Est. 1: Queen Vashti Sacked

Esther 1:19 "Therefore, if it pleases the king, let him issue a royal decree and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media, which cannot be repealed, that Vashti is never again to enter the presence of King Xerxes. Also let the king give her royal position to someone else who is better than she."

Three years into his reign, Xerxes, the king of Persia, gives a huge party. For 180 days, he displays his wealth. That's six months of showing off for those of you keeping score at home. While displaying my own personal wealth would take probably six minutes. At the end of this display, he has a banquet for seven days, and everyone in the kingdom was invited, and they all could drink as they pleased. There was also stuff for the women to do, at Queen Vashti's own personal party.

This is quite the soiree. But it was all fun until the seventh day when drunken King Xerxes wanted to show off the beautiful Vashti to everyone. When Vashti refused to appear, Xerxes freaked and had her deposed. No reason is given for her desertion, but I would surmise she was probably tired of being looked upon as a trophy. Just palace decoration. I know I'd get sick of that. 

Anyway, in addition to Vashti being canned, the king issues a decree throughout all the land to replace her. This was done so that men could retain their place in power in their marriages, and so that their wives would not disrespect them in the way Vashti dissed Xerxes.

Ne. 13: Nehemiah's High Horse

Nehemiah 13:14 "Remember me for this, O my God, and do not blot out what I have so faithfully done for the house of my God and its services."

I don't know the timeline of when chapter 13 occured in relation to chapter 12, but I imagine it could be a huge holy buzzkill. Just as the people are celebrating and thinking pretty highly of themselves, Nehemiah comes along and points out all their faults. In a way, I love his direct approach, including but not limited to pulling the hair out of men who married foreign chicks. You have to get attention somehow. And these things the people did were expressly forbidden. Dozens (probably) of times in scripture alone. Never mind the examples of what happened to revered forefathers of Israel when they hooked up with foreign broads (Solomon?). 

But another way to react, as I did, was to bristle at how Nehemiah treated the people. He didn't sugarcoat his judgment on the people. He didn't try to reason with them. Straight up he was with the people he knew were blowing it. This was no milquetoast believer. I don't respond so well to direct hostility. Chances are, I know when I'm a screwup, and personally, I'd need someone to show me how to change.

And I don't mean to suggest that these violations were minor. Eliashib allowing Tobiah (yeah, that Tobiah who aided in spreading rumors and impeding wall construction) to use a room in the temple was pretty out of line. In fact, the whole temple situation was in disarray, with people not at their posts (out farming, because people weren't giving the priestly portions with their offerings) and people working on the Sabbath. Lets not forget how important rest is to the LORD.

So Nehemiah does a lot of purificatin', and does his best to implant reforms that will get things right again. These are the things Nehemiah wants to be remembered for, and I think he is.

Ne. 12: Celebrate the Wall

Nehemiah 12:43 "And on that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced. The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away."

After all the hardship, the difficulties and the opposition, the wall is complete. This is cause for a raucous celebration. Choirs, cymbals and songs could be heard from far away. That's some kind of party.

Can you imagine living in the surrounding nations? "Uh oh, Israel is celebrating again. This is bad news for those of us who worship Baal and stuff." Israel has their heart right with God. 

It is a victory here for Israel. The difference here is that it isn't necessarily a military victory. They faced armed threats and had to post armed sentries, but this victory was won with God watching over them, and defending them and keeping them safe. Israel celebrates like they just won a big war, or rededicated themselves to God. Either way, they knew to whom the credit was due, and that was only to God. Without God's hand in the reconstruction, Israel would have basically been sitting ducks. I think they realized this.

Maybe.

Ne. 11: Who Lives In Jerusalem?

Nehemiah 11:3 "These are the provincial leaders who settled in Jerusalem (now some Israelites, priests, Levites, temple servants and descendants of Solomon's servants lived in the towns of Judah, each on his own property in the various towns..."

I bet you are wondering who lives in Jerusalem now. And who lives where if they didn't live in Jerusalem.

OK, well neither did I, but the information is here.

Can you believe they had to cast lots for people to move to Jerusalem? And take volunteers? For this brand new construction, I would think people would line up to live in Jerusalem...the heavily guarded, fortified new city. But apparently this was not so. I suppose they needed to draw straws because people were more comfortable living where they were. They didn't want to pack up their things and move to an unfamiliar place. 

Jerusalem was a more conspicuous target for attack than were their fields and steads in the surrounding areas. Moving from the farm to the city would require a different lifestyle. Besides, its been a hundred years or so since the exile, so generations had been settled in by this time, and they weren't about to hoist themselves out of their groove. I can understand that.

There are some pretty neat names in this chapter. Ahitub. Meshillemoth. Bunni. Bakbukiah (sounds like a chicken). Uzzi Bani Pethahiah Meshezebel.

Ne. 10: Post-Exile Oath

Nehemiah 10:29 "all these now join their brothers the nobles, and bind themselves with a curse and an oath to follow the Law of God given through Moses the servant of God and to obey carefully all the commands, regulations and decrees of the LORD our Lord."

