You Can Read the Bible Guided Podcast

In yesterday’s reading the only real tension was produced by the old men, who wept at the memory of Solomon’s temple.  This is a moving scene: the feelings of grief and loss and fulfilled hope grinding together as the foundation for the new temple is laid. 

Unfortunately, grief of another form is on the horizon.  In chapter 4, we find that Judah is not empty: those whom Assyria had resettled in Israel a century-and-a-half ago had crept southward, and now seek an alliance.  These adversaries – in the author’s description – assure the exiles that “we worship God as you do.”  We know from 2 Kings that this is not true, for these nations feared the LORD and also served their carved images. 

This presents Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ houses with an awesome dilemma: allow the locals to help and they could be drawn into apostate religious practices; refuse their help and risk a showdown.  Imagine a scene of disruption: Zerubbabel is responsible for the safety of over 40,000 returning exiles, most of whom are seeing Judah for the first time.  The people of Samaria, who had filled the void Judah left behind, would have had protective interests as well.  In between, a ruined, contested city of tremendous historical significance. 

The question hinges not only on the promises of the LORD and His prophets, but also on the strength and integrity of the Persian king.  I’ll let you complete the story, but keep in mind that about 20 years pass between Cyrus’s decree and the end of chapter 6. 

One literary note is in order: chapter 4 contains a parenthetical concerning letters to Ahasuerus and his son Artaxerxes.   The correspondence with Artaxerxes is especially revealing about both the local governors and the king, a brilliant bit of politics.  However, chronologically these stories are difficult; most likely they are inserted based on theme, rather than chronology, as both these kings reign after Darius.  We’ve seen this before, notably in Judges and Jeremiah, and is another illustration of ancient technique. 

Our verses for this week are Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Ezra 4 through 6.  Now let’s read it!

Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, declares the LORD, making the land an everlasting waste.  – Jeremiah 25:12

The story picks up immediately after the Persian army overruns Babylon and Cyrus becomes king over Babylon and its territories.  The opening chapters of Ezra are full of hope: Cyrus, whom the LORD called his anointed…for the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, declares that the LORD has charged him to “build a house at Jerusalem…”  Seven decades after the first exiles were deported, five decades after the temple was burned by Nebuchadnezzar, the Jews are going home. 

The story is straightforward, but I encourage you to listen for the nuance in Cyrus’s proclamation.  He first declares that “The LORD (Yahweh, the God of Israel), the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.”  This sounds like proper reverence for the Most High God, but later on he qualifies it: “Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of Israel--he is the God who is in Jerusalem.” 

The geographic marker is key: “The God who is in Jerusalem.”  There is some recognition by Cyrus that the God of Israel had gone before him, as Isaiah promised.  But also as Isaiah promised, Cyrus does not truly know the LORD, that there is no other.  Worshipping the LORD also is different than worshipping the LORD alone.  Israel’s inability to grasp this caused its destruction; the same goes for Judah.  It’s what Jeremiah still dealt with after Jerusalem was destroyed.  And it will form an important subtext to Ezra-Nehemiah story. 

Our verses for this week are Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Ezra 1 through 3.  Now let’s read it!

Daniel’s visions today occur during the reign of that ambiguous “Darius the Mede,” and during the reign of Cyrus, of whom much more is known.  Cyrus had united the tribes of the north coast of the Persian Gulf, and within twenty years had assimilated the Medes, swept west through Asia Minor, then south through Babylon.  Persia was the largest single empire Western Asia had yet seen, and would remain so for two centuries, until Alexander’s Macedonians eclipsed them all.

This is not mere trivia.  Today’s visions deal with these present and future events beginning in the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia.  In chapter 10, keep your focus on Daniel, whose interactions are more detailed and intricate than we’ve yet seen.  The first vision begins while Daniel is in mourning – it’s unclear why – on the banks of the Tigris River.   Here he sees someone familiar to us: a man clothed in linen.  Daniel is driven to his knees.  He’s reminded, as Joshua was, to “fear not,” and twice assured that he is “a man greatly loved.”   

