FREE Bible Study – Week 1 -Introduction to the Book of Ezra
Click here to pick up a copy of the journal at Amazon
***Important: Just a heads up to anyone who purchased a copy of the study guide. There was an error in the first print run. The reading assignment for chapter four should be Zechariah Chapter 3 NOT Zechariah Chapter 4. Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.
Table of Contents
Looking for a specific chapter? Find it in the table of contents below.
Week 1 – Part 1 – Introduction to the Book of Ezra
(Includes table of contents, video, printable chapter, and questions for this chapter)
Week 1 – Part 2 – Concluding Thoughts on Week 1
(Includes concluding thoughts on the introduction, answer key, and a weekly printable)
Week 2 – Part 1 – Chapters 1 & 2
(Includes 2 videos, printable chapters, and questions for each chapter)
Week 2 – Part 2 – Concluding Thoughts on Week 2
(Includes concluding thoughts on chapters 1 & 2, answer keys, and a weekly printable)
Week 3 – Part 1 – Chapters 3 & 4
(Includes 2 videos, printable chapters, and questions for each chapter)
Week 3 – Part 2 – Concluding Thoughts on Week 3
(Includes concluding thoughts on chapters 3 & 4, answer keys, and a weekly printable)
Week 4 – Part 1 – Chapters 5 & 6
(Includes 2 videos, printable chapters, and questions for each chapter)
Week 4 – Part 2 – Concluding Thoughts on Week 4
(Includes concluding thoughts on chapters 5 & 6, answer keys, and a weekly printable)
Week 5 – Part 1 – Chapters 7 & 8
(Includes 2 videos, printable chapters, and questions for each chapter)
Week 5 – Part 2 – Concluding Thoughts on Week 5
(Includes concluding thoughts on chapters 7 & 8, answer keys, and a weekly printable)
Week 6 – Part 1 – Chapters 9 & 10
(Includes 2 videos, printable chapters, and questions for each chapter)
Week 6 – Part 2 – Concluding Thoughts on Week 6
(Includes concluding thoughts on chapters 9 & 10, answer keys, and a weekly printable)
Important: I have reading assignments for your each week. You can find them directly under the chapter title of each lesson. This week’s reading assignment is: 2 Chronicles 36
Click here to watch this week’s video on Youtube.
The study is free as each lesson is provided to you week-by-week! It’s also a great study to do with your husband as it’s not exclusive to women.
Option 1:
If you would prefer to pick up a copy of the study guide instead of printing the lessons out, Ezra: Rebuilding the Temple, Restoring the Heart, is available now at Amazon.com. When you purchase a copy of the study guide you’re helping to support this ministry as we share the gospel with over 500,000 women around the world.
Option 2:
Scroll down the page (way down near the bottom) to find a FREE PDF version of this week’s lesson. Look for the image with the red seal on it. Come back each Tuesday as I’ll be providing the printable lessons week-by week.
* With either option, make sure you come back on Fridays for my closing thoughts on each lesson and a free printable.
This series is designed to guide you through a 6-week Bible study on The Book of Ezra.
As we dig into scripture we’ll focus on the following topics each week.
Note: In addition to the weekly schedule below, I’ll provide you with a free printable each week. This week’s printable will be available on Friday so come back then to find out what it is!
Week 1 (Today)
Introduction to The Book of Ezra
Weekly Recap at TimeWarpWife.com (September 24, 2021)
Week 2 (Tuesday September 28, 2021)
Chapter 1: Raised Up for a Purpose
Chapter 2: A Chosen Priesthood
Weekly Recap at TimeWarpWife.com (October 1, 2021)
Week 3 (Tuesday October 5, 2021)
Chapter 3: The Best of My Time and All of My Heart
Chapter 4: Clothed with the Righteousness of Christ
Weekly Recap at TimeWarpWife.com (October 8, 2021)
Week 4 (Tuesday October 12, 2021)
Chapter 5: To Instill Courage in Others
Chapter 6: The Price Has Been Paid
Weekly Recap at TimeWarpWife.com (October 15, 2021)
Week 5 (Tuesday October 19, 2021)
Chapter 7: Study, Observe, Teach
Chapter 8: When He Calls You to Act
Weekly Recap at TimeWarpWife.com (October 22, 2021)
Week 6 (Tuesday October 26, 2021)
Chapter 9: Don’t Waste the Grace You’ve Been Given
Chapter 10: It Only Takes a Spark
Weekly Recap at TimeWarpWife.com (October 29, 2021)
Each week I’ll provide you with questions to get you digging and thinking a little deeper.
