Return and Rebuild - Lesson 1
Teachers
Lesson Summary
The teacher presented the historical and theological context for studying the return of the Jewish people from Babylonian captivity. After 70 years in exile, the people of Judah were finally permitted to return to Jerusalem under the decree of King Cyrus of Persia, who was moved by God to allow the rebuilding of the Temple. The lesson traced the kingdoms' deportations: the northern kingdom of Israel was taken captive by Assyria around 740 BC, while the southern kingdom of Judah was taken by Babylon in 586 BC. The teacher emphasized the emotional and spiritual weight of this moment—many exiles had been born in captivity and had never seen their homeland, making the return deeply significant. The class introduced the three biblical books that chronicle this restoration: Ezra (covering returns under Zerubbabel and later Ezra), Esther (covering events during the interim period), and Nehemiah (covering the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls). The teacher highlighted Psalm 137 as capturing the sorrow and longing of the exiled people, and noted that key figures like Daniel, the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, and others were contemporaries of this return. The lesson established that these accounts serve both to preserve the historical record and to teach profound theological truths about God's faithfulness, sovereignty, and covenant promises to His people.
Key Scriptures
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion. 2 On the willows there we hung up our lyres. 3 For there our captors required of us songs, and our tormentors, mirth, saying, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion." 4 How could we sing the LORD's song in a foreign land?