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Introduction

Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that hemade a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put itin writing: “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, andhe has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the Lordhis God be with him. Let him go up.’”

– 2 Chronicles 36:22-23, English Standard Version

It is with these words from the very end of Chronicles that

the Tanakh closes. Due to the proclamation of Cyrus, God’s people

were invited to return to the land that God has promised would

forever belong to their forefathers and their descendants. The

Chronicler makes it explicitly clear that it is Yahweh who had

moved Cyrus. This return was the very same return that Yahweh

promised through the prophets. According to the Chronicler, that

which God had promised he would do at the time of restoration was

coming to fruition. This is not the only word that Scripture

gives us about this event though. In Ezra and Nehemiah, as well

as the prophetic record of Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi speak

about this event. These authors paint a different picture than

the Chronicler.

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This study analyzes the depiction of restoration from the

Babylonian Exile given in the Old Testament. It does this by

looking at what the Old Testament explicitly says about exile and

restoration. It begins by exploring the Torah, specifically

Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28-30. From there it surveys what

the prophets who most directly addressed the issue had to say

about the state of the House of Israel and her covenant

relationship to Yahweh. Finally, it examines the Post-Exilic

narratives of Ezra and Nehemiah as well as the post-exilic

prophets. The goal is to understand what ways the post-exilic

authors understood themselves to be experiencing the restoration

promised by Yahweh.

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Torah Provisions of Exile and Restoration

Expectations for what the restoration and exile of Israel

would be like began to be developed before any prophets like

Isaiah, Jeremiah or Ezekiel articulated them. These expectations

were actually articulated before Israel had even entered the land

from which she would be exiled. The hope of restoration presented

later by prophets (and held onto by post-exilic Israel) has its

genesis in the Torah. Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28-30, which

expands on a discussion introduced in Deuteronomy 4, are the

sections in which the topics are most directly addressed.

Leviticus 26, the very closing of the guide for covenant

faithfulness, outlines the blessing and curses associated with

the covenant. In verses 3 through 13 Yahweh promises a number of

things that will follow if Israel is obedient to the covenant.

The land will be fertile. Both human and animal threats will be

held at bay. Military efforts will be stunningly successful.

Familial lineage will continue uninterrupted and—most importantly

—Yahweh’s presence will always be amongst his people. In short,

the experience of the Israelites will be joyful, peaceful and

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prosperous. It will almost be as if the curse that was laid upon

creation after Adam and Eve sinned has been removed.

Following these lavish promises for blessing in response to

obedience Yahweh lays out equally strong warnings against

disobedience: “But if you will not listen to me and will not do

all these commandments, if you spurn my statutes, and if your

soul abhors my rules, so that you will not do all my

commandments, but break my covenant, then I will do this to you:

…”1 What follows is the nightmarish opposite of what was promised

to accompany obedience. Panic, disease, famine and foreign

dominion will all be characteristic of Israel’s experience. All

of this will be done by Yahweh with the hope of moving his people

to repentance. If Israel refuses to repent the punishment will

continue to increase. Their situation will only get worse.

Continued disobedience will culminate in exile.

But if in spite of this you will not listen to me, but walk contrary to me, then I will walk contrary to you in fury, and I myself will discipline you sevenfold for your sins…I will lay your cities waste and will make your sanctuaries desolate,and I will not smell your pleasing aromas. And I myself will devastate the land, so that your enemies who settle in it shall be appalled at it. And I will scatter you among the

1 Lev. 26:14-16 English Standard Version

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nations, and I will unsheathe the sword after you, and your land shall be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste.2

All of this is done so that “the land shall enjoy its Sabbaths;”3

so that Yahweh can cleanse the land from the defilement which his

rebellious people brought upon it.

These same matters are addressed and expanded upon in

Deuteronomy 28-30. This passage is part of Moses’ final address

to Israel before she sets off to cross the Jordan and enter the

Promised Land. He warns that in response to disobedience and

unrepentance Yahweh will “bring you and your king whom you set

over you to a nation that neither you nor your fathers have

known.” His warnings continue, finally culminating in this

frightening promise:

The Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known. And among these nations you shall find no respite, and there shall be no resting place for the sole of your foot, butthe Lord will give you there a trembling heart and failing eyes and a languishing soul. Your life shall hang in doubt before you. Night and day you shall be in dread and have no assurance of your life. In the morning you shall say, ‘If onlyit were evening!’ and at evening you shall say, ‘If only it were morning!’ because of the dread that your heart shall feel, and the sights that your eyes shall see. And the Lord

2 Lev. 26:27-33 ESV.3 Lev. 26:34 ESV.

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will bring you back in ships to Egypt, a journey that I promised that you should never make again; and there you shalloffer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but there will be no buyer.4

Israel’s situation will be utterly pathetic.

Although Yahweh’s wrath will be strong and just, the

warnings in both Leviticus and Deuteronomy finish with reminders

of his gracious faithfulness. This is most clearly seen in

Deuteronomy 30. Moses promises that after the previously outlined

blessings and curses come to pass. After they do, “the Lord your

God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you, and he

will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your

God has scattered you.”5 This restoration will not be a mere

regathering though. The blessings of Yahweh will exceed what they

had been before: “[Yahweh] will make you more prosperous and

numerous than your fathers.”6 The obedience of Israel will also

be elevated because Yahweh promises to “circumcise your heart and

the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your

God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may

4 Deut. 28:64-68 ESV.5 Deut. 30:3 ESV.6 Deut. 30:5 ESV.

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live.”7 On the other side of exile is repentance and a glorious

restoration.

The most important thing that these passages show us is that

exile is not a dissolution of the covenant. The exile is actually

an example of Yahweh’s covenant faithfulness. In it he is doing

exactly what he said he would do if his people did not obey him.

His faithfulness to send his disobedient people into exile

invites them to repent and then confidently hope that he will he

will be faithful to also restore them. The immediate concern of

the passages from Leviticus and Deuteronomy is the faithfulness

of Yahweh’s covenant people amongst the foreign nations that

occupied the land of Canaan at the time of their entrance. Yet

looking back at them in light of Israel’s history, these texts

rightly develop a “prophetic ring.”8

Prophetic Promises of Restoration After Exile (Isaiah, Jeremiah,Ezekiel)

As the reality of exile drew nearer in Israel’s history, the

covenantal foundation of Yahweh’s promise of restoration from

7 Deut 30:6 ESV.8 Peter C. Craigie, The Book of Deuteronomy (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1976), 139, 350.

