“The Return”

Series: A Journey through the Old Testament [on screen]

Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD

First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida

August 15, 2021

Introductory Comments:

What a journey this has been in the Old Testament! We’ve talked about Creation, the Fall, the Flood, the Tower of Babel, the Patriarchs, Joseph, the Exodus, the Law, the Promised Land, the Judges, the Kings, the Prophets, Exile, and now we are here to talk about the Return. [on screen]

I don’t know about you, but I love when I get to return to a place that is special to me. Every time I go out of town, I’m always glad when I return home. When I’ve been away from the church building for a few days, I’m always glad when I get back on the property. To this day, when I go back to The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, it’s always special to be back on campus because I spent eight years of my life there. There’s something special about the return. 

Today, we’re going to learn about the return of God’s people to the city of Jerusalem. After seventy years of exile, they were allowed to come home. 

Before we go any further, let’s go to God in prayer and ask Him to speak to us. 

(prayer)

As we journey through this sermon today, we’re going to look at seven major elements, three major truths, and two ways that the Gospel speaks to us through the message of the return. This is our last sermon in this series, so soak it up!

Let’s start by looking at the . . .

I. Major elements[on screen]

First, . . .

1.  King Cyrus of Persia permits the Jewish exiles to return to Jerusalem (Ezra 1:1-4). [on screen]

Remember, the people of Judah are under Babylonian captivity at this point. The prophet Jeremiah prophesied that they would be in captivity for seventy years, and indeed they were. 

Babylon conquered Jerusalem and the people of Judah were taken captive. 

Then, the Babylonian empire was conquered by Persia. This happened around 539 BC.

Cyrus the Great, king of the Persian empire, wanted to keep his subjects relatively happy, as well as the gods of the lands of his subjects, so he thought that it might be nice to allow the people of Judah to go back to Jerusalem. 

We learn about this in Ezra 1:1-4 (read in paper Bible)

So, Cyrus permits the exiles from Judah to return. 

Next, we discover that . . .

2. The Jewish exiles would progressively return over the next century. [on screen]

The exiles didn’t all return at once. They would return in four different groups. 

Group 1 – Sheshbazzar led a group to Jerusalem around 537 BC (Ezra 1:11).  [on screen]

Sheshbazzar was a man who was allowed to be a leader to the Jewish people while in Babylon. So, he was also allowed to lead some of the people back to Jerusalem. 

Group 2 – Zerubbabel and Jeshua led a second group to Jerusalem in 525 BC (Ezra 2:1-2). [on screen]

Zerubbabel was a descendant of King Jehoiachin, one of the last kings of Judah. Jeshua was one of the leading priests of the day. These men would lead a second group to Jerusalem, from Babylon. 

Group 3 – Ezra led a group from Babylon in 458 BC (Ezra 7:1-10). [on screen]

Ezra was a priest and a scribe who was serving among God’s people in Babylon and he would lead a third group to Jerusalem. 

Group 4 – Nehemiah led a fourth group to Jerusalem in 445 BC (Nehemiah 2:1-10). [on screen]

Nehemiah was the cup-bearer of the Persian king, Artaxerxes. Later, Nehemiah would become governor of Judah. He led the fourth group back to Jerusalem. 

Next, we learn that . . . 

3. There would be much opposition to their return. [on screen]

The enemies of God would oppose them returning and rebuilding the city of Jerusalem. 

Perhaps the most famous of those who opposed the Jews’ return and their rebuilding of the city was a man named, Sanballat (that’s quite the name, isn’t it?). 

Even though there was a lot of opposition from many people, don’t you know chur