The Message of Ezra and Haggai (The Bible Speaks Today | BST)
With its emphasis on the Torah, the story of Ezra is linked with the story of the exodus of the Jews from Egypt and their identity as the people of God. While Ezra prays for changed hearts and the forgiveness of sin, he looks forward to the Messiah and the fulfillment of all God’s promises.
Haggai is pressed into service to offer a prophetic voice to the crisis detailed in Ezra. To those Israelites who returned from exile to Jerusalem and faced an external opposition to the rebuilding of the temple, he encourages a relucatant people to give to an ailing fabric fund while reminding them of the Mosaic legacy and the Messianic promise.
Robert Fyall highlights the contemporary parallels of the challenges Israel faced to those of today’s church, and demonstrates the relevance of the books of Ezra and Haggai for God’s people in all times. While Ezra is rarely, if ever, preached on and Haggai gets an even shorter consideration, the message of these books—the need for obedience to God’s word and for openness to His Spirit—is one which needs to be heard clearly today.
Get the complete Bible Speaks Today Old Testament Commentary Series (33 vols.).
- Applies the truth of Scripture to everyday life in the contemporary world
- Engages a variety of readers with accessible, nontechnical language
- Analyzes the flow of thought in passage-by-passage exposition of Old Testament books
- Provides insightful treatment of key themes
Top Highlights
“Rather, the concern is for the abiding presence of God among his people who are honouring him by lives as well as lips.” (Page 29)
“The implication here is something more than that Ezra was knowledgeable. Rather he had a clear and thorough grasp of the Torah and an ability to teach it and help others to understand.” (Page 101)
“Ezra himself is to discover that no Levites wished to return (8:15).” (Page 49)
“Essentially what is at stake here is distinctiveness. Israel was called to be a holy people and a light to the nations. This meant resistance to anything which diluted the Torah and failed to conform to its standards. Such battle is to be fought in every generation, not least in a world of multi-faith, of syncretism and widespread biblical ignorance.” (Page 76)
“The word which sums it all up is unfaithfulness (v. 4)—a refusal to treat God seriously. Behind the marriage failures lay a more profound failure: a breakdown of the covenant relationship with the Lord.” (Page 123)
- Title: The Message of Ezra and Haggai: Building for God
- Author: Robert Fyall
- Series: The Bible Speaks Today
- Publisher: Inter-Varsity
- Print Publication Date: 2010
- Logos Release Date: 2015
- Pages: 190
- Era: era:contemporary
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Bible. O.T. Ezra › Commentaries; Bible. O.T. Haggai › Commentaries
- ISBNs: 9781844744794, 9781789743999, 1844744795, 1789743990
- Resource ID: LLS:BST15EZR
- Resource Type: Bible Commentary
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-29T22:22:17Z