God's special people, the
Jews, did not obey God. So he punished them. He allowed the king of Babylon and his army to
defeat them. The king of Babylon ordered most
Jews to live in Babylon.
Babylon was a long way from their own country,
called Judah.
Many years later, the army
from Persia defeated the
army from Babylon.
The book of Ezra in the Bible tells us that the king of Persia allowed
the Jews to return to their own land. Not all the Jews returned to Judah, but some
did return.
The Jews started to build a
temple (house of God) in Jerusalem.
But the people who lived near them did not want the Jews back in the land. They
opposed the Jews so that the Jews did not continue to build the temple. Many
years later, God helped the Jews and they finished the building.
Many years after that, Ezra
led another group of Jews who returned to Judah. Ezra was a teacher who
taught the people from God's word. God sent Ezra to teach the people so that
they would become God's special people again. Often the people did not obey
God's word, but Ezra continued to teach them. He told them how to live in a way
that would please God.
