Tag: bsf exile & return lesson 11 day 3

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BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 11, Day 3: Ezra 7:11-28

by atozmom, posted in BSF Exile & Return: A Time to Build 2025/2026

Summary of Ezra 7:11-28

King Artaxerxes gave a letter to Ezra, stating that anyone could return to Jerusalem with him with the silver and gold taken from the temple and more. He told him to use the money to buy offerings to God and to buy materials to build the temple. All the treasurers are to provide him with whatever he needs. He is to be in charge of administering justice and teaching the law to others. Those who do not obey the laws may be punished by death or imprisonment.

Ezra praised God for putting it in the king’s heart to help the Israelites and for extending good favor to him.

BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 11, Day 3: Ezra 7:11-28

6) God moved King Artaxerxes to authorize the return, provide lavish funding (silver, gold, supplies) from the royal treasury, grant tax exemption to all Temple workers, and give Ezra full civil authority to establish and enforce God’s Law, using state power to protect and provision the mission.
7) God’s providence included “stirring the spirit” of pagan kings. He moved Cyrus to release the exiles, Darius to find the lost decree and fund the Temple, and Artaxerxes to grant Ezra full authority and resources to restore the law.
8a) Ezra praised God for putting it in the king’s heart to help the Israelites and for extending good favor to him. He gathered up leaders from Israel to go with him.
b) Everything — food, clothing, shelter, life.
c) It’s important for us to remember what God has done in our lives so that when times get hard, we can go back to God’s faithfulness and use it to fuel us during the bad times. And, it’s crucial because it stops us from taking credit for God’s work and reminds us that we are not self-sufficient. We acknowledge His active hand in our lives. This moves us from thinking, “I’m so good/lucky” to “God is so good.” It cultivates gratitude and humility, actively pushing back against pride and reminding us that our successes are a result of His favor, just as Ezra did when he praised God for moving the king’s heart.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 11, Day 3: Ezra 7:11-28

I love how God can (and does) use anyone to help His people.

End Notes BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 11, Day 3: Ezra 7:11-28

The king commissions helpers, a copy of the Law, and gifts for the temple to go with Ezra upon his return to Jerusalem. The king encourages others to return to make Israel great again. The king was very generous in his offerings to Ezra.

Artaxerxes wanted to placate the gods (in this case, the One and Only God) so that he could be blessed. This was a common belief in those times.

Ezra was given significant authority. He knew that only God could create this!

END NOTES SUMMARIZED

Ezra 7:11-28 details the official letter of commission from King Artaxerxes to Ezra. This decree grants Ezra extraordinary authority and resources for his mission to restore the Jewish community in Jerusalem.

Interpretation

The letter from the Persian king, the most powerful ruler on earth at the time, contains four astonishing provisions:

  1. Official Permission (vv. 12-13): The king formally authorizes any Jewish person, priest, or Levite in his empire to return to Jerusalem with Ezra.
  2. Royal Funding (vv. 14-23): Artaxerxes and his counselors donate a massive amount of silver and gold for the Temple. He further commands his treasurers west of the Euphrates to give Ezra whatever else he needs—up to 100 talents of silver, plus wheat, wine, oil, and salt—”without limit” and “promptly.”
  3. Tax Exemption (v. 24): The king grants complete tax immunity to all priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and other Temple servants.
  4. Civil Authority (vv. 25-26): Most significantly, the king empowers Ezra to appoint magistrates and judges to govern the entire province based on the Law of God. He gives Ezra the full power of the Persian state to enforce this law, including imprisonment, confiscation of goods, banishment, or even death.

Conclusion

The passage concludes with Ezra’s own reaction (vv. 27-28): a burst of praise to God. Ezra recognizes that this incredible political and financial backing was not a human achievement but a divine miracle. He blesses God for “put[ting] such a thing as this into the heart of the king.” This letter demonstrates God’s absolute sovereignty, showing His ability to move the heart of a pagan king to not only fund the restoration but to legally establish God’s Law as the law of the land.

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