Under the leadership of Jeshua and Zerrubabel (#4), a small contingent returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt the altar of Burnt Offering and the Temple foundation (Ezra 3). However, this project was not without difficulty. Both opposition from without and apathy within delayed the work and required the stirring ministries of Haggai and Zechariah (#5) to spur the Jews to completion. With a renewing of the decree by Darius (#6) the Lord’s house was finished in 516 BC, twenty years after the return (Ezra 6:15).

Between Ezra 6 and 7 is a gap of 58 years (516-458 BC), to which belongs the story of Esther. These were momentous years on the world stage. During this period occurred the deaths of Buddha and Confucius, and the battles of Marathon, Thermopylae, and Salamis.

The story of Esther takes place in Persia. Not everyone went home. For over a thousand years, the largest concentration of Jews outside Israel was in the region where they had been exiled.

The king of Persia married a Jewess named Esther, who uncovered a plot against her people— led by Haman, the prime minister. When Esther and her cousin, Mordecai, brought the plot to the attention of King Ahasuerus, Haman was deposed and replaced by Mordecai. Those who had taken part in the aborted plan were executed. The Jews narrowly escaped slaughter. To commemorate this, the feast called Purim was established.

Some have objected to this book being included in the Canon because it does not seem to have any theological themes, nor is the name of God mentioned. God is there, however, working behind the scenes. It has been shown that the Tetragrammaton (YHVH), the name of Yahweh (Jehovah), occurs four times as an acrostic at the crises in the plot (1:20; 5:4; 5:13; 7:7). In two cases, the name is spelled backwards; in two, forwards. In two cases it is the initial letters; in two, the final letters. This has been illustrated by using the divine title of LORD in the following four couplets:

Ordinary life is not so ordinary; it is filled with eternal significance. Events fit into a normal pattern of cause and effect, but woven through it all are the hidden purposes of God. Human choices are of great importance and have profound consequences, whether for good or evil. The book of Esther says: Do not be deceived by appearances. More is happening than you think.

The second section of Ezra (7-10) covers Ezra’s personal journey to Jerusalem (#7) with a new wave of refugees. He was appalled to find the people so demoralized. Under his careful Bible teaching, a revival in a measure took place (#8).

In some ways, Nehemiah is a parallel account to the one given by Ezra. Twelve years after Ezra’s return in 458 BC, Nehemiah heard (#9) in far-off Babylon that Jerusalem was in ruins, her walls broken, and her gates burned. Although, as the king’s right-hand man, he had every external comfort, there was no comfort for his soul. Offered a leave of absence (#10), he returned to the city of his fathers. However, Nehemiah found more than broken walls; he found broken lives. Discouragement had set in, God's commandments were being transgressed, and moral laxity, even among the priests, was common.

In spite of critics, unskilled labor, threats of violence, and an enormous task, the approximately four miles of wall were repaired in 52 days (#11). And what filled Nehemiah’s heart with joy was the fact not only that the work had been completed, but that God was seen to have done it: “the work was wrought of our God” (Neh. 6:16).

Thus ends the history of the Old Testament, with the exception of the last Old Testament prophet—John. Four hundred years will pass in which God is silent, until at last He will speak the Word (#12)!

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