Watermark Bible Studies is a bible study web app that archives and serves the Watermark class at Liberty Bible Church in Chesterton, IN.

This site is dedicated to supplying God's people with in-depth, exegetical biblical studies so that they might "become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."

Ephesians 4:13

Bible Studies

Dec 2023

Jonah 2

The Death of Jonah

Samuel Johnson, the great English essayist wrote, “When a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.” As the crew members of the commercial cargo ship lift Jonah over the side into the surging water, as far as Jonah knows he has only moments to live and is about to disappear into a terrifying, cold-black, bottomless abyss. The Mediterranean Sea is deep, with an average depth of 4900 feet and 16,000 feet at its deepest point. As he goes over the side what does Jonah see and what is he thinking? Scripture tells us that as Jonah was interrogated by the ship’s crew and then confesses to them the storm continued to rise in ferocity. What did this look like? Psalm 107:23-30 gives us a good picture as does Paul’s own shipwreck in Acts 27. Huge waves, driving rain, lightning, the darkness of low clouds, the inability to see land or to discriminate between sky and water. The ship rising on wave after wave and then descending into deep troughs, water pouring relentlessly over every square inch of the deck, oars snapping and being pulled away by the storm surge, and no ability to control the direction of the ship’s bow or rudder. It was an endless, overpowering, claustrophobic, cyclone of wet terror, that left Jonah and the crew in a state of exhausted helplessness near-to-death. Jonah knows that God has sent all of this and may have felt like the Genesis judgment of the great flood had returned just for him, as part of God’s own judgment on his disobedience and flight. So how does he feel? Fear, unending stress, helplessness, grief, and terrible regret. Think about Jonah’s regard for himself. He identified himself first as a Hebrew. This means that the last hands that handle him before his death are the unclean hands of pagans, the very people Jonah despises and doesn’t want to help, not his own Jewish countrymen. Kevin J. Youngblood (Jonah: Exegetical Commentary on the Old Testament, p. 84) writes that Jonah submits to being thrown overboard by the pagan crew because he now values himself as no better than the cargo the crew has already jettisoned. At this point, even though Jonah knows that the pagans have been actively praying to their gods, and that the one true living God whom Jonah worships is responsible for the storm, Jonah will still not talk to God. He does talk to the pagans. In addition, Youngblood says that Jonah’s fate reflects how God had used and would continue to use other nations to chasten and punish Israel. The Jewish Virtual Library says, “The one thing expressed most clearly by Israelite burial practices is the common human desire to maintain some contact with the community even after death, through burial in one's native land at least, and if possible with one's ancestors. "Bury me with my fathers," Jacob's request (Genesis 49:29), was the wish of every ancient Israelite.” As far as Jonah knows that burial will not happen for him. His fellow Israelites will not have the chance to mourn his death, his body will not be prepared for burial in a tomb in the land of his own fathers. He will not lay in the earth of the Promised Land. For Jonah this would have been an unspeakable source of grief and loss, and in this moment he would have realized that his predicament was his own making. He had chosen to reject God, to distrust his own countrymen by not sharing his predicament with them, and to reject the Promised Land by leaving in secret. He had chosen to run, to escape by ship, to travel to a remote location and risk the passage across the Mediterranean. Even though God created great fleets for Solomon, the people of Israel were not like the Phoenicians, the restless, far-reaching people of the sea. The Israelites were the people of the hills, the plains, and the desert. They were the people of God taught to first look up at the heavens, like Abraham, to behold the sheer vast creative majesty of the one true living God who had made them and chosen them. For the Israelites deep water was a mystical and dangerous vault. Ray Vander Laan writes that in scripture, the flooding waters of the sea became a tool of God's judgment. In Genesis chapter 7 all of the fountains of the great deep burst forth and the windows of heaven were opened, bringing a torrent of rain and an all-engulfing floodtide that erased all living things outside of Noah’s ark. The Psalms describe the sea as dangerous. Psalm 69:1-2 says, “Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire where there is no foothold. I have come into deep waters and the flood sweeps over me….” (Ray Vander Laan, That the World May Know) Yet in this moment of preparing for his own death Jonah receives an unexpected and remarkable postponement. Given the abundant clothing that Jonah was probably wearing as a prophet close to the king – long tunic over an undergarment and a long ankle-length mantle over the tunic woven from high quality linen or wool - he was probably well-underneath the water and beginning the act of drowning. Details from Jonah’s prayer in Jonah 2:5&6 tell us that he was surrounded by deep water, head wrapped in weeds, descending towards the bottom with no hope of regaining the surface of the sea. Jonah 1:17 tells us that God appointed a large fish which swallowed Jonah as he descended into the deep water and it is here, in the fish, that he remained alive for the next three days and three nights. The Prayer Many commentators in chapter two call Jonah’s prayer a prayer of thanksgiving for his deliverance. But there is much more going on than this. This cannot have been a moment of happiness for Jonah or even relieve. If the hold of the cargo ship where Jonah slept was like a self-imposed coffin, the inside of the fish was a smaller and unexpected one, and absolutely not pleasant or offering safety in a way that Jonah would trust or understand. The fish was an active creature of the deep and sounding the depths of the Mediterranean Sea. Jonah was in an utterly alien, claustrophobic space, which offered no escape routes. He had lost even the feeling of the ship’s wooden deck beneath his feet. The physical world as he understood it was completely gone. No land, no sky, no ability to tell up from down, and he is pinioned and unable to even move in the complete, stinking, ink-black darkness of the fish’s gut. Jonah has lost contact with all human companionship, whether good or unpleasant, even the pagan kind. All of the markers of his identity, all of his future expectations, ambitions, hopes, plans, common irritations and anxieties, and all of his connections with life are gone. It is like a living death. All that Jonah has left is God. When Jonah ran he was seeking escape and complete anonymity. His every action screamed that he wanted to disappear in a final way so that even God would not be able to find him. Inch by inch God relentlessly gave Jonah exactly what he was asking for: on a ship, in a storm, in a fish, in deep water, in the vast expanse of the Mediterranean Sea. God intervenes in history and uses his creation so that Jonah has one choice left and only one: whether or not to talk to God, and he chooses to talk. He chooses prayer. The structure of the prayer conforms to a psalm’s thanksgiving prayer but the circumstances give it a sober recognition. As Youngblood observes Jonah’s prayer recognizes God’s exercise of a severe mercy which may still result in Jonah’s death. Jonah has no guarantee that he will survive the fish or ultimately be saved. His discomfort and sense of dislocation are still off the charts. His recognition beginning in Jonah 2:2 is that God has used the fish to save him from drowning, and for this he is grateful. He recognizes in verse 3 that it is God himself who has delivered Jonah into the depths of the sea and brought on the storm that launched him overboard. In verse 4 Jonah recognizes that it is his own behavior that has been the cause of God’s extreme acts, but his recognition, in verse 4, is that God has not rejected him, and he will see God’s holy temple once again despite his current circumstances. In verses 6 and 7 Jonah describes what was actually happening to him as he sank and began to drown. God used the fish to rescue him the extremity and stark bleakness of that moment. Jonah realizes that it was only at the point of seemingly total loss that he began finally to pray to God again, and that his relationship with God is more important than life itself. In verse 8 Jonah seems to harken back to the shotgun prayers of the pagan ship’s crew and their captain to every false god in hopes of being saved. Youngblood writes that this also reflects Jonah’s continuing struggle with the identify of other people unlike him and in need of relationship with God, and with the mission to Nineveh that God has asked him to undertake. God uses this example to remind Jonah that the hope of steadfast love can only be fulfilled in the one true living God, whom Jonah has been strenuously avoiding until he is lodged in the fish. In verse 9 Jonah confirms that his worshipful relationship and obedience to God is restored. Jonah’s last affirmation is what God has been looking for, “Salvation belongs to the LORD!” It is following this recognition by Jonah that God speaks to the fish and the fish spews a very moist Jonah to safety. God wants Jonah’s recognition to be our own: that God values us, invests in us, calls on us, and uses stark and harsh events around us to draw us closer to him, regardless of our imperfections and prejudices. It is only when Jonah has lost everything that has false priority and importance in his life that his relationship with God is restored. Notice that Jonah does not apologize to God for his flight and disobedience. Jonah’s vow to sacrifice to God with the voice of thanksgiving in verse 9 is the expression of his hope that God will forgive him and receive the offerings he will bring in atonement and affirmation. God has strenuously arrayed his powers and creation to remind Jonah of his active presence, reminding both Jonah and us of these words from Psalm 139:7-12 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” 12 even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. God What does God think of Jonah? It is easy to assume that he finds Jonah as annoying as everyone else does. Fortunately we have God’s own eyewitness testimony. In Matthew 12:38-41 Christ says this about Jonah: 38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” 39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. In verse 39 Christ refers to Jonah as one of God’s prophets and in verse 41 he observes that the men of Nineveh repented specifically in response to Jonah’s preaching. Hebrews 1:1-2, says, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed to the heir of all things.” God loved and anointed his prophets to speak his truth to his people and the world before the arrival of Christ, and Jonah, by God’s own word and definition, stands in that prophetic lineage and beloved of God. And he was effective on God’s behalf. God regards Jonah as more precious, more important, more effective, and more beloved that Jonah regarded himself. God knew he could work with Jonah to help accomplish his greater purpose in the world. Today, reaching us through the redemptive power of Christ, God assigns a similar greater-than-life and abundant value to each of us and our capacity, in his name, to advance his kingdom....

Dec 2023

Jonah 1:1-17

God’s Command and Jonah’s Flight

We have learned that Jonah was a man of faith, clearly valued by God and chosen by God to speak to Jeroboam II and his court as to God’s positive plans for Israel. Jonah has learned that God loves him and trusts him. Then why does Jonah run rather than relying on his relationship with God and talking to God as Moses did when God commanded Moses to go back to Egypt to release the Israelites from captivity? How is Jonah like us? Have you ever felt so disappointed by God that you won’t speak to him? What do the means that God uses to pursue Jonah (the storm, the ship’s captain, and crew, and finally the fish) tells us about how God pursues us? Compare Jonah’s behavior in the storm to Paul’s behavior in Acts. What do we learn? Compare Jonah’s shipboard behavior during the storm to the crew’s behavior. How can God use others around us, even nonbelievers, in our lives? What we know from 2 Kings 14 is that Jonah is a man of faith and God’s prophet whom God has called to affirm the reign and success of King Jeroboam II to show the people of Israel that God still loves them and cherishes them and has not given up on them. Now, suddenly and with no warning or fanfare, God commands Jonah to “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it for their evil has come up before me.” More than likely Jonah as never traveled farther than the distance from his home in Gath-helpher to King Jeroboam II’s place in the capital city of Samaria. When Jonah receives this command he is most likely in Samaria amongst his countrymen, enjoying the king’s favor and looking to the next communication from God and the next step in helping Israel to prosper and to return to God. God summons Jonah and commissions him for an entirely new prophetic assignment in the most radical way possible: Go to the most hostile, cruel, and dangerous people in the region who are also an ongoing threat to the very existence of Israel and its people; Go to Nineveh, Assyria’s biggest and greatest city; Travel 550 miles (which would take nearly a month) through their empire to get there; Preach against the Assyrians, without another human to support you, because God has taken note of their wickedness. Jonah objects. However he does not share his objections with God in the same way Moses did when God confronted him in the wilderness and commanded him to return to Egypt to release the Israelites from their Egyptian captivity (Exodus 3). Moses had a lengthy discussion with God and plainly enumerating his objections to God’s call: I’m not qualified. I don’t have the answers and am not smart enough to figure them out. People won’t believe me. I am a truly terrible public speaker, please send anyone but me. Jonah had his own strong objections to God’s call to go to Nineveh but he does not share them at the outset other than by his actions: So great is Jonah’s distress that his immediate reaction in verse 3 is to remain silent and to run away from God and head for Tarshish. Jonah’s reaction is physical flight. His reaction is similar to Elijah’s flight into the wilderness when Jezebel threatened to kill him (1 Kings 19), except in this instance Jonah is not running away from another human being. He is running away from God....

Aug 2023

Matthew 1:1-17

the geneology of jesus

Matthew begins with a genealogy, a dangerous way to begin any story that you actually want people to read. Question: Why does Matthew start with this genealogy and what are its characteristics? First, it tells us that Matthew is a Jew. Genealogies had specific value and use for the Jewish people. Deuteronomy 17:15 states that Israel’s king, or leader, must be a Hebrew, not a foreigner. Priests had to be able to prove their pedigree with clarity or they could not serve. Ezra 2:62 tells us that certain Israelites returning from the Babylonian captivity could not produce their family records, so were excluded from the priesthood. Josephus the great Jewish historian began his autobiography with a review of his ancestors. R.T. France writes that “The first two words of Matthew’s gospel are literally “book of genesis”…. The effect on a Jewish reader is comparable to that of John’s opening phrase, “In the beginning…” The theme of the fulfillment of Scripture is signaled from the very start.” (France, p. 28) The genealogy begins by identifying Christ as the son of David and the son of Abraham. Abraham lived more than 2100 years before the birth of Christ. It reminds all readers that God is the architect of this moment, and that it is part of his original promise to Abraham. We know the people listed in this genealogy from scripture itself. This is a list of imperfect souls. It reminds us that Christ came into the world to save flesh and blood, the broken and the imperfect. God allowed Christ to be born into less than perfect circumstances to accomplish his purposes. Five women are named or referenced: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba (indirectly), and Mary. Four of these women are Gentiles. Tamar and Rahab were Canaanites, Ruth a Moabite, and Bathsheba was married to a Hittite. Their inclusions reminds us that Christ arrives to save everyone: men and women, Jews, Gentiles, and suspect ‘foreigners’ who are not blood descendants of Abraham. This is not a perfect genealogy. Matthew has done some trimming and omitting to obtain his 14, 14, and 14 generation symmetry. Why does he do this? Practically it could help facilitate memorization in an age when written accounts are often verbally shared. R.T. France observes that Matthews focus is on the genealogy as a succession of kings rather than a pure family statement. This might also explain the difference between Matthew’s genealogy and the one found in Luke 3:23-38....

Aug 2023

Matthew

background

There is no decisive agreement among scholars that the disciple Matthew wrote the gospel of Matthew. Scholars tend to reach a hesitant consensus in suggesting that the apostle Matthew is the writer for a couple of reasons. First, and most importantly, identification of Matthew as the writer is made by early church leaders. Second, as Craig S. Keener notes, if Matthew didn’t write the gospel, attaching his name to it is an odd choice, given the starkly bad reputation of tax collectors, even reformed ones. Names like Peter or Andrew would, at the start of the Christian faith, have conferred greater credibility and authority. Concerning the opinion of early church leaders: Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 330), in his own writing, quotes an earlier statement made by Papias (Bishop of Hierapolis in Asia Minor perhaps as early as 110) concerning the origins of the gospels of Mark and Matthew. This is what Eusebius wrote: “The Elder used to say: Mark, in his capacity as Peter’s interpreter, wrote down accurately as many things as he [Peter?] recalled from memory — though not in an ordered form — of the things either said or done by the Lord. For he [Mark] neither heard the Lord not accompanied him, but later, as I said, [he heard and accompanied] Peter, who used to give his teachings in the form of chreia, but had no intention of providing an ordered arrangement of the logia of the Lord. Consequently Mark did nothing wrong when he wrote down some individual items just as he [Peter] related them from memory. For he made it his one concern not to omit anything he had heard or to falsify anything... Therefore Matthew put the logia in an ordered arrangement in the Hebrew language, but each person interpreted them as best he could.” In these comments “The Elder” means John the Elder, a follower of Christ. Chreia means short units about a person’s words and deeds. In Greek rhetoric, the chreia form was a basic unit of biographical or historical writing. A comparable term might be “literary anecdote.” Logia means “sayings.” Scholars disagree as to the meaning of Eusebius’s comments about the orderliness of John Mark’s gospel and the identity of John the Elder, but point to the direct identification of Matthew as the writer of the gospel of Matthew. (Richard Bauckham, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids 2006) p. 203) R.T. France (The Gospel of Matthew, (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids 2007), pp 18-19) writes that in his view Matthew was probably written before 70 A.D. while the Temple was still standing, and while it was far more likely that the apostle Matthew was still alive and at work. F.F. Bruce dates the first three gospels this way: “Mark around AD 64 or 65, Luke shortly before 70, and Matthew shortly after 70.” All three were written “when many were alive who could remember the things that Jesus said and did.” (F.F. Bruce, The New Testament Documents (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids 1981) p. 7)...

May 2016

Nehemiah 8:1-12

a dynamic demonstration of worship

Like Nehemiah the people recognized that God had enabled them to accomplish something extraordinary and miraculous in reconstructing the walls and gates in 52 days. They summoned Ezra, to lead them in worship, not at the temple but at the Water Gate, which was on the eastern side and south along the eastern wall of Jerusalem. This allowed more people to be present than could have been contained by the temple precinct to the north and, more importantly, didn’t exclude anyone from joining in worship. Men, women,, and children were present. Question: What did this worship look like? They summoned Ezra, the man who lived the scriptures and God’s law, to lead them. They summoned a worship leader who was authentic and genuine in his faith and who had a deep understanding of God’s word, to lead the service; not a showman or political leader. Verse 1 tells us that “all of the people assembled as one man in the square before the Water Gate….” meaning that men, women, and children were there and they shared a common purpose, to worship God. Ezra read directly from scripture, the “Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded for Israel.” This is the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Numbers. Ezra didn’t read the whole thing, but he read from about 6:00 a.m. in the morning until noon, nearly six hours, which meant he covered substantial portion of the text. Ezra stood on a high wooden platform as he read. Verse 3 tells us that “all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law,” as Ezra read. God wanted the people to hear the direct application of his word, and he wanted them to be immersed in it, to invest themselves in it, to give scripture the necessary time to shape and inform them. These were not words of eloquence or diversion but the word of God, which is alive and contains the power to change our lives. As Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 2:1-7: “And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. (2) For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. (3) I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. (4) My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, (5) so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power. (6) We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. (7) No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.” When Ezra opened the scriptures everyone could see him because he was on the raised platform. They all stood as one in sacred recognition and out of respect for God and God’s word, and then they bowed down. In verse 7 we read that as Ezra read the text, the Levites were among the people interpreting the Law as it was shared; reinforcing understanding. It’s clear that God was invested in this being both an extended moment of worship and of teaching. Then a critical moment occurs, the people were convicted by the sharing of the Word, they were moved to mourn and weep, They were convicted of their sin and the sins of their nation; they mourn for the previous loss of the Promised Land and the complete destruction of Jerusalem. They felt a deep sense of loss and transgression and also a corresponding sense of God’s remarkable majesty and greatness. This was God who they had disappointed and sinned against. Just like Nehemiah was knocked to the floor with weeping conviction in chapter 1, they were overcome. As Paul writes in Hebrews, chapter 4: 12-13: “(12) For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (13) And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” Nehemiah and Ezra witnessed this effect and understood it. They were both open to the presence and leading of God during this time of worship and they clearly spoke on God’s behalf in verses 9 and 10, “This day is sacred to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep….Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” This is remarkable. Amidst conviction God planted exceeding joy and part of the gift of worship was the open and extended expression of that joy. Psalm 100 says, “Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. (2) Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. (3) Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. (4) Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. (5) For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” God’s love for us, his care for us, his perfect nature, his faithfulness to us in all things should cause us to rejoice with a joy that is greater and different than worldly joy. Verse 12 tells us that the people want 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....

May 2016

Nehemiah 7:1-73

bridge of names, a distinct people

At the beginning of chapter 7, two administrators, with similar names, Hanani and Hananiah , are appointed over Jerusalem for the first time since the exiles have returned. Hanani was Nehemiah’s brother and had first brought news to Nehemiah of Jerusalem’s disrepair. God had used Hanani to reach Nehemiah and begin the formation of new purpose in Nehemiah’s life to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Nehemiah also commanded caution. In the ancient world it was customary to open the city gates at dawn and to keep them open until nightfall. Nehemiah instructed that a shorter schedule be set. The gates were not to open until the sun was high and hot, midmorning, and they were to be shut while all of the gatekeepers and guards were still on watch, which may have meant that the gates closed sooner than nightfall. Nehemiah stood back and looked at the work of 52 days. What he saw amazed him and was also a revelation. First even though the walls have been reconstructed around the smaller perimeter of the Jerusalem that David knew, the reconstructed area was still large and spacious compared to the unpassable piles of rubble Nehemiah scouted when he first arrived in Jerusalem. Nehemiah had not been able to see this as managed the rebuilding of the wall foot by foot, and also addressed an endless river of problems. This often happens to us. God gives us a greater purpose and we lose sight of it amid details, daily challenges, and momentary disappointments. Nehemiah saw some of the scale of God’s greater purpose and God’s vision for rebuilding the city that would host Christ himself. Second, Nehemiah saw that the city was nearly empty. They had focused with all zeal on the walls themselves, which was exactly God’s intention, and now Nehemiah saw that few people actually lived in Jerusalem and many of the houses needed to be rebuilt. When it comes to paying attention to God Nehemiah had proven himself to be an acute and passionate listener. He went to God first, listened to God first, and sought his direction from God first, in all circumstances – good, bad, frustrating, scary, and seemingly hopeless. When Nehemiah thought about rebuilding the houses and repopulating the city, the first thing God gave him was not another accelerated building plan but a clear purposeful desire “to assemble the nobles, the officials and the common people for registration by families. Then God directed Nehemiah to the vast genealogical record first created when Zerubbabel led the first exiles back to Jerusalem nearly a century before in 537 B.C., during the reign of Cyrus the Great. Remember Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem in 444 B.C., 93 years later. Over the next 67 verses Nehemiah restates this genealogical record of names and families. Question: Other than testing our reading comprehension and wakefulness why does God lead Nehemiah to do this? The Promised Land had a different significance than any other geography in the world. Families occupied land based on agreements starting between God and Moses and then God and Joshua. Nehemiah wanted to create a comprehensive list so that he could see where families had originally lived, and especially the families that had lived in Jerusalem, so that he could encourage them to return. It’s a connecting moment of significance. God was telling the returned exiles, and us today, that if we labor for God and with God it will never be anonymous or without greater purpose. The return of the 42,000 exiles in 537 B.C. led to the work of the exiles in 444 B.C. raising Jerusalem from the rubble. Our work in Christ’s name builds for God over time both to the benefit of heaven and to succeeding generations. God connects and multiplies our work for him in powerful ways. The lists here in Nehemiah chapter 7 and in Ezra chapter 2, are like the list in Hebrews 11, enumerating people of faith, people who are part of God’s family, people whose lives and actions had eternal consequence and who were personally known to God. In Isaiah 8:18 Isaiah wrote “Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from the LORD Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion.” These named people were the distinct living evidence, signs of God at work in the world, just as we are today. God reminds us that people are important to him. He cared about these struggling returned exiles as he cares about us, and he knew them by name. Hebrews 11:1-2 says, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.” There are some discrepancies between the list in Ezra and the list in Nehemiah. These are mostly total numbers, spellings, and ordering of family names, reflecting modifications that may have been made to the list over those 93 intervening years. But the lists are mostly and powerfully the same, announcing a great continuity and stating with conviction that God is indeed paying attention to both his people and their work in the world. ...

