1. Ezra 3:3. Why were the new arrivals so terrified?

This was their land, but the people who had inhabited it for so long might not share that opinion. They came in as strangers, and hurried to the altar of God seeking assurances from Heaven that all would be well.

2. Ezra 7:1 ff. Why is Artaxerxes (and by extension, Cyrus in chapter 1) so eager to grant permission and bounty to the children of Israel and their God?

There are political possibilities. They may have wanted power in the regions around Persia. For this reason they may released not only Jews but other conquered peoples also.

There are religious possibilities. Zoroastrianism may have influenced Persian rulers to the point where they felt an obligation to be kind to other people groups.

But the overriding reason is the sovereignty of God. Though angry with the final generation of Israel to the point of exasperation, He was not finished with this people whom He called out.

From them must come the Scriptures, all of them. From them must come Messiah. From the remnant of Israel must come the Kingdom that shall have no end, ruled over by the King of the same description, namely Jesus Christ.

Verse 27 puts this idea into the mouth of Ezra himself: “Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, who has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart.”

NEHEMIAH

1. Nehemiah 4:5. Is it proper to ask God never to forgive someone/something? Was Nehemiah out of order? (And David also?)

We have seen this before, and shall see it again in the Psalms. We are assuming that the men who have thus set themselves against the purposes of God, are hardened in their ways and are not going to repent.

In Jesus of course we discover the mercy and forgiveness of God. We see He is always willing to cast our sins into the sea of His forgetfulness, when there is a repentant spirit. This is not the issue here. This is hard impenitent man at his worst, standing before the Creator and Judge of all and attempting to halt His progress.

2. Nehemiah 8:9-12. Why the two opposite responses of the people to the Word of God?

“Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved,” says the songwriter, and such is a regular theme of Scripture. God speaks His law and men weep out of fear and frustration. They have not only broken it, but they know of no way to keep it. They are doomed.

But when God says, All is well, rejoice, there is nothing to do but thankfully obey the change of course. Weeping for joy is a wonderful experience when one knows the Judge is happy with him.

3. Nehemiah 12:36. What means the reference to the “musical instruments of David”?

Probably not his actual instruments, but the ones he had recommended in his Psalms and during his reign. David was a man of praise and worship. Before he died he had put in order an entire musical program, including singers, instruments, choirs, times and places. The returned exiles will now attempt to do what David laid out for them, since Israel had never had such musical treats before or after the great King.

ESTHER

1. Esther 1:12. Why did the Queen refuse to come at the King’s command?

Persian law forbade a wife to be indecently exposed before other men. The King was drunk. All the men in the room were similarly inebriated. To her it was a humiliating shame to be thus exposed. Thus she, and now the King with her, was caught between two laws. Absolute obedience to one’s husband, especially if that husband is the King, was also enjoined upon the Persian people.

2. Esther 3:15. Why the confusion?

The people could not understand why the King was about to commit genocide. The Jews themselves, of course, were bewildered, but also many of the citizens who knew these God-fearing and peaceable citizens, were confused. What was going on in the Palace? Perhaps some even remembered the history of the Jews in Persia, and in Babylonia before then. It was their great founder, Cyrus, who had set these people free and even commanded some to go back to Israel and start over. Surely there was no animosity against Israel now? So they pondered.

3. Esther 5:4, 8. Why two separate banquets prepared before Esther would tell her real request? Does she not “tempt fate”?

Esther wanted to know the heart of her King and husband. Would he show favor to her at these meals, or to her enemy? Would he keep asking what the real petition was, or assume it was only a meal in which she was interested? Would he be impressed that she had invited his most trusted man to both meals? She had to move very cautiously here, and not rush into judgment against such a revered man as Haman, thus questioning the King’s judgment and choice of friends. Patience, wisdom, all on display.

4. Esther 9:24. What does it mean that Haman had cast lots, or “Pur”, against the Jews?