It’s subtle, but the events in 2 Chronicles and Ezra are separated by a good 50-100 years (see timeline). Indeed, from the fall of Judah in 722 BC to the return of the last group under Nehemiah in 432 BC, God’s chosen people were in exile for up to 300 years. It was a terrible time and a clear punishment for their disobedience, yet God was faithful and as promised, began to bring His people home. In a few months, we’ll read of many of the prophets who spoke during Judah and Israel’s final days and the period of their exile. Even while His people were scattered, God continued to love, speak and act.

When the LORD brought back the captives to Zion,
    we were like men who dreamed.
Our mouths were filled with laughter,
    our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
    "The LORD has done great things for them."
The LORD has done great things for us,
    and we are filled with joy.

Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
    like streams in the Negev.
Those who sow in tears
    will reap with songs of joy.
He who goes out weeping,
    carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
    carrying sheaves with him.

Psalm 126

God, in His great mercy, was bringing His people home, and they could only best describe it as feeling like they were dreaming! Yet the Jerusalem they returned to was not the Jerusalem they once remembered. The city wall had been completely destroyed. The glorious temple of Solomon, the place of God’s dwelling, lay in a sad pile of rubble. God’s people had a lot of repairing to do, both physically and spiritually. And that’s where Ezra and Nehemiah come in.

Ezra was a Levitical priest, who battled the opposition and appealed to the Persian king to allow the Jews to rebuild the temple of Jerusalem. Nehemiah was a cupbearer (a position of importance and trust) to a pagan King Artaxerxes, who by God’s grace granted Nehemiah permission to return to Jerusalem to lead in the rebuilding of the city walls, although again there was much opposition.

If you just skimmed through these two books, you may think that Ezra and Nehemiah’s main concerns were with the outward structure of the city of Jerusalem - whether or not it looked similar to how it once did in the golden days. Yet we know that that’s far too superficial. What was truly at stake here was the national identity of these fragmented people, and whether or not they would return to Yahweh in true worship according to His law.

Who were the true remnant of God’s people, chosen out of His mercy, not by their merit? In other words, who were the true people of Israel? It’s in this context that we can understand Ezra’s concern about inter-marriage (Ezra 9-10), and Nehemiah’s concern in rebuilding the city walls (Neh 1-7). In ancient times, city walls did not serve only to keep unwanted people out, but also to set boundaries and give identity to a city and its people. Repairing the city walls was not merely an aesthetic architectural project; it was an effort to re-establish Jerusalem, the City of David, the place where God had chosen that His name would dwell (a theme that pervades the Psalms and especially Revelation).

On top of this, Ezra and Nehemiah were very concerned about whether Israel would return to their covenant God in true worship and pure faith. This is why it was so important that the temple was rebuilt. Notice how central the law, God’s word, was to their repentance and rededication. Nehemiah 8 paints a poignant picture of Ezra reading to all Israel (who had returned) from the law of Moses, and the people responding in worship and celebration. Nehemiah 9 sees the levitical priests responding to the reading of God’s law, on behalf of the people, in confession of their sin and repentance. Starting from Abraham, they beautifully recounted all of God’s faithful works of redemption and deliverance, culminating in their restoration to the promised land. God, through His word, was re-consecrating His people, who from the start had already been consecrated (set apart) for Him.

Ezra and Nehemiah remind us of God’s mercy and love in returning His people to Jerusalem, as well as providing everything necessary (His law, the permission of the pagan kings) for them to restore themselves as a people, both outwardly and inwardly. Indeed, God’s love, mercy, and the centrality of His word have never changed. Ezra and Nehemiah also advance the biblical story by describing how these spiritual and physical reforms were set in motion in Jerusalem, which would later serve as the basis of the Judaism out of which Jesus and the early church would emerge.