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Daily Bible Study

June 3, 2022 Bible Study — Nehemiah Refused To Take Special Privileges

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Today, I am reading and commenting on  Nehemiah 4-6.

I was going to write a completely different blog today than what I am writing now, but I found myself getting down into the weeds of the passage, writing about things you can read for yourself.  Then it struck me that the reason we read this book is because Nehemiah refused to back down.  When the people working on the wall were beginning to get overwhelmed by the effort, were beginning to feel that they weren’t getting anywhere with the project, Nehemiah stood up and laid out a plan.  And he did not just give them a plan, he put his back into the plan and worked alongside of them.  When people complained to Nehemiah about the rich oppressing them, he did not point the finger at other people and say that they needed to change their ways.  No, when he asked the rich to do more to help the poor, he asked them to follow his example, and he did more than he asked anyone else to do.  When he was personally threatened, he refused to take a defensive position not available to the common people because he was more important to the cause then anyone else.  He was, but he refused to let that justify giving himself special privileges.

I have written all of the above, and I think it is a pretty fair reading of the passage, but it fails to capture the thoughts behind it.  I have respect for how Nehemiah behaved as a leader of the people, but I cannot quite get it put into words.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

June 2, 2022 Bible Study — Taking Responsibility For Our Sins

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Today, I am reading and commenting on  Nehemiah 1-3.

I know I have mentioned my main topic about this passage today before, but it plays a key role in truly understanding the Book of Nehemiah.  Until I started this blog, I understood that the state of Jerusalem described at the beginning of this book was a result of the destruction by the Babylonians when they took the people of Judah into Exile.  However, after reading the Book of Nehemiah repeatedly I have come to realize that the Exiles had partially, or perhaps mostly, rebuilt Jerusalem’s walls and what is described here was the destruction of those rebuilt walls.  Further, as I read today’s passage I realized that destruction had been carried out by the enemies Nehemiah talks about here, or their immediate predecessors.    I have come to believe that these individuals were government officials of the Persian Empire who used the state of Jerusalem to bypass Persian taxes.  Which brings me to Nehemiah’s prayer.  Nehemiah prayed confessing his own sins and the sins of his people.  He acknowledged that the state of Jerusalem was a result of those sins.  He did not place the blame for the destruction of Jerusalem’s walls and gates on those outsiders who had actually destroyed them.  He placed the blame on the failure of the Israelites to faithfully do God’s will.  Those living in Jerusalem were guilty because they went along with the sinful, unlawful acts which were facilitated by the sorry state of Jerusalem’s defenses.  Nehemiah himself was guilty because he had failed to act, despite being in a position of authority which would allow him to act, to change things.  Having confessed his sins, Nehemiah made plans to change the state of affairs.

In a similar way, we need to acknowledge the degree to which our sins have resulted in the sorry state of affairs in the world today and act to change that state.  Not many of us are called to the sort of actions which Nehemiah undertook, but all of us are called to turn away from our sins and towards doing God’s will.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

June 1, 2022 Bible Study — Separating From The Detestable Practices Of Those Who Do Not Worship God

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Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ezra 9-10.

When reading today’s passage I have often been bothered by the fact that the writer emphasizes the sin of the people of having married foreign women.  After all, why would it be wrong to bring women into the family of faith?  As I have been writing off and on this spring, that is because that is not quite what the passage is telling us.  In order to understand what is going on here you have to start with what those who brought the problem to Ezra’s attention told him.  They told him that the people of Israel had not kept themselves separate from the detestable practices of the people around them.  One can easily misread what they said to think they were upset with the interaction with the people around them, but a careful reading of the entire passage shows there is more to it than that.  When the Returned Exiles gathered to address the issue, they agreed that those who had married “foreign women” needed to send those wives away, but they said it would take more than a day or two to accomplish this.  Why would it take more than a day or two to settle this if it was just a matter of all the men who had married a woman not of the group of Returned Exiles putting aside their wives?  To me, this says that they had to evaluate whether these wives had continued in the detestable practices of their people or had embraced the worship of God and all that entailed.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

May 31, 2022 Bible Study — All Who Separate Themselves From The Unclean Practices Of Their Neighbors

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Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ezra 6-8.

The first thing I wanted to write about is the way in which the style of writing changes in today’s passage.  Up until this point, and for the beginning of this passage, the writer appears to be an anonymous third party.  However, in chapter 8 the tone changes to that of Ezra writing in the first person.  I would love to know what led to these two approaches being combined into one document.  I mean it seems pretty clear to me that Ezra wrote an account of his travel to Jerusalem and his actions once there and that someone decided to add some background information, but why did they do so?  It is not particularly important, but I am curious.

