A few weeks ago, I finished several radio talks on the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.

I always found that I was confused over the several returns of the Jews to Palestine. I am happy to tell you that I have got it all sorted!

  • There are three returns – under Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah and after the first return under Zerubbabel the altar is erected and the foundations of the second temple are laid and during this period the prophets Haggai and Zechariah encourage the people to build
  • I have been interested in the returned community of Jews to Palestine due to my interest in the moving’s of the Holy Spirit in both the OT and the NT. Several godly kings brought reformation and renewal to Judah during their reigns, but I always knew this was different. When we consider what is happening among the Jews everything takes place in the context of a genuine renewal of the Holy Spirit.
  • The glory of God (shekinah glory) does not return to the rebuilt temple (cf. the tabernacle and the temple) but the glory of the LORD has come among the renewed community of Jews.
  • Ezra is the high-priest and a spiritual leader in contrast to Nehemiah who is a secular leader (he is governor) but equally spiritual and influential.
  • The renewed community of Jews request the reading of Scripture led by Ezra and his priests, but others are also engaged in, including Nehemiah.
The personal journals of both Ezra and Nehemiah can be easily identified by the personal pronoun "I" which is used continually.
The Scriptures are read to families, with clear pronunciation and they are explained sentence by sentence to the people for about 6 hours each day.
The first reference to a pulpit in the Bible – simply a raised platform so that Ezra can be seen by the vast crowds.

There are several talks on New Life Radio on the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. The series of talks on the Bible are entitled – "Back to Basics" and the objective is to go through every book in the Bible, each talk is accompanied by notes which can be accessed from NLR website or my own website


Blessings,

Derrick Harrison.