a blog for Ashfield Baptist Church
The Bible readings for Thursday 1 and Friday 2 May are -- Ezra 3:1-5:17; Ps 95:1-11; Prov 19:28-29; Rom 5:1-21.
posted by Ps John @ 4:31 PM
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Hi and welcome. Ashfield Baptist Church is a "caring community church sharing God's love". We are very diverse in our nationalities, backgrounds and ages, but united in our desire to grow spiritually and to reach out and help others. Our vision is "to be a body of Christ-like people living out the great commandment and the great commission in the Holy Spirit's power". This blog is mainly for people connected with Ashfield Baptist Church. It has been set up as an "info & chat space" as we start the "THRU IN 2" challenge. This is our program for reading the Bible right through during 2007 & 2008. Many are using the Every Day With Jesus Bible which also has daily devotions from Selwyn Hughes. As we read through the Bible together over these two years, we can use this blog to share insights, stories, reflections, questions etc. The goal is to grow spiritually together. So leave your comments. Together we can help each other grow. Blessings. Ps John. To leave a comment about the readings for a particular day, or to view the comments of others, just click on "comments" at the bottom of the post.
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Just a few random reflections on Pastor John’s sermon on Esther for the blog:
• Dating is around the 350’s BC (correct?), would this place it a short while after the time of Ezra? So that would mean the captivity was well and truly finished, the Persians the new superpower, the Greeks a “clear and present danger” and we are very close to the “inter-testament gap”.
• Some “scholars” have questioned the historicity of the story, given that it can’t be corroborated by Persian history (say some) however a strong historical credence is usually given to the “Feast of Purim” and other Jewish historical festivals.
• The Jews seemed to have had a close shave with genocide, in Persia at least, but didn’t the bulk of them go back to Judah from Babylon at the time of Ezra? i.e. the opposite direction from Persia? They had been in Babylon for a long time, I always though it was a bit hard of Ezra telling them they had to ditch their Babylonian wives.
• What was the purpose of saving the Jewish nation? – they didn’t exactly distinguish themselves 380 years later and the Romans eventually sent them packing for the next almost 2,000 years. I suppose the obvious answer is to preserve the lineage to Christ(?). They tried to patience of God to the limit 1,000 years before in the wilderness and he’s still bailing them out and in the 1st century giving them many extra decades before the destruction of the temple. It’s ironic that they were the ones who started the temple fire.
• Who wrote Esther?
Some interesting comments and questions. Thanks.
The events took place in the Persian capital during a year in the reign of Ahasuerus (486-465 BC) We usually refer to him as Xerxes, the Greek spelling of his name. That's a generation before the events recorded in Ezra-Nehemiah. My RSV Harper Study Bible says this in a brief summary at the beginning of Esther. "The Persian atmosphere argues for a date not later than the conquest of the Persian Empire by Alexander the Great (331 BC)... In all probability the author was an unknown Jew who lived in Persia and had access to oral and written sources."
Your suggestion that the reason for saving the Jewish nation was to preserve the lineage of Christ is a good one and at least part of the answer. God's faithfulness to His Covenant with Israel and His Covenant promises to them is also part of the picture. This includes his plan to bless all nations through this His chosen people.
John
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