Having written the above, I want to focus on what is written in verse 21 of chapter 6:

So the Israelites who had returned from the exile ate it, together with all who had separated themselves from the unclean practices of their Gentile neighbors in order to seek the Lord, the God of Israel.

It is very easy to miss the significance of this verse.  Repeatedly throughout Ezra and Nehemiah we see passages which talk about the Returned Exiles separating themselves from those living around them.  The passages about that separation read as being very draconic and absolute.  However, we also have passages like this one which help us put those passages about separation into context.  The Returned Exiles had rejected the assistance of their neighbors in building the temple because those neighbors followed unclean practices and had no intention of giving them up.  Later, when they demanded that none of their number marry any of the women from the neighboring peoples it was once again about women who continued in the unclean practices of those neighboring peoples, not about women who chose to fully embrace the worship of God.  Here that is made clear, they ate this first Passover after rebuilding the temple with “all who had separated themselves from the unclean practices of their Gentile neighbors.”  Let us also embrace all who separate themselves from the unclean practices of those around us in order to serve the Lord.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

May 30, 2022 Bible Study — Not All Who Offer To Help Us Serve God Truly Wish To Serve God

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Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ezra 3-5.

As soon as the Returned Exiles got settled they arranged to build the altar to God in order to offer sacrifices upon it.  Once it was built they immediately started offering the sacrifices required by the Law of Moses.  At that point they began the process of laying the foundation, and rebuilding, the temple.   Reading today I think I finally understand the justification for the Returned Exiles rejecting the offer to help, actually almost a demand, in rebuilding the temple brought by those who had been living in the land during the Exile (particularly in the areas of the Northern Kingdom).  Those whose help the Returned Exiles rejected had not taken part in the ritual sacrifices required by the Law of Moses, yet now claimed to worship God.  In all of the time that these people had been living in the land, they had made no attempt to rebuild the temple, nor had they joined in the sacrifices and festivals which the Returned Exiles had restored.  When we keep in mind the attitude towards foreigners worshiping God which was expressed in the Chronicler’s account of Solomon’s dedication of the first temple we should see that the help was rejected because those offering wanted to co-opt the efforts of the Returned Exiles and assimilate them into their practices rather than join the faithful worship of God which the Returned Exiles were establishing.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

May 29, 2022 Bible Study — What Do You Have To Lose By Assuming That God Is Real?

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Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ezra 1-2.

The passage tells us that shortly after Cyrus had conquered Babylon he issued an order for the Temple to be rebuilt in Jerusalem and giving the Exiled Israelites permission to return  to Jerusalem to build the Temple.  This is consistent with what we know from other records from the time: Cyrus was known to encourage those within his Empire to worship as they pleased and for those relocated by previous Empires to return to their home countries.  Also in his order, Cyrus encouraged those living near those Exiles who wished to return to Jerusalem to assist them financially.  It seems likely, both from the account here and other historical records we have of Cyrus, that he issued this order because he desired for God to be kindly disposed towards him.  As I understand the records, Cyrus was a true agnostic: “I don’t know if any of these gods exist, but, if they do, I wish for them to favor me over my enemies.”  Another way of putting what appears to have been Cyrus’ attitude: “I am better of behaving as if God is real when He is not, than behaving as if He is not real, when He is.”  I firmly believe that God will often guide those who take that attitude to Him to a better understanding of who He is.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

May 28, 2022 Bible Study

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Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Chronicles 34-36.

Why did King Josiah march out to intercept Pharaoh Necho? (as an aside, whenever I read about Pharaoh Necho, I cannot help but think of the candy, Necco Wafers).  I mean, we know that King Josiah had joined the alliance against the Assyrians led by the Babylonians and that Pharaoh Necho was going to the assistance of the Assyrians, but why did King Josiah march out without God’s blessing?  In all other ways, Josiah acted according to God’s will, and even in this case he was acting in God’s will because God was bringing judgement against Judah for the sins of the people generation after generation.  Yet we also know that God had promised not to bring that judgement until after Josiah’s death.   This question has bothered me for many years.  I have chosen not to write about it because there are so many other things of value in this passage we can talk about.  Nevertheless we need to look at this decision made by Josiah.  We do not know that Josiah made a mistake in going against Pharaoh Necho.  We can think about the “what-ifs” if he had not, but we do know that God had had determined that Judah needed to face judgement for the sins of its people.  We do not know what would have happened had Josiah not chosen to join that war.  Perhaps he would have turned power over to his son peacefully and his son would have followed in his footsteps.  Or perhaps, his son would have done evil in the eyes of the Lord and things would have gone as they did anyway.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

May 27, 2022 Bible Study — The People React To Hezekiah’s Spiritual Celebration

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Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Chronicles 31-33.

