PERSEVERANCE IN the face of opposition is one of the lessons from our reading today. The Samaritans, Ammonites, and Arabs in Nehemiah’s day tried to discourage the Jews through threats, political pressure, and even a conspiracy to assassinate Nehemiah.Continue Reading
NEARLY ONE hundred years after Cyrus issued his decree allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem, the walls of the Holy City still had not been rebuilt.Continue Reading
THE SECOND group to return from Babylon to Jerusalem was led by Ezra the priest in 458 B.C. It was a four-month journey, which the Jews undertook without an armed guard — something that was unheard of in that day.Continue Reading
AN ASTUTE listener pointed out that we skipped chapter 9 of Deuteronomy way back between studies #44 and #45, so we begin this week by correcting that oversight. (Thank you, Marilyn!)Continue Reading
THE STORY of Esther, a Jewish woman who became queen of Persia, is the origin of the Purim holiday, celebrating the salvation of the Jewish people from Haman, a key advisor to Xerxes, the king.Continue Reading
APOCALYPTIC PROPHECIES of the coming Day of the Lord are the focus of the last three chapters of Zechariah.Continue Reading