Chapter ten begins with a long list of names. Which on the surface seems kind of useless to read. But then I imagined my own name. Where will my name be listed on the cosmic rolls? Which lists will I be a part of when all there is to say is said, and all there is to do is done? Which of those lists will I be proud to be a part of? Which of those lists would I be sad to be on? I can already think of a few of each. But the list here in chapter ten is of those who were bound to the oath they made to keep God's covenant. A pretty good list to be a part of, but those on this list will be held to account. I like that. Holding to account improves and strengthens integrity.

This reads a lot like Leviticus, with what was commanded of the Israelites in regards to marriage, giving, farming, offering and feasts. It's not too far off from what was read and commanded by the more Godly kings in Israel's past. But the vows seemed to be temporary, and where the vows were broken, the judgment was often swift and terrible.

God reveals a bit about Himself here. He always seems to say, "OK, you told me you were going to follow my commands, I'll hold you to that." Never does he get cynical and say, "Whatever, you always say you will follow my covenant, but then you always blow it." I would be tempted to do that constantly. But this shows God's perfect grace that I could never claim to duplicate or even comprehend.

Ne. 9: History in Confession

Nehemiah 9:37 "Because of our sins, its abundant harvest goes to the kings you have placed over us. They rule over our bodies and our cattle as they please. We are in great distress."

As a ritual of confession, the Israelites clothe themselves in sackcloth and put dust on their heads. They spent a quarter of the day reading the word, and the rest of the day in confession of their sins. 

Confession here appears to be more than simply telling God how you screwed up, though that's a part of it. In reading the majority of chapter 9, confession appears to also be acknowledging who God is. What he has done, how he has blessed you, and how one stands in need of his forgiveness.

Perhaps that acknowledging, that confession of who God is, embiggens one's own sense of their need for God's forgiveness. It magnifies the need to confess to God, and the importance of God to one's own existence. Confession by the mouth not only allows a person to speak the words of confession, but to hear them as well. God clearly has the ability to know a person's heart. But rarely does a person truly know his own heart.

Ne. 8: Ezra Renews the Covenant

Nehemiah 8:12 "Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them."

Ezra (not Nehemiah) gets up and reads the book of the law, which was probably the law given to Moses...Exodus through Deuteronomy. Nehemiah may have been the one taking charge...the ruler, the leader, as it were, but it was Ezra who was God's conduit to the people at this point.

As the book of the law is read, again there is open weeping as what was unknown or is ignored is brought to light. Pretty much everytime the covenant is renewed or God's word is discovered. It's pretty emotional. It's a recognition that what you were doing all along was breaking the heart of someone who loved you...whether or not you realized what you were doing was wrong. And it didn't matter if you realized or not.

What was buried was uncovered.

But Ezra says "Don't cry, dry your eye!" This was a time for celebration! The people had to be repeatedly told not to despair. They moved into booths, commemorating their temporary housing as they exodused from Egypt. It was the Feast of Tabernacles. Nehemiah describes this celebration as unlike any in Israel's history since it was celebrated by Joshua, who appears to be the last leader to actually pay attention to what was commanded.

I think this was probably a great time to do this. The people had worked hard to get things back in order, rebuilding the temple, the wall, their lives. It was time to re-emphasize the fact that God was firmly in charge of their provisions. Even in Israel's darkest years, God still looked over them, still watched out for them. And here, with the nation in disarray and confusion, and lacking that sense of history that probably permeated the people before the exile, they could cling to the hope God would give them.

Ne. 7: The New Exile List

Nehemiah 7:5 "So my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles, the officials and the common people for registration by families. I found the genealogical record of those who had been the first to return. This is what I found written there:"

Even with the wall rebuilt and the gates in place, the city was still vulnerable to attack or at least hanky panky. Nehemiah gives the command to leave the gates shut until the sun is hot. I don't think there's any mystical reason for this. When "the sun is hot," I would guess that is when the majority of the city is no longer asleep. They're all alert and doing their thing. They've gotten some breakfast in them, and could defend themselves if need be. 

Jerusalem was now this large rebuilt city, but there weren't a lot of houses rebuilt, because of the emphasis on rebuilding the temple first, and the wall second. Which is sort of opposite of the way things were done with David. He went to war first, and built up a strong army and defenses, while the temple was secondary. So Nehemiah wants to take a look at the numbers of the exiles who have returned.

The 5th chapter of Nehemiah ends with Ezra 2 tacked onto the end of it. It's pretty close to being exactly the same, except that several of the numbers are a bit off. I don't know whether it's an error in transcription, or if births and deaths of people were brought into the accounts after the Ezra 2 list, but I don't think its any cause to bring down the Bible. Not yet at least.

Ne. 6: Opposition, Completion

Nehemiah 6:12 "I realized that God had not sent him, but that he had prophesied against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him."

Nehemiah is still facing opposition from those rascals Sanballat and Tobiah. They won't give it up. They have a major stake in Israel not completing their wall. They start rumors of a phony Israelite revolt, and even send a false prophet to lure Nehemiah to the temple under the guise that he'd be killed otherwise. But Nehemiah sniffs it out, because to this point, God has given him the green light on this wall, and that was what Nehemiah needed to do. 

Interesting that it didn't take a personal visit from one of God's prophets to warn him. Nehemiah appears to have figured it out on his own. Smart guy! He wouldn't step away from his work for some stupid meeting either.

I find verse 14 interesting. Nehemiah tells God to remember Tobias and Sanballat because of what they'd done. In a place where Nehemiah could have called down all the curses he could think of, or wish personal harm on them, he relies on the justice and holiness of God to deal with them. Could I do that? I wonder.

