Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- Why do the Persian rulers let the Israelites rebuild their temple? What's the relationship of these different Gentile rulers (like Cyrus and Artaxerxes) with Israel's God?
- What do you think of Ezra/Nehemiah's attack on interfaith marriages? Is it justifiable within the cultural context of its time?
- Why is the Temple so important? Why can't you just worship God in the back room of a Kinko's or in the drive-thru at Wendy's?
- Why do the foreign leaders want the Temple rebuilding to fail? What do they fear?
- Why do people have such a tendency to backslide? Why do Ezra and Nehemiah keep patching things up?
- What is the attitude of the people of Israel as a whole toward Ezra's and Nehemiah's reforms?
- What function does it serve when, in Chapter 9 of Nehemiah, Ezra runs through the whole history of Israel and confesses its sins in a giant public ceremony?
- What's the point of all those long lists in Ezra, recording so many names?
- Does Nehemiah seem a bit narcissistic?
- In Chapter 8 of Ezra, the people fast and pray for God's protection. What's the connection?
- How can Nehemiah rebuild the wall and gates all around in Jerusalem in 52 days when it takes your parents that long to get an estimate from their carpenter?