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exile emerged as a major part of the ministry of the prophets.

The Book of Isaiah, recording the ministry of Isaiah which took

place long before the deportation to Babylon and the destruction

of Jerusalem and the Temple, says a great deal about what God

would do in those events. The ministries of Jeremiah and Ezekiel,

which straddled the deportation and destruction, filled these

expectations out even more fully.

The Prophetic Message of Exile’s Torah Foundation

All of these prophets, before they ever speak of restoration

and hope, focus on exile. As the rebellion of Israel continued,

warning of judgmental exile were pronounced., just as the

covenant prescribed. Warnings of judgment are not a threat by

Yahweh that the covenant would break off the covenant though.

Rather, they are the very judgment upon idolatry outlined within

the covenant. Thus, the prophets stand upon the Torah foundation

in their proclamation of judgment.

Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel all repeatedly sound these

warnings of divine judgment. Sections of Isaiah give very

specific attention to the exile into Babylon. Isaiah 38-39

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records Yahweh’s promise to Hezekiah to defend the city from the

king of Assyria. This act is only a patient delay of God’s wrath,

not a removal of it. Although Hezekiah will die in peace, the

word of Yahweh still comes to Hezekiah and warns that “the days

are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your

fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to

Babylon.” This punishment is not merely a loss of wealth either.

It will involve a complete collapse of the government in Judah.

“Nothing shall be left, says the Lord. And some of your own sons,

who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken

away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of

Babylon.”9 Although Hezekiah witnessed Yahweh’s incredible

preservation of Judah throughout his life and put into motion an

important religious reformation, it was not enough. Judgment was

still in store for the nation.

The book of Jeremiah, from the very beginning, proclaims and

laments Yahweh’s coming judgment on Israel and Judah. Chapter 2

is presented as a formal legal charge by a king toward a

vassal.10 It puts forward accusations against Israel of

9 Is. 39:6-7 ESV.10 J. A. Thompson, The Book of Jeremiah (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980), 159.

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“flagrant, inexcusable and incomprehensible apostasy.”11 A famous

passage in verses 12 and 13 express this confused outrage best.

“Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly

desolate, declares the Lord, for my people have committed two

evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and

hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold

no water.”12 What the people had done was utterly foolish and

utterly damnable.

These warnings continue in various forms through chapter 25.

One of the most explicit is in Jeremiah 18. In this passage

Jeremiah is instructed by Yahweh to go down to the house of his

local potter. While Jeremiah was there, he observed the potter’s

work. What he saw was that “the vessel he was making of clay was

spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another

vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.”13 This reworking

of the clay by the potter is understood to be a logical and

normal action for him. With this as his model, Yahweh asks; “O

11 Thompson, Jeremiah, 160.12 Jer. 2:12-13 ESV.13 Jer. 18:4, ESV.

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house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done?”

Indeed, this is exactly what Yahweh says he will do.

Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. If at any time I declare concerning anation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it. Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: “Thus says the Lord, behold, I am shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Return, every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds.14

If the nation of Israel would not repent, than Yahweh would bring

about the disaster described in Deuteronomy. The blessings of the

covenant were presumptuously assumed by Israel. Yahweh makes it

abundantly clear that the nation would only enjoy these blessings

if they lived faithfully.15

Ezekiel strikes this same chord. Even while he and many

other Israelites sat in Babylon, deported from the land, he

sounded warning to those who still remained in Jerusalem. It is

likely that those who remained in the land felt a certain amount

14 Jer. 18:6-11 ESV.15 Thompson, Jeremiah, 435.

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of security and pride in the fact that they had not been carried

off to a foreign land like their compatriots. Ezekiel’s ministry

cut down this confidence over and over again. For example, in

Ezekiel 4, the prophet is commanded by Yahweh to reenact the

destruction of Jerusalem and its inhabitants which Yahweh warns

is coming. The destruction this sign-act depicts is unthinkable

to those who remain in the land. They are foolishly confident

that Yahweh could never be against his temple as well as his city

and its inhabitants.16 Speaking directly against this confidence,

Yahweh convicts Israel of grave disobedience. In his eyes they

have been “more turbulent than the nations.” On top of this they

“have not walked in my statues or obeyed my rules, and have not

even acted according to the rules of the nations.”17 As a result

of this, Yahweh assures Israel that their confidence in his

blessings upon Jerusalem and the Temple, even while the

inhabitants are more corrupt than the foreign nations, is

misguided.

Behold, I, even I, am against you. And I will execute judgments in your midst in the sight of the nations. And

16 Daniel I. Block, The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 1-24 (Grand Raipds; Wm. B. eerdmans, 1997), 162.17 Ezek. 5:7 ESV.

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because of all your abominations I will do with you what I have never yet done, and the like of which I will never do again. Therefore fathers shall eat their sons in your midst, and sons shall eat their fathers. And I will execute judgmentson you, and any of you who survive will scatter to all the winds. There, as I live, declares the Lord God, surely, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your detestablethings and with all your abominations, therefore I will withdraw. My eye will not spare, and I will have no pity. A third part of you shall die of pestilence and be consumed withfamine in your midst; a third part shall fall by the sword allaround you; and a third part I will scatter to all the winds and will unsheathe the sword after them.18

Although Jeremiah’s and Ezekiel’s messages may seem to be

essentially the same, there is one key difference between the

two. In Jeremiah, there still appears to be a slight chance for

repentance. By the time Ezekiel is making his pronouncements,

Yahweh seems to have cut off the opportunity for repentance.

Wrath is imminent. The nightmarish curses for disobedience

outlined in Deuteronomy are already beginning to fall upon the

nation.19

The Prophetic Message of Restoration’s Exodus Shape

In the book of Isaiah, the main concern with the Babylonian

captivity is not mainly the exile. Instead, the Book of Isaiah is

18 Ezek. 5:8-12 ESV.19 Block, Ezekiel 1-24, 204. Compare Ezek. 5 & Deut 28:49-57.

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where the framework for God’s gracious restoration of Israel

begins to be developed. Following the guarantee of the Babylonian

Captivity given in chapter 39, the tone of Isaiah immediately

changes. Chapters 40-66 focus their attention on the restoration

from exile. From within this section, Ackroyd points to Isaiah

51:9-11’s depiction of restoration as the “most vivid and central

statement” of Israel’s future hope.

