Ezra
3-4
One thing
to keep in mind as we read Ezra is that Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther lived during
the same time period. In the Hebrew Bible, Ezra and Nehemiah are one book.
Because of challenges of the Jews returning to Israel and reclaiming the land,
much like what we see in Palestine today, there was conflict. The conflict
spread over many years and over many Persian rulers. For reasons you can’t see
now, the Jews had been an honored people in the Babylonian Empire (and now in
Persia), creating deep jealousy. Some of this new animosity was from the
building of the temple, and much of it was anger at the Jews who were trying to
make Jerusalem safe to live in. Particularly today in chapter 4, there will be
an example of this anger shown by letters sent to Persia. When we get to
chapter 4, you'll see that Ezra lumps all of the opposition together. Much of
chapter 4 has to do with events that happened shortly before Ezra and Nehemiah
entered the story. Most of the animosity was toward rebuilding the city, not
the rebuilding of the temple and the reestablishment of the worship of Israel.
Actually, not stated here, the command to rebuild the city is a major biblical
event. That command begins the 70 weeks of Daniel, 69 weeks of which were
completed when Jesus entered Jerusalem, sitting on a foal.
The
following charts from the Bible Knowledge Commentary might be helpful.
They are located at the end of this document:
“The Three
Returns from Exile,” Bible Knowledge Commentary-OT, p. 652.
“Chronology
of the Postexilic Period,” Bible Knowledge Commentary-OT, p. 654.
Ezra 3
Vs. 1-7
This is probably the seventh month of the Jewish calendar and time for the Day
of Atonement and the Feast of Booths. The temple was still a ruin, but they got
the altar up and working. We don't know how long they were in the land before
they came together to worship, but it might have been pretty soon thereafter.
The people who returned were in danger and were fearful. They may have faced
some uncertainty in Babylon and Persia, but it had been comfortable and home to
them. Israel was rustic, raw, and on the edge of these empires.
V. 7 This
was a lot of preparation. Apparently the very foundation stones of the temple,
cut in the mountains by Solomon, had been removed and taken away and used by
others. They did this back then, because it was easier to take stones already
cut, than to cut new ones.
Vs. 8-9 So
now, a little over a year and a half had gone by, and they were ready to build
the foundation. This was about 536 B.C., roughly 70 years after the first
deportation. It would still be another 21 years before the temple was
completed, in 515 B.C.
Vs. 10-13
In organizing the celebration, look at the song they sang in v. 11.
V. 12
Although the Jews had progressively been in exile for 70 years, some of these
people were removed from Jerusalem only 50 years earlier and remembered what
the temple had looked like. So you had crying for joy for those who had never
seen the temple, and crying for sadness from those who had seen it before it
was destroyed.
Ezra 4
In this
chapter Ezra is showing the intensity of the opposition to the Jews. Some of
this opposition stopped the building of the temple. The fiercest opposition
stopped them from rebuilding the city walls and closing the gates, leaving the
Jews defenseless in Jerusalem.
If you
haven't looked at this chart yet (located at the end of this document), now
would be a good time. “Chronology of the Postexilic Period,” Bible Knowledge
Commentary-OT, p. 654.
Vs. 1-5
Notice that this opposition is against the rebuilding of the temple. Notice,
too, who the Persian kings are who are mentioned. This is what initially
stopped the temple from being rebuilt. In Haggai and Zechariah we find out that
once the Jews met this opposition, they gave up and focused on themselves. Led
by these prophets and the courage of Zerubbabel and Joshua, they began working
again under Darius 1, who checked and saw that the Jews were commanded by Cyrus
to rebuild the temple.
Vs. 6-23
This is a parenthesis. Ezra is now including the violent opposition to working
on the city. The anti-Jewish sentiment in the Persian Empire is visible to us
in the book of Esther. This is the information that gives us some understanding
as to why Nehemiah's mission was so important and why it was a miracle that he
was able to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem.
