As we are in trying times locked down like almost in captivity I thought about studying the book of Nehemiah would be a good idea. Nehemiah as a book talks about the return of those in captivity and mainly about the effort taken in rebuilding the temple of God.

In order to study the Book of Nehemiah we need to understand that the books of Ezra, Nehemiah , Esther, Zechariah, Haggai and Malachi are the books that talk about the return of the God’s people from captivity. It is the last part of the Old Testament.

God’s people were in captivity during the time of Ezekiel and Daniel as prophesied by the
prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah . Jeremiah gives the exact number of years the Jews would be under captivity. (70 years) .

Isaiah prophesies that Cyrus would let the people go and free them from bondage. ( this
prophesy was made 170 years before Cyrus)

Thus we see that it is during the reign of Cyrus that the Jews were allowed to return to Israel.

The return takes place in 3 stages:
1. Under the leadership of Zerubabel
2.Under the leadership of Ezra
3.Under the leadership of Nehemiah

Now Ezra was a priest, a scribe and a spiritual leader of the Jews. Nehemiah was a politician assisting the King. He was very close to the King. Both were highly favored by
the Ruler.

When Ezra along with the Jews was under captivity he could not do much, he could not serve the people in the capacity of being a priest. But what he did do is something I believe we are called to do even today. He studied the word of God. He was well versed with the laws of Moses. His diligent study of God’s word gave rise to the beginning of a revival. This would soon lead to the rebuilding of Gods temple by his people.

Question for us to ponder upon:

Are we EZRAs of our time? At a time such as this when we are not able to serve the Lord in our churches or at our work places, what are we doing as the Lord’s priests?

When we are perhaps thinking of all the lost opportunities of sharing God’s message of Love to the lost and wondering if we get one more chance to stir up a revival , are we taking this time of quarantine to dedicatedly study the word of God?

There is a remnant left to turn back to God . To stir up a revival let us begin by studying God’s word which will equip us to bring people to his knowledge and saving grace. Let us better equip ourselves to better build the church which is now scattered .

The second chance we get let us become Ezra’s of our times, A priest who used his time to reading of the scripture. The first step to building Gods Church!

An Article by Elizabeth Gifty George.