Nehemiah 1:1-11 or Lamentations 2:16-22

See the text and comments for October 27, one week ago.

Revelation 5:11-6:11

See the text and comments for October 27, one week ago.

Matthew 13:18-23

See the text and comments for October 27, one week ago.

Ezra 7:(1-10) 11-26

The Coming and Work of Ezra

7:1 After this, in the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia, Ezra son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, 2 son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, 3 son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, 4 son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, 5 son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of the chief priest Aaron-- 6 this Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses that the LORD the God of Israel had given; and the king granted him all that he asked, for the hand of the LORD his God was upon him.

7 Some of the people of Israel, and some of the priests and Levites, the singers and gatekeepers, and the temple servants also went up to Jerusalem, in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes. 8 They came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. 9 On the first day of the first month the journey up from Babylon was begun, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, for the gracious hand of his God was upon him. 10 For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach the statutes and ordinances in Israel. (Ezra 7:1-10, NRSV)

In the book that bears his name Ezra appears himself for the first time in chapter 7, and he remains active through the remainder of the book (i.e through chap. 10). Ezra is also prominent in the book of Nehemiah, beginning with his reading of “the law of Moses” to all the “people gathered together into the square before the Water Gate” (Neh. 8:1, cf. vv. 1-12). “Ezra-Nehemiah forms a single book in the Hebrew Bible, though its two parts are separated in Christian tradition” (Tamara Cohn Eskenazi, Introduction to Ezra, NOAB, 3^rd ed.). {The books are printed continuously as one book in my Hebrew Bible [Rud. Kittel, ed., Biblia Hebraica, 12^th ed., 1937, but page headers and the chapter numbers] distinguish the Ezra part from the Nehemiah part.)

Ezra is introduced as “a scribe skilled in the law of Moses that the LORD the God of Israel had given” (Ezra 7:6). After reporting his arrival in Jerusalem with “some of the people of Israel, and some of the priests and Levites, the singers and gatekeepers, and the temple servants” (v. 7), “in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes” (i.e. 458 B.C., if this is Artaxerxes I). Ezra “had set his heart to study the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach the statutes and ordinances in Israel” (v. 10), and he was revered in later Judaism as the model scribe.

Raish Lakish said, "When the Torah became forgotten from Israel, Ezra came up from Babylon and revitalized it. Again, when it was about to be forgotten, Hillel came up from Babylon and revitalized it. And later Rabbi Chiya and his sons did the same" (Succah 20a). (cited by Chaim Shapiro, “Torah Pioneers,” (http://www.tzemachdovid.org/gedolim/jo/tworld/frank.html, accessed November 2, 2005)

Hillel lived and worked in Jerusalem during the time of Herod the Great (37-4 B.C.).

The Letter of Artaxerxes to Ezra

11 This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to the priest Ezra, the scribe, a scholar of the text of the commandments of the LORD and his statutes for Israel: 12 "Artaxerxes, king of kings, to the priest Ezra, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven: Peace. And now 13 I decree that any of the people of Israel or their priests or Levites in my kingdom who freely offers to go to Jerusalem may go with you. 14 For you are sent by the king and his seven counselors to make inquiries about Judah and Jerusalem according to the law of your God, which is in your hand, 15 and also to convey the silver and gold that the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, 16 with all the silver and gold that you shall find in the whole province of Babylonia, and with the freewill offerings of the people and the priests, given willingly for the house of their God in Jerusalem. 17 With this money, then, you shall with all diligence buy bulls, rams, and lambs, and their grain offerings and their drink offerings, and you shall offer them on the altar of the house of your God in Jerusalem. 18 Whatever seems good to you and your colleagues to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do, according to the will of your God. 19 The vessels that have been given you for the service of the house of your God, you shall deliver before the God of Jerusalem. 20 And whatever else is required for the house of your God, which you are responsible for providing, you may provide out of the king's treasury.

21 "I, King Artaxerxes, decree to all the treasurers in the province Beyond the River: Whatever the priest Ezra, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, requires of you, let it be done with all diligence, 22 up to one hundred talents of silver, one hundred cors of wheat, one hundred baths of wine, one hundred baths of oil, and unlimited salt. 23 Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be done with zeal for the house of the God of heaven, or wrath will come upon the realm of the king and his heirs. 24 We also notify you that it shall not be lawful to impose tribute, custom, or toll on any of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the doorkeepers, the temple servants, or other servants of this house of God.

25 "And you, Ezra, according to the God-given wisdom you possess, appoint magistrates and judges who may judge all the people in the province Beyond the River who know the laws of your God; and you shall teach those who do not know them. 26 All who will not obey the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be strictly executed on them, whether for death or for banishment or for confiscation of their goods or for imprisonment." (Ezra 7:11-26, NRSV)

Beginning in Ezra 7:12, the text of Artaxerxes’ letter is in Aramaic (7:12-26; cf. 4:8-6:16, and NRSV footnote a on 4:7). Eskenazi sums it up as follows:

This final Aramaic royal letter establishes Ezra’s credentials within the Persian bureaucratic structures. It reauthorizes immigration to Judah (v. 13) and royal subsidy for the Temple (vv. 14-24). It refers to the Torah but does not overly emphasize itl; in fact, in v. 26 it is mentioned alongside royal law. (NOAB, 3^rd ed., on Ezra 7:11-26)

or Zechariah 1:7-17

NOTE: This passage is repeated here from Monday, October 24, 2005:

First Vision: The Horsemen

7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah son of Iddo; and Zechariah said, 8 In the night I saw a man riding on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen; and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses. 9 Then I said, "What are these, my lord?" The angel who talked with me said to me, "I will show you what they are." 10 So the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered, "They are those whom the LORD has sent to patrol the earth." 11 Then they spoke to the angel of the LORD who was standing among the myrtle trees, "We have patrolled the earth, and lo, the whole earth remains at peace." 12 Then the angel of the LORD said, "O LORD of hosts, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which you have been angry these seventy years?" 13 Then the LORD replied with gracious and comforting words to the angel who talked with me. 14 So the angel who talked with me said to me, Proclaim this message: Thus says the LORD of hosts; I am very jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion. 15 And I am extremely angry with the nations that are at ease; for while I was only a little angry, they made the disaster worse. 16 Therefore, thus says the LORD, I have returned to Jerusalem with compassion; my house shall be built in it, says the LORD of hosts, and the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem. 17 Proclaim further: Thus says the LORD of hosts: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity; the LORD will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem. (Zechariah 1:7-17

NOTE: These comments are repeated from Monday, October 24, 2005:

For several days our Old Testament readings [in sequence] have focused on the period of restoration after the Babylonian exile. For the time being, we have one reading from Zechariah, the first of eight visions. Zechariah saw “a man on a red horse,” with “red, sorrel, and white horse” behind him (Zech. 1:8). Apparently, the others have riders as well. Zechariah asks, “What are these, my lord?” and the angel promises an answer (v. 9). “They are those whom the LORD has sent to patrol the earth” (v. 10). They report that “the whole earth remains at peace” (v. 11). But the angel asks, “O LORD of hosts, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which you have been angry these seventy years?” (v. 12). The answer, after the LORD express anger at the nations who “made the disaster worse” (v. 15), says he has “returned to Jerusalem with compassion” and “my house shall be built in it” (v. 16). He adds, “My cities shall again overflow with prosperity; the LORD will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem” (v. 17).

Revelation 14:1-13

The Lamb and the 144,000

14:1 Then I looked, and there was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion! And with him were one hundred forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a voice from heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder; the voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, 3 and they sing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the one hundred forty-four thousand who have been redeemed from the earth. 4 It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins; these follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been redeemed from humankind as first fruits for God and the Lamb, 5 and in their mouth no lie was found; they are blameless. (Revelation 14:1-5, NRSV)

Earlier in Revelation, war broke out in heaven, and “the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world–he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him” (Rev. 12:9). This conflict continues in chapters 12 and 13, but encouragement is provided by the vision of the Lamb with those “redeemed from humankind” (14:4), the announcement that “Babylon” is fallen (14;8), the blessing on “the dead who . . . die in the Lord” (v. 13) and demonstration of God’s power, the God “who lives for ever and ever” (15:7).

The Three Angels

6 Then I saw another angel flying in midheaven, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation and tribe and language and people. 7 He said in a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, for the hour of his judgment has come; and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water."

8 Then another angel, a second, followed, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication."

9 Then another angel, a third, followed them, crying with a loud voice, "Those who worship the beast and its image, and receive a mark on their foreheads or on their hands, 10 they will also drink the wine of God's wrath, poured unmixed into the cup of his anger, and they will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image and for anyone who receives the mark of its name."

12 Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and hold fast to the faith of Jesus.

13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write this: Blessed are the dead who from now on die in the Lord." "Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them." (Revelation 14:6-13, NRSV)

The first angel’s “eternal gospel” is for “every nation and tribe and language and people” (Rev. 14:6), calling upon them to “Fear God and give him glory, for the hour of his judgment has come; and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water” (v. 7). The second angel announces the fall of Babylon (v. 8; cf. comments above). The third angel warns against worshiping “the beast” or receiving his “mark” (v. 9), for if they do, “they will also drink the wine of God's wrath, poured unmixed into the cup of his anger, and they will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever” (vv. 10-11a). Saints are called to endurance and to keeping “the commandments of God” and holding “fast to the faith of Jesus” (v. 12). Those who “die in the Lord” are blessed.

Matthew 14:1-12

The Death of John the Baptist (Lk 9.7-9; Mk 6.14-29)

14:1 At that time Herod the ruler heard reports about Jesus; 2 and he said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist; he has been raised from the dead, and for this reason these powers are at work in him." 3 For Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, 4 because John had been telling him, "It is not lawful for you to have her." 5 Though Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded him as a prophet. 6 But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company, and she pleased Herod 7 so much that he promised on oath to grant her whatever she might ask. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, "Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter." 9 The king was grieved, yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he commanded it to be given; 10 he sent and had John beheaded in the prison. 11 The head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, who brought it to her mother. 12 His disciples came and took the body and buried it; then they went and told Jesus. (Matthew 14:1-12, NRSV)

To put this account in a context, see the table of the Death of John the Baptist, Feeding the 5000, which combines today’s reading about the beheading of John the Baptist by Herod Antipas at the request of Herodias through her daughter, with tomorrow’s reading about the Feeding of the Five Thousand. Coming back-to-back, as they do in both Matthew and Mark, they picture a sharp contrast between the Devil’s banquet and the Lord’s, very likely, deliberately so on the part of both evangelists. For reasons of his own, Luke reports the imprisonment of John much earlier, before the beginning of Jesus’ ministry (Lk. 3:19-20). This has been understood (e.g. by Hans Conzelmann) as an indication that Luke regarded John as the last of the prophets of the previous dispensation. The original title of Conzelmann’s book, Die Mitte der Zeit (i.e. “The Middle of Time”), implied that the period of Jesus’ ministry on earth was the center of time in God’s plan of salvation, preceded by the time of the prophets, and followed by the age of the church. The title which the English translation bears, The Theology of St. Luke, doesn’t so clearly underscore this point. We might have expected such a perspective from Luke the historian, but of course this at most is only one aspect of Luke’s vision of the beginnings of Christianity in the Roman Empire.

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

rworden@houston.rr.com