Day 141. Nehemiah 11-13

The city of Jerusalem is apparently under-populated during the second temple period, and there is an active program under Nehemiah's leadership to get people to reside within the city walls. In spite of rebuilding activities, the city is still largely in ruins, and apparently, it is so unpleasant that it is viewed as a virtuous act simply to live there (11:2). So we are given a rather full list of those virtuous folks who do, starting with laypersons and ending with priests and Levites. "The rest of Israel, and of the priests and Levites," we are told, "[are] in all the towns of Judah, all of them in their inheritance" (11:20), that is, residing on their family property in the villages outside the city, and we are given a list of those.
The succession of high priests during this period is a little difficult to follow. From the list of priests and Levites provided (12:1-26), however, we gather that Joiakim has succeeded his father Jeshua, who was high priest in the time of Zerubbabel. There is no son of David on the throne, but there is continuity in the high-priestly family.
A great celebration accompanies the dedication of the walls of Jerusalem, and the Levites lead the people in the kind of joyful worship with worship that is familiar to us from 1-2 Chronicles and Ezra (12:27). This dedication is the climax of the Book of Nehemiah. To celebrate its completion, two processions go in opposite directions on the completed wall. The one going to the right is led by the Ezra the scribe (12:36); the one going left is accompanied by Nehemiah himself (12:38). The two companies meet midway to celebrate a great thanksgiving service in the house of God, at which the governor and his officials offer "great sacrifices . . . and [rejoice], for God [makes] them rejoice with great joy; the women and the children also [rejoice]." And we are told that "the joy of Jerusalem [is] heard far away" (12:43). And this time there is no weeping mixed with their rejoicing, as there had been when the foundations of the temple were laid (Ezra
3:3,13). There is also no attempt to stifle joyful sound to keep it from attracting unfriendly attention. The completed walls of the city give the Jews a security from their hostile neighbors such as they had not known since their return from exile.
For Nehemiah there is further reason for rejoicing in that the temple services have been fully reinstituted, with gatekeepers and singers at the tasks "according to the command of David and his son Solomon" (12:45-46). There is continuity between the time of the kings David and Solomon and that of the governors Zerubbabel and Nehemiah (12:47), and Nehemiah several times expresses his satisfaction that things are again being done right, which he considers greatly to his own credit.
The Book of Nehemiah is framed as a report of the governor to his overlord of his accomplishments. For Nehemiah his efforts to maintain the purity of Jews are reported with great satisfaction. At his urging, Moabites and Ammonites are excluded from the reading of the law "because they did not meet the Israelites with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them" (13:2). These incidents occurred hundreds of years ago before, during the period of the exodus and wilderness sojourn, but for Nehemiah the memory of those old resentments is still fresh. The understanding of Judaism in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah is exclusive. Nehemiah not only erects walls of stone; he also builds walls of law and custom to keep out foreign pollutions. For a more inclusive understanding of the Jewish faith we have to look elsewhere--to the book of Ruth, for instance.
Sometime after the wall is completed, Nehemiah returns to the Persian court, perhaps to report on his activities in Jerusalem (13:6), and when he returns to Jerusalem he discovers the his old nemesis Tobiah has actually moved into one of the chambers of the temple. Nehemiah is outraged and literally cleans house. He throws "all the household furniture of Tobiah out of the room" and gives orders that it be cleansed (13:8-9). He also discovers that the Levites had not been paid for the services, and as a result the temple services had been neglected. He scolds those who are responsible and sets the matter right (13:10-13). And again he asks God to remember his diligence in this and approve his service as governor (13:14).
He also finds that a general laxity about the keeping of the Sabbath has crept in, and foreigners are buying and selling in the markets of Jerusalem on the Sabbath. Again, Nehemiah remonstrates with the nobles, and acts to appoint Levite gatekeepers to keep the "merchants and sellers" outside the city, and to enforce the "blue laws" (13:21-22). And again he calls upon God to "remember this to my favor" and approve his diligence (13:22).
We sense by the end of the book that bears his name that Nehemiah has become a real curmudgeon. He takes an active hand in policing the people in the matter of intermarriage. When he hears the children of Jews "who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab" chattering away in "the language of various peoples," he curses and beats some of them, and goes so far as to pull out their hair" (13:23-25). By the end of his term as governor he becomes quite a fanatic—we might say a bit of a nut. When he encounters the grandson of the high priest Eliashib, who had married one of these foreign women, Nehemiah chases him away.
He sums up his career by saying: "I cleansed them of everything foreign, and I established the duties of the priests and Levites; and I provided for the wood offering, at appointed time, and for the first fruits." And one last time he asks-- "Remember me, o my God, for good." I am sure God did approve of his faithful governor—with certain reservations-- but I'm sure that you are as ready as I am to leave old man Nehemiah chasing those foreign-speaking brats to pull their hair to move with me to the wonderful Book of Esther.

Day 140. Nehemiah 8-10

So the people of Israel gather in the square before the Water Gate in expectation, and they are not disappointed. Ezra the scribe reads them "the book of the law of Moses"—the Torah or the Pentateuch (The Five Scrolls)—and "the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the Law" (8:3). And during the reading the Levites—we are given their names in our text—move among the people interpreting the text and applying it to their lives. Interpretation of the law is the traditional role of the Levites, together with seeing to that temple worship was conducted rightly and regularly (see Deut.33:10)—"they [give] the people the sense," we are told so that they can understand the reading (8:8).
The people are disposed to "mourn and weep" when they hear the law being read because of their shortcomings, but Nehemiah, the governor, and scribe impress upon them that this is a holy day, and that they should feast and rejoice, and not mourn. "Eat the fat and drink sweet wine," they are told, "and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our LORD; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength" (8:11). Joy is the proper response to the Word of God—we need to always remember that—and it is our duty to respond with rejoicing when God speaks to us. In our text the returned exiles rejoice because they understand the Law that is being read to them, and understanding brings joy.
The return from exile and the building of the second temple is a formative period for classical Judaism. Great feasts, like Passover, are being reintroduced and regularized after literally centuries of neglect. The celebration of the Feast of Booths—Succoth-- had been commanded by Moses in Lev. 23:33-43, and it is reinstated under the authority of Nehemiah to remind the people of Israel of the wilderness sojourn their ancestors took after escaping from Egypt, the time when the LORD gave them the Law. They are instructed to cut branches from the trees and construct temporary lean-tos and dwell in them for a period of seven days to remind them of the tents in which they lived during their journey to the Promised Land(8:14). (Modern Jews celebrate this feast in much the same way.) Succoth had apparently not been celebrated in Israel since the time of Joshua, but under Nehemiah's regime it is reinstituted, accompanied by the public reading of the Law of
Moses, "from the first day to last day" (8:18).
But after the rejoicing of Succoth comes a period of mourning and fasting with repentance for all of Israel, having received the Law but failing to keep it. "Those of Israelite descent" are commanded to separate "themselves from all foreigners," and to stand and confess "their [own] sins and the iniquities of their ancestors" (9:2). This inward repentance is to be accompanied by outward signs--fasting, wearing rough clothing, and putting dirt on their heads and bodies. As part of their contrition, Ezra leads the people in a long and very powerful recitation of God's gracious acts of love and faithfulness in choosing Abraham, in leading the people out of Egypt to the Land of Promise, and in giving them the law. The LORD is "gracious and merciful" to his people (9:17) —the words recall Exodus 34:6. There is an emphasis upon the giving of the Sabbath, which sets Israel apart from all the other nations (9:14). Sabbath observance becomes
very important in the second temple period; to observe the Sabbath rightly comes to define what it means to be a Jew.
But in response to all God's mighty acts of faithfulness, Israel falls short and fails to keep the covenant. The people refuse "to obey," and are not "mindful of the wonders [the LORD performs] among them" (9:17). There is rhythm established in Ezra's speech between recounting divine faithfulness and mercy and decrying Israel's unfaithfulness, their sin following upon the LORD's grace again and again over the centuries. The LORD is a "great and mighty and awesome God, keeping covenant and steadfast love" (9:32) who deals faithfully, while his people act wickedly in response to God's goodness (9:33). And the end result is the people's present situation—they are "slaves" of the Persians in their own land (9:36).
Following this ceremony of national confession, the leaders of the people led by Nehemiah (10:1) put their names to a "sealed document" in which they pledge to keep the covenant with the LORD. With an "oath and a curse" they promise not to intermarry with foreigners (10:30), to carefully observe the Sabbath each seventh day, to give the land its Sabbath and "forego the crops of the seventh year" in obedience (10:31), and "to forgive all debts in the seventh year," following the commands of Moses in Exodus 23:10-11 and 21:2-6. They further undertake to observe the feasts, the Sabbaths, and the appointed festivals (10:32), to supply wood to keep the altar burning (10:33), to redeem their first-born sons and give the first fruits of their herds and fields to the LORD (10:37), and give a tithe—one tenth—of all their income to the "the storeroom where the vessels of the sanctuary are, and where the priests that minister, and the
gatekeepers and the singers are," and not to neglect the house" of their God (10:39). In other words, they vow upon their very lives to respond to the grace and mercy of God by being observant Jews.
By the way, it is only after the exile in Babylon that the children of Israel are called "Jews."