May 2016

Nehemiah 6:1-19

renewed assault from without and within: and a wall built

As Nehemiah deals with the speculative, advantage taking behavior of his own people, while fighting to keep focus on the completion of the wall, his external enemies renew their creative efforts to derail the project. In chapter 6 Nehemiah tells us that Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem, “and the rest of our enemies” heard that the wall was nearing completion, lacking only the doors for each gate. They send repeated letters to Nehemiah asking him to meet with them at a location 19 miles west and north of Jerusalem. This is near to the Mediterranean coast, around the location of modern-day Joppa. It would have been a day’s travel away from Jerusalem and much closer to the border of Samaria; a perfect staging ground for assassination. Nehemiah knows this and won’t travel to meet Sanballat and his cronies. Rather than ignoring Sanballat’s letters, and there were four of them, Nehemiah answers each one. Question: What does Nehemiah say and why does he answer each letter? Nehemiah sends messengers to Sanballat saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?” He responds in exactly this way to each of the four letters. What we know is that Nehemiah’s words about “a great work” didn’t refer to his own private actions but to the work that God had instructed him to do. We are able to draw this conclusion because Nehemiah’s behavior up to this point was impeccable, and observed by everyone; the kind of selfless, servant leadership that God and Christ truly value. Hebrews 13: 7 says, “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.” This is Nehemiah in both word and action. Nehemiah intentionally creates a record, which became known to everyone in the province, documenting that he steadfastly turned down Sanballat four times in favor of God. Our accountability to God is to reject evil not once but always, and to be vigilant in discerning its intentions. Proverbs 8:13 says, “The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.” Sanballat is quite clever. He sends repeated messages so that he could claim he had done his best to work with Nehemiah, and Nehemiah refused him. His letters are also to Nehemiah alone, not to the entire Jewish leadership; attempting to isolate Nehemiah and fuel speculation about what Nehemiah might or might not do. He is also trying to wear Nehemiah down. Nehemiah does persist in refusing Sanballat, but in a consistent and open way that cannot be misinterpreted. Nehemiah is proclaiming that this situation is not a personal match between Sanballat and him, but about God and God’s greater purposes. Nehemiah reminds us here that we should model our lives with Christ in all of our actions, our language, and in our responses to forces that seek to corrupt or undermine us. Paul captures this in Corinthians, chapter 3:1-3 and 23-25: “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. (2) Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. (3) For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (4) When Christ who is your[a] life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory…. (23) Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, (24) knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. (25) For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.” Sanballat is the very wrongdoer that Paul describes. He is also creative and persistent. Verse 5 tells us that his fifth letter to Nehemiah was no longer private, but unsealed so that it would be read by a host of people before it got to Nehemiah. It accused Nehemiah of treason, and again did this with great shrewdness. He accused Nehemiah of placing prophets in Jerusalem who proclaimed that Nehemiah was the new king of Judah. Sanballat was escalating the stakes and seeking to take Nehemiah’s life. His letter was a naked and incendiary accusation aimed at stirring fear and anger among the Jews. The last thing the Jews wanted was for the Persian king to think that they were fomenting treason. It would be the end of everything. If enough Jews decided that these accusations of treason made Nehemiah too much of a risk as a leader, they could have deposed him or killed him. If Sanballat could not get to Nehemiah he was hoping that the Jews would do it for him. This should help us remember that evil is active and persistent, and may become more so in the face of great faith. It also provides moments for God to demonstrate his faithfulness to his people. This had to infuriate Nehemiah and also made him think about the risks he was taking in Judah. But Nehemiah didn’t bend or compromise, despite the frustration and weariness he must have felt. But why? There is little evidence that Nehemiah received any support from the other Jewish leaders. It is because Nehemiah trusted God and spoke to God continuously in a personal and open way. Proverbs 3:8 says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” Psalm 112 says, “Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious, merciful, and righteous. (5) It is well with the man who deals generously and lends; who conducts his affairs with justice. (6) For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever. (7) He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD. (8) His heart is steady; he will not be afraid,..” Nehemiah has placed his trust in God and won’t be moved. His trust enables him to respond to Sanballat, in verse 8, with with fearless honesty and clarity, “What you say is not happening and you are making it up.” Nehemiah knows that Sanballat’s goal is to disrupt the last work in finishing the walls and gates. At the end of verse 9 Nehemiah returns again to God and asks him to strengthen his hands. The second challenge Nehemiah faces in chapter 6 is even more dangerous because it comes from inside; from the exiled Jews themselves. Nehemiah goes to visit Shemaiah who was most likely a priest, since he had ready access to the temple. Question: What is the danger and what is Nehemiah’s reaction? Shemaiah was a Jew and someone that Nehemiah knew, at least fairly well, because he’s visiting him at home. Shemaiah might have been isolated at home because he was unclean, but this would make no sense in light of his suggestion that they enter the temple together. The home isolation was probably self-imposed as a dramatic gesture of prophetic contemplation, or demonstration that Shemaiah feared for his own life. It was also a clever way to get Nehemiah alone. Shemaiah presented his prophecy and solution in dramatic verse. “They are coming to kill you Nehemiah, they are coming to kill you in the night, so let’s go together and lock ourselves in the inner sanctuary of the temple where we will be safe.” With a straight face Shemaiah is suggesting that Nehemiah flee and hide in the temple sanctuary, where only priests are permitted to enter. For Nehemiah, who was not a priest, it would be a violation of Mosaic Law, punishable by death, to enter the temple sanctuary. The danger here is that Shemaiah is posing at both Nehemiah’s friend and an expert; someone who has Nehemiah’s best interests in mind and only wants to protect him. God had given Nehemiah the composure and discernment to see through this. To us Shemaiah’s antics seem stupid and unbelievable. But remember that Shemaiah was most likely a priest, and is presenting himself as a prophet, which would have given him considerable status and credibility. Nehemiah’s response to this is resolute, fearless, and clear, “Will a man like me take flight? Will I enter the sanctuary to stay alive? I will not go!” Nehemiah’s answer is twofold: he is a leader raised up by God and needs to set the right example even if it puts his life at risk, and he’s not a priest. He can’t break God’s law by entering the temple sanctuary. Nehemiah tells us that God gave him greater understanding once Shemaiah suggested that Nehemiah break the law. He then knew that Shemaiah was a false prophet in the service of Tobiah and Sanballat. Shemaiah’s deception means that there were individuals and families among the returned exiles who didn’t want Nehemiah to succeed. Nehemiah noted that the prophetess Nodiah and other prophets sought to make Nehemiah fearful enough to abandon his mission. The opposition Nehemiah faced was extensive, well organized, and professional. They invited Nehemiah to stray far from Jerusalem, and then invited him into the very heart of his faith, the inner sanctuary of the temple. What is important for us to remember is that Nehemiah keeps his focus on God. He takes each challenge and temptation to God. He doesn’t lash out at Sanballat, Tobiah, Shemaiah, and Nodiah, he names them to God and asks God to deal with them. Because Nehemiah trusts God he has a true compass, anchor, and protection as he navigates these challenges. Again Paul understood this so well. In 2 Corinthians, chapter 10 he wrote, “(3) For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. (4) The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. (5) We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” When the Jerusalem wall was completed in 52 days the significance was far greater than raised stone and doors hung at the gates. All the competing peoples who had claimed the Promised Land for themselves, the Samaritans, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the remnants of the Philistines all knew that something far greater had happened. God had intervened on behalf of his people to reassert their rightful place in the Promised Land. What is instructive for us is that even in this remarkable moment when God had so clearly demonstrated both his presence and merciful intervention, Jewish nobles were still maneuvering by exchanging letters with the malignant Tobiah, and then trying to convince Nehemiah of Tobiah’s good deeds. Again Nehemiah saws through this and recognized that Tobiah was using this exchange of letters as another way of instilling fear, doubt, and distraction. The Lord is Nehemiah’s rock and purpose: Psalm 32 says, “You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah (8) I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.” God gives us a stability and reassurance, and capacity to endure stress and conflict that transcends our own capabilities, and in turn grants us a wisdom and discernment that is far greater than the world could ever muster. Under the new covenant this is the gift of the Holy Spirit....

May 2016

Nehemiah 5:1-19

spiraling problems, troubling self-interest, and confrontation

As Nehemiah spent huge energy fending off challenges from his enemies, and fear and doubt from his fellow Jews, he encountered another circumstance that infuriated him and must have caused him to reconsider his whole mission. In chapter 5 he undercovers both a foundational distress and a monstrous selfishness that threatens to undermine everything. Warren Wiersbe (Be Determined: Nehemiah, David Cook, 2009, eBook) writes, “Selfishness means putting myself at the center of everything and insisting on getting what I want when I want it. It means exploiting others so I can be happy and taking advantage of them just so I can have my own way. It is not only wanting my own way, but expecting everybody else to want my way too. Why are selfish people so miserable? I think Thomas Merton said it best: “To consider persons and events and situations only in the light of their effect upon myself is to live on the doorstep of hell.” Verse 1 tells us that the people are in serious trouble and deeply divided with fellow Jews who are taking advantage of difficult circumstances. There are several urgent problems. First there isn’t enough to eat. Labor demands for rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and maintaining security meant that farmers and vineyard workers did not have time to keep up the surrounding agricultural fields and vineyards, lessening the harvest and making Judah more vulnerable to famine. Sanballat had also cut off most of the trade routes in and out of Judah so there was no consistent way to export goods and import grain. The families that had returned from exile had also grown in size and there were more mouths to feed. Second those who had property had to mortgage fields, vineyards, and houses in order to pay for grain. Third, they still had to pay the ground tax to their Persian overlords. Darius levied an ongoing tax on all fields and vineyards that produced a crop. Fourth, children of the debtors, and those who were hungry, were being forced into servitude, slavery, by their creditors; a servitude that did not end until the debt was paid. In this case the creditors were fellow Jews who had money; Jews that Nehemiah described as ‘nobles and officials’. We may presume from what follows that these same wealthy Jews were the mortgage holders for the farmers and other landowners who have had to mortgage their fields, vineyards, and houses. In verse 5 the people complain that they are helpless as their sons and daughters are forced into service, and in some cases their daughters become second wives to wealthy Jews. They have also lost ownership of their fields and vineyards. This practice is loathsome to God and against Jewish Law. Jewish law provides that every seven years all hired servants are required to be released in order to avoid the creation of a ‘slave’ class of Jews. Question: What is Nehemiah’s reaction to this and what do we learn? He is furious but slow to anger. In verse 6 Nehemiah tells us that he is very angry, but he doesn’t give in to this. Verse 7 tells us that he “took counsel of himself” meaning that he took time to pray and reflect before acting. This process of prayer and reflection is consistent for Nehemiah throughout his account. It’s a behavior he leans on and models for everyone else around him. Here is an extremely important point for us to remember. Because Nehemiah submits his feelings to God he is able to exercise a greater influence in solving the contentious problems that confront him. Proverbs 16: 3,6-8, & 32 say, “(3) Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established…(6) By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD one turns away from evil. (7) When a man's ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. (8) Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice…(32) Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.” Nehemiah is fearless but modest in diagnosing the problems, taking on the most powerful members of the exile community and indicting them, “You are exacting interest, each from his brother.” He speaks plainly and doesn’t exaggerate. It may have been that he met with them privately first and they did not respond. Then, like Ezra, he realized that resolution needed to be accomplished in the open, in a moment shared by the entire returned exile community. This took great courage and selflessness for Nehemiah. He was putting his own power and authority at risk by doing this. In this large open meeting Nehemiah addressed the offenders who would have been arrayed in positions of favor closest to Nehemiah. Nehemiah told them that all the Jews, working together, had striven to buy back other Jews who were held in servitude by the Samaritans, Arabs, Ammonites, and the men of Ashdod to the east, all the surrounding pagan nations; only to have them resold into slavery by their own people. In doing this Nehemiah appealed to unity, repeatedly using the words “brother” or “brothers. The nobles and the officials were stunned and silenced by this, “and could not find a work to say.” Their silence was their first public admission of guilt. Nehemiah had more to say. From this specific accusation he moved on to appeal to a larger purpose. As he looked at the nobles and officials, and then out across the great crowd he had assembled he said, “The thing you are doing is not good. Ought you not walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts of the nations of our enemies?” What does it mean to walk in the fear of the Lord? It is an attitude of respect, reverence, wonder, awe, gratefulness toward God; and an understanding of his majestic power, depthless mercy and love, and perfect nature, which we are to worship, pursue, and exemplify. Psalm 111 captures this perfectly: “Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation. (2) Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them. (3) Full of splendor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures forever. (4) He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and merciful. (5) He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever. (6) He has shown his people the power of his works, in giving them the inheritance of the nations. (7) The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy; (8) they are established forever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness. (9) He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant forever. Holy and awesome is his name! (10) The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!” Nehemiah shares a vision of God and faithfulness that all of Israel, and we today, should aspire to. It is unifying, inspiring, and elevating. It states our true and intended identity as God’s children and emissaries. To step away from this, to turn away from God, and behave with corrupt self-interest means that Judah is no better that the surrounding pagan nations and deserves the taunts that chase hypocrisy. Nehemiah’s charge was ‘be better than this’; to be God’s people, in both thought and act. Again, Nehemiah did not appeal to his own power or stature as governor of Judah, but to God’s stature. Nehemiah followed this admonition by setting a powerful example himself. He admited that he and his closest confederates have also leant money and grain. He did not say that he and his confederates were charging interest or imposing debt slavery. He did say that they would forgive and erase all of the loans. Nehemiah acted sacrificially to set the right example. Micah 6: 6-8 says, “(6) With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? (7) Will the LORD be pleased with[a] thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” (8) He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” By this sacrificial gesture, Nehemiah exhibits God’s justice and loving kindness; and he models humility in his walk with the Lord. It is only after setting this example, and acting with utter integrity and honesty that Nehemiah called on the nobles and officials to return ownership of all fields, vineyards, and houses, and to cease the interest charges that are approximately 12% a year. The crowd, called to respond in kind and in faithfulness, was uplifted and inspired. The nobles and officials promised to do all that Nehemiah had requested. Having achieved this public agreement, Nehemiah was open and public in setting an abiding example of God’s generosity in his own life. Question: How does he do this? In verse 14, Nehemiah tells us that he served as governor of Judah for twelve years, from 445 B.C. to 433 B.C. He had real power for a long term. He had the right to certain privileges, gathered at the expense of the people; privileges that all Persian governors in all provinces took. One of these was a food allowance. Nehemiah tells us that he and his fellow administrators never claimed this during their term. In addition to collecting taxes for the central treasury, the king’s treasury, each provincial governor was entitled to collect for his own needs and his own personal treasury. Nehemiah tells us that his predecessors had historically exacted a heavy toll from the people in food, wine, and currency. Even lesser administrators, ‘servants’, had been permitted to do this. Nehemiah did not continue this practice because of his reverential “fear of the Lord. In verse 16 he tells us that his focus was on rebuilding the Jerusalem wall, and he never engaged in any speculation, primarily land speculation, that would have added to his personal wealth. As governor this temptation and opportunity was constantly available to him. As governor, he was required to set an extensive table each day, receiving and feeding as many as 150 officials, dignitaries from surrounding nations, and other visitors. He paid for all of this out of his own pocket for 12 years. At the end of this passage, Nehemiah asks God to remember him with favor for all that he has done for the people. This may sound self-aggrandizing but it’s not. Nehemiah is asking that God establish the value of his service, and that God accept his faithfulness. He is not asking for wealth, power, fame, immortality, or the destruction of his enemies. D. L. Moody wrote, “A holy life will produce the deepest impression. Lighthouses blow no horns; they only shine.” Nehemiah shines. Warren Wiersbe (Be Determined) writes that chapter 5 teaches us four important things: First, problems will arise among the people we lead or work with, no matter how noble the enterprise, how well-intended the efforts, and regardless of whether we share the same faith. Second, God calls on us to address these problems with his courage, his counsel, his restraint, his valuing of other lives and voices, and his honesty and encouragement. Third, we must act with God’s integrity as we strive to help solve the problems and challenges that arise. This requires sacrifice, vigilance, self-reflection, continuous prayer, and keeping God at the center of everything. Fourth, each problem, each challenge, each difficult or disappointing moment is an opportunity for God to work; to demonstrate his character, demonstrate his presence in the world, and demonstrate his faithful lovingkindness, mercy, and divine wisdom....

May 2016

Nehemiah 4:1-23

opposition from without and within

F. Charles Fensham (The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah, p. 179) that in the Hebrew Bible the first 23 verses of chapter four are a continuation of chapter three, making the reaction of Nehemiah’s enemies more directly tied to the rebuilding of the wall. When Sanballat, governor of Trans-Eurphrates, hears that Nehemiah has begun reconstruction of the Jerusalem wall his anger explodes. Question: Sanballat’s reaction is the same reaction we often face as Christ’s church today. What is it? Beginning in verse four we see Nehemiah’s own reaction, which is important for us to understand. How does Nehemiah respond? Sanballat goes back to the first approach he used in Nehemiah 3:10, mockery and scorn, because these are so powerful. And, in verse two he makes this mockery a public and broad undertaking by doing it in front of his fellow administrators and the Samaritan army, which is the militia based defensive force for the province. He knows that all these people are connected by kinship, friendship, and business relationships with the various Jewish families helping to rebuild the wall. Some of these Jewish families are also engaged in undermining the reconstruction. Sanballat is using the ancient version of publicity. Sanballat attacks the Jews personally, calling them feeble. He attacks their project: “Will they restore their wall?” He attacks their God as ineffective: “Will they offer sacrifices?” He exaggerates and ridicules their ambitions: “Will they finish in a day?” He observes that the rubble is insufficient to build anything; knowing that all this will get back to the Jews. Sanballat’s toady, Tobiah the Ammonite, “who was at his side” joins in the mockery: “What they are building –even if a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones!” So Sanballat uses public mockery, personal attack, distortion of facts, and appeals to sympathetic audiences as his primary instruments to derail work on the wall. All of these attacks come directly to Nehemiah. Nehemiah must have had a steady stream of people approaching him each day, and saying “guess what I heard?” And other people saying, “this task is impossible,” or “let’s wait for a better moment.” Nehemiah must have felt some anger, disappointment, and increasing impatience. He probably wanted to lash out, and hurl counter insults at Sanballat and his cronies; but his first decision was to pray to God. This choice is a life choice for Nehemiah. It was prayer and reliance on God that got him to Jerusalem, an no matter who he feels he will place God at the center. We should too. Jeremiah 29:13 says, “ You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” We see that Nehemiah, with God’s help, has made this part of his faith walk with God. This orientation means that Nehemiah doesn’t put himself first. His petition begins with the recognition that it is God himself and the Jews who are being mocked. His request is that God hold the Samaritans and their allies accountable for their mockery. Nehemiah trusts God’s hand to administer justice, not his own. He may have been remembering Psalms 1 which says: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; (2) but his delight is in the law[b] of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. (3) He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. (4) The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. (5) Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; (6) for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.” In the next verse, verse 6, Nehemiah tells us that after the onset of this campaign of jeering and mockery the Israelites were able to rebuild the wall to half its height, because “the people worked with all their heart.” This is a direct message to us, telling us to follow Nehemiah’s blue print. When under attack, when mocked, when subject to slander and distortion, turn first to Christ and God and seek their intervention and justice; let Christ define your behavior, your action, and your well-being. This approach enables us to endure the greatest stress, storms, and opposition. Nehemiah’s faithfulness does not end the conflict. When Sanballat hears that the work continues, he ratchets up the pressure and opposition. Verse seven tells us that when he hears that the repairs have gone ahead, he rallies opposition from all quarters: The Ammonites to the east, the Arabs to the south, the men of Ashdod to the west, and the Samaritans to the north. Judah was cut off. Not only was Judah surrounded by hostile camps, but Sanballat and his confederates also threatened an attack on Jerusalem itself. The stakes are higher. Nehemiah’s response to this is to have the people joined in continual prayer to God, and to post a guard day and night. This is a sober and wise response. The first emphasis is on prayer, the second on action guided by that prayer. As Nehemiah leads his people in a time of great challenge and opposition he is also setting an example that is direct testimony as to what it means to belong to God, and to exemplify God’s character, the sort of example that Paul identified in Colossians 4: “(2) Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. (3) At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— (4) that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. (5) Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. (6) Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” Also Ephesian 6:18, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” The next challenge is the hardest one of all, and that is internal discouragement. This is very much a common challenge for us as well, and enormously important for us to understand. Question: In what ways do the Israelites demonstrate discouragement? What do we learn from this and what is Nehemiah’s reaction? First, in verse 10, there is a general murmuring across the entire province of Judah that the workers in Jerusalem are giving out, and the rubble is too vast to clear away. In other words the task is impossible there aren’t enough people to do it, and we are failing. The scripture’s sense is that these sentiments were repeated over and over again. Then the Jews living close to the borders to Judah, abutting the regions where the opposition lived, kept coming to Jerusalem and warning Nehemiah and his workers that they would be attacked and killed at any time. In verse 12 Nehemiah describes this as being told “ten times over….” Remember that this wide spread fear, anxiety, forecasting of failure and disaster, and naysaying was going on at the same time Nehemiah was praying to God himself, and had his workers praying to God around the clock. So what we learn is that even as we seek faithful and prayerful purpose, there will be doubt, fear, confusion, and anxiety about where things are headed. This should be expected and not cause us to waiver if we have prayerfully sought God’s guidance. Nehemiah addressed this in several ways. First he stationed armed guards along the wall where everyone could see them. Then Nehemiah encouraged everyone: Nehemiah used encouragement rather than criticism. He invoked God rather than his own authority, and he reminded the Israelites that they shared a common identity in God, and so had a divine and sacred accountability to fight for one another. These verses remind us of Christ’s own words concerning fear in Matthew 10, beginning in verse 26. We are not to fear those who seek our harm or to intimidate; rather we are to fear only God who has the power of life and death and the power to save or condemn our very souls. For us fear of the Lord begins with an understanding of his love and compassion and protection; his great regard for us. If we believe in Christ as the Son of God, then God will never be separated from us, regardless of peril: “(26) So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. (27) What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. (28) And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. (29) Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. (30) But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. (31) Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. (32) So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, (33) but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” Nehemiah had these words from Isaiah 41 which may have convicted him and certainly gave him profound guidance and comfort: “But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend; (9) you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, “You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off”; (10) fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (11) Behold, all who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded; those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish. (12) You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them; those who war against you shall be as nothing at all. (13) For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you....

