God’s Story
Exile & Return
Judah carried to Babylon, and the long road home
The kingdom’s long unfaithfulness finally comes due: Judah is carried into exile in Babylon, and the temple lies in ruins. Yet even in judgment God keeps a remnant, and this section follows the captivity and the return to rebuild Jerusalem, the temple, and a people.
It is a section about discipline and hope. God does not abandon His promise; through Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther we watch Him preserve and restore His people even under foreign rule — setting the stage for the One in whom every promise is kept.
What you will find in this section
- Israel Goes into Exile — Two kingdoms, two empires, and a century between them
- Ezra — The decree, the foundation, and the man who saved a nation with a book
- Nehemiah — Doing God’s will in the face of constant harassment — and a wall built in fifty-two days
- Esther — The one book in the Bible that never mentions God — and He is on every page of it
- Who’s Who in the Exile
Begin with Israel Goes into Exile.
