Reflections from the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah

I just finished reading the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah yesterday. A number of questions came to my mind:

1. Ezra was responsible for rebuilding the second temple in Jerusalem during captivity and Nehemiah was responsible for rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. I was confused about the different Persian Kings they were under. It would be nice to put these events in chronological perspective.
2. What would be the central theme about these books and how would modern day Christians learn from it.
3. I was especially disturbed by the extreme manner of Nehemiah's reforms described in chapter 13, especially as it related to prohibiting Jews from marrying outside of their race (Nehemiah 13:23-27).

I started with reading the bible survey. This one on Ezra was really good:
Book of Ezra - bible survey - here are some extracts:
"The Book of Ezra is devoted to events occurring in the land of Israel at the time of the return from the Babylonian captivity and subsequent years, covering a period of approximately one century, beginning in 538 B.C. The emphasis in Ezra is on the rebuilding of the Temple. The book contains extensive genealogical records, principally for the purpose of establishing the claims to the priesthood on the part of the descendants of Aaron."

"The book may be divided as follows: Chapters 1-6—The First Return under Zerubbabel, and the Building of the Second Temple. Chapters 7-10—The Ministry of Ezra. Since well over half a century elapsed between chapters 6 and 7, the characters of the first part of the book had died by the time Ezra began his ministry in Jerusalem. Ezra is the one person who is prominent in the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Both books end with prayers of confession (Ezra 9; Nehemiah 9) and a subsequent separation of the people from the sinful practices into which they had fallen... The Book of Ezra covers the return from captivity to rebuild the Temple up to the decree of Artaxerxes, the event covered at the beginning of the Book of Nehemiah. Haggai was the main prophet in the day of Ezra, and Zechariah was the prophet in the day of Nehemiah."


Incidentally this bible survey also brought up the "biblical theme of the remnant":
"God always saves a tiny remnant for Himself—Noah and his family from the destruction of the flood; Lot’s family from Sodom and Gomorrah; the 7000 prophets reserved in Israel despite the persecution of Ahab and Jezebel. When the Israelites were taken into captivity in Egypt, God delivered His remnant and took them to the Promised Land. Some fifty thousand people return to the land of Judea in Ezra 2:64-67, and yet, as they compare themselves with the numbers in Israel during its prosperous days under King David, their comment is, “We are left this day as a remnant.” The remnant theme is carried into the New Testament where Paul tells us that “at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace” (Romans 11:5)."
This reminded me of the "remnant theory" - an idea taught by the pastor when I first became a Christian. So I did a quick look up and found an article by John Gay who tried to give "A Different Perspective on the Church and Israel". He wrote, "Historically, there has been two main theories regarding the Church's relationship to Israel. In replacement theology, the Church replaces Israel such that Israel has no redemptive future. In separation theology (an aspect of dispensationalism), while God has a future for Israel, there is a distinction between Israel and the Church that is preserved throughout all time, with no overlap of the two. Is it possible that both of these popular positions have been wrong? Is there a middle ground of truth?"
Anyways, it's interesting to hear the arguments and learn to appreciate the scholarly work of these writers (try to Google "biblical remnant theory") who tried to probe the mind of God!

I also found this article on Nehemiah helpful:
Nehemiah - Life, Hope & Truth - this is particularly helpful in understanding the historical background (I have rearranged the paragraphs to make it more readable):
"In the Hebrew Scriptures, the book of Nehemiah was regarded as one with Ezra, and Ezra-Nehemiah continues where the book of 2 Chronicles ends (2 Chronicles 36:22-23; Ezra 1:1-2). Ezra-Nehemiah presents the events of two distinct periods of Israel’s restoration to the land after the exile: (1) the return of the exiles and rebuilding of the temple, 538-516 B.C. (Ezra 1-6); (2) the establishment of the community’s religious life (Ezra) and physical surroundings (Nehemiah), 458-ca. 420 (Ezra 7-Neh. 13). Thus Nehemiah continues the story of Ezra and recounts the episode of the reconstruction of the walls of Jerusalem and the final establishment of the Jewish community. When Nehemiah went to Jerusalem around 444 B.C., Ezra had been there 13 years. Ezra was a priest and Nehemiah was a civil ruler, but they worked together in harmony to promote spiritual and economic reform within the community. The span of time covered by Ezra and Nehemiah is around 100 years and extends from the decree of Cyrus the Great in 538 B.C. to the final reformation under Nehemiah."

And finally, this article by Peter Levine gave a nice modern perspective about building a "wall" around a community:
The Nehemiah story: on the pros and cons of walls
"But a wall also has another aspect. It shuts some people out even as it protects those within. The desire to distinguish between the Jews and their “heathen” enemies is a consistent theme throughout the book of Nehemiah. From the first time that the neighbors “Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. “What is this you are doing?” they asked. “Are you rebelling against the king?” I answered them by saying, “The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.” (Nehemiah 2:19-20).
Then, once the wall is complete and the “heathen” are shut out, Nehemiah institutes legal reforms that separate Jews from gentiles. “And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.” (Nehemiah 9:2)
Here we see the two aspects of citizenship neatly combined. It is about building a safe and supportive common framework for a whole people–and about shutting other people out. It is about celebrating common bonds–and memorializing the enemies’ defeat.
But I would resist the idea that citizenship must always have losers as well as winners. Citizens can build bridges as well as walls, and even when they concentrate on walls, they can benefit the people who live on both sides."

For application, this sermon is long but worth reading:
Under Construction, Leaving a Legacy - Ezra and Nehemiah left us a legacy. Here is something I can take to heart:
I should strive to continuously being transformed to reflect the character and mission of Jesus, which is displayed by someone who is:
-Taking the next step of faith
-Hungry for God’s Word
-Graciously and patiently loving others
-Serving the local church/community

"Jesus loves you and me enough to change us and use us to show others what He can do. He’ll grow your faith and give you boldness, and you’ll see results that will blow your mind. So be the real deal! Refuse to be a halfhearted, lukewarm Christian. Fall so in love with God that everywhere you go, you overflow with a spiritual boldness of love and compassion that draws people to the joy of life in Christ."