Reading the Bible Ezra by Symbols and Meaning of Names
Ezra, Nehemiah & Esther and Piece of work
Bible Commentary / Produced by TOW Project
Introduction to Ezra, Nehemiah & Esther
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Most Christians don't observe their workplaces very supportive of their faith. More often than not, there is express telescopic for explicitly Christian witness and action. Moreover, workers may feel pressure to violate the ethical requirements of biblical standards, either explicitly or implicitly. In a pluralistic order, some such limits may be appropriate, just they can make the workplace experience like alien territory to Christians. The books of Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther depict what it is similar for God'south people to work in unwelcoming workplaces. They evidence God's people working in jobs ranging from structure to politics to entertainment, e'er in the midst of environments openly hostile to God'due south values and plans. Yet along the fashion they receive surprising help from nonbelievers in the highest positions of civic power. God's power seems to crop up for his people'south good in surprising places, yet they face extremely challenging situations and decisions, upon which they don't always concord.
Ezra had to ponder whether to trust an unbelieving ruler to protect the Jewish people as they returned to Jerusalem and began rebuilding the temple. He had to detect fiscal support within the corrupt economical system of the Western farsi Empire, yet to be true to God's laws about economic integrity. Nehemiah had to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, which required him to both trust God and be pragmatic. He had to lead people whose motivation ranged from altruism to greed, and get them to overcome their divergent self-interests to work towards a common purpose. Esther had to survive both the oppression of women and the deadly intrigue inside the Farsi majestic court, yet remain ready to risk everything to save her people from genocide. Our titles and institutions have changed since their days, but in many means our workplaces today take much in mutual, for better or worse, with the places where Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther labored. The real life situations, challenges and choices plant in these biblical books help us develop a theology of work that matters in how nosotros live each day.
Ezra and Nehemiah
In 587 BC, the Babylonians, nether the rule of King Nebuchadnezzar, conquered Jerusalem. They killed the leaders of Judah, plundered the temple before burning it to the ground, destroyed much of the city, including its walls, and took the cream of Jerusalem's ingather of citizens to Babylon. There, these Jews lived for decades in exile, always hoping for God'southward deliverance and the restoration of Israel. Their hopes were heightened in 539 BC when Persia, led past King Cyrus, overthrew Babylon. Shortly thereafter, Cyrus issued a prescript inviting the Jews in his kingdom to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple and, therefore, their life as God'south people (Ezra 1:1-iv).
The books of Ezra and Nehemiah, originally two parts of a single piece of work,[1]narrate crucial aspects of this rebuilding story, beginning with the edict of Cyrus in 539 BC. Their purpose, however, is not simply to describe what happened long ago out of antiquarian curiosity. Rather, Ezra and Nehemiah use historical events to illustrate the theme of restoration. These books show how God once restored his people and how people played a fundamental role in this work of renewal. Ezra and Nehemiah were written past an unknown author, probably in the fourth-century BC,[ii] to encourage the Jewish people to live faithfully even nether foreign rule, and then that they might be participants in God'southward nowadays and hereafter work of restoration.
Ezra and Nehemiah are highly theological books, only they do non direct address the theology of work. They do non include legal imperatives or prophetic visions having to do with our daily labors. The narratives of Ezra and Nehemiah do depict arduous work, nevertheless, implicitly placing work in a theological framework. Thus nosotros'll find beneath the surface of these books rich soil from which a theology of work might sprout. In detail, Ezra and Nehemiah were called to restore God'due south kingdom (Israel), in the midst of a partially-hostile, partially-supportive environment. Today's workplaces are also partially hostile and partially supportive of the work of God. This encourages united states to work out how our piece of work may contribute to implanting God's kingdom in today's globe.
Esther
The Book of Esther tells the story of one curious episode during the era depicted in Ezra and Nehemiah. It focuses, non on the restoration of Jerusalem, but rather on events happening in Persia when Ahasuerus, ameliorate known to u.s.a. by his Greek name, Xerxes, was king (485-465 BC). The narrative of Esther accounts for the origins of the Jewish festival of Purim. The unidentified author of this book wrote, in part, to explain and encourage celebration of this national holiday (run into Esther ix:20-28).[iii]His broader concern was to examine how Jews could survive and fifty-fifty thrive as exiles in a pagan and often hostile land.[iv]
In contrast to Ezra and Nehemiah, Esther is not explicitly theological at all. In fact, God is never mentioned. However no true-blue reader could fail to meet the hand of God behind the events of the book. This invites the reader to ponder how God may exist at piece of work in the world unnoticed by those without eyes to meet.
H.Yard.M. Williamson, Ezra, Nehemiah, in Word Biblical Commentary, vol. 16 (Waco, TX: Word Books, 1985), xxi.
"Ezra-Nehemiah, Books of" in The Anchor Bible Lexicon, (New York: Doubleday, 1992).
Frederic W. Bush, Ruth-Esther, in Discussion Biblical Commentary, vol. 9 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1996), 326-335.
Marker D. Roberts, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, in The Preachers Commentary, vol. 11 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2002), 315-318.
