Reflections
REFLECTIONS ON LIFE IN THE PROMISED LAND
The Promised Land “reflections” 50
N E H E M I A H 1
The Torah (instruction for righteous living), given by God to Moses, contains a command that those instructions were to be read in full to the assembly of the people every seven years at the time they gathered in Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles. (Deuteronomy 31:10-13). Ezra had declared his intent, on returning to the land, to engage in teaching the people the commandments of the LORD. (Ezra 7:10).
Zerubbabel had begun the work of rebuilding the temple which king Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed about 50 years earlier. The work proceeded slowly, and the prophet Haggai did what he could (Haggai 1:7,8) to expedite the process. It evidently was a poor sight compared to the one destroyed, but it had a functioning priesthood and the daily sacrifices were observed. Nehemiah had secured the walls of the city, so ensuring that the people were once again living in the land with a degree of normality. Ezra was making his presence felt with a determination to lead the people back to the righteous living required by God. On the first day of the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar (The Feast of Trumpets), the people assembled in the square just below the temple compound. Ezra was asked to read the Torah Scroll. This had not happened for more than 140 years prior to this, so no-one present had witnessed this before. Ezra stood on a wooden platform so he could be seen and heard by all. In full view of everyone he opened the Scroll. Seven men stood on each side of him. Their purpose was to “read, explain, give meaning to, and help the understanding of the people close to them”. When Ezra began to read the Scroll, the whole congregation stood to their feet. From morning to mid-day Ezra read. And as the book was being read, “the people wept”.
We need to understand exactly what was happening here. It provides a timely lesson for us all. These people were well aware of their identity as citizens of Judah. It is evident that the vast majority had never lived in the land previously, or if they had, they were very old. (One might imagine, for example, a young Jewish child today being told for the first time about their parents or grandparents experience during the holocaust). They listened as they heard about their ancestors deprivation as slaves in Egypt. About the cruel Pharaoh. About Moses. About the exodus from Egypt. The way the LORD fed and protected the people on their journey to the land. The LORD giving Moses the words to which they were now listening. The covenant that was made by their ancestors, and the conditional nature of God’s promise for their occupation of the land from which their recent relatives had been exiled. Imagine, if you can, the shock of hearing these detailed instructions for living righteously and suddenly being aware of the lifestyle they knew, and had been engaged in themselves, and which had caused the expulsion of their forebears from the land. (My personal experience ? I remember so well the day I heard Billy Graham tell me that ‘I was weighed in the balances and found wanting’. And I remember how I wept bitterly!) In my heart, I think I understand why these people wept so much and had to be comforted by the Levites who attended to them. Then they were encouraged with the words “This day is holy to our LORD. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength”. Then they understood the words that had been declared to them. But, the celebrations, and their understanding was just beginning. Ezra was a good teacher. The festivals which began with the feast of trumpets, were followed by the remembrance of the Day of Atonement 10 days later. Then on the 14th day of that same month the joyful celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles, which ended 8 days later with “Simchat Torah” (rejoicing in the Torah, the beginning of the new reading cycle).
The effect of these festival celebrations impacted them greatly. Just two days later, as a sign of great mourning they gathered again, dressed in sackcloth, ashes on their heads. The Israelites separated themselves from the non Jews. “They stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for one fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshipped the LORD their God”. What an experience ! And what a lesson.
The Levites who were present encouraged them by repeating the story of their ancestors. Those who had been the survivors of the exodus from Egypt and had actually been with Joshua and Caleb when they crossed the Jordan to take residence in the land. Read it. (chapter 9:5-38). It does not ‘pull and punches’. It is a faithful account, in brief, of the sure goodness of God and the frailty of the people, of whom they said “Nevertheless they were disobedient and rebelled against You, cast Your Law behind their backs and killed Your prophets, who testified against them to turn them to Yourself …. And after they had rest, they again did evil against You”.
But the last word comes from the hearts of these people, who in sincerity arising from guilt, shame and thanksgiving. Ezra and his close associates must have been overjoyed when they witnessed the result. “All those who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, everyone who had knowledge and understanding … entered into a curse and an oath to walk in God’s Law, which was given to Moses, the servant of God, and to observe and to do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord, and His ordinances and His statutes.” A lesson in renewal of vows.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON LIFE IN THE PROMISED LAND
The Promised Land “reflections” 49
N E H E M I A H 1
Zerubbabel led the first wave of returnees to the land in about 538 BCE. He was accompanied by a different Nehemiah to the one we are ‘reflecting’ on today. Ezra the scribe/priest/historian, who led the second wave of returnees about 448 BCE is considered by most scholars to also be the writer of the book which bears the name of Nehemiah, the kings cup-bearer, who led the third wave of returnees to the land about in about 445 BCE. (It may be of interest to recall that the prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah were made about 20 years after the first wave of returnees under Zerubbabel, and the prophecies of Malachi and possibly Joel were made about 15 years after Nehemiah returned to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem).
Hanani, a brother of Nehemiah, had some distressing news about those who had left Babylon and returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel and Ezra, which he shared with Nehemiah. For many days Nehemiah wept, fasted and prayed for his fellow Jews as follows “You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments, please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants , and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned before You …. We have acted very corruptly against You, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses.” That was a brave and honest confession, a good lesson for any seeking the forgiveness of the LORD. Nehemiah continued as he then reminded God of His word which said “If you are unfaithful I will scatter you among the nations; but if you return to Me and keep My commandments, and do them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name”.