Apr 2016

Nehemiah 3:1-32

rebuilding the wall

Warren Wiersbe writes that “38 individual workers are named in chapter 3, and forty-two different groups are identified…” (Warren Wiersbe, Be Determined (Ontario: David Cook 2009), 29. Chapter 3 gives us a broad and detailed description of the wall rebuilding project. Question: What are some key learnings for us? First Nehemiah is the writer of the account and God’s leader for this endeavor, but Nehemiah is painstaking and scrupulous in giving others the credit, and not mentioning himself in this chapter. Second Eliashib, the high priest, and the other priests worked shoulder to shoulder with the other workers in helping with the rebuilding. Eliashib is the grandson of Jeshua, the high priest who accompanied Zerubbabel and the first large group of returning exiles in 537 B.C. The priests rebuilt the Sheep Gate on the northern side of the city. Eliashib will prove himself unworthy, but, in chapter 3, joins Nehemiah in setting a good example. The city defined by the rebuilt walls is much smaller than the city destroyed by the Babylonians. It follows the city limits that David knew. The project, as described in chapter 3, begins in the north and runs counterclockwise. Next to the priests were the men of Jericho who rebuilt the adjoining section. This signifies that returned exiles from other townships pitched-in to assist. Jericho has special significance because it was the first fortified city taken by Joshua and the Israelites when they crossed over into the Promised Land. The Sheep Gate may also have been the entrance for the road running from Jericho to Jerusalem. There is a special emphasis on describing the rebuilding of each gate. Nehemiah describes 11 gates. The gates were vital to the life of the city. Markets, justice, and business were conducted at most gates. Verse 5 tells us that not everyone agreed to help. Workers from Tekoa, a town 11 miles south of Jerusalem, helped in the rebuilding, but their leaders, perhaps local magistrates, military leaders, or scribes refused to participate. Men from locations to the north of Jerusalem, Mizpah (a seat of power once Jerusalem was destroyed) and Gibeon, also helped. This was a cooperative venture. God gave Nehemiah the vision but it took the work of many hands to make it a reality. Different guilds participated, including the goldsmiths, the perfume-makers, and the merchants; also administrators from the different regions in Judah. What is noteworthy is that these are skill-specific crafts and professions were not normally associated with large scale, brute building projects. In this case these men made mud brick, carried stone, and stood on makeshift scaffolding along with everyone else. For many of these workers the rebuilding was close to home. Verse 28 tells us that priests repairing the walls above the Horse Gate were working in an area opposite the houses that they lived in. This project must have brought the people together in a way that few things did. It was single-minded and intensive; completed in 52 days; a miracle of construction and engineering. This unity of work and purpose were intentional parts of God’s greater plan. The rebuilt walls were the substantial, physical manifestation of Ezra’s desire to reestablish Jerusalem as the center for worship and the keeping of the Law....

Apr 2016

Nehemiah 2:1-20

journey and action

In chapter two, God is the one who prompts the moment that will send Nehemiah to Jerusalem. Question: In what ways do we see God’s intervention? It’s four months after Nehemiah’s first prayer to God. Nehemiah is distressed, restless, and depressed by the weight of what God has put on his heart. God used this distress. On an occasion when Nehemiah was serving the wine, King Artaxerxes noticed his unhappiness. Nehemiah’s facial expression was counter to the festive requirements of the moment and the king was unhappy. The other guests didn’t need to be served by a brooding cupbearer. It was a breach of court etiquette and would cause the guests to question the safety of the wine and the well-being of the king. Fensham notes that the literal translation of the king’s question is “Why is your face so bad?’ (p. 159) The follow-up question, “Are you unwell?’ has two implications. First the king must have had some concern that the wine might have been poisoned. Second, he had genuine concern for a personal servant, confidante, and advisor whom he trusted absolutely. Nehemiah was afraid. He had made the king unhappy and uncomfortable, and he was about to make a request that contradicted the king’s original decision, as recorded in Ezra 4:21, ordering that all reconstruction of the Jerusalem walls be stopped. When the king asked Nehemiah what he wanted in verse four, it is clear that Nehemiah felt God’s presence, because he made a quick prayer to God before framing his request. Scripture tells us that Artaxerxes’ queen, Damaspia, was also present, suggesting her approval of Nehemiah’s request as well. So Nehemiah was direct and fearless in making his requests even though he felt great fear. He trusted God. He asked to return to Jerusalem to rebuild it. He asked for letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates granting safe passage, and to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, so that he could have timber for the walls, the gates, and his own residence. We don’t know how long Nehemiah said he would be gone in verse six, but we can guess it was short, to be extended later. In verse nine, Artaxerxes also gives Nehemiah a cavalry escort. We see why this is important in verse 10, because once Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite, provincial officials, became aware of Nehemiah’s intentions they were most unhappy. Nehemiah remained grounded in prayer as he made his way through conviction, revelation, confirmation, and petition. He is living proof of what Christ shared with us in Luke 11:5-13. We are to approach Christ and God with boldness and persistent conviction, and all confidence that God will listen and act in keeping with his loving, wise, and merciful nature. Luke 11:9 says, “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, he who seeks finds; and him who knocks, the door will be opened.” God invites our active, and humble seeking, he invites us to interact with him and is open to our petitions; the very act of praying, even when the end is uncertain, changes us for the better, brings us revelation, greater understanding, and the wisdom that comes from drawing closer to God. To Jerusalem. There is a real intensity to Nehemiah’s account. Once God starts events after the four month wait, Nehemiah moves with decisive urgency. He arrives under a cloud of resentment and resistance. Sanballat, who is identified as the governor of the province by the Elephantine papyri and Tobiah the Ammonite, a Jewish name, meaning he was a Jew appointed to govern the region of Ammon, are joined in opposing Nehemiah. Question: Once Nehemiah makes his inspection he returns to the other Jewish leaders and makes his case to rebuild the walls. What does he say? His first approach is negative. He also appeals to the powers of observation of his listeners. They have seen the ruined walls every day: “You can see for yourselves the trouble we are in while Jerusalem lies in ruins and its gates burned.” What this means is that Nehemiah is giving specificity to the challenges they face. Without a protecting wall and secure gates there can be no safety for the residents or the temple itself. Jerusalem cannot be regarded as a serious city or location for worship. Nehemiah is also stating a clear and urgent accountability. Nehemiah and the other Jewish leaders who see the ruins each day are accountable to God to rebuild the city. In verse 17 he says, “Come let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and we will no longer be in disgrace.” Nehemiah is saying we can’t rest or relent until Jerusalem becomes a defensible and worthy center for worship. In verse 18 Nehemiah shares a more positive encouragement. “I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me, and what the king had said to me.” Nehemiah now shares his testimony, concerning how God convicted him, and then how God interceded to guide the words and actions of Artaxerxes. Like Ezra, Nehemiah starts with the importance of God and God’s intercession, rather than the authority given him by the king or the letter of authority that he carries. This is important because God needs for the returned exiles to understand that he is working through Nehemiah. Within the frame of the Persian court, Nehemiah is a much higher ranking and more influential official than Ezra was, and much more closely aligned with the Persians. It would have been easy for the returned exiles to see Nehemiah as a Persian or the friend of Artaxerxes, rather than one of God’s chosen people. Ezra was a priest and a descendant of Aaron, learned in the law. Nehemiah was the king’s cupbearer, a sophisticated insider at Artaxerxes’ court. Also critical here, Nehemiah has to persuade the Jewish leaders to take on the task of rebuilding the walls. This is not easy. They have already been thwarted once and seen their work destroyed, and have grown use to simply living amidst the ruins. The response to Nehemiah’s testimony is powerful and affirming. The leaders respond, “Let us start rebuilding.” The English Standard Version is “Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for the good work.” From this version we get a sense of encouragement, affirmation, and mutual support. ‘If God wants us to do this we can.’ Now comes another key moment. Once Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite, and a new third administrator, Geshem the Arab, hear of Nehemiah’s initiative, they act immediately and don’t hold back. Nehemiah records, “they jeered at us and despised us and said, “What is this thing you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” From a worldly perspective Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem are good, smart, and active. They attack immediately and use their best weapons. First mockery. The world uses this against followers of Christ all the time, so we need to learn from Nehemiah’s account. Mockery, ‘social shaming’, is one of the most powerful tools in attacking the work that God calls us to do. We are constantly bombarded with stories that tell us that Christianity is dying, failing, stupid, simple, careless, or untrue. Second, Sanballat, Tobiah, and Gesham misapply the best authority they have, which is the previous letter that Artaxerxes wrote, some years ago, ending the previous reconstruction of Jerusalem and its walls. Even though Nehemiah’s new letter of authority from Artaxerxes supersedes the previous order, Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem know that misdirection, confusion, and uncertainty are their best allies. Nehemiah’s response to them is instructive for us. The Complete Jewish Bible captures Nehemiah’s words this way, “But I answered them: “The God of heaven will enable us to succeed. Therefore we his servants will set about rebuilding. But you have no share, right or history to commemorate in Yerushalayim.” First Nehemiah says the most important thing. This project belongs to God, so God will be the one to grant its success, not Nehemiah, not Artaxerxes, not any worldly authority. It is not a personal matter or conflict between Nehemiah and these three enemies of progress. Second Nehemiah uses God’s greater purpose as the reason for action. It is not Nehemiah’s preference or idea, it is God’s. Third Nehemiah honors God’s instruction to make this project the work of God’s people alone. The temple and the city will be rebuilt not by the Persians, not by the Samaritans, not by the Egyptians or the Canaanites, but by the Israelites. This is still the Promised Land, and the Jews are still God’s chosen people. Faith matters. God matters. They set us apart in ways that are powerful, dynamic, and sacred, and which should fill us with humble rejoicing. One person who was extremely happy to hear Nehemiah’s response was Ezra. Nehemiah reaffirmed the authority that Artaxerxes had given Ezra to monitor and revive the right worship of God, and the distinct and special character of the Jews as God’s chosen people. It also distinguishes us as Nehemiah’s heirs through Christ. We are here to build and affirm according to God’s purposes, not to destroy and mock as the world does. It calls to mind Paul’s words in I Corinthians 15:57-58: “(57) But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (58) Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain....

Apr 2016

Nehemiah 1:1-11

response

A remarkable thing happens in chapter one, at the beginning of Nehemiah. Hanani, Nehemiah’s brother (probably short for Hananiah), came to visit Nehemiah in Susa. The Elephantine papyri, the writings of a small Jewish community in Egypt, dating from around 419 B.C., mention a Hananiah who was a leader of the Jewish population in Jerusalem. (NIV Study Bible, 2002, Zondervan, p. 690). Nehemiah questioned Hanani about the exiles who had returned to Jerusalem. Hanani gave a strong and unsettling report that God would use to change Nehemiah’s life forever. The returned exiles were in ‘trouble and disgrace.’ The walls of Jerusalem were broken down and the gates burnt by fire. This may refer to the letter quoted in Ezra 4, in which the Samaritan leaders of the Persian province of Trans-Euphrates (which included Judah), wrote a letter to Artaxerxes aiming to stop the returned exiles from further work on the city walls. Though not clearly stated, it may be inferred from the letter in Ezra, and Hanani’s report in Nehemiah, that the Jews had made an attempt to rebuild the city walls; the Samaritan’s succeeded in getting an order from Artaxerxes to stop this construction, and then tore down the partial reconstruction and burned the rebuilt gates. Question: What is Nehemiah’s reaction and what do we learn about him? First, in verse 4, Nehemiah is shocked. He sits down and weeps just like Ezra did when he learned about the corrupt intermarrying practices in Ezra, chapter 9. We must ask why? First, Nehemiah was close to the king and must have known something about the challenges faced by the returned exiles in Judah. Even so he seems to have had a private picture of Jerusalem much better than the reality that Hanani shared with him. This is very human and very much like us. Second, God convicted Nehemiah in this moment; with a conviction so powerful it knocked Nehemiah off his feet. It is a moment of revelation for Nehemiah. Things are worse in Jerusalem than he cared to admit, he’s denied it for too long, and God has given him the ability and mission to help solve the problems. We can be convicted in the same way with the same authority. To get Nehemiah’s attention God disrupts his life in a way that must have felt terrible and frightening. God starts a process that completely alters Nehemiah’s very comfortable life in order to accomplish his greater purposes. Nehemiah took some time to process what he has learned. He mourned, fasted, and prayed for several days. Remember that Esther asked Mordecai to lead the Jewish exile community in fasting for three days before she first approached Xerxes about Haman’s plot in 474 B.C., nearly 30 years before these events, reaffirming the special identity of the Jewish people even in exile. Then Nehemiah prayed like Ezra prayed. Even though Nehemiah was at the center of Persian culture and life by virtue of both his profession and circle of acquaintance, his identity as a Jew remained surprisingly strong. Someone had taught him to hold fast to his faith as one of God’s chosen people. We see both the power and importance of this investment. Nehemiah asked that God listen to him and be open to his prayer. This is positive. Nehemiah had confidence that God would hear him and respond. Nehemiah persisted in his prayers. In verse six he says that he has been praying day and night “for your servants, the people of Israel. Nehemiah confessed in the same corporate way that Ezra did. He willingly joined the other exiles in taking responsibility for the sins of Israel, and included his family and ancestors as well. He also recognized the existence of the Law of Moses and its importance, confessing that, “We have not obeyed the commands, decrees, and laws you gave your servant Moses.” Nehemiah knew something about the Law and quoted from the books of Moses, specifically Deuteronomy. Nehemiah reminded God that both the Jews in exile, and the Jews who had returned to Judah, were all God’s servants and his chosen people, regardless of their sins. Nehemiah aspired for something greater; he had a strong sense of God’s character and purpose and appealed to this. He had confidence that God is merciful, could be approached, and wouldl listen to prayers shared in faith. We should have the same confidence. Finally Nehemiah was bold in asking for success in influencing Artaxerxes, who is referred to “as this man” in verse 11. Nehemiah marveled that God had made him cupbearer to the king....

Apr 2016

Nehemiah

introduction

Nehemiah was the third returning exile. He followed Zerubbabel and Jeshua, and then Ezra. Nehemiah was led by God to return to Judah in 445 B.C. following Ezra’s return in 458 B.C. Nehemiah was located in Susa, the winter capital of the Persian Empire, where Esther became Xerxes’ queen in 479/478 B.C. Artaxerxes was Xerxes’ son. Nehemiah was a powerful civil servant, cupbearer to King Artaxerxes; a position of fierce trust and accountability, which made Nehemiah part of the king’s inner circle. The cupbearer was accountable for serving the king’s wine whenever the king was drinking, and to guard and taste the king’s wine, which in Persia was often and plentiful, to be certain it wasn’t poisoned. He was a man whom the king trusted absolutely, and whom was near to the king throughout much of the day in a way that few were. This was an ‘Esther’ job; in addition to commanding absolute, life-and-death trust, you had to look good, dress well, speak well, and understand Persian court manners. Nehemiah was giving an intricate performance each time he served the wine and was under constant scrutiny. The king even watched Nehemiah’s facial expressions as he served the wine to read how Nehemiah was feeling. (Nehemiah 2:2). F. Charles Fensham (The New International Commentary on the Old Testament: The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah,1982, F. Charles Fensham, p. 157) observes that Nehemiah’s job probably meant that he was a eunuch. As cupbearer he came into contact with the king’s harem and with the queen and the concubines as well. Nehemiah was born in Persia, was an urban, palace-dweller, had power, trust, a great job, a cushy lifestyle, and was present almost every time the king made a decision that affected the empire. Remember Herodotus, the Greek historian (484 B.C. to 425 B.C.), studied the Persian’s extensively, and wrote this about their drinking and decision making: Nehemiah had no good reason to think about relocating to Judah. He had every reason to stay where he was. But the books of Esther, Ezra, and Nehemiah are first and foremost about God’s vision and intention for his people. Among his characteristics, God is the great builder. Think about the order in which he reestablished Judah: The identity of the returning exiles and the chosen people in Judah is rebuilt and the foundation of the temple is reestablished (genealogy at beginning of the Book of Ezra 537 B.C.) The temple is rebuilt (516 B.C.) Family integrity is rebuilt (no more marriages to women and men from pagan cultures, 458 B.C.) The walls of Jerusalem are rebuilt; and Jerusalem is reestablished as a substantial city and destination, worthy to host the rebuilt temple (Nehemiah 445/444 B.C.)...

Mar 2016

Ezra 9-10

enter ezra

Enter Ezra. Ezra has a special task in returning. He arrives after the temple is rebuilt and before the walls of Jerusalem are raised again. He has a different assignment: to rebuild the identity of God’s people as God intended them to be. In returning Ezra has been a good steward. He brought out the entire treasure he transported from Babylon and had it counted and weighed before the priests of the temple to ensure that it was all there, and none had been taken for personal gain. He offered sacrifice to God at the temple to publicly thank God, remind the exiles as to why they had returned, and to reestablish the Law. He shared his letter from Artaxerxes with all the governing administrators and leaders in Trans-Euphrates so that they would begin their required work in supporting the temple and the exiles.t wa Is probably as Ezra was making the rounds to the officials in Trans-Euphrates, and sharing his letter, that certain leaders, referenced in 9:1, spoke with Ezra about the growing problem of intermarriage between the returned exiles and the descendants of the Canaanite peoples. More than 100 religious and civil leaders, including priests and Levites working in the temple itself, had made the decision to intermarry with all the pagan peoples around them, including the descendants of the original corrupt Canaanite populations in the Promised Land; so have other prominent men among the returned exile families. God’s Law as shared with Moses specifically prohibited this. As we learned in Ruth, a foreign woman may marry a Jewish man if she is not a descendant of the Canaanites and if she adopts the Jewish faith. These pagan peoples, described in chapter 9 shared the same worship practices identified in 2 Kings 17:24-40, which described the corrupted religious practices of the new inhabitants of Samaria in the north. Remember, the first exiles returned in 537 B.C and Ezra’s return was in 458 B.C.; so this practice of intermarrying with pagan cultures has been forming and under way for more than 70 years. What is also interesting is that we do not learn who the leaders were who revealed this sinful practice. They may have been seeking political advantage by informing, we don’t know, but God used it to good purpose. When Ezra learned of the intermarriage problem, his reaction was exemplary and decisive. Question: Why is this important to us? Ezra tore his tunic and his cloak, both his outer garment and the garment underneath, pulled hair from his head and beard, and sat down where he was. This was an understood demonstration of mourning, loss, and humility. Jews, pagans, and Persians alike would have understood the display. Ezra sat on the ground in public looking completely appalled until 3:00 p.m., which was evening sacrifice; even as crowds gathered around him. Ezra’s own emotions and conviction were so strong that those who shared his conviction (“everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathering around me…”) were drawn to him and kept public vigil with him through the afternoon. Ezra’s grief, mourning, anger, and despair were public and unashamed; much as Mordecai’s display of sackcloth and ashes in Esther, chapter 4. It has been clearly established that Ezra in this case was God’s emissary and ambassador. His emotional reaction reflected God’s own reaction to what the exiles had done. God spoke to this through Malachi, the last of the Old Testament prophets who wrote around the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. Malachi 2:10 & 11 says, “Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers? Judah has been faithless, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the LORD, which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god.” God himself was appalled and grief stricken by the careless disregard of the returned exiles. Like Xerxes some of the returned exiles had chosen to indulge themselves rather than keeping faith with God. This problem had been going on for a long while; but it was not until Ezra’s public display of rage, grief and abasement that the returned exile community started to recognize that something was wrong, and questioned its behavior. God had invested in Ezra, backed Ezra, trusted Ezra, and moved Ezra 900 miles to accomplish this recognition, and remind the exiles that they were still God’s chosen people with a specific identity, an accountability to the Law, and a calling from God himself, For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. (Leviticus 11:44 and 1 Peter 1:16). Ezra prepared himself through prayer, worship, and engagement with his community of faith. God will do the same with us. He prepares us and calls on us to convey his views on problems, issues, and disputes in the world, to support one another and remind one another of who we are, what our calling is, and our distinct identity as part of the royal priesthood, the chosen people, the holy nation of the redeemed, the family of God, that God has saved and blessed through Christ. In Ezra 9:6-15, Ezra raised a long prayer to God. Question: What stands out to you about this prayer? What do we learn about our own walk with Christ? First Ezra prayed in public. This prayer was shared with his fellow exiles who had been looking the other way when it came to addressing the issue of intermarriage. Ezra acknowledged his own shame and disgrace. Even though this particular sin was not his, he recognized that he too was imperfect, a sinner, and shared both the burden and the accountability. He recognized that the propensity to sin, which caused this problem, was longstanding, “From the days of our forefathers until now, our guilt has been great,” and didn’t try to paint a better picture of history. Ezra was praying for a nation, not just for himself. In verse 9 Ezra acknowledged that God has shown Israel a great kindness, he had permitted them favor with the Persian kings, he had granted them a new life in returning to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple, and had protected them despite all of the challenges and energetic enemies devoted to thwarting their progress. Ezra acknowledged that despite God’s clear and generous display of mercy, despite the keeping of promise and prophecy in the rebuilding of the temple, despite God’s clear instruction and admonition that the people of Israel were not to intermarry with the Canaanites, the people persisted in flagrant disobedience. Ezra went back to scripture to frame this, Deuteronomy chapter 7. Ezra used God’s own commands, commands the Israelites promised to keep, in condemning present behavior. Ezra’s final line in verse 15 was a humbling, eye-opening indictment, “Here we are before you in guilt, though because of it not one of us can stand in your presence.” Ezra acknowledged what we all need to acknowledge: we are at risk, always, in straying if we are not vigilant in staying close to God. And we will stray. When we do, we need to acknowledge it, confess it, repent, and ask for forgiveness. It was only because Ezra had the courage to pray this prayer, and issued this call to acknowledge sin and to repentance, that subsequent revival took place. We much also recognize that in this moment not everyone was happy with Ezra. There had to be a significant number of returned exile leaders, especially those who have intermarried, who were initially furious at Ezra for bringing this up. As Ezra remarked at the end of chapter 7 it is God who supplies the courage in these moments of risk and difficulty. In chapter 10 we see the effect of Ezra’s prayer. Question: What is the response to Ezra’s prayer? A large crowd of Israelites, men, women, and children, gathered around Ezra as he prays. They too were affected by Ezra’s prayer and godly emotion. They too wept bitterly. One man stepped forward, Shecaniah, who was willing to act. He too acknowledged the sin, and said that there was still hope. He called on everyone to make a covenant before God to end the inappropriate marriages, to submit to the counsel of Ezra and those others who understand and follow the Law, and then to send away the foreign women and children concerned. Ezra was called by God to continue in prayer. He placed the priests and the Levites under oath to carry out Shecaniah’s instructions and then he went to a private room to continue in fasting and praying. Remember that Ezra was given great authority by Artaxerxes to administer punishment by death, banishment, confiscation of property, or imprisonment. Ezra did not rely primarily on this authority to punish and enforce, but on the authority of God. On December 19th all of the elders assembled in Jerusalem in the midst of a driving rain. They confessed their wrongdoing and agree to submit to investigation and final decision by the designated officials who would act for the entire returned exile community.The investigation took about three months, and then the men affected, who needed to end inappropriate marriages were carefully named at the end of the Book of Ezra, so that there could be no confusion as to where the problem lay, and no whispering campaign against others simply to seek retribution or gain political advantage. Revival occurred here in the sense that there was a community-wide recognition of sin, the need to repent, and the need for action to end the inappropriate behavior. There was no sense of rejoicing here because this was not an easy moment. Lives were affected and hard decisions were made. For the foreign women and children affected there were two possible outcomes: (1) return to their households of origin, or (2) convert to Judaism and remain in Judah, supported by the hospitality required under the Law. As Christians this reminds us of Paul’s own words in Philippians 2, beginning in verse 12: “(12) Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, (13) for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (14) Do all things without grumbling or disputing, (15) that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, (16) holding fast to the word of life…” We are called on to live and act like Christ, and to be the light of the world....

