Assignment for

EZRA- Old Testament Survey

help, helper, The Book of the Remnant, The Book of Restoration

 

 

Name:� ________________________________________��� Date:��� _________________

 

Key Verses:�� 2:1, 6:14

 

VITAL STATISTICS

 

PURPOSE:

To show God�s faithfulness and the way he kept his promise to restore his people to their land

 

AUTHOR:

Not stated, but probably Ezra.� The books of Ezra and Nehemiah were one book until the 3rd Century B.C., indicating that Ezra and Nehemiah possibly wrote in collaboration.

 

DATE WRITTEN:

Around 450 B.C., recording events from about 538-450 B.C. (omitting 516-458 B.C.).� Possibly begun earlier in Babylon and finished in Jerusalem.� Covers a period of about 80 years

 

 

SETTING:

Ezra follows II Chronicles as a history of the Jewish people, recording their return to the Land and finished in Jerusalem

 

 

KEY VERSE:

�And the children of Israel, which were come again out of captivity, and all such as had separated themselves unto them from the filthiness of the heathen of the land, to seek the Lord God of Israel, did eat, And kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy: for the Lord had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God Israel�� (6:21, 22).

 

 

KEY PEOPLE:

Cyrus, Zerrubbabel, Haggai, Zechariah, Darius, Artaxerxes I, Ezra

 

 

KEY PLACES:

Babylon, Jerusalem

 

 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Ezra and Nehemiah were one book in Hebrew Bible and, with Esther, comprise the post-captivity historical books.� The post-captivity prophetic books are Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.� Haggai and Zechariah should be studied with Ezra since they prophesied during the period of the reconstruction.

 

 

DID YOU KNOW?

1.  Ezra was a priest, a scribe, and a great leader.� His name means �help�

 

2  Ezra fell in humility before God and prayed for the nation (9:1-15)

 

3.  Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it (7:10)

 

 

Who was Artaxerxs? _______________________________________________________________

 

_________________________________________________________________________________

 

Word Definitions:

  1. Law means ____________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

  1. Commandment means� ___________________________________________________________

 

_________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

  1. Heathen means ________________________________________________________________

 

_________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

  1. Remnant means________________________________________________________________

 

_________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

  1. Fulfillment means� ______________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

 

SUMMARY:

 

In the book of Ezra, we see Zerubbabel bringing back a remnant of about 50,000 Jews with certain of the sacred vessels for the temple, and the beginning of the rebuilding of the temple.� Then we see Ezra, the priestly scribe, bringing back a second remnant of about 2,000 Jews with additional sacred vessels for the temple, and the religious, social, and civic reformation that followed.

 

NOTE:� The restoration of Judah to the land and the rebuilding of the temple was not only a fulfillment of the prophetic word, but was designed to hold the Jews in the land until the birth of Messiah according to Daniel�s prophecy (Daniel 9:24-27).

 

CHRIST SEEN:

Christ is seen as our Governor (Zerubbabel) and our Priest, Scribe, and Restorer (Ezra) of Religious, Social, and Civil Order.

 

Thank you for studying with us today.� At this time you may choose to either save an unfinished assignment or submit it to the Pastor�s office for review and feedback.�

 

See you next lesson�� J ������� J�������� J�������� J�������� J