It would seem that Nehemiah was normally a cheerful sort of fellow. So when a few months later he was attending on the king looking rather glum, the king took notice and asked him the reason. In paraphrase he said “I would like to go to Jerusalem to help my countrymen build the walls of the city.” It was an answer to his prayer. The king not only agreed that he should go, but made provision for building materials to assist with the work. A few days after Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem he surveyed the city to assess what needed to be done. When he shared his thoughts with his friends they agreed to start building. BUT, three local officials, Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem, who were probably part of the group who had falsely offered to help Zerubbabel many years earlier, again mounted opposition to frustrate the work. Very soon building was in full swing with many people joining enthusiastically in the project. At a point approximately half way through the work, Sanballat, Tobias and Geshem conspired together attack the walls and cause confusion. But Nehemiah was ahead of them, and although it slowed the building work, he arranged for the men to work in shifts of building and standing guard. Sanballat and his group tried many deceitful ways to cause Nehemiah to halt the building works. But each time, the LORD was able to alert Nehemiah to the deception and so it was that the walls were completed in fifty two days. It was then that the opponents to the wall construction conceded that “this work was done by the LORD God of Israel”.
With Sanballat, Tobias, and Geshem and their co-conspirators thoroughly put to shame, and the wall completed, many others who had ‘sat on their hands’ rejoiced that the city was again secure. The city in Nehemiah’s time was described as ‘large and spacious’, but there were not many houses yet reconstructed, hence few residents. Nehemiah handed control of security to his brother Hanani , with Hananiah the leader of the citadel (the effective guard [pasted-image.tiff] compound for the temple guards) organising the guards. (In the illustration, the area on the bottom right corner shows the ‘city of David’ with the square open space above it being the main residential part, plus the temple mount area. The large outer area shows the location of the walls of what is known as “the old city” today.).
Nehemiah then tells us that “the LORD put it into my heart to gather the nobles, (ones who did not put their shoulder to the work of the LORD ‘see ch 3:5’ ) the rulers, and the people, that they might be registered bu genealogy.” Evidently, this was done by Zerubbabel when he first led people back to the land almost 100 years earlier. Why was this important ? We know from our reading that there was a mixed group of returnees. Many were Jewish. But there were also non Jews, like the Nethinim. The answer may be found a little later when the read “So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the Nethinim, and all Israel dwelt in their (own) cities.” Some tribal order was restored.
Looking to the future, there will be a time when God will make a new, unbreakable covenant with “the house of Israel and the house of Judah”. It seems that such a demarkation is important to God.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
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REFLECTIONS ON LIFE IN THE PROMISED LAND
The Promised Land “reflections” 48
E Z R A 1
There is a significant time interval between chapters 6 and 7 in the book of Ezra. The events described here took place about 60 years after Zerubbabel returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. Ezra was a well respected, knowledgeable, and faithful servant of the LORD. He was a gifted scribe in the law of Moses. Additionally, being a descendant of Aaron, in the priestly line. He left Babylon to travel to Jerusalem with the full approval of king Artaxerxes. The journey took four months “according to the good hand of his God upon him. For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel”. A great lesson for us there. It is much easier to teach something of which one is well acquainted by knowledge, practice, and conviction. And Ezra “had prepared his heart” for the task. Well might we ponder how he did that.
The letter which king Artaxerxes gave to Ezra is recorded for us(Ezra 7: 12-26) Please read it carefully. And indeed Ezra’s response to it. “So I was encouraged” he said “as the hand of the LORD my God was upon me; and I gathered up leading men of Israel to go up (to Jerusalem) with me”. Clearly, the influence of having the Judean exiles living among the Babylonians for 70 years including such giants of faith as Daniel and his friends, had hugely impressed those in the highest ranks of authority. It might also be observed today, that when God chose this nation (Israel) to be “His special treasure”, and entrusted to them the role of being a blessing to others, often in ways not recognised by ‘the world’, His choice was well founded, notwithstanding the often fickle ways many of them have been distracted as they have assimilated into other cultures. There has always been ‘a faithful remnant’, even as there was in Babylon. And the role of that remnant has always been to demonstrate their trust in God and to attempt to live according to his commandments, statutes, and precepts. Just like Ezra did.
But Ezra, checking who had voluntarily chosen to return to Judah with him, discovered that there were NO Levites among them. The Levites were a very important group because they were the only ones allowed to serve in the temple. David had organised the various Levites into 24 ‘divisions’ of priests who would serve in the temple for a period of two weeks each year. So Ezra instructed his close associate, Iddo, to search for those who could serve in the temple. They found 38 Levite volunteers and 200 Nethinim (persons of Gibeonite heritage who performed non priestly service in the temple.) These were allocated in their ‘divisions’ in order that the temple could function in a regular manner when they returned to Jerusalem. When all was ready for the journey, Ezra proclaimed a fast for the assembly as he prayed for the LORD’s divine guidance and protection for that long journey. It is a measure of the stature of the man that he walked so closely with the LORD, seeking His guidance in relation to every detail of the task he had undertaken. Another lesson. We are told that they were safely protected all the way.
BUT, shock horror ! Ezra was soon informed that those priests who had returned to Judah with Zubbabel decades earlier, had again committed the same disobedient indiscretion of intermarriage with the local pagan peoples which was one of the causes of their being expelled form the land over 100 years earlier. To say that Ezra was ‘distressed’ would be an understatement. “He tore his garment” (an outward sign of grieving). Then humbled himself before God in shame, possibly fearing that God might again exercise judgment on the people with exile from the land. But while. Ezra was praying, confessing the sin, weeping and bowing down, a very large number of men women and children gathered around him, also weeping in repentance. One of the men, Shechaniah by name, spoke up. “Let us make a covenant with our God to put away these wives and those who had been born to them, according to the advice of my master (Ezra) and those who tremble at the commandment of our God; … be of good courage, and do it”.
