The Book of Nehemiah at one time was part of the same book as Ezra, and they both talk about events happening at roughly the same period of time. Nehemiah was an official in the Persian court, during the time of Artaxerxes, the king who disrupted the re-building of the temple in Jerusalem. The story of Nehemiah focuses on the rebuilding of the walls that protected the temple and the city. A group of local people from non-Jewish tribes (Samaritans, Ammonites, Arabs and others) are recorded as trying to stir up trouble to prevent the building of the wall. Eventually this opposition is thwarted, and the walls are rebuilt. People confess their sins, and there are many lists of names of people who returned to Israel and helped rebuild the walls.
The book seems to be a kind of covenant for the newly re-established city of Jerusalem, now that the Jews have been given their city back (verse 9:38). The issue of reform seems to be an important one in the book. Concern for the poor is another thing that comes up in the book (chap 5). In many ways it is a similar book to Ezra, so you can see why the two books were put together at one point in time, whether or not they had the same author.
Monday, December 29, 2014
Ezra
The book of Ezra starts off with the exact same passage that ends the book of 2 Chronicles. This has led some people to think the books are written by the same individual. Other people have suggested that the passage came initially from Ezra, but was then added to the end of Chronicles, or vice-versa. Either way, it shows you how the events from Chronicles eventually lead up to the situation in Ezra, during the reign of Cyrus the Great.
Cyrus is a super fascinating person in history. He ruled the Persian Empire at its height, taking over much of the "known world" of the time. Interestingly, unlike most emperors with great power, Cyrus was actually a relatively benevolent ruler. In fact, he was considered something of a rescuer to the Jewish people (many good things are said about him in Scripture, especially compared to other non-believing rulers [see Isaiah 45 as an example]). The main thing that made Cyrus so different from other rulers is that he allowed the local people groups to practice their own religions, as well as have a certain amount of self-rule. This was extremely important to the Jewish people.
The Book of Ezra is largely about how Cyrus enabled the Jews to return to their homeland and build a new temple after the Babylonians had destroyed the first one. During the following decades as this went on, opposition developed and one of the following kings (Artaxerxes) was convinced by others to oppose the building of this temple. However, the next king (Darius) was convinced to let the Jews return once more to re-building the temple.
The first half of the book describes the historical events surrounding this. The second half re-tells these events from the perspective of Ezra, a priest who was dedicated to getting the temple re-built, as well as concerned about the intermarriage of Israelites with foreigners living in the area. There was apparently a strong concern that the Israelites remain separate in their practices, which was not as easy now that they were no longer in total control of their land. Marriage to foreigners seemed to be one of the main ways they were losing their separate ways and beliefs. Ezra leads the people to confess their sin, and the names of priestly families guilty of this are literally written down in the book for time immemorial.
Cyrus is a super fascinating person in history. He ruled the Persian Empire at its height, taking over much of the "known world" of the time. Interestingly, unlike most emperors with great power, Cyrus was actually a relatively benevolent ruler. In fact, he was considered something of a rescuer to the Jewish people (many good things are said about him in Scripture, especially compared to other non-believing rulers [see Isaiah 45 as an example]). The main thing that made Cyrus so different from other rulers is that he allowed the local people groups to practice their own religions, as well as have a certain amount of self-rule. This was extremely important to the Jewish people.
The Book of Ezra is largely about how Cyrus enabled the Jews to return to their homeland and build a new temple after the Babylonians had destroyed the first one. During the following decades as this went on, opposition developed and one of the following kings (Artaxerxes) was convinced by others to oppose the building of this temple. However, the next king (Darius) was convinced to let the Jews return once more to re-building the temple.
The first half of the book describes the historical events surrounding this. The second half re-tells these events from the perspective of Ezra, a priest who was dedicated to getting the temple re-built, as well as concerned about the intermarriage of Israelites with foreigners living in the area. There was apparently a strong concern that the Israelites remain separate in their practices, which was not as easy now that they were no longer in total control of their land. Marriage to foreigners seemed to be one of the main ways they were losing their separate ways and beliefs. Ezra leads the people to confess their sin, and the names of priestly families guilty of this are literally written down in the book for time immemorial.
Monday, April 7, 2014
1-2 Chornicles
The books of Chronicles are next in the traditional Christian order of the Old Testament. If I had to summarize these books in one short phrase I might call it "Samuel-Kings Remixed". The events of the books take place over roughly the same period of time and use a fair amount of material directly taken from Samuel and Kings, with only minor modifications and additions. That said, it is many ways a very different set of books from Samuel-Kings.
