This week we are continuing our study of the book of Ezra, diving into chapter 2. The first six chapters of Ezra revolve around two missions: rebuilding the sanctuary and rebuilding the community.
I admit that a first pass of Ezra 2 is about as riveting as reading a rollcall. In case once was not enough, the same extensive list of volunteers will be repeated in Nehemiah 7. As tedious as these genealogical registers are to read, they are permanent acknowledgements of the 42,360 exiles who bravely returned to Jerusalem, sacrificing the comforts of Babylon for the task of rebuilding Judah. These were the heirs to the covenant promise. The detailed inventory of families demonstrates the seriousness of making certain that the new nation was a continuation of the previous nation.