The man says he’s been sent to Daniel with a personal mission: to “tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth…”  And this truth, which is revealed further in chapters 11 and 12, concerns the future of Israel, Persia, and the entire world.   Persia’s success in the near-term is secure, but a mighty king shall arise… and rule with great dominion, but as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken and divided toward the four winds of heaven…”  

I won’t get in the way of the rest, as the visions taken together build to an emotional climax, but pay attention to the very end – which contains a personal message for Daniel.  These texts have been parsed, measured and analyzed for over two millennia.  Look for Daniel’s attitude, at what assurances the messengers grant him, and appreciate these visions through his eyes and ears. 

Our verses for this week are Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Daniel 10 through 12.  Now let’s read it!

In the first half of this book Daniel is shown as a prophet who can interpret the visions of others.  In the second half, he receives his own visions, some of which greatly alarm him.  Today’s visions occur during the last few decades of the Babylonian empire and during the early days of Persia’s rule. 

I need to address a number of markers that cause difficulty in aligning Daniel with history.  Belshazzar, who is described as king in chapter 5, is never more than a crown prince for his father.  This doesn’t cause as many problems as his successor, though.  The Persian king who took Babylon and reigned for almost a decade was Cyrus, not Darius.  “Ahasuerus” – or Xerxes – who is listed as Darius’s father, does not yet exist either.  A king named Darius takes the throne in 522 B.C., when Daniel would have been 100 years old. 

It’s possible that we’re looking at titles, rather than names, in certain instances.  It’s possible that “Daniel” is a descriptor for multiple prophets who lived over the course of two centuries.  After all, except for a few mentions in Ezekiel nothing is known about him outside of the book that bears his name.  It’s also possible that the “Darius” in Daniel is a title or code name for Cyrus, and that Ahasuerus is likewise a title. 

In a book that seems to take other details seriously, it would be odd for the author to make significant historical mistakes.  You’re allowed to research Babylonian and Persian history and draw your own conclusions, but the emphasis throughout is that a Hebrew prophet named Daniel had significant influence in the Babylonian and Persian courts.  This is enough to astound author and reader alike. 

What astounds Daniel – even troubles him at times – is a series of visions he receives from the LORD.  Within each vision, an interpretation is provided.  Much is said about the future of Babylon and Persia, and promise surrounds the children of Israel.  Listen intently, but don’t be surprised if you come away feeling like Daniel, who reflects “As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly alarmed me, and my color changed.  But I kept the matter in my heart.” 

Our verses for this week are Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Daniel 7 through 9.  Now let’s read it!

The stories today again fall neatly across chapter lines, and in the first is a royal decree from King Nebuchadnezzar, to whom it seemed good to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me.  Though there is narrative embedded in this account, it is uniquely a first-person acknowledgement of what the king has experienced.  Notice the simple theme, and the king’s acknowledgement that the Most High “does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth.”

Chapter 5 is a pivotal moment not only in the lives of Daniel and the exiles but in world history.  As Jeremiah illuminated the story of Jerusalem’s fall from inside the walls, this account illuminates the last night of the Babylonian kingdom, when it fell to the Persians in 539 B.C.  The historical details are well-known; but pay attention to the details that the author cares about: what King Belshazzar, son of Nebuchadnezzar, was doing at the end. 

Finally, under king Darius, Daniel faces the same type of test that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had confronted with the golden image.  Notice what the author emphasizes about Daniel’s opponents: is their complaint about religion, or are there baser concerns? 

The stories in the first half of Daniel are popular.  You may have heard of the fiery furnace and the lion's den individually and without context.  Read them now with Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, and Kings in the back of your mind.  Also, each of these stories follows the same basic formula; by now you know how the stories are going to end.  Assume the author isn’t foolish.  What understandings can they bring beyond their obvious rhythms?

One angle is that Daniel gives a sense of life for the Jews in exile.  Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were a few out of the thousands who were commanded to "seek the welfare of the city where [the LORD] has sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf..."  If this is what the nobles had to deal with, what kind of snares were there for the common people, who did not have status in the palace?

