OLD TESTAMENT SURVEY - 20

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FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP

OLD TESTAMENT SURVEY – 20

POST BABYLON

Mal 4:4  Remember ye the torah of Moshe my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, even statutes and ordinances.

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The Temple was rebuilt in 516 BC, thanks to the leadership and encouragement of the prophets Zechariah and Haggai.

Darius the Great ruled from circa 522 BC to 486 BC.

The Book of Esther:

In 486 BC, Xerxes I (also called Ahasuerus) ascended to the throne.  In the third year of his reign, for her insubordination to the king, Ahasuerus exiled his wife, Vashti (Esther 1).  The servants of the king organized what was essentially a beauty pageant of the beautiful young maidens of the kingdom.  Esther, a Jewess, won the good pleasure of the king and became his new wife.

In the 12th year of Ahasuerus, Haman, a man who had been promoted by the king above all the princes of the kingdom, sought vengeance against Mordecai (the cousin of Esther) because Mordecai would not bow before Haman when he passed his way.  Haman's pride fueled his anger such that he tricked the king into signing a decree that called for a single day of slaughter of all Jews in his kingdom (Esther 3). 

At the risk of her own life, Queen Esther made an unsolicited appearance before the king and won his heart to give to her whatever she requested.  Esther explained that her people were in peril due to the decree he had made at the request of Haman.  The laws of the Medes and the Persians could not be revoked, even by the king; so, the king ordered that the Jews could defend themselves against their enemies.  As a result, the hand of IAUE was with the Jews to destroy all of their enemies in the land.  Haman and all his sons were destroyed, and Mordecai was promoted to be second only to the king.  (This synopsis can in no way provide you with the majestic portrayal of the power and strategy of IAUE that reading the book of Esther can provide.)

The Book of Ezra:

In 465 BC, Artaxerxes I (also called Artahshashta) ascended to the throne.  In the seventh year of his reign (458 BC), the king dispatched Ezra, the priest, to Jerusalem.  He was specifically tasked with the mission of teaching the Torah to the Jews, and to insure they were punished accordingly for their disobediences to the law.  It was a measure intended to secure the throne for himself and for his posterity (Ez 7).  The king perceived that only judgment could come from oppressing the people of IAUE.  Instead, he believed that he could bring safety to his lineage by doing his part in seeing that the Jews learned and obeyed the laws of IAUE.  (For the whole story, be sure to read the book of Ezra.)

The Book of Nehemiah:

In the 20th year of Artaxerxes I, thirteen years after Ezra was sent to Jerusalem, the cupbearer to the king presented wine before his sovereign; but his face was downcast and sad.  The king took note of the sad countenance of his cupbearer, for he had never been sad before in his presence.  Nehemiah explained his grief over having learned that the walls of Jerusalem were destroyed, its gates burned with fire, and the people suffering evil at the hands of their enemies in the land.  The king dispatched Nehemiah in 445 BC to oversee the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, fortified with letters to insure both support and financial assistance. (The whole story of the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalum is recorded in the book of Nehemiah.  In it we see the many difficulties confronted while building the walls, and how Nehemiah faced his problems with prayer and reliance upon IAUE.)

The last prophet of the Tanak (Old Testament Scriptures), Malachi, was a contemporary of Ezra and Nehemiah.  He ministered from 450 BC to 400 BC.  The prophecy of Malachi was a scathing indictment against the Jews.  In it, IAUE established a case for His goodness to the children of Israel; then He pointed out ways in which the Jews have dishonored Him.  As He spoke so often during their history, Malachi's words reveal that IAUE was prepared to bless them again in response to their repentance...or judgment will be their sure reward.

Malachi 4:1 For, behold, the day cometh, it burneth as a furnace; and all the proud, and all that work wickedness, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith IAUE of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
2  But unto you that fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings; and ye shall go forth, and go forth as calves of the stall.

The last word from IAUE at the close of the Tanak was a reassurance that judgment is surely coming upon all the unrighteous; but protection is accorded all who fear the name of IAUE.  The Hebrews were being reminded that simply being born a Jew was NOT what satisfied IAUE.  IAUE was looking for a people whose hearts were right before Him.  To guide the Hebrews unto that heart, they were entrusted with receiving and preserving the words of IAUE:  His commandments, statutes, judgments, testimonies, ordinances, etc.

The last words of the prophet Malachi were the last words from IAUE for 400 years, in fulfillment of the words of the prophet Amos.

Amos 8: 11 Behold, the days come, saith the master Elohim, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of IAUE.

Our study of the Tanak has been intended to provide the disciple with a working knowledge of the structure and the chronological interplay of the 39 books of the Old Testament.

To graphically summarize the books of the Old Testament, let's examine two charts.  The first chart reflects the historical books in their chronological order.  Books found on the same row contain history that shares the same timeline.

HISTORICAL BOOKS

Genesis
Job
Exodus	Leviticus	Numbers	Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges	Ruth
I Samuel
II Samuel	I Chronicles
I Kings - II Kings	2 Chronicles
Esther
Ezra
Nehemiah

This second chart places the non-history books in their chronological placement with the history books.

BOOKS OF POETRY & PROPHECY

II Samuel/I Chronicles	Psalms
I Kings/II Chronicles	Proverbs	Song of Solomon	Ecclesiastes
II Kings/II Chronicles	Obadiah	Joel
	Jonah	Amos	Hosea
	Isaiah	Micah
	Zephaniah	Nahum
	Jeremiah (Lamentations)	Ezekiel	Daniel
	Habakkuk
Ezra	Haggai	Zechariah
Nehemiah	Malachi

Our survey of the Old Testament Scriptures provides the disciple of Yahushua with only the most basic presentation of the history contained therein.  The command of IAUE is that we study these Scriptures, read them, meditate upon them, discuss them with each other and never let them depart from our lives.  I encourage each reader to include, along with their other daily reading of Scripture, some methodical reading of the books of the Old Testament; and to do so for the rest of your lives.

The truths presented in the entirety of the New Testament Scriptures are all contained in the Old Testament.  When the apostle Paul preached the good news to the men and women of Berea, they searched the Old Testament Scriptures to verifiy if Paul was preaching the Truth (Acts 17:10-12).  Nothing in the New Testament can stand without the foundation of the Tanak.  Consequently, we will never be able to properly understand the New Testament without a reasonable understanding of the Old Testament.  If a disciple of Yahushua claims to be a "New Testament" believer, and thereby shuns the study of the Old Testament; he is only deceiving himself.

One of the first problems the Body of Messiah experienced is recorded in Acts 6.

Acts 6:1  And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.

Why was this a problem?  It was because it provided an administrative distraction to the apostles' ministry.

Acts 6:2 Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of Elohim, and serve tables.

What "word of Elohim" did they not want to leave?  It was the Tanak.  The Old Testament Scriptures were the ONLY Scriptures for the first 30 years of church history.  If the apostles could not afford an administrative distraction to pull them away from the Old Testament Scriptures, then what can be so important that it should take us away from them?

The next 400 years of Hebrew history are not a matter of Scriptural record; but they provide four centuries of time for the Jews to hear and obey the prophecy of Malachi, and to prepare their hearts for the coming of Messiah.

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494 BC - 406 BC - Sophocles; writer of Greek tragedies.
469 BC - 399 BC - Socrates; Greek philosopher
446 BC - 385 BC - Aristophanes; Greek playwright
427 BC - 348 BC - Plato; Greek philosopher

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Kingdom heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the performance of the will of IAUE.

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