Ezra and Nehemiah both took important roles in a revival of the Jews after their Babylonian captivity. What important lessons can we learn?
1) Ezra’s Revival
Is marrying within the faith an important decision if we want lifelong revival in our families?
Revival among Jewish captives in Babylon began when Cyrus king of Persia was moved by God to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, and send volunteers from among the exiles back to do so (Ezra 1-2). After relaying the foundation of the temple, “With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord: “He is good; his love toward Israel endures forever.” (Ezra 3:11 NIV) Babylonian captivity still in their memories, they wept and shouted for joy that God’s house was being rebuilt. Captivity seemed to return as rebuilding was stopped by Xerxes and Artaxerxes (Ezra 4).
After this an appeal was made to search the records for the decree made by Cyrus. Darius found the decree among court records and gave order for the work on the temple to continue without interference. It was finally finished. Construction was completed in time for Passover preparations. Was it now time for “a teacher well versed in the Law of Moses, which the Lord, the God of Israel, had given” (Ezra 7:6 NIV)? Finished with construction, now it was time to teach the people God’s ways.
Marrying outside the nation of Israel was strictly forbidden, not for any racial bigotry because most of the neighboring tribes were of the same race. Foreign marriage was forbidden, with few exceptions, because of the introduction of pagan religion, which included many perversions such as child sacrifice and ritual prostitution. Wives such as Ruth, were an exception, because she had chosen Israel’s God as her God (Ruth 1:16). Was there a need for any clearer reason, “The land you are entering to possess is a land polluted by the corruption of its peoples. By their detestable practices they have filled it with their impurity from one end to the other. Therefore, do not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters for your sons” (Ezra 9:11-12 NIV)? Forbidden was: perverse foreign religion.
Rejoice, lovers of God, for He will build His Church, but continuation of revival requires that we marry within the faith.
2) Nehemiah’s Revival
Can God use faithful leaders from all walks of life?
Nehemiah is the sequel to Ezra as the revival begun in Ezra continues. Trained in the Persian court, and lover of God, Nehemiah was a natural choice for a civic leader during national revival. As Nehemiah heard from his brother that “The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire” (Nehemiah 1:3 NLT), he wept and fasted and prayed. A prayer for favor from the Persian king was needed, “O Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring you. Please grant me success today by making the king favorable to me. Put it into his heart to be kind to me.” (Nehemiah 1:11 NLT) Leader of reconstruction, Nehemiah gave the glory to God, “So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days. When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.” (Nehemiah 6:15-16 NIV)
How should we preach, and is the formula used in that great assembly meant to be an example? Should we read the Bible in the assembly of God’s people, and “read it aloud from daybreak till noon” (Nehemiah 8:3 NIV)? We probably don’t have the stamina for a 6 hour Bible reading today, but their simple formula is still valuable, “They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read.” (Nehemiah 8:8 NIV) Preach the word and give the sense, for no other agenda is relevant; just preach the Bible and explain it — simple.
Revival is not an inclusive act, but involves separation from sinful influences such as idolatrous foreign religions, and it involves confession of our sins. Must we confess? Include praise and confession as they did and we will be blessed, “our ancestors, became arrogant and stiff-necked, and they did not obey your commands … they were disobedient and rebelled against you; they turned their backs on your law. They killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you; they committed awful blasphemies … we are slaves today … Because of our sins.” (Nehemiah 8:16, 26, 36-37 NIV) Confession is good for the soul and public confession of the sins of the whole assembly reminds us all of our need for God’s grace and mercy.
Rejoice, lovers of God, that faithful leaders from all walks of life can be used by God for revival to continue.
Ezra and Nehemiah reveal to us that all church members, lay and ordained have very important roles to play in rebuilding the temple after a period of decline. Christians understand that spiritually, the temple is us, meaning the church.
