Ezra is a short Old Testament book of the Bible, with only 10 chapters (just 11 pages in my Bible). It outlines a troublesome period for Israels exiles who were taken from Judah. Ezra includes the time of Daniel. In this video, Helen goes through the story of the whole of this book, and explains how it all fits together. Part 1 of Ezra (last week) introduced how this time of Ezra fits within the whole Bible.

The first half of Ezra covers the rebuilding of the temple to God. The second half tells us the consequences that the people had because they had not been obeying God. This stirred them into deciding what needed to be done about this. And this is compared with today’s times, now that Jesus has come to us, died on the cross, risen from the dead, and so paid the price for sins. So the sacrificial laws are now replaced by Jesus once and for all sacrifice for us. Ezra chapter-9 gives an excellent example of prayer which we can gain much from in our relationship with God. It shows that there is always hope, for them, for us, and for the world – all with thanks to Jesus.