Anyway, victoriously, the wall is completed in a mere 52 days, which was devastating to the confidence of the surrounding nations. This large city was now walled in and protected, by a ragtag bunch of people whose specialty wasn't exactly wall building, or even devotion to God. But God's hand in this wall was evident.

Ne. 5: Nehemiah Aids the Poor

Nehemiah 5:13 "I also shook out the folds of my robe and said, "In this way may God shake out of his house and possessions every man who does not keep this promise. So may such a man be shaken out and emptied!""

There were rich people in the land. Rich people who apparently made a lot of money during the exile, or had returned earlier and established businesses. These rich people were predatory lenders who were exacting usury, which mean interest. The poor in Israel were slaves to the rich. This is not the way things were intended to be, with the rich getting richer, and the destitute mortgaging their land and even their children to square up their payments.

So Nehemiah calls a meeting and basically rips these people a new one. So vehement were Nehemiah's admonishings that the wealthy fellows were moved to give it back, and additionally, not charge any more. Nehemiah held them to this with an oath.

He demonstrates God's feelings about rich folk exacting usury on poor folk by standing up, shaking out the folds of his robe, and declaring that God would shake out of his house those who didn't keep that oath. It wasn't enough for Nehemiah to just say these things without being an example. He lived it out. He didn't eat the luxury food appointed to him as governor. He didn't wall himself off in the safety of some remote tent while the wall was being built. He got right in there, got his hands dirty, and lived it.

God's ways for dealing with the poor are pretty evident here. They shouldn't be taken advantage of in any way. These poor were trying, they weren't lazy good-fer-nothings. But they were still being enslaved for lack of power. God would throw people out of his house if they didn't stop being mean to the poor.

Ne. 4: Opposition

Nehemiah 4:14 "After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, "Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.""

During the rebuilding, the jews are getting mocked by the local yokels. Anywhere from Israel's strength to their craftsmanship was fair game. Tobiah even claimed that a mere fox could come and knock over their wall. Nehemiah prays that this ridicule be returned to the mockers. By God. Instead of taking vengeance within his own power, Nehemiah chooses to leave it up to the LORD, who is a genius in the punishment department.

Israel is getting tired though. It is a big job. There is lots of rubble and a lots of work to be done (No word on whether or not they will rock down to Electric Avenue). They come to the realization that they can't do it on their own. 

Here is where Nehemiah steps up and takes some leadership, and starts reorganizing things. Where the walls are low or weak, he stations more people, and some people are taken off the project to take up arms to protect against remnants from the HACPHAJ who just want to make life hard for those participating in the reconstruction. Except those Tekoa nobles, who sat around, stroking their beards, wondering "What's to be done with this Nehemiah?" There were even plans for if an attack came. They would blow a horn and all meet at that area and fight off attackers. Pretty neat.

Ne. 3: Repairing Walls n' Gates

Nehemiah 3:20 "Next to him, Baruch son of Zabbai zealously repaired another section, from the angle to the entrance of the house of Eliashib the high priest."

This is really just a list of the sections of the wall and the gates, and who repaired them. That may be all I really need to say, but what do I think of this?

I think it's good to see Israel working as a team. Each section of the wall basically had a different group of people working on it. They worked together toward a common goal. Except the nobles of Tekoa, who refused to roll up their sleeves and get busy on the Fish Gate. Why not? Sheer laziness? Was manual labor beneath them? At any rate, here they are recorded for the rest of time as some blouse-wearing poodlewalkers who refused to contribute. Would they be punished? We'll see.

Contrast that with how Baruch repairs the wall next to the home of Eliashib, the high priest. With zeal! When I think of that, I think of someone working hard, working strong, and giving his absolute best. I'm sure the walls built by the others were acceptable, but Baruch is the only one notably recorded as working zealously. He was into this. He was a company man. He wasn't going to stand around thinking himself better than the work that needed to be done. I can't remember the last time I worked at something with zeal. I should inject more zeal into my work. Can you be described as zealous for anything?

This is the first I've read about all these gates. I assume they were named for their functions. The sheep gate probably opened to a pasture or a pen or something. The fish gate...probably along the river? The Jeshanah Gate...named for a guy named Jeshanah? The Valley Gate probably opened to a valley somewhere. The Dung Gate was probably at the dump. Fountain Gate? Maybe a well or drinking water or something? The Horse Gate I would guess led to stables or the military base or something. We'll find out.

Ne. 2: Nehemiah Checks It Out

Nehemiah 2:17 "Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.""

Nehemiah brings the wine to the king one day, and is visibly upset. The king, who could, at any moment call for Nehemiah's head if he so much as looked at him wrong, noticed this and questioned him. Afraid, but counting on God for deliverance and success, Nehemiah told Artaxerxes about how the wall of Jerusalem was in ruins, and how he would like to go back and rebuild it. It probably wasn't something the king would take lightly, giving up his cupbearer. That was a very trusted position, but Art let him slide. He probably recognized how important it was to Nehemiah, but God probably also dipped his hand into Artaxerxes's heart and swished it around, moving him to let Nehemiah go.

