SERIES O --- RETURN TO THE LAND --- LESSON 16
A QUEEN DEPOSED
QUEEN VASHTI REBELS
From Esther 1
In the third year of his reign, King Ahasuerus gave a great celebration at his palace in Susa the capital, inviting his princes, attendants, and army officers. They came from all parts of his vast kingdom of a hundred and twenty-seven provinces, stretching from India to Ethiopia. For six months the king showed his guests his great riches and royal power. Near the end of the celebration, he gave a banquet which lasted seven days. He invited all the palace staff at Susa, from the greatest to the least. Beautiful decorations hung throughout the garden of the king’s palace where the banquet was held. Blue and white linen hangings were fastened with purple cords and silver rings to pillars of marble. There were gold and silver couches, and a patio made of coloured marble, mother-of-pearl, and precious stones. The king gave orders that everyone could have as much as he wished to drink of the king’s wine, but no person would be pressed to drink more than he wanted. The wine was served in the golden vessels of the king. While this was going on, Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women of the palace. On the seventh day of the king’s banquet, Ahasuerus was in a happy mood because of the wine. He commanded the seven eunuchs who served as his personal attendants, Mehuinan, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carkas, to bring Queen Vashti with her royal crown before the king so that he could display her beauty to his guests, for Vashti was a very beautiful woman. But the queen would not come as the king had commanded. The king became very angry and counselled with the wise men who knew about the customs of the times, for it was his practice to discuss such things with the men who knew the laws and penalties of the land. These counsellors were seven princes of Persia and Media, men who came often before the king and sat in the highest places in the kingdom, men very close to the king. Their names were Carshena, Shethar, Adinatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan. [How should we deal with Queen Vashti, since she has disobeyed the orders I sent through the eunuchs?] the king asked these counsellors. Memucan replied, [Queen Vashti has not only wronged the king, but also all the princes and citizens of the king’s empire. When other women hear what she has done, they will scorn their husbands also, saying, ‘If the queen can refuse to obey, so can I.’ They will answer their husbands as the queen has answered the king’s orders; and this will cause much contempt and anger throughout the land. If it pleases the king, let him issue a royal decree, written in the laws of Persia and Media so that it cannot be changed. Let Queen Vashti come no more into the presence of King Ahasuerus, and let another woman, more worthy than she, be chosen as queen. [When the king’s decree is heard throughout his great kingdom, then all wives will honour their husbands, no matter how great or how small they are,] The king and his princes were pleased with this counsel, and the king did as Memucan suggested. King Ahasuerus sent letters to all provinces of the kingdom, written in the language and script of each province, urging every man to rule over his own house and to speak with authority according to the customs of his own people.
COMMENTARY
MEN’S JEWELRY IN THE PERSIAN EMPIRE
In ancient Persia a wealthy man wore jewellery. His beard sparkled with small gems, his robe was covered with gold and silver sequins, elaborate necklaces hung from his neck and wide precious armbands glowed on his arms. The more jewellery he wore, the more he was respected and admired. The importance and wealth of any man was directly reflected in the amount of jewellery that covered his body. In fact, jewellery was so much a part of the life of the Persian male that soldiers wore great amounts of gold into battle.
A quote from my book, "Remember the Sabbath: What the New Testament Says About Sabbath Observance for Christians." Learn more here: http://sabbathbook.com/
Take no interest from him or profit, but fear your God, that your brother may live beside you. You shall not lend him your money at interest, nor give him your food for profit.
Leviticus 25:36-37
Don't lend to the poor at interest nor sell the necessities of life to the poor for profit. Can you imagine how different our world would be if we lived according to God's instructions?