Ezra, still burdened with the guilt of this transgression, required them to swear an oath that they would do as he would tell them. They did. So he called an assembly at Jerusalem for three days later, cautioning that any who did not present themselves would have their property confiscated, and be expelled from their community. When they assembled, Ezra rose before them and said “You have transgressed and have taken pagan wives, adding to the guilt of Israel. Now therefore make confession to the LORD God of your fathers, and do His will; separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the pagan wives” (Deuteronomy 7:2,3). They agreed. But it took another 3 months to investigate the matter fully. The reading of our Scripture today ends with a long list of 113 names of those who had taken pagan wives, some of whom also had children.
We cannot leave this situation without acknowledgment of a dilemma which arises from this event. The prophet Malachi clearly tells us that “God hates divorce” (Malachi 2:16), and yet that is what Ezra required of those who had married pagan wives. The alternative, unchecked, would also go against God’s commandment (Deut, 7:2,3) which was there for a very good reason. A further option would have been to kill them all, as was done on an earlier occasion (Numbers 25:1-9). So in this instance, we might conclude that Ezra was wise in his judgement, in that the divorced wives were, presumably, properly provided for, since the guilty men were clearly repentant for their actions.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON LIFE IN THE PROMISED LAND
The Promised Land “reflections” 47
E Z R a Return from captivity 1
In the Hebrew Bible, Ezra/Nehemiah is presented as a single book, which follows on the history of the Israelite and Judean kings recorded in the books of the Chronicles, and the calamitous exile of Judah to Babylon. The LORD also used the prophet Jeremiah to emphasise that, in spite of the shame of their exile from the land, there is a glorious return of the Israelite peoples of the world to the land of God’s promise. It started 70 years after that exile, which we will ‘reflect’ upon today, but it is incomplete. “The days are coming, says the LORD, that it shall no more be said ‘the LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt, but, ‘the LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land the north and from all the lands where He had driven them’. For I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers.” (Jeremiah 16:14,15) A prophecy being fulfilled before our eyes this very day.
The book of Ezra opens with the words with which Chronicles ended. “The LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia." This is suggestive of the authorship of Chronicles being Ezra the Scribe/Priest/Historian. Students of Scripture will note that there were two separate phases of the return of people from Babylon to Jerusalem. The first is dealt with in the first 6 chapters of the book of Ezra, led by the brave Zerubbabel, whose role was to rebuild the temple. And a second phase, much later, led by Ezra, to rebuild the spiritual condition of those who had returned. Between these two phases it is notable that Esther reigned as queen of Persia, and that Babylon (situated in modern day Iraq) was captured by Persia (modern day Iran). We would be unwise if we ignored the possibility of Daniel also playing a part in the Jews receiving favour from king Cyrus, since, according to the Jewish historian Josephus Flavius, he was prime minister at the time. (See Daniel 6:28 and Isaiah 44:28).
There were 42,360 Jews, and 7,337 male and female servants who made the journey with Zerubbabel back to Judah. They settled in the towns from which they had left, but in the seventh month, they assembled in Jerusalem, where Zerubbabel and the priests had re-built the altar of sacrifice. For the first time in 70 years they again began to celebrate the festivals as required by the LORD (Leviticus 23:24-43). So it was that Zerubbabel got them off to a good start on their return to the land, even though the temple, destroyed by king Nebuchadnezzer, was still in ruins. By the second month of the second year after their return, they began to re-build that temple. Mixed emotions were laid bare when the foundations were completed. Those who had seen the splendour of Solomon’s temple were distressed, probably because it could not match that splendour, but also because they knew that the Ark, symbolic of the presence of the LORD was not there. On the other hand, there were others who were overjoyed at seeing the restoration take shape.
Then ‘the enemies’ of Judah came to offer help in the rebuilding of the temple. They would be the ones who had replaced the Israelites when the Assyrians exiled them from the land almost 200 years earlier, and had possibly occupied Judah as well during the 70 years of their exile to Babylon. Brave Zerubbabel said “You may do nothing with us to build a house for our God. We alone will build to the LORD God of Israel”. The reaction, as expected, was that the ‘enemies’ did all they could to frustrate and hinder the building of the temple. Does that sound familiar to you, as it does to me? One of the clear indications of the return to this earth of our Messiah Yeshua today will be the construction of the temple in Jerusalem. Amongst other things, it will herald the beginning of the end for Satan. It will expose the identity of “the beast”, often referred to as Antichrist (which he is). And it was no different in the days of Zerubbabel. Satan was then, and is today, terrified of the God of Israel.
As it happened, the ‘enemies’ were successful in causing a halt to the reconstruction by appealing to Darius, who had ascended to the throne of Persia by this time. Darius ordered a search of the archives to verify that Cyrus had indeed not only commissioned the re-building work, but had specified the construction details. The building work was continued, greatly encouraged by the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. The temple was finished in the sixth year of Darius’ reign and was dedicated with great joy and multiple sacrifices to God. Then the various officers and priests were assigned their divisions of service according to the law of Moses.
The culmination of all this work and preparation was the celebration of the Passover at the prescribed time. It must have been a huge relief to those who had for so long been unable to celebrate the birth of their nation in this manner. The priests were purified in the prescribed manner (sprinkled with the ashes of a red Heifer) and then they ate together of the passover lamb and kept the feast of unleavened bread for seven days with great relief and joy. They were back in the land God had promised them.
Now for many Christians today, these things may seem trivial. But the people in Jerusalem at that time were those who longed to serve God with all their heart … and to do it HIS way. They were just a small remnant of the ones who had ben exiled (cast out of the land for crass disobedience). Amongst other things they recognised the faithfulness of God in keeping His covenant. And at this point in their lives, they were intent on keeping theirs.