Nehemiah is also granted a couple requests. One being letters to the Trans-Euphrates kings (those along the way home) that he be granted safe passage, otherwise you mess with Artaxerxes. The second was some timber from the royal forest. That's interesting. The wall of protection for Jerusalem was going to be rebuilt using materials from a foreign king's supply.

After three days in Jerusalem, Nehemiah goes out to check out what needs to be done fixing that there wall and the burnt out gate. They probably could have gotten those gates that Samson put up on the hill, if they were still there. Not really. That's ridiculous. That was like 1000 years ago.

Anyway, Nehemiah inspects the wall under cover of night so that no one would see him or know what he was doing. But afterwards, he encourages them to build the walls and the gates.

I have a couple questions here. Why weren't the walls being rebuilt? I mean, outside of the fact that it was God's plan to have Nehemiah come back and spearhead the effort. What were the Israelites doing with themselves? Was the temple (presumably completed) that big of a drain on the resources? Did they just not think of it?

Also, why the secrecy? Why did Nehemiah not disclose to the jews why he was there until after he had inspected the walls and the gates? Was it so he could create a strategy in advance, so that when he did tell them about the rebuilding, he'd have a plan handy? I suppose that makes sense.

Ne. 1: Nehemiah's Confession

Nehemiah 1:11 "O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man."

Nehemiah is hanging out in a city called Susa, when his brother Hanani comes to visit. Nehemiah asks him about how Israel is doing over there since the exiles have returned. It's been twenty years, so Nehemiah probably had his hopes that things were starting to pick up with that first generation. 

But it is regretfully not good news. Hanani tells Nehemiah that the city wall is in ruins and the gates have been "burned with fire." As opposed to sulfuric acid. This news sent Nehemiah into a period of mourning and fasting. He was sad about the gate and seems to have instantly connected it to Israel's sin. Maybe he prophetically knew about Israel's sin. Maybe he knew Israel's history and their propensity to sin. Maybe Hanani told him about the intermarriage fiasco. Either way, Nehemiah drops to his knees and prays.

His prayer begins by reminding God who He is. Not as though God would have forgotten, but the words there are a confession of who God is, as much for Nehemiah as it is for God. "I know who you are, God, and what you've said." That type of thing. Nehemiah then confesses for himself (which I think is important) and Israel. Nehemiah includes himself among those who need to make confession for sins. Nehemiah wasn't over there intermarrying, but I suppose this is a generalized confession for the times he has personally missed the mark. Prophets are not without sin.

Nehemiah then invokes God's covenant with Moses. "You said if we do this, then you'll do this. You said if we do that, then you'll do that." God's covenant still lasts to Nehemiah's present day. 

Nehemiah is going to go before the king, Artaxerxes, and presumably ask for help. I think this is the "success" Nehemiah is asking for. Probably that things go well with the king, but also that things will go well in Israel. Being a cupbearer, Nehemiah would be used to interaction with the king, and would be able to have the king's ear.

Ezra 10: Divorces for God!

Ezra 10:19 "They all gave their hands in pledge to put away their wives, and for their guilt they each presented a ram from the flock as a guilt offering."

Israel's widespread intermarriage with the pagan lands was serious. So serious that Ezra, who wasn't even technically a prophet or a priest was weeping and confessing. Confessing for the sins of Israel? Could he do that?

Anyway, Shecaniah, who I believe is a priest comes and agrees with Ezra that they need to correct the situation. And similar to removing the mildew from a garment, divorce...or the sending away...is the consensus. At this point, there's not really a law saying, "Do not get a divorce, for this is detestable, and marriage is forever." Yeah. I'm 415 or so chapters in, and the Bible doesn't say that anywhere. However, divorce carries consequences. Leviticus 21 in a way equates a divorced woman with that of a prostitute.

So they have to call an assembly to discuss this mandatory mass divorce, and everyone had to attend, under penalty of confiscation of property and expulsion from the nation of Israel. When the people get there, they're all ticked off because it's the rainy season, and no one wants to be hanging around outside in some Jerusalem rain. So basically, the normal people make the people in charge take care of the whole thing, and then the regular people can go back to their homes out of the stinkin' rain already. Crybabies. Those that married foreigners now had to show up and divorce their wives, and send the no good pagan offspring away.

But it goes to show that God would go to extreme lengths (in our eyes) to preserve his people's purity and keep them out of trouble. I would guess the children were cared for by someone, or some institution, or something like that.

Ezra 9: No Foreign Chicks

Ezra 9:6 "O my God, I am too ashamed and disgraced to lift up my face to you, my God, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens."

Israel's remnant that has returned is small. The "pickings" are a little "slimmer" when it comes to choosing a wife. Maybe the pool to draw from is a little shallower in the women department. Solution? Go hook up with a pagan chick!

Ezra finds out about the Israelites intermarrying with the neighboring HACPHAJ. He of course is not pleased with it. And it wasn't just the low men on the Asherah pole, the leaders and the priests even did this.

Ezra knows his history. He's read Exodus 34. But not only that, he understands it. He saw that even though God was setting Israel apart, they were doing their best not to be who God intended them to be, which is what got them into the mess of being conquered and crushed scattered to begin with. Now God has seen fit to end this punishment, and in the sight of the kings of Persia...undoubtedly the most powerful people ever up that point...return Israel to their homeland. And this is how Israel acts.

