Monday: Overview of Kings and Events
The first group of returnees received the task of rebuilding the temple of God. We will study about the opposition to the building of the temple in a later lesson. Now, we will discuss the succession of Persian kings during the temple’s prolonged construction and the rebuilding of Jerusalem. It is important to know the history behind the stories of Ezra and Nehemiah, as it provides a deeper insight into their messages.
Read Ezra 4:1-7. Who were the different kings mentioned during whose reign the opposition to the building of the temple occurred?
Prophecy to rebuild
Here is the list of Persian kings, in their chronological order, who are connected with the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. It begins with Cyrus, who established the Persian Empire and conquered Babylon in 539 B.C.:
- Cyrus II “the Great” (559–530 B.C.)
- Cambyses II (530–522 B.C.)
- Darius I (522–486 B.C.)
- Xerxes I (485–465 B.C). (Also known from the book of Esther as Ahasuerus.)
- Artaxerxes I (465-424 B.C).
As we study these books, it’s very important to know that the appearance of these kings is not mentioned in Ezra in chronological order. For example, Ezra 4:6-24 is inserted before chapter 5, which continues the story of the opposition to the building of the temple. Consequently, the letters involving Xerxes I (Ahasuerus) and Artaxerxes I described in Ezra chapter 4 occurred after the events recorded in chapters 5 and 6, dealing with Darius I. This sequence can seem perplexing to readers, and it may account for some of the confusion that people have had over the centuries regarding the books. As we go through the quarter, knowing the order of events will help us better understand the messages of Ezra and Nehemiah.
| How often have you found things in the Bible that have perplexed you? How can you learn to trust God, and His Word, even when you come across things that don’t seem to make sense? Why is it important for you to do so? (See Isa. 55:8-9). |
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When we read the bible, we must ask the Spirit to guide is to the understanding of the word.
Matthew13: 10 - 12
10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”
11 He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.
When we studied the book of Revelation.
Revelation chapter 19 Ends with the second coming and the judgement.
Revelation chapter 20 Begins with the thousand years.
Revelation chapter 20: 7 - 10 talks about the destruction of the wicked including satan.
Revelation Chapter 20: 11 - 15 Details the judgement of the wicked.
Only the Spirit of God can help us part the scriptures in specific contextual segments.
Those who are willing to read, reread and wrestle with the text can have a deeper understanding of the word.
Jesus himself said, "You search the scriptures"
Searching the scripture for truth is a directive given by God for our Spiritual growth.
Let us remember to examine the scripture as we study the book of Ezra and Nehemiah.
The essence of the LORD's message is so straight forward even a child can understand and sing: "Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so"
However that is not all the LORD wants us to know and understand. So trusting that He loves us we study His Word, even if some sections are not clear at first.
One lesson I have discovered in our study so far is that the LORD's physical plan was for the physical Israel, who belonged to the group based on birth, to return to Jerusalem to preserve the Principles of Life that He had given them and to reveal them to the world.
Daniel (& 3 friends) went into exile with the group because of the group being unfaithful. We need to remember that sometimes the LORD's plan needs individual martyrs. Daniel recognized this when he prayed "We have sinned".
However when physical Israel rejected the Messiah then people belonged to His group based on a spiritual birth.
Trust in God is what we all need. In a world of material values, spiritual development seems to fade.
There is a bit of an error here- which I think many Christian scholars have made.
Ezra 4 is not as confusing as it seems, and does not need to be spliced up to make sense of the history. Ellen White identifies the Artaxerxes in 4:7 as false Smerdis, an impostor to the throne, so he has nothing to do with the Artaxerxes in Ezra 7.
Prophets and Kings 572-573: "During the reign of Cambyses the work on the temple progressed slowly. And during the reign of the false Smerdis ( called Artaxerxes in Ezra 4:7) the Samaritans induced the unscrupulous imposter to issue a decree forbidding the Jews to rebuild their temple and city"
The Ellen White companion notes for this quarter also has this quote on Monday's notes.
The impostor called "false Smerdis: here would be between Cambyses and Darius Hystaspes as I undertand it. (You can look at the Wikipedia page for Bardiya to see the story)
(I did comment on an earlier post, but I'm also commenting here, since this is the actual day this issue is discussed)
One reason I feel this is important, is because skeptics use difficult passages in the Bible as a reason to disbelieve it, and we don't want to unintentionally present them with a new difficulty when we explain this passage.
Michelle,
I'm curious whether the lesson's author would expound on his thought of the appearance of kings in chapter 4 as not being chronological, in light of PK 572.
I have read the SDA Bible Commentary additional note on Ezra 4 (seems to show support for the Artaxerxes in Ezra 4:7 being the same Artaxerxes as in Ezra 7), as well as Prophets & Kings Ch 46 (Ellen White stating that Artaxerxes in Ezra 4:7 is false Smernis). The commentary seems to go along with the author's comments that 4:6-24 belongs after chapter 6 in sequence.
Can someone elaborate the two questions on Day Monday they seem to confuse me.