Recap

So far in Ezra-Nehemiah, we've read as the people returned to Jerusalem, rebuilt the temple, separated themselves from their foreign wives, and start work on the walls. King Cyrus of Persia defeats Babylon and is compelled by God to send some of the exiles back to Jerusalem. As the people left, they were given gifts of silver and gold by their Babylon neighbours, much like the Israelites when they left Egypt.

Zerubbabel rose up to lead the people. Along with Jeshua, he reestablished the offerings, feasts, and festivals of the people realigning the people with God. They reappointed the Levites and started work on rebuilding the temple. There was a massive celebration, but some of the older folk who knew what the old temple looked like wept. This new temple wasn't as good as the one they remembered, or the one that Ezekiel prophesied about.

As the people were rebuilding the temple, the locals, Israelites who weren't exiled and others who had come to live in the land, came to offer their help. We got a sense of God reuniting his kingdom. But rather than accept their help, the exiles rejected it. This led to conflict, pausing the temple being rebuilt. Eventually the temple rebuild started again under king Darius.

Ezra returned to Jerusalem with a second wave of Jews, hoping to teach the people the Torah and recommit them back to God. Our hope was raised again. But upon returning to Jerusalem, leaders complained to Ezra that many of the people had married foreign women and had children with them.

In the past, this had caused the Israelites to turn away from God so the people are scared the same will happen. Unfortunately, rather than encourage the people to lead their wives and children into true worship of God, Ezra agreed to demanding these men divorce these women and send them off with their children. 

Meanwhile, in Susa, the capital city of Persia, Nehemiah heard that the walls were still destroyed. He was sent to Jerusalem by king Artaxerxes. He assessed the walls and then encouraged the Jews to rebuild them. But we saw that these walls were less about protection and more about keeping unwanted people out. Jerusalem was not becoming the welcoming, open city that it seemed God spoke about. The place where all people could come and worship God.

We read as the Jews rebuilt the wall, while protecting themselves from enemy attack. Nehemiah also found out the people were oppressing one another with heavy debts and interest rates, and many of the people were being sold into slavery to pay debts. Nehemiah put an end to this while also dodging attempts on his life.

Nehemiah 7-9

As soon as the walls were finished, Nehemiah made sure that the gates were opened late, closed early, and there were guards manning them at all times. God's picture of a city that would unite all peoples together is not lining up with what we see here.

Once again, it looks like a well-meaning person who wants to serve God has missed the mark. Any hope we had with the coming of Nehemiah is met again by disappointment. Again, we get a list of all the families now returned from exile. We've mentioned before of this importance this would have to an ancient Jew, who was deeply connected to their ancestry and their sense of family.

Now that the walls are finished, all the people gather together in the square by the water gate on the east side of the city. They call for Ezra to read for them the Book of the Law of Moses, likely an earlier version of the first five books of our Bible today. And so Ezra stands before the people and reads from this book.

It says that the people worshipped God and that they understood what was read to them. This is promising. It looks like, finally, the people are beginning to draw near to God and know him better. Nehemiah then comes and reintroduces the holy days, and the annual feasts and festivals.

The main one they celebrated was the Feast of Booths, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles. This was similar to our Harvest Festival in that it was to celebrate the harvest that had come in. The Jews would build themselves tents to live in for a week as they celebrated how they were once nomads in the wilderness living out of tents, but now they live in an abundant land that bears much food.

Both the reading from God's word and observing the holy days seem to be bearing fruit. Shortly after the Feast of Booths is finished, the people again gather together, but this time to repent of their sins. They journey through their own history, pointing out all the times they had sinned and all the times God had been faithful to them in the midst of that.

He brought them out of Egypt, cared for them in the wilderness, established them in the land, giving them towns and cities and plentiful harvests. But all along the way, the people complained and disobeyed and turned away from God. So for a time God gave them over to their enemies, and even now, though God has brought them back to their land, they are still part of the Persian empire and must pay taxes to a foreign king.

So the people recommit themselves to God, to be obedient to his way. This is good! This is what we've been looking for since the people returned. A genuine restoration of the relationship they had with God. Maybe, just maybe, all the disappointment we've seen so far is going to be worth it as the people fully turn back to God.

Psalm 52

This psalm is attributed to King David, and speaks of Doeg the Edomite. We find this story in 1 Samuel 21:7, 22:6-23. David is on the run from Saul and stops at a holy site in Nob managed by the priest Ahimelek. There is a man named Doeg who later tells Saul that David was there, which then led to the death of eighty-five priests.

It isn’t easily slotted into a particular genre. In some sense, it’s a lament psalm, except it’s not aimed at God and no request is made. It could also be described as a wisdom psalm as it talks through the consequences for the wicked and for the faithful. Some call it a trust psalm as throughout it all, the psalmist puts their trust in God. I’ll let you decide which you prefer.

Psalm 52:1-4 - Accusation against the wicked

Psalm 52:5-7 - The consequences of their actions

Psalm 52:8-9 - The psalmist praises God for his provision

The psalmist starts by accusing a mighty man of evil. The title points to the original inspiration being Doeg, but the point is this psalm can be directed at anyone practising evil. Their tongue is destructive and deceitful and they love evil more than good. They may feel confident in themselves for now, but this won’t last.

The psalmist then points the wicked one to the consequences of their actions. Eventually, God will judge them for their wickedness. He will break any strength they think they have and will uproot them so they have no protection. They will be a lesson to others about what happens when you choose not to make God your refuge. When you trust in your own wealth and strength.

The psalmist then turns to themselves as an example of a better way. They have trusted in God and are like a green olive tree. They are strong and bear fruit. Olive trees were symbols of life and fertility. They get to enjoy God’s presence. In return, the psalmist praised God for who he is and waits patiently because they know God will provide.

This psalm serves as a lesson on how to live. We shouldn’t be like the wicked who trust in their own wealth and strength, and who love wickedness and lies. Instead, we should put our trust in God, for he will strengthen and protect us.