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Towering Figures of the Old Testament |
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Ezra
The Return From Captivity
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Return
to Israel |
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In his
first year as king of Persia Cyrus
proclaims throughout his kingdom that he
will a build the house of the LORD in
Jerusalem, in fulfillment of the
prophecy of Jeremiah.
So he
summons all descendants of Israel to go
to Jerusalem and build the house of the
LORD. He supplies them with silver,
gold, goods, and cattle, together with
free-will offerings for the house of God
in Jerusalem.
King
Cyrus, too, has the utensils of the
house of the LORD brought forth, which
Nebuchadnezzar had taken away from
Jerusalem and placed in the house of his
god.
Then
the family heads of Judah and Benjamin
and the priests and Levites--everyone,
that is, whom |
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God had
inspired to do so--prepare to go up to build
the house of the LORD in Jerusalem. |
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The
Israelites arrive and settle in their
cities, and they gather at Jerusalem to
set about rebuilding the altar of the
God of Israel in order to offer on it
the holocausts prescribed in the Law of
Moses, the man of God.
Despite
their fear of the peoples of the land,
they replace the altar on its
foundations and offer holocausts to the
LORD on it.
They
also keep the feast of Booths in the
manner prescribed, and they offer the
daily holocausts in the proper number
required for each day, although the
foundation of the |
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temple of the
LORD has not yet been laid.
The
Start of the Rebuilding
Then they hire stonecutters and carpenters,
and send food and drink and oil to the
Sidonians and Tyrians that they might ship
cedar trees from the Lebanon to the port of
Joppa, as Cyrus, king of Persia, had
authorized. |
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A year
after their arrival at the house of God
in Jerusalem the Levites twenty years of
age and over are appointed to supervise
the work on the house of the LORD.
When
the builders lay the foundation of the
LORD'S temple, the vested priests with
the trumpets and the Levites, stationed
at the temple sing praise to the LORD in
the manner laid down by David, king of
Israel.
They
alternate in songs of praise and
thanksgiving to the LORD, "for he is
good, for his kindness to Israel endures
forever"; and all the people raise a
great shout of joy, praising the LORD.
Trouble is Afoot
When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin
hear |
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that the
exiles are building a temple for the LORD,
the God of Israel, they approach the family
heads of Judah and Benjamin to tell them
that they want to build together with them.
But the family heads of Israel tell them
that it is not their responsibility to build
with them a house for their God as King
Cyrus of Persia has commanded them. |
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Thereupon
the people of the land begin to
intimidate and dishearten the people of
Judah so as to keep them from building.
They also
suborn the counselors to work against
them and thwart their plans during the
remaining years of Cyrus, king of
Persia, and until the reign of Darius,
king of Persia.
The
Rebuilding Stops
At the beginning of the reign of
Ahashuerus they prepare a written
accusation against the inhabitants of
Judah and Jerusalem, that the Israelites
are rebuilding a rebellious and evil
city and that once its walls are raised
up again, they will no longer pay taxes,
tributes, or tolls. They conclude that
this can only result in harm to the
throne. |
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The king then
responds by ordering to stop the work
immediately. Thus the work on the house of
God in Jerusalem stop. This inaction last
until the second year of the reign of
Darius, king of Persia.
Rebuilding
Resumes
At this time the prophets Haggai and
Zechariah, son of Iddo, begin to prophesy to
the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name
of the God of Israel. Thereupon Zerubbabel,
son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua, son of Jozadak,
begin again to build the house of God in
Jerusalem, with the prophets of God giving
them support.
Again a
governor of West-of-Euphrates, and
Shethar-bozenai, and their fellow officials,
come to Jerusalem asking who gave them
permission to build this house and raise
this edifice.
The
Israelites tell them that in the first year
of his reign King Cyrus, king of Babylon,
issued a decree for the rebuilding of this
house of God. They also plead with the king
to search the archives of Babylon to
discover whether a decree really was issued
by King Cyrus for the rebuilding of this
house of God in Jerusalem. |
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Thereupon
King Darius orders to search the
archives of Babylon and finds the decree
to build the house of the LORD the cost
of which are to be borne by the royal
palace.