Scroll down the page to find the notes and questions for this week, or simply go straight to the Bible study journal below.
On Fridays I’ll post my thoughts as they pertain to each chapter, so make sure that you come back on Fridays for that. If you would like to share your thoughts on the study, you can do so in the comment section below.
Subscribe so you don’t miss a post, or exciting information on other upcoming Bible studies.
These are my favourite online Bible study tools!
Bible Gateway – Every version you can imagine is online (Create an account to access the features. I love them!)
Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible
Looking for an easier commentary? Here’s the Concise Version
Other commentaries you might prefer:
Interlinear Bible – I love this one!
Blue Letter Bible – Dig into the Hebrew and Greek
Bible Word Search
Introduction to The Book of Ezra
This week’s Reading: 2 Chronicles 36
This study on the book of Ezra began when I decided to rewrite my Bible study on the Book of Esther. In order to understand the climate of the people at that time, I wanted to quickly read the books preceding that story. What I found however, was that Ezra was too important for a quick read. I found that God was leading me deeper and deeper, each time that I opened the book. Every time I learned one thing, I had to learn something else until my study took on a new life of its own.
The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah were originally one book called Ezra Nehemiah. These books were later divided into the two books we have now. But here’s the interesting thing: the Book of Esther takes place between chapters 6 and 7 of Ezra. As a result, the three books are linked together in a unique way. As we progress you’ll also see that the book of Haggai is directly connected to chapter 5 of this study.
The Captivity
To understand the book of Ezra, we need to examine what was taking place during this period of Jewish history. You might be familiar with King Nebuchadnezzar from the book of Daniel. He’s the one we read about in Daniel Chapter 3 who sentenced Daniel’s friends to be executed in a fiery furnace because they wouldn’t bow down to the 90 ft. idol he had constructed from gold. He’s also the one responsible for destroying Jerusalem along with Solomon’s Temple and taking the Israelites into captivity in 586 BC.
In the eighth year of the reign of the king of Babylon, he took Jehoiachin prisoner. As the Lord had declared, Nebuchadnezzar removed the treasures from the temple of the Lord and from the royal palace, and cut up the gold articles that Solomon king of Israel had made for the temple of the Lord. He carried all Jerusalem into exile: all the officers and fighting men, and all the skilled workers and artisans—a total of ten thousand. Only the poorest people of the land were left. (2 Kings 24:12b-14, NIV)
Before we get into the study of Ezra, read through 2 Chronicles Chapter 36. Understanding this chapter will help us to further understand the book of Ezra.
The Heart of Man
The Book of Ezra begins in the first year of King Cyrus’ reign. As you’ll notice in the first few chapters, it’s written in a third person narrative. About halfway through, however, it switches to first person and Ezra is introduced into the story.
While Ezra deals with the rebuilding of the temple, Nehemiah talks about the rebuilding of the city and its walls. The three books, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther are symbolic of the work of the Holy Spirit in a believer’s life. We’ll talk about that a little more in chapter 7.
As we focus on Ezra in particular, we see a parallel to the purification of one’s heart: The process that David talked about when he prayed,
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. (Psalm 51:10, KJV)
The purpose of the 70-year captivity was to do this very thing. It was a process of refining and trying their faith so that they might turn away from their sin and return to the Lord. According to Dictionary.com, the word purify means, “To make pure; free from anything that debases, pollutes, adulterates, or contaminates, or to free from foreign, extraneous, or objectionable elements.”
This definition of purification is especially evident further on in this study as we’ll see in chapters 9 & 10.