Day 139. Nehemiah 5-7

Apparently the building of the walls of Jerusalem, which is hurrying forward now at the fastest possible pace, is causing a financial hardship on those rural Jews who had not been part of the exile (5:1ff). They are laboring on the wall, while responsibility for their farms and freeholds is falling upon their wives and children. They are being forced to mortgage their fields and their vineyards and even pledge the labor of children "to get grain, that they may live" to pay "the kings' tax" (5:2-4). Now they cry out because they are being constrained to go the Babylonian exiles, middle and upper-class Jews who are on the whole better off, for loans, on which they are being forced to pay interest. "Our flesh is the same as that of our kindred," they tell Nehemiah, and demand relief.
Nehemiah is angry when he hears this, and he gathers the nobles and officials whom he accuses of callously exploiting their own kindred (5:7). He excoriates those who are making loans at interest and taking the lives and property of fellow Jews as security—"The thing that you are doing is not good," he says. Taking interest from fellow Jews or making them slaves is expressly forbidden by the law of Moses (see Leviticus 25:35-37). Nehemiah demands that those who are doing these things restore everything and demand nothing more of their kindred, and stop the practice of taking interest (5:11-12). If they do not, they stand in peril of being "shaken out and emptied" by God (5:13). And such is the power of his personality that the people meekly promise to do as they are told.
Those who are engaged doing the will of God must act generously. In this Nehemiah seeks to set a good example by his own behavior as governor, not extorting food and wine for himself as former governors had or allowing his servants to lord it over his subjects. Instead Nehemiah tells us that he feeds no less that one hundred and fifty people at his own table, both Jews and "foreigners" (5:16-17). He calls upon the LORD to "remember for [his] good . . . all that [he] has done for this people" (5:18)—a prayer that is repeated a number of times in the Book of Nehemiah. Again and again, he reports to God upon the work he has accomplished and asks for his approval, as a governor might report to his monarch.
But in spite of his virtuous behavior, those foreign enemies, whose power has been threatened by Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the wall, start plotting against him, accusing him of fortifying Jerusalem to support his intention to make himself king of Judah (6:6). This was a serious accusation amounting to treason against the Persian king. (We don't know, but this may have been the reason why Zerubbabel, the earlier governor, suddenly disappears from the narrative. As a descendent of King David he may have been removed for having such royal ambitions.) Nehemiah sees these accusations for what they are, a way to undermine his self-confidence and authority. His enemies, Tobiah and Samballat, even go so far as pay off the prophet Shemaiah and the prophetess Noadiah to give Nehemiah false messages to frighten him. When he is told to hide in the temple because there is a plot is afoot to assassinate him (6:10-14), Nehemiah, who seems not to be without
personal courage, dismisses these words with the contempt they deserve and goes on with the task of building the wall, all the while calling upon the LORD to settle his grudges (6:14).
At last the wall is completed, and the prestige of the Jewish community is greatly enhanced in the eyes their Gentile enemies, who are now "afraid," because they realize the hand of God is at work in all this (6: 16). But Nehemiah has enemies even among his own people. We have already been told in 3:5 that the nobles of Tekoa would not "put their shoulders to the work of their LORD." Now we discover that they are exchanging letters with Tobiah, because "many in Judah [are] bound by oath to him" (6:18). They report to him and form a "fifth column" in the Jewish community.
But once the wall is finished and the gates are installed, Nehemiah sets a watch and prepares for the next major act of his administration. We are given a list of those Jewish families who had thus far returned from captivity in Babylon and are now settled in Jerusalem and its surrounds. (It is worth noting that by no means all the descendents of the Jews carried into captivity by King Nebuchadnezzar return to their homeland. Many felt that they were better off in the land where they had been exiles, and Babylon continues to have a large Jewish population throughout ancient times, and it remains a center of Jewish thought and culture into the Middle Ages.) Now Nehemiah gathers "all Israel settled in their towns" (7:73) in preparation for the next important event of the drama of the return from captivity, the reading of the Law of Moses by Ezra the scribe.
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Day 138. Nehemiah 1-4

Nehemiah's expedition to Jerusalem represents the third phase of the return of the exiles from Babylon. The first group to return from captivity is led by Zerubbabel, the governor, and Jeshua, the high priest. The second group is led by Ezra, the priest and scribe. The third phase of the rebuilding of Jerusalem is spearheaded by a remarkable leader named Nehemiah. At the beginning of his first-person narrative, Nehemiah is cupbearer to the Persian king Artaxerxes 1 (465-424 B.C.E.). The position he holds is one of the highest trust, because as the king's cupbearer he is charged not only to select the king's wine, but also to make certain that it is not poisoned (1:11). Obviously there are Jews who occupy positions of greatest trust in the Persian regime.
While he is serving the monarch at the Persian court in Susa, Nehemiah inquires about the state of the Jews who had "escaped the captivity" and are resident in Jerusalem. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, he is told, and the gates have been destroyed by fire (1:3). The returned exiles are weak and vulnerable to hostile neighbors.
Nehemiah says that he weeps over this woeful state of affairs, confessing his own sin and the sins of his people, and calling upon the LORD to remember his promise to gather his scattered people and bring them back to the Land of Promise to the place he has chosen to establish his name (1:9). Nehemiah prays that God will bless him with success and "grant him mercy in the sight of this man"—meaning the Persian sovereign (1:11).
So when Nehemiah next approaches the king, Artaxerxes questions him about the reason for his downcast looks. Nehemiah tells him that his sorrow stems from the fact that his ancestral home "lies waste, and its gates have been destroyed by fire" (2:3). The king then inquires what he can do. Nehemiah again prays before he gives an answer (2:4), and then he asks for leave to go and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and letters that will empower him to oversee the task and procure the materials to complete it (2:7-8). Again, God is using a Persian monarch for his own purposes, and Nehemiah's request is readily granted.
We are told nothing of Nehemiah's long journey from Susa to Jerusalem, only that upon his arrival, he inspects the walls by night in order to avoid the scrutiny of the local officials, who are greatly displeased that anyone should come "to seek the welfare of the people of Israel" (2:10). He finds the fortification of the city in miserable shape, and he calls upon its Jewish residents, who have not as yet been told the reason for his visit, "Come, let us start building!" And they readily respond to the call, committing "themselves to the common good" (2:18).
There is opposition from the local officials of the Persian bureaucracy—Ammonites and Arabs—who suggest the Jews are rebelling against the Persian king (2:19). But Nehemiah ascribes the project to the will of God and tells these meddling foreigners that they "have no share or claim or historic right in Jerusalem" (2:20). (We hear an echo of this same kind of language by Israelis to the Palestinians today.)
So the work of rebuilding the wall begins, and we are given a full account of the names of those who worked on its various sections. Their adversaries mock their progress (4:1-3), and Nehemiah hurls curses back at them (4:4-5). But the work continues apace, "for the people [have] a mind to work" (4:6). But when the wall is about half built, the adversaries of the Jews move from abuse to armed aggression, and "plot together to come and fight against Jerusalem and . . . cause confusion in it" (4:8).
The Jews under the leadership of Nehemiah pray to their God—at the beginning of every effort there is prayer—and "set a guard as protection against [their enemies] day and night" (4:9). There are words of discouragement (4:10-12). But Nehemiah, whose real genius is as an inspiring leader and community organizer, tells the people not to be afraid and instead to "remember the LORD, who is great and awesome, and fight for your kin, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes" (4:14). From then on half the people work on the walls and the other half hold the spears (4:21). It sounds very much like the situation in the early days of the Israeli state—the city is an armed. There is a constant state of watchfulness, and we are told by Nehemiah with considerable pride that neither he nor his brothers nor his servants "nor the men of the guard who followed [him] ever took off [their] clothes; each kept his weapon in his right hand"
(4:23).