Rebuilding the Temple (Ezra 1:1-vi:22)
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The Book of Ezra begins with a prescript from King Cyrus of Persia, allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple that had been destroyed past the Babylonians in 587 BC (Ezra i:ii-iv). The introduction to this decree specifies when it was proclaimed: "In the beginning yr of Male monarch Cyrus" (539-538 BC, soon later the Western farsi defeat of Babylon). It also introduces united states of america to one of the principal themes of Ezra-Nehemiah: the relationship between God's work and homo work. Cyrus made his proclamation "that the discussion of the Lord past the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished," and considering "the Lord stirred upwardly the spirit of Rex Cyrus" (Ezra one:one). Cyrus was doing his work as king, seeking his personal and institutional ends. Yet this was a result of God's piece of work inside him, advancing God's own purposes. We sense in the first poesy of Ezra that God is in control, yet choosing to work through man beings, even Gentile kings, to attain his will.
Workplace Christians today too live in trust that God is active through the decisions and deportment of non-Christian people and institutions. Cyrus was God's called instrument, whether or non Cyrus himself recognized that. Similarly, the actions of our boss, co-workers, customers and suppliers, rivals, regulators or a myriad of other actors may be furthering the work of God's kingdom unrecognized by either us or them. That should prevent us from both despair and airs. If Christian people and values seem absent from your workplace, don't despair — God is still at piece of work. On the other hand, if you are tempted to see yourself or your organization as a paragon of Christian virtue, beware! God may be accomplishing more through those with less visible connexion to him than you realize. Certainly, God'southward work through Cyrus — who remained wealthy, powerful, and unbelieving, even while many of God'south people were but slowly recovering from the poverty of exile — should warn u.s.a. not to expect wealth and power equally a necessary reward for our faithful work. God is using all things to work towards his kingdom, not necessarily towards our personal success.
God's piece of work continued as many Jews took advantage of Cyrus' decree. "Every 1 whose spirit God had stirred" prepared to return to Jerusalem (Ezra 1:5). When they arrived in Jerusalem, their start task was to build the altar and offer sacrifices on it (Ezra 3:one-3). This epitomizes the chief sort of work chronicled in Ezra and Nehemiah. It is closely associated with the sacrificial practices of Old Testament Judaism, which took place in the temple. The piece of work described in these books reflects and supports the axis of the temple and its offerings in the life of God'southward people. Worship and work stride mitt and hand through the pages of Ezra and Nehemiah.
Given the focus in Ezra upon the rebuilding of the temple, people'southward jobs are mentioned when they are relevant to this effort. Thus the listing of people returning to Jerusalem specifically itemizes "the priests, the Levites… and the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants" (Ezra 2:70). The text identifies "masons and carpenters" considering they were necessary for the building projection (Ezra 3:vii). People whose skills did not equip them for working directly on the temple contributed to the task through the fruit of their piece of work in the grade of "freewill offerings" (Ezra 2:68). Thus, in a sense, the rebuilding of the temple was the work of all the people equally they contributed in 1 manner or another.
Ezra identifies political leaders in addition to Cyrus because of their impact, positive or negative, on the construction endeavor. For instance, Zerubbabel is mentioned as a leader of the people. He was the governor of the territory who oversaw the rebuilding of the temple (Haggai ane:1). Ezra mentions "Rehum the royal deputy and Shimshai the scribe," officials who wrote a letter opposing the temple's reconstruction (Ezra iv:8-ten). Other kings and officials show upwards according to their relevance to the rebuilding project.
The temple is what the project was well-nigh, but it would be a mistake to recollect that God blesses craftsmanship and material piece of work merely when it is devoted to a religious purpose. Ezra's vision was to restore the whole metropolis of Jerusalem (Ezra 4:13), non just the temple. We volition talk over this indicate further when we come to Nehemiah, who actually undertook the piece of work beyond the temple.
Ezra describes several efforts to squelch the construction (Ezra 4:one-23). These were successful for a while, stopping the temple project for about two decades (Ezra 4:24). Finally, God encouraged the Jews through the prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah to resume and complete the job (Ezra five:1). Moreover, Darius, king of Persia, underwrote the building endeavor financially in the hope that the Lord might bless him and his sons (Ezra 6:8-10). Thus the temple was finally completed, thanks to the fact that God had "turned the middle of the male monarch of Assyria to them" so that "he aided [the Jews] in the piece of work on the house of God" (Ezra half-dozen:22).
As this poesy makes clear, the Jews actually did the piece of work of rebuilding the temple. Still their labors were successful because of help from two pagan kings, one who inaugurated the project and the other who paid for its completion. Backside these homo efforts loomed the overarching piece of work of God, who moved in the hearts of the kings and encouraged his people through the prophets. As we have seen, God is at piece of work far beyond what meets the eye of his people.
Restoration of Covenant Life, Phase One: The Work of Ezra (Ezra 7:1-10:44)
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Ironically, Ezra himself does not announced in the book bearing his name until affiliate 7. This learned man, a priest and teacher of the law, came to Jerusalem with the blessing of the Persian king Artaxerxes over 50 years afterwards the rebuilding of the temple. His assignment was to nowadays offerings in the temple on behalf of the king and to found the constabulary of God in Judah, both by didactics and by appointing law-abiding leaders (Ezra 7:25-26).
