The Return Begins

Ezra 1-2

            Ezra (and Nehemiah, for that matter) is widely considered to have the same author as the books of Chronicles. Several stylistic reasons suggest this, such as, the phrases “heads of families” and “the house of God.” Additionally, all four books love lists, and the themes are similar, namely, that Israel after the Exile is still the people of God, that the Lord was restoring Israel in accordance with His promises, and that the new temple was a legitimate replacement for the first temple as evidenced by the festivals and sacrifices made there.

            Still, Ezra and Nehemiah narrate events from a new era in Israel’s history. She has been chastised for her idolatry, and she is determined not to repeat the mistakes of the past. In Ezra, we’ll note a prominent focus on purity. In this period, the faith of Israel begins to be known as Judaism, and while temple practice remains important, there is a noted emphasis on obedience to the Law. Part of this we see already today with the very extensive lists of returnees. Among these, I’d highlight in particular the notice that several temple servants and priests searched the records and could not prove decisively that they were descended from Levi and Aaron. The result was that they were excluded from Levitical and priestly service.

            Of course, such an emphasis on purity can be a double-edged sword, and over the centuries it developed into self-righteousness and exclusivity. These are always dangers of an over-emphasis on the Law. Lutherans believe that Law and Gospel belong together, the Law leading to repentance so that the Gospel may apply its comforts, and the Gospel creating new life so that the believer can keep the Law, at least in part. After the exile, Israel embraced the Law as a marker of their identity, but too often they did not embrace the Law as the thing that would drive them to the grace of God. The predictable result was an over-developed sense of their own righteousness and their own special place before the Lord. (We won’t see this fully developed until we start to read about the ministry of Jesus in the New Testament.)

            For us, may we receive blessings from Ezra, especially the confidence that we are indeed God’s people, even (especially!) when the evidence doesn’t support that assertion. And may we always see our standing before God as the pure gift that it is, given to us in Christ Jesus!