The biggest difference you will notice when reading it is how much more tedious it is than Samuel-Kings. While the earlier books are full of action and adventure, Chronicles is filled with non-stop genealogies, lists of names and numbers, sizes of armies and the like. While Samuel-Kings makes for great Sunday School material, it is more difficult to find these kind of classic stories inside Chronicles (although they are there). When you read it, it kind of feels like the purpose of Chronicles is to store all these genealogies and numbers and the like, and that the stories that are included are provided as much to give a backdrop to these genealogies as anything else.
Another interesting difference: while Saul is mentioned in the book, the only real description of his life is at the end of it, when he commits suicide, giving an even more dour outlook on his life than Samuel does. David shows up as the next king, and most of his stories seem to involve warfare in this book. Lots of details are also mentioned about preparing for the temple, and when Solomon becomes king (in 2 Chronicles) much of the details about him relate to the building of the temple. After Solomon's reign, the rest of the book is dedicated to all the kings who followed him. However, unlike Kings, the focus in Chronicles is mostly the southern kingdom of Judah. The evil northern king Ahab is mentioned, but much much more briefly than in Kings, where his family is the center of much drama. Subsequently, Elijah gets only a brief mention, and Elisha doesn't seem to be mentioned at all. Despite these differences, much of the content in these sections is similar (or even almost identical to) parts of Kings.
One last difference that stands out to me is the ending of Chronicles. The time period here goes a bit farther than that covered in Kings. At the end of Chronicles (like Kings) it mentions the fall of Israel into the hands of the Babylonians. But unlike Kings, at the very end it mentions how Cyrus the Great came into power in Persia and then frees the Israelites from the Babylonian oppression, and calls for the re-building of the temple. In a total of 8 verses the end of Chronicles covers the whole of the Babylonian captivity and the beginning of the period of Persian rule. This sets up for the events to follow in Ezra, Nehemiah, and other books that take place during the Persian rule.
One last difference that stands out to me is the ending of Chronicles. The time period here goes a bit farther than that covered in Kings. At the end of Chronicles (like Kings) it mentions the fall of Israel into the hands of the Babylonians. But unlike Kings, at the very end it mentions how Cyrus the Great came into power in Persia and then frees the Israelites from the Babylonian oppression, and calls for the re-building of the temple. In a total of 8 verses the end of Chronicles covers the whole of the Babylonian captivity and the beginning of the period of Persian rule. This sets up for the events to follow in Ezra, Nehemiah, and other books that take place during the Persian rule.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Time Duration
It's interesting how much time takes place through 1-2 Kings. A period of about 400 years worth of history is covered in the work. In contrast, 1-2 Samuel covers only a period of about 100 years. It's interesting to see how much time is devoted to each king. It might make for an interesting infographic. Likewise, a chart showing how much time takes place in each book of the Bible. Here's a rough estimated break down of the books we've covered so far:
Genesis: Thousands of years+
Exodus: 300+ years (starts with Joseph, most takes place in about 40 years or so)
Leviticus: Weeks?
Numbers: ~40 years
Deuteronomy: Months?
Joshua: ~30 years (although most of it takes place in 1 year)
Judges: ~400 years
Ruth: Months?
1-2 Samuel: ~100 years
1-2 Kings: ~400 years
Genesis: Thousands of years+
Exodus: 300+ years (starts with Joseph, most takes place in about 40 years or so)
Leviticus: Weeks?
Numbers: ~40 years
Deuteronomy: Months?
Joshua: ~30 years (although most of it takes place in 1 year)
Judges: ~400 years
Ruth: Months?
1-2 Samuel: ~100 years
1-2 Kings: ~400 years
2 Kings
Even though 1-2 Kings was originally one book, I ended up making this two posts, due to how much material is in each. 2 Kings takes up where we left off before, with Elijah the prophet and his assistant Elisha. Elijah gets taken up in a chariot of fire to be with God, and Elisha carries on his ministry. The thing that really strikes you about their stories is how many miracles are involved. At least as many as with Moses, and some are close parallels with his (like parting water and walking through it).
New kings come into power for both the northern and southern kingdoms in this book. While before Judah had some good kings, now some evil ones come into power. In Israel, though, the evil family of Ahab are eventually vanquished and a good king Jehu comes into power. A few years later, the good king Joash becomes king of Judah, and eventually repairs the temple.