Ezra did non explicate the king's favor in terms of practiced luck. Rather, he credited God with putting "such a thing as this into the centre of the male monarch" to send Ezra to Jerusalem (Ezra seven:27). Ezra "took backbone" and acted on the king's order considering, as he said, "the hand of the Lord my God was upon me" (Ezra 7:28). This language of God'southward hand existence upon someone is a favorite of Ezra, where information technology appears half-dozen times out of 8 times in the whole Bible (Ezra 7:6, 9, 28; 8:eighteen, 22, 31). God was at work in and through Ezra, and that explains his success in his endeavors.
Ezra'due south confidence in God's help was tested when it came time for his entourage to journey from Babylon to Jerusalem. "I was aback," Ezra explained, "to ask the king for a ring of soldiers and cavalry to protect us against the enemy on our way; since we had told the king, 'The manus of our God is gracious to all who seek him, merely his power and his wrath are confronting all who abdicate him'" (Ezra eight:22). For Ezra, to depend on a royal escort unsaid a failure to trust in God's protection. And so he and his retinue fasted and prayed rather than seek applied assistance from the king (Ezra 8:23). Note: Ezra was not following whatever item Old Testament law in choosing not to receive regal protection. Rather, this determination reflected his personal convictions well-nigh what it meant to trust God in the real challenges of leadership. One might say that Ezra was an "idealistic believer" in this state of affairs, because he was willing to stake his life on the idea of God's protection, rather than to ensure protection with man assistance. As we'll meet later, Ezra's position was not the but ane accounted reasonable by godly leaders in Ezra and Nehemiah.
Ezra'due south strategy proved to be successful. "The hand of our God was upon united states of america," he observed, "and he delivered us from the paw of the enemy and from ambushes along the fashion." (Ezra 8:31). We do not know, nevertheless, if members of Ezra's political party carried weapons or used them for protection. The text seems to suggest that Ezra and company completed their journeying without a threatening incident. Again, the volume of Ezra shows that human efforts are successful when God is at work in them.
The last two chapters of Ezra focus on the problem of Jews intermarrying with Gentiles. The upshot of work does non emerge here, except in the example of Ezra, who exercises his leadership in faithfulness to the Law and with prayerful decisiveness.
Rebuilding the Wall of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1:ane-7:73)
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The outset chapter of the Book of Nehemiah introduces the volume bearing his name equally a resident of Susa, the capital of the Persian Empire. When Nehemiah heard that the walls of Jerusalem were still cleaved down more than a half-century after the completion of the rebuilding of the temple, he "sat down and wept," fasting and praying earlier God (Neh. one:4). Implicitly, he was formulating a programme to remedy the situation in Jerusalem.
Bridging the Sacred-Secular Split (Nehemiah one:1-1:10)
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The connection between the temple and the wall is significant for the theology of piece of work. The temple might seem to be a religious institution, while the walls are a secular ane. But God led Nehemiah to work on the walls, no less than he led Ezra to work on the temple. Both the sacred and the secular were necessary to fulfill God's plan to restore the nation of Israel. If the walls were unfinished, the temple was unfinished too. The work was of a single slice. The reason for this is piece of cake to understand. Without a wall, no city in the ancient Near East was safe from bandits, gangs and wild animals, even though the empire might exist at peace. The more economically and culturally developed a city was, the greater the value of things in the city, and the greater the demand for the wall. The temple, with its rich decorations, would have been particularly at take chances. Practically speaking, no wall means no city, and no metropolis means no temple.
Conversely, the city and its wall depend on the temple as the source of God's provision for law, government, security and prosperity. Even on strictly armed forces terms, the temple and the wall are mutually dependent. The wall is an integral part of the city's protection, yet so is the temple wherein dwells the Lord (Ezra one:3) who brings to nothing the violent plans of the urban center's enemies (Neh. 4:15). Besides with government and justice. The gates of the wall are where lawsuits are tried (Deuteronomy 21:19, Isaiah 29:21), while at the same time the Lord from his temple "executes justice for the orphan and the widow" (Deut. 10:18). No temple ways no presence of God, and no presence of God ways no military strength, no justice, no culture and no need for walls. The temple and the walls are united in a lodge founded on God'southward "covenant and steadfast beloved" (Neh. one:5). This at least is the platonic towards which Nehemiah is fasting, praying and working.
Does Trusting God Mean Turning to Prayer, Taking "Practical" Action, or Both? (Nehemiah 1:xi-iv:23)
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The final line ofNehemiah 1 identifies him as "cupbearer to the king" (Neh. 1:xi). This means not just that he had immediate access to the king as the 1 who tested and served his beverages, just too that Nehemiah was a trusted counselor and high-ranking Persian official.[1]He would utilize his professional feel and position to great advantage every bit he embarked upon the work of rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem.