Mar 2016

Ezra 7-8

enter ezra

In chapter 7 we leap ahead almost 58 years, to the seventh year of the reign of King Artaxerxes, son of Xerxes. God describes Ezra with care at the beginning of chapter 7. Question: What do we learn about Ezra? First he is a priest from a family of priests descended directly from Aaron. He came out of the city of Babylon, which, according to F. Charles Fensham (The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah, Eerdmans, 1982, p. 98) was where the majority of Jews, still living in exile, were located. Nehemiah came out of Susa, home city to Esther and Mordecai. In verse 7 Ezra is described as a secretary or teacher well versed in the Law of Moses, meaning he has appointed authority from Artaxerxes, and is one of the keepers of the Law of Moses, as God had given it. This means that Ezra has a special anointing from God. Ezra and those like him are essential to reestablishing the observance of the Law as God had originally prescribed through Moses. Fensham describes ‘secretary’ as a specifically Persian office; granting Ezra secular power. We also learn, most importantly, that the hand of God is on Ezra, and because of this Ezra had the full favor and confidence of the king, and the king’s advisors. Ezra led a contingent of exiles to Jerusalem, including priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants. These are people clearly intended to strengthen the work of the temple in the community that is now reviving and rising in Judah. Again in verse 9 we read that the gracious hand of God was on Ezra, because of Ezra’s own faith in and devotion to God. In verse 10 we read that even in exile, Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law, and taught it to the exile community. Ezra is God’s man, and is committed in faith to God in the way that Moses had commanded of Israel with such direct urgency in Deuteronomy 30: 9-18. “The LORD will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your ancestors, (10) if you obey the LORD your God and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. (11) Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. (12) It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” (13) Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” (14) No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it. (15) See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. (16) For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. (17) But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, (18) I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.”” Ezra’s faithfulness and obedience demonstrate to us what the faith of one person can accomplish. God wants us to see and know this, and live this way. Artaxerxes armed Ezra with powers and a specific mission in a remarkable letter, the text of which is fully captured in chapter 7. Ezra must have asked Artaxerxes for the grant and authority captured in this letter. Question: What does the letter provide? The letter is written in Aramaic, the administrative language of the Persian Empire. In verse 13 Artaxerxes allows other exiles, including priests and Levites, who volunteer, to go with Ezra to Jerusalem. Ezra wants only those who feel led by God to go with him. Ezra is authorized to assess whether the Law of God is being obeyed in the region of Judah and the city of Jerusalem. This fits with Ezra’s mission to teach the Law, and right obedience to the Law, and the stories that he must have heard about Samaritan and other dangerous influences in the region. Ezra is authorized to take the funding he receives to provide specifically for the worship needs of the temple. It is important to know that Ezra’s grant of authority, see verse 21, is given to him as “the priest” and “the teacher of the Law of God of heaven.” Ezra has a different kind of power and authority as the king’s secretary, but chooses to stand on his identity as God’s man in accomplishing his purposes. All of his financial dealings and requests for additional funding are focused with laser-like specificity on the needs of the temple and the temple staff. Ezra asks nothing for himself in terms of wealth, housing, material comfort, or political authority. In verse 19 Artaxerxes entrusts Ezra with the remaining temple artifacts not already returned by Zerubbabel; and in verse 24 we see Artaxerxes wise view and partial understanding of who God is. He says ‘give the God of heaven what he requires and let his temple be honored as God instructs. I don’t want this God to be angry with me or my household.’ In verse 25 Artaxerxes provides a remarkable grant of power in response to what must have been a very bold request from Ezra. He gives Ezra the power to appoint, in the king’s name, magistrates and judges to administer justice to “all who know the laws of your God,” meaning returned exiles and others who remained in Judah and kept the law. Further, Ezra is given power to teach the laws of God to “any who do not know them.” Clearly God’s hand is on Ezra and on Artaxerxes in the granting of this request. It’s openhanded wisdom, mercy, seeking of the welfare of others, and care bears God’s own character. In verse 26 Artaxerxes identifies the law of God with his own law as king. Ezra is granted the right to enforce both, and is given the power to impose death, banishment, confiscation of property, or imprisonment as punishments for disobedience. Ezra’s response in verses 27 & 28 is wonderful instruction for us today. He does not glory in his new powers or worry about the challenges. He praises God for influencing Artaxerxes to bring honor to God’s house in Jerusalem, and for granting his divine favor to Ezra. Ezra is wise and selfless. He says that because God is with him, and only because God is with him, he has the courage to gather other exiled leaders to go with him to Jerusalem. Ezra knows that God is the source of all he is, has, and may do. Chapter 8: Journey, Example, and Challenge. The assembly of exiles returning to Jerusalem is much smaller this time. Not nearly as large as the assembly Zerubbabel, Sheshbazzar, and Jeshua led, nearly 50,000, in 537 BC. This group, in 458 B.C. numbered around 1500, and may have approached 5000 after the priests and temple servants were added, and women and children are counted as well. The narrative form also changes. It moves from third person, to first person, Ezra sharing the account in his own voice. In addition, in the first return in 537 B.C., there was no focus on the journey back. This time we get a much more detailed account. Question: What is God trying to accomplish by changing the voice of this narrative to first person? Faith begins with the personal and individual, the relationship between one person and God. God lets us see inside of this relationship with Ezra, which is important, because that is where we begin every day. Ezra becomes us rather than a distant historical figure. Faith has a strong emotional component. We hate to admit fear, or shame, or weakness, or doubt, or anger, but this is part of the faith journey. God always knows the worst about us and still loves us; and can still use us in his work if we look to him. At the beginning of chapter 8 we are again presented with a genealogy of those who returned. Warren Wiersbe writes that “Many of the Jews were comfortable in Mesopotamia and quite satisfied to live and die there. During their captivity, they had followed Jeremiah’s counsel to be good citizens and settle down to normal lives (Jeremiah 29:1-7). Over the decades, the old generation had died and a new generation had arsine that had never seen Jerusalem or he temple and probably had little interest in the welfare of their fellow Jews laboring sacrificially there. No doubt some of the Jewish men were in government employ or in business and were unable to relocate without paying a great price. “ (Warren Wiersbe, Be Heroic, David C. Cook, Ontario.) There is a much greater focus on the journey itself. It took four months for them to cover the 900 miles. Question: What do we learn from Ezra’s journey that helps us on our own faith walk? It takes courage and God gives us that courage; and we should both acknowledge this and lean on it. At the end of chapter 7, Ezra says that “Because the hand of the LORD my God was on me, I took courage and gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me.” Ezra knew it would not be easy to convince people to go with him but that God would make it possible, by stirring the hearts of those he wanted to make the journey. The journey of faith is not perfect, and we should expect this. It doesn’t mean that God has abandoned us when there are failures, challenges, or glitches. Ezra assembles his travelers at the canal that flows towards Ahava and discovers that he has no Levites. The Levites were from the tribe of Levi and were men set apart, as clergy and servants, to do the administrative work of the temple. They served as temple guards, gatekeepers, and temple musician. They handled the special vessels in the temple and guarded the temple treasury. They also served as judges. They did not act as priests. Ezra needed them in order to ensure that the temple was running as God intended. Apparently God has placed on Ezra’s heart a concern that the last exiles who returned to Judah and Jerusalem are not being faithful in their actions. We will see that Ezra is exactly right in chapter 9. Ezra sends a delegation to a place called Casiphia (meaning ‘silvermith’), perhaps a location where Levites lived in Babylon. Ezra instructs the delegation to speak to the head of the Levites, a man named Iddo. 38 Levites and 220 temple slaves agree to go with Ezra. Ezra recognizes who made this possible. In verse 18 he says, ““And by the good hand of our God on us, they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons of Mahli the son of Levi, son of Israel, namely Sherebiah with his sons and kinsmen…”” We need to continuously pause and worship God and seek his guidance as we work; and especially in challenging and hectic times. Ezra has the assembled traveling party observe a time of fasting and worship to seek safe journey “for ourselves, our children, and all our goods.” Like Abraham rejecting the plunder obtained by men, Ezra has rejected the possibility of a military escort; telling Artaxerxes that they would rely on the hand of God to protect their journey. Together, everyone prays for God’s protection and invests time in the process of prayer and worship. Ezra values others as God values them; he sees others as God sees them; and he trusts those that God trusts. We need to do the same. After he weights out and accounts for the 25 tons of precious artifacts, gold, and silver he entrusts the priests to guard it with these words beginning in verse 28, ““You are holy to the LORD, and the vessels are holy, and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the LORD, the God of your fathers. (29) Guard them and keep them until you weigh them before the chief priests and the Levites and the heads of fathers' houses in Israel at Jerusalem, within the chambers of the house of the LORD.” (30) So the priests and the Levites took over the weight of the silver and the gold and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem, to the house of our God.”” Ezra mirrors God’s own view and so should we. As the returned exiles were completing the temple in 516 B.C. the prophet Zephaniah reminded them of God’s active love and regard for his people. In Zephaniah 3:17 he wrote, ““The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”” Ezra is consistent in demonstrating faithfulness. It’s not a one-time thing. When they arrive in Jerusalem four month later they take three days to rest and reflect on how the hand of God was on them for the entire 900 mile trip and protected them “from enemies and bandits along the way.”(v. 31). Ezra seeks no personal gain for himself and demonstrates his own trustworthiness. When he arrives in Jerusalem he again weighs out the large treasure of silver, gold, and valuable artifacts to demonstrate that it is all there and accounted for. Ezra honors the commitments he has made to others, even to a pagan king like Artaxerxes. When he returns to Jerusalem he fulfills the instruction in Artaxerxes’ letter (7:17) to offer appropriate sacrifices to God on the altar temple. Artaxerxes was avid for this offering to protect himself and his court from the possible wrath of the God of Israel. This occurs in 8:35; and Ezra turns it into an act of worship. Ezra is humble and self-effacing. He could have exerted the office of king’s favorite when he shows up in Jerusalem, but, with great temperance, he shares Artaxerxes’ letter, in v. 36, with the satraps and provincial governors throughout the region; extending this sharing with officials beyond the province of Trans-Euphrates itself so that everyone will know what Artaxerxes and the God of Israel have commanded. Ezra sets a greater example for everyone....

Feb 2016

Ezra 5-6

the rekindling of cold faith

Chapter 5 brings us back to the first return of the exiles under Zerubbabel and Jeshua. They ceased work on the temple beginning in 536 B.C. and it is now 520 B.C. At the beginning of chapter 5 we see that the returned exiles have drifted from their original purpose in rebuilding the temple. Cyrus the Great died in 530 B.C. His son, Cambyses II, ruled from 530 B.C. until 522 B.C. Cambyses II died under disputed circumstances, and he was succeeded by Bardiya, who was either a younger son of Cyrus the Great or an impostor who was murdered shortly after assuming the throne. Darius the Great, who will rule from 522 B.C. until 486 B.C., is now the king. At the beginning of chapter 5 we read that God moved his prophets, Haggai and Zechariah to prophesy. Here is what Haggai, in Haggai, chapter 1, said. Question: In Haggai God is speaking directly to the chosen exiles he stirred and caused to return to Judah. What is his focus? ““In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest: (2) “Thus says the LORD of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the LORD.” (3) Then the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, (4) “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? (5) Now, therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways. (6) You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes. (7) “Thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways. (8) Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the LORD. (9) You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the LORD of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. (10) Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. (11) And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.” (12) Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him. And the people feared the LORD. (13) Then Haggai, the messenger of the LORD, spoke to the people with the LORD's message, “I am with you, declares the LORD.” (14) And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and worked on the house of the LORD of hosts, their God, (15) on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.”” God acknowledges that people, including many of the exiles, are saying that it’s not time to rebuild the temple and have used this excuse for 16 years. He convicts the exiles of using the time, labor, and materials meant for the temple to build lavish “paneled houses” for themselves, selfishly using the cedars from Lebanon to line their dwellings. God reveals the restless hearts and souls of a people who have turned to themselves and away from God. They‘ve been busy but have accomplished very little. Nothing makes them happy; not food or drink, or clothes. Their disobedience has left them cold. God has not been able to bless the returned exiles because they have been steadfast in their disobedience. God has dried up the rain that sustains the soil, and all the essential harvests have diminished. The words of Haggai and Zechariah, God’s prophets, are effective and convicting. Verse 13 tells us that the returned exiles heard, obeyed, and rekindled their respect for God. Not only does God share clear words of revelation, conviction, and instruction, and he acts affirmatively to again stir the exiles (v. 14) to resume reconstruction of the temple. Contrast this inertia and disobedience with Esther, who also faced uncertain and threatening circumstances, and resolute enemies; but chose to obey God as best she could. When she made her choice to obey, regardless of cost, God blessed her actions. Psalm 119: 129 & 130, reminds us of the powerful guidance, positive support, conviction, wisdom, and revelation that God’s word brings to our lives: ““Your testimonies are wonderful; therefore my soul keeps them. (130) The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.”” James 1:22-25 says: ““(22) But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. (23) For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. (24) For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. (25) But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”” This is the expression of faith in response to God’s word. Psalm 51 tells us that the sacrifices that God values most are a broken spirit, and a broken and contrite heart. This is where real faith begins, in the absolute recognition that it is only through God that we have life and purpose. When we approach God this way he draws near to us. God’s word is effective. Ezra 5:2 tells us that Zerubbabel and Jeshua are inspired and begin to rebuild the temple. This renewal of effort brings official inquiry from the presiding governor of the province, Tattenai, and Shetharbozenai, who may have been Tattenai’s chief advisor, and other provincial administrators. They don’t oppose the construction in the same way Samaritan administrators did in the letter shared in chapter 4, but they want confirmation that the rebuilding of the temple has the king’s approval. Question: How is this different from challenge shared in chapter 4? The returned exiles don’t stop working. Tattenai is more inquiring than opposing. There is a reason for this. Verses 4 & 5 tell us:““(4) They[a] also asked them this: “What are the names of the men who are building this building?” (5) But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them until the report should reach Darius and then an answer be returned by letter concerning it.””God’s intersession restrains Tattenai and grants the returned exiles the courage to continue. We even see God’s strong hand in the correspondence to Darius the Great; in verses 11-17. The letter that Tattenai and his administrators write is a thing of beauty. It is an official inquiry, written in Aramaic, the official administrative language of the Persian Empire; but within its text the returned Jewish exiles bear testimony to who they are, the origin of the temple, the nature of the God they worship, their history of disobedience, God’s plan, and Cyrus the Great’s role, and his acknowledgement of the very God for whom the temple is being reconstructed. We even get details confirming that the returned exiles are the builders and the approach they are taking to accomplish the rebuilding. We also see, through the eyes of nonbelievers, the renewed faith and commitment of the returned exiles. They are accomplishing God’s purpose in rebuilding the temple, Plus the letter asks for confirmation of the original decree from Cyrus the Great, giving double confirmation, at different points in time, to the original edict. The edict that God inspired.At the beginning of chapter 6:1-12, we see that Tattenai’s letter launches a full search of the royal archives. The search expands from Babylonia proper, and travels east to the region of Media and the city of Ecbatana, which served as the summer residence of the Persian kings, starting with Cyrus the Great. In Ecbatana they find a copy of the edict issued nine years and three kings earlier. Darius’ response is electrifying. Question: How does Darius support the rebuilding of the temple? First the original decree from Cyrus the Great is restated. Remember that God stirred Cyrus to write this decree and it seems that Darius is also stirred by God once he reads it. Darius’ first command in verse 6 is for Tattanai and all of his officials to stay away from the Jews and not interfere with the rebuilding of the temple; and to permit the local Jewish govern, Zerubbabel, and the Jewish elders to rebuild the temple on its original site. Because of this instruction from the king there can be no subsequent claim that the Persians or Samaritans assisted in or oversaw the reconstruction, or that the temple was moved from its original location. The true record is established by God, through Darius, in the Book of Ezra. All expenses and any materials needed are to be supplied by the treasury of the Province Beyond the River. The provincial rulers could not claim that funding needed to come from Babylonia proper. Any revision of Darius’ edict was punishable by death; discouraging the sort of sustained lobbying we saw with the letter in chapter 4. Darius concludes by asking that God punish and overthrow any king, official, or person who seeks to overturn the edict or interfere with the reconstruction of the temple. Through Haggai God speaks to the doubts, emotions, and fears of the returned exiles: ““(3)Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes? (4) Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the LORD. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the LORD. Work, for I am with you, declares the LORD of hosts, (5) according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not. (6) For thus says the LORD of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. (7) And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of hosts. (8) The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the LORD of hosts. (9) The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the LORD of hosts.”” As the Jews rebuild in a stark landscape God shares a far greater promise: the coming downfall of Persia to Alexander the Great, and the arrival of his own son,Christ Jesus at the temple gate to bring peace and salvation to the world. Book Of Ezra: God’s Unbroken Circle; The Rise Of Ezra. Finally, on March 12, of 516 B.C. the rebuilding of the temple was completed; approximately 70 years after Nebuchadnezzar ordered its complete destruction in 586 B.C; and 21 years after Zerubbabel and Jeshua led the exiles back to Jerusalem and first laid the temple foundation. Darius the Great, the current king of Persia has set the stage by warning off all of the provincial leaders situated in Samaria, including Tattenai, the governor, to not only stay out of the way of the rebuilding but to help finance it through the provincial budget. Ezra 6:14 tells us that Haggai the prophet and Zechariah provided continuous encouragement and preaching during this time. Interestingly Ezra gives credit to God, Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes for completing the temple. In 516 B.C., Artaxerxes would not become king for another 50 years. This comment actually supports the identification of Ezra as author of the book of Ezra. He is giving Artaxerxes a nod of approval and appreciation for supporting Ezra’s own mission which will help rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and the city itself, extending a greater protection to the temple. This is a transitional passage. Once the temple is rebuild the narrative advances 57 years to approximately 458 B.C. during the reign of Artaxerxes and the appearance of Ezra. Question: How do the exiles celebrate the reconstruction of the temple? Keep in mind the profound importance of this moment. The temple that Solomon built lasted from approximately 957 B.C. until 586 B.C. , more than 370 years, and was the center of religious life for Israel. The destruction of the temple and the dispersing of the population brought into question the very identity of Israel, and the distinctive worship relationship with God, established by Moses, and embodied by the temple. So this moment when temple is restored, with many of its original appointments and sacred vessels, regardless of how modest, is extraordinary and profound for the nation and history itself. This new temple will last until 70 A.D., more than 580 years. This is the temple that Herod the Great would improve and enlarge, the temple where Christ would enter in. Ezra 6:16 tells us that the priest, Levites, and the rest of the exiles celebrated the dedication of the temple with joy. The reconstruction of the temple reestablishes the specialness of the Jerusalem, the Promised Land, and the people themselves which we see in in verse 19. Thousands of sacrifices had accompanied the dedication of Solomon’s temple. Here the modest number of slightly more than 700 would do; including a sin offering of 12 goats for each tribe. Significantly, the priests and Levites are formally reinstalled in the temple at this time, resuming their roles as required by, and recorded in the Book of Moses, referring to passages in Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers.Following this they celebrate Passover a month later. The celebrants are the returned exiles and those who had separated themselves from the unclean practices of their Gentile neighbors in order to seek the LORD. This is extraordinarily significant and important in reestablishing the unique nature of Israel as God’s chosen people and the renewed significance of Jerusalem. It must have been a moment of great tension as well as great joy, because the Samaritans are shut out from the position they covet, which is the formal representative of the God of Israel in addition to all of the other pagan gods they embrace and condone. It is the triumph of faith and true relationship with God over convenience. God will not allow his purpose and vision for the world to be compromised or corrupted. God doesn’t need an empire, he doesn’t need political power or influence, he doesn’t need geopolitical alliances; first and foremost God wants people who believe in him. We, as believers, need to remember this. If God had not motivated Darius to decree a zone of protection for the exiles, this moment of celebration and worship would not have occurred. In Esther we saw that God could and would bless his chosen people in their new lives as exiles. In Ezra we see the continuing importance of the temple, Jerusalem, and the place that God had set aside as the Promised Land; so significant that it will be the place that Christ enters into the world.The Book of Ezra also stands as a confirming record for succeeding generations of Jews concerning the reestablishment of God’s temple, city, and his chosen people, dwelling in the world, but set apart. God did not intend or accept that they should become like the Samaritans...

