The Grand Story – Part 6 SERIES – Discovering the Bible

XV. Ezra

Culture – a set of learned values and behavior patterns that are understood, accepted and celebrate by a particular social or ethnic group.

Cultural Imperialism is the imposing of the culture of the more politically powerful nation on the less powerful nation until the less powerful nation re ects the culture of the more powerful people.

• Assyrian Empire – 745-608 BC
2 Kings 17:18-23 NLT
• Babylonian Empire – 605-558 BC 2 Kings 25:1-12 NLT

In the face of cultural imperialism, we can either compromise with the culture or convert the culture.

• Persian Empire – 538-330 BC Jeremiah 29:10 NLT

A. Ezra’s Purpose – God is a God of new beginnings. Failure is not nal.

2 Chronicles 36:17-23 B. Ezra’s Pattern

I. Ezra’s Construction Ezra 1:1-6 NLT

a. Some return b. Some remain c. All rebuild

• What we belief affects how we behave.
• Our faith is the engine that drives all our

  actions.

Zerubbabel

1. Returns
1 Chronicles 3:17-19

2. Rebuilds Ezra 3
3. Resolves Ezra 4-5

Christians should respond to resistance with resolve.

Ezra 4:1-6

• The opposition comes in a subtle way (vs. 1-4)
• The opposition comes in a sinister way Ezra 4:6-23

  4. Renewed 5. Rewarded

  Lessons
  1.Faith makes things possible,

  but it never makes things easy. 2.Faith responds to resistance

  with resolve
  3.Don’t let opposition destroy

  you; let it develop you 4.Wherever God guides, God

  provides
  5.God’s blessings often come

  from unexpected sources

  2. Ezra’s Instruction
  3. Jewish Production