When the king granted him permission to oversee the rebuilding project, Nehemiah asked for letters to the governors through whose territory he would pass on his trip to Jerusalem (Neh. ii:seven). In Nehemiah's view, the king granted this asking "for the gracious hand of my God was upon me" (Neh. 2:viii). Patently, Nehemiah did not believe that trusting God meant he should not seek the male monarch's protection for his journey. Moreover, he was pleased to have "officers of the army and cavalry" escort him safely to Jerusalem (Neh. 2:nine).
The text of Nehemiah does not suggest in that location was annihilation wrong with Nehemiah'due south decision to seek and accept the king's protection. In fact, it claims that God's approving deemed for this fleck of royal assist. It is striking to notation how different Nehemiah'south arroyo to this issue was from Ezra'south. Whereas Ezra believed that trusting God meant he should not ask for royal protection, Nehemiah saw the offer of such protection as evidence of God's gracious mitt of blessing. This disagreement demonstrates how easy information technology is for godly people to come up to dissimilar conclusions about what it ways to trust God in their work. Perhaps each was simply doing what he was most familiar with. Ezra was a priest, familiar with the habitation of the Lord's presence. Nehemiah was a cupbearer to the rex, familiar with the practice of regal power. Both Ezra and Nehemiah were seeking to be faithful in their labors. Both were godly, prayerful leaders. But they understood trusting God for protection differently. For Ezra, information technology meant journeying without the male monarch's guard. For Nehemiah, it meant accepting the offer of royal aid as show of God's own blessing.
A Science Announcer Follows Ii Routes to the Truth
Sky & Telescope scientific discipline editor Camille M. Carlisle explores how science and faith both contribute to her work
"...Trying to testify or disprove God with science is like trying to spiral in a apartment-head nail with a screwdriver....Then, likewise, trying to "catch" God with science, or concluding that He tin't exist real considering His beautiful universe is too much virtually drama and too footling near perfect engineering ("It's non how I would design it!" we complain) is using the incorrect tool for the job...." Read the full story hither.
Nosotros find signs in several places that Nehemiah was what we could call a "pragmatic believer." InNehemiah two, for instance, Nehemiah secretly surveyed the rubble of the former wall before even announcing his plans to the residents of Jerusalem (Neh. two:11-17). Manifestly he wanted to know the size and telescopic of the work he was taking on before he publicly committed to doing it. Still, after explaining the purpose of his coming to Jerusalem and pointing to God's gracious manus upon him, when some local officials mocked and defendant him, Nehemiah answered, "The God of sky is the one who will give us success" (Neh. 2:20). God would give this success, in part, through Nehemiah's clever and well-informed leadership. The fact that success came from the Lord did not mean Nehemiah could sit back and relax. Quite to the contrary, Nehemiah was about to commence an arduous and demanding task.
His leadership involved delegation of parts of the wall-building project to a wide variety of people, including "Eliashib, the high priest, [and] his young man-priests" (Neh. 3:1), "the Tekoites," minus their nobles who didn't desire to submit to the supervisors (Neh. three:five), "Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, one of the goldsmiths" and "Hananiah, one of the perfumers" (Neh. 3:eight), "Shallum, …ruler of one-half the district of Jerusalem, [and] his daughters" (Neh. three:12), and many others. Nehemiah was able to inspire collegiality and to organize the project effectively.
Simply and so, simply as in the story of the rebuilding of the temple in Ezra, opposition arose. Leaders of local peoples attempted to hinder the Jewish effort through ridicule, but "the people had a mind to work" (Neh. 4:6). When their words did not stop the wall from existence rebuilt, the local leaders "all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to crusade confusion in it" (Neh. 4:8).
So what did Nehemiah atomic number 82 his people to exercise? Pray and trust God? Or arm themselves for battle? Predictably, the pragmatic laic led them to do both: "Nosotros prayed to our God, and set a guard as a protection confronting them day and nighttime" (Neh. 4:9). In fact, when threats against the wall-builders mounted, Nehemiah likewise stationed guards at key positions. He encouraged his people non to lose heart because of their opponents: "Exercise not exist afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and terrible, and fight for your kin, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes" (Neh. 4:14). Considering of their faith, the people were to fight. And so, not long thereafter, Nehemiah added a further word of encouragement, "Our God will fight for u.s.a.!" (Neh. 4:xx). Yet this was not an invitation to the Jews to put down their weapons and focus on edifice, trusting in supernatural protection alone. Rather, God would fight for his people by assisting them in battle. He would be at work in and through his people equally they worked.
Nosotros Christians sometimes seem to deed as if there were a rigid wall betwixt actively pursuing our own agenda and passively waiting for God to human action. Nosotros are aware that this is a false duality, which is why, for example, orthodox/historic Christian theology rejects the Christian Scientific discipline premise that medical treatments are acts of unfaithfulness to God. Yet, at moments, nosotros are tempted to become passive while waiting for God to human action. If you are unemployed, yeah, God wants y'all to have a job. To become the task God wants you to have, you have to write a resume, conduct a search, apply for positions, interview, and get rejected dozens of times before finding that job, just equally anybody else has to do. If you are a parent, aye, God wants yous to have enjoyment in raising your children. Only you will even so have to gear up and enforce limits, exist available at times when it'due south inconvenient, discuss difficult topics with them, cry and suffer with them through bumps, broken basic, and broken hearts, do homework with them, ask their forgiveness when you are wrong, and offering them forgiveness when they fail. You don't become time off as a reward for proficient behavior such every bit taking your kids to church building. Nehemiah and company's arduous piece of work warns the states that trusting God does not equate with sitting on our hands waiting for magical solutions for our difficulties.
