This book begins with Cyrus’ declaration giving the Jews permission to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their temple. After 70 years of captivity in Babylon, the exiles begin to return and are guided first by Zerubbabel and then by Ezra, humble men who knew, believed and obeyed God’s word.

To represent God, I used a yellow circle towards the center of the piece. The darkness indicates being away from God, and the gradient from brown to orange to yellow shows the gradual return of His people to Him. The upper right and bottom left areas show the two caravans led by Zerubbabel and Ezra. The arrows symbolize the physical direction of being with God, then walking away from Him and then returning to Him once more.