Several kings of Judah had destroyed the altars and other places where the people worshiped idols throughout the land of Judah, but under Hezekiah it was the people themselves who did so.  Inspired by their experience at the Passover celebration which Hezekiah held in Jerusalem, the people went home and destroyed the various places of idol worship in their home towns.  This destruction of places of idol worship extended into areas of Israel over which Hezekiah did not reign.  In addition, when Hezekiah ordered the people of Jerusalem to make offerings according to the Law of Moses, they did so with such fervor that there was plenty for all of the priests and Levites to live on, enough that a system was set up to distribute to those priests and Levites who did not live in Jerusalem.  All of this shows us the value of well executed spiritual retreat.  Hezekiah’s Passover celebration transformed the people of Judah, leading them to be enthusiastically devoted to God.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

May 26, 2022 Bible Study — We Do Not Have To Get Our Act Together Before Seeking God

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Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Chronicles 29-30.

King Hezekiah was the son of King Ahaz.  Hezekiah’s first major action as king was to re-open the Temple for worship of the Lord.  He called upon the priests and Levites to consecrate themselves and then purify the Temple.  The Levites to whom Hezekiah spoke reached out to the rest of the Levites and called for their aid in purifying the Temple.  They rapidly cleared the Temple, but were unable to complete its repair and purification in time for Passover.  While the passage does not spell this out, I believe they consulted the Torah and discovered what Moses had said to those who were ceremonially unclean when the Israelites celebrated the second Passover.  At that time, Moses said that anyone who was unable to celebrate the Passover at the appointed time because they were ceremonially unclean (and a few other specifically described conditions) should celebrate the Passover a month later.  The people of Judah concluded that this instruction from Moses applied to all of them since the Temple was not properly consecrated at the appointed time.  I believe they interpreted Moses’ instructions correctly, and the evidence of what happened later in Hezekiah’s reign suggests the same.

King Hezekiah sent messengers throughout all of Israel, not just the portion (Judah and Benjamin) over which he ruled, to announce this Passover celebration and to invite people to attend.  For the most part, those living outside of the area ruled by Hezekiah ridiculed the idea of going to Jerusalem in order to celebrate the Passover.  Nevertheless, a large number of people from outside of Judah attended.  The people of Judah appear to have fully embraced the celebration and found unity in it.  We also learn that many of those from outside of Judah who came did not know the Law of Moses well enough to be properly consecrated before eating the Passover meal.  And here is an important lesson for us,  Hezekiah prayed for those who are the Passover without being properly consecrated.  Specifically he prayed that God forgive those who set their hearts on seeking God, even if they were not properly consecrated when they did so.  There are two elements to this lesson.  First, we should welcome all who seek the Lord from their hearts, even if they fail to understand all of what God asks of them.  Second, God will judge those who partake of His sacraments who do not truly seek to do His will, those who attempt to use those sacraments to appear holy without seeking to be holy.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

May 25, 2022 Bible Study — Rulers Who Failed To Accept Limits To Their Authority

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Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Chronicles 26-28.

Yesterday we read about Joash and Amaziah who were faithful to God for much of their reigns.  Today we read about Uzziah, Jotham, and Ahaz.  Uzziah and Jotham did right in the eyes of God, although Uzziah attempted to take the role of priest by burning incense before God later in his reign.  As I understand the story (from the account here and also in 2 Kings), Uzziah’s sin was about his failure to recognize a limit to what he could do more than just burning incense in a manner reserved for the priests.  His sin appears to me to have been the rejection of the idea that there were those who could hold him to account for his actions.  In many ways, his sin was a lesser form of that of his father, Amaziah, and his grandfather, Joash.  The difference being that when Uzziah was confronted about his overreaching, he backed down.

 

Uzziah’s son, Jotham, either learned the lesson from witnessing his father’s comeuppance, or did not live long enough to fall into the sin of his immediate ancestors.  Over their reigns, Uzziah and Jotham strengthened Judah through their dedication to following God and leading the people to do likewise.  Unfortunately, Jotham’s son, Ahaz, did not follow in his father’s footsteps.  Ahaz indulged in many different types of idolatry.  He did as he pleased with no concern for who might be hurt, even if those who might be hurt were his own children.  The writer tells us that Ahaz sacrificed his own children on the altar of gods whom he pursued out of selfish interest.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.