Imagine Ezra's fear and agony. He is someone, being a teacher, who has done his research. He's seen God's blessing and mercy in the midst of sin, and he's seen God's justice and holiness work through punishments taken out on Israel. He expects God will do the same. But I am also sure he is aware of what happens when hearts are made humble before the LORD, as with Manasseh. What is God going to do now that Israel seems bent on rejecting God's teachings?

Ezra 8: Ezra Returns

Ezra 8:22 "I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, "The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him.""

Here we have a list of the exiles who returned to Jerusalem with Ezra, as well as an account of what it took to get there. 

Without a temple, without priests, without even Levites, Ezra was sort of on his own. It doesn't say he was a prophet, it did say he was a teacher. He wanted to make sure that this return trip was done according to the LORD. I don't know if I would have done that. I probably would have just hit the road, maybe praying along the way. If I remembered to. But he actually sends for priests to come from however far away Casiphia was. They come and prepare a fast to the LORD for safety on their journey. 

This journey probably wasn't going to be easy. They were going to walk the whole way. I imagine there were a bunch of threats...wild animals, weather, bandits, soldiers, etc. Who knows, so this probably was a great idea. Apparently Artaxerxes would have provided his soldiers as escorts, had Ezra asked. Nicely. But Ezra shows some humility here, as well as someone who isn't afraid to be afraid. There weren't too many lay people who did devotion to God better than Ezra. Even though his faith was very strong, as was his devotion, he kind of laid it all out on the line. He knew God would protect him, but maybe he thought that God would have provided him with protection through Artaxerxes soldiers. But then again, maybe Ezra wanted all glory to God, so that no one could say a man had to protect God's man, which has happened before.

Ezra 7: The Ezra-lites Return

Ezra 7:27 "Praise be to the LORD, the God of our fathers, who has put it into the king's heart to bring honor to the house of the LORD in Jerusalem in this way..."

Well, seven years have gone by and Artaxerxes has taken over as king of the world. He gives a decree that the rest of Israel can now return home to Israel. The exile is over. A guy named Ezra, the priest and teacher of those remaining in Babylon is given high privilege and basically whatever he wants because the hand of God was upon him. Sounds like someone else...really the only other person we've met who is under the same type of captivity, yet given so much leash is Joseph. 

Chapter seven mainly covers Artaxerxes' letter to Ezra, essentially releasing the Israelites to return home, take whatever they need, and to put Ezra in charge of them.

It sounds like Artaxerxes wants to make sure that Israel is doing ok, and that no one messes with them. He wants to make sure that Israel has everything they need to get back on their feet, and sort of re-establish themselves as a people in Judea. He even wants to make sure that Israel has enough to buy all the necessary sacrificial animals as required by God. It is quite...eyebrow raising...? to see how the kings of these nations: Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes all follow each other and are so charitable in their treatment of Israel. Religious tolerance...probably. Something God used to Israel's advantage. 

It doesn't appear that any of these leaders particularly worshipped God as God alone. Artaxerxes at least "gets" God. He wants to bless Israel, and even explicitly says that he doesn't want to needlessly incur God's wrath. Maybe what God said to Abraham in Genesis 12:3 got back to him. But even if it didn't those who messed with Israel and God took a beatdown, at least when Israel was attuned to the will of God.

Ezra 6: Keep Building

Ezra 6:8 "The expenses of these men are to be fully paid out of the royal treasury, from the revenues of Trans-Euphrates, so that the work will not stop."

Darius, the King of Persia facilitates a search of the document archives to see if Cyrus really made this decree. I find it amazing. They had document archives. And they were searchable. These people weren't cavemen. Anyway, he found Cyrus' decree, and responded to Tattenai, telling him to lay off the Israelites and let them go ahead and rebuild the temple.

Darius apparently was wither quite tolerant of other's religions, was quite polytheistic, or followed God. I'm guessing it was probably the former two. But he was quite adamant that Israel build this temple, and anyone who interfere's faced grim and gory consequences.

This new temple is not given near the ornate description of the temple Solomon built. I think this can be traced to the preparations that were made by David, who had limitless money to throw at the temple and the workers. Contrast that with Zerubbabel's temple, which basically had volunteers and money from the royal treasury. A treasury that probably devoted a tiny portion of its resources to Israel's little temple.

Just as celebration for the completion of Solomon's temple included sacrifices, so did the celebration of the completion of Zerubbabel's temple. With Passover being celebrated as well, one would be led to think Israel was finally getting their footing in this new kingdom.

Ezra 5: Tattenai Txts Darius

Ezra 5:5 "But the eye of their God was watching over the elders of the Jews, and they were not stopped until a report could go to Darius and his written reply be received."

So Tattenai is this governor of the Trans-Euphrates region, and he's demanding to know just why Zerubbabel and Jeshua think they can just rebuild their temple. A seemingly insignificant undertaking by a tiny rabble in a vast landscape.

I had to give verse 5 some extra thought. "The eye of God was watching them." Does that mean that they continued building the temple and Tattenai and his people were powerless to stop them? Couldn't see them? Saw them and didn't say anything, like they were under a Jedi mind trick? I don't know, but I'm curious about this. Maybe God influenced Tattenai to be willing to compromise to allow the Israelites to continue to build until Darius responded to a letter. That's less spectacular, but maybe that's all this was. I don't know, I wasn't there.