This is
confusing for us; but for Ezra's readers, they understood the timing in all of
this, because of the names of these kings. For those in the States, it would be
the same as mentioning the names of the recent presidents. Reagan and Bush and
Clinton not only signify different times, but also different events in world
politics. And if you said, "Bush," you'd want to know if it was
George Herbert Walker Bush, or "Dubbya" (W, from George W. Bush). So,
have fun using the chart.
V. 6
Ahasuerus, is Xerxes, Esther's husband and the Persian king from
"300," the movie. By the time this letter was sent, the temple was
already finished.
V. 7
Artaxerxes was the guy who sent Ezra and who Nehemiah worked for. Art
eventually sent Nehemiah, almost 70 years after the temple was finished.
Apparently while his father Xerxes was losing to those skirted, gyro eaters and
looking for a new queen, Artaxerxes was taking care of affairs of state. When
we read Esther we'll notice that Xerxes had no clue as to what was happening in
his kingdom. His son, Artaxerxes was a more capable administrator. I would
guess that during this time Artaxerxes stopped the building of Jerusalem, but
when all the events of Esther played out, he changed his attitude regarding the
Jews. When he became full king of the Persian Empire, he showed great kindness
to both Ezra and Nehemiah. After all, the Queen Mother and his father's top
advisor, Mordecai, were Jews and very good people to boot.
V. 24 NOW,
we are back to Ezra's narrative about the temple. Verses 6-23 were a full
description of the conflict the Jews faced trying to rebuild Jerusalem over the
next 80-90 years. Verse 24 follows v. 5 in the story about the temple. The
foundation was laid in 536, and for the next 15 years nothing would be done
until Haggai and Zechariah prophesied and Darius I ordered the Jews to finish
the temple.
How often
have we seen this, that we think God just did one thing after another? There is
a lot more "waiting on the Lord" in following God than we might have
realized. This means that following Christ in the harvest and learning how to
abide in Christ and grow in faith will mean waiting too. In Jesus' explanation
of the seed sown on the fertile ground, He said those people bore fruit with patience.
1
Corinthians 2:6-3:4
Since the
Corinthians apparently made an issue of "wisdom," Paul tells them of
the wisdom we get from following the Spirit. The thing about the wisdom of the
Spirit is that it isn't obvious
wisdom that would be acknowledged by most of mankind.
1 Corinthians
2:6-16
Vs. 6-8 I
take these rulers to be spiritual rulers of this present darkness.
V. 7 Just
as in Ephesians 3, the spiritual powers are finally understanding God's plan of
redemption which God kept secret and
hidden. Imagine that this plan was kept secret but decreed for our
glorification. Where we shine before the spiritual world and before the
unbelieving world is when we are following Christ in the harvest.
The point
here is that we can have this wisdom. Notice that it is not only from the
Spirit, but that it has to do with God's plan of redemption. If we're not into
God's plan in this world, in the harvest, then even as believers we won't be
open to this wisdom. Why would we need it?
Vs. 9-13
This is a pretty big promise. I don't think we believers even scratch the
surface of what is available to us. If you look at the way Jesus lived,
following the Father and the Spirit, He was given wisdom in situations that
developed in front of Him. Jesus explained this as abiding in the Father and
observing what the Father was doing. I think that when we abide in Christ, the
Spirit gives us that same wisdom and insight into the things happening around
us. This wisdom is not for winning game show questions, but rather for working
in the harvest, reaching the lost and making disciples, who make disciples.
Vs. 14-16
Now, the question is who the natural
person (unspiritual man, RSV) really is. The sad reality is given in
chapter 3. The unspiritual man can also be a believer.
1 Corinthians
3:1-4
Here is
the deal, I think. The more we are involved with anything other than Jesus and
the harvest, the less we see or understand the Spirit and spiritual wisdom.
Jesus told all sorts of parables about seeking the kingdom, where our treasure
should be, and what happens if you mix the Word and cares, desires and riches.
It is like living in the city and trying to see the stars. You see a few bright
ones, but the light of the city blinds you to what is really up there. You need
to get away from the city to see the stars. In the same way, the more comforts
and stuff and agendas and expectations we gather around us, that are important
to us, the less we are able to see spiritually.