He also
found the decree to return of the gold
and silver utensils of the house of God
which Nebuchadnezzar took from the
temple of Jerusalem and brought to
Babylon, and return them to their place
in the house of God.
King
Darius then orders the governor of
West-of-Euphrates, and Shethar-bozenai,
and their fellow officials in
West-of-Euphrates, not to interfere in
that place. Further he decrees that from
the royal revenue, the taxes of
West-of-Euphrates, the men rebuilding
the temple be repaid for their expenses,
in full and without delay.
He also
orders to provide whatever is
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necessary for
the holocausts to the God of heaven and to
deliver to them day by day without fail.
Then he also decrees that any man who
violates this edict, a beam is to be taken
from his house, and he is to be lifted up
and impaled on it; and his house is to be
reduced to rubble for this offense.
And thus the rebuilding of the house of the
LORD begins again.
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They
complete this house in the sixth year of the
reign of King Darius. Then the
Israelites--priests, Levites, and the other
returned exiles--celebrate the dedication of
this house of God with joy, following all
that was prescribed in the book of Moses.
Ezra
Appears
After this
time, during the reign of Artaxerxes,
king of Persia, Ezra, a direct
descendant of Eleazar, son of the high
priest Aaron, comes up from Babylon.
Ezra is a
scribe, well-versed in the Law of Moses
which was given by the LORD, the God of
Israel. Because the hand of the LORD,
his God, is upon him, the king grants
him all that he request.
Ezra
has set his heart on the study and
practice of the law of the LORD and on
teaching statutes and ordinances in
Israel. King Artaxerxes appoints Ezra
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the envoy from
the king and his seven counselors to
supervise Judah and Jerusalem in respect of
the law of God, which is in his possession.
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The king
further orders Ezra to bring with him the
silver and gold which the king and his
counselors have freely contributed to the
God of Israel, whose dwelling is in
Jerusalem. The king
also orders Ezra to use this money to
buy bulls, rams, lambs, and the cereal
offerings and libations and to offer
them on the altar of the house of his
God in Jerusalem. For everything else
that they need the king orders to be
draw from the royal treasury.
The
king also allows Ezra to magistrates and
judges to administer justice to all the
people in West-of-Euphrates who know the
laws of God and to instruct those who do
not know these laws.
The
king also decrees that anyone who does
not obey the law of his God and the law
of the king, |
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will either be put death, or given corporal
punishment, or a fine on his goods, or
imprisonment.
The Sins of
the People
After Ezra
arrives in Jerusalem, the leaders approach
him to tell him that men and priests of
Israel had not kept pure and had taken women
of the land (the Canaanites, Hittites,
Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites,
Egyptians, and Amorites) for their wives in
defiance of the commandment of the LORD.
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Upon
hearing this Ezra tears his cloak and my
mantle, plucks hair from his head and
beard, and sits there stupefied
remaining motionless until the evening
sacrifice. Around him gather all who are
in dread of the sentence of the God of
Israel on this apostasy of the exiles.
Then, at
the time of the evening sacrifice, Ezra
rises and falls on his knees, stretching
out his hands to the LORD. He cries to
the LORD of his shame for what His
people had done.
While
Ezra is praying and acknowledging their
guilt, weeping and prostrate before the
house of God, a very large assembly of
Israelites gather about him, men, women,
and children, weeping profusely.
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Then Shecaniah,
the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam,
appeals to Ezra that they have indeed
betrayed their God by taking as wives
foreign women of the peoples of the land. He
tells Ezra that they will make a covenant
with the LORD to dismiss all their foreign
wives and the children born of them, and
begin to observe the law.
Ezra
consents and demands an oath from the chiefs
of the priests, from the Levites and from
all Israel that they would do as had been
proposed; and they swear it. Then Ezra
retires from his place before the house of
God and spends the night neither eating food
nor drinking water, for he is in mourning
over the betrayal by the exiles.