Awake, awake, put on strength,O arm of the Lord;

Awake, as in days of old,The generations of long ago.

Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces,That pierced the dragon?

Was it not you who dried up the seas,The waters of the great deep,

Who made the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to pass over?

And the ransomed of the Lord shall returnAnd come to Zion with singing;

Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;They shall obtain gladness and joy,And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.20

In this passage, Yahweh’s people are called to be strengthened in

their hope for the future based on their understanding of what

Yahweh has done in the past.

20 Is. 51:9-11 ESV.

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In many ANE mythologies, especially Babylonian and

Canaanite, creation is depicted as the victory of one god over a

chaos-monster. This passage’s reference to Rahab calls these

mythologies to mind. The main act of Yahweh that is being alluded

to is not mainly the original creation though. In Isaiah 30:7,

Egypt is directly referred to as Rahab. What Isaiah is calling to

mind is not Yahweh’s mythical victory over a chaos-monster but

his historical victory over the oppressive empire of Egypt.21

“The exodus of God’s people from Egyptian bondage,” says Ray

Ortlund Jr., “was the original breakthrough salvation event” and

Isaiah is employing his imagination to employ the fearfully

chaotic “Canaanite imagery for his own purpose.22 Isaiah’s

ultimate point is that what Yahweh will do in saving his people

will be like what he did when he freed them from bondage to

Egypt. This is no mere reenactment either. As we will see in

other places, this Exodus will be greater than any that has come

before.

21 Gary V. Smith, Isaiah 40-66 (Nashville, Tenn.: B&H Publishing Group, 2009), 404.22 Ray Ortlund Jr., Isaiah: God Saves Sinners (Wheaton, Ill: Crossway, 2005), 343.

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The second exodus theme in the book of Isaiah is developed

in many other places. Early on, in chapter 11, a promise that

“there shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, a branch

from his roots shall bear fruit.”23 The emergence of this “root

of Jesse” will mark the day in which “the Lord will extend his

hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his

people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from

Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the

sea.”24 Isaiah is explicitly linking this future recovery with

the Exodus from Egypt. In 11:16 he announces that “there will be

a highway from Assyria for the remnant that remains of his

people, as there was for Israel when they came up from the land

of Egypt.”25 The pattern of Exodus is called to mind again in

Isaiah 43. There, Yahweh comforts his people saying; “Fear not…

For I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are

mine.” In spite of their dire circumstances—either fearing the

invasion of large foreign armies or suffering under their

oppression—Yahweh assures them that he will protect them, just

23 Is. 11:1 ESV.24 Is.11:11 ESV.25 Is. 11:16 ESV.

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like he did at the time of the Exodus. “When you pass through the

waters,” says Yahweh, calling to mind the journey through the Red

Sea, “I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not

overwhelm you.”26

Jeremiah and Ezekiel build up these second Exodus

expectations as well. Two very similar passages in Jeremiah 16

and 23 show this as clearly as any passages can. Jeremiah 23:7-8

reads,

Behold, the days are coming declares the Lord, when they shallno longer say, ‘as the Lord lives who brought up the people ofIsrael out of the land of Egypt, but ‘As the Lord lives who brought up and led the offspring of the house of Israel out ofthe north country and out of all the countries where he had drive them.’ Then they shall dwell in their own land.”27

Up to that point in Israel’s history, the exodus from Egypt had

been the most significant for the nation. That event was at the

very heart of Israelite identity. To be an Israelite was to be

one whom Yahweh had rescued from Egypt.28 What Yahweh will do in

restoring his people will be so grand that, according to

Jeremiah, it will replace the Exodus as the exemplary display of

Yahweh’s saving power.

26 Is. 43:1-2 ESV.27 Jer. 23:7-8 ESV.28 See Deut. 6:20-25 ESV.

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The same thing is seen in Ezekiel. In Ezekiel 20, the

language which Yahweh used in Exodus 6 to describe his rescue of

Israel from Egypt is used to portray Yahweh’s rescue of Israel

from the nations.29 It is with “a mighty hand and an outstretched

arm” that Yahweh, speaking to his people, says he will “bring you

out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where

you are scattered.” Following this event Yahweh will bring his

people “into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will

enter into judgment with you face to face. As I entered into

judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of

Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you, declares the Lord

God.”30 Over and over again the prophets proclaim that what lied

ahead for Ezekiel and his fellow exiles would follow the pattern

of the first exodus.

The Prophet Message of Restoration’s Escalated Tone

From these passages, it becomes clear that those who were

actually sent into exile could hope in a future restoration based

on Yahweh’s covenant faithfulness. They could also expect this

29 Block, Ezekiel 1-24, 651.30 Ezek. 20:33-36 ESV.

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restoration to take on the form of the paradigmatic salvation

event from their history—the exodus from Egypt. There is one

other aspect of their restoration that is developed in the

prophets though. The Covenant promises which Yahweh has made with

his people will be amplified. Covenant life after the restoration

will be better than it had ever been before. This is demonstrated

in a few different ways. For example, the restoration will also

bring about a new era in Davidic kingship over a miraculously

united Israel consisting of all twelve tribes. The prophets

foresee an elevation in the faithfulness of the people to Yahweh

at that time as well. They also expect both the land and the

people to be more fruitful than ever before, almost as if the

curse of Genesis 3 had never come down. This is what the restored

exiles were to expect.

New and Better Davidic King

The restoration from Babylon will inaugurate a new era in

Davidic kingship. The connections between restoration and the

rise of a righteous ruler from the line of David have already

been seen. In Isaiah 11 it is the “branch” from the “stump of

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Jesse” that brings about international shalom and restoration for

scattered Israel. Similar imagery is used in Jeremiah 33. After

promising that he “will restore the fortunes of the land as at

first,”31 Yahweh declares that “the days are coming…when I will

fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house

of Judah.” The return to the land will not be the end of Yahweh’s

actions. On the contrary, “in those days and at that time I

(Yahweh) will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David,

and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In

those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell securely.

