Ezra and Nehemiah Themes

Ezra and Nehemiah are books about coming home. However, homecomings can be more difficult than expected, even disappointing in some ways. You know, like when you came home from summer camp to find...

In these books, the people and their leaders are very concerned with reminding themselves of who they are and where they come from. During this vulnerable time in Jewish history, Ezra and Nehemiah...

According to the Bible, the Israelites have had a bad habit of sliding back into idolatry and other disloyalty to God despite the threat of serious punishment: total annihilation, famine, foreign i...

Ezra and Nehemiah are nothing if not relentless. Nobody's making it easy for them to rebuild the temple or institute rules for the community. The Samaritans and others keep butting in and shutting...

Nehemiah, Ezra, and God all love rules—613 of them, to be exact. In fact, aside from the actual physical rebuilding of Jerusalem, the re-institution of the Mosaic laws and rituals is the main obj...