Sing
Ezra
© Carolyn Randall
Can be sung to the tune:
From the Halls of Montezuma
From the streets of Babylonia
the faithful remnant came.
Ezra tells of the first two returns
to restore Jerusalem.
First to build the temple of the LORD,
headed by Zerubbabel;
Then with Ezra teacher of the law,
cleanse them from every idol.
Racheal Cheslik singing and Sarah Bourdess on Piano!
click to enlarge
Teach
From the streets of Babylonia the faithful remnant came: Who are the faithful remnant?
The faithful remnant are the Jewish people from Judah who returned to Jerusalem after the 70 year captivity. Why did they come from Babylonia? That is where they had been taken when they were captured by the Babylonians 70 years earlier.
Ezra tells of the first two returns to restore Jerusalem: Why did Jerusalem need to be restored?
When the Babylonions captured the city it had been destroyed including the temple.
First to build the temple of the Lord headed by Zerubbabul: Who was Zerubbabul?
He was the governor of Jerusalem and he was a descendant of David and the grandson of Judah’s King Jehoiachin.
Then with Ezra teacher of the law, cleanse them from every idol: Who is Ezra?
Ezra was a priest among the captured Jewish people in Babylonia, and he led the second return of the remnant from Babylonia to Jerusalem. What does cleanse them from every idol mean? At that time the remnant had begun worshipping idols of the people living among them, and under Ezra’s teaching they turned away from all the idols and back to God.
Preparing: God kept the hope for the Messiah alive by returning the Jewish remnant to Jerusalem where the Messiah, descendent of David, would one day reign.
Picture: Ezra leading the remnant away from the land where they were captives back to freedom and restoring their worship of God, is a picture of the Messiah coming to free us from sin and restore our hearts to worship God.
Check out the what the archaeologists who have been digging in the temple area in Jerusalem have found in What the Bible Is All About Bible Handbook for Kids, p.109 and What the Bible is All About for Young Explorers, p.111.