Bible Calendar
  • Home
  • Calendar 2021
  • Start today!
  • Blog
  • Videos
  • Español
  • Contact us

Ezra 9 - 10

5/18/2012

0 Comments

 
         When someone studies Yahweh’s word in the way that we saw described yesterday en Ezra 7:10, it awakens a high sensitivity toward sin: “As soon as I heard this, I tore my garment and my cloak and pulled hair from my head and beard and sat appalled…  I sat appalled until the evening sacrifice” (Ezra 9:3, 4).
         Ezra has been touched by Yahweh’s holiness to the point that he feels something of His intolerance toward sin.  His whole spirit reacts toward sin’s repulsive nature; he recognizes the impossibility of sin coexisting with holiness.
         Notice here that Ezra’s high sensitivity reacts toward the sins of others, not committed against him personally but against Yahweh’s holiness. It’s a reaction that Jesus Christ describes as hungering and thirsting for righteousness, and it can appear either from the recognition of one’s own sins or the recognition of the community’s sins against God.
         Notice too, that this sensibility toward sin must unburden itself in prayer: “[I] fell upon my knees and spread out my hands to the LORD my God” (Ezra 9:5).  This prayer includes:
         1)  The confession of sins and the personal identification with the sins of others: “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens” (Ezra 9:6).
         2)  It recognizes the offense of sin against the most recent manifestations of Yahweh’s grace: “But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant and to give us a secure hold within his holy place, that our God may brighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our slavery” (Ezra 9:8).
         3)  Against this background of grace, sin makes no sense – it is an offense, an incomprehensible act of rebellion against Yahweh’s grace: “And now, O our God, what shall we say after this?...  Seeing that you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a remnant as this, shall we break your commandments again and intermarry with the peoples who practice these abominations?” (Ezra 9:10, 13-14)
         4)  It recognizes the punishment that sin deserves: “Would you not be angry with us until you consumed us, so that there should be no remnant, nor any to escape?” (Ezra 9:14)
         5)  It recognizes the complete righteousness of Yahweh and the complete guilt of sinners: “O LORD, the God of Israel, you are just, for we are left a remnant that has escaped, as it is today.  Behold, we are before you in our guilt, for none can stand before you because of this” (Ezra 9:15).
         Jesus Christ promises in this situation, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6).  By the power of Yahweh’s Spirit, Ezra’s hunger and thirst for righteousness is satisfied immediately: “While Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, a very great assembly of men, women and children, gathered to him out of Israel, for the people wept bitterly.  And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, of the sons of Elam, addressed Ezra: ‘We have broken faith with our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land, but even now there is hope for Israel in spite of this.  Therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God, and let it be done according to the Law.  Arise, for it is your task, and we are with you; be strong and do it’” (Ezra 10:1-4).  Through the teaching of Yahweh’s word over a long period of time and by the work of Yahweh’s Spirit, the high sensitivity toward sin has extended itself to others in the community.  Instead of resisting the word, the community joins Ezra in repentance.
         Perhaps someone today reacts to this reading by saying, “Poor women and children who are left abandoned by the religious fanaticism of one man!”  But a
reaction like this has not considered the situation fully.  Ezra does not find guilt in racial differences but in Israel’s having intermarried with “peoples who practice [notice the present tense] these abominations” (Ezra 9:14).  The testimonies of Rahab in Joshua 2 and 6:22-25 and of Ruth demonstrate that the Israelites could receive foreigners who converted to Yahweh.  Ezra 9 – 10 addresses marriage to foreign women who actively practice other religions and are training the next generation to do the same.  We suppose that they could convert to Yahweh like Rahab or Ruth and be accepted by the Jewish community.  If not, then the men had no business marrying them, knowing that they were disobeying Yahweh’s law and putting the future generations of Yahweh’s remnant at risk.
         The high sensitivity toward sin caused by devoted study of Yahweh’s word can lead to great discomfort.  It urges us to make difficult decisions, sometimes totally contrary to common reasoning.  But these decisions, made in repentance and obedience to Yahweh’s word, produce the peaceful fruit of righteousness (Hebrews 12:11).
0 Comments