Paul is
just giving one illustration here of what was keeping the Corinthians infantile.
Of course, we don't get into personality cults in modern day Christianity, do
we? The list of things that keep us immature is larger than the diversions the
Corinthians were experiencing, and we've all got some of these things in our
lives. What is interesting is that this is the church with all the
manifestations of the spiritual gifts, and it was one of the most sinful and
childish churches. How ironic and tragic was that? Knowing Christ isn't a
guarantee of spiritual growth. In a nutshell, what Paul is explaining here is
why we are not all disciples or following Christ in the harvest. Sometimes we
can make faith and church all about us and our needs and desires.
Psalm
28
You can
sense the ebb of David's thoughts. In so much of what we've read in the OT and
in Acts, you can guess that this kind of prayer was the model for many, many
people. Here, David put it to music to teach Israel.
Vs. 1-2
David cried out. Notice David's mention of the sanctuary, just as in Psalm 27. David's heart sought this place
because that is where God was said to dwell among Israel.
Vs. 3-5
David prayed for justice to fall on those who disregarded the Lord and lived as
if there were no judge. While David was being chased by Saul, Saul was allowing
the country to fall into decay and guilt. Saul had the priests killed. Judgment
from God would come. David didn't want to be swept away in God's judgment on
others, so he asked the Lord to judge each man individually. At this time,
David was walking very closely to the Lord.
Vs. 6-7
David remembered what the Lord had done for him. David lived seeing small,
constant deliverances. He knew that the Lord was with him. Notice that David
dedicated himself to singing the praise of God for all to hear.
Vs. 8-9
David blessed the Lord for His faithfulness to His heritage as promised to
Abraham. Based on God's faithfulness to His promise to Abraham, David knew he
could ask for God's continued help.
Now that
we have the wisdom of the Spirit and know what's going on in this life and on
this planet, not only should we be crying out quicker, we know who we need to
cry out to. We need to cry out to Jesus.
Proverbs
20:24-25
V. 24 I
think Paul answered this for us.
V. 25 And
that same spiritual wisdom makes us quick to hear and understand, and slow to
speak.
If you’re reading along and don’t have a One Year
Bible, click on this link http://www.esvbible.org/devotions/every-day-in-the-word/. If that doesn't
work, go to http://www.esvbible.org/devotions/
and click on “Every
Day in the Word.”
I'm writing these comments to and for those who are
following a One Year Bible and interested in growing deeper as a disciple,
following Jesus in the harvest. My hope is to see the growth of a discipleship
culture in the church. Groups of 3-4 disciples, meeting weekly, encouraging
each other to follow Christ and work to reach out and make disciples who make
disciples. The Bible itself is the most universal manual we have and key to our
growth and service in Christ. Nothing keeps us more focused on why we are here
or what we are to be doing. My comments are only meant to provide some
explanation of the events or to show the flow of God's plan of redemption. My
comments are in no way exhaustive, but are designed to keep us focused on
Christ and our role in His harvest. My hope is that the people in these groups
will grow in Christ and be willing, after a year, to find 3 others to meet with
and encourage in their growth as disciples, disciples making disciples in the
harvest.
If you would like a complete description of this model
of being and making disciples you can find it in my book: Simply
Disciples*Making Disciples. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011WJIDQA?*Version*=1&*entries*=0
If you would like a more descriptive commentary that is
still readable and concise, I'd recommend the Bible Knowledge Commentary. It's
keyed to the NIV, so the result is the commentators are constantly telling you
what the Greek or Hebrew is. That never hurts.
I am not endorsing any particular One Year Bible; in
fact, I read something you don't, die revidierte Lutherbibel 1984.
Anyone reading along with us is welcome to do so and is
encouraged to take their own notes and make their own observations. If the
comments made do not agree with your particular tradition or understanding,
that's OK. Nothing I've written is meant to criticize any point of view, but
only to express the truth of what God has written to us, as I understand it.
Send comments or feedback to dgkachikis@gmail.com.
If you would like documents containing an entire month
of the Reading Notes, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes. You can download
these to use on your computer or to print.
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