Day 137. Ezra 8-10

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of Ezra in the formation of classical Judaism. His influence upon subsequent Jewish life and thought is enormous. He is not called a "rabbi" in our text, but that is what he surely was--the first to fully deserve that title. All those others throughout the millennia who study the law of Moses and seek to apply it to the situation of their community are his spiritual heirs. In many ways the life of Ezra mirrors that of Moses—though on a less heroic scale. Like Moses, Ezra leads the people through the wilderness, taking the second expedition of returning exiles from captivity to the Promised Land.
In our reading for today we get Ezra's first person account of the trip from Babylon, and what he discovered when he reached Jerusalem. In 8:1-14 we get a list of those who gather at the river Ahava to fast and pray for protection in preparation for the dangerous journey. Ezra declines to ask for an escort of soldiers from the Persian king, and instead places his trust in God. And the LORD does in fact protect returning exiles from "the hand of the enemy and from ambushes along the way" (8:31). And divine protection is indeed needed because, besides their own personal possessions, the expedition brings with them a large quantity of precious vessels—gold, silver, and bronze—for use in the newly rebuilt temple. These vessels are much more valuable that those brought by the first group of returning exiles under leadership Zerubbabel, because this expedition has much greater prestige, owing to stature of the figure of Ezra.
They arrive safely in Jerusalem and deliver the vessels to the temple—"the total was counted and weighed, and the weight of everything is recorded" (8:34). (In the Book of Ezra we have noticed before an emphasis being laid on doing things in good order.) Upon their arrival, the returned exiles offer sacrifices in the temple. Note that the sacrifices they offer are in multiples of twelve, symbolizing that they are offered for the whole people of Israel (8:35), now once more reunited.
After these things are done, however, Ezra discovers to his great dismay that the people of Israel—both clergy and lay—"[have] not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with their abominations" (9:1). They have intermarried with the daughters and sons of foreigners—non-Israelites--and therefore "the holy seed has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands. "In this faithlessness," Ezra tells us, "the officials and leaders have led the way" (9:2).
When he discovers this Ezra declares himself appalled. The realization prostrates him. And when he appears again "at the evening sacrifice," his prayer reflects his disgust at this mixing and the impurity it has created. Unless this situation is remedied God will destroy his people "without remnant or survivor" (9:14). When God allows the exiles to return to their homeland from Babylon he is in fact giving them a second chance to be his faithful people (9:8), one last opportunity to keep the covenant alive a "new life" (9:9). But faithfulness to the covenant can only be maintained by keeping the race pure. "After all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt," Ezra prays, "seeing that you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a remnant as this, shall we break your commandments again and intermarry with the peoples who practice abominations?" (9:13)
The answer to this rhetorical question is of course "no." Hearing Ezra's prayer the people volunteer to "make a covenant to send away all these wives and children" (10:3). The modern reader, and I include myself this, will find this solution morally horrific. It might be said that these foreign wives represent a danger to the very existence of the biblical religion that gives birth to both Judaism and Christianity. But it is another instance in the long sad history of humankind where principles are elevated above the suffering of human beings. In this case "the foreign wives and children" are sacrificed to the ideal of racial and religious purity, which in my opinion is reprehensible. But that opinion is admittedly a modern one--though it is shared by at least one of the prophets—see Malachi 2:14-16.
In our text Ezra does not give us any insight into the heartache this action may have caused. Purity of race and worship is all that matters. He summons the people, who gather in front of the temple "trembling because of this matter and because of the heavy rain" (10:9). Ezra announces the decision. Those who have married "foreign women" are told to separate themselves from them (10:11). A few brave souls oppose this, but they are overruled (10:15). We are then given a long list of those who have contracted these unions (10:18-24). And the Book of Ezra ends with the note that "all these had married foreign women, and they sent them away with their children" (10:44). To what fate we are not told; the author must know but does not care enough to inform us.

Day 136. Ezra 5-7

The rebuilding of the temple resumes in the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia—520 B.C.E. The work is supervised by Zerubbabel the governor and Jeshua the high priest, and with them are "the prophets of God, helping them" (5:2). These prophets Haggai and Zechariah, in the books that bear their names, encourage the returned exiles to compete the work of rebuilding. They share with the author of the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah a conviction of the crucial importance of regular centralized worship in the temple to the identity of Israel as the people of God.
They encounter some opposition from Tattenai, the Persian governor of the province Beyond the River. The province of Yehud (Judah) is cut from his jurisdiction, and he is stung by his loss of authority over the region. He requests of King Darius that a search be made of the Persian archives to make certain that King Cyrus had indeed authorized "the rebuilding of the house of God in Jerusalem" (5:17). Darius orders the search be made and the original decree is located (6:1-5). He instructs Tattenai to "let the work on the house of God alone" (6:7) and further commands him to supply animals to the Jews so that they may "offer pleasing sacrifices" and "pray for the life of the king and his children" (6:10). (The king of Persia wants some return on his investment, apparently.)
So the work goes forward and prospers because of the support of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah (6:14), and in 515 B.C.E. it is at last completed. The second temple is dedicated "with joy" (6:16). The sacrifices are large, but do not compare with those offered by Solomon at the dedication of the first temple. A great Passover is celebrated, perhaps in connection with the rededication (6:19). And in an unusual gesture of inclusiveness, Jews who were not a part of the exile but had rededicated themselves and Gentiles who had "joined them and separated themselves from the pollutions of the nations of the land to worship God" are allowed to take part in the festival of unleavened bread (6:21). Our text says that the whole community rejoices that the LORD, who once hardened the heart of Pharaoh, has now "turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, so that he [has] aided them in the work on the house of God" (6:220. (What is probably meant
here is not the king of Assyria but the king of Persia, either Cyrus or Darius.)
Now Ezra at last arrives on the scene. Ezra is both a priest (7:1-6) and also "a scribe skilled in the law of Moses" (7:16). He appears to have been a religious genius who sets the pattern for subsequent Judaism. An expert in the law and also adept in reading and writing, the genius of Ezra is crucial to the formation of a community based upon the study of the law (7:6). The writer tells us that "Ezra [sets] his heart to the study of the law of the LORD, [determined] to do it, and to teach the statues and ordinances in Israel" (7:10).
He works under the patronage of the Persian king Artaxerxes and is sent by the king with a second group of returning exiles from Babylon "to make inquiries about Judah and Jerusalem according to the law of your God, which is in your hand" (7:14). We get the whole text of the king's letter in our reading (7:11-26). In the letter Ezra is given authority to appoint magistrates to judge "all the people. . . who know the law of your God," and a mandate to "teach those who do not know them" (7:25). In order words, he is to set up a state governed by Mosaic Law.
In a brief passage at the end of chapter seven, writing in the first person Ezra blesses the LORD for moving the king of Persia to glorify the temple in Jerusalem. "I took courage," he says, "for the hand of the LORD my God was upon me, and gathered leaders from Israel to go up with me" (7:28). We learn more about this second group of returning exiles to tomorrow's reading.

Day 135. Ezra 1-4

The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah—they were in fact one book until the 15^th century—pick up the story where the Books of Chronicles leave off—with the liberation of the Jews by King Cyrus of Persia. Cyrus is certainly not a believer in the God of Israel, but the spirit of LORD directs him, and Cyrus acts on behalf of God's people (1:1).  The Bible proclaims the acts of the God who is always working in history, both through devout rulers and unbelieving tyrants. Cyrus is no tyrant, but rather a comparatively enlightened king who understands that the best way to keep subject peoples in line is to treat their customs and religious traditions with respect. That is why he allows the Jewish exiles in Babylon to return to Jerusalem if they wish (1:3,5)—not all of them do, by any means—and sponsors the rebuilding of their temple. He even goes so far as to return the vessels that the Babylonians had plundered from the temple (1:7-10). (There is no mention of the Ark of the Covenant—we can only assume that it was broken up when the temple was looted.)

Among those who return from captivity—there is a long list—Zerubbabel is mentioned first. He is a descendent of the royal house of David, and he functions for a time as governor of the Persian province of Yehud (Judah). The second mentioned is Jeshua (Joshua), the high priest, the son of Jehozadak, who was the high priest who went into exile. These two supervise the building of the second temple (2:2)

Among the returning exiles there is a great interest in genealogy and in Ezra-Nehemiah there is much more emphasis placed on purity of blood lines than before. Here for the first time the question of who really is a Jew and who isn't arises.  For instance, we are told in our reading that after the exile some who claimed to be priests are checked in the genealogical rolls, and when their names are not found there, "they are excluded from the priesthood as unclean"--at least until such times as they could be checked out using Urim and Thummin, the sacred lots used to discover God's will (2:62-63). Judaism after the Babylonian exile began to think of itself as race as well as a faith based upon a covenant relationship.  Racial purity is an idea that Jesus will attack—and get himself crucified for doing so.

Once settled in Jerusalem,  Zerubbabel, the governor, and Jeshua, the high priest, set about reinstituting the sacrifices, although we are told that they are "in dread of the neighboring peoples" (3:3).  This is a foreshadowing of trouble to come. In the second year after their arrival they lay the foundation for the temple. This is done with ardent praise—in Ezra-Nehemiah as in Chronicles such important events are always marked by joyful worship (3:10). There is the music of trumpets, and singers intone that same verse that was sung at the dedication of the temple of Solomon (3:10-11).