A bunch more kings and their reigns are described. The ones from north seem to be mostly evil, while the ones in Judah, mostly good, with some notable exceptions (e.g., Ahaz). During Ahaz's reign, the northern kingdom has it's last king, Hoshea (who was... big surprise... evil). At this point Israel becomes exiled into Assyria because of their sins. At this same time a new king comes into power in Judah, named Hezekiah. He is said to be the greatest and most godly of all of Judah's kings. Some time is spent talking about him, and the threat's to Jerusalem that were taking place at the time. This is also when Isaiah was prophet, and he appears in the story line and delivers some prophecies.
After Hezekiah, a couple evil kings have reigns. But then his descendant Josiah takes rule. Josiah is famous for recovering the lost law of Moses that had been forgotten about. Ironic what had once been central to their worship was now an old forgotten piece of text. He renews the covenant with God, but the following kings do evil again. Eventually Judah goes into exile too, this time into Babylon.
The book ends pretty bleak for the most part. The kings and people of both the northern and southern kingdom are not shown in a particularly positive light. Interestingly, the last paragraph talks about how Judah's last king is eventually released from prison and is allowed to eat with the king of Babylon and given allowance, perhaps hinting at the grace to come? Or highlighting the mercy of a foreign king compared to the evil of their own king? Ironically this foreign king's name was "Evil Merodach".
New kings come into power for both the northern and southern kingdoms in this book. While before Judah had some good kings, now some evil ones come into power. In Israel, though, the evil family of Ahab are eventually vanquished and a good king Jehu comes into power. A few years later, the good king Joash becomes king of Judah, and eventually repairs the temple.
A bunch more kings and their reigns are described. The ones from north seem to be mostly evil, while the ones in Judah, mostly good, with some notable exceptions (e.g., Ahaz). During Ahaz's reign, the northern kingdom has it's last king, Hoshea (who was... big surprise... evil). At this point Israel becomes exiled into Assyria because of their sins. At this same time a new king comes into power in Judah, named Hezekiah. He is said to be the greatest and most godly of all of Judah's kings. Some time is spent talking about him, and the threat's to Jerusalem that were taking place at the time. This is also when Isaiah was prophet, and he appears in the story line and delivers some prophecies.
After Hezekiah, a couple evil kings have reigns. But then his descendant Josiah takes rule. Josiah is famous for recovering the lost law of Moses that had been forgotten about. Ironic what had once been central to their worship was now an old forgotten piece of text. He renews the covenant with God, but the following kings do evil again. Eventually Judah goes into exile too, this time into Babylon.
The book ends pretty bleak for the most part. The kings and people of both the northern and southern kingdom are not shown in a particularly positive light. Interestingly, the last paragraph talks about how Judah's last king is eventually released from prison and is allowed to eat with the king of Babylon and given allowance, perhaps hinting at the grace to come? Or highlighting the mercy of a foreign king compared to the evil of their own king? Ironically this foreign king's name was "Evil Merodach".
Sunday, March 30, 2014
1 Kings
Like 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings were originally one book, as I understand it. It is very much in the same style as 1-2 Samuel. A very action oriented narrative centered around the kingship of Israel. The events of the book take off immediately after the events in 1-2 Samuel. It begins with an elderly King David setting up his son Solomon as king. Early in his reign, God comes to him in a dream and says he can have whatever he wants. Solomon famously asks for wisdom, and is granted it. In addition he is given wealth, power and all the other things people love.
The text describes Solomon as being the "wisest man who ever lived", although much of his life he does end up living somewhat foolishly - or at least sinfully anyway. That said, he ends up being one of Israel's greatest kings, and the nation flourishes more under him than perhaps any other ruler in its history. It is also under Solomon that the original temple gets built.
His biggest failing was his love for women (especially those who didn't worship Israel's God). He ended up setting up places for them to worship right next to the temple he had built for God. That said, like David, he is considered a good king, and both are highly regarded. However, he is not usually considered to be quite as obedient to God as David was, despite David's own sin and the fact it was Solomon who was chosen to build the temple.
