About this Blog Seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.
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By Anushka, on 15th May 2012 What happens in the book?
- The Jews in captivity in Babylon were given permission to return to the land of Israel by Cyrus, King of Persia.
- The first wave of people was led back by Zerubabbel the prince, and Joshua the High Priest.
- They rebuilt the temple, but suffered opposition whilst so doing.
- The prophets Haggai and Zechariah encouraged the people to finish building the temple.
- Ezra brings a second wave of Jews back to the land, some years later.
- He brings spiritual reform, and sorts out problems that had arisen in respect of inter-marriage.
Who was Ezra?
- Ezra was a priest, a descendant of Aaron.
- He was also a scribe – a writer and teacher.
- As he could not be an active priest in Babylon he spent his time learning the Law of Moses.
- He is credited with writing the books of 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles, as well as Ezra and Nehemiah, the next book in the Bible.
- He helped the people to institute the Law correctly on their return to the land.
What was the opposition rebuilding of the temple?
- The enemies of the Jews from the nations round about did not want the temple rebuilt.
- They appealed to Artaxerxes, the current Persian king, saying that the Jews would no longer pay taxes to him once the building was finished.
- Artaxerxes forbade the building to continue as he knew the Jews had a long history of revolt against foreign kings.
- Later, when Darius was king of Persia, a governor called Tattenai tried once more to halt the work which had begun again.
- However Darius found the original decree from Cyrus, which gave the Jews permission to build the temple, and the attempt to stop the work was unsuccessful.
Why is this book important?
- It fulfills the prophecy in the book of Jeremiah that the Jews would return to the land after 70 years captivity – Jeremiah 29 vs 10.
- It reinstates once more the true worship of God by the Jews in accordance with his Laws.
Next time – Bitesize Book of Nehemiah!
By Philologus, on 2nd May 2012 Finding your way about the Bible is not as difficult as some might think. Try this simple experiment. Hold your Bible closed in front of you. (It must be a basic copy without a concordance etc. at the back.) Now, find the centre of the pages and open it. It is almost certain that you will be in, or near the five poetical books, consisting of Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. All these provide a great amount of interesting reading, and are just so easy to find.
History
Now, holding, or clipping, those pages together, divide the left hand pages into two and you will be close to the division between what is termed The Pentateuch or the main historical books. The five books of the Pentateuch tell first about God’s Creation, and the earliest times of God’s people Israel, plus all the laws that governed them.
The historical section beginning with the book of Joshua leads on to the period of the Judges, and then Samuel, which begins the period of the Kings, taking us right through to the sad period of the captivity of the nation into Babylon and their return, in the times of Ezra and Nehemiah. In a nutshell, that is the left hand part of your Bible, but you are still only halfway.
Prophecy
Now, on the right-hand side of the poetic section, take those remaining pages and divide them fairly equally in two. The left hand section contains the prophetical books of the Old Testament; four Major prophets and twelve Minor prophets. These are conveniently grouped, but historically, they relate to different periods in Israel’s history. The final book is Malachi, which concludes the Old Testament.
New Testament
You will discover that the right-hand side of this division contains the whole of the New Testament, which forms less than a quarter of the Bible itself. It may be short but it contains all the information about God’s plan of salvation for mankind, centred on the Lord Jesus Christ.
It begins with the four Gospel accounts of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. It is followed by the exciting period of the Acts of the Apostles, telling how, in miraculous ways, the Gospel (good news), was spread abroad. Then follow twenty one apostolic letters, or Epistles, each containing valuable teaching about Christian living. Finally comes the Book of Revelation.
This is a book of sign and symbol containing amazing prophecies, leading up to the triumphant return of Christ to earth, and the establishing of the Kingdom of God
Once you know the Bible you get a lot of encouragement to begin reading it. If you haven’t started already, why not begin today?
By Philologus, on 1st May 2012 Jesus was once asked how many people will be saved: would it be many or few? His answer challenges many of the assumptions held today by people who are hoping for the best.