This second temple, however, is a much more modest affair than Solomon's. Those aged people who still remembered the magnificence of "the first house" wept with disappointment when they saw this one.  But we are told that their tears mix with the joyful shouts of the younger generation, "so that the people [can] not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people's weeping, for the people shouted so loudly that the sound was heard far away" (3:12-13).

Almost immediately there is trouble with the neighboring peoples. The descendents of those who had been forcibly settled in the land after the destruction of Israel and the deportation of its inhabitants by the Assyrians—they would later be called Samaritans—want to take part in the building of the temple. After all, they worship the same God and "have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of King Esar-haddon of Assyria who brought [them] there" (4:2). The Jews, who regard them as "unclean," refuse and tell them bluntly—"You shall have no part with us in building a house to our God" (4:3). Again, we note the emphasis on racial and religious purity.  This attitude, of course, gives offense, and the resistance of "the people of the land" makes the Jews afraid to continue building (4:4).

(We can see in our reading of Ezra-Nehemiah that the roots of the Jewish-Palestinian conflict reach down very deep into the history of the Holy Land.)

Those "neighboring peoples" go further still. A letter is written by some in the Persian court on behalf of the Samaritans and is presented to the Persian king Artaxerxes. It alleges that the rebuilding of Jerusalem and its temple would constitute a threat to Persian authority in the region. Jerusalem, the letter says, has in the past proved "a rebellious city, hurtful to kings and provinces" (4:15). If he allows the returned exiles to rebuild it, the Persian king can expect to have no authority "in the province Beyond the River" (4:16).  Artaxerxes, after looking into the matter, discovers that this is true—Jerusalem has been troublesome in the past.  So he issues an order that the city shall not be rebuilt after all-- at least for the time being. So work on the house of God stops until the second year of King Darius of Persia (4:24). That is where the story will pick up in tomorrow's reading.

 

               

Day 134. 2 Chronicles 35-36

We end the account of the lives of the kings of Judah with words of hope and doom. The first sentence of chapter 35—"Josiah kept the Passover in Jerusalem"—looks forward to a reenergized faith that is emerging during the reigns of kings like Hezekiah and Josiah. There is a new awareness of the law and the observance of the Passover witnesses to a return to Israel's historic beginnings.  

For Jews today Passover is a family holiday celebrated at home; in ancient Judaism it was a corporate feast, celebrated at the sanctuary in Jerusalem with  massive sacrifices. We are told in elaborate detail about the sacrifices of Josiah's Passover. The king himself donates "lambs from his own possessions" to supply the people with Passover sacrifices (35:7), and he functions as host to the whole nation. The temple staff is pressed into service to solemnize the feast. The singers are "in their place according to the command of David" (35:15); the gatekeepers are mustered to keep order.  King Hezekiah's Passover had been a jubilant but rather "ad hoc" affair. Josiah's Passover is a much better organized, and we are told that "no Passover like it had been kept in Israel since the days of the prophet Samuel" (35:18).

The eighteenth year of his rule, the year of the great Passover, is the pinnacle of the King Josiah's reign. Three years later he makes a terrible and fatal mistake. The Prophet Huldah had told Josiah that he would die a natural death "in peace" without seeing the destruction of Jerusalem (34:28), and so he might have.   But in 609 B.C.E, Josiah attempts to stop the Pharaoh Necco of Egypt from crossing Judean territory. Necco is hurrying north to join the beleaguered Assyrians who are about to join in battle with the forces of the resurgent Neo-Babylonian empire, the new super-power rising in the Middle East. The Pharaoh asks for safe passage on his way to Carchemish on the Euphrates where the great battle will take place. He sends a message to Josiah that ends by saying: "Cease opposing God, who is with me, so that he may not destroy you" (35:21-22). But apparently Josiah does not recognize the will of God behind the Egyptian relief expedition (35:22).

He goes out with his army to fight the Egyptians, and they join in battle on the plain of Megiddo. It is a suicidal act, and why Josiah does it we do not know. Perhaps he is honoring a secret treaty he had with the Babylonians. Perhaps he was driven by hatred of the ruthless and cruel Assyrians who had caused such suffering to Israel and Judah. In any case he takes his little army to meet the Egyptian war machine, and in the battle that follows he is fatally wounded and is carried back to Jerusalem where he dies. (By the way, Josiah's gallant delaying tactic does work. The Egyptians arrive too late to reinforce the Assyrians at Carchemish, and Babylon is triumphant.)

The prophet Jeremiah makes lament for King Josiah, and the chronicler tells us that "all the singing men and singing women [speak] of Josiah in their laments to this day" (35:25). Josiah is buried in Jerusalem among the kings with great mourning and is succeeded by his son Jehoahaz.

Jehoahaz reigns only three months. The Pharaoh Necco, returning from Carchemish, pauses on his way home long enough to exact an enormous tribute from Jerusalem, probably in retaliation of Josiah's opposition, and to take Jehoahaz away as a hostage to Egypt where he lives out the rest of his life. Pharaoh then sets his brother on the throne under the name of Jehoiakim.

Jehoiakim, caught between the two super-powers of the day, Babylon and Egypt, hold out for eleven years. He does what is evil in the sight of the LORD, the chronicler tells us, and as a result the LORD sends King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon to besiege Jerusalem. He takes Jehoiakim, "bound with fetters to Babylon", and "carries off some of the vessels of the house of the LORD" (36:6-7)—a bitter foretaste of things to come.

Nebuchadnezzar then sets Jehoiakim's son Jehoiachin on the throne as a puppet king. The chronicler says he was only eight years old when he becomes king. In 2 Kings 24:8 we are told he was eighteen—which makes more sense, because he does what is evil in the sight of the Lord and lasts of only three months as king before Nebuchadnezzar returns and takes him to Babylon as well, together with more "precious vessels of the house of the LORD" (36:10). His brother Zadekiah is then placed on the throne.

Zedekiah, the last king of independent Judah, reigns for eleven troubled years. He also does what is evil in the sight of the LORD and will not humble himself before the prophet Jeremiah "who spoke from the mouth of the LORD" (36:12). Ignoring  Jeremiah's warning, he breaks faith with Nebuchadnezzar and plots rebellion. The "leading priests and the people [also prove] exceedingly unfaithful" (36:14), we are told. They pollute the house of the LORD and mock his prophets.

But God is not mocked. When the end comes it is swift and terrible. In 586 B.C.E. the Babylonian king besieges and takes Jerusalem, slaughters the youth of both sexes, systematically loots the city, burns the temple and all the important buildings to the ground. Then he carries "into exile in Babylon those who had escaped the sword, and they [become] servants to him and to his sons (36:20).

There in Babylon, the Judean exiles remain for seventy years, "until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia" (36:20). This is to fulfill the prophecy of Jeremiah that the weary Land of the Promise shall lie fallow until it makes up for its Sabbaths (36:21). The seventy year exile is to make up for the 490 years during which the Sabbath was neglected (7 X 70).

But when those seventy years are over, again in fulfillment of the prophesy of  Jeremiah, "the LORD [stirs] up the spirit of King Cyrus the Persian," who orders that the temple shall be rebuilt and allows those who wish to return to Jerusalem to do so (36:22-23).  And it is with that return that our story picks up the Book of Ezra, which we will begin tomorrow.           