Its cool that the Israelites went ahead and told the truth to Tattenai when he wanted to know what they were doing. The information wasn't exactly boastworthy, talking about how they screwed up and were wicked and God delivered them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar and the kingdom went to pot. Notable here is that they realized what happened all those years ago...they were conscious of the fact that they failed to hold up their end of the deal, so captivity came as little surprise. Secondly, its important to mention that it was God who delivered Israel into that captivity, lest Nebuchadnezzar get any credit for conquering the nation on his own, and with his own power. Then Cyrus gets a mention again to allow the man-oriented mind of Tattenai attach some weight to what he was being told.

So he sent all this info to Darius to see what the deal was.

Ezra 4: Stop Building

Ezra 4:15 "In these records you will find that this city is a rebellious city, troublesome to kings and provinces, a place of rebellion from ancient times. That is why this city was destroyed."

The people in the area saw the rebuilding of the temple going on. They were described as enemies, so right away, that sort of sets the stage for how this interaction was going to go. They wanted to help with the reconstruction of the temple, claiming that they had been worshipping the LORD, and wanted to assist with the construction of His temple.

And they probably did worship the LORD. Among many other gods. Zerubabbel and Jeshua responded by saying it would be them alone who would rebuild the temple. One, because God was their God. Second, and probably to add a big of gravitas to an unbelieving group of foreigners, because Cyrus said so. Sometimes you need that extra bit of authority in there. As long as Cyrus was in charge, the foreigners, the enemies made it their business to inhibit the temple's construction, lodging complaints with Xerxes, the king of Persia, and then Artaxerxes. Some guys named Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and others wrote a letter to Artaxerxes, having been frustrated by the jews who would not let them help.

It's all political. Not militaristic. The route that the foreigners go in the letter to King Art talks about how if Israel is allowed to do their thing, it's basically going to cost the king a lot of money. He'd lose out on the tribute. So they appeal to his greedy side. They don't want to see the king "dishonored." Snakes.

What I find most noteworthy about the letter is in verse 15. They talk about the city being a rebellious one...troublesome, claiming that is why the city was destroyed. Very interesting. Israel was rebellious. Israel was troublesome. And these were the reasons why Jerusalem was no more. But not because Israel was rebellious or troublesome to their neighbors. They rebelled against God. It was when Israel behaved and was obedient that they were problems to their neighbors.

Of course Artaxerxes takes the bait and brings force to Israel to make them stop with this crazy building. And it took until Darius took the throne in Persia to get started again. We'll have to find out why. Artaxerxes doesn't bother to find out why Cyrus made his proclamation, instead listening only to his selfishness and greed. 

Ezra 3: Rebuilding the Temple

Ezra 3:13 "No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise."

Almost as soon as the Israelites got back to their land, they set about rebuilding the temple. Its notable that God didn't instruct them to build their own homes, or to rebuild the wall of the city. In a way, I suppose God was forcing Israel's hand. They had to trust God, that he woould protect them. This also may have been intended to demonstrate that Israel's priorities needed to be re-established on God, and His precepts. Once the temple was built, then Israel could focus on more temporal needs.

The altar was built and straightaway was used for the various prescribed burnt offerings. Then, just as Solomon had done, the Israelites acquired cedar logs from Tyre and Sidon. The masons and carpenters could then set up shop on the foundation that remained constructing the temple.

The people in charge at this time were Zerubbabel, a governor and Jeshua, a priest. Zerubbabel didn't appear to have any kingly duties, and I don't imagine there was one, as they had been in captivity all this time, and the leaders of the world powers from Nebuchadnezzar to Cyrus had been in power over them.

David's prescription for music in the temple was carried on, and there were instruments and cymbals and lots of noise. Lots of cheering and praise by the younger Israelites, but loud wailing and weeping by the older Israelites who had seen the original temple in all it's glory. Which is kind of interesting. Like, when you type out a long, thoughtful blog post and then your internet dies, and you have to rebuild, it never seems like it was as good the second time around. I imagine the frustration was similar to that. The old temple was given these intricate ornamentations, but none of those things are described here. In a way, this is something new for the nation, possibly ushering in another change.

Ezra 2: Who Returned?

Ezra 2:64 "The whole company numbered 42,360..."

So, chapter 2 is basically a list of people who returned to Israel from exile. And out of however many millions there were, just 42,360 returned? That's quite sad. But this is what happens, this wasting away when the covenant is not carefully followed. They didn't even have their hearts in any kind of a place where God could shed his grace over them as he did during Hezekiah's day.

Israel basically had to completely start over, and they had a very small number to draw from to collect funds and manpower to reconstruct the temple.

The Urim and Thummim makes a reappearance, deciding about eating the sacred food.

I guess I'll get to the point of Ezra later on.

Ezra 1: The Return

Ezra 1:2 "The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah."

After the seventy years in captivity, it's time to fulfill Jeremiah's prophecy which was evidently about Israel no longer being in exile. It is touched on in the Chronicles, but not detailed. Cyrus king of Persia has apparently conquered the known world, and at the very least taken control of Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon.

