God may have made Nebuchadnezzar, Darius and Cyrus sympathetic to the Jews, but anti-Semitism has already begun. They face enemies, who want them to fail.
Samaritan interference
Ezra 4:1-5
The security of God’s people
Psalm 125
Letters of accusation
Ezra 4:6-16
Artaxerxes’ answer
Ezra 4:17-22
Work suspended for 7 years
Ezra 4:23-24
A prayer against Israel’s enemies
Psalm 129
Haggai and Zechariah
Ezra 5:1
People reproached for neglect of the Temple
Haggai 1:1-10
Zerubbabel and Joshua
Ezra 5:2, Haggai 1:11-15
The splendour of the future Temple
Haggai 2:1-9
Zechariah’s plea
Zechariah 1:1-6
At first, the people settled around Jerusalem seem curious and willing to help, but when the Israelite leaders tell the they cannot help, they turn nasty, and write to the king, urging him to stop the work of rebuilding Jerusalem. We can see the wisdom of successive empires’ policy to move conquered peoples around - they have no allegiance to the land they live in, no desire to see its glories return, so they snitch to the king.
Artaxerxes is swayed by their arguments, and orders the work to stop. I’m confused about which king follows which, but it seems that the current one is not sympathetic to the Jews, unlike Cyrus, Darius or Nebuchadnezzar.
Two key figures in Israel at the time are Haggai and Zechariah. These prophets of the post-exile period are considerably more concise than those who went before, and we’ll be looking at their words over the next few days. Haggai begins by criticising the people for meekly giving in to the king’s order to stop, and encourages them to get back to work on the Temple. Think of the glory that will come, he tells them - it will be even more glorious than the first Temple.
Samaritan interference
Ezra 4:1-5
The security of God’s people
Psalm 125
Letters of accusation
Ezra 4:6-16
Artaxerxes’ answer
Ezra 4:17-22
Work suspended for 7 years
Ezra 4:23-24
A prayer against Israel’s enemies
Psalm 129
Haggai and Zechariah
Ezra 5:1
People reproached for neglect of the Temple
Haggai 1:1-10
Zerubbabel and Joshua
Ezra 5:2, Haggai 1:11-15
The splendour of the future Temple
Haggai 2:1-9
Zechariah’s plea
Zechariah 1:1-6
At first, the people settled around Jerusalem seem curious and willing to help, but when the Israelite leaders tell the they cannot help, they turn nasty, and write to the king, urging him to stop the work of rebuilding Jerusalem. We can see the wisdom of successive empires’ policy to move conquered peoples around - they have no allegiance to the land they live in, no desire to see its glories return, so they snitch to the king.
Artaxerxes is swayed by their arguments, and orders the work to stop. I’m confused about which king follows which, but it seems that the current one is not sympathetic to the Jews, unlike Cyrus, Darius or Nebuchadnezzar.
Two key figures in Israel at the time are Haggai and Zechariah. These prophets of the post-exile period are considerably more concise than those who went before, and we’ll be looking at their words over the next few days. Haggai begins by criticising the people for meekly giving in to the king’s order to stop, and encourages them to get back to work on the Temple. Think of the glory that will come, he tells them - it will be even more glorious than the first Temple.
No comments:
Post a Comment