Our verse for this week is 2 Corinthians 12:9: But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Daniel 4 through 6.  Now let’s read it!

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah… Daniel is introduced as one of the young men carried to Shinar – or Mesopotamia – by Nebuchadnezzar, in 605 B.C.  He is joined by three others who achieve high status in Babylon; we know them best by their Babylonian names: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  The first chapter is devoted to two attributes of these four young men: their faithfulness to the Most High God, and their recognition for wisdom and understanding. 

The second chapter moves forward just two years – Nebuchadnezzar was crown prince when he besieged Jerusalem and returned to Babylon when his father died to assume the throne.  Daniel’s ability to interpret dreams, which is alluded to in the first chapter, is at the center of this story.  The king is distressed – he wants answers about his dream from someone who knows what he’s talking about.  Listen to the interplay between Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel and remember another king and Hebrew interpreter from many years ago. 

The final chapter today takes place at an indeterminate time in the future.  The image that Nebuchadnezzar commissions here is 90 feet tall and 90 feet wide, overlaid, as were many ancient idols, with gold.  There is no mention of whose image was borne – it might have been the king’s; it might have been one of their gods; it makes no difference to the author.  What is significant is that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse to kneel. 

Through the first two chapters the LORD has maintained the faithful and provided wisdom as required.  But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego recognize that nothing is promised them: “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.  If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.  But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

Our verse for this week is 2 Corinthians 12:9: But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Daniel 1 through 3.  Now let’s read it!

The final nine chapters of Ezekiel are occupied by one continuous vision of the future with three intertwining subjects: the Temple, the Prince, and resettling the Land.   In yesterday’s reading the man whose appearance was like bronze showed Ezekiel the plans for the new Temple, and today this expands to draw up the holy district that is dedicated to the LORD.  This district covers over 40 square miles, exponentially larger than the Jerusalem that had been destroyed.  Given the dimensions of the Holy city, and the layout of the tribes, Ezekiel and his hearers know that this is not simply a rebuilt version of the old.

Next we learn more about the righteous Prince who will rule Israel.  It’s tempting to read through this looking for the identity of the future Prince.  The author, however, is more concerned with the duties, the covenant obedience, and the nature of the Prince. One can assume, because of what's been written before in Ezekiel, that he will be of the line of David.  Jeremiah concurs.  But the when and how and where seems to be of secondary concern to this vision.  Listen for echoes of Leviticus, and pay attention to the details that are here. 

Finally, the land is redistributed to the twelve tribes.  The geographic markers are larger than those of Joshua – the size is more comparable to David’s kingdom – and the tribes are stacked in slices of land from north to south, with seven to the north of the holy district and five to the south of it.  This design, and the gates of the holy city that are laid out in the last paragraph, don’t follow a recognizable historical pattern, except for the one we saw in Leviticus: that the LORD is attentive to details.

This final act is much less personal and immediate than the first three-quarters of the book.  Whether this is climax or epilogue, I’ll leave to you to decide.  But there is one last reminder, at the very end, of the LORD’s primary concern.

Our verse for this week is 2 Corinthians 12:9: But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Ezekiel 45 through 48.  Now let’s read it!

“Therefore thus says the LORD GOD: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for my holy name… And I will not hide my face anymore from them, when I pour out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, declares the LORD GOD.”  - Ezekiel 39:25 & 29

Ezekiel had been a part of the first wave of 10,000 exiles in 598 B.C., and for twelve of those years he gave witness – from far away – to Jerusalem’s final defeat.  He would have watched the next wave of exiles come, settle, take wives and have sons and daughters.  For thirteen years, since this last promise of God pouring out His Spirit on the house of Israel, Ezekiel’s pen had been silent. 