Ezra 7 - 8

5/16/2012

0 Comments

 
         With Ezra 7 we begin to read about the second wave of Jews that returned to Israel after the exile, this time in 458 BC.  They are directed by Ezra: “He was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses that the LORD, the God of Israel, had given, and the king granted him all that he asked, for the hand of the LORD his God was on him” (Ezra 7:6).
         Notice Ezra’s preparation for Yahweh’s work: “Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel” (Ezra 7:10).
         “Ezra had set…” – Ezra’s education did not occur by accident but was driven by a fixed purpose.  We can imagine long hours of study which seemed innumerable, hours of reading and studying Holy Scripture which extended into years, hours bathed in prayer and fasting and punctuated by cries to Yahweh for discernment and wisdom in the word he studied.
         “Ezra had set his heart…” – His preparation consumed his whole being in devotion to Yahweh. It was organized so that his intellect, his will, his emotions and his soul were directed by the passion to know Yahweh more intimately.
         “…To study the Law of the LORD” – It was a careful study, to examine attentively all the details of Yahweh’s revelation from Genesis to Deuteronomy.  It examined the foundation and the bonds of grace on which his relationship with Yahweh depended, and he marveled at the grace which established his people as Yahweh’s special treasure.
         “…And to do it” – The purpose of this education was much more than the satisfaction of an intellectual curiosity or the preparation for an academic career.  Before teaching others, his own heart needed to by purified and molded by Yahweh’s word.  His passion and devotion had to be directed so that they would manifest themselves in obedience.  He had to grow accustomed to the walk of repentance and obedience himself before he could direct the steps of others on the same path.
         “And to teach… in Israel” – With a heart transformed by Yahweh’s word, Ezra was ready now to announce it to others, to explain it so that others could be transformed and made obedient to the Lord also.
         “His statutes and rules” – Ezra is going to teach with authority.  He not only will teach to inform others but as Yahweh’s ambassador, to demand a response of submission and obedience on the part of his listeners.  The authority with which he preaches will surpass his own influence and even that of the king of Persia; he will be covered with the authority that comes from above, the authority of Yahweh who thundered above Mount Sinai to the point where the people said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die” (Exodus 20:19).
         “Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel” (Ezra 7:10).  May Yahweh continue to raise up preachers and teachers of His word in our generation that, well prepared in His word and with submissive and obedient hearts, would teach with authority to direct our people in repentance and obedience to Him.