And this is the name by which it will be called; ‘The Lord is our

righteousness.’”32 This secure and righteous kingdom is what

Yahweh promised directly to David in 2 Samuel 7. At that time it

was only realized in a small measure and for a brief moment. The

history of Israel since the death of David did not live up to

this promise. At the time of restoration, Yahweh promises that

the kingdom will be ruled by a righteous descendant of David. As

a result, the whole kingdom will be famous for genuine

righteousness. It will finally “be what God intended for it all

31 Jer. 33:11 ESV.32 Jer. 33:15-16 ESV.

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along.”33 The new era in the Davidic dynasty will not be short

lived like the original apex either. Yahweh guarantees that

“David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house

of Israel.”34 The kingship will extend through the generations.

The promise that a king from the line of David would once

again rule over Israel is found in Ezekiel as well. Yahweh

directly states this in Ezekiel 34:24 when he says “my servant

David shall be prince among them,” as well as in 37:24 promising

that “my servant David shall be king.” This new ruler is

portrayed as a replacement for the self serving shepherds that

Israel has been tortured by in her recent history.35 The new

ruler is not merely an improved version of the old shepherds. It

is Yahweh himself. In Ezekiel 34:11-31 Yahweh refers to himself

22 times as the one who will personally shepherd and take care of

his flock. The time of restoration is envisioned as a time that

will be marked by Yahweh intimately ruling through the line of

David.

33 F. B. Huey, Jeremiah, Lamentations (Nashville, Tenn.: Broadman Press, 1983), 301.34 Jer. 33:17 ESV.35 Ezek. 34:1-11 ESV.

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Heightened Covenant Faithfulness

Yahweh’s intensified affection for his people will be

reciprocated by them. Both Ezekiel and Jeremiah record Yahweh’s

promise that idolatry will be uprooted and devotion to Yahweh

will be established more firmly than ever before. In Jeremiah,

Yahweh promises a “new covenant” at the time of restoration.

I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after thosedays, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each is brother, saying “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.36

The people will be completely committed to Yahweh with their

whole being. This theme is reiterated in a passage in Ezekiel

that also speaks of a future covenant. In it Yahweh makes the

promise that “I will take you from the nations and gather you

from all the countries and bring you into your own land.” This

36 Jer. 32:38-40 ESV.

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will be the start of his sanctification. His promises from this

passage continue:

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spiritI will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes andbe careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people and I will be your God. 37

This change is so dramatic that, as the event is expanded upon in

chapter 37, it is compared to a miraculous resurrection from the

dead. The land of Israel is essentially a valley of dry bones.

Yahweh’s people are not merely maimed or handicapped. They are

dead and have decayed. Only the infusion of Yahweh’s life giving

spirit can reanimate and vivify the dead nation. That infusion is

exactly what Yahweh promises will happen.

37 Ezek. 36:24-28 ESV.

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Wondrously Fertile Land

One of the most striking aspects of what Yahweh’s people

will experience upon being restored is the degree to which they

and the land they inhabit will flourish. Yahweh’s judgment at the

hand of the nations had made the land “desolate wastes [and]

derision to the rest of the nations all around.”38 This bleak era

will end when Yahweh brings about his new exodus. To the

“mountains of Israel,” Yahweh promises that “you shall shoot

forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for

they will soon come home.” As a result, the land “shall be tilled

and sown,” and “the cities shall be inhabited and the waste

places rebuilt.” Life will thrive in the land. For Yahweh says

that he “will multiply on you man and beast, and they shall

multiply and be fruitful. And I will cause you to be inhabited as

in your former times.” Not only will it be like the former times,

but the blessings will be intensified. Yahweh “will do more good

to you than ever before.”39 “This new fertility” as Block puts

it, “will exceed anything the land has experienced in history;

38 Ezek. 36:3 ESV.39 Ezek. 36:8-11 ESV.

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the land will be like paradise itself, and thus proclaim the

mystery and presence of the divine person.”40

Isaiah and Jeremiah both connect the time of Yahweh’s

salvation with the transformation of destroyed land into a

thriving paradise as well. Isaiah 55:11 claims that, at the time

of restoration, “instead of thorn shall come up the cypress;

instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle.” In Jeremiah

31:38-40 we also see that this flourishing is not merely

physical. It is spiritual. Yahweh declares:

The days are coming…when the city shall be rebuilt for the Lord from the tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate…And the measuring line shall go out farther…all the fields as far as the brook Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be sacred to the Lord. It shall not be uprooted oroverthrown anymore.41

The entire city, the place where the people dwell, will be sacred

space and it will be secure.

Wholly Reunited Nation

The restoration of Israel from Babylon back to a secure and

prosperous land so as to live piously underneath Yahweh’s rule

40 Daniel I. Block, The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 25-48 (Grand Rapids, Mich.; Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1997), 334.41 Jeremiah 31:38-40, ESV.

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via a just Davidic king will not be experienced by a mere

remnant. It will not be experienced only by Judah, the Southern

Kingdom, either. It will be experienced by the whole household of

Israel. This is shocking because the nation had divided in 931

BC. Then, in 722 BC, the Northern Kingdom (“Israel”) was captured

by Assyria and its inhabitants were scattered throughout the

Assyrian Empire. The fall of the Southern Kingdom (“Judah”) at

the hands of Babylonian did not take place until over 100 years

after the fall of the Northern Kingdom. Israel’s deportation was

much more expansive than Judah’s. For people to be restored from

Babylon back to Judah is incredible but conceivable. For the

tribes of Israel to also be a part of this regathering is

unfathomable. Yet this is exactly what the prophets envision.42

In Jeremiah, Yahweh promises that complete reunification is

in store. For a moment, under David, the Israelite Kingdom

controlled essentially all of the land which Yahweh promised to

Abraham and his descendents. That moment did not last long. “The

word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord,” says that moment will

return though. “Days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will

42 Block, Ezekiel 25-48, 411.

27

restore the fortunes of my people, Israel and Judah, says the

Lord, and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their

fathers, and they shall take possession of it.”43 Both Israel and

Judah are named together in Yahweh’s promise.