Something to think about.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON LIFE IN THE PROMISED LAND
The Promised Land “reflections” 46
K I n g s .. THE DIVIDED KINGDOMs
Judah defeated by Nebuchadnezzar
Jews exiled from the land 1
About 35 years after the Assyrians expelled the 10 tribes from the northern kingdom, Israel, and caused that land to be occupied by ‘foreigners’, the faithful king of Judah, Hezekiah, died. He was replaced by his 12 year old son Manasseh. Of him it is written, “he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel”. (See Deuteronomy 18:9-12) The text of today’s ‘reflection’ continues as an expression of the anger, frustration, and sorrow of YHWH ELOHIM, in contemplation of what now had to be done to turn His beloved people back to Himself. (I am mindful of the millions of gullible people who have been so treacherously misled by a large number of shameless present day “kings” of TV evangelism, who wittingly damage the reputation of the LORD by their self enriching actions, and who are dismissive of God’s displeasure at those who plunder the “would be” faithful.) I also note, and this is a massive lesson, that in the text today, whilst the ‘bad kings’ bear primary responsibility for the misleading, the individual is just as culpable for the deliberate act of breaking the covenant they had made, and all suffer the same judgment. In this case, exile from the land. “So I will forsake the remnant of My inheritance and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become victims of plunder to all their enemies, because they have done evil in My sight.” Says the LORD. (For a closer understanding of the lesson, and the principle at work here, just turn to what Paul said in his longest letter .. Romans 11:21)
Mannasseh died and was succeeded by his 22 year old son Amon. He was no better than his dad, but no worse. “He forsook the LORD God of his fathers, and did not walk in the ways of the LORD”. After just two years, his servants rebelled against him and murdered him. However, that displeased the people, so they in turn put all those servants to death and installed Amon’s 8 year old son Josiah as king. Obviously, he was well led by his mother Jedidah, Amon’s widow. After 18 years, Josiah decided to take some action regarding the repairs to the temple, which had been started during the reign of the child king Joash under the tutelage of the High Priest Jehoiada. At that time a ‘temple tax’ had been organised to pay the workmen, and it seems likely that the tax was still gathered, but there was little paid work done. Joash sought to remedy that. As that work got underway, the High Priest Hilkiah discovered the Torah Scroll (I assume it was among some rubble, but evidently not used very much). The Scroll was given to the Scribe, who first read it and then dutifully took it to the king and began to read it to him. The young king Josiah was absolutely shocked by what he heard, because it became abundantly clear that the people were ignoring the very clear instructions God had specified for their lifestyle. (Much like today!) In anguish, he tore his clothes, and commanded those officials close to him to “enquire of the LORD concerning the words of this book which has been found”. The result of his enquiry was that the LORD assured him that because of his reaction and genuine concern, he would be spared the experience of seeing “the calamity which I will bring on this place (Judah)”. And therein lies another possible lesson for us. Our lives are in His hands. He chooses when we arrive and when we depart this earth. His time is perfect. The faithful Josiah would be taken before the ‘calamity’ arrived .. and that surely was a blessing for him. (On a VERY personal note, when my wife died 5 years ago, I did not fully understand why, even though I knew the cause. More recent events have given me an appreciation of the grace of God, who has spared her, what I now know would have been an extremely stressful experience).
Then Josiah assembled all the people, elders, priests, prophets, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to the temple. There he read to them “ALL THE WORDS OF THE BOOK OF THE COVENANT”. Then “he made a covenant to follow the LORD and to keep His commandments, and His testimonies, and His statutes, with all his heart and with all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant”. Following this, he destroyed all the idolatrous paraphernalia which had been set up in both Judah and Samaria, including Bethel. A complete new start. And a few short years later, Josiah died at the hand of the Egyptian Pharaoh Necho at Meggido and was taken back to Jerusalem to be buried. His son Jehoahaz was made king for 3 months and was then imprisoned by the Pharaoh who had killed his father. Eliakim, another son of Josiah then became king, but he was taken to Egypt by Pharaoh Necho. He was followed by Jehoiachin, who was taken off to Babylon by king Nebuchadnezzar, as were several other very important officers on the realm. Finally Zedekiah became king and he, like all who succeeded Josiah, “did evil in the sight of the LORD”.
It was while Zedekiah reigned that the calamity prophesied to Josiah came about. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon had seized the city of Jerusalem, carried of many prominent citizens, including Daniel and his friends, until there was very little fight left in them. The final straw was the destruction of the temple by fire, and the capture and removal of all the sacred furniture and treasures. It was a most sad day in the history of Israel. After many warnings, spanning centuries of history, God had finally said “ENOUGH”.
We are living in days when many are seeing significant signs that God is again approaching the next “ENOUGH”. The Scriptures implore us to ‘watch and pray”. SELAH !!
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON LIFE IN THE PROMISED LAND
The Promised Land “reflections” 45
K I n g s .. THE DIVIDED KINGDOMS
Introducing Isaiah 1
After the calamitous exile of the people of the northern kingdom of Israel, out of the land of God’s promise to them, the “king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, and from Sepharaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel; and they took possession of Samaria and dwelt in its cities.” Not at all what God wanted for them, and it was not without ample warning of the consequence of their failure to honour the covenant they had made. In the meantime, Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, became king of Judah. He was very different to the 12 kings of Judah who preceded him in that, not only was he a “good king”, but he was the first of them to actually “remove the high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden image and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it.” One can easily imagine how entrenched such practise was, since it would have been ritualistic from their very birth, having regard to the fact that the timing of the reign of Hezekiah was more than 200 years after the death of Solomon.