Cyrus was moved by God to allow Israel to return home with the expressed intent of reconstructing the temple. Seventy years is an extremely long time to allow any building to fall into disrepair, and I presume it was a pretty horrific and desolate sight. Especially compared to the glory of the days when Solomon had it built. I find it interesting that Cyrus doesn't seem to mind allowing the nation of Israel to return home. Why wouldn't he see any harm in it? Did he know his history? Did he realize that when Israel is right with the LORD that they were invincible? I don't know. Cyrus actually took the articles out of Nebuchadnezzar's temple that belonged to the temple of God, and sent them back with the remnant. He probably didn't have to. I wonder if he knew Who he was messing with if he didn't send the temple treasures back. Was he perhaps inspired by those who gave to those who were moving back to construct the temple?

Consider also those who lived on both sides of the exile...the longing and the heartbreak they must have felt returning to where they lived to see the desolation, the looted and destroyed homes and fields. 

2 Ch. 36: Jerusalem's Captivity

2 Chronicles 36:20 "He carried into exile to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power."

The final kings of Jerusalem are all nitwits. Every last one of them after Josiah is described the same way: "He did evil in the eyes of the LORD."

Neco removed Jehoahaz from the throne and took him to Egypt, installing Jehoiakim, after changing his name from Eliakim. Why? Probably because he could, since he was in charge of Israel now.

Then Nebuchadnezzar comes on the scene and shows his power, and takes tribute from Israel.

What is amazing is the repeated attempts God makes to get through to the people of Israel. But the people, in their despair and captivity under Egypt and Nebuchadnezzar still manage to mock and ignore the prophets sent to them.

Nebuchadnezzar carries off the remaining Israelites he didn't kill to Babylon, where they stay for 70 years. There is another very interesting emphasis on rest. The land is said to have "enjoyed" its rest for those seventy years, until the word of Jeremiah the prophet is fulfilled. All this time, the people were not only sinning against God, but apparently sinning against the land, which was given by God as a vital part of the covenant originally made with Israel at the time of Abraham.

Power must have changed hands since Nebuchadnezzar's takeover, as the one who allows the Israelites to return home is Cyrus, the king of Persia, who was moved by God to let His people return back home.

2 Ch. 35: Josiah's Passover and Death

2 Chronicles 35:7 "Josiah provided for all the lay people who were there a total of thirty thousand sheep and goats for the Passover offerings, and also three thousand cattle—all from the king's own possessions."

Josiah celebrates the Passover. The passage here describes Josiah's Passover as unlike any Passover celebrated before, since Samuel. Hezekiah celebrated Passover though? What's the deal? What was the difference between Hezekiah's Passover and Josiah's Passover? We know that Hezekiah's passover was not exactly done according to the rules laid down for Passover (Ex. 12), so perhaps Josiah's was more in line with those rules.

Another interesting point in Josiah's Passover that gave me pause was how he, the king himself, provided so many sheep, goats, and cattle for the lay people. These people probably did not set aside an animal without blemish, probably were just as unprepared for the Passover as those in Hezekiah's day. The king didn't have to do this, but it is important for a couple reasons. One, because the king set an example to the entire nation that this was an important event to comemmorate the exodus. The second was to show what kind of king Josiah was. He sacrificed of himself so that those who couldn't do it themselves were able to keep the covenant.

The ark is also specifically ordered to stay put in the temple, implying that it went mobile for a while for some reason. Which was not right, because the temple established permanence for God, his people, and essentially the people were not letting God stay put where He needed to be.

Josiah gets all scared when Neco (not Necco) the Pharaoh of Egypt wants to go through Israel to fight someone at Carchemish. Neco's response to Josiah's challenge is very interesting... 

"What quarrel is there between you and me, O king of Judah? It is not you I am attacking at this time, but the house with which I am at war. God has told me to hurry; so stop opposing God, who is with me, or he will destroy you."

God was not only active in Israel, he was orchestrating this war between Egypt and what I guess is Syria. Why? I don't know? Perhaps as judgment on Syria? On behalf of Israel? Not sure, but God apparently had a foreign policy as well. Josiah doesn't consult with God to make sure Neco is telling the truth, doesn't talk to any of his prophets...he just makes assumptions that God could not possibly be working through or using this pagan king.

Josiah's intervention is surprising considering the devotion he had generally in walking in the ways of the LORD. It proves disastrous, and winds up being the death of him. But he interfered in what God was doing.

More on Josiah: 2 Kings 21-23, Entries 

2 Ch. 34: Josiah's Reforms

2 Chronicles 34:19 "When the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his robes."

Josiah, Josiah. The boy king. The eight year old with more sense in him than the legions of men before him. I guess what strikes me most is that in spite of not even having the book of the covenant in his possession, Josiah still manages to do right in the eyes of God. He did a clean sweep of the idolatry and the false religions, and walked in the ways of David...unwaveringly.

How did he do that? Was it just the example left by David? And probably Hezekiah? Was this history and tradition Josiah's "book of the law?" If so, it's a pretty amazing example of being an example. Etc.

For those who say the Bible, especially the OT is too phallocentric, here is Huldah (a pretty name!) the third prophetess since Miriam and Deborah. And that's just who was mentioned by name. I can only assume there were more.