It is a widely held view that if there is a God in heaven – and a lot of people haven’t made up their minds about that – it is to be hoped that He is a benevolent being who will be kind to all those who try to live a decent life. I expect you have heard the argument that “I have never done anybody any harm”, where the inference is that such behaviour should be good enough for God, in the hope that He is not too demanding.
View the full article at thebiblestudy.co.uk …
By Anushka, on 30th March 2012 Bitesize Bible Study – The Book of 2 Chronicles
What is covered in this book?
- 2 Chronicles commences with the reign of Solomon, and finishes with the carrying away into captivity of Judah.
- Much of the material in 2 Chronicles is also covered by 1 and 2 Kings.
- The emphasis in 2 Chronicles is spiritual and focuses on the worship of God, whereas 1 and 2 Kings have greater emphasis on the political and military activities of the kings.
- Like 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles only deals with the southern kingdom of Judah.
- In chapters 1-9 Solomon becomes king and builds the temple.
- In chapters 10-12 the reign of Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, is covered.
- The remainder of the chapters follow through subsequent events in the lives of the kings, from Abijah through to Zedekiah, the last king of Judah.
What are the themes in this book?
- The temple is completed by Solomon and becomes the center of worship in Jerusalem.
- There is a pattern of blessings on Judah when the king encouraged the people to do what was right, and periods of wickedness which lead to war and defeat.
- Various kings were reformers, and tried to set to right the poor examples of previous kings.
- Ultimately the people failed the Lord and were taken into captivity.
What reformations took place in Judah?
- Chapter 15: King Asa held a great religious festival
- Chapter 17: King Jehoshaphat sent religious leaders through the land to teach the people.
- Chapter 24: King Joash, under the influence of Jehoiada the priest, repaired the temple.
- Chapter 29: King Hezekiah restored the temple worship.
- Chapter 34: King Josiah found the book of the law and restored true worship.
What can we learn from this book?
- The people of Judah are encouraged to seek the Lord and rewarded when they worship Him. This is the same in our lives, although not quite as directly as it was in those days.
- Ultimately God wants us to worship Him and not forsake Him, to gain true spiritual benefits.
- The best endeavors of man cannot save us, human nature is easily led and drawn into wicked behaviors, especially when a strong leader is lacking.
- This points forward to the leader we await from heaven, the Lord Jesus.
Next Time: Bitesize Book of Ezra!
By Anushka, on 26th January 2012 Isn’t 1 Chronicles just a repeat of the Books of Kings?
- 1 Kings and 2 Kings are history books, mainly reciting the facts of the kings of Israel and Judah, and associated prophets.
- 1 Chronicles is in the form of a journal of events, and adds supplementary information and detail to that information provided elsewhere.
- 1 Chronicles only deals with the southern kingdom of Judah, where the line of David is continued and the book actually covers similar ground to 2 Samuel.
- The genealogy at the beginning of the book reminds the people of Judah of their heritage with the Lord, and that they alone are God’s witnesses.
What else is in the book?
- The first 9 chapters are taken up with genealogies, from Adam through to King Saul.
- Many stories seen in earlier books do appear, but with a more spiritual emphasis, including much of the life of King David.
- The temple and temple ritual are a more prominent subject than the lives and wars of the kings.
- There are frequent references to the ark of the Lord and the priests and Levites.
- The preparations for the building of the temple made by David are detailed.
What are the main stories in the book?
- Chapter 10 – Death of Saul.
- Chapters 11-12 – David becomes king.
- Chapter 13 – The ark is transported on a cart to Kiriath-Jearim resulting in the death of Uzzah.
- Chapter 15 – The ark is brought to Jerusalem.
- Chapter 17 – God makes promises to David that he will have a son who will have an everlasting kingdom.
- Chapter 21 – David sins by carrying out a census of the people.
- Chapter 22 – David makes preparations for the temple to be built.
- Chapter 28 – Solomon is given instructions on the building of the temple.
What can we learn?
- The incident of Uzzah’s death upon the incorrect transportation of the ark teaches us that we must respect God and do things the way he wants us to.
- We have the promise of the future kingdom of God reiterated for us again, and we know that we await the Son whose throne will be established for ever.
Next time: Bitesize Book of 2 Chronicles!
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