Nehemiah prayed when he received the bleak report about the situation with the Jews in Jerusalem. He confessed sin and expressed his confidence in our gracious and powerful Lord.

Nehemiah received a report from Jerusalem regarding the situation the Jews faced after they rebuilt the Temple. It was bleak.

The Judeans decided that obedience to God was more important than anything else. Therefore, they took the necessary steps to return to the Lord for his glory and grace. He forgave them of their sins and restored them to the land of promise.

The Judeans understood they had messed up when they intermarried with the Canaanite women, with all their idolatry and abominations against the Lord. They confessed and repented of their sins.

God had been good to the returning exiles by giving them the opportunities and resources to build a new Temple and reinhabit their homeland. They had sinned against him with intermarriage. Something had to give.

Ezra found that the returned exiles had intermarried with the Canaanites and embraced their abominable practices of religion.

Ezra leads a band of exiles returning to Jerusalem and calls for the Levites to guard the vessels as they rest in the provision and protection of God.

The king sent Ezra to Jerusalem to teach the people how to live in a relationship with God.

The Jews had a renewed vigor in their celebration of the Passover after the Temple was completed. God had been faithful, and they knew it.

The Jews celebrated God's goodness when the Temple was rebuilt entirely.