"Nehemiah (person)" in The Anchor Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 1992).
Connecting Lending Practices to the Fear of the Lord (Nehemiah v:1-five:19)
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Nehemiah'due south wall-building project was threatened, not merely from the outside, but also from the inside. Certain wealthy Jewish nobles and officials were taking reward of economically difficult times to line their own pockets (Nehemiah 5). They were loaning money to boyfriend Jews, expecting involvement to be paid on the loans, even though this was prohibited in the Jewish Law (for case, Exodus 22:25).[ii]When the debtors couldn't repay the loans, they lost their land and were even forced to sell their children into slavery (Neh. 5:v). Nehemiah responded by enervating that the wealthy terminate charging involvement on loans and give dorsum whatever they had taken from their debtors.
In contrast to the selfishness of those who had been taking reward of their fellow Jews, Nehemiah did non use his leadership position to enhance his personal fortune. "Because of the fear of God," he even refused to tax the people to pay for his personal expenses, dissimilar his predecessors (Neh. 5:xiv-16). Instead, he generously invited many to swallow at his table, paying from this expense from his personal savings without taxing the people (Neh. 5:17-xviii).
In a sense, the nobles and officials were guilty of the same kind of dualism nosotros have but discussed. In their instance, they were non waiting passively for God to solve their problems. Instead, they were actively pursuing their own gain equally if economic life had nothing to practise with God. Simply Nehemiah tells them that their economic lives are of utmost importance to God, because God cares virtually all of society, non simply its religious aspects: "Should you not walk in the fear of our God, to forestall the taunts of the nations our enemies [to whom the nobles had forced the sale of Jewish debtors as slaves]?" (Neh. 5:9). Nehemiah connects an economical issue (usury) with the fear of God.
The issues of Nehemiah five, though emerging from a legal and cultural setting afar from our ain, challenge us to consider how much we should profit personally from our position and privilege, fifty-fifty from our piece of work. Should we put our money in banks that make loans with interest? Should we have advantage of perks made available to us in our workplace, even if these come at considerable price to others? Nehemiah's specific commands (don't charge interest, don't foreclose on collateral, don't force the sale of people into slavery) may apply differently in our fourth dimension, but underlying his commands is a prayer that however applies: "Call back for my practiced, O my God, all that I have washed for this people" (Neh. five:19). As it was to Nehemiah, God's call to today'southward workers is to do everything nosotros can for our people. In practice, that means we each owe God the duty of caring for the deject of persons who depend on our work: employers, co-workers, customers, family, the public and many others. Nehemiah may not tell us exactly how to handle today's workplace situations, but he tells usa how to orient our minds as nosotros decide. Put people first.
The question of whether the Bible prohibits lending money at interest has a long and contentious history in Christian theology. See Theology of Work Project'southward article, Finance Overview atwww.theologyofwork.org.
Nehemiah Gives Credit to God (Nehemiah half-dozen:1-7:73)
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The external and internal problems facing Nehemiah did not halt work on the wall, which was completed in but fifty-two days (Neh. 6:fifteen). The enemies of Judah "were agape and cruel greatly in their ain esteem; for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God" (Neh. 6:16). Even though Nehemiah had exercised his considerable leadership to inspire and organize the builders, and fifty-fifty though they had worked tirelessly, and even though Nehemiah'due south wisdom enabled him to fend off attacks and distractions, nonetheless he saw all of this every bit piece of work done with God's aid. God worked through him and his people, using their gifts and labor to attain God's own purposes.
Restoration of Covenant Life, Phase Two: Ezra and Nehemiah Together (Nehemiah 8:1-xiii:31)
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Afterward the wall surrounding Jerusalem was completed, the Israelites gathered in Jerusalem in order to renew their covenant with God. Ezra reappeared at this betoken in order to read the Law to the people (Neh. eight:2-five). As they heard the Police force, they wept (Neh. 8:ix). Withal Nehemiah rebuked them for their sorrow, calculation, "Go your way, eat the fatty and beverage sweet wine and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord" (Neh. 8:x). However primal work might be to serving God, and then is celebration. On holy days, people are to enjoy the fruits of their labors too equally sharing them with those who lack such delights.
However, equally Nehemiah chapter nine demonstrates, there was as well a fourth dimension for godly sorrow as the people confessed their sins to God (Neh. 9:2). Their confession came in the context of an all-encompassing recital of all the things God had done, beginning with cosmos itself (Neh. 9:vi) and continuing through the crucial events of the Old Testament. The failure of Israel to exist true-blue to the Lord explained, among other things, why God's chosen people were "slaves" to foreign kings and why those kings enjoyed the fruits of Israelite labors (Neh. ix:36-37).