Hezekiah subdued and drove the Philistines back to the coastal plain, but he managed to make a more potent enemy of the king of Assyria. In the 14th year of his reign, Judah lost its fortified cities in an attack by Sennacherib, king of Assyria. Hezekiah made a “non aggression” arrangement with Sennacherib by providing him with all the silver and gold that he had. But it was not enough! Sennacherib mustered a vast army and sent the chief officers of his court to Jerusalem with a threatening message of certain defeat if the Judeans resisted their demands. The Rabshakeh (chief officer/cup bearer) of king Sennacherib addressed the people directly and in their own language in an effort to get them to abandon defence of the city and ridiculing Hezekiah for ‘trusting God for deliverance” from this mighty invading army. Certainly, Hezekiah was very concerned about the situation. In great distress Hezekiah turned the LORD in prayer. That prayer seems to me to provide a kind of model worth noting. “You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.” There, front and centre, establish the One whose help is sought. Then he boldly asked the LORD to hear and see the challenge and the challenger. Then the humble request, not a demand. “Now therefore, O LORD our God, I pray, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the LORD God, You alone.” And what was God’s response? He spoke to Isaiah !
It is surprising that Isaiah, had begun his prophetic ministry in the days after king Uzziah (also called Azariah) about 40 years earlier. He was the son of Amoz, and he evidently was known to Hezekiah, and yet this is the first time Isaiah is mentioned in the books of the kings. Contemporary prophets to Isaiah were Amos (no relation), Hoshea and Micah, but there is no evidence that they actually knew each other. Additionally, rabbinic tradition has it that Isaiah was a nephew of the former king Amaziah of Judah, and if true, puts Isaiah in a quite unique position, with royal connections. But his ministry is focussed very much on the poor and needy in society. And in this situation, God spoke to Isaiah about the pressing need of the king. (Isaiah deals with this episode in some detail in the book that bears his name, chapters 36-39. There it brings to an end the “gloomy”, even condemning, part of Isaiah’s prophecy, before he is shown the glorious future of Israel and the birth of Yeshua)
Isaiah sent word from the LORD to Hezekiah saying “Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacharib, king of Assyria, I have heard.” And then he went into a long prophecy against Sennacharib and his armies because of their contempt for the LORD God about what would happen and how he would be defeated. “The virgin, the daughter of Zion” against whom Sennacharib boasted about his strength, is the one who would have the last laugh by putting their trust in the LORD God, “shaking her head behind your back.” There would be three years of hardship, but Jerusalem would not be defeated nor over-run. The LORD said “For I will defend this city , to save it for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.” Some time later, “the angel of the LORD went out, and killed 185,000 of the Assyrian army.” So Sennacharib returned to Ninevah, his home town, defeated and in shame, only to be murdered by his own sons.
Some time during this altercation with Sennacharib, Hezekiah became very sick. Isaiah went to him to announce that he was about to die. The distraught king wept and again turned to the LORD in prayer, reminding God of his faithful service, leading the people in righteousness. The LORD heard his prayer and plea for his life and told Isaiah that he would heal Hezekiah and miraculously add 15 more years to his life. But Hezekiah was so conscious of his own sickness that he asked Isaiah for a sign that God would heal him. Thus we have that amazing story of the sun dial moving 10 deg backwards. (there have been many sceptical of this event, since it is at odds with ‘nature’. The truth is that Hezekiah was in fact healed, and did live another 15 years. Our God made the heavens, the sun, the moon the stars, He breathed the Universe into being. He can do what He likes with His creation. And if it makes you feel any better about it, having moved the shadow one way, He could also move it back again!)
We cannot leave the reign of Hezekiah without also mentioning that he was responsible for constructing that life saving tortuous tunnel from the Gihon Spring, outside the city walls, to the Pool of Siloam, inside the city walls. I know it’s there because I have walked through it.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON LIFE IN THE PROMISED LAND
The Promised Land “reflections” 44
K I n g s .. THE DIVIDED KINGDOMS
the end of Israel … Northern Kingdom1
When king Solomon died, the promised land of Israel was divided. Two tribes, Judah and Benjamin formed the Southern kingdom of Judah, with Rehoboam as king. The other ten tribes, with Jeroboam as king, made up the northern kingdom of Israel. The ‘reflection’ today takes place 200 years after that division, with Ahaz king of Judah and Pekah, the 19th king of Israel nearing the end of his reign. There was not a single king in Israel that ‘walked in the ways of the LORD’. Jeroboam had commenced the idolatry by building two centres of worship, in Bethel and Dan, complete with a ‘golden calf’’ as the symbol of their god. YHWH Elohim had been gracious, patient, and merciful in His dealings with them, but steadfast in his condemnation their idolatry. Elijah and Elisha had ministered to, and challenged, them. All to no avail. The lesson for us today is to heed the voice of the LORD. The warnings of God (Genesis 6:1-3) went unheeded for 120 years before the earth was flooded and only the righteous Noah and his family saved. The kingdom of Israel, in our text today, were warned for 200 years and yet remained unrepentant. Idolatry, in its many forms, is rife today, and still the warnings are unheeded.
Judah had three kings, Joash, Azariah, and Jotham who had been “good kings”. Our ‘reflection’ today opens with king Ahaz reigning in Judah. Of him we are told “he did not do what was right in the sight of the LORD his God …but he walked in the way of the kings of Israel.” Calamity followed. King Ahaz was besieged in Jerusalem by the joint forces of Rezin, king of Syria, and Pekah, king of Israel. At the same time king Rezin drove the men of Judah out of Eilat, which then became occupied by the Edomites. In desperation, king Ahaz sought, and got, help from king Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria, by sending him the treasures of the temple as well as his own treasury. During a meeting with the Assyrian Tiglath-Pileser in Damascus (Syria), Ahaz saw what he considered to be an attractively designed altar of sacrifice. He promptly ordered Urijah, a priest of Judah, to make such an altar, which was placed in the Jerusalem temple. Sacrilege. Take time to read a more detailed account of the exploits of king Ahaz in 2 Chronicles 28. His time reigning in Judah proved to be very costly, even disastrous. Then Ahaz died and was replaced by his son, Hezekiah, of whom we will learn a lot more in our next ‘reflection’.