Ezekiel’s final sign-act, recorded in Ezekiel 37:15-23,

portrays this same promise. In this sign-act Ezekiel writes on

two sticks. On one stick it is written “for, Judah, and the

people of Israel associated with him.” The other reads “for

Joseph (the stick of Ephraim) and all the house of Israel

associated with him.” These sticks are to be joined together and

miraculously made into one stick. Yahweh gives the interpretation

of this event:

I will take the people of Israel form the nations among which they have gone, and will gather from all around, and bring them to their own land. And I will make them one nation in theland, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and nolonger divided into two kingdoms.44

This is what those taken away to Babylon could hope for once

Yahweh saved them. The Kingdom of Israel would be reunited under

one king, just like in the days of David.

43 Jer. 30:1-3 ESV.44 Ezek. 37:21-22 ESV.

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Judged Foreign Nations

One final aspect of restoration needs to be mentioned.

Yahweh’s great second Exodus of Israel will bring great blessing

upon that nation. Yet it will also be a time of judgment for

Israel’s enemies. Security for Yahweh’s people can only be

achieved through the defeat of her enemies. This is why judgment

oracles against foreign nations are a central aspect of the

prophetic books. Jeremiah 45-51 and Ezekiel 25-32 focus almost

entirely on Yahweh’s judgment of Israel’s neighbors and enemies.

Ezekiel 35-36:15 shows the connection between judgment and

salvation even more clearly. In this passage are two parallel

prophecies. One is directed toward Mount Seir, the other to the

Mountains of Israel. In Ezekiel 35 Mount Seir is judged. After

this judgment has come down, the good fortunes for the Mountains

of Israel can be announced. The proclamation of destruction of

Israel’s enemies is the first half of Ezekiel’s proclamation of

her restoration. For Israel to be saved her enemies must be

silenced.

29

From within the prophets, there are great expectations

placed upon the return of Yahweh’s people from Babylon. The

prophets said many incredible things about Yahweh’s future work.

As a result, the people who returned to the province Beyond the

River had reason to be optimistic. The return would be a new

exodus. They would see Yahweh’s covenant faithfulness in

preserving them through this judgment. Their enemies—the

idolatrous nations—would soon be the ones judged by Yahweh. The

land these people returned to would be bountiful in ways it had

never been before. Somehow, the land would not be inhabited by

just a small remnant either. The people had been divided and

scattered across the world centuries earlier. Yet, the entire

household of Israel would be reunited under a Davidic king. The

community would live more faithfully and obediently than ever

before. Their God, known for his mighty acts of salvation, was

performing his mightiest deed yet.

Post-Exilic Depictions of Restoration

The books of Ezra and Nehemiah provide the only narratives

of the restoration period Scripture. Covering events that are

30

sprinkled over the span of a century, their narrative is very

selective. A thorough chronology is not their goal though.

Instead, the authors are concerned with the theological

significance of what is happening. “Whereas the modern historian

sees no causal connection between these events,” notes Kelly

regarding the large gaps in time between the recorded events,

“the biblical writer understands them as clearly related within

God’s redemptive activity.”45 The author’s portrayal, in light of

the prophetic expectations, contains both positive and negative

aspects. On the one hand, the authors are intent on showing that

the events of the 6th century BC are indeed acts of Yahweh on

behalf of his people. Also, many wonderful and unprecedented

developments are taking place among the community. On the other

hand, these authors do not shy away from recording the problems

that those who returned faced. These problems do not seem to fit

in with the grand event that the prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah

and Ezekiel envisioned.

45 B. E. Kelly, “Ezra-Nehemiah,” in The New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, ed. T. Desmond Alexand et al. (Downers Grove, Ill: Intervarsity Press, 2000), 195.

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Affirmations of Yahweh’s Restoring Work in Ezra-Nehemiah

The opening of Ezra, sounding the same note as the close of

Chronicles, is one of the book’s most explicit recognitions that

what it records is indeed the foretold act of deliverance by

Yahweh that the people had been waiting for.

In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lordstirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he madea proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing. “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the god ofheaven, has give me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel—he is theGod who is in Jerusalem. And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.”46

Whatever happens from here on out in the narrative must be

understood within this framework. Yahweh has moved Cyrus king of

Persia to conquer Babylon and allow the former inhabitants of

Jerusalem to return to their land. Part of Isaiah’s prophecy of

restoration even speaks specifically about Cyrus. In Isaiah 45:1,

Yahweh says “to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have

46 Ezra 1:1-4 ESV.

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grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of

kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed.”

Later, in Isaiah 45:13, Cyrus is said by Yahweh to be the one who

“shall build my city and set my exiles free.” Clearly Ezra is

calling attention to these incredible connections. The author

leaves no doubt that it was Yahweh who orchestrated the return

from Babylon.

Ezra and Nehemiah also positively emphasize the continuity

of the community that returned to the land with the community

that left the land. Ezra 2 is a record of those who returned to

the land. This collection includes People of Israel (2:2-35),

Priests (2:36-39), Levites (2:40-42), Temple Servants (2:43-54)

and Sons of Solomon’s Servants (2:55-58). Nehemiah 7:7-73 records

the same information. Implied by both of these accounts is that

the Israel that existed before being conquered by Babylon had not

gone completely extinct. Yahweh, as he had promised, maintained

his covenant faithfulness and preserved his people even while he

judged them.

It is not only the families who have been preserved either.

The religious life of the restored community reestablished what

33

was lost in the exile. The first rebuilding project which Ezra

records is in Ezra 3. For this project “Jeshua the son of

Jozadak, with his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel the son of

Shealtiel with his kinsmen” built an altar so as to be able to

offer burnt offerings to “the God of Israel.” Ezra explicitly

states that this was done “as it is written in the Law of Moses

the man of God.” Following this they celebrated the Feast of

Booths. Again, Ezra emphasizes that they did this “as it is

written.” 47 Those who have returned reinstated the cultic

practices of the past. Ezra and Nehemiah portray them as people

who were genuinely zeals to honor Yahweh.

In another display of righteous zeal, following Jeshua and

Zerubbabel’s building of the altar, the people banded together to

rebuild the temple which had been destroyed. This was a serious

and monumental task for the community. Levites were appointed to

“supervise the work of the house of the Lord.”48 Once the

foundation was laid, “the priests in their vestments came forward

with trumpets and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals,

to praise the Lord, according to the directions of David king of

47 Ezra 3:2-4 ESV.48 Ezra 3:8 ESV.

34

Israel. And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to

the Lord.”49 The first three chapters of Ezra built up to this

point. It is presented as an immensely important achievement for

the returned captives.

