Restoring the Covenant Community

1. Restoring the Covenant Community Ezra & Nehemiah

2. Composition • These two documents actually form a single unified literary work • It is obvious that the final version was created from a variety of source materials: • Personal journals • Organizational lists • Government pronouncements • Historical records • These have been crafted into four major sections: • 1-6 (Ezra): Zerubbabel & the Restoration of the Temple • 7-10 (Ezra): Ezra & the Restoration of the Covenant Practices • 1-6 (Nehemiah): Nehemiah & the Restoration of the City • 7-13 (Nehemiah): Ezra & Nehemiah & the Restoration of the Covenant People

3. Chronology • 539 – Capture of Babylon by Medo-Persia (Daniel 5:30) • 538 – Cyrus’ first year, “Homelands” edict (Ezra 1:1-4) • 537 – Return under Sheshbazzar & Zerubbabel (Altar rebuilt) (Ezra 2:1-3:7) • 536 – Work on Temple begun (Ezra 3:8) • 536-530 – Opposition during Cyrus’ reign (Ezra 4:1-5) • 530-520 – Work on Temple ceased (Ezra 4:24) • 520 – Work on Temple renewed under Darius (Ezra 5:2; Haggai 1:14) • 516 – Temple completed (Ezra 6:15) • 515-458 – Huge gap: no records!

4. Chronology • 515-458 – Huge gap: no records! • 458 (April 8-August 4) – Ezra travels to Jerusalem (Ezra 7:8-9) • 458 (December) – 457 (March) – Ezra calls an assembly and organizes a community assessment (Ezra 10:9-17) • 457-445 – Big gap again: no records! • 445 – Nehemiah travels to Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1-2) • 445 – City wall completed (52 days! Nehemiah 6), Assemblies (Nehemiah 7), Feast of Tabernacles celebrated (Nehemiah 8), Fast (Nehemiah 9) • 432 – Nehemiah goes back to Persia & returns (Nehemiah 13:6)

5. People of Significance • Leaders: • First Return: • Sheshbazzar (“Prince of Judah”) – return organizer and principle leader • Zerubbabel (“Governor of Judah”) – on site leader • Joshua (“High Priest”) – cultic leader • Second Return: • Ezra (“Scribe”) • Third Return: • Nehemiah (Persian royal cupbearer; “Governor of Judah”) • Opposition: • First Return: • Tattenai (“Governor of Beyond-the-River Province”) & Shethar-bozenai • Second Return: • Sanballat (Samaritan), Tobiah, “The Arabs,” “The Ammonites” • Prophets: Haggai & Zechariah

6. Theology of the Return • God is faithful to the Covenant • Israel has been unfaithful to the Covenant • Therefore the Covenant curses have been applied • The Exile was a cleansing and chastening event • The Land must receive its Covenant Rest (Sabbath Years & “Year of Jubilee”) • Restoration demands deeper Covenant response and faithfulness • God is sovereign over all nations • The Second Temple does not experience the return of Yahweh’s Glory & Presence (see Malachi 4)

7. Restoring Holiness/Purity to the Covenant Community • While the Restored Community considered itself to be the continuation of all of Israel, it was at this point that the people became known as “The Jews” (from “Judah”) • The times of Ezra/Nehemiah both defined and confused Jewish identity: • Emphasis on covenant holiness • Emphasis on racial purity • From this time forward Jews have wrestled with identity: • Are we defined by our religion? • If so, can those from other ethnic groups become fully Jewish through religious observance? • Are we defined by our history? • If so, do we need a “homeland” in order to survive? • Are we defined by our ethnicity? • If so, do we need to keep our bloodlines pure?

8. Changing Emphases • The Restoration seems to begin as a sociological “Centered Set” • Focus on Religious Practices as an expression of identity which all can join in participating • The Restoration seems to become a sociological “Bounded Set” • Focus on Ethnic Purity as normative to community at the exclusion of others

9. Note Regarding History • Hebrew/Jewish history is generally divided into four major eras: • First Temple Period (960-586 B.C.) • Second Temple Period (516 B.C. – 70 A.D.) • Diaspora (70-1947 A.D.) • Modern Israel (1947-present)