Session 25: The Return to Jerusalem
- Teresa
- Aug 3, 2019
- 2 min read
The people of Judah were exiled in Babylon for about 70 years. In 539 BC, the Kingdom of Persia, led by King Cyrus, came into power and conquered Babylon. God prompted King Cyrus to release the exiles to return to Jerusalem to build a new temple.
Read Ezra 1-3 or watch the following video:
Video 1: Return to Jerusalem
Source: SCC Children on Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/193724983
The return to Judah had been foretold by many prophets years ago. Prophet Jeremiah had prophesied that Judah would remain in exile for 70 years before returning. Prophet Isaiah was even more specific, he prophesied many ago that God would raise a man named Cyrus, who would rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple.
What does this tell you about God?
Personal reflection by kids. some possible answers are as follow:
God is always in control
God is faithful to his promises.
God takes care of his people. He sends prophets to tell them what his plans are, and gives them hope.
God can work through anyone, even Gentiles/non believers (Cyrus was not a follower of God)
The people from Judah faced resistance when they were building the temple, and complained to the new king of Persia, Artaxerxes, who ordered the temple works to stop. The works stalled for many years. God sent prophets to encourage them to complete the temple. When the new king in Persia, Darius, comes to power, he gave them permission to continue and even paid for their expenses. The temple was finally completed (Ezra 4-6):
Video 2: The temple is completed
Source: SCC Children on Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/193725163
When the temple is finally completed, the people rejoice and are finally able to celebrate Passover in the temple.
The temple is not the only thing that needed to be rebuilt. The walls around Jerusalem had also been destroyed during the Babylonian invasion. A man named Nehemiah receives permission from the king to return and rebuild the walls (Nehemiah 2, 4):
Video 3: Nehemiah rebuilds Jerusalem's Wall
Source: LifeKids on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlXqTBIys7s
The wall was finished in 52 days!
After the wall was finished, the prophet Ezra read God's laws to the people and reminded them to obey him (Nehemiah 8):
Video 4: Ezra read the law
SCC Children on Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/199832172
Ezra and the priests helped the people to understand God's laws and what they meant. The people rejoiced and celebrated - finally the long exile was over, and they were once again free to worship in Jerusalem at the newly rebuilt temple. God had restored the Jews by bringing them back, just as he had promised through the prophets.
Alternative video for older kids by The Bible Project:
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