Living In the Anticipation of the Restoration - Emily Woodard
Though I grew up with the benefits of a Christian home and in a solid, Bible-teaching church, it wasn’t until my adult years that I really began to understand the timeline of Redemptive History, and more specifically, that of the Old Testament. Not much can account for my ignorance other than my own dull ears and disinterested heart, but the process of piecing together familiar stories and events into the timeline of God acting in history on behalf of his people has been a true delight in the last 15 to 20 years.
I’ve particularly enjoyed learning more about what may be an especially neglected portion of Old Testament history, the restoration, or the time period after the exile. (1) Prior to a deeper dive into the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, my understanding of events in the Old Testament probably stopped around Daniel 5, when Babylon was overthrown by the Medo-Persian empire. Truthfully, I’m not sure where I would have placed the book of Esther, much less the post-exilic prophets. But both the end of 2 Chronicles and the beginning of Ezra inform readers of what happened after the downfall of Babylon. The proclamation of Cyrus, King of Persia, in 539 BC is the event that marks the end of the Babylonian captivity for the people of Judah (in fulfillment of prophecies like Isaiah 44:28, 45:1f and Jeremiah 25:11-12, 29:10). The image included with this article is a picture of the Cyrus Cylinder, an artifact found in 1879 in the ruins of Babylon (modern Iraq) that corroborates the governing philosophy behind this proclamation that freed the exiles as it is recorded in Scripture. (2) Though the cylinder doesn’t specifically mention Judah or the Jews, its message deals with allowing deported peoples to return to their lands and rebuild temples to their gods. Interestingly, the cylinder is held up by some as the world’s “first charter on human rights,” an example of religious tolerance and racial equality. (3) It is debatable whether Cyrus was truly inspired by a more progressive view of humanity than his predecessors (4), but his policies obviously allowed for more religious freedom than did those of Babylon. Mark Boda writes of Cyrus’ “shrewd politico-religious policies through which (he claims) he won the allegiance of the population.” (5) People allowed to worship their own gods were less likely to cause trouble in the empire.
Ezra and Nehemiah tell the story of life in the land of Judah upon the return from exile as the temple and the walls of Jerusalem are rebuilt. While the people return with initial zeal for the worship of Yahweh in the land of Judah (Ezra 3:2, 8-11), and the rebuilding of their community, opposition and discouragement soon set in. Those who had seen the glory of the former temple wept (Ezra 3:12), many were fearful of the peoples of the land (Ezra 4:4), and some just got distracted with the building of their own houses, and neglected the work of rebuilding the temple (Hag. 1:3-4). The foundations of the temple were laid, but then the construction site sat dormant for 16 years (Ezra 4:4-5, 24). The author of Ezra matter-of-factly explains what happens to jumpstart the work again: “Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.” (Ezra 5:1-2) In other words, prophets prophesied. Thankfully, we also have written records of each of these prophets to fill in the story a bit more for us, but it is interesting to note that, at least in the book of Ezra, the story is simply that the prophets of God show up ministering with the word of God, and everything changes.
Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi speak the word of the Lord to the returnees, exhorting and encouraging the people in their work. They remind the people that God is with them (Hag. 1:13, 2:4-5; Zech. 2:11, 8:23), exhort them not to fear (Hag. 2:5; Zech. 8:13), and encourage them with the truth that God will supply what is needed for the task (Hag. 2:7-8). They plead with the people to return to the Lord in obedience (Zech. 1:3-4; Mal. 3:7), to image his character in treatment of each other (Zech. 7:9-10), and they put before them the promise of a glorious future for the people of God (Zech. 1:16-17, 2:4-5 3:10, 10:6, 12:7-9; Mal. 3:12, 4:2).
You can obviously read more from these prophets, and as you do, it’s helpful to consider the spiritual situation of God’s people during the period of the restoration. Many commentators and Bible study authors have pointed out the parallels between the post-exilic time period and our own. Derek Kidner writes that the Old Testament ends the same way the New Testamentdoes “in that both bring the reader to the point of arrival which is a staging post rather than a destination… [inviting him or her] to explore God’s purpose further.” (6) Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah, and others lived during a time period when theycould look back and see God’s promises (both of judgment and blessing) fulfilled. And, they could look forward in anticipation of continued kept promises. They could pray with thankfulness for past faithfulness and with certain hope for future faithfulness. This is where we live, too. The people of God in the post-exilic community needed the Word of the Lord to rebuke, encourage, comfort, and strengthen them for the work to which they were called. We do, too. We need the reminders of Ezra and Nehemiah and the challenge of Haggai and Zechariah to return to the Lord in obedience and continue the work of building the kingdom of God. We also need the reminder to lift our eyes to look in anticipation of the more glorious restoration awaiting us, that which is promised to the people of God (Rom. 8:18-25). While we wait, let us praise God for the gift of the Scripture, even the less familiar parts, “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4).
(1) Especially neglected… at least by me but, I think it’s safe to say, also by the church as a whole, at least in terms of numbersof Bible studies, sermon series, etc.
(2) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrus_Cylinder
(4) “...promoted the Cylinder as a ‘charter of human rights’, though this interpretation has been described by various historians as ‘rather anachronistic’ and tendentious” from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrus_Cylinder
(5) Mark Boda, The NIV Application Commentary: Haggai and Zechariah (Zondervan), 26.
(6) Derek Kidner, Ezra and Nehemiah: An Introduction and Commentary (Tyndale), introduction.