Among the promises made past the people equally they renewed their covenant with the Lord was a commitment to accolade the Sabbath (Neh. x:31). In particular, they promised not to exercise business on the Sabbath with "the peoples of the state" who worked on this day. The Israelites besides promised to fulfill their responsibility to support the temple and its workers (Neh. x:31-39). They would practice so by giving to the temple and its staff a per centum of the fruit of their own work. Now, equally then, the commitment to give a pct of our income to support the "service of the house of our God" (Ezra x:32) is both a necessary means of financing the piece of work of worship and a reminder that everything we take comes from God's hand.
After completing his chore of building the wall in Jerusalem and overseeing the restoration of society there, Nehemiah returned to serve Rex Artaxerxes (Neh. xiii:6). Later, he came back to Jerusalem, where he discovered that some of the reforms he had initiated were thriving, while others had been neglected. For case, he observed some people working on the Sabbath (Neh. 13:xv). Jewish officials had been letting Gentile traders bring their goods into Jerusalem for auction on the solar day of remainder (Neh. 13:16). So Nehemiah rebuked those who had failed to honor the Sabbath (Neh. 13:seven-18). Moreover, in his typically pragmatic approach, he airtight the city gates before the Sabbath began, keeping them shut until the mean solar day of residuum had passed. He too stationed some of his servants at the gates so that they might tell potential sellers to leave (Neh. thirteen:19).
The question of whether and/or how Christians ought to go on the Sabbath cannot be answered from Nehemiah. A much broader theological conversation is necessary.[i]Nevertheless, this volume reminds us of the axis of Sabbath-keeping to God's first covenant people and the threat posed by economical interaction with those who practise non honour the Sabbath. In our own context, it was certainly easier for Christians to keep the Sabbath when the malls were closed on the Lord'due south Day. Nonetheless, our gimmicky civilisation of round-the-clock commerce puts us in Nehemiah's state of affairs, in which a conscious — and potentially costly — decision well-nigh Sabbath-keeping is required.
Working Inside a Fallen Organization (Esther)
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The Book of Esther begins with Male monarch Ahasuerus (known to history outside the Bible equally Xerxes) throwing a lavish party to brandish his celebrity (Es. one:1-eight). Having consumed ample amounts of vino, Ahasuerus commanded his servants to bring Queen Vashti before him in order that he might show her off to the other partygoers (Es. 1:x-xi). Merely Vashti, sensing the indignity of the asking, refused (Es. one:12). Her refusal disturbed the men in attendance, who feared that her case would encourage other women in the kingdom to stand up upwardly to their husbands (Es. i:thirteen-eighteen). Thus Vashti was "fired," if you volition, and a process was begun to notice Ahasuerus a new queen (Es. 1:21-2:4). To be sure, this episode depicts a family matter. Only every imperial family is too a political workplace. And so Vashti's state of affairs is also a workplace issue, in which the boss seeks to exploit a woman because of her gender and and then terminates her when she fails to live up to his fantasies.
Simply who would succeed Vashti? A dazzler contest was held to locate the most beautiful virgins in all 127 provinces of Persia, and Esther was amongst those brought to the palace to undergo the twelvemonth-long beauty treatment required before presentation to the king. At the end, Esther finished showtime in the pageant and was crowned queen of the realm. The one fact about her that remained subconscious, at the request of her cousin and guardian Mordecai, was that she was a Jew. (Es. two:8-14). Although she is the credible "winner" of the competition, she is nevertheless caught in an oppressive, sexist system, soon to face sexual exploitation at the hands of a selfish tyrant.
Although Esther remains subject to this oppressive system, she now enters the palace with its access to high ability and influence. She does non seem interested in whether God has whatsoever programme or purpose for her there. In fact, God is not even mentioned in the book of Esther. But that doesn't mean that God has no plan or purpose for her in Ahasuerus' court. As it happens, her cousin Mordecai afterward some time comes into disharmonize with Ahasuerus' highest official, Haman (Es. 3:i-six). Haman responds by plotting to kill not merely Mordecai, but the whole Jewish people (Es. 3:vii-fifteen). Due to the intractability of the Police force of the Medes and Persians, once Xerxes signed the edict approving this (not knowing that his queen was one of the hated Jews), nothing could overturn it.
The edict is proclaimed in several cities and provinces, causing the expiry of many Jews, and when Mordecai hears nigh this, he sits in the king's gate in sackcloth and ashes. Hearing of this, Esther sends to find out what is wrong with him, and he sends back word of the edict, asking her to intervene (Es. 4:one-9).
