God glorifies himself as the weak overcome the proud and strong by faith, and these triumphs are like God’s creative surprises–he makes butterflies from caterpillars and oaks from acorns.
Here’s my attempt to exposit Ezra 4: In the World You Will Have Trouble.
The chapter is arranged thematically rather than chronologically. Here’s a chart that lays out the contents and timeline of Ezra 4:
| Ezra 4:1–5 The Time of Cyrus to Darius | 538 – 530, reign of Cyrus 522 – 486, reign of Darius |
| Ezra 4:6–7 The time of Ahasuerus to Artaxerxes | 485 – 464, reign of Ahasuerus (cf. Esther) 464 – 423, reign of Artaxerxes |
| Ezra 4:8–16 Rehum’s Letter to Artaxerxes | 464 – 423, Reign of Artaxerxes |
| Ezra 4:9–23 The Response of Artaxerxes | |
| Ezra 4:23 could be the setting for the news Nehemiah received in 445 BC (cf. Neh 1:1–3) | |
| Ezra 4:24 Return to the Time of Darius | 520 BC “second year of the reign of Darius” |