Then the
elders of Israel gather all the people of
Israel to tell them to separate from the
peoples of the land and from these foreign
women. And thus all who had taken foreign
wives cast them away including their
children. |
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The Chariot of Israel: Exploits of the Prophet of Elijah
THE CHARIOT OF ISRAEL: When Elijah was caught up
to heaven, his disciple Elisha cried out, "the
chariot of Israel, and its horsemen." Elisha was
referring not to the chariot but to the prophet.
This study of Elijah’s life will captivate you
as it walks you through a pivotal period in
Israel’s history, and illustrative maps will
give you a better picture of the physical
geography of this ancient land. |
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The First Book of Kings (Cambridge Bible Commentaries on the Old Testament) This
volume of commentary on the New English Bible text of the First Book of Kings
follows the pattern of the now well-established series on the Old and New
Testaments. The main divisions of the text are those provided by the New English
Bible itself, but these are further subdivided for the purposes of the
commentary, which is printed in short sections following the relevant portion of
the text. |
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Canon Robinson suggests that the editors of I
Kings compiled their history in order to teach
the Hebrews that their existence as Israel, the
covenant people of God, depended upon their
continuing loyalty to their own religious
traditions, and their refusal to exchange them
for the very different traditions of the
Canaanites among whom they lived.
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I & II Samuel: A Commentary (Old Testament Library)
First sentence in
the book:
""THE BOOKS OF SAMUEL contain that
part of the history of Israel which describes
the foundation of the State, running from the
close of the period of the Judges to the
establishment of the united kingdom." |
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Samson and Delilah and Other Old Testament
Stories (Discovering the Bible)
(Hardcover) by Victoria Parker (Author), Retold
by Victoria Parker (Author)
This book provides known Bible stories from
Israel in the Promised land to the Story of
Ruth. It has the stories we grew up with but it
adds historical and religious facts to each
story. It tells the stories gearing them toward
elementary school children. |
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Moses Great Lives Series: Volume 4 ,
by Charles R. Swindoll. This book presents the
Bible's real Moses-the Moses who tried to
decline his assignment from God; the Moses who
dazzled Pharoh; the Moses who received the Ten
Commandments; the Moses who was disobedient and
weak; the Moses who was the greatest leader of
God's people in all of history. Through his
faith and selfless dedication, Moses continually
chose to follow God's will through difficult and
seemingly impossible situations.
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Jacob and Esau
by Harriette Augusta Curtiss and F. Homer
Curtiss (Paperback - Dec 30, 2005) |
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The Prophecy of Isaiah: An Introduction &
Commentary
by J. A. Motyer
Recipient of a Christianity Today 1994 Critics
Choice Award! Among Old Testament prophetic
books no other equals Isaiah's brilliance of
style and metaphor, its arresting vision of the
Holy One of Israel and its kaleidoscopic vision
of God's future restoration of Israel and the
world. Now, after over three decades of studying
and teaching Isaiah, Alec Motyer presents a
wealth of commentary and perspective on this
book. |
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Saint of the Day: Lives, Lessons, and Feasts
(Paperback)
by Leonard Foley (Editor), Pat McCloskey
(Editor) |
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Lives of the
Saints You Should Know by Margaret R. Bunson,
Matthew E. Bunson |
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New Illustrated Book of Saints
Author: Catholic Book Publishing Company |
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One Hundred Saints: Their Lives and Likenesses
Drawn from Butler's
This is a coffee-table collection of 100 popular
saints illustrated with art works taken from
international galleries. The saints are listed
alphabetically in a valuable table of contents,
with a larger list of patron saints following
the text. Inclusion is based on popularity
within the Christian world and the
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availability of
atypical art works. Entries are generally based
on the 1926-38 edition of Butler's Lives of the
Saints, with the length of each entry varying
from one-half page to several pages. Short
entries giving written insight into the lives of
pious individuals are combined with depictions
rendered by artists such as Raphael and El
Greco. An inexpensive tribute to art and faith
more appropriate for gift-giving than for
libraries. |
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Apologetics |
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Mary
and the Saints |
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Mass
and the Eucharist |
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Prayers |
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Novenas |
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The Rosary |
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Traditional Prayers:
Discover the origin of your favorite prayer. We might
even have the original Latin version, too. |
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Novenas:
Learn how
to say a novena in honor of your favorite
Saint.
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