 

Day 133. 2 Chronicles 33-34

Often the reigns of the Judean kings in Chronicles begin well and end badly; the reign of Manasseh begins badly and ends well—or least better than it begins. He comes to the throne young, at twelve years of age, and sets about undoing his father Hezekiah's reforms, replacing the sacred poles and erecting altars to the Baals (33:3). He even goes so far as to establish altars to the astral deities whose worship is directly forbidden in Deuteronomy 4:19—and right in the courts of the temple to boot (33:5). We are told that he encouraged the practice of child sacrifice by his own example, making his "son pass through the fire" (33:6). All in all, Manasseh leads Israel to the edge of destruction (33:9), doing even more evil than those nations the Israelites had driven out in order to possess the land.
Then something remarkable happens. Manasseh is captured by an Assyrian military expedition and taken to Babylon "in manacles" (33:11). There a prisoner and "in distress," he entreats the LORD for help and humbles himself "before the God of his ancestors" (33:12). Suffering changes him, as is often the case, and his personal Babylonian captivity becomes the occasion for a conversion experience, of sorts. He prays fervently, and the LORD hears his plea and restores "again to Jerusalem and his kingdom"—we are not told how (33:13). In any case, Manasseh now knows that the LORD is indeed God and sets about mending his evil ways.
He embarks on a program of rebuilding the spiritual as well as the material defenses of the nation. At same time that he is strengthening the fortifications of Jerusalem (33:14), we are told that Manasseh also removes the pagan altars from the temple, and throws them out of the city (33:15). He restores the altar of the LORD and offers the prescribed sacrifices on it. His reforms are not as thoroughgoing as his father's; the people go on sacrificing "at the high places" though "only to the LORD their God" (33:17) and not to idols. In spite of the best efforts of the kings, Israelite worship remains decentralized throughout its per-exilic history.
At Manasseh's death, he is succeeded by his son Amon, who does evil in the sight of the LORD and goes on "incurring more and more guilt" throughout his short reign. After only two years on throne he is assassinated by his own servants "and killed in his own house" (33:24). His death is avenged by "the people of the land" but no mention is made of his burial, a sigh of the profound disapproval the chronicler has for him.
Amon is succeeded by his son Josiah, who comes to throne when he is only eight years old, but still even as a boy begins "to seek the God of his ancestor David" (34:3). By the age of twelve he is ready order a purge of the pagan practices that had crept back into the land (34:3), and his reforms extend beyond Judah into the territory of Israel (34:6). One of the great themes of the chronicler is the unity of Israel, and this descendent of David at least symbolically reunites the whole kingdom that David had once ruled under the spiritual authority of Jerusalem.
Josiah receives encouragement in his reforms from a remarkable direction. In the course of repairing the temple, the priest Hilkiah finds a "book of the law of the LORD given through Moses" (34:6). Perhaps this is a portion of the Book of Deuteronomy, or from the way the chronicler talks about it may even be portions of the whole Pentateuch—the first five books of the Hebrew scriptures—Genesis through Deuteronomy. Whatever part of the Law of Moses it is, its reading has a profound effect upon the young king. He tears his clothes when he realizes how far Israel and Judah have gone astray from their covenant obligations, and by what a slender thread their fate now hangs (34:21). He sends for the advice of a female prophet named Huldah, who gives him a message from the LORD. Jerusalem will be destroyed for its sins as Samaria had been. But because King Josiah has humbled himself, he will be gathered to his ancestors and go to his grave "in
peace," before any of this happens (34:28).
It isn't altogether good news. Nevertheless, King Josiah presides over a covenant renewal ceremony in which he stands before God with the whole people and promises to "follow the LORD" and to "keep his commandments his decrees, and his statutes, with all of his heart and all of his soul," and "to perform the words of the covenant that" are written in the book of the Law (34:31). According to the chronicler, Josiah and the people do their best to fulfill that covenant. Under his rule, "the inhabitants of Jerusalem [act] according the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors" (34:32). As a true son of David and Solomon, Josiah extends his reforms to the whole territory of Israel, and makes the people there "worship the LORD their God" (34:33). Whether or not they are disposed to obey, they do, and at least for the lifetime of Josiah they did not turn away from the LORD.

Day 132 2 Chronicles 30-32

Out text does not give us the one piece of information necessary to understand what is going on—in 722 B.C.E. the northern kingdom falls to Assyrians and a large portion of the population is deported. The wayward kings of Israel are no more. Judah and the house of David are now left alone against the might of Assyria.
When Hezekiah stages his Great Passover as a festival of national unity and reconciliation, he extends his invitation—Come to the house of the LORD in Jerusalem--to the Israelite tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh living in the Transjordan (30:1), as well as to the people of Judah. These are the former subjects of the kings of Israel, but now they have become a "remnant" who have "escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria" (30:6). Israel was faithless, the king tells them, and for that reason God has made "them a desolation" (30:7). Now Hezekiah calls them to repent and come back into covenant relationship with the LORD, the God of their ancestors. (The word "return" (30:9) in Hebrew also means "repent.")
Hezekiah's evangelism, however, yields a response that is lukewarm at best. Many of the former subjects of Israel laugh Hezekiah's couriers "to scorn and mock them" (30:10). Some, however, humble themselves and come. And the response from Judah is overwhelming (30:12). So much time had passed, however, since the Passover had been regularly celebrated, that many who did come, especially among the northerners, had not cleansed themselves properly to celebrate the feast (30:18)—probably because they did not know how. But Hezekiah prays that the LORD will pardon "all who set their hearts upon God" (30:18-19) and overlook their failures. So this Passover was celebrated in Jerusalem with great enthusiasm, if not with perfect correctness.
The Lord hears Hezekiah's prayer for forbearance, and "heals" the people (30:20), and the celebration goes forward. "The Levites and priests [praise] the LORD day by day, accompanied by loud instruments for the LORD" (30:21). Again we note the chronicler's concern for temple worship. The Great Passover is a triumphant success, and we are told that there is "great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon son of King David of Israel there had been nothing like this" (30:26).
This is the high point of Hezekiah's reign, and the enthusiasm of the Great Passover spills over in a purge of the pagan shrines and practices. The king's program of religious reform receives popular support in the form of gifts and donations to the temple. The people follow their king's example in dedicating sacrifices, and the people of Jerusalem donate "the portion due to the priests and Levites so they might devote themselves to the law of the LORD" (31:4). Following the Great Passover, Hezekiah undertakes a thoroughgoing reorganization of the duties of priests and Levites, attacking the problems of reorganization with typical enthusiasm and energy. As the chronicler says—"Every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God, and in accordance with the law and the commandments, to seek his God, [Hezekiah] did with all his heart, and he prospered" (31:21).
So when the Assyrians under Sennacherib invade Judah, it is no surprise to see Hezekiah rising heroically to the occasion. In preparation for a siege, the flow of water from the springs outside Jerusalem is stopped (32:3) to deprive the enemy of water, and at the same time Hezekiah ensures that the city will be supplied by building a tunnel to a water source outside the walls. This tunnel was an engineering marvel in its time and can still be seen in Jerusalem today (32:30).
In anticipation of the trial to come, the king not only "resolutely" fortifies the city, he also builds up the morale of his officers. "Do not be afraid or dismayed in the face of the might of the king of Assyria, he tells them; "there is one greater with us than with him" (32:7).
So the siege is laid. The servants of Sennacherib seek to break the spirit of the people, speaking to them on the walls of the city in their own language and seeking to shake their faith in God and in their king (32:16-17). The Assyrian king writes letters that throw "contempt upon the Lord the God of Israel," openly treating him with disdain "as if he were like the gods of the peoples of the earth, which are the work of human hands" (32:19).
But the LORD will not be trifled with, even by the king of Assyria. Hezekiah and the great prophet Isaiah pray, and a plague cuts off the mighty warriors of Assyria (32:20). Sennacherib returns home to regroup, only to be assassinated there by his own sons. So through Hezekiah the LORD saves Jerusalem—for a while.
After the Assyrian danger has past, Hezekiah falls ill and prays for healing. The LORD cures him, but filled with pride the king is not grateful, Therefore we are told that "wrath [comes] upon him and upon Judah and Jerusalem" The king humbles himself before the LORD, and so the wrath is delayed until after Hezekiah's days are over (32:26). The dark clouds of resurgent Babylon are already rising in the east, but Hezekiah ends his reign in peace.
If the time of Solomon is a golden age for Jerusalem, the reign of Hezekiah is an age of silver. The land enjoyed great prosperity—enough to tempt the envoys sent by the king of Babylon seeking a "sign" (32:31). After e is cured of his illness, God lets the king alone to test him, and in most respects he passes with flying colors. His contributes are great. He centralizes the cult and reforms worship (32:12). He leads his people through an hour of supreme danger need. When he dies Hezekiah is honored by "all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem" (32:33). His successor Manasseh will not do nearly so well.