0 Comments

Ezra 4 - 6

5/16/2012

0 Comments

 
          Can Yahweh work even through bureaucracies?  Ezra 4 – 6 demonstrates that yes, He can.
         To govern such a large and multiethnic empire, the Babylonians and later the Persians developed an impressive bureaucracy.  Their system of archives collected data from all parts of their empire and preserved in an orderly fashion the many decrees needed to govern so many different peoples over large periods of time.  We
see the Persian bureaucracy in action in Ezra 4 – 6.  Since the Jews and their neighbors are no longer independent and have no kings, they must send their requests to one of the distant Persian capitals and patiently await a response.  It
was supposed that the authorities would respond justly, but sometimes justice was distorted as it passed through so many administrative hands: “[They] bribed
counselors against them to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia (Ezra 4:5).
         But Yahweh’s power overcomes any attempt to distort His justice, even in a bureaucracy: “Let the work on this house of God alone.  Let the governor of the
Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God on this site…  The cost is to be paid to these men in full and without delay from the royal revenue, the tribute of the province from Beyond the River…  Also I make a decree that if anyone alters this edict, a beam shall be pulled out of his house, and he shall be impaled on it, and his house shall be made a dunghill” (Ezra 6:7-8, 9, 11).  Bureaucracies can serve as instruments of Yahweh’s justice, and in this case they confirm the
reconstruction of the temple.
         In this reading, some historical details appear that cause confusion among some readers.  First, it seems like the Jews must wait a long time to receive final permission to rebuild the temple since Ezra 4:5-7 mentions the Persian kings Cyrus, Darius, Ahasuerus and Artaxerxes.  Their reigns cover more than 100 years after Cyrus’s decree to rebuild the temple in 539 BC. Later, Ezra 6:14 mentions that the Jews finished the temple by the decree of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes; however, they finish construction in the sixth year of Darius’s reign, in 516 BC, 23 years after the decree, not 100 years later.  Can it be that the Biblical author made a mistake in chronology and the list of Persian kings?
         No, there is no confusion or error on the part of the Biblical author if we recognize that Ezra 4:6-23 is a parenthesis in the narrative about the construction of the temple.  The accusations written to Ahasuerus in Ezra 4:6, to Artaxerxes in Ezra 4:7-16 and his response in Ezra 4:17-23 are not directly related to the
construction of the temple.  They are examples of the general strategy of the enemies of the Jews to discredit them in the eyes of Persian authorities.  Notice in particular that the letter to Artaxerxes discusses the construction of walls (Ezra 4:12), not the reconstruction of the temple.  Although these complaints were written much later and about other concerns, the accusations of Ezra 4:6-23 are examples of the kinds of tactics by which the neighbors of the Jews also tried to stop the reconstruction of the temple.  This parenthesis ends when the author starts Ezra 4:24 and returns to the narrative of temple construction: “Then the work on the house of God that is in Jerusalem stopped, and it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.” (F. Charles Fensham, The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah, New International Commentary on the Old Testament; 1982, Eerdmans, pgs. 69-70)
         Second, the reference to the king of Assyria in Ezra 6:22 also can cause confusion.  Assyria no longer existed as an empire after the destruction of Nineveh in 612 BC and of Haran in 610 BC, but the Passover in Ezra 6:22 was celebrated in 516 BC.  Technically, no king of Assyria has existed for almost 100 years.  How can the Bible say, “The LORD had made them joyful and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them” (Ezra 6:22)?  The reason comes from the custom of new Middle Eastern emperors to join themselves to the list of previous emperors to give legitimacy to their new rule.  Despite the change in kingdoms, a new emperor presented himself as another link in the chain of previous famous and admired rulers.  Therefore, a king of Persia like Darius could present himself also as king of Assyria even though this empire ceased to exist, because he governed the same geographical locations and the same peoples as the Assyrian kings had.  This association also makes his own government more prestigious (Fensham, The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah, pg. 96; refers to a list of Babylonian kings reproduced in
Ancient Near Eastern Texts, pg. 566, that begins with an Assyrian king, mentions the strictly Babylonian kings, includes the Persian kings Cyrus, Cambyses and Darius and ends with the Seleucid kings who took over after the death of Alexander the Great.  The kings on the list come from four distinct empires, but they are presented as one unbroken chain with dominion over the same geographic location and the same people).  Understood in this way, the phrase: “The LORD had made them joyful and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them” (Ezra 6:22) is not an historical error but a declaration of Yahweh’s faithfulness, the One who changed the heart of the same chain of authority that exiled His people from Israel in 722 BC and made it so that they now encouraged the Israelites to return from
exile and rebuild Jerusalem.  This title allows us to see Yahweh’s mercy through the centuries.  Even though He punishes, He is merciful and will never abandon His people.
0 Comments