Four years before king Ahaz of Judah died, Hoshea became king of Israel. He was not as bad as those before him but still was a “bad king”, the 20th and final king of Israel. King Shalmaneser of Assyria attacked Israel and Hoshea became subservient to him. However, Hoshea tried to make an alliance with Egypt against Assyria. This proved to be ‘the last straw’ because the attempted alliance was discovered by Shalmaneser, who then put a siege on Samaria which lasted three years. He also had Hoshea bound and cast into prison. In the ninth, and last year of Hoshea’s reign, the ultimate culmination of Israel’s disobedience fell on them. Bit by bit, over a relatively short space of time, different tribal territories (combined under the general name ISRAEL) were overcome and exiled from the land, with the main leadership group taken to Assyria. The generally accepted date for this exile is 722 BCE. And king Shalmaneser V accredited with that conquest. And the reason for this exile is best explained from the Scripture text.
“In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria and carried Israel away to Assyria, and placed them in Halah and by the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. For so it was that the children of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and they had feared other gods, and had walked in the statutes of the nations whom the Lord had cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made. Also the children of Israel secretly did against the Lord their God things that were not right, and they built for themselves high places in all their cities, from watchtower to fortified city. They set up for themselves sacred pillars and wooden images on every high hill and under every green tree. There they burned incense on all the high places, like the nations whom the Lord had carried away before them; and they did wicked things to provoke the Lord to anger, for they served idols, of which the Lord had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.” Yet the Lord testified against Israel and against Judah, by all of His prophets, every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways, and keep My commandments and My statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by My servants the prophets.” Nevertheless they would not hear, but stiffened their necks, like the necks of their fathers, who did not believe in the Lord their God. And they rejected His statutes and His covenant that He had made with their fathers, and His testimonies which He had testified against them; they followed idols, became idolaters, and went after the nations who were all around them, concerning whom the Lord had charged them that they should not do like them. So they left all the commandments of the Lord their God, made for themselves a moulded image and two calves, made a wooden image and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. And they caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire, practiced witchcraft and soothsaying, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them from His sight; there was none left but the tribe of Judah alone. Also Judah did not keep the commandments of the Lord their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made. And the Lord rejected all the descendants of Israel, afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them from His sight.”
A careful reading of the above admonishment of the LORD should be enough for us to re-assess our position and relationship with a Holy God. Selah!
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON LIFE IN THE PROMISED LAND
The Promised Land “reflections” 43
K I n g s .. The DIVIDED KINGDOMS
The death of Elisha 1
The passage for our study this week moves very quickly as ‘kings come and kings go’. Prior to this, approximately 90 years of history are covered in the preceding 19 chapters in our Bible, with much of it related to the ministry of Elijah and Elisha (which covered about 65 years). In the whole ‘reflection’ this week, the next 62 years of Israelite history is dealt with.
Last week, in our reading, the reign of both the ‘bad king’ Jehu in Israel (who was used by God to eliminate Baal worship), and the ‘good king’ Joash in Judah (who under the tutelage of the high priest Jehoida restored righteous living and repaired the temple for worship) came to an end. Fifteen years before Joash was murdered, Jehu’s son Jehoahaz, was king in Israel, but he died before Joash. Jehoahaz “did evil in the sight of the LORD” just like his father. As a result we are told that “The anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel, and He delivered them into the hand of Hazael, king of Syria, and into the hand of Ben-Hadad the son of Hazael, all their days.” Mercifully, the LORD responded to the plea of Jehoahaz, and provided them with some relief, but it was a very hard life that they led. In spite of that relief ..“Never-the-less, they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam … but walked in them.” Then Jehoahaz died and was succeeded by his son Jehoash. He reigned for the next 16 years, but just like every king of Israel before and after him “he did evil in the sight of the LORD.” Eventually he died and was buried in Samaria. (A caution at this point. Confusion might arise over names. There were TWO different kings called Joash, one in Israel and the other in Judah. An added confusion is that in some places they are also referred to as Jehoash. Careful reading of the text is required, taking note of other persons with whom they connect to sort out which Joash/Jehoash is the subject).
The narrative now provides some ‘breaking news’ about Elisha. (But we will return to the same Joash, who’s death is just noted, later !!!) About 45 years or more have passed since we had any mention of Elisha in the Scriptures. I cannot imagine that this mighty man of God, gifted as he was with a double portion of the spirit that was in in Elijah, suddenly ceased his calling. But God has chosen not to enlighten us about Elisha’s ministry in this intervening period. Sufficient to say that God had one more insight to share with us about Elisha before He took him from this earth. Evidently he was now advanced in years and had become terminally ill. Perhaps this provides a practical lesson for us today. People die. Everyone dies. It’s what God has determined for mankind. Even those ‘in-dwelt’ with a double portion of the spirit, having an amazing God given ministry. And the point is? When praying for healing for someone, take time to ask God that His will be done in that person, before ‘plunging in’ and possibly praying against God’s will and plan. Jehoash, king of Israel, visited Elisha during his last days. Elisha had a prophetic word for him (2 Kings 13:15-19) about the ongoing conflict between Israel and Syria. And then Elisha died and was buried. There is an amazing miraculous sequel to this too. Many years later, a certain man was being buried, and in haste was put into the tomb where Elisha was buried. Immediately the dead man’s body touched the bones of Elisha “he revived and stood on his feet.” That is the last news we have about Elisha, except to note that Jehoash went on to recapture the cities, which king Hazael had taken, three times, exactly as the prophecy of Elisha had said they would.