Day 131. 2 Chronicles 26-29

In our reading for today we continue to trace the ebb and flow of the political fortunes of the little kingdom of Judah, interpreted by the chronicler in terms of the God's favor or wrath. The Hebrew God always works through history to reveal himself and to work his will. For better or worse history is focused upon the rulers, not the farmers and shepherds. For the chronicler the kings of Judah are the index of the spiritual health or sickness of the nation. When they do what is right in the sight of the LORD the nation thrives, when they do evil the whole nation suffers. When King Amaziah dies violently at the hand of conspirators, his son Uzziah—he is called Azariah in the Book of 2 Kings—comes to the throne. He is only sixteen years of age at the time, and he goes on the reign 52 more years in Jerusalem, longer than any of the other kings of Judah. As a young man Uzziah sets himself "to seek God" under the guidance of the prophet Zechariah, the son of the famous high priest Jehoiada, who instructs "him in the fear of God." And as long as Uzziah seeks the LORD, God makes him prosper (26:5) So the beginning of Uzziah's reign was a period of expansion and prosperity. The king launches successful campaigns against the Philistines and exacts tribute from the Ammonites. He repairs the damage done to the walls and fortifications of Jerusalem during the reign of his father (26:9). He comes off as an enlightened and attractive ruler. He keeps large herds of his own and has farmers and vinedressers in his service--we are told, rather endearingly, that King Uzziah loves the soil (26:10), The king also maintains a large standing army, well armed. He even experiments with the latest in military technology. The chronicler tells us in Jerusalem he sets up "machines, invented by skilled workers, on towers and the corners for shooting arrows and large stones" (26). How wonderful it would be to see these ancient war machines with our modern eyes! Uzziah is a remarkable king. The chronicler sums up this golden time by saying that the fame of King Uzziah "spread far, for he was marvelously helped" by the LORD "until he become strong" (26:15). This marvelous help does not continue, however, because as he becomes strong, Uzziah also grows proud (26:16). It is his presenting vice. He even ventures to do what for the chronicler is an unthinkable act—he usurps the office of the priests and offers incense in the temple. The priests rebuke him for his presumption, and Uzziah is angry (26:18-19).  And in his anger he is struck with a disfiguring skin disease, and remains leprous "to the day of his death" (26:21). As a leper he is forced to live in a separate house, isolated and excluded from the house of the LORD" (26:21). His son Jothan is in charge of the palace and governs the people as king. Even in death Uzziah is excluded from burial with the kings of Judah, because of his leprosy (26:23). Jothan, we are told, does what is right like his father Uzziah, but he does "not invade the temple of the LORD" (27:2). In Israel, the kings are not priests. Although he does not succeed in stamping out idolatry among his people, Jothan energetically builds fortifications and successfully fights against the Ammonites. All in all, he is good ruler, and he becomes "strong because he [orders] his ways before the LORD his God" (27:6). His son Ahaz, however, is probably the worst of the David's successors. He casts images of the Baals; he sacrifices his children to pagan gods, making them "pass through the fire"; he sacrifices and makes offerings in the high places "and under every green tree" (28:2-4). The list of sacrileges the scandalized chronicler makes goes on and on.  And as a result of his unfaithfulness a terrible string of disasters fall upon the little kingdom of Judah--God is again using history for a purpose that is above history, to judge and punish his people for their sins. First they are invaded by the king of Aram, and then by King Pekah of Israel.  He carries off a very great number " of their kin, women, sons, and daughters" to Samaria with the intention of making them slaves (28:5). Of course, it is forbidden in the Law of Moses to hold other Israelites in bondage, and the prophet Oded reminds the warriors of this. He tells them that they have no credit to draw on with God--nothing "but sins against the Lord" (28:10). Striken by remorse  the Samarians, to their credit, release the captives and send them back "to their kindred at Jericho" (28:15). But Ahaz's troubles are not over. In a moment of crisis, he applies to the king of Assyria for help, but the mighty Tilgath-pilneser "[oppresses} him instead of strengthening him" (28:20). Ahaz plunders the house of the LORD and the houses of the king and his officials to give it to the Assyrian as tribute, but it does not help him (28:21). His situation remains desperate. But instead of repenting, he becomes still more faithless. He worships the gods of his enemies, making "altars in every corner of Jerusalem," and in a crowning outrage, he shuts up the doors of the house of the LORD (28:24).  And so it remains until Ahaz dies. He is buried in Jerusalem, but not among the kings, and he is succeeded by his son Hezekiah. If his father is the worst king Judah produces, after King David, Hezekiah is probably the best. He opens the doors of the temple which is father had closed and begins its repair (29:3). For the chronicler to neglect the temple is to neglect God (29:6); to repair the temple is to seek the LORD. This is what Hezekiah does. At his command the temple receives a thorough housecleaning; the filth and the signs of neglect are removed (29:18), and the sacrifices, the rituals of giving back to the LORD what he has given, resume (29:21). When the burnt offerings commence, so does the music and singing (29:25-27). "The whole assembly" worships, we are told; the singers sing, the trumpeters sound (29:28).  The round of worship begins again. King and people worship together (29:29), and the people mirror the single-mindedness and generosity of their king. They bring sacrifices "with a willing heart." The number of the sacrifices is as remarkable as the suddenness with which the change has taken place (29:36).  The days of David and Solomon seem to have returned. And yet Hezekiah will have severe tests to face in spite of his goodness and piety, as we shall see.

Day 130. 2 Chronicles 23-25

Remember that our reading for yesterday left off with the evil queen-mother Athaliah in the driver's seat. This daughter of Ahab and Jezebel is worthy of her parents, both wicked and able. She rules over the kingdom of Judah for six years (22:10). But in the seventh year, Jehoiada, the high priest, takes courage and goes to the barracks for support to overthrow her (23:1). But it is actually the Levites, not the soldiers, who spearhead the rebellion (23:2). Jehoiada produces the boy Joash, who has been hidden all this time in the temple, and tells the Levites not to allow anyone except "priests and ministering Levites" into the house of the LORD (23:6). They are to surround the boy-king with weapons drawn to protect him (23:7). This Jehoiada is a new kind of high priest in the history of Israel—he resembles the redoubtable high priests of the period following the exile when the chronicler is writing. Jehoiada is a powerbroker and political force in his own right. He arms the Levites and "all the people," appropriately enough with the weapons that had belonged to King David that had been stored in the temple (23:9). Then he brings out Joash, about seven years of age at the time, puts the crown on his head, gives him "the covenant" and proclaims him king of Judah. The high priest and his sons then anoint Joash and raise the shout, "Long live the king!" (23:11) This acclamation is accompanied by the sound of trumpets and "singers with their musical instruments leading in the celebration" (23:13). Important occasions in the Books of Chronicles are always accompanied with music and worship, as we noted before. Hearing all this hubbub, Athaliah arrives, sees what is going on, and tears her clothes, crying—"Treason! Treason!" (23:13).  At the order of Jehoiada, she is hustled out of the temple and put to the sword. It is clear who is in the driver's seat now. Then Jehoiada makes "a covenant between himself and all the people and the king that they should be the LORD's people" (23:16). The high priest is functioning as regent for the child Joash on equal terms of power with the king. He supervises the destruction of the sanctuary dedicated to Baal (23:17) and regularizes the offering of sacrifices in the temple of the LORD, "according to the order of David" (23:18). All the people rejoice at this new dispensation and the city is quiet "after Athaliah had been killed with the sword" (23:21).  During the early part of his reign, while he was under the influence of Jehoiada, Joash is a good king. He orders the refurbishment and repair of the temple, which by this time is over  130 years old and in need of it (24:12). The people donate willingly and generously to this project, we are told (24:10).  All is going well enough. Then Jehoiada dies. He is given the signal honor of being buried "in the city of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, and for God and his house" (24:17). In fact, he virtually rules as a king. But after his death Joash comes under the influence of bad advisors, who with their king abandon "the house of the LORD, the God of their ancestors, and [serve] the sacred poles and the idols" (24:18). God sends prophets to bring them back, but they do not listen (24:14). The prophet Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, denounces the king's transgressions openly, but Joash, without regard to his illustrious parent, has Zechariah stoned to death in the court of the house of LORD. He dies crying out, "May the LORD see and avenge" (24:22). And the LORD does avenge his prophet. The army of Aram sacks Jerusalem, leaving king Joash wounded and bedfast. His servants take advantage of their opportunity and kill him "on his bed" (24:25). Joash is buried in Jerusalem, but significantly not among the kings, and his son Amaziah succeeds to the throne.   Amaziah's fault is a lack of consistency; he is not "single-minded," to use a favorite term of the chronicler.  He does "what is right in the sight of the LORD, yet not with a true heart" (25:2). He kills his father's murderers, and he shows leniency to their families in respect for the Law of Moses (25:4). All is well and good. Then he raises an army to subdue the rebellious vassal state of Edom, and now he makes a mistake--he hires mercenaries from the northern kingdom to help in the campaign. An unnamed prophet of the LORD rebukes him for this because "the LORD is not with Israel" (25:6). Amaziah duly dismisses the Ephraimite soldiers, but they are furious at their treatment and revenge the insult on their way home by falling on certain Judean cities and sacking them (25:13).   Amaziah, however, takes courage and leads his army to a bloody, decisive victory in Edom. But having won the day, he brings home the captured gods "of Seir" and worships them. And for that reason another unnamed prophet is sent to tell Amaziah that for his idolatry the LORD is now "determined to destroy" him (25:16) The instrument of that destruction is Israel. The king there—another monarch named Joash—declines Amaziah's challenge (25:17). But in an act of supreme arrogance, Amaziah attacks the more powerful northern kingdom—it is God's doing, the chronicler tells us, in order to destroy him, "because he had sought the god's of Edom" (25:20). The Judean army is routed. Amaziah is captured and brought back to Jerusalem as a prisoner. The Israelite king then breaks down part of the wall of the city and sacks it, carrying off the treasures of the king's house together with royal hostages to insure Amaziah's future good behavior (25:24). The king does not long outlive the disaster, however. He is assassinated by palace conspiracy, and another descendent of David, this time a better one, Uzziah, ascends the throne. Though often nearly extinguished, Lamp of David is still burning.

