1 s t.and.2 K i n g s:

1Kings:
chapters 1-11 written about B.C.E. 1004 and chapters 12 to end, about B.C.E. 897. 2Kings written about B.C.E. 590.

This book 1Kings starts with stories about Solomon's reign over Israel. After the death of Solomon, the kingdom was divided into two separate nations, the northern nation of Israel and the southern nation of Judah.

The Hebrew kings did not rule in their own right, nor in name of the people who had chosen them, but partly as servants and partly as representatives of God, the true King of ancient Israel.

2Kings: The Creator's covenant with the Israelites promised great blessings for obedience, but also judgment should the covenant be broken. The Creator kept his promises of blessing and of judgment. When they forsook God and broke His covenant, Israel was conquered by Assyria and Judah was defeated by Babylon..(lesson: stay on the side of the Creator)

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1 s t.and.2 C h r o n i c l e s:.(comprised with American Tract Society dictionary and Easton's Dictionary)

The books of Chronicles are, in a great measure, repetitions of what is in the books of Samuel and of the Kings, yet there are some excellent useful things in them which we find not elsewhere. The two books were originally one. They bore the title Acts of the Days or 'the words of the days'.(1Kings 14:19; 1Chronicles 27:24).which were the daily or yearly records of the transactions of the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah, events recorded in the order of time.

The time of the composition of the Chronicles was, there is every ground to conclude, subsequent to the Babylonian Exile, probably between B.C.E. 450 and 435.

The Book of Ezra forms a continuation to Chronicles.

1Chronicles: was written B.C.E. 1015, by whom we do not know. To chronicle is to record in the form of a historical record. Chapters 1-9 were written B.C.E. 1004 and contain genealogy. 
   This first book of Chronicles contains a recapitulation of sacred history by genealogies, from the beginning of the world to the death of David. The remainder of the first book contains a history of the reign of David. 

2Chronicles chapters 1-9 were written B.C.E. 1004 and contain the history of the reign of Solomon. Chapters 10 to the end were written about B.C.E. 623 and these remaining chapters of the second book contain the history of the separate kingdom of Judah to the time of the return from Babylonian Exile. This is the history of the kings of Judah, without those of Israel, from the beginning of the reign of Solomon only, to the return from the captivity of Babylon.
   In this respect it differs from the books of Kings, which give the history of the kings of both Judah and Israel. This book covers the same period as 2Kings but the emphasis is on Judah, the southern kingdom and its rulers. In many places, where the history of the same kings is related, the narrative in Chronicles is almost a copy of that in the books of Kings; in other places, the one serves as a supplement to the other.
   This Second Book relates the progress and end of the kingdom of Judah; also it notices the return of those of the tribe of Judah from the Babylonish captivity. Historical facts passed over elsewhere, names and the connection of passages are to be found here. Many questions concerning the gospel are explained in this second book of Chronicles.

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E z r a.(*): means 'help'. Written B.C.E 457. The scribe and prophet.(Ezra 7:10).who led the second body of Judaic.exiles that returned from Babylon to Jerusalem .in B.C.E. 459.Jerusalem means 'teaching of peace', 'city of peace'; in the New Testament it means:.Galatians 4:26.

Ezra is author of this book of Scripture which bears his name. The history of this book is the accomplishment of Jeremiah's prophecy concerning the return of the tribe of Judah.out of Babylon. 

In this book we read of how easy it was back then to drift away from God when involved with others of differing beliefs:.Ezra 10:2,3. There was risk of turning the hearts of the people away from God, as happened time and time again, even to king Solomon, who had unparalleled wisdom, so much so, others came from far and wide to gain from him. But, alas, the strange women he had were women not of the nation of Israel. They got to his heart and he became different away from God.

This was the early Old Testament.(Genesis 24:3,4).following into the old covenant period:.Deuteronomy 7:3-6; Joshua 23:11-16; Ezra 9:11,12; Nehemiah 13:25,26.

In the New Testament, it's a different story. The separation between Israelites and Gentiles has been eradicated in Christ:.1Corinthians 12:13; Galatians 2:14; 3:14; Ephesians 2:13,14; 3:6; Colossians 2:17.

Cyrus, king of Persia was moved to build a temple to the true God in Jerusalem:.Ezra 1:1,2. He was instrumental in bringing the Israelites.(of whom the tribe of Judah was only one tribe), who were in captivity in Babylon, into their own land again:.Ezra 2:1.

Ezra records the enemies of Judah, Benjamim and Simeon.(the three tribes collectively called 'Judah' which originally were three of the twelve tribes), a cult calling themselves 'Jews' who made nefarious attempts to thwart efforts in the rebuilding of the temple:.Ezra 4th chapter.

Ezra 6th chapter is about king Darius and how he dealt with the enemies of those of the tribe of Judah in the building of the temple that was so precious to them. In chapter 7, Artaxerxes, king of Persia, carries on with the favor accorded those of the tribe of Judah people in the building of their temple begun by his predecessors kings Cyrus and Darius. 

Chapter 9 talks about the tribe of Judah doing again the same things that got them into captivity in the first place. Like duh!.Ezra 9:1,2.

All we know of Ezra's personal history is contained in the last four chapters of his book and in Nehemiah chapter 8:10 and 12:26. 

Artaxerxes manifested great interest in Ezra's undertaking, granting him all his request and loaded him with gifts for the house of God, the ancient tabernacle. Ezra assembled the band of exiles probably about 5,000 in all, who were prepared to go up with him to Jerusalem. His proceedings at Jerusalem on his arrival there are recorded in his book. 

He was 'a ready scribe in the law of Moses' who 'had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord and to do it and to teach Israel the statutes and judgments'.."He is".says Professor Binnie "the first well-defined example of an order of men who have never since ceased in the church; men of sacred erudition, who devote their lives to the study of the Holy Scriptures, in order that they may be in a condition to interpret them for the instruction and edification of the church."

It is significant that the earliest mention of the pulpit occurs in the history of Ezra's ministry:.Nehemiah 8:4. Overall, he was much more of a teacher than a priest.

The tradition of the Judeans connects his name with the collecting and editing of the Old Testament canon. The final completion of the canon may have been and probably was, the work of a later generation, but Ezra seems to have put it much into the shape in which it is still found in the Hebrew Bible.

For about fourteen years, i.e., till B.C.E. 445, we have no record of what went on in Jerusalem after Ezra had set in order the ecclesiastical and civil affairs of the nation.

In that year another distinguished personage, Nehemiah, appears on the scene. After the ruined wall of the city had been rebuilt by Nehemiah, there was a great gathering of the people at Jerusalem preparatory to the dedication of the wall. On the appointed day the whole population assembled and the law was read aloud to them by Ezra and his assistants:.Nehemiah 8:3. The remarkable scene is described in detail. There was a great religious awakening. For successive days they held solemn assemblies, confessing their sins and offering up solemn sacrifices. They kept also the feast of Tabernacles with great solemnity and joyous enthusiasm and then renewed their national covenant to be the Lord's people. Abuses were rectified and arrangements for the temple service completed and now nothing remained but the dedication of the walls of the city:.Nehemiah 12:23-25.