OUTLINE OF
EZRA
Ezr 1:3 Who
is there among
you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem,
which is
in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel, (he
is the God,)
which is
in Jerusalem.
Ezr 7:10 For Ezra had prepared his
heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do
it, and to teach
in Israel statutes and judgments.
Part One: The Restoration of
the Temple of God
(1:1-6:22)
I. The First Return to Jerusalem Under
Zerubbabel ............1:1-2:70
A. Decree of Cyrus 1:1-4
Ezr 1:1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king
of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be
fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that
he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and
put it also
in writing, saying,
Ezr 1:2 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The
LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he
hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which
is in Judah.
B. Gifts from Israel and Cyrus
1:5-11
Ezr 1:5 Then rose up the chief of the fathers
of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, with all
them whose
spirit God had raised, to go up to build the house of the LORD which
is in
Jerusalem.
Ezr 1:6 And all they that
were about
them strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, with gold, with
goods, and with beasts, and with precious things, beside all
that was
willingly offered.
Ezr 1:7 Also Cyrus the king brought forth the
vessels of the house of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth
out of Jerusalem, and had put them in the house of his gods;
C. Census of the Returning People 2:1-63
1. The People of Known Descent 2:1-58
a. The Leaders 2:1, 2
Ezr 2:1 Now these
are the
children of the province that went up out of the captivity, of those
which had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had
carried away unto Babylon, and came again unto Jerusalem and Judah,
every one unto his city;
Ezr 2:2 Which came with Zerubbabel: Jeshua,
Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum,
Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel:
b. The People 2:3-35
Ezr 2:3 The children of Parosh, two thousand an
hundred seventy and two.
Ezr 2:35 The children of Senaah, three thousand
and six hundred and thirty.
c. The Priests 2:36-39
Ezr 2:36 The priests: the children of Jedaiah,
of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred seventy and three.
Ezr 2:39 The children of Harim, a thousand and
seventeen.
d. The Levites 2:40-42
Ezr 2:40 The Levites: the children of Jeshua
and Kadmiel, of the children of Hodaviah, seventy and four.
e. The Servants 2:43-58
Ezr 2:43 The Nethinims: the children of Ziha,
the children of Hasupha, the children of Tabbaoth,
Ezr 2:58 All the Nethinims, and the children of
Solomon's servants, were
three hundred ninety and two.
2. The People of Unknown Descent. .
2:59-63
a. The People
2:59, 60
Ezr 2:59 And these
were they
which went up from Telmelah, Telharsa, Cherub, Addan,
and Immer:
but they could not shew their father's house, and their seed, whether
they were
of Israel:
b. The Priests 2:61-63
Ezr 2:61 And of the children of the priests:
the children of Habaiah, the children of Koz, the children of Barzillai;
which took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was
called after their name:
Ezr 2:63 And the Tirshatha said unto them, that
they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a
priest with Urim and with Thummim.
D. The Return Completed 2:64-70
1. The People Who Returned
2:64-67
Ezr 2:64 The whole congregation together
was forty
and two thousand three hundred
and threescore,
2. The Gifts the People Gave
2:68-70
Ezr 2:68 And
some of the
chief of the fathers, when they came to the house of the LORD which
is at
Jerusalem, offered freely for the house of God to set it up in his
place:
II. The Construction of the
Temple...............................
3:1-6:22
A. Construction of the Temple Foundation
3:1-13
1. Spiritual Preparation of the People. .. 3:1-6
Ezr 3:1 And when the seventh month was
come, and the children of Israel
were in the cities, the people gathered
themselves together as one man to Jerusalem.
Ezr 3:6 From the first day of the seventh month
began they to offer burnt offerings unto the LORD. But the foundation of
the temple of the LORD was not
yet laid.
2. Completion of the Temple
Foundation..............
3:7-13
Ezr 3:10 And when the builders laid the
foundation of the temple of the LORD, they set the priests in their
apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals,
to praise the LORD, after the ordinance of David king of Israel.