Similarly, the book of Nehemiah focuses on the rebuilding of

the wall of Jerusalem and on religious reform within the

community. The rebuilding project was opposed by some people. The

triumph over these opponents was seen as an act of the mighty

hand of Yahweh. Nehemiah 4:15 acknowledges that those who tried

to oppose the work had been stopped by God himself. Thus, at the

completion of the wall the people gathered together and gave

offerings. Ezra read from the “Book of the Law of Moses that the

Lord had commanded Israel.”50 The people responded to the reading

and gathered to study it even more. During this time of study

they “found it written in the Law that the Lord had commanded by

Moses that the people of Israel should dwell in booths during the

feast of the seventh month.”51 What the generations before the

exile had disregarded, the generation following it embraced.

49 Ezra 3:10-11 ESV.50 Neh. 8:1 ESV.51 Neh. 8:14 ESV.

35

This theme of revival is emphasized other times in books of

both Ezra and Nehemiah. Both men, Ezra and Nehemiah, are

portrayed as effective reformers. In Ezra 9, it is brought to the

attention of Ezra that the priests and the Levites were still

intermarrying with the idolatrous people of the land. Ezra

responds with an earnest prayer for forgiveness and for guidance

in the repentance of the people. The response to this is

overwhelming. Ezra 10:1-5 record that “while Ezra prayed and made

confession, weeping and casting himself down before the house of

God, a very great assembly of men, women, and children, gathered

to him out of Israel, for the people wept bitterly.” Sheceniah,

as a spokesperson for the people, confessed to Ezra that the

people had sinned and they desired to make a covenant with God to

live according to the law. As a result, the priests and Levites

and all Israel took an oath to be obedient.

Similarly, in Nehemiah 9, Nehemiah offered a prayer

recalling the great covenant faithfulness of Yahweh throughout

the generations. He named the calling of Abraham out of Ur of the

Chaldeans (9:7); the miraculous escape from Pharaoh and

preservation of the wilderness generation with manna for 40 years

36

in spite of their idolatry (9:9-21); the successful conquest of

the promised land (9:22-25); the continual deliverance of Israel

from her enemies even though she was unfaithful (9:26-29); and

finally the preservation of the people while they were scattered

amongst the peoples (9:30-31). In light of all this grace,

Nehemiah and the people recommited themselves to living

faithfully according to the law. All of these instances of

revival seem to indicate that the restored people will indeed be

more faithful than previous generations, just as had been

promised in the prophets.

Shortcomings of Yahweh’s Restoring Work in Ezra-Nehemiah

The rebuilding of the temple and the city wall, as well as

the commitments to piety by the community, indicate that Yahweh

was working. Yet the narration of events also provide the first

clues that all was not well with the restoration. In Ezra 3,

while most people were celebrating the completion of the temple’s

foundations, some were morning. “Many of the priest and Levites

and heads of fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first

house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of

37

this house being laid.”52 The restoration was to mark a new and

more glorious era for Israel. Yet, for those who were old enough

to remember, the new temple was nothing more than a depressing

reminder of how much better things used to be. Thus, Ezra 3:13

captures the mix of joy and sorrow that mark the entire

restoration perfectly: “The people could not distinguish the

sound of the joyful shot from the sound of the people’s weeping,

for the people shouted with a great shout, and the sound was

heard far away.” The occasion seems, on the surface, to be a

reason for joy. Yet it also, upon reflection, is a reason for

sadness. As Levering observes, “the weakness and smallness of

Israel – “the fewest of all peoples” – now, after the exile is

true more than ever.” He goes on to note that “we are very far

indeed from the original triumphant exodus when after the

destruction of the Egyptian army ‘Miriam, the prophetess, the

sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women

went out after her with timbrels and dancing’ (Exod. 15:20).”

More serious than the lack of consensus in celebration is the

lack of the presence of Yahweh. As Levering concludes; “During

52 Ezra 3:12 ESV.

38

the dedication of Solomon’s temple ‘a cloud filled the house of

the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because

of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the

Lord.’ (1 Kgs. 8:10-11). Rather ominously, this cloud of glory

does not return.”53 Yahweh has done something great in bringing

back his people from Babylon, but it is obvious that the

incredible restoration that he promised to do at this time had

not yet come to pass.

Even the prayers of Ezra and Nehemiah indicate that the

people were aware that what was happening fell far short of what

was hoped for. Ezra prayed in response to the intermarriage of

the priests and Levites. In this prayer he admits that captivity,

shame, and plundering that were a part of the exile continued up

to that day. Those who have returned were a mere remnant that has

only a single “tent-pin” set down in the land. As a result, Ezra

asks that God would give the people “a little reviving in our

slavery, for we are slaves.”54 Evidently, in spite of all the

53 Matthew Levering, Ezra and Nehemiah (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Brazos Press, 2007),56-57.54 Ezra 9:7-9 ESV.

39

good that is happening, the people still understand themselves as

slaves. There has been no new exodus.

This is also implied in Nehemiah’s prayerful recollection in

Nehemiah 9 of Israel’s history from the call of Abraham up to his

day. At the end of that prayer he describes the people’s

situation:

We are slaves this day; in the land that you gave to our fathers to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts, behold we are slaves. And its rich yield goes to the kings whom you have setover us because of our sins. They rule over our bodies and over our livestock as they please, and we are in great distress.55

Although some of the people are living back in the land, they are

still slaves. Again, it is clear that the new exodus has not

occurred.

This is reinforced many more times throughout Ezra and

Nehemiah. Both narratives give constant reminders that the new

Davidic king is not ruling over an undisturbed nation of Israel.

The foreign nations have not been judged. The dates in the

narratives are calibrated to the reign of foreign kings such as

Cyrus and Artaxerxes. The promised land is not ruled by a Davidic

king. Instead, it is a Persian province referred to as “Beyond

55 Neh. 9:36-37 ESV.

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the River.”56 Although the foreign leaders are Yahweh’s

instruments they are not the blessed ruler that the prophets had

promised. The restored people are living in a Persian world

underneath a Persian Emperor.

