1. Identify and explain the significance of key terms, passages, people, and themes from this section including: Babylon, Ezekiel, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Persia, Cyrus, Darius, Zerubbabel, Ezra, Esther, Xerxes, Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
2. Locate on a map the key places in this section, including: Major Areas, Babylon, Susa, Tigris and Euphrates rivers, Babylonia, and Jerusalem.
3. Know the sequence of events and match them to the proper site for this period.
Events:
Ezekiel's prophetic ministry
Daniel's prophetic ministry
The ministries of Haggai & Zechariah
Esther's service
Ezra's ministry
Nehemiah's ministry
Malachi's ministry
Sites:
Babylon
Babylon and Susa
Judah
Susa
Judah and Jerusalem
Jerusalem
Judah
4. From a study of the lives and ministries of Ezekiel, Daniel, Esther, Ezra, and Nehemiah, explain in your own words what makes for effective spiritual leadership.
Required Readings and Study Items
(Bible software upgrade may be required for "Dictionary" and "Study Bible Notes", see "Order" button on "Cover")
1. Discovering God, Philip Yancey, pp. 105-121, Zondervan Publishing House: Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1989 (click on the "Text" button).
2. Click on the "Text" button and then click on unfamiliar words or phrases in blue and bold type.
3. Click on the "Explore" button, open the Bible Dictionary, and do a search on the words, terms and people listed in Learning Objectives #1 and #2. Scroll through the search "hits" and read the key article(s) associated with each term.
4. Click on the "Explore" button, open the Study Bible Notes, and read the following:
A. "Occasion and Purpose" for the book of Ezekiel
B. "Author, Date and Authenticity" and "Theme" for the book of Daniel
C. "Purpose, Themes, and Literary Features" for the book of Esther
D. "Outline" for both Ezra and Nehemiah
E. "Background" and "Themes and Teaching" for the book of Haggai
F. "Occasion and Purpose" and "Theological Teaching" for the book of Zechariah
G. "Background" and "Themes and Theology" for the book of Malachi
5. Click on the "Study" button and learn:
Geography - "Major Areas" and "Divided Kingdom & Return"
Chronology - "Divided Kingdom and Babylonian Captivity, 931-538 B.C." and "Return from Exile, 538-430 B.C."
6. Click on the "Library" button and read the "References" associated with the "Starting Over" section.
7. Click on the “Links” button in this section and follow each link to other related areas of study.
8. Click on the "Facts" button and review the Bible facts associated with Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Ezekiel, Daniel, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
Suggested Readings
1. "Ezekiel," pp. 387-395 in NIV Compact Bible Commentary, Zondervan Publishing House: Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1994
2. "Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi," pp. 431-436 in NIV Compact Bible Commentary, Zondervan Publishing House: Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1994.
3. "Ezra and Nehemiah," pp. 680-725 in Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary, Vol. 1 by Edwin Yamauchi, Zondervan Publishing House: Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1994.
4. "Esther," pp. 726-741 in Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary, Vol. 1 by F.B. Huey, Jr., Zondervan Publishing House: Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1994.
5. For the best explanation of the content and prophecies contained in the book of Daniel see The Lord Is King: The Message of Daniel, pp. 1-200 by Ronald Wallace, InterVarsity Press: Downers Grove, Illinois, 1979.
6. "Ezra-Nehemiah, Esther, Ezekiel, Daniel, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi," by Raymond B. Dillard & Tremper Longman, pp. 179-198, 313-352, 421-442 in An Introduction to the Old Testament, Zondervan Publishing House: Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1994.
7. "The Books of Ezekiel, Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah," by R.K. Harrison, pp. 822-856, 1105-1151 in Introduction to the Old Testament, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1969.
For Further Review:
Go to the next page and test yourself by taking the quiz over the material which you have studied. When you have finished, check your answers by clicking on the "Answers" button.
STARTING OVER: QUIZ
1. In a paragraph or two, explain the occasion and purpose behind the prophetic ministry of Ezekiel.
2. Which of the following books never mentions the word "God"?
A. Ezra
B. Esther
C. Malachi
D. Haggai
3. Which two groups of foreign rulers did Daniel serve under?
A. the Babylonians and Assyrians
B. the Persians and the Greeks
C. the Babylonians and the Medo-Persians
D. the Assyrians and the Egyptians
4. Which famous prophetic passage promises that God will restore new life into his "dead" people and gather them together again?
A. Ezra 2
B. Esther 1
C. Ezekiel 37
D. Daniel 9
5. Which passages of Scripture show the sovereignty of God over other rulers and nations as well as over his own people?
A. Ezra 1 and Nehemiah 4
B. Daniel 3 and Daniel 6
C. Esther 2 and Zechariah 2
D. Haggai 1 and Malachi 3
6. The major theme of the book of Daniel is:
A. God's miraculous powers
B. God's ability to show the future through his prophets
C. God's work in the lives of pagan rulers
D. God's sovereignty over all the nations
7. Ezekiel's prophetic ministry was carried out in:
A. Babylon
B. Jerusalem
C. Judah
D. Susa
8. Which of the following came last?
A. Daniel's ministry
B. Esther's service
C. Malachi's ministry
D. Ezra's ministry
9. Following shortly upon the conquest of Babylon by the Persians, a group of Jews under the leadership of Zerubbabel was allowed to return to the promised land and rebuild the:
A. temple
B. walls
C. city of Jerusalem
D. ark of the covenant
10. Zechariah prophesied about:
A. the future
B. the necessity of rebuilding the temple and the coming Messiah
C. the immorality of God's people
D. the overthrow of the Persian Empire by the Greeks
11. Malachi's prophetic ministry was a call for God's people to:
A. give up their love for Baal
B. wait for the arrival of the Messiah
C. purify themselves of spiritual apathy and trust God fully
D. rebuild the temple and the walls around the city of Jerusalem
12. Displaced from temple worship during the Babylonian exile, the Jews created the:
A. Scriptures
B. synagogue
C. prophetic books
D. church
13. The Babylonian king who may have become a believer in Israel's God was:
A. Belshazzar
B. Nebuchadnezzar
C. Darius
D. Xerxes
14. Esther served God in the city of:
A. Jerusalem
B. Babylon
C. Nineveh
D. Susa
15. In two or three paragraphs, explain in your own words what qualities made Ezekiel, Daniel, Esther, Ezra, and Nehemiah such effective spiritual leaders for God's people during and after the time of the Babylonian captivity.