Ezra 1 - Esther 10: The tenth unit of the Bible

5/15/2012

0 Comments

 
         Now that Yahweh has punished His people through Jerusalem’s destruction and the exile in 586 BC, will He ever have mercy on them again?  The tenth unit of
the Bible – the books of Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther – affirm that He will.
         These books narrate the history of the first generations of Yahweh’s people after the exile.  In the book of Esther, we will read about their redemption even though they are in a foreign land.  In Ezra and Nehemiah, we will see their reestablishment in the Promised Land.  We will cover this unit in about a week and a half, between May 15th and 26th this year.  As you read, keep in mind the following observations:
         1)  The main events of the unit: The redemption and protection of Yahweh’s threatened people on foreign soil (Esther) and their reestablishment in the Promised Land through many trials and tribulations (Ezra and Nehemiah).
         2)  Yahweh’s outstanding attributes: His faithfulness, His mercy in forgiveness, His sovereignty
         3) Yahweh’s main work: Preserving, redeeming, blessing and reestablishing His chosen remnant
         4)  The main participants: Zerubbabel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Mordecai and others from the generations of Yahweh’s people after the exile
         5)  The main reference to Jesus Christ and the gospel: “You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger and brought water for them out of the rock for their thirst” (Nehemiah 9:15; see also John 6:31-35 y 1 Corinthians 10:1-4).
         Key observations: In one verse, the chronicler summarizes several decades of history and prepares us for the Bible unit that we are going to read today: “He
took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword [in the year 586
BC], and they became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of
the king of Persia [in the year 539 BC]” (2 Chronicles 36:20).  This last event refers to the victory of the Medes and Persians led by Cyrus over the Babylonians.  With
this victory, authority over the exiled Jews passed from the Babylonians to the
Persians.
         The Persians had a very different policy toward conquered minorities than the Assyrians and Babylonians had.  Instead of keeping them in exile, the Persians promoted the reestablishment of their cities of origin and the reconstruction of their
temples.  This new policy benefitted Yahweh’s people: “Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: ‘Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, “The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the
earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.  Whoever is among you of all his people, may the LORD his God be with him.  Let him go up”’” (2 Chronicles 36:22-23; see also Ezra 1:1-4).
         Just as the deportation to Babylon occurred in three stages (in the years 605, 597 and 586 BC), the return from exile and the reestablishment of Jerusalem occurs in three stages, too.  The first group returns shortly after Cyrus’s decree in 539 BC.  Led by the governor Zerubbabel, they concentrate on the rebuilding of the temple which finally is finished in 516 BC.  We read their story in Ezra 1 – 6 and in the books of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah.
         The second group returns over 50 years later, in 458 BC.  Led by Ezra, they
concentrate on the reestablishment of the people in the Mosaic Law.  We read their story in Ezra 7 – 10.
         The third group returns shortly thereafter, in 444 BC.  Led by Nehemiah, they
concentrate on rebuilding the walls around the city.  We find their story in the book of Nehemiah, part of which overlaps with Ezra.
         Therefore, when you read Ezra and Nehemiah, remember that you are reading a historical narrative that covers over 100 years.  Don’t be frustrated if the
main characters and events in Ezra 1 – 6 do not reappear in Ezra 7 – Nehemiah 13.
         In the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, we will see that Yahweh blesses the remnant of His people who return and rebuild Jerusalem.  But what happens to His
chosen people who don’t return from the exile?  Will Yahweh abandon them?  The book of Esther tells us no; instead, Yahweh will continue to protect and redeem His people living on foreign soil.
         Although we read the book of Esther after Ezra and Nehemiah, historically it takes place during the reign of Xerxes (Ahasuerus; between 486 – 465 BC), that is, during the half-century of silence between Ezra 6 and 7. Therefore, if we want to follow the chronological thread, we see roughly:
         1.  Ezra 1 – 6, Haggai and Zechariah (539 – 516 BC)
         2.  Esther (probably between 480 – 475 BC)
         3.  Ezra 7 – 10 (458 –approximately 433 BC)
         4.  Nehemiah (444 –approximately 430 BC)
And in all that historical and geographic movement, Yahweh is the One who remains faithful and secure.  Praise Him for his sovereignty and faithfulness despite the barriers of distance and time as you read the books of Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther.
0 Comments

    Author

    Ken Kytle serves as pastor of Iglesia bautista La fe en Cristo near Atlanta, Georgia.

    Archives

    June 2014
    March 2013
    January 2013
    November 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011

    Categories

    All
    1 Chronicles
    1 Corinthians
    1 Kings
    1 Samuel
    20 Units
    2 Chronicles
    2 Kings
    2 Samuel
    Deuteronomy
    Esther
    Exodus
    Ezra
    General
    Genesis
    Job
    Joshua
    Judges
    Leviticus
    Nehemiah
    Numbers
    Psalms
    Ruth

    RSS Feed

All Bible quotations from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV)
Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL
Imagen
All Bible explanations are under copyright, may be shared freely, but not sold
© 2011-21 www.comoleerlabiblia.org
Contact us at
admin@biblecalendar.org or
923 Heritage Ridge Court

Monroe, GA  30655