Commuter Bible

The governors who oversee region west of the Euphrates, which includes Judah and Jerusalem, are unhappy that Nehemiah has been sent to help rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Feeling threatened, Sanballat and other officials create false rumors and even bribe others to attempt to deceive Nehemiah. They make every attempt to stop or delay the work, but in just 52 days’ time, Nehemiah and the diligent remnant Israel rebuild the wall and restore the gates.

Nehemiah, an exile who lived in Persia’s capital and served King Artaxerxes as his royal cupbearer, hears news that Jerusalem has been laid waste. The wall surrounding the city had been greatly compromised and the gates that would have maintained a secure entrance had been burned down. In great dismay, Nehemiah ask the king if he can return to help restore the city. With the king’s approval and with papers in hand, Nehemiah goes back to Jerusalem, but the local governors are not happy that he has come. Nehemiah surveys the damage under cover of night, then urges Israel to join him in the work of rebuilding the wall and gates.

In our last episode, we were introduced to Ezra, a scribe in exile who had been trained in the law of Moses and who had “determined in his heart to study the law of the Lord, obey it, and teach it’s statutes and ordinances in Israel.” King Artaxerxes expressly commands Ezra to do just that. After we review some of the family heads who accompanied Ezra for the journey back to Jerusalem, we discover that even the leaders of those who had returned from exile had disobeyed the commands of the Lord by marrying foreign women. This was forbidden under the law of Moses, and can be cited as one of the reasons Israel abandoned the Lord and pursued other gods.

If you have siblings, then there was likely a time when you tried to get them in trouble for doing something you didn’t like only to find out they were told to do it by your parents. In similar fashion, the governor and rulers that oversee the region west of the Euphrates alert King Darius that the Jews are rebuilding the temple. The king’s reply? Leave them alone! If anyone tries to stop them, they will be impaled on a beam from their own house! The temple is completed with great joy and after about 60 years of silence, we are introduced to Ezra, a man with unique skills and special instructions from the king.

The books of Ezra and Nehemiah were original part of one book but they got separated along the way as the book was translated. The author of this book and the author of 1 & 2 Chronicles are one and the same, and Ezra continues where 2 Chronicles left off. Once we make it through some of the population tallies at the beginning, we get to see what happens when God’s people are allowed to return the land of Judah. Before they even begin to rebuild the walls of the city, they prioritize rebuilding the temple, but even before that, they begin to worship God according to the Scriptures.

Paul begins today’s passage by clarifying the reasons why he has sent an advance party to secure the offering the Corinthians had promised to give. After this, he begins to defend the authority he has over the Corinthian church as a true apostle. Other men, whom Paul calls “Super-apostles”, had come into town, and it seems that the church was supporting them and listening to their teaching. These men were boastful and requested payment for their teaching, whereas Paul was humble, loyal, and worked without burdening the church financially. As he concludes, Paul assures them that he will not be lenient on those who have persisted in sin.

Having encouraged the Corinthian church to pursue godliness in the midst of difficulty and hardship, Paul continues in today’s passage to remind them that this life and this body are temporary like a tent, but our established home is in heaven with Christ. As those who represent our heavenly home, we should be ambassadors, or representatives of the kingdom we call home. Our earthly travels and our tasks may be full of dichotomies, for in this life we can afford little, but in the next life we have a rich inheritance. Finally, Paul makes an appeal to the church to be diligent and intentional with the task of setting aside money to give to the work of ministry and missions.

Paul loves the church in Corinth, but at the writing of this letter, the feeling wasn’t entirely mutual. The Corinthian church had received a severe letter from Paul that contained instructions about disciplining a church member. This could be the man mentioned in 1 Corinthians 5 or it could be some other person within the church. In either case, it pained the church. Paul writes this opening section to bring comfort to the church, to reaffirm his love for them, and to encourage the Corinthians to continue to love him, too. His confidence comes, not from letters of recommendation written by men, but from the Spirit who gives life and opens the eyes of men to see the light of the gospel.

Obadiah is the shortest book in Old Testament, and it’s a prophecy directed against one nation: the nation of Edom. Though the time or century of this proclamation is not fully known, it is clear from the text that Edom is guilty of mocking Judah in their distress and taking advantage of their dire situation. In the end, however, the Lord will bring His people back and Edom will be devastated. Titus is a short epistle from Paul that includes qualifications for elders and a call to live together in unity and stop fighting about trivial matters. There are so many great truths in this one small letter. Alright, let’s dive in.

King Josiah takes the throne at age 8, begins to seek the Lord at age 16, and begins to cleanse the land of idols and high places at age 20. At 24, he commands his servants to clean and repair the temple of God, and when they do so, they discover the book of the law of God taken down by the hand of Moses. After consulting a prophet, he learns that God’s wrath will soon be poured out on Israel. He calls the people to carry out the covenant of God with him, and they observe the Passover. After Josiah’s death, four kings of Judah reign in just 22 years time, at which point the Lord sends his people into exile.