Part way through 1 Kings, Solomon dies (his reign is not described in nearly as much detail as David's and Saul's) and his son Rehoboam becomes king. Many of the Israelites didn't like him, and set up the former court official Jeroboam as king instead (who had earlier tried to seize power). Jeroboam became king of the northern tribes, while Rehoboam remained king of Judah. Jeroboam seems to have cared nothing for monotheism, and set up shrines from many of the surrounding pagan religions. Several different prophets are described coming to him to tell him to stop his evil practices. Rehoboam also practiced idolatry as well, and the text describes Judah as doing evil during this time, just like the northern tribes. Both nations fought against each other for years. It's not a pleasant time in Israel's history - especially in contrast with the glory years of David and Solomon.
At this point in the text, the word "Israel" gets reserved for the northern kingdom, and "Judah" gets used for the southern kingdom. A number of king's reigns for both kingdom's gets described rather briefly. Here's a brief list:
Judah: Abijah - Bad
Judah: Asa - Good
Israel: Nadab - Bad
Israel: Baasha - Bad
Israel: Elah - Bad
Israel: Zimri - Bad
Israel: Omri - Bad
Israel: Ahab - Really Bad
It's important to note, all of those bad Israelite kings' reign took place during the 30+ year reign of Asa. Each one kept getting killed and replaced by another bad king every few years.
At this point we encounter the prophet Elijah, who was a prophet during the "really bad" king Ahab's reign, in the northern kingdom. Much of the rest of the book is about him (and other prophets) and their dealings with Ahab and his wife Jezebel.
Eventually Ahab dies and Ahaziah becomes king. But he too is evil, just like his predecessors. While Ahab was king, Asa (the good king of Judah) finally dies and his son Jehoshaphat becomes king. Like his father, he is described as a good king who followed God's ways. So while Judah's first king was bad, they were followed by two long-lived kings who followed God's ways. The northern kingdom, on the other hand, was filled with a series of evil kings who were constantly murdering each other. The northern kingdom is not portrayed as a particularly pleasant place to be.
Since there was so much to cover in this book, I'll save the events of 2 Kings for my next post.
The text describes Solomon as being the "wisest man who ever lived", although much of his life he does end up living somewhat foolishly - or at least sinfully anyway. That said, he ends up being one of Israel's greatest kings, and the nation flourishes more under him than perhaps any other ruler in its history. It is also under Solomon that the original temple gets built.
His biggest failing was his love for women (especially those who didn't worship Israel's God). He ended up setting up places for them to worship right next to the temple he had built for God. That said, like David, he is considered a good king, and both are highly regarded. However, he is not usually considered to be quite as obedient to God as David was, despite David's own sin and the fact it was Solomon who was chosen to build the temple.
Part way through 1 Kings, Solomon dies (his reign is not described in nearly as much detail as David's and Saul's) and his son Rehoboam becomes king. Many of the Israelites didn't like him, and set up the former court official Jeroboam as king instead (who had earlier tried to seize power). Jeroboam became king of the northern tribes, while Rehoboam remained king of Judah. Jeroboam seems to have cared nothing for monotheism, and set up shrines from many of the surrounding pagan religions. Several different prophets are described coming to him to tell him to stop his evil practices. Rehoboam also practiced idolatry as well, and the text describes Judah as doing evil during this time, just like the northern tribes. Both nations fought against each other for years. It's not a pleasant time in Israel's history - especially in contrast with the glory years of David and Solomon.
At this point in the text, the word "Israel" gets reserved for the northern kingdom, and "Judah" gets used for the southern kingdom. A number of king's reigns for both kingdom's gets described rather briefly. Here's a brief list:
Judah: Abijah - Bad
Judah: Asa - Good
Israel: Nadab - Bad
Israel: Baasha - Bad
Israel: Elah - Bad
Israel: Zimri - Bad
Israel: Omri - Bad
Israel: Ahab - Really Bad
It's important to note, all of those bad Israelite kings' reign took place during the 30+ year reign of Asa. Each one kept getting killed and replaced by another bad king every few years.
At this point we encounter the prophet Elijah, who was a prophet during the "really bad" king Ahab's reign, in the northern kingdom. Much of the rest of the book is about him (and other prophets) and their dealings with Ahab and his wife Jezebel.
Eventually Ahab dies and Ahaziah becomes king. But he too is evil, just like his predecessors. While Ahab was king, Asa (the good king of Judah) finally dies and his son Jehoshaphat becomes king. Like his father, he is described as a good king who followed God's ways. So while Judah's first king was bad, they were followed by two long-lived kings who followed God's ways. The northern kingdom, on the other hand, was filled with a series of evil kings who were constantly murdering each other. The northern kingdom is not portrayed as a particularly pleasant place to be.