While Jehoash, king of Israel was alive, king Joash of Judah was murdered and was succeeded by his son Amaziah. He was a “good king” just like his father before him, but that did not prevent him from executing (pun intended) justice on those who had killed his father. “However the high places were not taken away, and the people (of Judah) still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places”. There is a more complete record of the exploits of Amaziah in 2 Chronicles 25. There we read “And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, “but not with a loyal heart.” And Amaziah made some BIG mistakes. He went on an attack against the Edomites with great success, even though the captives of that success were so cruelly treated. BUT, “he brought the gods of the people of Seir, set them up as his gods, and bowed down before them and burned incense to them”. Emboldened by that success against Edom, he then issued a battle challenge to king Jehoash of Israel. The battle took place at Beth Shemesh (a place with an amazing history) where Amaziah was captured and taken hostage to Samaria, and the temple in Jerusalem was plundered. For that mistake, he was later killed by his own, and was buried in Jerusalem. He was replaced by his sixteen year old son Azariah. In the meantime, and some years earlier king Jehoash of Israel had died and he was replaced his son Jeroboam.
What follows is somewhat repetitious in that Jeroboam proved to be a good leader in that he captured territory from Israel’s enemies, But like all before and after him, did nothing to lead the people away from idolatry. He was replaced, after various short periods of time, by Zechariah, Shallum. Menahem, Pekahiah, Pekah, and finally Hoshea. Not one “good king” among them. Meanwhile, in Judah, Azariah (also known as Uzziah), followed righteously in the footsteps of his father, but was regrettably in poor health (described as leprosy) all his life. He was aided as king by his son Jotham until Jotham, another “good king” of Judah succeeded him. Uzziah, mentioned above, is noted as the king who reigned over Judah at the time that Isaiah "saw the LORD" and took up his ministry calling.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON LIFE IN THE PROMISED LAND
The Promised Land “reflections” 42
K I n g s .. The divided kingdoms 1
Last week we focussed on the ministry of Elisha. But at the end of that reading we learned that the domineering Jezebel, wife of king Ahab, had died a violent death at the hands Jehu, former commander of king Joram’s army. This is the same Jehu that the LORD had told Elijah to anoint as king of Israel, a task eventually performed by Elisha. But as we open this week, we find that Jehu was determined to exterminate all the potential rivals from the descendants of both Ahab, king of Israel, and Azahiah, king of Judah, the kings who preceded him, and who might challenge him for that position. There were 70 living sons of Ahab in the city of Samaria and the area of Jezreel. They were the first to go. Then, in Judah, 42 brothers of Ahaziah were next. It was brutal. “So Jehu killed all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men and his close acquaintances and his priests, until left none of them remaining.”
Then comes an important lesson, concerning God’s attitude to moral fortitude, in the midst of all this carnage. Jehu is joined by a man called Jehonadab, son of Rechab. The Rechabites were descendants of Midian, related by marriage to Moses (Judges 1:16), a nomadic and high principled people who had vowed not to drink wine or to build houses. Hundreds of years later, these people are held up by God to the prophet Jeremiah as an example of consistency in keeping their word, as opposed to the Israelites, who broke their covenant promises, causing God to be angry with them (Jeremiah 35:16). Jehu was well aware of this people group as he asked Jehonadab “Is your heart right as my heart is right towards your heart ?” When the answer came “It is”, Jehu knew he had a trustworthy partner and invited up into his chariot. We must keep in mind here, that God had determined many years earlier, in Elijah’s time, that He had to put an end to the worship of the Baal’s. What began on Mount Carmel in the conflict between Ahab and Elijah, is now nearing its completion in the person of Jehu.
This was a God appointed mission, conducted by Jehu, joined now by Jehonadab and his men. They planned the event, by announcing a special festival with the words “Ahab served Baal a little, Jehu will serve him much. Now therefore, call to me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests. Let no-one be missing for I have a great sacrifice for Baal. Whoever is missing shall not live.” That proclamation was sent throughout all Israel .. “and all the worshippers of Baal came, so there was not a man left who did not come.” The worshippers gathered in the temple of Baal. Jehu made sure “that there were no servants of the LORD present in the place.” Then the slaughter began, and the end was that “they tore down the temple of Baal and made it a refuse dump until this day.” Game, set, and match.
However, Jehu did not turn away from the sins of Jerabaom. In addition to the worship of Baal, which had been introduced by Ahab, through the influence of Jezebel, there was still the vexed matter of the golden calves which were set up in Bethel and Dan. The LORD declared His approval of Jehu regarding the removal of the Baal worship, and told him his dynasty would survive for four generations (which turned out to be more that 100 years), but Jehu “took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart.” Sadly for Israel, we are then told that “In those days the LORD began to cut off parts of Israel; and Hazael, (of Syria, whom the LORD had instructed Elijah to anoint king years earlier) conquered them in all the territory of Israel.” So it was that Jehu died. He had ruled over Israel for 28 years. He was succeeded by his son Jehoahaz.
Meanwhile, in Judah, upon the death of Ahaziah and his brothers, his mother, Athaliah (a daughter of Ahab and Jezebel) , had designs on becoming queen, so she killed off all the other possible male heirs to the throne. Except one! A small child called Joash, who, with his nurse, was hidden by his aunt, Jehosheba,, wife of the high priest Jehoida, in a room in the temple for six years. During these years, Athalia, the only female ruler in the history of Israel and Judah, and the only ruler of Judah not descended from King David, attempted to introduce Baal worship into Judah. In the seventh year of Athalia’s rule, Jehoida the high priest decided that it was time to reveal the presence of Joash. Together with loyal bodyguards, priests and captains of the army, the coup was planned, coinciding with the changing of the officers in the temple on a particular Sabbath. So it was that the child king, Joash, was crowned. In the noise and ceremony which followed, queen Athalia attempted to intervene, without success, and was summarily executed.