When the book is eventually found during refurbishing the temple, and is read to Josiah, he tears his robes. He is humble. Me? I would probably instantly swell with pride at how well I was doing without said book. Instead, Josiah is heartbroken for the people. And he understands what God will do to those who haven't kept His commands. It's all right there. There's no way around it. Josiah's knowledge of God was deep enough to the point that he knew God would keep His end of the deal. I imagine that Josiah was even more distraught over knowing that the people he loved and served would endure the coming judgments, while Josiah would be buried in peace.

And disaster, as we know, is coming.

2 Ch. 33: Manasseh Gets Wreck

2 Chronicles 33:13 "And when he prayed to him, the LORD was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD is God."

The second time through the reign of Manasseh, I wanted to consider what would cause his apple to fall so far away from the tree. Hezekiah may have been a neglectful father, or may have been overstrict, I'm not sure. But a king is a busy guy. Perhaps Manasseh was rebellious, having taken the throne as a youth. He was going to do his own thing, and was going to do it opposite from his dad. 

Manasseh gets a rather interesting description. He essentially replaced God with gods. He went around being as evil as could possibly be. In God's eyes, Manasseh was more evil than those pagan nations Israel was sent to conquer and uproot. And God made efforts to bring Manasseh back, but was ignored. Finally, the Assyrians came and took over, deposing and humiliating Manasseh. On his knees in a dirty dungeon, he humbled himself and repented. And a second 180 is turned. God restored Manasseh to his kingdom, and Manasseh tried to get Israel back with him, but his reputation, and the things he had done made it too late. 

Everything had to be taken away from him in order to get his attention. But in spite of his being more evil than any dude on earth, God managed to get a hold of him and change his life.

Amon was next.

For more on Manasseh, see 2 Kings 21, 9/28/08 Entry.

2 Ch. 32: Hezek-ayonara

2 Chronicles 32:31 "But when envoys were sent by the rulers of Babylon to ask him about the miraculous sign that had occurred in the land, God left him to test him and to know everything that was in his heart."

There's not much I can add to the story of Sennacherib, that I didn't already read about back in 2 Kings 18 and 19. He was the Assyria-hole who came and threatened Judah after the mighty turnaround. Not a good time to come and get rowdy on Israel, after they had just renewed their ties with God. The Bible says that the Angel of God came down and annihilated the Assyrian army, and Sennacherib was kilt off by his sons. Rough end.

What I don't recall reading, however, is this little bit at the end of the chapter about how some Babylonians stopped by to talk to this amazingly wealthy powerful ruler, and because of his pride, Hezekiah was left by the LORD. God tested him, and apparently he did not pass. He did not succeed in this instance, unlike the usual things.

Why tests like this? Wouldn't God's power and influence be diminished by Hezekiah's stammering around and inability to attribute his wealth and power to God?

Further reading on Sennacherib: 09/23/08 Entry

2 Ch. 31: The Giving Spreads

2 Chronicles 31:21 "In everything that he undertook in the service of God's temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered."

This revival spread quickly. The people went on from their place of worship, not back to their homes to watch the Detroit Lions get pummelled, but to smash idols and asherah poles and tear down the altars on the high places. It was a radical change. Internal changes, where God takes hold of a wayward life, are the most radical. They seemed to give up themselves.

They also showed signs of this renewal by giving tithes, so much so that the temple was not enough to hold all that stuff. They had to put what was given in storehouses. But it didn't appear to go to waste, it was distributed to the priests, the Levites and their families, as prescribed when Moses first got the orders of the priestly duties.

Should I be amazed by this turnaround? When a country of people leave their ways, renounce their idolatry, and suddenly are so deeply affected by what God has begun to do, is it real? I have to ask. Was it the entire country? How many of the Israelites changed their lives, and made decisions to follow God? How many of them did this following the crowd? We'll see.

2 Ch. 30: Passover Renewed

2 Chronicles 30:17 "Since many in the crowd had not consecrated themselves, the Levites had to kill the Passover lambs for all those who were not ceremonially clean and could not consecrate their lambs to the LORD."

I don't know how long it had been since we saw Passover. But I imagine it was a pretty long freakin' time. In fact, the very last time it was even mentioned was in Joshua, before the time of any king. So far removed from the minds and culture of the people of Israel was Passover that it simply was not enough for their king to declare that they would celebrate it. The priests hadn't even kept up on their own consecration and purification rites to celebrate it at the prescribed time. Besides, the people must have thought, who was this guy Hezekiah anyway? He was brand new on the throne. The couriers who brought the invitations to Passover were ridiculed, so far out was this idea of Passover. Also because the invitation got right down to it and didn't mince any words. Didn't much care whether or not anyone was offended.

I am not too sure about this. I can appreciate Hezekiah wanting to re-center the kingdom again on the pivot point of the sacred rituals. Would God? What's the deal here? What I have come to learn is that despite what I think should happen when people do stuff, God does whatever he will.

Verses 17-20 make up an amazing passage and a wonderful view into the heart of God. People came to this Passover, and so many came who didn't consecrate themselves, whether they didn't have time, didn't know how...they just didn't. And there were clearly defined rules for Passover. But wise Hezekiah...he knew God was after the hearts of people, and here His people were, giving their hearts to him by following Passover. They wanted to partake of this ritual that identified themselves as being God's people. Hezekiah prayed that God would forgive them...forgive them...(the sin being trying to reach God their own way)...who seek God, regardless of ceremonial cleanness. I find that pretty incredible that Hezekiah would have the balls to pray like that.