Community on Columbia

The prophet Malachi delivers a number of complaints God has against Israel’s priesthood. They were bringing blemished, sick or lame animals for sacrifice, which contradicted commandments in the Torah. That showed they considered God’s table “contemptible.” As a consequence, God says He is turning to the Gentiles, looking toward the days of Messiah.

Notes on Malachi 1:1-14

Ezra and Nehemiah arrive in Jerusalem about 60 years after the Temple has been rebuilt. They find a serious problem. Many prominent Jews have taken wives from the idol-worshipping Samaritans and surrounding peoples. The children of these unions barely speak Hebrew and know little about Israel’s God. The solution is harsh. The repentant men must separate from their foreign wives and children born from those marriages.

Notes in Ezra 7-10, Nehemiah 13, Malachi 2

When the Jews restart construction on the Temple, the new Persian governor is suspicious. He writes a letter to Darius the king asking him to verify the Jews’ claim that Cyrus had given them permission to build. Darius had already given Zerubbabel his blessing, but he ordered a search of the archives and found Cyrus’ original decree. The Temple was finally completed, and the builders rejoiced at its dedication. Then a month later they celebrated Passover for the first time in many decades.

Notes on Ezra 5:1-17 and Ezra 6:1-22

When a delegation asks if they should continue to mourn the destruction of Jerusalem by observing the Fast of Ab, the prophet Zechariah receives an answer from God. First He chastises them for not simply following His commandments instead of observing man-made rituals. Then, in a vision of the Times of Messiah, he describes the fasts as transformed into feasts of joy and gladness.

Notes on Zechariah 7 and 8

The prophet Zechariah is told to collect silver and gold from certain men and make crowns (or, an “elaborate crown”) and set it on the head of Joshua the High Priest. But this was forbidden according to Jewish law. However, Joshua was to serve as a type of the Messiah, the Branch, who would combine the offices of king and priest. Then the crown would be removed and stored in the Temple “as a memorial” awaiting the coming of Messiah.

Notes on Zechariah 6:1-15

God encourages Zerubbabel and Joshua in the rebuilding of the Temple with a vision of the Golden Lampstand, with pipes filling the lamps with an unending supply of oil without human effort. Zerubbabel and Joshua are again depicted as types of the Messiah, and God insists that His work will be completed, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit.”

Notes on Zechariah 4:1-14