Bible In One Year Day 269 (Ezra 5-6, Zechariah 4-6, Proverbs 20: 8-11)

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Day 269: Day of Small Things 

Agape Bible Study 
Ezra 5-6 

Chapters 5-6: The Rebuilding of the Temple (520 "515 BC)

The events in Chapters 5-6 took place before the events in Chapter 4:6-23 that concerned the protests of Judah's neighbors on the rebuilding of Jerusalem as a fortified city after the completion of the Second Temple.

 

Darius I, the Great, ruled from 522-486 BC.His accession year was 522 and his first year was 521; therefore, his second year was 520 BC.He was a successful and accomplished military commander, a gifted administrator who continued Cyrus' generous policies toward non-Persian peoples, and a builder of monuments.The most famous monument from his reign is the Behistun Inscription that Darius had carved on a cliff face in what is today western Iran.Written in three languages: Old Persian, Elamite, and Akkadian, the inscription described Darius' rise to power and provided the key for deciphering the ancient Akkadian language of Mesopotamia, a western Semitic language spoken in both Assyria and Babylon before Aramaic became the language of the region.

Ezra 5:1-2 ~ God Intervenes

The events in the Book of Ezra are related to the work of the prophet Haggai who was one of the three post-exile prophets along with the prophets Zechariah and Malachi. The dates of Haggai's prophetic ministry are according to the Liturgical lunar calendar (Hag 1:1, 15; 2:1, 10, 20).He refers to events in Judah between August the 29^th, 520 BC to December the 18^th of the same year; a period of about 3 ½ months (as we count) during the second year of the reign of King Darius I of Persia and a decade after the death of King Cyrus I. Ezra Chapters 5-6 continue in Aramaic until returning to Hebrew in 6:19. The focus of Haggai's mission is on the rebuilding of the Temple as a sign of the peoples' spiritual restoration and the Messianic hope.

The Book of the prophet Zechariah compliments Haggai. His first oracle concerns the rebuilding of the Temple connected to the prophecy of Jeremiah 25:11-12 and 29:10 about the restoration after seventy years of exile that would be the start of a new stage in the history of salvation.

Haggai presents the rebuilding of the Temple as not just a physical reconstruction of the First Temple, but he as proof of the people's faith in Yahweh promises of His Divine presence among his covenant people and His absolute sovereignty over their lives and the lives of all men and women.

After the Jews rebuilt the altar of Yahweh and began offering sacrifice, all work on the Temple had stopped in 538/7 BC after the Samarians lodged an official protest with the Persian government.However, in 520 BC, in the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia, God intervened. He called upon the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to encourage the people and their leaders.

Oracle #1: Haggai 1-15 ~ The Summons to Rebuild the Temple

Haggai 1:1-11 ~ The Prophet's Call and His Message
The focus of the Book of Haggai is the rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple and Yahweh's dwelling place among His covenant people and the hope of a Messianic David.Work on the Temple had stopped for about seventeen years (c. 537-520 BC), and so God intervened to move forward His divine plan by sending His prophet Haggai whose first prophecy dates to the month of Elul that is our August/September of 520 BC.

God appoints His prophets Haggai and Zechariah to deliver His divine message to Zerubbabel (the Davidic prince who is the Persian appointed governor) and Jeshua/Joshua (the Jewish high priest) who are the leaders of the community. Haggai's first oracle is in two parts:

1. Haggai's message to Zerubbabel and Jeshua/Joshua (Hag 1:2-11).
2. The positive response of his Jewish audience (Hag 1:12-15).

In his first oracle, Haggai presents three images:

1. "the time" (verses 2 and 3)
2. "the house" (verses 2 and 3)
3. the invitation to "think" (verse 7).

The standard Biblical covenant had five parts:

1. Preamble: Identifying the Lordship of the Great King and stressing his greatness, dominance, and immanence.
2. Historical Prologue:Recounting the Great King's previous relationship to his vassal with emphasis on the benefits of that relationship.
3. Ethical Stipulations: Enumerating the vassal's obligations to the Great King (the guide to maintaining the covenant relationship).
4. Sanctions:A list of the blessings for obedience and the curses/judgments that will fall on the vassals if they break the covenant.
5. Succession:Arrangements and provisions for the continuity of the covenant relationship over future generations.

Pagan covenant treaties had a sixth part calling on the pagan gods of both nations to witness the document.Covenant treaties are not contracts. Contracts concern tangibles like material possessions and land ownership while covenants are concerning with the non-material and intangibles like honor, loyalty, service, and obedience.

