In our last episode, we heard how Nehemiah returned to Judah and undertook the rebuilding of the walls, ushering in a new era of peace and safety. And yet that too was to be short-lived. Sin still held the people’s hearts with an unrelenting grip. The Messiah was the only solution to the evil in the world, to our brokenness and rebellion. Today we’ll fast-forward 400 years into the future. Israel had turned from God but in a different way. It was a period of religion, but also of self-righteousness and legalism. The Pharisees and priests held sway over the people, oppressing them with rules and rituals. Though there remained a form of religion, people’s hearts were still far from the Lord.