Promise of Yahweh’s Fuller Restoring Work in the Post-ExilicProphets

In light of this situation, it is understandable that some

of those who returned were discouraged by the reality of their

situation. The expectations created by the prophets seem

unrealistic.“The exiles,” notes Duguid, “found themselves, like

the ephah of [Zechariah] 5:9, caught up between two worlds,

between the promises of heaven and the realities of earth. They

were living in the ‘now’ but long for the ‘not yet’.”57 This is

why one major concern of the prophets of this time is to reassure

the people that their hope in Yahweh was not in vain. They only

experienced his salvation in small measure, but on day Yahweh

would indeed completely fulfill the promises he had made. Thus,

the prophets acknowledge the work of Yahweh in bringing Israel

56 Ezra 4:10, 5:6, 6:6, 7:21, 8:36; Neh 2:7, 3:7 ESV. 57I. M. Duguid, “Zechariah,” in The New Dictionary of Biblical Theology (Downers Grove, Ill.: Intervarsity Press, 2000), 258.

41

back into the land. They also acknowledge the significance of a

temple being rebuilt. But ultimately they direct the people’s

attention forward, into the future. The people can and should be

hoping for still more from Yahweh.

Haggai is the first of these post-exilic prophets. His short

collection of prophecies highlights many of the shortcomings of

the restoration. First, according to Haggai 1:2-4, it appears

that the people were more concerned with rebuilding nice houses

for themselves than with rebuilding the house of the Lord. As a

result, the people were experiencng many hardships. The land was

not fertile like Ezekiel 36 promised it would be. Instead, the

people were experiencing a famine. Because the people were

content to let the temple lie in ruins while each “busies himself

with his own house,” Yahweh has “called for a drought on the land

and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the

ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their

labors.”58 This prophetic conviction moved the people to give

attention to restart work on the ignored temple.

58 Hag. 1:9-11 ESV.

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Unfortunately, the assessment of the temple recorded in

Haggai 2 sounds a lot like the assessment given by the older men

in Ezra 3. The new temple was, according to Haggai 2:3, “as

nothing.” The great glory of the old temple had not returned.

Yahweh was aware that the experience of the returned exiles did

not match his promises. That is why he reassured his people that

“my spirit remains in your midst. Fear not.” Yahweh may not have

fully restored the people like they had expected, but it was not

because he was incapable of doing so. Instead Yahweh promised

that “once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and

the earth and the sea and the dry land. And I will shake all

nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and

I will fill this house with glory.” The return will not simply

repeat the past either. Haggai promised that, just as the

prophets had promised before, “the latter glory of this house

shall be greater than the former…and in this place I will give

peace, declares the Lord of hosts.”59 The people were not to give

up their trust in Yahweh’s faithfulness while residing in Babylon

59 Hag. 2:6-9 ESV.

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nor were they to give it up after returning to the land. The

glory would surely return to the temple.

The foreign kings will also not always be ruling over the

land. Haggai was commanded to “speak to Zerubbabel, governer of

Judah.” Haggai was to assure this man from the line of David that

Yahweh was “about to shake the heavens and the earth, and to

overthrow the throne of kingdoms.” Yahweh promised that “on that

day…I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, the son of

Shealtiel, declares the Lord, and make you like a signet ring,

for I have chosen you, declares the Lord of hosts.”60 Foreign

occupation seemed like it would never end but Yahweh assured his

people that the Davidic dynasty would indeed be restored. All the

blessings associated with that line would be felt again.

The prophetic ministry of Zechariah, much like Haggai’s,

attempted to encourage the restored community and to call them to

deeper obedience. Zechariah’s assessment of the situation of

Yahweh’s people affirmed that Yahweh had indeed been at work.

Zechariah 1:16 confirms that Yahweh has “returned to Jerusalem

with mercy.” Likewise, in 8:3 Yahweh declares “I have returned to

60 Hag. 2:21-23 ESV.

44

Zion.” In spite of the reinforcements of what Yahweh was doing in

that day, most of the book of Zechariah projects the restoration

of the community into the future. One major way in which

Zechariah does this is by calling upon images used in the earlier

prophets. For instance, Zechariah 3:8 records Yahweh’s promise to

“bring my servant the Branch” to cleanse the land. The same

branch is also the one who “shall build the temple of the Lord

and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his

throne.”61 For Isaiah and Jeremiah, the branch signaled full

restoration. This was also true for Zechariah. Zechariah 13:7

recalls the Jeremiah and Ezekiel prophecies of Yahweh’s future

good shepherd of his people.

With the arrival of these awaited figures, the restoration

of Yahweh’s people—in the deepest sense—will come to pass.

Chapter 9 assured Israel that judgment was coming for Israel’s

enemies like Tyre and Sidon. “The Lord will strip her of her

possessions and strike down her power on the sea and she shall be

devoured by fire.”62 According to 9:9, the awaited righteous king

will finally come and conquer all enemies. Zechariah 10:10

61 Zech. 6:12-13 ESV.62 Zech. 9:4 ESV.

45

promises the scattered people of Israel will be gathered from all

over, even from Assyria and Egypt. Finally, in 12:7, Zechariah

assures Yahweh’s people that “the Lord will protect the

inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that feeblest among them on that day

shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God,

like the angel of the Lord, going before them.” What Yahweh had

done for his people in bringing them back from Babylon was good.

It is, to use the words of Zechariah 4:10, but “the day of small

things” though. These acts merely indicated that Yahweh was able

and willing to do the greater things had promised. The people

should live faithfully in the meantime. They were to do as Yahweh

commanded them to do as they waited for him to fulfill his

promises: “Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates

judgments that are true and make for peace; do not devise evil in

your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all

these things I hate, declares the Lord.”63 Soon Yahweh would

bring about the great salvation and covenant renewal he had

promised:

Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy mountain…Old men and old women

63 Zech. 8:16-17 ESV.

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shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets…I will save my people from the east country and from the west country, and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.64

At the time of their return from Babylon the people were to live

faithfully in anticipation of Yahweh’s future work. Although a

few episodes in Ezra and Nehemiah highlight displays of

righteousness, life for Israel after the exile was filled with

essentially the same unfaithfulness as before the exile.