Haggai's message reminds the people of Judah that the conditions of the Sinai Covenant Treaty are still in place.

Haggai 1:12-15 ~ The Authorities and the Peoples' Positive Response

Hearing the prophet's message in August 520 BC, filled the people with "fear before Yahweh."It was a reverent fear that came from God speaking to them through His prophet and knowledge that they had failed Him by stopping work on the Temple.Yahweh had "roused the spirit" of King Cyrus to issue the edict of return (Ezra 1:1) and "roused the spirits" of the faithful remnant of the people from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin and the chief priests and Levites to return to Judah from their exile (Ezra 1:5).Now, He "rouses the spirits" of Zerubbabel, Jeshua/Joshua, and the people to continue the work to rebuild the Temple.The began work 24 days after Haggai received his first oracle' perhaps the time it took to gather the supplies.

Oracle #2: Haggai 2:1-9 ~ The Future Glory of the Temple

It was the God-ordained annual feast held in the early fall at the time of the harvest when the covenant people gathered the fruits of their labors. Scripture mentions the feast during the reigns of King Solomon (2 Chron 8:13), Hezekiah (2 Chron 31:3), and after the exile (in Ezra 3:4; Hag 2:1, and Zech 14:16-19). Jesus attended the Feast of Shelters where He announced His Messianic mission to fill God's people with His Spirit on the last day of the feast (Jn 7:2-3, 14, 37-41). The Feast of Shelters remembered the deliverance from bondage in Egypt and the dedication of the desert Sanctuary at Mt. Sinai as God told the people at Sinai when He said, "You will keep this feast in the seventh month. For seven days you will live in shelters: all the citizens of Israel will live in shelters, so that your descendants may know that I made the Israelites live in shelters when I brought them out of Egypt, I, Yahweh your God." (Lev 23:42-43).

Haggai 2:15-19 ~ A Promise of Agricultural Prosperity

The warning is to "think" and not to repeat the mistakes of their fathers in refusing to heed the signs of God's judgments and therefore refusing to repent their sins.

Oracle # 4: Haggai 2:20-23 ~ Messianic Oracles for Davidic Prince Zerubbabel

This oracle is on the same day as the one in 2:10, the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month.The tone is Messianic and repeats the imagery in 2:6-9 by suggesting the dawn of a new phase in God's divine plan for salvation history. The Davidic prince Zerubbabel will have a central role, like "a signet ring," in that plan. A signet ring was a seal of authenticity of its owner. Yahweh is the owner and Zerubbabel will be the "mark" God will place upon history as the ancestor of the Davidic Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth.

Zechariah 4:6-10 ~ Yahweh Commands Three Sayings About Zerubbabel

In this oracle, Zechariah reveals that the rebuilt Temple on Mt. Moriah is not as significant as Zerubbabel who is the central figure in God's continuing plan for humanity's salvation.
Ezra 5:3-5 ~ The Governors of the Other Provinces Attempt to Stop the Jews from Rebuilding the Temple

During the reign of King Darius, Tattenai was the governor of the province of Beyond the River. Shethar-Bozenai's name always appears just after Tattenai and is perhaps his official scribe.He led a delegation to Judah and threatened the Judahite leaders, demanding to know by what authority they have resumed work on the Temple.

Royal officials who sent reports to the king and his ministers were known as "the king's eye" and "the king's ear."Texts found in the Persian royal city of Persepolis confirm that reports and inquiries were sent directly to the king for his review and action.However, for the Jews, "the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews," His covenant people, and they were not forced to stop until they received a decision from Darius (verse 5).

Ezra 5:6-17 ~ The Governors' Letter to King Darius
In verses 6-17, Tattenai writes to King Darius questioned the authenticity of the claims of the Judahites that they have permission to rebuild the Jerusalem Temple.Sheshbazzar (verse 14) was the Davidic prince and uncle of Zerubbabel who led the returning exiles back to Judah and served as the first governor of the province under Cyrus.Tattenai writes that in answer to his challenge to their rebuilding the Temple, the Jews gave him a summary of their history concerning the destruction of the first Temple, beginning with the claim that they "are the servants of God of heaven and earth":

1. They are rebuilding a temple built many years ago.
2. Their God allowed the Babylonians to destroy it because of their sins.
3. King Cyrus of Persia issued an order for the rebuilding their Temple.

