Ezra and Nehemiah

On this day, we remember Ezra the priest and scribe and Nehemiah the governor, whom God used to restore Jerusalem and turn His people again to His Law.

Ezra was a priest from the sons of Aaron and “a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses.” He had “prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.” By the favor of King Artaxerxes, Ezra went up to Jerusalem with many of the children of Israel. He proclaimed a fast that they might humble themselves before God and seek from Him “the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions.” The Lord answered their prayer and brought them safely to Jerusalem.