Ezra is a story of the Jew’s return from exile in Babylon and the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem. Ezra is a priest filled with holiness and zeal for true worship to return to the people. His name literally means, “The Lord is Helper”. The theme of the book is restoration.
The Book of Ezra is devoted to events occurring in the land of Israel at the time of the return from 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. Ezra is a post-exilic scribe who desires to teach Jews returning from Babylonian captivity the Law of Moses. Ezra records the return of Israel from captivity after 70 years, and the ministries of Zerubbabel (responsible for rebuilding the temple), and Jeshua the priest (responsible for the sacrificial system of the new temple). Ezra also records the prophetic ministries of Haggai and Zechariah who encouraged the people to rebuild. These events occur after the decree of the Persian king Cyrus to rebuild the temple of the LORD.
Blessings,
Apostle