Since there was so much to cover in this book, I'll save the events of 2 Kings for my next post.
1-2 Samuel
I have to apologize for how bad I've been at updating this!
Today's post is on 1-2 Samuel. As I understand it, these were originally considered one literary piece. This is one of the handful of Old Testament books that many of the classic Sunday School stories come from (e.g., David & Goliath, King Solomon's wisdom, the building of the temple, etc.)
The first book starts with the raising of Samuel, who will be the last great prophet from the era of the "Judges". In fact, in addition to being a prophet, he is a judge as well. It is during his time as prophet and judge that the tribes of Israel start asking for a king to rule over them, like the other nations have, instead of the more informal concept of local prophets and judges. He warns them of the consequences that setting up a king over them will entail, but they demand one anyway. So God has him pick a king fitting for their behavior. A tall, young man named Saul, who doesn't really seem qualified to be the ruler of the country. But God none-the-less ordains him for this purpose. There seems to be a lot of tension in this book about Saul and his kingship. He is shown to be a lousy king for the most part, but the text also says that he was ordained by God for the role, and refers to those who complained about him being made king as "scoundrels". So there is this constant tension in the text about kingship in Israel.
Famously, Saul doesn't make for a great king, and God eventually takes away his kingship from him, and instead gives it to a young man named David, who had become an important leader in Saul's army. Saul spends much time in the book trying to kill David, and keep him from being king. He eventually commits suicide in the end. Unlike Saul, David is described as being "a man after God's own heart", although he too was a flawed and sinful character. So sinful, in fact, that he is not allowed to build the temple, and is told he must wait for his son to build it instead. But unlike Saul, what made David so different was his attitude of repentance. He sinned, but he repented of it, instead of continuing in his rebellion. It is under David's rule that Israel for the first time really flourishes as a nation in its own right. He is forever looked back as the first true great king of Israel.
The Ark of the Covenant features prominently in these books, and it's capture and retrieval often are an expression of how rebellious or obedient the Israelites are to God at that point in the story. The pair of books are very action oriented, and it's easy to see why this is the material that often makes it into Sunday School classrooms. It's actually interesting to me that there hasn't been more of an effort to make film(s) based on these stories, because they certainly have the plot lines to support it. Maybe instead of making another film about Moses, somebody should contemplate giving some of these stories a chance.
Today's post is on 1-2 Samuel. As I understand it, these were originally considered one literary piece. This is one of the handful of Old Testament books that many of the classic Sunday School stories come from (e.g., David & Goliath, King Solomon's wisdom, the building of the temple, etc.)
The first book starts with the raising of Samuel, who will be the last great prophet from the era of the "Judges". In fact, in addition to being a prophet, he is a judge as well. It is during his time as prophet and judge that the tribes of Israel start asking for a king to rule over them, like the other nations have, instead of the more informal concept of local prophets and judges. He warns them of the consequences that setting up a king over them will entail, but they demand one anyway. So God has him pick a king fitting for their behavior. A tall, young man named Saul, who doesn't really seem qualified to be the ruler of the country. But God none-the-less ordains him for this purpose. There seems to be a lot of tension in this book about Saul and his kingship. He is shown to be a lousy king for the most part, but the text also says that he was ordained by God for the role, and refers to those who complained about him being made king as "scoundrels". So there is this constant tension in the text about kingship in Israel.
Famously, Saul doesn't make for a great king, and God eventually takes away his kingship from him, and instead gives it to a young man named David, who had become an important leader in Saul's army. Saul spends much time in the book trying to kill David, and keep him from being king. He eventually commits suicide in the end. Unlike Saul, David is described as being "a man after God's own heart", although he too was a flawed and sinful character. So sinful, in fact, that he is not allowed to build the temple, and is told he must wait for his son to build it instead. But unlike Saul, what made David so different was his attitude of repentance. He sinned, but he repented of it, instead of continuing in his rebellion. It is under David's rule that Israel for the first time really flourishes as a nation in its own right. He is forever looked back as the first true great king of Israel.
The Ark of the Covenant features prominently in these books, and it's capture and retrieval often are an expression of how rebellious or obedient the Israelites are to God at that point in the story. The pair of books are very action oriented, and it's easy to see why this is the material that often makes it into Sunday School classrooms. It's actually interesting to me that there hasn't been more of an effort to make film(s) based on these stories, because they certainly have the plot lines to support it. Maybe instead of making another film about Moses, somebody should contemplate giving some of these stories a chance.
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