Esther protests that getting involved could jeopardize her position, and even her life (Es. 4:11). Already she seems to be losing the rex's interest, having not been called into his presence for the past 30 days. It is inconceivable that the king is sleeping solitary, therefore another woman or women have been "chosen to come in to the king" (Es. 4:11). To intervene on behalf of her people would be besides risky. Mordecai responds with ii arguments. Outset, her life is at gamble, whether or not she intervenes. "Do non think that in the male monarch's palace you will escape whatsoever more than all the other Jews. . For if you keep silence at such a fourth dimension as this, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from some other quarter, just you and your father'south family will perish." (Es. 4:13-14a). And second, "Who knows? Perhaps you take come to royal dignity for but such a time equally this" (Es. iv:14b). Together, these arguments lead to a remarkable virtually-face up by Esther. Titled "queen" but withal subject to the absolute whim of the king, Esther cannot imagine that she can do annihilation about the decree.But she finally agrees to go to the male monarch, asserting to Mordecai, "If I perish, I perish" (Esther 4:sixteen). Esther has to make a option. She can continue to conceal her Jewishness and spend the rest of her days as kickoff lady of Xerxes' harem. Or she tin can take her life in her hands and practise what she tin can to save her people. She comes to understand that her high position is not just a privilege to be enjoyed, only a high responsibility to be used to save others. Her people are in peril, and their problem has become her problem because she is in the best position to do something about information technology.
Detect that Mordecai'due south two arguments entreatment to unlike instincts. The first argument appeals to self-preservation. Y'all, Esther, are a Jew, and if all the Jews are ordered killed, you will be found out and slain somewhen. The second argument appeals to destiny, with its hint of divine service. If you wonder, Esther, why you of all young women ended up the rex's married woman, perhaps it is because in that location is a larger purpose to your life.
At long last, Esther identifies herself with her people. In this sense, she takes the same step Jesus was to take at his birth, identification of himself with humanity. And perhaps this step is what opens her eye to God'southward purposes. Identifying now with her people'south mortal peril, Esther takes on the service of intervening with the king. She risks her position, her possessions, her life. Her loftier position now becomes a means of service, instead of cocky-service.[1]
Esther's service corresponds to today's workplace in several means:
- Many people — Christian or not — make find themselves ethically compromised as a event of their work history. Because we all stand in Esther'due south shoes, we all take the opportunity — and responsibility — to allow God apply united states anyway. Did you cut corners to go your job? Nonetheless, God can use y'all to call an terminate to the deceptive practices in your workplace. Have you made improper utilize of corporate assets? God may nevertheless apply you to clean up the falsified records in your department. Past adaptation to a sinful organisation is no excuse for declining to heed what God needs from you now. Prior misuse of your God-given abilities is no reason to believe you lot cannot utilise them for God'due south good purposes today. Esther is the model for all of u.s.a. who take fallen brusque of the glory of God, whether by pick or by necessity. You cannot say, "If y'all knew how many upstanding shortcomings I fabricated to get here — I can't be of any utilize to God now."
- God makes use of the bodily circumstances of our lives. Esther'southward position gives her unique opportunities to serve God. Mordecai'due south position gives him different opportunities. We should embrace the particular opportunities we have. Rather than saying, "I would do something nifty for God, if only I had the opportunity," we should say, "Perhaps I have come up into this position for just such as fourth dimension as this."
- Our positions are spiritually dangerous. We may come up to equate our value and our very existence with our positions. The college our positions, the greater the danger. If becoming CEO or getting tenure or keeping a adept job becomes so important that we cut off the remainder of ourselves, then we have lost ourselves already.
- Serving God requires risking our positions. If you lot apply your position to serve God, yous might lose your position and your future prospects. This is doubly frightening if y'all have become cocky-identified with your task or career. Notwithstanding the truth is our positions are as well at risk if we don't serve God. Esther's case is extreme. She may exist killed if she risks her position by intervening, and she will be killed if she doesn't intervene. Are our positions actually whatsoever more secure than Esther's? It is no foolishness to risk what yous cannot keep in order to gain what you cannot lose. Work done in God's service can never truly be lost.
For Esther and the Jews, the story has a happy ending. Esther risks approaching the king unbidden, nevertheless receives his favor (Es. 5:1-2). She employs a clever tactic to butter him up over the course of two banquets (Es. 5:iv-8; seven:one-v) and to dispense Haman into exposing his own hypocrisy in seeking to have the Jews annihilated (Es. seven:half-dozen-x). The king issues a new judgment delivering the Jews from Haman's scheme (Es. 8:11-14) and rewards Mordecai and Esther with riches, honor and power (Es. viii:1-ii; 10:1-3). They in turn better the lot of Jews throughout the Persian Empire (Es. 10:3). Haman and the enemies of the Jews are slaughtered (Es. 7:9-ten; 9:one-17). The dates of the Jews' deliverance — Adar fourteen and 15 — are marked thereafter as the festival of Purim (Es. 9:17-23).
God'due south Hidden Hand and Human being Response (Esther)
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Equally noted earlier, God is not mentioned in the Book of Esther. Yet it is a book of the Bible. Commentators therefore await for the veiled presence of God in Esther and generally signal to the crucial verse: "Who knows? Possibly you have come up to purple dignity for such a time as this?" (Es. 4:14). The implication is that she has come up to her position not past luck, or fate, or by her own wiles, but by the volition of an unseen player. We can see the divine handwriting on the wall here. Esther has come to her royal position because the "skillful hand of God was upon [her]," as Ezra and Nehemiah might take said (Ezra viii:18, Nehemiah 2:18).
