Ezra came up from Babylon; and he was a skilled scribe in the law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given.
Ezra 7, 6.
After their 70-year exile in captivity in Babylon many Jews availed themselves of the opportunity given them to return to Jerusalem. Under the leadership of Zerubbabel some forty thousand had already settled there and rebuilt the temple. There was no comparison with the one Solomon had erected. But it was still the house of God, where they could bring their sacrifices according to the biblical instructions.
Some years later a second, smaller group journeyed to Jerusalem with the scribe Ezra. They, too, wished to take part in the Jewish service of God according to His commandments.
Just as the Israelites had the temple of God in Jerusalem, so today there is a place where the Lord Jesus has promised His presence (cf. Matthew 18, 20). We can gather together to His name and carry out His thoughts and wishes as to His church. To be able to do so it is necessary to know the Bible well and regard it as given by God, as Ezra did. It also contains the instructions concerning the way of Christian gathering.
Through our failures the visible testimony of the church of God has decreased and weakened. But the divine promises are still valid, so long as we humbly obey biblical teaching. We can still experience His blessing today, when we meet around the Lord Jesus to remember Him in His death, hear His Word and pray to Him.