Today, in the 25th year of exile, the hand of the LORD again is strong upon him.  It takes Ezekiel to the land of Israel, to a very high mountain, where there is a structure like a city, and a man whose appearance was like bronze, with a linen cord and a measuring reed in his hand.  We’ve seen him before.  Ezekiel had seen him two decades ago, in the Temple, showing all the evil that men had devised there. 

He has a new vision in store.  The Temple that had been burned, its treasures carried to Babylon, had been built anew.  The abominations, the engravings, the idols of the house of Israel – all have disintegrated.  In their place is a new Temple, the throne of the LORD, administered by the sons of Zadok.

Then he led me to the gate, the gate facing east. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory. And the vision I saw was just like the vision that I had seen when he came to destroy the city, and just like the vision that I had seen by the Chebar canal. And I fell on my face.  As the glory of the LORD entered the temple by the gate facing east, the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the temple.

Our verse for this week is 2 Corinthians 12:9: But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Ezekiel 40 through 44.  Now let’s read it!

“Thus says the LORD GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name…”  - Ezekiel 36:22

The phrase “know that I am the LORD” occurs at least 72 times in the book of Ezekiel.  And this number comes from just a quick scan of that exact phrase – the number of allusions to this concept push the stat much higher.  In today’s reading alone this exact phrase occurs 17 times: to Edom, to many nations, to Magog and the people of the coastlands, to dry bones, to the house and mountains of Israel. 

Today the LORD first directs Ezekiel’s attention to Mount Seir – Edom – the descendants of Esau and cousins to the children of Israel.  Listen for the LORD’s rebuke for taking advantage of Israel’s demise, while they are themselves ignorant of the LORD’s hand against them.  He then turns back to Israel, reminding them that His judgment of Edom, and their own coming restoration, are not for their sake, but for the sake of His holy name.  This restoration – this new life – is illustrated vividly when in chapter 37 Ezekiel says “the LORD brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones.”  I’ll leave you to read this and delight in its imagery. 

Finally, in chapters 38 and 39, Ezekiel is told to “set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him…”  One of the principles we follow at You Can Read the Bible is to stick with what the text demands, rather than what it could imply.  I bring this up because there are a variety of interpretations of who Gog is and what the land of Magog might refer to.  Pay attention to what the text demands: that Ezekiel is to prophecy against a king and kingdom who will rise up out of the north at some future time, against whom the LORD “will vindicate [His] holiness before their eyes.” 

Our verse for this week is 2 Corinthians 12:9: But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Ezekiel 35 through 39.  Now let’s read it!

In the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me:  “Son of man, write down the name of this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day.  – Ezekiel 24:1-2

In today’s first two chapters Ezekiel continues to prophesy against Egypt and its king.  To Pharaoh the LORD asserts that though “You consider yourself a lion among the nations… the sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon you.”  In chapter 32 the LORD catalogues the nations – Assyria, Elam, Meshech-Tubal, Edom, Sidon – with which Egypt will lie in the grave.

Chapter 33 is a key pivot for this book, and it feels as though the LORD is resetting a number of threads, heading toward a climax.  First, He reminds Ezekiel of his commission as “watchman” for his people.  He then deals with Israel’s growing realization that their transgressions and sins are upon them.  Finally, almost three years to the day that Ezekiel was commanded to make no mourning for the dead, a fugitive arrives from Jerusalem.  The LORD opens Ezekiel’s mouth, and the exiles know that a prophet has been among them.   

This begins one of Ezekiel’s longest sustained prophecies to his people.  The LORD deals with the arrogance of those who expect to re-inherit the land; those who claim to want to hear what the word is that comes from the LORD yet their heart is set on their gain; and with the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves.

Consider that all of this comes after the exiles learn of Jerusalem’s fall. The LORD promises to rescue His flock, and to judge between sheep and sheep.  The LORD promises to make them and the places all around [His] hill a blessing.  And the LORD promises to set up over them one shepherd, My servant David, and He shall feed them: He shall feed them and be their shepherd. 

Our verse for this week is 2 Corinthians 12:9: But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Ezekiel 31 through 34.  Now let’s read it!