This challenges us to ponder how God might be at work in ways nosotros don't recognize. When a secular company eliminates bias in promotions and pay scales, is God at work there? When a Christian is able to end deceptive record-keeping practices, does she have to announce that she did so because she'south a Christian? If Christians accept a chance to join with Jews and Muslims to make a case for reasonable religious accommodations in a corporation, should they run into it as a work of God? If you can do adept by taking a job in a compromised political administration, could God be calling you to take the offer? If you teach in a school that pushes you to the limits of your conscience, should you seek to leave, or should you redouble your commitment to staying?
Conclusions to Ezra, Nehemiah & Esther
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The books of Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther have several mutual features. All three are relatively brusk narratives near events happening during the reign of the Persian Empire. All three involve Persian kings and other government officials. All 3 focus on the activities of Jews who are seeking to thrive in an environs that is, in many ways, hostile to their exercise of religion in God. All three books bear witness to the fact that a Western farsi king could be helpful to the Jews in their effort to survive and thrive. All three feature key leaders whose deportment are held up as models of imitation. And all three books testify people at piece of work, thus providing an opportunity for us to reverberate upon how these books touch our understanding of work and its relationship to God.
Yet all 3 books represent a broad difference in stance about crucial matters. This is true even of Ezra and Nehemiah, which were originally two parts of one book. In Ezra, trusting God requires that God'south people travel through dangerous territory without a royal escort. In Nehemiah, the offer of a royal escort is taken equally evidence of God'due south blessing. Ezra represents what might exist called "idealistic faith," while Nehemiah practices "pragmatic organized religion." In Esther, God'southward paw is hidden, revealed primarily in Esther'southward shrewd use of her wits and position in the service of her people. We could call hers a "clever faith."
Nevertheless, Ezra and Nehemiah uphold a like vision of God's work in the globe. God is involved in the lives of all people, not only his chosen ones. God moves in the hearts of pagan kings, leading them to support God's purposes. The Lord inspires his people to devote their work to him, using a wide variety of strong leaders and prophetic voices to fulfill his purposes. In Ezra, God uses a faithful priest to rebuild his temple. In Nehemiah, God uses a true-blue lay person to rebuild the walls of his capital. In Esther, God uses a deeply compromised, initially unobservant Jew to save the Jewish people from genocide. From the perspective of all three books, God is at work throughout the globe, making use of the work of all kinds of people.
Central Verses and Themes in Ezra, Nehemiah & Esther
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Verse(due south) | Theme |
| Ezra 1:1 In the offset year of Cyrus king of Persia, in club that the discussion of the Lord past the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the Lord stirred upwards the spirit of King Cyrus of Persia so that he sent a herald throughout all his kingdom and also in a written edict declared... | God is at work throughout the world, even in and through a infidel king |
| Ezra seven:28b I took courage, for the hand of the Lord my God was upon me, and I gathered leaders from Israel to go up with me. | Homo work is successful when God blesses the work |
| Ezra 8: 22 I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and cavalry to protect united states against the enemy on our manner; since we had told the king that the paw of our God is gracious to all who seek him, simply the power of his wrath is confronting all who forsake him." | Sometimes trusting in God means not relying on human being help |
| Nehemiah 2: 8b-9 The king granted me what I asked, for the gracious paw of my God was upon me. So I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River, and gave them the king'southward letters. Now the rex had sent with me officers of the army and cavalry. | Sometimes trusting in God means recognizing his provision of human help |
| Nehemiah 4:9 We prayed to our God, and prepare a guard as a protection against them day and night. | Trust in God should not atomic number 82 to passivity |
| Nehemiah five:19 Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people. | The key to determining the correct thing to practise is how it affects the people involved |
| Nehemiah 13:nineteen When it began to exist night at the gates of Jerusalem before the sabbath, I allowable that the doors should exist shut and gave orders that they should not be opened until after the sabbath. And I fix some of my servants over the gates, to forestall any burden from being brought in on the sabbath day. | Keeping the Sabbath is commanded, even when it puts believers at an economic disadvantage |
| Esther 2:14 In the evening she went; then in the morning time she came back to the second harem in custody of Shaashgaz, the king's eunuch who was in charge of the concubines; she did not go in to the rex again, unless the rex delighted in her and she was summoned by name. | People — particularly women— may find themselves in economic circumstances where there is no completely virtuous resolution. Nonetheless God is with them |
| Esther 4:13b Exercise not call up that in the rex'south palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. | Information technology is an illusion to think that ability, position or wealth insulates united states from the hazards of life |
| Esther 4:14b Who knows? Perhaps you have come to majestic dignity for such a fourth dimension equally this? | God'southward work among united states is sometimes subtle, and sometimes should not even be identified specifically |
| Esther four:16b If I perish, I perish. | The only manner to serve God is to acknowledge that we cannot control the outcomes of our actions |
Source: https://www.theologyofwork.org/old-testament/ezra-nehemiah-esther
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