In the classic film The Princess Bride, the swashbuckling Inigo Montoya tries to restart his life after the failed kidnapping of Princess Buttercup. “When the job went wrong, you went back to the beginning,” he reminded his leader. Israel went wrong and they ended up in exile. In the book of Ezra, the people could return! But after 70 years, what kind of nation would they build? Ezra, a teacher who returned with the nation, showed them the way. They needed to go back to basics.

Ezra understood that if they were going to rebuild their nation in a way that would honor God, they needed to know and obey the Law of God. For the nation of Israel, the beginning started with the Law of Moses. Centuries before, God had made a covenant with Israel. That covenant included many things they needed to obey. Now given a second chance, Ezra made it his aim to set the nation on the right footing. He was a man who “devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the LORD, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel (v. 10).

Although Israel had endured seventy years of exile, Ezra understood that God had not changed. Therefore, those who wanted to be in a right relationship with Him needed to return to His word.

Centuries have come and gone since Jesus Christ walked this earth and proclaimed the good news of salvation. If people today want to build, or rebuild, their lives in a way that pleases God, they need to return to the simple message that Jesus proclaimed from the beginning: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matt. 3:2). There is no need to search for a new message, go back to the beginning.

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