The Medo-Persian Empire rose out of the ashes of the
\nBabylonian Empire in 536 BC, at which time Cyrus (chart #3) offered the Jews
\ntheir liberty ({{Ezra 1:2-4}}). This was directly the result of Daniel’s prayer
\n(#2) for the restoration of Judah
\nwhen he discovered, in what we call {{Jeremiah 29:10}} (#1), that the captivity was
\njust about complete.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Under the leadership of Jeshua and Zerrubabel (#4), a small
\ncontingent returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt the
\naltar of Burnt Offering and the Temple
\nfoundation ({{Ezra 3}}). However, this project was not without difficulty. Both
\nopposition from without and apathy within delayed the work and required the
\nstirring ministries of Haggai and Zechariah (#5) to spur the Jews to
\ncompletion. With a renewing of the decree by Darius (#6) the Lord’s house was
\nfinished in 516 BC, twenty years after the return ({{Ezra 6:15}}).\n<\/p>\n
\nBetween Ezra 6 and 7 is a gap of 58 years (516-458 BC), to which belongs the
\nstory of Esther. These were momentous years on the world stage. During this
\nperiod occurred the deaths of Buddha and Confucius, and the battles of
\nMarathon, Thermopylae, and Salamis.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe story of Esther takes place in Persia. Not everyone went home. For
\nover a thousand years, the largest concentration of Jews outside Israel
\nwas in the region where they had been exiled.\n<\/p>\n
The king of Persia
\nmarried a Jewess named Esther, who uncovered a plot against her people— led by
\nHaman, the prime minister. When Esther and her cousin, Mordecai, brought the
\nplot to the attention of King Ahasuerus, Haman was deposed and replaced by
\nMordecai. Those who had taken part in the aborted plan were executed. The Jews
\nnarrowly escaped slaughter. To commemorate this, the feast called Purim was
\nestablished.\n<\/p>\n
Some have objected to this book being included in the Canon
\nbecause it does not seem to have any theological themes, nor is the name of God
\nmentioned. God is there, however, working behind the scenes. It has been shown
\nthat the Tetragrammaton (YHVH), the name of Yahweh (Jehovah), occurs four times
\nas an acrostic at the crises in the plot (1:20; 5:4; 5:13; 7:7). In two cases,
\nthe name is spelled backwards; in two, forwards. In two cases it is the initial
\nletters; in two, the final letters. This has been illustrated by using the
\ndivine title of LORD in the following four couplets:\n<\/p>\n
Shall give their husbands, great and small (1:20).<\/p>\n
Let Our Royal Dinner bring<\/p>\n
Haman, feasting with the king (5:4).<\/p>\n
GranD foR nO avaiL my state,<\/p>\n
While this Jew sits at my gate (5:13).<\/p>\n
IlL tO feaR
\ndecreeD I find<\/p>\n
Toward me in the monarch’s mind (7:7).\n<\/div>\n
\n
\nOrdinary life is not so ordinary; it is filled with eternal significance.
\nEvents fit into a normal pattern of cause and effect, but woven through it all
\nare the hidden purposes of God. Human choices are of great importance and have
\nprofound consequences, whether for good or evil. The book of Esther says: Do
\nnot be deceived by appearances. More is happening than you think.<\/p>\n
The second section of Ezra (7-10) covers Ezra’s personal
\njourney to Jerusalem
\n(#7) with a new wave of refugees. He was appalled to find the people so
\ndemoralized. Under his careful Bible teaching, a revival in a measure took
\nplace (#8). <\/p>\n
In some ways, Nehemiah is a parallel account to the one
\ngiven by Ezra. Twelve years after Ezra’s return in 458 BC, Nehemiah heard (#9)
\nin far-off Babylon that Jerusalem was in ruins, her walls broken, and
\nher gates burned. Although, as the king’s right-hand man, he had every external
\ncomfort, there was no comfort for his soul. Offered a leave of absence (#10),
\nhe returned to the city of his fathers. However, Nehemiah found more than
\nbroken walls; he found broken lives. Discouragement had set in, God’s
\ncommandments were being transgressed, and moral laxity, even among the priests,
\nwas common. <\/p>\n
In spite of critics, unskilled labor, threats of violence,
\nand an enormous task, the approximately four miles of wall were repaired in 52
\ndays (#11). And what filled Nehemiah’s heart with joy was the fact not only
\nthat the work had been completed, but that God was seen to have done it: “the
\nwork was wrought of our God” ({{Neh. 6:16}}).\n<\/p>\n
\nThus ends the history of the Old Testament, with the exception of the last Old
\nTestament prophet—John. Four hundred years will pass in which God is silent,
\nuntil at last He will speak the Word (#12)!<\/p>\n