Righteous Judge, Merciful God, Promise-Keeper

This past week I have had a sudden interest once more in the life of Nehemiah. However, this time around, I wanted to see what events surrounded him. So after looking at all the cross-references, I discovered a much larger picture than I could’ve ever imagined. The overlapping stories, the intertwining messages, and the overwhelming presence of God shine through when you see it in the bigger picture.

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Babylonian Captivity Prophesied

Jeremiah 25 states that God had raised up prophets time and time again to call the people to repentance. However, after repeatedly not listening, it was time to give the consequence. In Leviticus 25:4, one of the laws regarding the land was the sabbatical year of rest. This law was to let the land sleep and rejuvenate. However, Israel had forgotten this one repeatedly, even in the face of remembrance through the prophets. Because of this trespass against the law, God decided the make-up time for those missed sabbatical years was due. That very same year, He delivered the consequence: Babylonian captivity. In this, He is revealed as The Righteous Judge.

Babylonian Captivity and Exile

Serving in the political sphere from the first year of Nebuchadnezzar to the first year of Cyrus the Great, Daniel shows us life in captivity and the various ways in which God was orchestrating events and being merciful to the pagan king Nebuchadnezzar. The last place we see Daniel recorded in Scripture is in Cyrus’ third year of rule. This means Daniel was alive when the Jews were released to go home by decree of King Cyrus. He was able to see the restoration of his people, although we know he didn’t make it back.

Returning

Those who did return rejoiced and praised the Lord. One of the many in the multitude was a man of priestly lineage – Ezra. In the book of Ezra, we get the context for the time in which Nehemiah was placed. The exiled Jews return from their captivity under the decree of Cyrus (Isaiah 44:28 and 45) and are evidence of the Lord’s providence in keeping His promise: you will return after 70 years. Ezra brings this to the forefront with his timelines and descriptions.

Chapter 1 relates the decree and its prophetic answer to Isaiah. Ezra 4, however, discusses the arising problem: outside influences. Cyrus, the Persian king, had already permitted them to rebuild. Nonetheless, the neighboring countries saw the rebuilding of Israel and decided to step in and remind King Artaxerxes of the problem.

Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building, And hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they unto him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their companions, unto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the Syrian tongue.

Ezra 4:4-7

The outcome of this letter?

Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Ezra 4:24

It was constantly on again, off again, even when Nehemiah comes into the picture. 

Nehemiah’s Arrival

In the 20th year of Artaxerxes, Nehemiah hears of the state of his city and weeps over its destruction. After noticing something was up, the king allows him to take leave and go home for an agreed period of 12 years. In this time period, Nehemiah starts the process of rebuilding the wall. Even during his visit, they still have pushback. The surrounding tribes gather themselves together; Nehemiah organizes everyone with a weapon while they work in case of attacks. When the wall is rebuilt, Nehemiah returned to the King (Nehemiah 13:6). Trouble arose. When Nehemiah comes back, the people have messed up again and had made one of the priests a living space in the house of God.

(So, Nehemiah was only in town for the rebuilding of the wall and the sanctifying of the temple.)

Ezra

Ezra is more of a zoomed-out perspective. Chapters 5 and 6 introduce the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, along with King Darius. When the opponents of Israel send letters to the king, Darius gets down to business and looks into the records to find the decree of Cyrus. Upon discovering the old manuscripts, Darius gives the Israelites permission to rebuild. After four years, they officially finish the temple. In addition, Haggai was the prophet through whom the Lord spoke to the people and asked why they were not building the temple when they had houses.

From studying this confusing and inspiring big picture, I discovered the web was intertwined and spun for a period of several years. When they built the temple and were commanded to return, they still had to work through the promise and were still set back by opponents. Do not give up on your prayer; the Lord is patient; His answer is worth the wait.

 One last thing of encouragement: Ezra means “help” and Nehemiah means “Jehovah comforts”. Ezra was from the priestly lineage of Aaron. Jesus is the High Priest of the order of Melchisedec. Nehemiah was sent to rebuild the walls after they had crumbled and to set the city on a firm footing. The Holy Spirit was sent to comfort us after our Lord’s ascension. Just as Nehemiah helped to rebuild the walls, so does the Holy Spirit arm and comfort us as we face opposition when we build the church. The Lord keeps His promises after 70 years and beyond. He raises up and puts down kings.