JERUSALEM AT LAST! Ezra 3 There was obviously a time lapse between the events of chapter 2 and chapter 3 of months or even a couple of years. Resettlement under the Assyrians of the northern areas would have brought strangers into the area who didn't know anything about the Lord God of Israel. We are so thankful that God is aware of our human needs. The returning exiles needed a place to live, and it was probably not easy for them to "dwell in their cities." Other people had settled in the area, some by the Assyrians, who wanted to keep the population mixed so they would not unite against them, and likely others who saw empty houses and moved in. The Lord God gave them time to get their accommodations in order, but "when the seventh month was come," they all came from different areas to Jerusalem. The time had come to begin what they had been sent to do: rebuild the temple.