The Persian Empire
What’s interesting to note, is that while many of the Israelites returned to Jerusalem, the majority of them remained in the Persian Empire. Those are the ones we read about in the Book of Esther. When I read this, I was reminded of the letter that Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, referring to them as carnal Christians.
I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. (1 Corinthians 3:1, KJV)
Believers can be satisfied with minimal growth when they ought to desire the deeper things of the Lord. Instead of a hunger and thirst for righteousness, they’re back in Babylon drinking their milk. Sometimes it’s easier to stay in our comfort zone than to step out in faith. After 70 years, I’m sure that many of them had families, occupations, and homes that they weren’t ready to leave behind. Isn’t that the way it is when we come to the Lord? We’re walking away from the things we once loved to a God that we love all the more.
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. (Matthew 6:24, KJV)
The Holy Spirit
The Book of Ezra has a focus on two main characters who lead the return from captivity. The first is Zerubbabel (chapters 1-6) followed by Ezra (chapters 7-10). Ezra is a type of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament, which means that he typifies the characteristics of the Holy Spirit in many ways. In fact, the name Ezra means “help” and the Holy Spirit is said to be our helper. As we go through this study, we will point out some of those characteristics and their parallel to the Spirit at work in our life. We’ll see how he grieves, how he leads, how he teaches, and how he makes intersession for the people in prayer.
Oh, how I wish we could dive into Nehemiah and Esther at the same time as they are all interwoven together. You see, the Holy Spirit is typified in both of those books as well. The first, in the person of Nehemiah as he works on the building of the walls, and then in the person of Mordecai, Esther’s uncle in the book of Esther. For the sake of space and time, we’ll focus on Ezra in this study, but I will be getting to the book of Nehemiah soon after.
Take Note
As you go through the questions at the end of each chapter, you’ll find that some of them relate to you personally. There’s no right or wrong answer with these questions as they are designed for soul searching. Other questions may relate to scripture outside the book of Ezra, and so it’s important to pay attention to the assigned reading.
For your convenience, I have included an answer key at the back of this journal. Please try to answer the questions on your own before referring to the answers.
Pause and Reflect
- What did Nebuchadnezzar to do Jehoiakim (Eliakim)?
- What do we know about the Jewish people during the reign of Zedekiah?
- How did they react when God sent messengers to them?
- What was God’s response to their actions? (v. 17)
- What did Nebuchadnezzar’s men destroy, and what did they take away?
- What happened to the remnant of Israelites that survived the massacre?
- What is the definition of purify?
- Read Jeremiah 24:6-7. Write verse 7 out.
- Look up the definition of the word “heart”. Which definition do you think applies to that verse in Jeremiah Chapter 24?
- Have you ever felt that God has allowed you to go through a trial in order to purify you? If so, what happened and how did you grow from it?
Ezra: Rebuilding the Temple, Restoring the Heart, available now @Amazon.com
Now available at Amazon.com
When you purchase a copy of the study guide you’re helping to support this ministry as we share the gospel with over 500,000 women around the world.
Ezra Bible Study Introductory Chapter
Note: This download is only for week 1 of the study. Come back next Tuesday for Chapters 1&2. There are 11 chapters (including the introduction) in total. Click here to view and download this week’s printable lesson.
Darlene Schacht and her husband Michael live in Manitoba Canada where the summers are beautiful and the winters are cold. Together they’ve come to learn that relationships aren’t always easy, but that marriage, the way God intended it to be, is a treasure worth fighting for.
She began her publishing journey about twelve years ago when she pioneered one of the first online magazines for Christian women, known at the time as “Christian Women Online Magazine.” After three years, Darlene left CWO to blog as a solo author at Time-Warp Wife Ministries.
It was also during this transition that she worked alongside actress Candace Cameron Bure to write the NYT Best-Selling book, Reshaping it All: Motivation for Spiritual and Physical Fitness. Reshaping it All was the winner of both the 2011 USA Best Book Awards and the 2012 Christian Reading Retailers Choice Awards.
Author of more than 15 books, Darlene continues to write and to minister to her readers through her blog at TimeWarpWife.com.
Connect with Darlene:
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You are loved by an almighty God,
Darlene Schacht
The Time-Warp Wife