Ezra 6:1-12 ~ King Darius Replies

King Darius sends a letter confirming the claim of the Jews that they have permission from the Persian government to rebuild their Temple.

1. The letter gives the approved dimensions of the structure as sixty cubits by sixty cubits, built of stone and timber.
2. The royal treasury will subsidize the building costs of the Jerusalem Temple from the taxes of the Beyond the River Province to provide whatever is necessary for the Jews to resume their worship and sacrifice and to pray for the prosperity of the Persian king and his family.
3. They must return the sacred items looted by the Babylonians to the Temple.
4. Tattenai and his associates must assist them and not prevent them from rebuilding the Temple.
5. Anyone who disobeys Darius' orders concerning the Jerusalem Temple will be executed.

Ezra 6:13-18 ~ The Completion of the Temple

Verses 13-18 describe the completion and dedication of the Temple on March 12, 516/515 BC, almost 70 years after its destruction. While some translations list the date in verse 15 as the 3^rd of Adar, the NJB, 1 Esdras 7:5, and Josephus record it as the 23^rd of Adar (Antiquities of the Jews, 11.4.7).The renewed work began on September 21, 520 BC (Hag 1:15) and a sustained effort continued for about 3 ½ years.

Ezra 6:19-22 ~ Celebrating the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread of 515 BC

The text returns to Hebrew from 6:19-7:11. The Passover was on the 14^th day of the first month in the Liturgical calendar which was the month of Aviv/Abib or Nisan (the Babylonian name for the month that the Jews will use after their return); see Exodus 12:1; 13:4.They ate the Passover sacrifices in a sacred meal on the first night of Unleavened Bread that began at sundown after the Passover sacrifices, on the 15^th, and the feast continued for seven days (Lev 23:5-8; Num 28:16-25).These two annual remembrance feasts celebrated God's action in Israel's history, freeing them from captivity and bondage in Egypt as a free people.Now, once again, they are celebrating God's activity in their lives by freeing them from captivity in Babylon and spiritually renewing them as His covenant people.

Agape Bible Study 
Zechariah 4 - 6 

Zechariah 4:6b-10a ~ The Third Oracle: Three Sayings About Zerubbabel

This passage is Zechariah's third oracle that concerns Davidic prince Zerubbabel, the Persian governor of Judah and the grandson of Davidic King Jehoiachin who the Babylonians deposed and took into exile in Babylon (1 Chron 3:17-19; 2 Kng 24:8-12). The Third Oracle is in three parts and concerns Zerubbabel:

1. He will succeed but only by the power of Yahweh’s spirit (verse 6a).
2. God will defeat his enemy and Zerubbabel will bring out the keystone of Solomon’s Temple to rebuild the new Temple (verse 7).
3. He will lay the foundation of the Temple and will finish building it (verses 8-10a).

Verse 6 is significant to Rabbinic Judaism with its message that it is not human power that moves forward the history of humanity, but the power of God. Its message was inscribed on the front of many rebuilt Synagogues after World War II, including the Synagogue in Cologne, Germany.

Zechariah 5:1-4 ~ The Sixth Vision: The Flying Scroll

Both the prophet Ezekiel in the 6^th century BC and St. John in the 1st century AD saw visions of scrolls (Ez 2:1-10 and Rev 10:8-11). Ezekiel's scroll also had writing on the front and back like Zechariah's scroll and both contained curse judgments. John's scroll was small and not large like Zechariah's, but it also contained judgments against nations, and like Ezekiel, he was told to eat his scroll.

The flying scroll was immense; its measurements equated to 30 feet long and 15 feet wide or about 9 meters long by 4.5 meters wide. Its size is equal to the portico of Solomon's Temple (1 Kng 6:3). The angel explains that it represents God's judgment on the land of Judah to purify it from wickedness when the people complete the rebuilding of the Temple, and God's law is again taught and practiced. The judgment against perjury in verse 4 is what initiated the practice for those giving testimony in a court of law being required to place their right hands on a Bible and to swear an oath in God's name to tell the truth or fall under His divine judgment. Although the passage only mentions theft and perjury (violations of the 8^th and 9^th commandments), they are probably intended to be representative of the sins of the people.

Zechariah 5:5-11 ~ The Seventh Vision: The Woman in the Barrel

In the reoccurring symbolic images of the Old Testament prophets, the prophets presented Israel in covenant union with Yahweh, her Divine Spouse, as a chaste Bride while they depicted a sinful and unrepentant Israel as a wicked, adulterous wife or harlot (see the document The Symbolic Images of the Old Testament Prophets).