Feb 2016

Ezra 3-4

a long journey back to a changed place

The 900-mile journey back to the province of Judah and the city of Jerusalem would have taken nearly four months. The journey is not described in scripture. The trip back to Jerusalem was just the beginning. Another journey, even harder, awaited them in Judah itself. Much had changed between the destruction of the Temple in 587 B.C. Remember that Nebuzaradan, general to Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian kin who conquered Judah, had led forces into Jerusalem and destroyed both the Temple and the city itself at length. All of the leaders, wealthy families, scribes, and best craftsmen were taken into exile. Many of the remaining people had already fled before the siege. Jeremiah 40 and 41 tell us that Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah, a Jew, as Babylonian governor of Judah. Gedaliah’s father was Ahikam, who had been an official in the court of King Josiah, and who had convinced a very angry King Jehoiakim not to turn over the prophet Jeremiah to be murdered by the people of Judah. Since Jerusalem was destroyed Gedaliah set up a new capital city at Mizpah to the north. Gedaliah was actually a very good governor. He convinced the rest of the Jewish army to lay down their arms, restored order, gave Jeremiah protection and worked with him to encouraged many of the Jews who had fled to return and begin cultivating the land again. In the meantime another Jewish leader, Ishmael plotted with Baalis, king of the Ammonites, a neighboring people who had not yet been conquered by the Babylonians, and who were unhappy with Gedaliah’s cooperation with the Babylonians, to assassinate Gedaliah. Ismael and his followers assassinated Gedaliah and his entire staff along with his Babylonians advisors during a celebration of Rosh Hashanah in Mizpah. Many of the Jews still living in the province of Judah fled to Egypt once they heard this news, fearing reprisals by the Babylonians. Jeremiah shared God’s instruction with this remnant. God wanted them to remain in Judah. But they ignored this and fled to Egypt anyway only to perish or further dispersed when Nebuchadnezzar invaded Egypt. To the north the old province of Israel had been replaced by Samaria, a polyglot region that claimed to be practicing the Jewish faith as God’s chosen people. Question: Given these events, what conditions and challenges did Zerubbabel, the new governor, Jeshua the high priest, and the returned exiles face when they returned to Judah? Jerusalem is destroyed and abandoned, and the Temple has been obliterated. The region’s infrastructure, roads, wells, walls, grain store houses, forges, and threshing floors are overgrown and in disrepair. Whole villages are abandoned. After 50 years without leaders, priest, scribes, and prophets the few people remaining in Judah have forgotten the Law and how to keep it. In addition these remaining people would not greet the returning exiles with open arms (remember Naomi’s return to Bethlehem in Ruth). They would have begrudged sharing the land, the slim harvest, and dwindling flocks. The exiles have assumed Persian dress, accents, and customs without even being fully conscious of it and would have appeared exotic and foreign to the inhabitants of Judah. Fields are uncultivated, and grain stores are few. What will they eat for the first year? Samaritans, Ammonites, Idumeans, Philistines, Egyptians, and other regional peoples would have drifted into the boundaries of Judah and laid claim to land, shelter, and fields. Many of the returning exiles were urban dwellers in Persia. The new life would have been very, very hard. The first report upon the return to Judah is about giving and location. Family and tribe leaders are inspired to add to the collection they have been gathering to pay for the rebuilding of the Temple. Verse 70 tells us that families, priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, and temple servants all returned to the locations they had previously occupied in Judah. This tells us two things, first that the commitment to rebuilding the Temple is the first priority, and, second, that the return of the people to the geographic locations God had assigned them in the Promised Land is also important as it begins to reestablish the character and boundaries of Judah. Question: What actions do the Jews take to declare their identity and their relationship with God? Why is this important? They build an altar to offer burnt offerings according to the Law of Moses, on the site of the ruined Temple. This act was greeted with hostility and opposition by people who were in the land, Jew and Gentile, when the exiles returned. Verse 3 tells us that fear was on the exiles “because of the peoples of the lands.” This means that the exiles were enormously uncomfortable in reestablishing the Law as prescribed by God and Moses, but were determined to do so. They began the regular and consistent practice of offering sacrifices and kept one of the great Jewish festivals, the Feast of Booths, which celebrates God’s provision of the harvest. Verse 8 speaks to the passage of another seven months while the exiles gathered material and appointed workers for the rebuilding. In verse 10 they finally made the first attempt to lay the foundation of the temple of the LORD. Then they marked this accomplishment by celebrating and giving thanks to God. Two things stand out. First, the exiles are unified and working together. This was imperfect, and it did not last. In 520 B.C., 17 years later, God would use the prophet Haggai to rebuke the returned exiles for spending more time, money, and material on rebuilding their homes than on the Temple. But in chapter 3 we see a clear commitment to being a unified community of faith. Second, the returned exiles are determined to stay very near to God. They take risks to be faithful: renewing the faithful sacrifices under the Law despite hostility, focusing on the Temple first even though food and shelter are primary concerns, celebrating God’s provision and the setting of the Temple foundation, even though this means delay in further construction. The celebration itself is poignant. Many rejoice at the laying of the foundation. But the old men who remembered the vast majesty of Solomon’s temple are moved to tears of sadness and loss, and their lamenting is as loud as the celebrating. Perhaps some of their sadness is in remembering the stark and continuous disobedience that led to the loss of the Temple. In chapter 4 a stronger, more concerted, and organized opposition arises to the rebuilding of the Temple. Question: This opposition teaches us about what we might experience when God calls on us to accomplish his purposes and the dangers of focusing too much on worldly resistance. What do we learn? First the Samaritans to the north offer to help rebuild the Temple. It’s not a well-intended offer. Samaria occupied the old boundaries of the northern kingdom of Israel. It had been deliberately resettled by Assyrian kings, beginning with Sargon II, with other peoples from the Assyrian Empire, including people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Seharvaim, replacing the Israelites (see 2 Kings chapter 17:24-40). These new settlers worshiped a wide range of lesser gods and tried to incorporate the worship of the God of Israel along with this. They had no interest in seeing the Temple rebuilt or Jerusalem restored. Both Judah and Samaria were part of one Persian province called “Beyond the River.” The center of power and administration for this province was not in Judah but in Samaria. Mizpah was the center of government and Bethel had replace Jerusalem and the Temple as the religious center. The Samaritans and their Persian allies wanted to keep it that way. The governor of Judah, Zerubbabel, decisively rejected the false proffer of assistance. There was also a very wise administrative reason to reject the Samaritans; Cyrus the Great’s edict granted the right to rebuild to the returning exiles, not to the Samaritans. Verse 4 is important. Political operatives from the province bribed advisors and leaders in the province, and perhaps in the Persian court as well, to speak against the reconstruction of the Temple. Facing this, the returned exiles lost their focus and abandoned their trust in God. They became discouraged and then afraid. Remember, Cyrus the Great had given the exiles his backing and had not withdrawn it. God stirred Cyrus. The exiles knew this but gave up anyway. Instead they fell prey to what Haggai convicts them for. They focused on building their own dwelling places and making themselves comfortable. Efforts to reconstruct the Temple ceased around 536 B.C. and didn’t resume again until 520 B.C. The opposition was skillful and continued over time. The narrative leaps far ahead to share a particularly powerful example of this. Beginning in verse 7 we see a beautifully crafted letter from the leadership of the province condemning the rebuilding of Jerusalem (not the Temple). The letter was written to king Artaxerxes who ruled from 464 B.C. to 423 B.C. Artaxerxes, who had not issued an edict permitting the general rebuilding of Jerusalem, was persuaded by the letter and ordered efforts to rebuild Jerusalem to cease. In verse 23, the Samaritan controlled provincial administration used the king’s reply to enforce the end of all reconstruction, including the Temple. What this tells us is that when God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit stir us to act on their behalf there may be very strong opposition from the world. Sometimes this opposition will seem better organized and more effective than what God has given us. It’s not; but it is easy for us, as it was for the returning exiles, to take counsel of our fears and discouragement rather than standing on the promises of God. The returned exiles suspended their efforts even though God had given them a clear promise and a clear purpose. The same thing can happen to us. n Isaiah 41: 1- 4 & 8-13, God spoke to Israel, spoke to the returned exiles, and speaks to us today about this very thing: ““Be silent before me, you islands! Let the nations renew their strength! Let them come forward and speak; let us meet together at the place of judgment. (2) “Who has stirred up one from the east, calling him in righteousness to his service? He hands nations over to him and subdues kings before him. He turns them to dust with his sword, to windblown chaff with his bow. (3) He pursues them and moves on unscathed, by a path his feet have not traveled before. (4) Who has done this and carried it through, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD—with the first of them and with the last—I am he.”...“But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend, (9) I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, ‘You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. 10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (11) “All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. (12) Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all. (13) For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.”” In this passage God tells Israel that he will stir up one from the east, meaning Cyrus the Great, and promises to Israel his own divine intervention to bring about his purposes, including the vanquishing of seemingly overwhelming enemies. Knowing this the Israelites should not fear, should not be dismayed, and should remember that God is at hand to help them. We should remember this as well....

Feb 2016

Ezra 1-2

god's destiny for a great king and his people

Cyrus began his rule of the greater Persian Empire in 538 B.C. He established the system of provinces and governance by satraps that we saw in Esther. Cyrus was broadminded for the time and allowed the far provinces of his empire to retain their cultural and religious identities. We see this at the beginning of Chapter 1:1-4. In contrast to the Book of Esther, Ezra is rich with references to God. We begin with a proclamation from Cyrus in verse 2 but there is more. Verse 1 shares much information about how God is working in these circumstances. Question: What do we learn? God stirred Cyrus’ spirit causing him to issue his proclamation and to put it into writing, showing us that God is not limited to those who follow him. All of creation is subject to him; and no one is beyond his influence. What is stunning is that Cyrus’ role was prophesied by Isaiah around 680 B.C., more than 140 years before Cyrus issued his edict in 538 B.C. Isaiah 44 and 45 prophesy both Christ and Cyrus. Cyrus is identified, by name, as the one who will be God’s instrument in delivering Israel from the Babylonian captivity. Beginning in Isaiah 44:24 God says, “ “I am the LORD who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself,…who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfill all my purpose; saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’ and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.” The foretelling of Cyrus by name makes it clear to anyone reading this passage in conjunction with the Book of Ezra that God is in control of history. The Jewish historian Josephus wrote that Cyrus read the prophetic passage in Isaiah concerning him, and was eager to fulfill what God had spoken. Assuming that Ezra is the primary writer of the Book of Ezra what does he know that enables him to have this bold insight to Cyrus’ motivation? Ezra led a second group of exiles to Israel in 458 B.C. Esther and Mordecai followed God’s leading to deliver the Jews from extermination in 473 B.C., and after this Purim was celebrated every year in remembrance. Ezra was alive during this time and would have been witness to the events that unfolded in the Book of Esther. He had seen God at work. Cyrus’ proclamation itself also aligns with the prophecy in Jeremiah concerning the length of Israel’s captivity. Here is what Jeremiah 29: 10-13 says: “(10) This is what the LORD says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. (11) For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (12) Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. (13) You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. (14) I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity.[b] I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” The length of time is calculated from the time the Babylonians first invaded Israel in 606 B.C. until the first exiles returned to Judah, in approximately 506 B.C.; this is indeed 70 years. Scholars argue over the significance and application of the 70-year span, but the fact that it applies so clearly as stated above is supernatural in its correspondence. One of the splendid narratives in the Book of Esther, which also continues in Ezra, is the use of official Persian court documents and statements. Here it is again beginning in verse 2. J. Brian Tucker notes that the language of this edict is quite close to the wording of the Elephantine papyrus, dating back to 407 B.C., which requested permission from the Persian provincial governor to rebuild a temple in the Egyptian city of Elephantine. Question: Read the proclamation. What do Cyrus and God intend to accomplish? For Cyrus it was part of a larger and brilliant political strategy to win the allegiance of all the provinces in his vast and new empire by allowing them to keep their unique cultural and religious identities. Cyrus openly recognized the Hebrew God, identifying him as “the LORD God of heaven”, a title that is used 17 times in Ezra, Nehemiah, and Daniel (Warren Wiersbe, Be Heroic). God uses Cyrus’ words and formal edict to tell us that he is at work. God calls on a substantial number of people to accomplish his purpose and he gives them a singular mission to accomplish that supersedes their individual interests and desires. Cyrus intends to create a formal record of his rulings and decrees as king, so that there can be no confusion as to his decision. God uses it to create a record of his purpose and will, that we as believers may read today as proof of his larger plan across history, and his continuing preparation for the arrival of Christ. Following this decree there is an increase and broadening of activity as preparation is made for the return to Jerusalem. Ezra tells us in verse five that God also prompted the spirits of those Jews who he wanted to participate in the rebuilding of the Temple. This also means that many Jews are not prompted to return (think of Esther and Mordecai). We learn in verse six that “…all those who were about them” or “their neighbors” assisted in providing silver, gold, livestock, and goods. This means that the Persians themselves help fund the venture, just as the Egyptians had given the Israelites vast material help as they left Egypt for the Promised Land. In addition, Cyrus had Mithredath, his treasurer, return all of the Temple objects that Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king, who had sacked the Temple and carried away all of its artifacts, placing them in the temple of his god. He hands them to Sheshbazzar, called the prince of Judah, in verse eight. Sheshbazzar and Zerubbabel are both identified as leaders of the exiled Jews and their relationship is unclear from scripture. It’s been suggested that Sheshbazzar is Zerubbabel, one man having two names, one Persian and one Hebrew, just like Esther, who was also Hadassah. Another suggestion is that Sheshbazzar was the court official the Persians held officially accountable for the return to Jerusalem and the reconstruction of the Temple, while Zerubbabel actually led and accomplished the work. Zerubbabel is named in both genealogies concerning Christ, which appear in Matthew and Luke. After this, running to verse 70 at the end of chapter 2, we get a meticulous listing of Temple artifacts and a long listing of the people and families returning to Jerusalem. People are identified as leaders and tribal leaders, by family name and geographic place name, as priests, as Temple workers and Temple servants (Levites, singers, and gatekeepers), descendants of servants to Solomon, and then those who claimed to be either priests or descendants of Jewish families but could not prove their ancestry. Altogether, including people not explicitly mentioned, they number are about 50,000 including servants. Question: When we encounter genealogies in scripture, they can seem pedantic and superfluous. But there are substantial reasons for their inclusion, and this is reinforced by its inclusion in Nehemiah as well. Why do God and Ezra focus on the genealogy in this narrative? The Jews had been in exile for more than two generations and away from the Promised Land. Two generations was long enough to sweep away remembrance of the Law and past practices for many Israelites. This is God’s way of intentionally reconstituting a segment of his people. It created and preserved a clear written record identifying the people who rebuilt and reestablished the Temple; so there could be no future claims that Persians or Samaritans rebuilt the temple or that any different use was intended for the Temple. It tells us that God remembers each of us individually and remembers us by name. It confirms the prophesy in Isaiah 44 and 45 that Cyrus the Great would be God’s instrument in delivering the Israelites from the Babylonian captivity and would play a role in God’s greater plan to bring Christ into the world. ...

Feb 2016

Ezra

introduction

Ezra and Nehemiah have in the past, especially in ancient Jewish scholarship been described as a unity, rather than two books. Though they are considered as, and should be taken as two separate books they share a strong identity. It is reasonable to identify Ezra, a literate Jewish priest and strong leader, as the primary author of Ezra, especially given that the narrative becomes first person in chapter 7. Ezra narrates the return of Israel, specifically the Judeans, the tribe of Benjamin, and the priests, the Levites, to Jerusalem. J. Brian Tucker (The Moody Bible Commentary, Moody Publishers Chicago, p. 637 ) writes that “the theme of the book of Ezra is the restoration of the covenant identity of Israel through God’s providence.” It is also one of the most remarkable and specific fulfillments of prophesy, as shared by Isaiah, in the Old Testament. Ezra wrote with a clear vision: To show us that God actively works through history and across time, and has a clear design in mind; even amid chaotic and imperfect circumstances. To show, as does the Book of Esther, that God often uses the ungodly and the worldly, people who do not know him, to accomplish his greater purposes. To show that God kept his promises to restore his people, and today continues to keep his promises to us. To show that God was specifically invested in rebuilding the Temple and Jerusalem itself, and commissioned people to restore it. To show that God had a greater and superseding purpose, greater even than restoring Israel – preparing the stage and time for the coming of Christ. Chapters 1-6 describe the first return of the contingent of 42,360 people charged with the rebuilding project and the challenges they, and succeeding generations, would face. Ezra himself was a priest, descended from Aaron, knowledgeable and skilled in remembering and applying the Law of Moses, and a talented scribe, writing with precision and evocative remembrance. Like Ruth, Esther, Mordecai, and Nehemiah he sought God’s purpose and direction in a bleak landscape where he was a captive and surrounded by opposition. He had won the attention and favor of the king who was Artaxerxes I. Artaxerxes was the son of Xerxes the Great, the king we met in the Book of Esther, the king who took Esther as his queen, and who was assassinated in 465 B.C. But before Artaxerxes the Book of Ezra begins with a panoramic sweep, taking us back to the first year of Cyrus the Great, king of Persia; almost 60 years before the events in Esther began. Cyrus started his rise to power in 559 B.C., as an assisting king to his father when Persia was not a great empire, but a small, lesser client state of the Medes. He conquered the Medes, the area that is now modern Turkey, and then the Babylonians who had first conquered Judah. It was the Babylonians who had destroyed Jerusalem, and then brought the Jews into exile....

Dec 2015

Esther

esther in review

Following two days of conflict and killing, and a hard won deliverance, the Jews paused and celebrated. In rural villages the conflict ended sooner than in the cities so the celebrations crossed over several days. What is interesting is that the Jews celebrated on their own. This was not commanded by God but was very much in keeping with his character in remembering and celebrating great moments of God’s faithfulness such as Passover. The conflict that the Jews must weather and the force with which they must strike back, even though accomplished in exile, foretells the struggle they will endure, and the enemies they will face in reestablishing the modern state of Israel. Mordecai observed this celebration and then formalized it in verses 20-22, with a letter sent to all the provinces, directing that all Jews celebrate this occasion each year, on the 14th and 15th day of Adar. This celebration became Purim, meaning ‘lot’ referencing Haman’s roll of the dice in Esther 3:7 to determine the day, month, and year in which the Jews were to be massacred. Question: What do we as the church of Christ celebrate and should we be better at remembering the extraordinary moments in our history? And what would they be? Verse 29 tells us that Esther and Mordecai, together, write, with full authority, a second letter, confirming that Purim would always be celebrated as Mordecai directed in the first letter. This letter is described in verse 30 as “words of peace and truth. Question: What is the significance of Purim and what do we, as followers of Christ, learn from the Book of Esther? God uses the common, the ordinary, the imperfect, the dispossessed, the exiled, the weak, the poor, the endangered, the beleaguered, and the oppressed to accomplish his great and majestic purposes. This cannot be emphasized too strongly or repeated too often. Esther had great beauty and Mordecai was a low level court official but they did not have wealth, preference, or distinction in the Persian Empire. They were exiles, with no rights, subject to the rule of a vast empire. God uses this approach so often because the weak have no delusions about where deliverance and salvation come from. Think of Mordecai’s raw lament and unembarrassed display of weeping, sack cloth, and ashes. If we saw him coming down the street we would cross to the other side. David, even when he was king, knew about God’s love and great compassion for our weakness and infirmity. In Psalm 61 he wrote, “Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe.” We must join Esther and Mordecai in looking up to God. Reach out to him when you are at lowest ebb. He will take hold and not let go. God enters history, he enters our daily lives, he enters into places that we view as dark and forbidden; nothing withstands him. The term ‘Purim’ really tells us that God’s power, and providential care for his people, are greater than Haman’s power and greater than his cold casting of the dice. In Isaiah 45 God says “I am the LORD, and there is no other. I form the light and create darkness; I bring prosperity and create disaster. I, the LORD, do all these things” During the Holocaust Jews took great care to preserve and share the text of Esther; and to remember God’s actions in saving his people from extinction. Even when our primary experience and feeling leads us to despair and mourning before God; God is present and at work. Even when loss gives way to greater loss, God’s presiding is greater. Jewish tradition says that King David composed Psalm 22 with Esther in his prophetic view, and that Esther repeated Psalm 22 over and over during her time of trial. Psalm 22 is a powerful lament, and begins with haunting words, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from the words of my groaning? Oh my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent.” The rejoicing of Purim is on the other side of this wrenching lament. And the memory of Purim becomes the small flame in the vast darkness of the Holocaust. In the same way the celebration of the greatness of Mordecai in chapter 10 is founded on the sack cloth and ashes that Mordecai wore in chapter 4. God is not interested in elevating the powerful and the sleekly successful; he seeks the broken and poor in spirit to accomplish his greatest works; those who cannot take one step without reaching out to God for steadying help. Women stand equally with men before God and Christ; and God uses them powerfully in leading and accomplishing his work. God elevates Esther to a position of power and uses her to accomplish his greater purpose by making her a superlative, if flawed leader. By the end of chapter 9 Esther is called Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail, signifying that God has brought her to full maturity as both queen of Persia and queen of her people, the chosen people of God. She served God with courage, fierce persistence, humility, and wisdom greater than her soul; because she chose to trust God, and follow him rather than giving counsel to her fears. She kept God’s instruction in Isaiah 41:10, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Faith begins with each individual but is grounded in the community of believers in Christ, which today is the Church. Esther and Mordecai worked together to address the challenges they faced. They didn’t abandon one another, resent one another, or betray one another. Esther put Mordecai forward at risk to her own reputation, and Mordecai was steadfast in putting his people first, and not seeking his own preferment. Mordecai also kept Esther informed when she had no other sources of outside information and reminded her of God’s greater purposes for her at the critical moment. Finally Esther reminds us that even when everything around us seems to degrade, devalue, mock, and override our very faith, and the very presence of God, He is still there, and we are his chosen people; inhabited by his divine majesty, mercy, wisdom, power, love, and grace. We may travel dark paths in the world but we are set apart as his children of light. As Peter wrote in I Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen people a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” This is our identity in life and in death; and in the great eternal life to come. So the end is not the end. The deliverance for the Jews occurred in 473 B.C. and Xerxes reign continued until August 465 B.C., eight years later, when Xerxes and his son Darius were assassinated by Artabanus, the leader of the king’s body guard, with the help of a eunuch named Aspamitres. Artaxerxes, the third son of Xerxes, seized power by killing Artabanus, and became the next king. In the Book of Ezra, Artaxerxes commissions Ezra, to take charge of Israel. Ezra returns to Israel in the seventh year of Artaxerxes’ reign. In the 20th year of Artaxerxes’ reign, Nehemiah is commissioned to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls of the city. We don’t know the rest of Esther’s fate or journey. Some say that she was the mother of Darius II who became king after Artaxerxes. Some say that Esther is the queen mentioned in Nehemiah 2:6, sitting beside Artaxerxes in the 20th year of his reign; when he commissions Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem. Some say she died when she was still young and others that she lived to an old age. We don’t know. What we do know is that her life did not end with Purim, nor did it become easy or idyllic. God did not deliver her from challenge, or the fantastic corruption of the Persian Empire; but he did walk with her in all her trials, he did give her a life of extraordinary significance, even if she could not see it completely at the time, he did give her an identity that aligned with His own character, enabling her to act in ways beyond her capacity, and he did give her a profound cause to rejoice, so great that it endures to this day. Today, with the same power, love, majesty, mercy, and conviction, He reaches out to us. How will we respond?...