Day 129. 2 Chronicles 20-22

At the beginning of our reading we find King Jehoshaphat at the supreme moment of crisis. He faces an invasion by Judah's eastern neighbors, the Moabites and Ammonites which threatens to wipe out his kingdom. In the face of that danger the chronicler tells us that Jehoshaphat is afraid, but in his fear he does not look for outside aid, but rather sets "himself to seek the LORD" (20:3). Realizing that resistance apart from God's help is impossible, he prays, together with the whole nation (20:4).

And Jehoshaphat's appeal is offered as example by the chronicler of what prayer should be.  He stands in the assembly—this is to be a public prayer offered not only on his own behalf but on behalf of the nation. He stands in the "house of the LORD," where God had promised Solomon he would hear the prayers of this people in times of crisis, and calls upon God to be faithful to that promise (20:9). He expresses the absolute dependence of the people upon their God –"we are powerless" he says, "against this great multitude that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you" (20:12).

And in response to Jehoshaphat's prayer, "the spirit of the LORD" comes upon one Jahaziel,  and he delivers a message of hope—"Do not fear or be dismayed at this great multitude; for the battle is not yours but God's" (20:15). The army is to go out, but not fight; they are to take their positions and "stand still, and see the victory of the LORD on your behalf" (20:17). The word "stand" is used again and again in our reading to connote an attitude of faith and hope. The king and people bow down before the LORD, we are told, but the Levites stand up "to praise the LORD, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice" (20:19).

So the people rise up early in the morning and go out into the wilderness to face the enemy. And as they go, the king again stands up and exhorts his troops—"Believe in the LORD your God and you will be established; believe his prophets"(20:20). The emphasis in the Books of Chronicles is upon worship, and here again singers go out before the army chanting that verse that we heard first at the dedication of the temple: "Give thanks to the LORD, for his steadfast love endures forever" (20:21).  And God does indeed show his steadfast love by giving Jehoshaphat and Judah a great victory that wins them not only a great quantity of booty but also peace and "rest all around" (20:30).

The chronicler has very little that is critical to say about Jehoshaphat, who does what is "right in the sight of the LORD" (20:32). He does err in undertaking a cooperative trading expedition to Tarshish with King Ahaziah of Israel, who does "wickedly" (20:35). The chronicler disapproves of any such contact with the northern kingdom, and he tells us that a prophet named Eliezer tells the king that because he has joined with Ahaziah, the LORD is going to ruin their joint venture. And this does indeed come to pass—the ships are wrecked and do not go to Tarshish after all (20:37).  

At the death of good king Jehoshaphat, his first-born son Jehoram accedes to the throne and immediately puts all his brothers to the sword to remove any opposition to his rule (21:4). He walks in the way of the kings of Israel, the chronicler tells us, the house of Ahab with whom he has close family connections—a daughter of King Ahab, the infamous Athaliah, is his wife (21:6). Jehoram is not destroyed because of the covenant God made with David, "since [the LORD] had promised to give a lamp to him and to his descendents forever" (21:7). But God does not allow Jehoram to prosper either. The vassal state of Edom successfully revolts and cannot be taken to task, because Judah's king had "forsaken the LORD, the God of his ancestors" (21:8).

Jehoram undoes the reforms of his father, making "high places," and leading the inhabitants of Jerusalem into unfaithfulness. His behavior earns him a scathing letter from the Elijah in which the prophet foretells the outbreak "a great plague," and tells the king that he himself "will have a severe sickness with a disease of [his] bowels, until [his] bowels come out, day after day, because of the disease" (21:15). What this nasty ailment was we don't know, but Jehoram eventual died of it; after suffering for two years he perished in great agony (21:18). The chronicler reports with obvious pleasure that Jehoram departed this life "with no one's regret"(21:20).  But in the meantime the Philistines and "the Arabs who are near the Ethiopians"—Nubians, perhaps—invade Judah, sack the palace and carry off and eventually kill all the king's sons save the youngest, Ahaziah.

This ill-stared monarch lasts only a single year, during which he walks "in the ways of the house of Ahab." This is really not so surprising since his mother, Athaliah, King Ahab's daughter, is "his counselor in doing wickedly" (22:3). He goes to visit his cousin, King Jehoram of Israel—yes, another of the same name as Ahaziah's father—who has been wounded fighting the Arameans (22:6). But during his visit to his sick relative, he has the great bad fortune of getting caught in a rebellion led by Jehu son of Nimshi "whom the LORD had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab" (22:7).  Jehu captures Ahaziah and puts him to death.

Hearing of her son's death, wicked Athaliah, acting in good oriental style, seizes power and slaughters the whole royal family. Only one son, Joash, a mere baby at the time, survives by being hidden in the temple, where he remains six years while Athaliah has her way with the kingdom (22:12).

But judgment is coming for the wicked queen, as we shall see in tomorrow's reading.   

   

Day 128. 2 Chronicles 17-19

After the somewhat blemished reign of Asa, his son Jehoshaphat comes to the throne of David and walks "in the earlier ways of his father" (17:3). He does not "seek the Baals," the chronicler tells us, "but instead [seeks] the God of his Father." Jehoshaphat follows the LORD's commands, and does not follow "the ways of Israel" (17:4). The northern kingdom, with its syncretistic faith, is for the chronicler the chief font of corruption for Judah and contact with it is a constant danger to the descendents of David.

Each of the Judean kings, even the worst, has some of the characteristics of their ancestor David. Like David Jehoshaphat's heart is "courageous in the ways of the LORD," continuing his father's reforms by removing "the high places and sacred poles from Judah" (17:6). He sends Levite missionaries throughout his kingdom, taking with them a copy of the Law of Moses, to instruct the people how to follow it (17:9).

He enjoys international respect. As a result of the LORD's favor, Jehoshaphat triumphs over "all the kingdoms   of the land around Judah, and they [do] not make war against Jehoshaphat" (17:10). But his success carries him too far and he makes a "marriage alliance with Ahab" of Israel (18:1). This was a common practice in ancient times, but in the eyes of the chronicler this is a very bad thing, because it brings the house of David into too much contact with the corrupting influence of the northern kingdom.

In 1 Kings 22 we have heard the story of the disastrous joint campaign of Jehoshaphat and Ahab against their mutual enemies, the Arameans . The brave prophet Michaiah tells Ahab that the LORD has decreed his death in the battle. So the King of Israel disguises himself, but King Jehoshaphat goes into battle in his own robes. The Arameans pursue Jehoshaphat, thinking that he is Ahab. But Jehophaphat cries out, "and the LORD [helps] him." God responds by drawing them away from his Chosen One (18:31). But a misdirected arrow strikes Ahab, and as the prophet had foretold he dies. But "King Jehoshaphat of Judah [returns] in safety to his house in Jerusalem" (19:1).

The prophet Jehu makes clear to him the meaning of his deliverance. "Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD?" the prophet asks the king, meaning Ahab of Israel (19:2). Nevertheless, in spite of his bad judgment in making his cause one with Israel, nevertheless the king's earlier obedience to the LORD saves him (19:3).

Jehoshaphat, chastened, concentrates on internal judicial reforms, appointing judges and telling them to "let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take care what you do, for there is no perversion of justice with the LORD our God, or partiality, or taking of bribes" (19:7). He also establishes a sort of "supreme court" of Levites and priests and elders in Jerusalem to "decide disputed cases" (19:8), commanding them to be impartial and just. "Deal courageously," he tells them, "and may the LORD be with the good" (19:11).

And the LORD is with the good—that is the moral of the story of Jehoshaphat. His enlightened reign is one of the bright spots in the darkening story of the southern kingdom.     

         

 

  

Day 127. 2 Chronicles 12-16

In spite of making a good start, the chronicler tells us that once Rehoboam is established and grows strong, he abandons the law of the LORD. And the LORD sends a punishment for his unfaithfulness in the form of an Egyptian pharaoh named Shishak.  Shishak's army is enormous. The nation is in danger of being overwhelmed. Through the prophet Shemaiah the LORD tells Rehoboam—"You abandoned me and so I have abandoned you to the hand of Shishak" (12:5). But the king and his officers humble themselves. So the LORD has mercy and sends a second message—because of their repentance there will be "some deliverance." Judah will not be destroyed, but the king and his officers shall be the servants of the pharaoh "so that they will know the difference been serving [the LORD] and serving the kingdoms of other lands" (12:8).