B. Interruption of the Temple
Construction..................
4:1-24
1. Present Opposition Under Darius ....
4:1-5
Ezr 4:4 Then the people of the land weakened
the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building,
Ezr 4:5 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.
2. Later Opposition Under Ahasuerus 4:6
Ezr 4:6 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.
3. Later Opposition Under Artaxerxes. .
4:7-23
Ezr 4:7 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.
Ezr 4:21 Give ye now commandment to cause these
men to cease, and that this city be not builded, until
another
commandment shall be given from me.
4. Present Interruption of Construction
Under Darius 4:24
Ezr 4:24 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.
C. Completion of the Temple 5:1-6:22
1. Resumption of the Temple
Construction 5:1, 2
Ezr 5:1 Then the prophets, Haggai the
prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews that
were
in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel,
even unto
them.
Ezr 5:2 Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of
Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and began to build the house
of God which is
at Jerusalem: and with them
were the prophets of God helping them.
2. Opposition to the Construction
5:3-17
a. Opposition by Tatnai 5:3-5
Ezr 5:3 At the same time came to them Tatnai,
governor on this side the river, and Shetharboznai, and their
companions, and said thus unto them, Who hath commanded you to build
this house, and to make up this wall?
Ezr 5:5 But the eye of their God was upon the
elders of the Jews, that they could not cause them to cease, till the
matter came to Darius: and then they returned answer by letter
concerning this matter.
b. The Letter to Darius
5:6-17
Ezr 5:7 They sent a letter unto him, wherein
was written thus; Unto Darius the king, all peace.
Ezr 5:17 Now therefore, if
it seem good
to the king, let there be search made in the king's treasure house,
which is
there at Babylon, whether it be
so, that a decree was made of Cyrus the
king to build this house of God at Jerusalem, and let the king send his
pleasure to us concerning this matter.
3. Confirmation of the Temple
Construction 6:1-12
Ezr 6:1 Then Darius the king made a decree,
and search was made in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were
laid up in Babylon.
Ezr 6:7 Let the work of this house of God
alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build
this house of God in his place.
Ezr 6:8 Moreover I make a decree what ye shall
do to the elders of these Jews for the building of this house of God:
that of the king's goods, even
of the tribute beyond the river, forthwith expenses be given unto these
men, that they be not hindered.
4. Completion of the Temple
6:13-15
Ezr 6:15 And this house was finished on the
third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of
Darius the king.
5. Dedication of the Temple
6:16-18
Ezr 6:16 And the children of Israel, the
priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity,
kept the dedication of this house of God with joy,
D. Celebration of the Passover... .. 6:19-22
Ezr 6:19 And the children of the captivity kept the
passover upon the fourteenth day
of the first month.
Part Two: The Reformation of the People of God
(7:1-10:44)
I. The Second Return to Jerusalem
Under Ezra..........................
7:1-8:36
A. The Decree of Artaxerxes 7:1-28
1. Ezra's Qualifications 7:1-10
Ezr 7:6 This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he
was a
ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given:
and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD
his God upon him.
Ezr 7:10 For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek
the law of the LORD, and to do it,
and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.
2. Artaxerxes' Letter
7:11-26
Ezr 7:11 Now this
is the copy of
the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra the priest, the scribe,
even a
scribe of the words of the commandments of the LORD, and of his statutes to
Israel.
Ezr 7:13 I make a decree, that all they of the
people of Israel, and of
his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill
to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee.
Ezr 7:25 And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy
God, that is
in thine hand, set magistrates and judges, which may judge all the people
that are
beyond the river, all such as know the laws of thy God; and teach ye them
that know them
not.