Dec 2015

Esther 9:1-17

warfare and triumph

We get a strong sense of the division and volatility within the Persian Empire by the reaction to the two edicts. There is still a strong element across many of the 127 provinces that is committed to attacking the Jews despite the issuance of the second decree and the fall of Haman. These are probably allies who remain true to the power of Haman’s household, opportunists who want to seize additional wealth (plunder), and those who view this war of competing edicts as a referendum on the power of Xerxes and Mordecai. At this point in his reign Xerxes is not beloved by his people. His failed expeditions against the Greeks have resulted in catastrophic casualties, huge investments, near bankruptcy, and much higher taxes. Question: Are the Jews excessive or vindictive in their response? Although there is some fuzziness in the language it is most likely that the Jews are attacking only those who attack them first. The enemies arrayed against the Jews are seeking not simply to defeat or embarrass them, but to wipe them from the face of the earth. Part of the Jewish response is to simply ensure that the people seeking their annihilation aren’t around to do it again. Part of this battle is completing the holy war against the Amalekites; and in aid of this they kill the 10 sons of Haman who have taken up arms against them. Queen Esther requests that their dead bodies be put on public display (9:13) just like the bodies of King Saul and his sons were put on display by the Philistines at Beth-Shan. Esther’s request to extend the edict for one more day may seem blood thirsty or punitive but it’s really not. Many commentators view this as excessive vengeance or the triumph of blood lust but there are practical reasons for Esther to make her request. There is a pitched battle going on across the 127 provinces of the empire, and it will take more than one day to resolve. What is unspoken here is that the Jews must have suffered losses as well, even though permitted to take up arms in self-defense, and even though they have the support of Xerxes’ nobles, satraps, governor, and administrators. This is a messy moment and we can imagine that the enemies of the Jews are fighting as hard as they can to achieve the results promised in the first edict, and not the second. As Warren Wiersbe writes (Be Committed: Doing God’s Will Whatever the Cost, David C. Cook, 1993, p. 180, “The fear of God protects those who fear God and believe His promises. Because the Jews believed Mordecai’s decree, they had new courage and were not afraid of the enemy, and their courage put fear into the hearts of the enemy.” Esther’s own actions state her confidence in God’s outworking in her world. Perhaps she is remembering verses from Psalm 22: “(29) All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. (28) For kingship belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations.” Book of Esther: A Hard Victory and a Profound Remembrance. Haman and Xerxes’ first edict and the second correcting edict allowing the Jews to gather and defend themselves have resulted in a small scale war. Verse 16 of chapter 9 tells us that at the end of the fighting across the 127 provinces the Jews have killed 75,000 Persians in defending themselves. This does not count wounded or captured or calculate the number of Jews killed and wounded. This casualty level states a much larger number of Persians who joined in the attack against the Jews. It means that the Jews, in defending themselves, and even in having the help of the king’s administration, may still have been outnumbered in many instances. They fought across a vast territory and amidst a large foreign population mostly ambivalent and probably often unwilling to assist them. To frame this, Guinness world records says that 49 million of the world’s estimated 112 million people lived in the Persian Empire in 480 BC. Keep in mind that God does not deliver the Jews from conflict, but does enable them to enter the conflict and overcome. Verses 15 and 16 also tells us that the Jews in Susa, and the Jews in the 127 provinces, did not take any plunder from those they defeated. To not take the property of the defeated was to behave differently than every other people, nation, or culture at this time in history. Plunder was the accepted right of the victor, and a sensible practice at a time when resources were scarce and survival from year to year was a high risk proposition. Under the second edict the Jews were granted the right to take the property of those who attacked them. Question: What does this refusal to take plunder tell us? This is affirmative proof that the Jews had not forgotten God; and that the Book of Esther does not simply offer a recounting of secular events. It is very similar to Abraham’s decision to not take plunder after defeating Kedorlaomer and three other kings in rescuing Lot. In Genesis 14:22 Abram said, “I have raised my hand to the LORD. God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or a thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’” After this fearless testimony, God comes to Abram in a vision, in Genesis 15:1, and says, “Don’t be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, and your great reward.” So, by their actions rather than spoken words, the Jews were announcing to everyone around them that they looked to God and acknowledged him as the source of their deliverance and provision. They were expressing their confidence, that even in exile, God was with them and had not abandoned them. This decisive act of faith must have spooked the Persians. It affirmed God’s view that this was a holy war, and not a regional conflict. It had further symbolism in correcting Saul’s error, long before the reign of Xerxes and the time of exile, in keeping plunder from the Amalekites when God told him not to. Following this conflict, and their deliverance the Jews paused and celebrated. In rural villages the conflict ended sooner than in the cities so the celebrations crossed over several days. What is interesting is that the Jews celebrated on their own. This was not commanded by God but was very much in keeping with his character in remembering and celebrating great moments of God’s faithfulness such as Passover. Mordecai observed this celebration and then formalized it in verses 20-22, with a letter sent to all the provinces, directing that all Jews celebrate this occasion each year, on the 14th and 15th day of Adar. This celebration became Purim, meaning ‘lot’ referencing Haman’s roll of the dice in Esther 3:7 to determine the day, month, and year in which the Jews were to be massacred. Verse 29 tells us that Esther and Mordecai, together, write, with full authority, a second letter, confirming that Purim would always be celebrated as Mordecai directed in the first letter. This letter is described in verse 30 as “words of peace and truth. Question: What is the significance of Purim and what do we, as followers of Christ, learn from the Book of Esther? God uses the common, the ordinary, the imperfect, the dispossessed, the exiled, the weak, the poor, the endangered, the beleaguered, and the oppressed to accomplish his great and majestic purposes. This cannot be emphasized too strongly or repeated too often. Esther had great beauty and Mordecai was a low level court official but they did not have wealth, preference, or distinction in the Persian Empire. They were exiles, with no rights, subject to the rule of a vast empire. God uses this approach so often because the weak have no delusions about where deliverance and salvation come from. Think of Mordecai’s raw lament and unembarrassed display of weeping, sack cloth, and ashes. If we saw him coming down the street we would cross to the other side. David, even when he was king, knew about God’s love and great compassion for our weakness and infirmity. In Psalm 61 he wrote, “Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe.” We must join Esther and Mordecai in looking up to God. Reach out to him when you are at lowest ebb. He will take hold and not let go. God enters history, he enters our daily lives, he enters into places that we view as dark and forbidden, nothing withstands him. The term ‘Purim’ really tells us that God’s power, and providential care for his people are greater than Haman’s power and greater than his cold casting of the dice. In Isaiah 45 God says “I am the LORD, and there is no other. I form the light and create darkness; I bring prosperity and create disaster. I, the LORD, do all these things” During the Holocaust Jews took great care to preserve and share the text of Esther; and to remember God’s actions in saving his people from extinction. Women stand equally with men before God and Christ; and God uses them powerfully in leading and accomplishing his work. God elevates Esther to a position of power and uses her to accomplish his greater purpose by making her a superlative, if flawed leader. By the end of chapter 9 Esther is called Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail, signifying that God has brought her to full maturity as both queen of Persia and queen of her people, the chosen people of God. She served God with courage, fierce persistence, humility, and wisdom greater than her soul; because she chose to trust God, and follow him rather than giving counsel to her fears. She kept God’s instruction in Isaiah 41:10, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Faith begins with each individual but is grounded in the community of believers in Christ which today is the Church. Esther and Mordecai worked together to address the challenges they faced. They didn’t abandon one another, resent one another, or betray one another. Esther put Mordecai forward at risk to her own reputation, and Mordecai was steadfast in putting his people first, and not seeking his own preferment. Mordecai also kept Esther informed when she has no other sources of outside information and reminded her of God’s greater purposes for her at the critical moment. Finally Esther reminds us that even when everything around us seems to degrade, devalue, mock, and override our very faith, and the very presence of God, He is still there, and we are his chosen people; inhabited by his divine majesty, mercy, wisdom, power, love, and grace. We may travel dark paths in the world but we are set apart as his children of light. As Peter wrote in I Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen peple a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” So the end is not the end. The deliverance for the Jews occurs in 473 B.C. and Xerxes reign continues until August 465 B.C., eight years later, when Xerxes and his son Darius are assassinated by Artabanus, the leader of the king’s body guard, with the help of a eunuch Aspamitres. Artaxerxes, the third son of Xerxes, seized power by killing Artabanus. In the Book of Ezra, Artaxerxes commissions Ezra, to take charge of Israel. Ezra returns to Israel in the seventh year of Artaxerxes reign. In the 20th year of Artaxerxes’ reign, Nehemiah is commissioned to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls of the city. We don’t know Esther’s fate or journey. Some say that she was the mother of Darius II who became king after Artaxerxes. Some say that Esther is the queen mentioned in Nehemiah 2:6, sitting besides Artaxerxes in the 20th year of his reign. Some say she died when she was still young and others that she lived to an old age. We don’t know....

Dec 2015

Esther 8:1-17

at war - the jewish exiles saved

Chapter 8 shows us that even with the execution of Haman the situation is still volatile and dangerous for Esther, Mordecai and the Jewish exiles. The matter is not closed; the end is not tidy and easily defined. Beginning in chapter 8 the dynamic is different. Esther has disclosed that she is a Jew and Mordecai has gained admission to the court and joined her, which means he is no longer wearing sackcloth and ashes. Esther’s position has changed somewhat. Xerxes has awarded her Haman’s vast estate, which means she now has land and tenants, and servants, and livestock in a number of the 127 provinces. Mordecai receives Xerxes’ signet ring which makes him the second most powerful man in the empire. Esther appoints Mordecai as master of Haman’s estate. Question: Now that Esther and Mordecai have more power and resources what do they do? Compare this to Haman’s behavior. Does Esther demonstrate any aspects of faith in God or is her approach simply one of worldly wisdom? All of Esther’s courage, energy, and focus is on saving the Jewish people. She falls at the king’s feet, weeping, and begging him to put an end to the evil plan of Haman the Agagite. First, this is uninvited because Xerxes extends his scepter to grant Esther clemency. Second, Esther has become very specific in identifying the nature of the plot. It’s evil and it’s from Haman the Agagite, descendant of Agag, king of the Amalekites, living only because Saul disobeyed God. Haman is the unrepentant foe of God, an enemy of the Israelites since Moses, and pure malice. Xerxes doesn’t understand this, but we can infer that Esther, by her description, does. The plan is evil on its own, but Esther’s words tell us that she is conscious of the greater history it represents. Jewish tradition says that Esther repeatedly recited Psalm 22 as she prayed, one of the psalms written by David, which begins: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? (2) O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest. (3) Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises[a] of Israel. (4) In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. (5) To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.” Her petition continues to be modest, extending grace and respect to Xerxes: and once again her plea is personal. If the Jewish people are not saved Esther cannot be saved either. Once again she makes this request without any assurance that Xerxes will agree. The evidence and the record show us that Esther is acting on faith even if God is not explicitly mentioned: Hebrews 11:1-3 says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (2) For by it the people of old received their commendation. (3) By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.” The selfless boldness of Esther’s requests, her complete honesty about her heritage and her feelings suggest to us that she is acting on faith in the way described in Hebrews 11. Xerxes is open to Esther’s further petition and suggests strong action. Haman’s original plan to exterminate the Jews becomes, in verse 7, the reason for Haman’s treason and subsequent execution, conveniently leaving Xerxes out of the original planning and approval process. Xerxes invites Esther and Mordecai to write a petition of their choosing to offset the earlier decree. They may seal it with the king’s signet ring meaning it will go out with the absolute, irrevocable power of Xerxes. The machinery of empire is now summoned to issue the second edict in the same way the first edict was drafted and shared in chapter 3. The first edict was issued by Haman on April 17, 474, the second edict was issued by Mordecai on June 25, 474, and the target date for both was March 7, 473; nearly a year later. The difference is that Esther and Mordecai issue an edict aimed solely at giving the Jews the right of self-defense against anyone who attacks them, in fulfillment of the first edict on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar. Esther and Mordecai make certain that the edict is made fully public in every language and every province of the empire; so that everyone will know that the king does no longer stands with the first edict even though it cannot be revoked. It also gives the communities of Jewish exiles the reassurance that they may defend themselves and that they don’t stand alone. What is interesting is that neither Esther nor Mordecai seem to advance their own personal interests. The Jews are granted the right to plunder anyone who attacks them, but Esther and Mordecai don’t ask to share in this. Unlike Haman they don’t ask to destroy or eliminate any specific groups. They could have specifically asked for the deaths of all of Haman’s allies and family but they don’t. Mordecai goes out into public, allowing himself to be seen in the royal garments of blue and white, but this seems more in the nature of reassurance to the Jewish community and a warning to its enemies rather than any personal statement of power. The new edict and Mordecai’s show of finery cause the Jews, in verse 16, to experience a time of happiness, joy, gladness, and honor. There is celebration and even conversions to Judaism as others sense a new power and influence rising in the empire. Esther and Mordecai are not soft pushovers here, but they seem to be striving as best they can to save their people, and achieve peaceful reconciliation within the empire, without any further aggrandizement for themselves. They carve out for their people an absolute right to destroy any attackers and the households of those attackers, but they don’t have the right to initiate any attacks themselves. In this environment this is temperance and moderation. There are no assurances and little stability in the Persian Empire during the reign of Xerxes and it would be easy to grab all the power and you can and eliminate all the enemies who seem to pose a threat. Although God is not named it is clear that he is celebrated and that he is primary in the great deliverance that Esther, Mordecai, and the exiled Jews experience. The joy that is experienced is unified and broad, and it is a greater joy in recognizing both the source of deliverance (God) and the way to deliverance itself....

Nov 2015

Esther 7:1-10

for such a time as this

While Haman is reeling from a punctured ego he is summoned to attend the second banquet set up by Queen Esther. Esther must now share her request with Xerxes in front of Haman. Remember that Esther’s circumstances have not changed. She has not been given greater freedom, or unlimited access to the king, or greater status; she has not been allowed to emerge from the managed isolation of her quarters. She does not know that Xerxes has had a sleepless night, and may not even know that Xerxes has forced Haman to honor Mordecai. As far as she knows Haman is as powerful as ever. It is remarkable that she has included Haman at the banquet. It would have been easier for Esther to have asked to speak to the king alone, outside of Haman’s presence, just as Haman sought to speak to Xerxes alone when he wanted to kill Mordecai. What Esther knows is that she has one moment in which to attempt to influence the king. Her courage, steadiness, humility, and wisdom are extraordinary; and a model for us in learning servant leadership. Question: Just as we see the absence of God in Haman’s character, we see the presence of God in Esther’s character. What evidence do we see in chapter 7? Esther’s beginning language, as she makes her petition, is gentle and modest. She does not assert her identity or privilege as queen. Xerxes is a giant jerk, an impulsive cad, and a megalomaniac but Esther addresses him with profound respect and deference, just like Daniel did, and Joseph did. Her words are all about how the king feels, “If I have found favor with you, O king, and if it pleases your majesty, grant me my life -- this is my petition.” Esther is also fearless in identifying herself personally with the request. Her opening words proclaim, “Xerxes if you don’t grant this then I will die too.” Esther’s language is plain and truthful. In verse 4 her description of the deed to come “For I and my people have been sold for destruction and slaughter and annihilation…” mirrors the language of the decree drawn by Haman himself in Esther 3:13. Haman, who is sitting there, cannot object, because Esther is essentially quoting him. She also frames the dire nature of the situation for Xerxes, saying, ‘if this weren’t such a horrible thing, if it was only about further enslavement, I would not bother you with this.’ Notice too that Esther does not jump the gun. She does not start with accusation; she starts with an even-handed description of the issue; just like the prophet Nathan, when he confronted David about Bathsheba. Esther also demonstrates that she is a great leader. In this moment she is the Queen of her exiled people and has taken up their cause, at the highest level, when no one else can. God has indeed appointed her for this moment. We see Xerxes at full impulse. He has no recollection of the decree he’s signed against the Jews and demands to know “where is the man who has dared to do such a thing?” We see several things here. Xerxes demonstrates the historic tendency of all autocrats to not take responsibility for their actions. He gave Haman his signet ring and his authorization but that is now conveniently forgotten. Also, kings, whether good or bad, tend to be notoriously busy and move on from past decisions to the next thing. Esther recognizes all this in how she frames her request. Esther is observing the admonition found in Ephesians 4:29, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” Remarkably, even as she makes her petition, Esther is also giving grace to Xerxes. We also see something akin to the Holy Spirit at work in Esther, reflecting what Paul wrote in I Corinthians 12:7-9, “(7) The Holy Spirit is given to each of us in a special way. That is for the good of all. (8) To some people the Spirit gives a message of wisdom. To others the same Spirit gives a message of knowledge. (9) To others the same Spirit gives faith.” We clearly see God at work in Esther, and Esther’s character becomes like God’s. She speaks with an inspiration, temperance, and self-abnegation that is beyond the reach of human action, and clearly within the realm of God. The rest of chapter 7 is dark. Esther accuses Haman – “the adversary and the enemy is this vile Haman” - and Xerxes has him executed on the very seven story gallows that Haman built for Mordecai. Question: Some commentators say that Esther should have exercised more charity and mercy here, rather than accomplishing Haman’s execution. Do you agree? Remember that Esther, like Mordecai, is from the tribe of Benjamin, which was also the tribe of King Saul, and that Saul lost his right of kingship because he disobeyed God’s command, shared through the prophet Samuel, to attack and exterminate the Amalekites and their king, Agag, who were devout enemies of Israel. Now a second monarch from the tribe of Benjamin faces a blood descendant of the Amalekites, whose evil malice in the service of Xerxes and threat to annihilate the exiled Jewish population is directly traceable to Saul’s disobedience. Esther will not make the same mistake. Haman is not repentant or regretful; verse 6 tells us that he was terrified and undone that Xerxes had turned against him. He begs Esther for his life, not for forgiveness. God knows Haman’s heart and is administering the justice that Haman deserves. As Paul wrote in Galatians 6: 7-8, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” Remember that Haman still wears the king’s signet ring and carries the power of Xerxes wherever he goes. Given Xerxes’ distracted state, Haman could have fomented rebellion against Xerxes himself and then fulfilled his plan to exterminate the Jews. Esther cannot allow that possibility. In addition, the only way to counteract the original edict of extermination was to create a new edict that granted the Jews a greater right of self-defense that the original right to exterminate them. Haman’s power, which is in the service of evil, must end. Throughout scripture God makes clear that the wicked will receive his justice. Psalm 147: 5-6 says, “Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. (6) The LORD lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground” Haman is literally clutching at Esther to beg for his life. When Xerxes returns from the palace garden he assumes that Haman is trying to rape Esther. By law no one was ever to be closer than seven steps from the king’s concubines. This would include the queen. This becomes the grounds for Xerxes’ first charge against Haman. The second charge arises when the eunuch Harbona notes that the 75 foot tall gallows was constructed by Haman to kill Mordecai, who has become a benefactor and favorite of the king. Plotting to kill Mordecai, now under the king’s protection, becomes treason and seals Haman’s execution. Haman’s own design becomes his undoing. ...