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Join us on the count to Shavu’ot over on our website! Leviticus 23:15-16 instructs us to count 50 days from Yom HaBikkurim (Day of The Wave Sheaf Offering) to Shavu’ot (the Feast Of Weeks). Shavu’ot begins on the 50th day. Yom HaBikkurim begins the day after the weekly Sabbath during Chag HaMatzot (the Feast of Unleavened Bread). It is always on the first day of the week as is Shavu’ot. www.triumphintruth.global
https://www.rebelnews.com/brea....king_tucker_carlson_
SERIES O --- RETURN TO THE LAND --- LESSON 15
NEHEMIAH’S REFORMS
DEFILING YHVH’S WORK
From Nehemiah 13
While the Law of Moses was read that day the people heard that they should not permit Ammonites or Moabites to worship in the temple. These people had been Israel’s enemies when they tried to enter the Promised Land. They even hired Balaam to curse Israel -- but YHVH, of course, turned this curse into a blessing. When the people heard this Law, they forced all the foreigners to leave the temple. Before this happened Eliashib the priest, who was in charge of the temple storehouses, had become friends with Tobiah. He even made a beautiful, large guest room for Tobiah in the temple, using one of the storerooms where they were to store the grain offerings, frankincense, vessels, tithes of grain, as well as the wine and oil set apart for the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, and the offerings for the priests. I had returned to Babylon in the thirty-second year of the reign of King Artaxerxes, so I was not in Jerusalem at the time. However, I received the king’s permission to return, and when I reached Jerusalem, I learned about this sin of Eliashib. I was very displeased and threw all of Tobiah’s possessions out of the room. Then I had the room cleansed and put back in it the temple vessels, the grain offerings, and frankincense. I learned also that the Levites had not received what they should, so they and the singers had returned to their farms. I scolded the officials for letting this happen. [Why have you abandoned the house of YHVH?] I demanded. Then I restored the Levites to their work and required the people again to bring their tithes of grain, new wine, and olive oil into the temple storehouses. I appointed Sheleiniah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites as administrators over the storehouses and placed as their assistant Hanan, son of Zaccur and grandson of Mattaniah. These were all men who could be trusted with the work of distributing these things to their fellow Levites. Remember me, O my Elohiym, for this, and forget not all that I have done for Your house and Your service. One Shabbat day I was passing by a farm in Judah and noticed men treading winepresses. Others were loading their donkeys with sheaves of grain and with wine, grapes, figs, and other produce which they brought to Jerusalem the same day. I rebuked them for selling on the Shabbat to the people of Jerusalem. Also, some men from Tyre were bringing fish and other wares to Jerusalem and selling those things on the Shabbat. [Why are you defiling the Sabbath?] I demanded from the leaders of Judah. [Isn’t this why YHVH punished our ancestors? You are encouraging more of YHVH’s anger against the people of Israel by letting the people defile the Shabbat this way.] I ordered the gates of Jerusalem to be closed at sundown on Friday, when the Shabbat began, and to remain closed until the Shabbat ended. I also stationed some of my servants at the gates to make sure no merchandise was brought into the city on the Shabbat. Once or twice merchants tried to camp outside Jerusalem, but I warned them against that. [If you try to do this again, I will arrest you,] I said. From then on they did not try to come on the Shabbat. I also ordered the Levites to purify themselves and to guard the gates so as to keep the Shabbat holy. Remember me, O YHVH, for this, and have compassion on me according to your abundant goodness. I noticed at that time how the Jewish men had married some women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. Some of their children could speak the language of Ashdod but could not speak the language of the Jewish people. I argued with these people, cursing them, striking them, and pulling out their hair; and I made them take a vow in the name of Adonai which said they would not let their daughters marry foreign men or let their sons marry foreign women. [Was this not the way that King Solomon sinned?] I demanded. [Although he was the greatest king of his time and YHVH loved Solomon and made him king over all Israel, yet he sinned because of his foreign wives. So why do you think we should listen to you and watch you sin against YHVH by marrying foreign women and committing a sinful deed?] One of Jehoiada’s sons married the daughter of Sanballat the Horonite, so I chased him from me. Remember these people, O my YHVH, for they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priests and Levites. I drove out all the foreigners and appointed the priests and Levites to their duties, putting each one to a certain work. I arranged for wood to be supplied for the sacrifices and for the offering of the first part of each harvest. Remember me, O YHVH, with Your goodness.
COMMENTARY
AN ANCIENT HEBREW CALENDAR
In 1908, at the site of the ancient city of Gezer in Israel, the archaeologist R. A. S. McAlister uncovered a tablet of soft limestone small enough to fit in the palm of a child’s hand. The sides and edges were rounded and the surface scratched, showing it had been scraped and reused several times. A few letters were written on one side; the other side was fully inscribed and signed. Experts have called the letters the earliest known Hebrew writing in the world. The text is a mnemonic (ni-MOHN-ic) -- an aid to help recall the subject of the poem, as well as to teach the child how to write. The poem is roughly translated as saying the following:
[Two months is the time of the harvest;
Two months is the time of grain-planting;
Two months is the time of late planting;
One month is the time of hoeing up flax;
One month is the time of cutting grain;
One month is the time of harvest and festivity;
Two months is the time of pruning and grape-picking;
One month is the harvest of summer fruit.]
This schedule clearly follows the months of the agricultural year in the low bill country where Gezer is located. The first line refers to the olive harvest, which in Palestine lasts from September to November. The next two lines allude to barley, which was planted from November to January, and wheat, planted from January to March. Flax is harvested, line four, during March and April. Lines five and six refer to the April and May barley harvest, and then the wheat harvest of May and June. Grapes were pruned and picked through July and August and on into September, the summer fruit harvest. The Gezer Calendar, as the tablet is called, is believed to be the work of a child for several reasons. First, the tablet’s small size. Second, the writing is the work of a slow and awkward hand, shown by the treatment of curves and of certain complex characters. And third, there are some obvious slips and mistakes expected from a schoolboy learning to write. The writing has been compared with inscriptions whose dates are precisely known: the Gezer Calendar was written around 925 B.C., during Solomon’s reign, by a schoolboy named Abijah.
If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you.
Leviticus 25:35
Treat your poor neighbors and relatives as honored guests in your home, but that doesn't mean you need to give him free room and board indefinitely. To paraphrase Paul, "If he won't work, neither should he eat." Don't despise or ignore him. Shelter him for awhile if you can, and, if possible, give him a job and teach him some marketable skills.
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