“Then Jehoida made a covenant between the LORD, the king, and the people, that they should be the LORD’s people, and also between the king and the people. And all the people of the land went to the temple of Baal and tore it down.” “Joash did what was right in the sight of the LORD all the days in which Jehoida instructed him … but the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.”
Joash also gave attention to the repair of the temple and together with Jehoida ensured that there was money (a temple tax) available to pay the workers who made the repairs. He was one of only 8 kings of Judah out of 20 to be described as ‘good kings’. But eventually, those servants close to him, formed a conspiracy and murdered him. What a sad end.!
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON LIFE IN THE PROMISED LAND
The Promised Land “reflections” 41
K I n g s .. The Divided Kingdoms
Ministry of Elisha 1
Elisha requested his mentor Elijah, (2 Kings 2:9) that he receive a double portion of his spirit. Today we ‘reflect’ on Elisha’s miraculous ministry as we recognise in him, a boldness to speak, to act, and to prophecy, as he was directed by the LORD.
First, we are told of a widow of one of the prophets (location not specified) in desperate circumstances, with a creditor about to take her sons, until the next year of Jubilee (as prescribed in Torah), in payment for her debt, We know the story well. The only thing of any value she possessed was ‘a jar of olive oil’. The LORD multiplied that oil, so it could be sold to pay the debt and provide a living for the widow and her sons into the future. It also, simultaneously, raised Elisha’s profile in the eyes of the people.
Elisha evidently travelled the country in his ministry, and often passed through the town of Shunem north of Mt. Gilboa, near the Jezreel Valley. He was accompanied by his servant Gehazi. A lady of the town recognised that Elisha was a servant of God, and gratuitously provided a simple lodging for him in their home. Elisha was anxious to repay the lady for her kindness. Gehazi discovered that the lady was married to an elderly man and was childless. Thinking that it would be a blessing to the lady to have a son, Elisha prophesied that a son would be born to her within the year. And he was. Some years later, the little boy, whilst in a field watching the harvest, was afflicted with a serious sickness, and died. The distraught Shunemite lady knew where Elisha would be, and travelled without delay to Mount Carmel to see him. I find it interesting that Elisha could see great distress in the lady as she approached and then seemed puzzled that “The LORD has hidden it from me, and has not told me”. The whole story is in ch 4: 8 - 37. Please read it.
I enter the realms of speculation as I continue with the ‘reflection’ on this event, as I seek to find a lesson in this miracle of God. The little boy’s birth was prophesied by Elisha, but there does not appear to be “God involvement” leading up to that prophecy. However, God honoured Elisha in the birth of that “gift child” to the Shunemite lady. There’s no obviously unusual circumstance surrounding the death of that little boy. He became sick and he died. Must have happened many times before and since. The child had unexpectedly come into the lady’s life, and we can only guess that she was overjoyed by that, but now the child was dead. In her overwhelming grief, she chastised Elisha because the contentment she knew before the child came, she was unable to envisage ever again, now that the child was dead. Distraught is the word that comes to mind. Elisha shared her grief. He despatched Gehazi to Shunem with instructions to lay his staff on the face of the child, expecting that God would use that connection to raise the child to life again. It didn’t. What happened next provides a lesson for us. When God is involved, the healing occurred. Some may dispute this, but I have only found three occasions in the Scriptures where the words "prayed for” are used in the process of healing. This is one of them. In other healing miracles, and there are many of them, it is the ‘gift of healing’ which is exercised. (Just as Yeshua commanded his disciples in Matthew 10:8) In any event, when he and the dead lad were in that closed room, Elisha prayed. In fact, he did what Elijah had done years earlier (1 Kings 17:17-24), and then he was able to present the living child to his grieving mother.
Elisha went from there to Gilgal, east of the Jordan River. There was famine in the land. The prophets (we’ve come across them several times in this place) had little to eat, so Elisha ordered that some stew be made from herbs and ‘wild mushrooms’. It turned out to be a poisonous brew ! But the LORD turned Elisha’s faith into a sumptuous feast.
The story of Namaan, commander of the army of Syria, is very well known. His healing from leprosy was almost missed because of his pride. But the story has a ‘sting in its tail’. In anticipation of Namaan’s healing, the king of Syria had generously included substantial payment. When Namaan’s hand was healed of the leprosy, Elisha steadfastly refused to take it. Neither Elisha nor Almighty God could be ‘bought’ with money. That extends today to the greatest gift ever given to mankind. It IS a gift, it CANNOT be bought .. and that is the gift of salvation. Elisha’s servant Gehazi did not understand this, and ended up with the very curse that Namaan was healed of .. leprosy. There is a lesson here too. In our day there are people, very prominent and well known people, who seek to enrich themselves by ‘peddling’ the free gift which God offers. They are people who contemptuously ignore the warnings of God, and one which has been quoted in these ‘reflections’ many times. (Heb 10:31)
Elisha, gained great acclaim among the people as a “man of God”. He once made an iron axehead float because it had been borrowed by one of his followers. Elisha gained the confidence of the king of Israel by miraculously revealing to him the plans of his enemy the king of Syria. And there are many other accounts of the way God used Elisha to draw people to himself, which are recorded in the passage of scripture on which we ‘reflect’ today.
Ask the LORD to bless you as you read of the blessings which Elisha was able to bring to the people as he faithfully followed the LORD’s command. And what was his ‘secret’? He was faithful AND obedient.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
RS