Nov 2015

Esther 6:4-14

the destruction of pride and evil

Haman, like Xerxes, has probably been up all night, not wondering if he has been a wise ruler but ruthlessly commissioning and overseeing the construction of a gallows 75 feet tall on which to impale Mordecai. To provide some perspective, 75 feet is approximately seven stories tall. The White House is 70 feet tall and the Pentagon is 77 feet tall. Then Haman arrives at the king’s palace as early as possible, while most of the world is still sleeping, seeking a private audience with the king to obtain Mordecai’s immediate death. On its face and by the world’s terms this is daunting. Evil’s agent is quite formidable. What we see in Haman is someone who is incredibly active, organized, decisive, bold, and energetic in pursuing his self-interests and his enemies. He is the antithesis of what Christ wants us to be. We often encounter these people in our own lives. Sometimes, even as believers, we are these people. It is easy to demonize Haman, he is very much an agent of evil, but he is also very human. Question: This is a pivotal moment that begins the decisive shift of power and influence away from Haman and to Esther, Mordecai and the Jews. What does this teach us? Pride. Haman is consumed by his own sense of self-importance and whether everyone around acknowledges that self-importance on terms that Haman approves. Anything less is a mortal affront and must be crushed. Haman doesn’t take counsel from anyone else unless it aligns with his own greed, pride, and hatred. He arrives at the palace alone seeking to further his own agenda in private. As followers of Christ we are called on to live in the light, to protect the well-begin of others, and to be honorable in our dealings, not putting ourselves first. Proverbs 18, verses 2,3, 7, and 12, says: “Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment. (2) A fool takes no pleasure in understanding,but only in expressing his opinion. (3) When wickedness comes, contempt comes also, and with dishonor comes disgrace…. (7) A fool's mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul…. (12) Before destruction a man's heart is haughty,but humility comes before honor.” Anger and dislike. Haman dislikes Mordecai and is rubbed the wrong way every time he sees Mordecai. Haman enjoys and is energized by his dislike and loves to discuss it with others (“that Jew Mordecai”), as he did with his wife and friends the evening before. We do the same thing. It is such an easy and pleasurable reflex to run down those who have wronged us. 1 John 2:9-12 says this: “(9) Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. (10) Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him[b] there is no cause for stumbling. (11) But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eye.” If he entertain and nurture our hatred then we blind ourselves to what Christ has to share with us. Indeed Haman is blind to what is really going on, and hasn’t a clue that Xerxes is seeking honor for someone other than him. I Peter 4:8-11 tells us how we need to behave to avoid the Haman trap, “(8) Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. (9) Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. (10) As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: (11) whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” Corrupt Impulse. Haman gives in to how he feels and imposes this as his world view. Remember that as he recounts all of his power, wealth, and prestige Haman also says, in Esther 5:13, “But all this gives me no satisfaction as long as I see that Mordecai sitting at the king’s gate.” It’s easy to despise Haman for this ridiculous wounded pride but we can fall into the same trap. Haman wants nothing to do with God. He is God’s enemy. We, as believers, are especially in danger when we rationalize our impulsive acts and say that we are doing the will of Christ. We must be vigilant in avoiding this and examining our motives. 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” Proverbs 12:32 says, “Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.” We have a gift beyond measure in in the Holy Spirit, and growing identity with the character of Christ. We must guard this gift. Contrast Haman with Mordecai’s behavior: Haman is forced to publicly honor Mordecai but Mordecai does nothing to aggrandize himself or to further his own position. Nor is he obsessed with Haman. After the parade honoring Mordecai, Esther 6:12-13 tells us, “Afterward Mordecai retuned to the king’s gate. But Haman rushed home with his head covered in grief, and told Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened.” Not so for Haman. His pride leaves him grief-stricken and blind. His wife figures out what he cannot, that in standing against Mordecai and the Jews Haman is standing against God and cannot win....

Nov 2015

Esther 6:1-3

god's remarkable design

What makes Esther’s courage in approaching Xerxes on behalf of Mordecai and the Jews living in exile even more remarkable is the intentional isolation she has been forced to live in. She is kept apart from the king for long stretches of time, and purposefully shielded from news of the world around her. Esther did not know about Haman’s well publicized edict commanding extermination of the Jews until Mordecai shared it with her through the court eunuch Hathatch. Esther’s life is defined by leisure, banquets, the excessive drinking that the Persian’s loved, and a complete lack of privacy as she lived out her life in the presence of a host of servants; some spying on behalf of the king, and others spying on behalf of the king’s inner circle. The culture of Xerxes’ court was not designed to encourage the power and prestige of women but to minimize them. It would have been easy for Esther to be numbed by all this, and reduced to passive inaction, but she rises above the corrupting softness and indulgence, and risks all in the name of God and his chosen people. We see in her actions the reflection of David’s own journey and his words in Psalm 86, words Mordecai and Esther may have known: “(14) O God, arrogant men attack me; a gang of ruthless men, who do not respect you, seek my life. (15) But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and merciful God. You are patient and demonstrate great loyal love and faithfulness. (16) Turn toward me and have mercy on me! Give your servant your strength! Deliver your slave! (17) Show me evidence of your favor!” That night, after the first banquet, Xerxes’ cannot sleep, so he has the chronicles of his reign read to him. This is a poignant moment. You can almost hear Xerxes’ longing for significance and affirmation in commanding this reading: ‘Have I been a good king? Will I be remembered?’ In Xerxes we see earthly power without God. Even this only leads to corruption, decay, and death. Xerxes has a sense of this however brief. God is near him this night. Remember that the chronicle is always updated in the king’s presence so the story it tells is designed to be flattering to the king. Xerxes commands the attendants to read, going back at least five years before, because the record recounts the saving service done by Mordecai in disclosing the plan by Bigthana and Teresh, two of Xerxes’ trusted guards, to assassinate him. He is startled afresh by the account and wants to know immediately if Mordecai was ever rewarded. God has used this moment with exquisite timing. Xerxes is listening, open, sober, and there isn’t that vast noise of his court trying to influence him. He’s thinking about his own legacy and mortality as king, and the perfect opportunity arises for him to confirm his power, his largess and liberality, and to cement the loyal of one of his subjects by finally rewarding Mordecai. It’s the sort of impulsive behavior we have seen repeatedly in Xerxes, but this time God uses that character flaw to accomplish his specific purposes. Question: This is a pivotal moment that begins the decisive shift of power and influence away from Haman and to Esther, Mordecai and the Jews. What does this teach us? God can reach anyone at any time. He is not subject to our schedules or limited imaginations. In this moment of great influence, Xerxes is about alone as he ever is, trying to sleep and failing. There are no state dinners, no formal meetings, no phalanx of advisors, or intricate plots. There is a king in his sleeping attire reminded of the extraordinary good service rendered by one of God’s people five years before. Nor does God need for Xerxes’ to suddenly become godly, good, or wise; he uses Xerxes’ own nature to accomplish his greater purpose which is to bring attention to Mordecai and Mordecai’s faithfulness which will help lead to deliverance for the exiled Jews. The works we, as believers, do in God’s name never go to waste. Sometimes we think God is not listening or that we have failed because we don’t get the effect or result we long for, at the moment we want it. God’s view is much longer than ours. When Mordecai saved the king from assassination and received no recognition in return, and then had to watch Haman’s elevation, he must have felt that God was ignoring him and the complete lack of any justice for his faithfulness. Five years later God directs Xerxes’ sleepy mind to Mordecai’s service and the result is far more powerful and useful than anything Mordecai could have imagined or wanted. Our confidence should first be in God and not our own design. The Book of Esther is thick with plotting, maneuvering, and state craft but neither Mordecai nor Esther could have predicted or engineered the outcome that God brought about. We should not take God’s intervention for granted or lightly assume that we may predict it. We need to seek him with faithfulness, persistence, and humility and should not be put off by the doubts or dry times that will certainly occur. Christ gave us the model for this in the parable of the persistent widow in Luke 18:1-8: “Then Jesus told them a parable to show them they should always pray and not lose heart. (2) He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected people. (3) There was also a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ (4) For a while he refused, but later on he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor have regard for people, (5) yet because this widow keeps on bothering me, I will give her justice, or in the end she will wear me out by her unending pleas.’” (6) And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge says! (7) Won’t God give justice to his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he delay long to help them? (8) I tell you, he will give them justice speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”The widow is not presented in an endearing way and the judge despises her and ignores her as long as he can. Yet, said God, I listen, respond, and dispense mercy to you who believe in me in moments just like these, and with a motive driven by my love for you; don’t abandon your faith. Isaiah 55: 3, 4 & 6-9 capture God’s greater design in God’s own voice with startling power: “Pay attention and come to me! Listen, so you can live! Then I will make an unconditional covenantal promise to you, just like the reliable covenantal promises I made to David. (4) Look, I made him a witness to nations, a ruler and commander of nations….(6) Seek the LORD while he makes himself available; call to him while he is nearby! (7) The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle and sinful people their plans. They should return to the LORD, and he will show mercy to them, and to their God, for he will freely forgive them. (8) “Indeed, my plans are not like your plans, and my deeds are not like your deeds, (9) for just as the sky is higher than the earth, so my deeds are superior to your deeds and my plans superior to your plans.” Ironically Haman cannot wait to have Mordecai impaled, so is waiting to see Xerxes’ at the crack of dawn. He has already authorized construction of the gallows. Question: What do we need to understand about the true character of the wicked? Psalm 36: 1-4 gives us extraordinary insight. It’s written by David and it reflects a revelation that God gave David concerning the true character of the wicked: “(1) An evil man is rebellious to the core. He does not fear God, (2) for he is too proud to recognize and give up his sin. (3) The words he speaks are sinful and deceitful; he does not care about doing what is wise and right. (4) He plans ways to sin while he lies in bed; he is committed to a sinful lifestyle; he does not reject what is evil.” This is a perfect rendering of Haman’s character and heart. He is obsessed with his power and with doing harm to those who don’t fear or respect it. He hates the Israelites because, as God’s chosen people, they are his hereditary enemies, and he has committed his full influence and resources to destroying them. He literally can’t wait to do the next bad thing. Evil drive him. What is the answer to the formidable and active impulse of the wicked to do harm and to slander the name of God? David also supplies the answer in Psalm 36:5-10: “O LORD, your loyal love reaches to the sky; your faithfulness to the clouds. (6) Your justice is like the highest mountains, your fairness like the deepest sea; you preserve mankind and the animal kingdom. (7) How precious is your loyal love, O God! The human race finds shelter under your wings. (8) They are filled with food from your house, and you allow them to drink from the river of your delicacies. (9) For you are the one who gives and sustains life. (10) Extend your loyal love to your faithful followers, and vindicate the morally upright!” God’s love and justice are our refuge....

Nov 2015

Esther 4:3-5:14

who defines your character?

Haman has started the great machinery of empire to exterminate the Jews. The plot has become an official state act thanks to Xerxes’ foolishly given signet ring; and Haman and Xerxes smugly adjourn for self-congratulatory drinking, while Susa and the broader empire are bewildered by the edict. Now Mordecai and Esther must choose what they will do, who they will trust, and who they will be in the face of what seems certain death for the exiled Jewish population. Question: Of all the choices Mordecai can make he chooses at this moment to openly mourn and lament. And he’s not quiet about it. He rends his clothes and puts on sackcloth – a course uncomfortable cloth made of goat’s hair - and ashes. He goes out into the city of Susa “wailing loudly and bitterly.” Why? This can’t be a safe activity for him. In fact verse 2 tells us that he can go to the king’s gate but no farther because “no one clothed in sackcloth was allowed to enter in.” We have not only Mordecai’s display but the Jews across the empire join him in exhibiting great mourning “with fasting, weeping, and wailing… In Daniel 9:3 Daniel writes that when he learned from the prophet Jeremiah that the desolation of Jerusalem would last for 70 years, “I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.” In the long prayer that follows he first repents before asking anything of God. When he finally does ask God for help, he says, “We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy.” (Daniel 9:18) In one of the earliest references to sackcloth and ashes Jacob, in Genesis 37:34 wears both when he believes his son Joseph to be dead. This is pure mourning. But in Jonah 3, when the Assyrian people of Nineveh hear from Jonah that God will destroy them for their wickedness, cruelty, and worship of idols, the king orders everyone, including the livestock, to put on sackcloth as a sign of both repentance and petition for mercy. When God witnesses the genuineness and extremity of their mourning he extends mercy to Nineveh. This occurred between 800 and 750 BC, at least 270 years before the events of Esther. (Jonah 3:10) There is a strong parallel between the language of Esther in these verses and the prophet Joel, a text probably dating from 836-797 BC, during the reign of King Joash and prior to the time of exile. Joel 2:12-14 says: “Even now,” declares the LORD, return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning. (13) Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. (14) Who knows? He may turn and relent and leave behind a blessing—… God asks for his people to seek him with a genuine repentance, both in act and in heart. In what is a quite stunning passage at the start of chapter 4 Mordecai and his fellow Jews in exile do exactly this, declaring their identity as God’s chosen people, in trouble because of their misdeeds, needing God’s mercy and recognizing the need for repentance; even while living in powerful grip of a foreign empire. When Esther hears of this she has a choice to make. She can ignore it and rely on the fact that she is queen and accorded a certain status, comfort, and protection, not as a Jew, but as a Persian, or she can acknowledge Mordecai’s dramatic and open lamentation and automatically put herself at risk. First she leans strongly to the first option. She sends respectable clothes to Mordecai. The implicit message in this is “stop making a spectacle of yourself.” When Mordecai refuses, Esther summons Hathach, the eunuch assigned to her, to meet with Mordecai beyond the king’s gate. Mordecai gives Hathach full disclosure of Haman’s plot, and Hathach takes the information back to Esther, suggesting that Esther’s isolation in the palace is so severe that she hadn’t heard this before. Question: Esther’s response to all this is very human and very like us, and we need to understand her reaction. What is it? Esther’s first message back to Mordecai is something like this, ‘I can’t help you and your request is unreasonable. Everyone, including you, knows that if I approach the king without being summoned I will be killed immediately unless the king extends, in that moment, his golden scepter. You know and I know that that doesn’t happen. Xerxes is not the model of kindness, patience, or stability. You assume too much. My influence is not that great. I have no power. Xerxes will not listen to me even if, by some miracle, I’m not killed for trying to speak to him. You need to know that I haven’t seen him for 30 days. Just think about that and figure it out. My life isn’t as easy as you think. Xerxes doesn’t need me, value me, or want me. I am helpless.’ This careful review of obstacles and fears is how we often react when God brings his greater purposes to us to accomplish. This does not thwart God. He understands our fears and is patient and merciful to work through them with us. When Mordecai hears this he is not impressed or discouraged. He sends a pointed message back to Esther. Question: What is Mordecai’s response and is he trying to threaten Esther? Some commentators conclude that Mordecai’s message back to Esther is a threat to reveal her identity as a Jew. I don’t think that the language or Mordecai’s actions reflect this. Mordecai’s message is harsh and direct but in line with God’s own view. Mordecai says ‘don’t think that the palace grants you an inviolable safety, or a safety that you should trust more than God.’ Mordecai is clear in stating that God’s intention is to work through those who believe in him and that this is a serious calling. “For if you remain silent at this time, relief, and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish.” This last statement can be taken two ways. If Esther does nothing then she will have rejected the work that God has chosen her to do and may simply face the consequences of the violence she permits to go forward. The other possibility is that inaction by Esther is a declaration that she has chosen her Persian identity and a pagan life causing her identity and her father’s household identity as part of God’s chosen people to perish. Mordecai closes with a clear statement of how God works. “And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” Like Joseph and Daniel before her Esther has been raised up by God in an impossibly foreign culture in order to accomplish God’s specific purposes. Mordecai’s message to Esther is ‘don’t miss out on God’s larger purpose.’ Don’t miss out on the extraordinary specialness that God has designed for you.’ God is the great builder and the most creative being and will accomplish his purposes. He longs for us to join him, and pursues us. He leaves the door open for us as long as he can, but when the moment comes he will find others to do his work if he needs to. Mordecai’s words are in fact received by Esther in this spirit. If his words were meant as a threat she could have had him killed or accused him of treason; or simply ignored him. Mordecai really never had substantial access to Xerxes and now that Haman hates him, and he is outside the gate in mourning, he has no chance of getting a creditable message to the king. Esther would know this. Instead she asks for fasting and the implied prayers that would go with this. Some commentators argue that because prayer and faith are not directly mentioned here, then they did not occur. I think what we are seeing here is simply the guarded behavior of a people in exile. It would be dangerous to mention prayer or God in the open, and especially to one of the king’s eunuchs who is serving as messenger. Privacy of action and conversation generally did not happen as we understand them. Living spaces were smaller and everyone saw who you talked to and met with. Esther’s request for fasting implies the prayer that Jews would know to offer. When the third day arrived Esther put on her royal robes to remind Xerxes that she is simply not a stray concubine but the queen. She must, in this moment, strongly feel the risk that she is taking (“And if I perish, I perish.”). Esther has not seen Xerxes for at least 33 days now, and has no idea what his mood will be or his receptivity. She knows that Xerxes banished Vashti for the simple act of not showing up naked at a drunken party. Now she will violate all the rules and common sense itself by showing up uninvited. Esther stands so that Xerxes can see her, at the entrance to the king’s hall, but does not approach. Xerxes is pleased to see her and holds out the scepter, indicating that Esther will survive this meeting. Karen H. Jobes (The NIV Application Commentary: Esther) says that Esther’s name is mentioned 37 times in the Book of Esther, and 14 of these times she is referred to as Queen Esther. Thirteen of these occur after Esther 5:1. Question: What does this mean? By taking this very risk Esther is acknowledging that her allegiance is to the God of Israel and his purposes; claiming her greater, divinely intended identity as God’s woman. Her purpose and character become greater than herself. Karen H. Jobes writes that in claiming her identity as one of God’s chosen people, Esther like Mordecai is energized and acts with a greater sense of direction and purpose. Obedience brings us into alignment with God’s own character and personality. When we most surrender ourselves to God we are at our best. God’s purposes are perfect, wise, merciful, lasting, and majestic. We should pursue them with all we have. Xerxes is filled with generosity and indicates that Esther may have just about anything she wants. She requests that Xerxes and Haman attend, on that day, a banquet she has prepared for them. At the banquet, and after some drinking, the king asks Esther to share her request. Esther asks that Xerxes and Haman return the next day for a second banquet and then she will share her request. Xerxes happily agrees. We don’t know why exactly Esther delays but we can infer some reasons. First she is helping the king to get to know her again, after a long absence, so that he will remember his trust in her and his attraction to and affection for her, when she makes her request. Second it may be God himself who keeps Xerxes awake that night, and who points out the valuable service that Mordecai had rendered. Finally we see the vanity, arrogance, and cruelty of Haman. Question: Compare Haman’s behavior to Esther’s and Mordecai’s; how are they different? Haman is utterly and selfishly concerned with his own rights and wrongs, and his own overinflated sense of the respect owed him. He is filled with rage when, returning from the banquet, he sees Mordecai who, again, does not rise to bow. He does not notice at all that Mordecai is arrayed in sackcloth and ashes. When he arrives home Haman is filled with overweening pride. He gathers friends and his wife Zeresh to boast about his power, wealth, possessions, and favor with the king and queen. He has no interest in the well-being of anyone else. But he must point out to everyone that all of this is of no value if that wretched Mordecai won’t bow down. Zeresh and all his friends mirror Haman’s hate and corrupt heart and soul. They recommend that Haman have Mordecai impaled on a stake seventy-five feet high, so that everyone can see the suffering earned by one who does not pay Haman respect. This defines fallen humanity at its worst. It requires us to say ‘my power and wealth and the harm done to you, whether injury or death, define my worth and greatness.’ Compare this to the selfless courage and wisdom required by God, and imperfectly but powerfully acted on by Esther and Mordecai. They serve the LORD with humility and discernment. ...