In the seventh vision, the woman in the barrel or basket, literally an ephah, represents the collective sins/wickedness of Israel/Judah and impiety personified, as the angel explains to Zechariah in verse 6. Zechariah sees the image of wickedness contained in an ephah, a standard dry measure equal in size of 1.25 bushels, but here the vessel is larger than the standard ephah. The names of capacity measurements were derived from what was used to hold the measurements, so what holds the image of the woman of wickedness must look like the vessels that contained an ephah of dry goods.

The "two women" with wings in verse 9 could be agents of God or agents of the pagan goddess figure who are removing pagan influence from a land purified by Yahweh. The Northern Kingdom of Israel (722 BC) and the Southern Kingdom of Judah (587 BC) fell under Divine Judgment for their apostasy in turning away from Yahweh, worshipping pagan gods by building altars for them and making sacrifices to them, including the sacrifice of children.

Zechariah 6:1-8 ~ The Eighth Vision: The Four Chariots

In Zechariah's eighth vision on a night in mid-February, 520 BC, he looked up and saw four chariots coming out from between two mountains described as looking as though they were made of bronze, suggesting their permanence or indestructibility. He sees the chariots setting out from divine headquarters (Heaven) drawn by teams of horses of various colors. Their mission is to protect God's people, even those living in foreign lands, confirming God's promise of divine protection. Zechariah's eighth vision returns to the subject of the first vision that concerned four angels mounted on different colored horses who patrolled the world as His agents. Perhaps God sends forth different teams of four angels on missions across the face of the earth.

Zechariah 6:9-15 ~ The Fourth Oracle of the Votive Crown and Second Prophecy of the Branch

In this passage, Zechariah receives a second oracle referring to a person with the title "Branch" (see 3:8-10). God directs His prophet to collect silver and gold from three wealthy members of the Jerusalem community. He is to take the precious metals to a goldsmith named Josiah son of Zephaniah and directs him to make crowns. Josiah may be the great-grandson of the prophet Zephaniah, the ninth of the twelve minor prophets. Most scholars suggest the name Joshua in verse 11 should be Zerubbabel since the oracle is likely referring to Davidic prince Zerubbabel and not to Joshua. His branching out" refers to the continuation of his hereditary line that will end in Jesus of Nazareth (Lk 3:23-27; Mt 1:12-16) and will fulfill the previous prophetic promises of the Davidic heir called the Branch (i.e., Jer 23:5-6) who will bring blessings of salvation and justice.

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A Daily Defense 

DAY 269 Judging Others

CHALLENGE: “Christians shouldn’t criticize others’ lifestyles or actions. Didn’t Jesus say not to judge?”

DEFENSE: Jesus didn’t tell us that we should close our eyes to moral evil in the world.

The exhortation not to judge is found in Jesus’ major ethical discourse (Matt. 5:1–7:29, Luke 6:17–49). The point of the discourse is to give moral instruction. In it, Jesus discusses what conduct counts as good and bad, and he expects his followers to acknowledge the difference.

Not only does he expect them to distinguish between good and evil in their own behavior, he also expects them to do so with others’ conduct, telling them, “You will know them by their fruits” (Matt. 7:20). Thus, whatever Jesus meant, it was not that we should pretend that nobody does evil.

What he did mean is not difficult to discern if we read the statement itself: “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get” (Matt. 7:1–2); “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:37).

Jesus is saying we should take a generous, forgiving attitude with others so God will take a generous, forgiving attitude with us. We should treat others as we want to be treated. This is a prominent theme in his teaching (cf. Matt. 5:43–48, 6:12–15, 7:12, 18:21–35).

Although we are to be forgiving and merciful to others, this does not mean ignoring, much less approving, immoral behavior. Neither does it mean we should not try to help others. Admonishing the sinner is a spiritual work of mercy. Scripture elsewhere says: “Let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins” (James 5:20).

Often the exhortation not to judge is used as a conversation stopper to shut down discussions of immoral behavior. Sometimes it carries the insinuation that the one “judging” is doing something morally wrong. When this is the case, the person making the accusation is himself judging, and thus risks being a hypocrite (cf. Matt. 7:3–5).

Jimmy Akin, A Daily Defense: 365 Days (Plus One) to Becoming a Better Apologist