This is especially evident in the book Malachi. Malachi was

not addressing people who were turning to foreign gods. Instead

he is addressing people who were disingenuous in their worship of

Yahweh. To the priests, Malachi relayed the words of Yahweh,

saying “a son honors his father, and a servant his master. If

then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master,

where is my fear?”65 The problem was not that the priests were

neglecting the sacrifices altogether. Instead, they were offering

leftovers instead of the best. Thus, Yahweh asks “when you offer

blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer

64 Zech. 8:3-8 ESV.65 Mal. 1:6 ESV.

47

those that are lame or sick, is that not evil?”66 The people did

not want their sacrifices to Yahweh to be inconvenient or costly

to themselves. “The temple which had been rededicated with such

enthusiasm (Ezra 6:16-18),” observes Johnston regarding the

situation in Malachi’s day, “now witnessed only slovenly

sacrifice from bored priests and stingy, cheating worshippers.”67

This was not the devotion the prophets had predicted.

The unenthusiastic worship by the people was not the only

indication of the filthiness of their heart. The way they treated

each other also displayed this. Their insult was directed at both

God and neighbor. This is why Malachi asks, “Why are we faithless

to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers?”68

Covenant faithfulness toward Yahweh is connected with covenant

faithfulness with each other. That is why Yahweh was still

against his people. Some of the men were being faithless to their

wives and chasing after foreign women. But Yahweh clearly opposes

this: “The man who hates and divorces…covers his garment with

violence.”69 Ultimately the reason that Yahweh had not restored 66 Mal. 1:7 ESV.67 P. S. Johnston, “Malachi” in The New Dictionary of Biblical Theology (Downers Grove, Ill.: Intervarsity Press, 2000), 261.68 Mal. 2:10 ESV.69 ‘Mal. 2:16 ESV.

48

his people to the degree that the prophets said he would is that

the people had not truly repented. They had returned to the land

but not to Yahweh. Thus Yahweh still pleaded that they would

“return to me,” and as a result he promises that he “will return

to you.”70

The book of Malachi does not merely uncover the sinfulness

of the people who had returned from Babylon. Like Haggai and

Zechariah, Malachi directed the hope of the people into the

future. The conclusion of the book promises that Yahweh “will

send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of

the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their

children and the hearts of children to their fathers.”71 Yahweh

would solve even the problem of their disobedience. He would

bring about the salvation he had long promised.

Conclusion

In the Torah, Yahweh outlined the blessings and curses

associated with the covenant he was making with Israel. Obedience

was associated with abundance and security. Disobedience was

70 Mal. 3:7 ESV.71 Mal. 4:5 ESV.

49

associated with oppression and instability. That is exactly what

Israel experienced in the exile. That horrific chapter in her

history was a result of Yahweh’s loyalty to the terms of his

covenant. The prophets of that day made that message clear. The

punishment was just. Yet those prophets also expanded upon

Yahweh’s promise in the covenant. After he had cast his people

off, Yahweh would restore them. So the people who returned from

Babylon rightly understand their situation to be an act of

Yahweh. The return marked a new era in Israel’s history. This is

why the accounts of Ezra and Nehemiah focus mainly on the

positive developments of the return. Yet even those positive

accounts could not hide the fact that the restoration did not

look like the prophets said it would. It was not a new and better

exodus. There was no Davidic King. This is why the message of the

post-exilic prophets was so important. They acknowledged that

Yahweh had indeed worked on behalf of Israel, but the current

situation was a mere “day of small things.” The events

surrounding the return to the land were meant to cast Israel’s

vision forward to yet another day when a new exodus would finally

occur.

50

51

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Ackroyd, Peter R. Exile and Restoration: A Study of Hebrew Thought of the Sixth Century B.C. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1968.

Block, Daniel I. The Book of Ezekiel. 2 vols. New International Commentary on the Old Testament, ed. Robert L. Hubbard Jr. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1997.

Craigie, Peter C. The Book of Deuteronomy. New International Commentary on the Old Testament. ed. R. K. Harrison. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1976.

Duguid, I. M. “Exile.” Pages 475-478 in The New Dictionary of Biblical Theology. ed. T. Desmond Alexander and Brian S. Rosner. Downers Grove: Ill: Inter-Varsity Press, 2000.

---. “Zechariah.” Pages 257-260 in The New Dictionary of Biblical Theology.ed. T. Desmond Alexander and Brian S. Rosner. Downers Grove:Ill: Inter-Varsity Press, 2000.

Fuller, Michael. The Restoration of Israel: Israel’s Re-gathering and the Fate of the Nations in Early Jewish Literature and Luke-Acts. Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter, 2006

Huey Jr., F. B., Jeremiah, Lamentations. New American Commentary. Nashville, Tenn.: Broadman Press, 1983.

Johnston, P. S. “Malachi.” Pages 260-262 in The New Dictionary of Biblical Theology. ed. T. Desmond Alexander and Brian S. Rosner.Downers Grove: Ill: Inter-Varsity Press, 2000.

Kelly, B. E. “Ezra-Nehemiah.” Pages 195-198 in The New Dictionary of Biblical Theology. ed. T. Desmond Alexander and Brian S. Rosner.Downers Grove: Ill: Inter-Varsity Press, 2000.

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Levering, Matthew. Ezra and Nehemiah. Brazos Theological Commentary. ed. R. R. Reno. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Brazos Press, 2007.

Ortlund Jr., Ray. Isaiah: God Saves Sinners. Preaching the Word. ed. R. Kent Hughes. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 2005.

Schmid, Konrad and Steck, Odil Hannes. “Restoration Expectations in the Prophetic Tradition of the Old Testament.” Pages 41-82 in Restoration: Old Testament, Jewish, & Christian Perspectives, ed. James M. Scott. Leiden, The Netherland: Koninklijke Brill nv, 2001.

Smith, Gary V. Isaiah 40-66. New American Commentary. Nashville, Tenn.: B&H Publishing Group, 2009.

Talmon, Shemaryahu. “’Exile’ and ‘Restoration’ in the Conceptual World of Ancient Judaism.” Pages 107-147 in Restoration: Old Testament, Jewish, & Christian Perspectives, ed. James M. Scott. Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill nv, 2001.

Thompson, J. A., The Book of Jeremiah. New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1980.