Oct 2015

Esther 2:19-4:3

plots and vendettas

Following the great and extensive feast given for Esther after she has been chosen to replace Vashti, she settles into the uncertain and dangerous role of begin the titular queen to an impulsive and powerful king. Esther can only enter Xerxes’ presence if he summons her; to appear unannounced is an automatic death sentence. She doesn’t see the king for long stretches of time. In verse 19 of chapter two we see a developing plot against Xerxes. Neither Esther or Mordecai, at Mordecai’s instruction, have revealed that they are Jews. The second gathering of virgins means that Xerxes is in the process of restocking his harem. It also means that time has passed, perhaps several years. 3:7 tells us that five years have passed since Esther became queen. Mordecai is sitting at the king’s gate which means that he is an official of the court. Mordecai hears two of the king’s eunuchs, Bigthana and Teresh, plotting to kill the king. Why do they want to kill Xerxes? We don’t know. Jewish interpretation says it may have been because Xerxes chose Esther as queen, or it may have been because Mordecai had a good job in the king’s court. It may have been because Xerxes had foolishly overextended the empire by trying to invade Greece, resulting in humiliating defeats, the deaths of many Persian officers and aristocrats, and bankruptcy. Mordecai discloses the plot to Esther who has an opportunity to share it with Xerxes, and credits Mordecai. Further investigation reveals the truth of the allegations, and Bigthana and Teresh are impaled on stakes. All of this was carefully captured by Xerxes’ scribes in the book of the annals which served as a record of Xerxes’ reign, created while the king was present so that there could be no unfavorable interpretations. Question: Should Mordecai have disclosed the plot? Xerxes was a rollicking pagan who had taken Mordecai’s cousin from him. He did not know God. The result was that Xerxes life was spared and so was Esther’s. If Xerxes had been assassinated Esther would have been killed soon thereafter. If the king is assassinated then the assassins have to kill everyone who supports the king, who may pose a threat, or who has the potential to carry on the king’s family name. Christ himself reminds us in Matthew 22:21 to “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Mordecai has demonstrated a clear loyalty to Xerxes and to Esther in her new role. He shows himself to be trustworthy, and, although Esther gives him credit for disclosing the plot, does not seek his own gain. In I Samuel 24:6 David rebuked those who would do harm to Saul, even though Saul had sought with energy and obsessiveness to hunt and kill David, and had been condemned by Samuel as too fundamentally disobedient to remain king of Israel. In this moment Mordecai’s loyalty goes unrewarded. We don’t know why. It is a beautiful and modern illustration of the inconstant nature of power in the hands of people who have too much of it, and in this case a distracted king. Xerxes chooses instead to honor Haman, son of Hammaedatha, the Agagite, instead. Haman ascends to become Xerxes chief advisor, one of only seven men able to have direct access to the king. Question: What does it mean that he is described as an Agagite? It means that he is probably a descendant of Agag, king of the Amalekites who were blood foes of the Israelites. Amelek was a son of Esau’s first born son Eliphaz and the concubine Timna. The Amalekites were a nomadic tribe in southern Palestine and from the beginning enemies of the Israelites, first attacking them near Sinai after they had left Egypt. Agag was king of the Amalekites during the reign of Saul and had been a cruel foe of the Israelites. Rabbinic tradition teaches that he tortured and mutilated Jews who feel into his hands as prisoners. God through the prophet Samuel, in I Samuel 15:2, ordered Saul to wipe out the Amalekites but Saul disobeyed this command, taking Agag prisoner. Samuel condemned Saul’s disobedience and cut Agag into pieces in front of Saul. Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin and Mordecai was also from the tribe of Benjamin. If Haman was indeed an ancestor of Agag then he was one of the consequences of Saul’s disobedience. Mordecai would have known this. It also reminds us that the Persian Empire had conquered both Israel and the enemies of Israel, and that the hostility did not end with conquest or changes in geographic location. So great is Haman’s temporary honor that Xerxes commands everyone to bow down to Haman as if he were the king himself. Everyone does this except for Mordecai who won’t do it, and who violates his own counsel by disclosing that he is indeed a Jew. The other officials at the gate observe this behavior and try as best they may to intercede, asking Mordecai day after day why he won’t joint them in honoring Haman. Mordecai refuses their inquiry and counsel. The royal officials then do their craven best to instigate trouble by telling Haman about Mordecai’s disobedience. Haman is furious; not simply at Mordecai but at all Jews. Verse six tells us that “Haman looked for a way to destroy all Mordechai’s people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes.” He casts lots to determine which day and month to start a massacre of the Jewish people. Question: Was Mordecai being wise or foolish in not bowing down to Haman, and why did he choose not to bow down? Remember that Daniel was condemned to the lion’s den because he would not cease his open prayers to God; violating King Darius’ decree that no one should pray to or petition any other god or human other than King Darius for 30 days. He would not disavow God or his identity as one of God’s chosen people; even though he had succeeded and prospered in a strange land as an exile. We do not know why Haman wouldn’t bow down to Haman although we may make a strong inference. In chapter 3 Mordecai disclosed that was a Jew after telling Esther not to share this information. We may infer that one of the reasons that Mordecai had for not bowing down was because, in fact, he was a Jew, a believer in the one true God, and one of God’s chosen people. Haman is clearly identified as an ancestor of Agag, an Amalekite, a people clear in their status as enemies of God and his chosen people. Mordecai may be choosing not to bow down to a man and a people so at odds with the God he worships. What we do know is that Haman responded with irrational and limitless hatred, plotting to kill the entire exiled Jewish population within the Persian Empire which was a vast undertaking, requiring Haman to put his own reputation on the line. In these verses there is a lesson for us about in the true nature of anti-Semitism and the hatred of God in Haman’s actions that we should remember in dealing with enemies of Christ and God. Question: What do we see? Haman’s hatred is purely against God’s chosen people but he changes his approach for Xerxes to sound more reasonable, claiming that the Jews, not as individuals, but as a people, are disobeying the king’s law and are enemies of the state. The accusations are vague and broad and made in private. He appeals to the king’s interest and to the potential of vast economic gain to get the king’s permission and he promises to carry out the massacre himself so that the king doesn’t feel a sense of direct involvement. Haman uses the power of the king and the power of the state to give legitimacy to mass murder and wrongdoing. Haman uses his office and authority to involve many others in his plot. Verses 12 and 13 tell us that Haman’s orders go to all of the satraps and governors of all the provinces, and all the nobles of all the peoples, carefully written in the language of each province, making it law that all the Jews - young, old, men and women - should be slain on a given day in a given month. We know from reading the scripture that Haman’s heart is black with evil and that his hatred is the hatred of God himself, but at the time it was masked by his legitimate office and his seeming genuine concern for the king. After putting all of this in motion, verse 15 tells us that Haman sits down to have a celebratory drink. By comparison, the people of the city of Susa itself are bewildered by this blood-thirsty edict. There are those who hate God, hate his people, Jew or Christian, and will do or say anything to discredit them. Sometimes these are people we would hold in high esteem because of their success, intelligence, or power. We must be vigilant and wise in discerning their intentions. This is also terrifying. A plan so vast and so powerfully supported by the king and the king’s principal advisor would seem impossible to defeat. Indeed, we see, at the beginning of chapter 4, the deep grief, mourning, and fear of Mordecai and all the Jewish people in Persia as news of the new law travels. But God is present, even in utter bleakness and the ruthless power of a godless state. King Darius himself, not a believer, testified to the true power of God after witnessing Daniel’s example and deliverance in Daniel, chapter 6: “(25) Then King Darius wrote to all the nations and peoples of every language in all the earth: “May you prosper greatly! (26) I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. (27) He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions....

Oct 2015

Esther 2:9-18

prisoner in xerxes' harem

Question: In Ruth we saw a foreigner, Ruth the Moabitess, working hard to conform to Jewish Law and custom, in Esther we see a Jewish woman, Esther, who must deny her heritage. Do we see any evidence of God at work in this forsaken setting? Several times we read that Esther has earned favor with others. What does this tell us about her character and behavior? Despite harrowing circumstances, Esther, much like Ruth, must have demonstrated a substantial trustworthiness, grace, humility, and interest in the well-being of others, in this case Hegai the eunuch, so much so that she won Hegai’s favor. This ensured that she would have the best place to live in the harem, the support of seven maids from the king’s palace, the best food to eat, and the benefit of Hegai’s counsel in preparing over 12 months for her encounter with Xerxes. Verse 10 shares that Esther had hidden her Jewish heritage, at Mordecai’s instruction. Every day Mordecai walks to the region of the harem “to learn how Esther was and what was happening to her.” Mordecai could only get this close if he were a fairly significant court official. It also tells us that that Mordecai was anxious, concerned, and fretful about Esther’s new job description. Mordecai knew what Xerxes was like, and he knew the dangers of palace life. Esther had probably shared her fears and unhappiness with Mordecai. Mordecai values her and doesn’t abandon her. When Esther’s time to sleep with Xerxes arrives she has the right to ask for anything to take to the king from the harem. This is sex on an industrial scale. Once a virgin sleeps with the king she is then turned over to a different eunuch, Shaashgaz, and housed among the concubines, not among the virgins. She may not return to the king unless he specifically summons her. This is what Esther is headed towards. All of this violates Jewish law and she knows this. All she asks for is Hegai’s advice before going to the palace. It is in verse 15 we read that “Esther was winning favor in the eyes of all who saw her.” What does this mean for a woman at this time? Not that that she is a great warrior, prophet, or administrator. It means that her behavior is consistently beyond reproach, she treats others with respect and compassion, she is a good listener, and she earns the trust of others. At the beginning of verse 16 Esther is described as “the daughter of Abihail” mentioning her father’s name for the first time. Abihail means “strong father or strong cause.” We get the impression from the careful depiction of Esther’s Jewish lineage that God’s values, the values he intended for the chosen people in the Promised Land, have in large degree traveled with her; that the faith and lives of her family, now dead or separated by exile have influenced her own life and faith, in ways that, although not directly addressed in the Book of Esther, are real and guiding, and open to the influence of God. These values are now lived out in an alien place, under the rule of an alien government. But God is not restricted by this or subject to its limits. He shapes his people in foreign places, just as he did with Joseph, Daniel, and Paul. When Esther went to Xerxes, he was quickly smitten with her, and then experiences ‘love’; but not love as God defines it or as we understand it. She “won grace and favor in his sight more than the other virgins….” Grace and favor describe an attitude more profound than the sheer carnal appreciation Xerxes had directed at Vashti. Esther is a gorgeous woman but there is something more at work in her that holds the king’s interest. He will move on and sleep with countless other women (see verse 19). What does this sense of greater appreciation mean for a king like Xerxes? For one thing it does mean that Esther is spectacularly gorgeous and makes Xerxes look good by the sheer presence of her beauty; it also means that in her words, gestures, and actions he probably finds someone he can trust not to undermine him, or make him look bad, someone who is composed and understanding, who is stable and mature and supports him, and will be loyal; and someone who will not build her own competing power base. There is a depth to her personality and presence that we may credit to God and the godly examples set by others around her. This is an excellent lesson for us when we face powerful people, organizations, or opposition that seeks to demean, dehumanize, or deny the very real and revolutionary moral force of Christ. Our faith by itself abiding with God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit has real influence and effect and is evident to those around us; even to those who oppose us. Once Xerxes chooses Esther he becomes expansive and celebratory. He gives a great feast for all of his officials and servants; he forgives taxes throughout the empire, and gives generous gifts. What we do not see is any record of excess by Esther. The feast is “Esther’s feast,’ the royal crown is placed on her head, and she is officially the queen. A great tide of wealth, celebrity, and fawning regard now washes over her, but we do not see her acting in arrogant, high-handed ways; or her striving to make herself the center of attention....

Oct 2015

Esther 2:5-8

mordecai and esther

we belong to god and his family. Finally in verse 5 of chapter 2, Mordecai and Esther enter the narrative. Question: The writer describes them with special emphasis. What do we learn? First we learn about Mordecai. He is identified as a Jew living in the citadel of Susa. The citadel of Susa refers to Xerxes’ winter palace, not the greater city. This means that Mordecai was an official of some sort at the court of the king.Mordecai’s lineage is stated with care and we learn that he is from the tribe of Benjamin; and that his great-grandfather Kish was carried away from Jerusalem, just like Daniel, by Nebuchadnezzar. Kish was also the name of King Saul’s father, and Shemi, his grandfather, was the name of one of King David’s bitter opponents. Verse 6 also identifies that Kish was carried away from Jerusalem along with Jeconiah who was then king of Judah. This meant that Mordecai’s family was among the nobles and leaders of Jerusalem. Jeremiah 27: 19-22 says: “(19) For thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the pillars, the sea, the stands, and the rest of the vessels that are left in this city, (20) which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take away, when he took into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem— (21) thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the house of the LORD, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem: (22) They shall be carried to Babylon and remain there until the day when I visit them, declares the LORD. Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place” Mordecai’s name is actually derived from a surprising Persian root, meaning a worshiper of Marduk, one of the Persian gods. An ancient cuneiform tablet found near Babylon mentions an official named Mardukaya who served in the early years of Xerxes at the citadel of Susa. Some scholars identify this person with Mordecai. It is possible that Mordecai, like Daniel, had two names, one for use among the Persians and a second Jewish name. So Mordecai’s formidable Jewish ancestry and family connections are established, and Esther is identified within this history. She is an orphan, having lost both father and mother, and is the child of Mordecai’s uncle. Mordecai is Esther’s cousin and is raising her as his daughter. She also has two names, Hadassah, meaning ‘myrtle,’ and Esther, meaning ‘star’. The myrtle tree was common to the Middle East and had great significance; the prophet Zechariah had a vision of a horse and rider traveling among myrtle trees. The Israelites saw the myrtle as a symbol for beauty, love, sweetness, justice, and God’s blessing. This careful constructing of history tells that both Mordecai and Esther, despite exile, are part of God’s chosen people and belong to God. Esther is specifically identified in verse 7 as beautiful in both face and body, and because of this she was taken by Xerxes’ proxies and held in the custody of Hegai, in the palace harem at Susa. This had to be terrifying, forbidding, and discouraging. Hundreds of young women from many different cultures, speaking many different languages have been brought together for the sole purpose of having sex with Xerxes, perhaps only one time, to determine which is attractive enough to become his replacement for Vashti. The queen is distinguished only by her title and her looks. Even this is compromised because the Persians keep the palace continuously stocked with beautiful virgins and concubines, living there solely for the king’s pleasure. ...

Oct 2015

Esther 2:1-4

the will of the king

As we’ve already noted, God is not directly mentioned in Esther. The other thing that is missing from Esther is any extensive and direct reference to faith and emotion. The Book of Ruth gave us beautiful insight into the intersection between faith and emotion: Ruth’s loyalty to Naomi, Naomi’s bitterness towards God, Boaz’s love for Ruth but determination to honor his faith. Esther gives us something different; the story of life lived at risk within a large, complex, and disregarding institution, in this case the Persian Empire. Whether they are governments, corporations, empires, or kingdoms, large institutions, and those who have power within them, most often choose themselves, their own interests, and the interests of the institution first. In the Persian Empire, King Xerxes and his advisors chose the king’s interests and impulses first and them imposed these on the rest of the people including Esther. For individuals of faith who run up against the will, power, and self-justification that institutions and their rulers can manifest, choices may be few and unpleasant. This is Esther’s world. In addition she is not Joseph, she is not Daniel, she is not a man. No one is going to invite her to be the king’s chief advisor or to rule over his provinces. At the beginning of chapter two we get the sense of time passing between Queen Vashti’s banishment and Xerxes’ next act in this story. In fact Vashti’s refusal occurred in 483 BC, the third year of Xerxes’ reign, and Esther became queen around 479 BC. In the years in between Xerxes was waging war with the Greeks, first seeming to subdue them and then suffering a series of costly defeats. These losses damaged his army, his navy, his treasury, and his reputation. The Greek historian Herodotus observed that Xerxes’ life after these stark defeats was devoted to sexual overindulgence. In fact, despite all the virgins, concubines, and every conceivable luxury, Xerxes also slept with the wives of some of his military leaders, sparking a simmering resentment that would directly contribute to his assassination in 465 BC. (Karen H.Jobes, Esther: The NIV Application Commentary) In verse 1 Xerxes’ reflects on Vashti’s betrayal - he is so egotistical he cannot let this go - but it’s the king’s advisors who formulate and recommend the next steps. They suggest that the most beautiful virgins from across the entire empire be gathered by the officers in each province, and then sent to the ruling city of Susa, there to be gathered and managed by Hegai, one of the king’s chief eunuchs. The virgins would be prepared to the king’s exacting standards in terms of dress, grooming, and deportment. Then each virgin would sleep with the king, and the king would pick the one he liked best to replace Vashti as ‘queen.’ This is essentially formalized kidnapping and rape, and horrifying. It is the brutal prerogative of kings. When Israel wanted a king the prophet Samuel replied to them, beginning in I Samuel 8:10, that a king would take their sons, their daughters, the best of their harvests and fields, and their servants, eventually causing Israel to howl and regret the choice. These words came to Samuel directly from the Lord. In Persia we see this on a vast scale. Artaxerxes II, who ruled Persia from 404 BC to 358 BC (after the Xerxes of Esther), was reported to have more than 360 concubines. In addition Herodotus reports that more than 500 young boys were chosen each year to be castrated, usually against their will, to serve as eunuchs in the Persian palace complexes....

Sep 2015

Esther 1:1-22

king’s excess

At the beginning of Esther full focus is on king Xerxes and his retinue. Question: What do we learn about Xerxes, his kingdom, and his closest advisors? Xerxes possesses great and formidable power, ruling over a vast domain, extending from the border of modern India, into Egypt, and beyond to modern Libya, Sudan, and Ethiopia (Cush). He believed in the power of lavish and excessive display, creating a banquet for all of the military leaders and provincial rulers from across his empire. Warren Wiersbe notes that Xerxes probably brought his provincial civil and military leaders in on a rotating schedule, which is why the banquet lasted for nearly six months, with all of the wealth of empire arrayed to greet each of his guests. Verse four tells us that Xerxes put all of these riches on display to prove how great he was. What this shows us is that Xerxes is utterly selfish as to the needs of state or his people. All resources were focused on him and his desires regardless of cost or burden. Scripture does not tell us the precise purpose of this extended celebration but Herodotus, the Greek historian, may offer insight. Herodotus wrote that Xerxes conferred at length with his leaders concerning his plans to subdue both Greece and what is now most of modern Europe. So Xerxes was avidly focused on augmenting his power, and had grandiose notions as to what this would look like, in addition to demonstrating his greatness. Give him credit for being a planner. He staged this extended banquet, framed it with an extraordinary display of his wealth, and then culminated the entire event with a seven day banquet within the enclosed garden of his winter palace in Susa. The royal wine is abundantly served and Xerxes encourages his guests to drink way too much. This is designed to probe weaknesses, loosen tongues, and produce an artificial gratitude. And it seems to work. Chapter one offers no evidence that any of Xerxes’ leaders questioned his planning or the wisdom of this extended banquet. Xerxes himself overindulges. We know this because verse 10 tells us that on the seventh day, when the king was in high spirits from drinking, he commanded his seven eunuchs who formed the inner circle of his servants, to fetch Queen Vashti. So we have an insider’s view of Xerxes’ impulsive and imperious nature. He wants her there not because he misses her or values her. He wants to put her on display along with his wealth, because as verse 11 tells us, “she was lovely to look at.” Vashti doesn’t; show up, and the implication is that she didn’t want to be displayed as a lovely possession in front of large numbers of filthy drunk men, including the king. Because Xerxes is a king and utterly self-regarding Queen Vashti’s refusal is not simply a family of squabble but a matter of state and the king’s power. She has refused to obey the king and must be dealt with. Her disobedience becomes grounds for admonishing all the women who are married to his military and civil leaders. Vashti is banned from the king’s presence and stripped of her title as Queen. Decrees are issued to the four corners of the kingdom demanding that men be given full respect and obedience as masters and rulers over their households. We see in this excess Xerxes’ great vanity, pomposity, and foolishness. He is a man without sound wisdom....

Sep 2015

Esther

history

The story of Ruth occurred during the time of Judges around 1100 BC. The story of Esther probably occurred during the reign of Xerxes I the Great, who ruled between 486 BC and 465 BC. To provide more context, David ruled between 1010 BC and 970 BC, and Daniel experienced exile and trial in Babylon, during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar in 600 BC. Nebuchadnezzar, one of the greatest of the Babylonian, or Chaldean, kings ruled from 604 to 562 BC, during the time of Daniel. In 539 BC Cyrus the Great, king of greater Persia, defeated the Babylonians and incorporated their empire into his own, creating the greatest empire the world had yet seen. Cyrus also conquered the city of Babylon. His rule is documented in the book of Ezra. Ezra 1:1 says, “In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken to Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing.” This decree permitted the followers of God, living in exile, to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple. Many returned but not everyone did. Esther’s ancestors are among these who stayed in exile. Once of the questions raised in Esther is will God keep his covenant promises for those Jews who no longer live in the Promised Land? One of the primary theological focuses for the book of Esther is that God fulfills his covenant promises across both history and the sea of imperfect human responses, by his greater and divine providence. Karen Jobes writes, “The great paradox of Esther is that God is omnipotently present even where God is most conspicuously absent.” Cyrus the Great was followed by four other kings, Cambyses II, Bardiya, Darius I the Great, and then King Xerxes who is the Xerxes of Esther, in 486 BC. He is the same Xerxes who did battle with the Spartans at Thermopylae, captured Athens, and whose fleet was soundly beaten by the Greeks at Salamis in 480 BC. Ezra 4:6 tells us that it is during Xerxes’ reign that Persian leaders began to strongly oppose the rebuilding of the Temple at Jerusalem. In less than 120 years, following the assassination of Xerxes in 465 BC, the Persian themselves would be conquered by Alexander the Great. Xerxes ruled from four cities, Babylon, Persepolis, Ecbatana, and Susa; with Susa being the most active. The king and his retinue would be found in Susa in the winter months, because in the summer it was too hot. Daniel 8:2 tells us that Daniel had a vision of himself in the citadel of Susa. Jewish and Arab traditions say that Daniel was buried in Susa. Today the remains of Susa lie within the borders of Iran. ...

Sep 2015

Esther

introduction

As Warren Wiersbe (Be Committed: Doing God’s Will Whatever the Cost: Ruth & Esther)writes, When you go from Ruth to Esther, the atmosphere changes completely: We go from a small Jewish village to a great Gentile city, Susa, the hub of a conquering empire. We go from a return to home for Naomi, and eventually for Ruth, to a stark and unforgiving exile in a corrupt land based on power, conquest, and shameless indulgence. We go from two kinsmen redeemers doing God’s business at the town gate to the decrees of a calculating king, ruling a vast territory. We go from the book of Ruth, where God is openly named, condemned, and praised, to the book of Esther, where God is not mentioned at all. Scholars generally agree that the book of Esther was written sometime between 500 and 330 BC. Authorship is unknown but, by the examination of the language, it is assumed that the author was someone living in exile. The events in Esther occur about 66 years after Cyrus the Great, king of Persia, issued his decree in 539 BC, allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem, but as Karen H.Jobes notes in her commentary, Esther (The NIV Application Commentary), book of Esther does not mention of Jerusalem or the temple. Jobes and Iain M.Duguid (Esther & Ruth, Reformed Expository Commentary) both note that compared to the book of Daniel, which is also set in the court of a pagan king, no one offers a prayer in the book of Esther. There are no apocalyptic visions, no evident concern for the Law, and no obvious miracles. Jobes writes, “Because of the absence of religious values and the presence of sensuality and brutality, the book of Esther has posed a problem for interpreters throughout its history. For the first seven centuries of the Christian church, not one commentary was produced on this book. As far as we know, John Calvin never preached from Esther nor did he include it among his commentaries. Martine Luther denounced this book together with the apocryphal 2 Maccabees, saying of them, “I am so great an enemy to the second book of Maccabees, and to Esther, that I wish they had not come to us at all, for they have too many heathen unnaturalities.” On the other hand, Moses Maimonides, the great 12th century Jewish philosopher, ranked it equal to the Pentateuch: “When Messiah comes, the other books…may pass away, but the Torah and Esther will abide forever.” Maimonides may have been thinking that just as God’s Law (as expressed in the Torah) will stand forever so too does his promise to deliver God’s people , illustrated with compelling power by the story of Esther....

Watermark Bible Studies

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enter ezra

Ezra 7-8

enter ezra

Ezra 5-6

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Ezra 3-4

a long journey back to a changed place

Ezra 1-2

god's destiny for a great king and his people

Ezra

introduction

Esther

esther in review

Esther 9:1-17

warfare and triumph

Esther 8:1-17

at war - the jewish exiles saved

Esther 7:1-10

for such a time as this

Esther 6:4-14

the destruction of pride and evil

Esther 6:1-3

god's remarkable design

Esther 4:3-5:14

who defines your character?

Esther 2:19-4:3

plots and vendettas

Esther 2:9-18

prisoner in xerxes' harem

Esther 2:5-8

mordecai and esther

Esther 2:1-4

the will of the king

Esther 1:1-22

king’s excess

Esther

history

Esther

introduction