable man… Ezra 8:18
We had told the king, "The gracious hand of our God is
on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is
against all who forsake him.” Ezra 8:22

24. God always initiates prayer (through word & deed)
We approach God in humility (& worship)
We acknowledge our sins & the sins of our forbears
(to remove the obstacles)
We appeal to the grace & mercy of God
We are specific in our requests
We commit to faith, trust & obedience
 …& at times we just keep “shooting arrows”

25. cf. Ezra 5:1; 6:14

26. 1. Rebuild my house
“At this time…I am with you” (1:13)
2. Messiah will come to my house
“In this place…I will grant peace to you” (2:9)
3. Reform your hearts
“From this day on…I will bless you” (2:19)
4. Messiah will be king
“On that day…I have chosen you” (2:23)

27. Visions 520 BCE
1. Man on a red horse (1:7-17)
2. Four craftsmen/ four horns (1:18-21)
3. Man with measuring line (2:1-13)
4. Joshua/ “the branch” (clean garments) 3:1-10
5. Gold lampstand/ two olive trees (4:1-14)
6. Flying scroll (5:1-4)
7. Woman in a basket (5:5-11)
8. Four chariots (6:1-8)
9. Joshua/ “the branch” (crown) 6:9-15

28. Words 518 BCE
Why you went into exile (chs. 7-8)
 Exile will soon be over! (cf. Ezra 6:13-18)
The LORD has spoken (chs. 9-10)
 The LORD is coming
 The LORD will appear
 The LORD will save
The Shepherd-King (chs. 11-13)
 He will come
 He will judge
 He will die (to save)
 He will reign

30. The key characters:
 Xerxes I (Ahasuerus) the king
 Vashti the queen
 Mordecai the good guy
 Haman the bad guy
 Esther the heroine
& God?
** The only book in Hebrew scriptures
not found in the Dead Sea Scrolls!

31. 4:12 When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai,
13 he sent back this answer: "Do not think that because
you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will
escape. 14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and
deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place,
but you and your father's family will perish. And who
knows but that you have come to royal position for
such a time as this?"
 15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16 "Go,
gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast
for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I
and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I
will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And
if I perish, I perish."

32. The person of God covenant
salvation-history
The people of God faith
obedience
courage
The experience of God
through worship (Temple)
through prayer (Wall)
through scripture (Law)

34. “God’s unchanging love”
The significance of the book
The setting for the book
The style of the book

35. Insincere worship
Corrupt leadership
Compromising idolatry
Marital infidelity
Social injustice

36. “Descendants of Jacob, I am the LORD, the
all-powerful one, and I never change.
That's why you haven't been wiped out,
even though you have ignored and
disobeyed my laws ever since the time of
your ancestors.
But if you return to me, I will return to you.”
Repent & return

37. To look back & remember
(God’s promise of what he has done)
To look forward & prepare
(God’s promise of what he will do)

38. The Messenger (cf. Matt. 3):
"See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the
way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are
seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the
covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the
LORD Almighty.
But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can
stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's
fire or a launderer's soap. He will sit as a refiner and
purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine
them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have
men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the
offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to
the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years.
"So I will come near to you for judgment.“ (3:1-5)

39. The Messiah
"Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All
the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and
that day that is coming will set them on fire," says the
LORD Almighty. "Not a root or a branch will be left to
them. But for you who revere my name, the sun of
right-eousness will rise with healing in its wings.
And you will go out and leap like calves released from
the stall. Then you will trample down the wicked; they
will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day
when I do these things," says the LORD Almighty.
(4:1-3)
The Messenger
"See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that
great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will
turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the
hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will
come and strike the land with a curse." (4:5-6)