The past couple of days we read about the Persian king Xerxes and his Jewish queen Esther. Today we return to Jerusalem where fifty years had passed since the dedication of the temple and Xerxes’ son Artaxerxes was the newly crowned king of the Persian Empire.

Ezra noted that letters sent to King Artaxerxes were written in Aramaic, the language of the ancient Arameans. The Assyrians adopted Aramaic as the official language of their empire and it was the lingua franca of all the empires until the Greeks arrived.

By the fifth century BC Aramaic had replaced Hebrew as the language of the Jews. It remained their most-used language even after the Romans made Greek the official language of their empire.

Jesus grew up speaking Aramaic. If you would like to hear what the Lord’s Prayer sounds like in the language Jesus used, check out this link:

https://youtu.be/zyO0Xpb0ZrI

Resistance to Rebuilding Jerusalem

Fifty years earlier the governor of Trans-Euphrates complained to the king of Persia about the Jews rebuilding the temple. King Darius ordered the governor to assist the project instead of resisting it, and God changed the governor’s heart so that he became a great supporter in the end. Things were quiet after that until the Jewish people began to reconstruct the city of Jerusalem.

Rehum the commanding officer in Trans-Euphrates, along with Shimshai the regional secretary, sent a letter of warning to King Artaxerxes. They pointed out that Jerusalem had always been a wicked and rebellious city – the king could check the records and see for himself.

“In these records you will find that this city is a rebellious city, troublesome to kings and provinces, a place with a long history of sedition. That is why this city was destroyed. We inform the king that if this city is built and its walls are restored, you will be left with nothing in Trans-Euphrates.” Ezra 4:15-16

King Artaxerxes read through the records and agreed that Jerusalem appeared to be an old, seditious place. Never mind that at its height Jerusalem had been the capitol city of an independent nation with kings who were within their rights to collect taxes and rule over their own lands.

Artaxerxes viewed Jerusalem as just a distant outpost in his empire that might cause problems, so he issued a cease and desist order. Rehum and Shimshai immediately went to Jerusalem and forced the Jews to stop building.

Ezra the Priest

Six years after work on the city of Jerusalem stopped, Ezra the priest set out for the city. He had impeccable credentials as a teacher of the Law of Moses and a flawless heritage. He could trace his ancestors all the way back to Aaron, the very first high priest. He was the man the people of Jerusalem needed.

Ezra was born in Babylon to a Jewish community that had kept the Law scrupulously throughout the Exile and beyond. They were deeply concerned that the people of Judah were going astray because they had forgotten the Law. Ezra petitioned King Artaxerxes to be allowed to go back to Jerusalem and help his people.

“The king granted him everything he asked, for the hand of the Lord his God was on him. Some of the Israelites, including priests, Levites, musicians, gatekeepers and temple servants, also came up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.” Ezra 7:6-7

The king sent Ezra a letter that granted him permission to go to Jerusalem. It mentioned a great amount of treasure Ezra’s company would be carrying and it ordered the governor of the Trans-Euphrates to cooperate with the Jews in whatever they did. Once again, God changed the heart of a leader from resisting the work in Jerusalem to supporting it. This time it was King Artaxerxes whom God changed so he would agree with his plan.

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, who has put it into the king’s heart to bring honor to the house of the Lord in Jerusalem in this way and who has extended his good favor to me before the king and his advisors and all the king’s powerful officials. Because the hand of the Lord my God was on me, I took courage and gathered leaders from Israel to go up with me.” Ezra 7:27-28

Ezra’s Authority

It’s hard to grasp now the importance of Ezra’s journey to Jerusalem at that time. The temple had been standing for over fifty years, but the people had drifted away from obedience to the Law. They didn’t feel accountable to it anymore and they had fallen into practices that were strictly forbidden by Moses.

They needed an authority figure to call them back to God and his Word. King Artaxerxes provided that authority when he sent Ezra out with a letter of introduction, and also with an official title.

“Ezra the priest, a teacher of the Law, a man learned in matters concerning the commands and decrees of the Lord for Israel.” Ezra 7:11

Essentially, Ezra was the king’s Secretary for Jewish Religious Affairs. Artaxerxes wanted Israel’s God to look favorably upon him so he did what he could to please him.

“Whatever the God of heaven has prescribed, let it be done with diligence for the temple of the God of heaven. Why should his wrath fall on the realm of the king and of his sons?” Ezra 7:23

The Journey to Jerusalem

Ezra gathered all the people who were willing to go to Jerusalem beside the Ahava River just west of Babylon. He registered the names of his travelers and discovered that they needed to add more Levites to their company. He sent a message to Iddo in Kasiphia asking for more volunteers and God stirred the hearts of 258 more Levites and temple servants to join the caravan.

The trip was going to take them through dangerous open country and Ezra didn’t want to ask the king for protection so he and the travelers spent three days fasting and petitioning God to go with them and defend them. Ezra divided up the great amount of treasure among twelve priests and they carried it safely all the way to the temple.

The journey took four months.

“The hand of our God was on us, and he protected us from enemies and bandits along the way. So we arrived in Jerusalem, where we rested three days.” Ezra 8:31-32

On the fourth day Ezra supervised the delivery of the treasure to the temple. The newly arrived exiles gave sacrifices and offerings to the Lord. Then they sent the orders from King Artaxerxes to the governors of the Trans-Euphrates, who immediately began to give assistance to the people and the house of God.

Now that he was in Jerusalem, a place he had only heard about until then, Ezra was ready to step into the greatest work of his life.