3. Ezra's Response
7:27, 28
Ezr 7:27 Blessed
be the LORD God
of our fathers, which hath put such
a thing as this in the king's heart, to beautify
the house of the LORD which is
in Jerusalem:
Ezr 7:28 And hath extended mercy unto me before the
king, and his counsellors, and before all the king's mighty princes. And I
was strengthened as the hand of the LORD my God
was upon me, and
I gathered together out of Israel chief men to go up with me.
B. Census of the Returning Israelites 8:1-14
Ezr 8:1 These
are now the
chief of their fathers, and this is
the genealogy of them that went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of
Artaxerxes the king.
C. Spiritual Preparation for the Return . . 8:15-23
1. Acquisition of Temple Leadership. . 8:15-20
Ezr 8:15 And I gathered them together to the river
that runneth to Ahava; and there abode we in tents three days: and I viewed
the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi.
Ezr 8:16 Then sent I for Eliezer, for Ariel, for
Shemaiah, and for Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan,
and for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, chief men; also for Joiarib, and for
Elnathan, men of understanding.
2. Proclamation of a Fast 8:21-23
Ezr 8:21 Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the
river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of
him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.
D. The Return Is Completed
8:24-36
Ezr 8:31 Then we departed from the river of Ahava
on the twelfth day
of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon
us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in
wait by the way.
Ezr 8:32 And we came to Jerusalem, and abode there
three days.
Ezr 8:36 And they delivered the king's commissions
unto the king's lieutenants, and to the governors on this side the river:
and they furthered the people, and the house of God.
II. The Restoration of the
People............................... 9:1-10:44
A. Israel Intermarries..........................
9:1, 2
Ezr 9:1 Now when these things were done, the
princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the
Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands,
doing according
to their abominations, even
of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the
Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.
Ezr 9:2 For they have taken of their daughters for
themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled
themselves with the people of those
lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this
trespass.
B. Ezra Intercedes with God 9:3-15
1. Lamentation of Ezra 9:3, 4
Ezr 9:3 And when I heard this thing, I rent my
garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard,
and sat down astonied.
2. Confession of Ezra 9:5-15
a. God's Faithfulness
9:5-9
Ezr 9:6 And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush
to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over
our head,
and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens.
Ezr 9:8 And now for a little space grace hath been
shewed
from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a
nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a
little reviving in our bondage.
b. Israel's Unfaithfulness 9:10-15
Ezr 9:10 And now, O our God, what shall we say
after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments,
C. Reformation of Israel
10:1-44
1. Israel Laments
10:1, 2
Ezr 10:1 Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he
had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God,
there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and
women and children: for the people wept very sore.
2. The Covenant Is Instituted
10:3-5
Ezr 10:3 Now therefore let us make a covenant with
our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according
to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of
our God; and let it be done according to the law.
3. Solution for Intermarriage
10:6-44
a. Separation Is Accepted
10:6-17
Ezr 10:10 And Ezra the priest stood up, and said
unto them, Ye have transgressed, and have taken strange wives, to increase
the trespass of Israel.
Ezr 10:11 Now therefore make confession unto the
LORD God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves from
the people of the land, and from the strange wives.
Ezr 10:12 Then all the congregation answered and
said with a loud voice, As thou hast said, so must we do.
b. Separation of Priests 10:18-22
Ezr 10:18 And among the sons of the priests there
were found that had taken strange wives:
namely, of the
sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren; Maaseiah, and Eliezer,
and Jarib, and Gedaliah.
Ezr 10:19 And they gave their hands that they would
put away their wives; and being
guilty, they offered
a ram of the flock for their trespass.
c. Separation of Levites 10:23, 24
Ezr 10:23 Also of the Levites; Jozabad, and Shimei,
and Kelaiah, (the same is
Kelita,) Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.
d. Separation of People 10:25-44
Ezr 10:25 Moreover of Israel: of the sons of Parosh;
Ramiah, and Jeziah, and Malchiah, and Miamin, and Eleazar, and Malchijah,
and Benaiah.
Ezr 10:44 All these had taken strange wives: and
some of
them had wives by whom they had children.
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