So What?

Despite the arduous and near-impossible task of returning from exile and re-establishing an entire civilization, the Hebrews withstood all challenges and succeeded. This chapter is about the problems that the Israelites faced both as a religious group and a nation.

The threat of foreign conquest by neighboring countries was a constant threat. Situated in a geographically advantageous area, Judah and Persia itself was attractive to people like Alexander the Great, who conquered the Persian Empire in 323 BCE. Despite this, Israelites preserved their cultural soul and religion.

Establishing a solid leadership to address problems was a great problem in itself. Without a leader like Nehemiah, funds and labor could not have been organized to rebuild the temple. By establishing Judah as an independent province of Persia, the Israelites completed this challenge with aplomb.

In retrospect, Judah’s performance in establishing a civilization in the course of a few centuries is extremely impressive. Developing a unique religious culture was critical to this success. Erza and Haggai’s contributions to the culture made it highly a highly influential theological country. That religious climate survived through so many years that it ingrained itself into history. Thus, the establishment of the Israelites civilization is the reason that Judaism has grown to be a major religion, and why it has become notable to study this country today.

The Israelite success story is one that newly found countries can learn a lot from. Both from its effective and strong leadership to developing its influential cultural identity. Surviving Greek conquest and eventually being integrated into the Roman Empire, the fact that Judaism survived until the modern day is an absolutely amazing fact. Thanks to the tenacity and efforts of the Israelites and their leaders in face of insurmountable challenge and adversity, they succeeded to make theological history.

A New Generation of Jewish Leaders

Upon returning to Israel, the Jewish people were faced with several different challenges, including establishment of law, rebuilding cities and temples. Several different leaders were responsible for addressing these challenges. These included Haggai, Zechariah, Nehemiah and Erza. 
Haggai: Rebuilding the Temple

The Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed during the exile, and upon returning, it had to be rebuilt. However, the survival of the Hebrews held more gravity. They had to collect resources to ensure their long-term survival before reconstructing it. Thus, the rebuilding of the Temple went ignored until a certain Jewish leader demanded that work be done on it.
Haggai was this leader, a prophet who held that the problems that the Jewish people faced were caused by their neglect towards religious devotion. By giving the rebuilding of their own homes top priority, they were placing God behind these other pressing issues. He wrote:

Now has the time come to rebuild the house of the Lord. Is it time for you to dwell in your own paneled houses, while this house lies in ruin?
Haggai 1:3

Zechariah was another prophet who was responsible for the development of the temple. He spoke of a leader to rule Judah named Zerubbabel, who was installed in 520 B.C.E. He brought with him money to fund the construction of the temple. With this, the temple was finally completed in 515 B.C.E. Taking five years to complete construction.
Nehemiah: Rebuilding the City

Another challenge that the Hebrews faced when returning from exile was the redevelopment of the city. Critical to this development was Nehemiah, a Persian official who persuaded the Persian king to make Judah an independent province and him its governor.

At this time Judah’s  population skyrocketed as more and more people returned from exile. As the population increased, the chances of conflict rose. Thus, Nehemiah was responsible for erecting walls around the city.  In 52 days, the walls had been erected very quickly.

Erza: Renewing the Law
Erza was a leader who contributed to the redevelopment of Jewish civilization after the exile. He was a priest sent by the King of Persia to further develop Jewish law and government in the area.
When Erza arrived at Jerusalem, he stood on a pedestal to read a scroll containing  Law. Reading in Hebrew, Levite priests translated his words into Aramaic. His audience wept when he revealed the Law because they discovered how their lifestyles violated that Law.

Two months later, the people gathered at the temple because Erza said that God required them to be divorced from their gentile wives. In addition, they established other rules. These included the maintaining of the holiness of the Sabbath and the maintenance of the Temple with an annual tax. 



Overall,  the Jewish leaders were concerned with the religious development of their people rather than the survival of their nation.

Going Home: Promises and Perils

Why Go Home?
After gaining freedom from the Babylonians, many Israelites were reluctant to go back home: Jerusalem had to be rebuilt, it's a 1,000 mile journey through a desert, which most of the refugees would have to walk, and other peoples had settled in the area of Canaan.

The First Group
Imagine your parents bought a worn-down house and they fixed it up, bought new furniture, the whole shebang. You live in your house for a better part of your life. All of a sudden, a man shows up and says that the house was his grandfather's house and would like it back. This is an accurate analogy as to how the Samaritans felt.

The first group that returned to Judah was a small one. When they returned, the harvest was small, most of the economic aid that King Cyrus promised never arrived, and they were constantly under attack from neighboring peoples.


The Samaritans
After the Babylonians captured the Jews, the northern kingdom that was spared by Assyria married and had children with Canaanites. These people are known as the Samaritans. They and the Israelites had a rivalry that proved to be legendary: both followed the Torah, but the Samaritans believed Moses received God's law on Mount Gerizim. In addition, the Samaritans learned that if the Israelites rebuilt their temple, Canaan would become a rival in politics and the economy.

Foreign Religions
The last peril the Israelites faced was foreign influences. Some of the refugees returned with non-Jewish wives. These marriages ended up in a mixing of religion and worship, which is prohibited by Jewish Law. Keeping worship of Yahweh pure is and was a chief goal of the Jewish Leaders. When the Jews realized the error of their ways, they broke off their marriages

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