Random Thoughts

Esther Made Queen King Xerxes issues an order for a search to be made for the new Queen. Mordecai, a member of the tribe of Benjamin, had a cousin whose parents had been killed. Her name was Esther. She was one of the young women chosen to be given beauty treatments and presented to the…

Queen Vashti Deposed King Xerxes ruled over a large area of Media and Persia. To celebrate his reign, he held a an exhibition that lasted for 180 days and at the end held a 7 banquet open to everyone in his kingdom. At the end, he sent a message to Queen Vashti to come and…

Those Guilty of Intermarriage The rest of chapter 10 lists those who had intermarried with Gentile women and that some had children by these marriages.

The People’s Confession of Sin As Ezra was praying and weeping bitterly, people from Jerusalem started gathering and stood with him and agreed with him. They realized that they had sinned by marrying foreign women and something needed to be done to correct it. One man suggested that they be sent away, but it must…

Ezra’s Prayer about Intermarriage Ezra is told by the priests that those who returned have intermarried with the neighboring people who practiced abominations in God’s sight. Ezra concludes with a heartfelt prayer of confession and thanks that God has not treated them as they deserve.

List of the Family Heads Returning With Ezra Ezra provides a list of the number of men from each family that will be returning with him The Return to Jerusalem Before they leave, they all meet and Ezra discovers that there are no Levites. Ezra sends word and many Levites come with them. He divides…

Ezra Comes to Jerusalem Ezra details his lineage and his journey from Babylon to Jerusalem under the reign of King Artaxerxes. Artaxerxes’ Letter to Ezra In the letter, Artaxerxes authorizes Ezra to collect money from those still in Babylon and to use it for the temple. He also instructs how much Babylon will provide and…

The Decree of Darius Darius finds the record of the command to rebuild the temple and replies to Tattenai telling him that they should be allowed to continue the rebuilding. He also tells him to provide anything they lack and to provide animals for the daily sacrifices. The Completion and Dedication of the Temple Work…

Tattenai’s letter to Darius Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, inquires of Darius who has given permission for the temple in Jerusalem to be rebuilt. The rest of this chapter is devoted to the text of the letter he sends.

Opposition to the Rebuilding The enemies of Judah and Benjamin come first and offer their assistance to rebuild the temple. But Zerubbabel does not accept their help. Then they send a letter to the king to inform him that Jerusalem was destroyed because of their rebellion and sedition. The king consults the archives and sees…