So Shishak comes up against Jerusalem and takes everything that is not nailed down (12:9). Nevertheless, Judah and Jerusalem are not destroyed. A pattern is established that we will see played out again and again. The kings of Judah abandon the LORD, they are warned, they repent, and, because God is faithful to the promise that he swore to David, they are spared. And indeed because Rehoboam humbles himself, the nation is spared, and we are told that "conditions [are] good in Judah" (12:12) during the rest of his reign.

All in all, however, the reign of Rehoboam is a disappointment to the chronicler, because "he [does] not set his heart to seek the LORD" (12:14), and to "seek the LORD" means to actively do his will, as David and Solomon had. In this the next Judean king does better.

There had been continual feuding between Jeroboam and Rehoboam. Now under Rehoboam's son Abijah hostilities heat up, and the Judean forces face the vastly larger army of Israel at Mount Zamaraim. But Abijah is unafraid. In a daring speech he denounces Jeroboam as a rebel and a traitor. God's covenant is with David and his sons (13:5). Jeroboam is a usurper who has driven the priests and Levites out of his land to serve his golden calves (13:9). But as for Judah, the LORD is its God, and it has not abandoned him. In Jerusalem there are priests ministering to him in his temple who are descendents of Aaron (13:10). The promise of God to the house of David and their faithful worship of the LORD guarantee Judah's ultimate victory. Israel is fighting against the LORD, the God of their ancestors (13:12), and not against mortals.

So when the battle is joined, the people shout, and God defeats Jeroboam (13:15). Abijah and the army of Judah prevail because, the chronicler tells us, they rely on the LORD, the God of their ancestors. That word "rely" will reappear in our reading as a synonym for having faith, for depending on the power of LORD not upon mortal strength. Because of his faithfulness Abijah is able to enlarge Judah's territory at the expense of Israel and with various wives fathers twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters (13:21)—a sure sign of the LORD's favor.

At Abijah's death, he is succeeded by one of those many sons Asa also does what is "good and right in the sight of the LORD his God" (14:2). He pursues a rigorous program of reform, destroying the vestiges of paganism wherever he finds them, fully aware that the only reason that Judah still possesses the land is that they "have sought the LORD" (14:7).

When an enormous Ethiopian force—the chronicler numbers them at a million plus (14:9)—menaces the land, Asa goes out to meet them, and again relying on the LORD (14:11), he defeats and slaughters them to a man. After the victory "the spirit of the LORD" comes upon a prophet named Azariah, who tells Asa that "the LORD is with you, while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you abandon him, he will abandon you" (15:2). And Asa, taking renew courage from his great victory over the Ethiopians, goes on to finish the reformation he had begun (15:7).

He hunts out and destroys pagan idols wherever he finds them. Asa in his zeal even destroys his own mother's "adominable image" of the fertility goddess Asherah (15:16). We are told what the old lady's reaction was to that. But many of those belonging to the northern tribes, desert Israel and join with Asa because they can see that "the LORD his God [is] with him" (15:9). In a covenant renewal ceremony in Jerusalem he publicly reaffirms the commitment of the nation "to seek the LORD" as David and Solomon had done (15:12). And all Judah "rejoices," and following the example of their king, they seek the LORD "with their whole desire." And in response the LORD is "found by them, and the Lord gave them rest all around" (15:15).

And yet for all his enthusiasm for reform, in the end Asa drifts away from his God. He makes a treaty with King Ben-hadad of Aram in order to counter the aggression of Baasha of Israel, Jeroboam's successor. Israel is thwarted, but the prophet Hanani brings an unwanted message to the king that the LORD is not pleased. Asa has relied upon diplomacy rather than on the LORD to save him. "You have done foolishly in this," the prophet tells him, and "from now on you will have wars" (16:9). Asa is furious and slaps the prophet "in the stocks" (15:10). But he does no better. When the king is inflicted with a disease in his feet, and it becomes severe, Asa did not seek the LORD, even though his own name means "May God heal." Instead he turns to his physicians (16:12), and further alienates himself from the LORD.  Nevertheless when Asa at last dies, he is buried with great solemnities, and the people make "a great fire in his honor" (16:14) as a sign of their regard.

Asa is followed by his son Jehoshaphat, who will follow his father's earlier example.  The lamp of David does not go out.                          

Day 126 2 Chronicles 8-11

From the readings for the last few days we might well receive the impression that the temple goes up overnight. Now we discover out that its building takes twenty years (8:1), during which time Solomon is at work on other projects. The chronicler puts a positive spin on everything Solomon undertakes because the LORD is with him.

In the Book of Kings, for example, we are told that Solomon gave a number of cities to Hiram of Tyre in exchange for his help in building the temple(1 Kings 9:11). Here we are told that it is Huram who gives Solomon a number of cities (8:2), which he fortifies and settles with people of Israel, moving from strength to strength. Whichever is the case, it is clear that the chronicler is determined to glorify the kingdom of Solomon and underline the strength and prosperity that the house of David brings to the people to the exclusion of any other information.

In the Book of Kings we get the impression that Solomon leaned heavily upon labor conscripted from the people of Israel for his building projects. Here the chronicler is at pains to say that this is not the case. "Of the people of Israel," he tells us, Solomon makes "no slaves for his work; they [are] soldiers, and his officers, the commanders of his chariots and his cavalry" (8:9).

In Chronicles there is no mention is made of the idolatry into which Solomon's foreign wives lead him, which the writer of Kings so deplores. Here we are told that Solomon builds "Pharaoh's daughter" a house of her own so that this pagan princess will not reside in David's house, which the presence of the "ark of the LORD" has made holy (8:11). A very different picture indeed!

The chronicler is also at great pains to show Solomon as a pious worshiper of the LORD, keeping the requirements of the Law of Moses, especially as regards temple worship and sacrifice (8:12).

In all the externals at least, Solomon's reign is the best of times. A joint commercial expedition with Huram to the land of Ophir—modern Ethiopia or Somalia—is a spectacular success. When she comes to Jerusalem with gifts, Solomon "wows" the Queen of Sheba with his wisdom and the opulence of his court (9:1-9). And the spices she brings him are incomparable—"there [are] no spices such as those that the queen of Sheba [gives] to King Solomon" (9:9), we are told. Even the algum wood Solomon imported from Ophir makes such incomparable harps for the temple musicians that "there never was seen the like of them before in the land of Judah" (9:11). Everything is the best in the days of Solomon, and it is the unwavering favor of the Lord and the king's obedience that makes it so.

We are told of vast wealth his commercial ventures to Ophir and Tarshish—modern Spain—yield so that "silver was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon" (9:20).  The chronicler describes his ivory and gold throne in awestruck detail (9:17-19), and ends by saying that "that like of it was never made in any kingdom."  All this splendor is maintained and the kingdom is protected by Solomon's standing military, especially his cavalry, which are stationed in the "chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem" (9:25).

The chronicler, looking back to the time of Solomon, can see nothing wrong in all this. The wealth of the kingdom represents the grace and favor of the LORD for the house of David (9:27). There is no mention of the unfaithfulness of Solomon's later years which figures so largely in the book of 1 Kings (see 11:1-13 and 33-40).

And when at Solomon's death the kingdom is divided, it is only partly because Solomon's son Rehoboam foolishly takes the bad advice of his young counselors (10:1-12). Mostly it is seen as God's will (10:4). If there is any real fault, it lies with Jeroboam, the traitor, and with the rebellious northern tribes of Israel (10:16-18). The chronicler downplays any mistreatment they believe they have suffered at the hand of Solomon.  And King Rehoboam, who belongs to the house of David and inherits his blessing, is treated positively—at least at first.  When he is warned by the prophet Shemaiah not to attack his rebellious "kindred," Rehoboam obeys (11:4).

He fortifies the cities of Judah against invasion. But more important, he maintains the worship in the temple, and priests and Levites flee to Judah from the northern kingdom because there Jeroboam has "appointed his own priests for the high places, and for the goat-demons, and for the [golden] calves that he had made" (11:16).

These priests and Levites strengthen the kingdom of Judah, "and for three years they [make] Rehoboam the son of Solomon secure, for they [walk] for three years in the way of David and Solomon (11:17). These priests and the worship of the temple, for the chronicler, are the chief defense of the kingdom of Judah. The Books of Kings give more attention to Israel, the more powerful and prosperous of the two kingdoms. But it is upon Judah and the fate of the house of David the chronicler focuses.  His theology is inextricably linked to the covenant God makes with David and to the worship of the Jerusalem temple. For him the continuity of house of David and temple worship are crucial to the identity of the People of the Promise and their future.