Old Testament # 47, 48
“Let Us Rise Up and Build”
Ezra 18; Nehemiah 1–2, 4; 6; 8
“The Great and Dreadful Day of the Lord”
Zechariah 10–14; Malachi
Introduction
The last two lessons in this year’s Old Testament course of study cover a dizzying number of topics. And as this is the last blogpost before we move to a different way of studying the scriptures, I want to explain a little of my rationale in creating it. I hope that this blog has shown how important I think it is to be conversant with the Word of the Lord in the scriptures. Talking specifically about the Book of Mormon, President Ezra Taft Benson said:
This gift was prepared by the hand of the Lord over a period of more than a thousand years, then hidden up by Him so that it would be preserved in its purity for our generation. Perhaps there is nothing that testifies more clearly of the importance of this modern book of scripture than what the Lord Himself has said about it. By His own mouth He has borne witness (1) that it is true (D&C 17:6), (2) that it contains the truth and His words (D&C 19:26), (3) that it was translated by power from on high (D&C 20:8), (4)
that it contains the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ(D&C 20:9, D&C 42:12), (5) that it was given by inspiration and confirmed by the ministering of angels (D&C 20:10), (6) that it gives evidence that the holy scriptures are true (D&C 20:11), and (7) that those who receive it in faith shall receive eternal life (D&C 20:14).
I believe that answers to all of our challenges are contained within scripture, and I hope I have articulated this in my lessons and on this blog. The lesson manual has this quote from Elder Oaks:
“We may … find that a specific verse of scripture that was spoken for quite a different purpose in an entirely different age will, under the interpretive influence of the Holy Ghost, give us a very personal message adapted to our personal needs today. … If we seek to liken the scriptures to our own circumstances, ‘that it might be for our profit and learning’ (1 Nephi 19:23), a loving Father in heaven can use them to bless us in highly individual ways” (Studying the Scriptures[devotional given in the Salt Lake Tabernacle, 24 Nov. 1985]).
Ezra and Nehemiah
We have metaphorically lived through the Assyrian captivity of Ephraim, the Northern Kingdom (10 tribes) in 721 BC and the Babylonian captivity of Judah, the Southern Kingdom starting in 605 BC and the subsequent destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BC. Nebuchadnezzar dies in 562 BC and Cyrus of Persia conquers Babylon in 539 BC. Cyrus is very different from the tyrants that came before him and allows the Jews to return to Jerusalem, even giving them the vessels Nebuchadnezzar had plundered from the Temple in Jerusalem. Jeremiah’s prophecy of 70 years of captivity is fulfilled as the Jews return to rebuild the Temple. But the two Kingdoms had not been left desolate in the meantime—some Jews had remained and intermarried with the colonists sent by Assyria and Babylon. These “apostates” (in the eyes of those who had remained faithful Jews) were known as Samaritans. And they offered to help build the temple, because they did “seek your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esar-haddon king of Assur, which brought us up hither” (Ezra 4:2).
However, the scriptures refer to them as “adversaries” (Ezra 4:1). And the Jews rejected them. And so the Samaritans made life so difficult for the Jews that they had to stop trying to rebuild the temple.
Eventually, though, with the help of King Darius (Cyrus’s successor), they did rebuild to the extent that they were able to celebrate the Passover in the temple. When we read in Saintsof everything Joseph and his followers went through, especially in Missouri, perhaps we can get an inkling of what it meant to the Jews and to the early members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be able to worship freely.
Ezra and Nehemiah came later and they organized the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, which meant that Jerusalem was again a governed city. But again they faced opposition from the Samaritans who would have far exceeded them in population numbers. But, as we learned two weeks ago, “No unhallowed hand . . . .”
From the lesson manual comes this incredibly timely, although 40-year old quote:
Elder Marvin J. Ashton counseled: “Certain people and organizations are trying to provoke us into contention with slander, innuendos, and improper classifications. How unwise we are in today’s society to allow ourselves to become irritated, dismayed, or offended because others seem to enjoy the role of misstating our position or involvement. Our principles or standards will not be less than they are because of the statements of the contentious. Ours is to explain our position through reason, friendly persuasion, and accurate facts. Ours is to stand firm and unyielding on the moral issues of the day and the eternal principles of the gospel, but to contend with no man or organization. … Ours is to be heard and teach. Ours is not only to avoid contention, but to see that such things are done away” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1978, 10; or Ensign,May 1978, 8).
Nehemiah 8:9–11 talks of the people weeping as Ezra read the scriptures to them. And I am back with what I felt at the beginning of this overlong blogpost: the fullness of the Gospel is contained within the scriptures and we should be able to find answers to all of our challenges in them.
Zechariah and Malachi
Four years ago I posted this quote from Elder Maxwell
Gospel hope is a very focused and particularized hope that is based upon justified expectations. It is a virtue that is intertwined with faith and charity, which virtues are not to be understood either when they are torn apart from each other or apart from the Lord Jesus Christ, without whom they are all vague virtues. Doubt and despair go together, whereas faith and hope are constant companions. Those, for instance, who “hope” in vain for (and speak of) the day of world peace when men “shall beat their swords into plowshares” ignore the reality that the millennial dawn will be ushered in only by the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Neither secular rhetoric nor secular assemblies will succeed in bringing lasting peace to this planet. Secularists, meanwhile, have ironically appropriated the Lord’s language of hope while denying Him! It is He and His ways alone that can bring about such desirable conditions. There will be no millennium without the Master. Paul’s futuring focused on the Lord, giving us consolation by holding forth that which is to come, confirming hope. But this hope develops, as does faith, “line upon line, precept upon precept; here a little, and there a little” (D&C 128:21).
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For those of us facing challenges (and I doubt any of us are not), hope in Jesus Christ is what pulls us through. Elder Maxwell contrasts doubt and despair with faith and hope, and I believe the Lord will help us as we strive to replace the first pair with the second.
Zechariah 14 contains some incredible prophecies that relate to the Second Coming of the Savior. I will leave you to search these yourselves and thank you so very much for being on this journey with me this year. I know I have gained a greater appreciation for the Old Testament and a greater testimony of our Savior and a knowledge that as He guided His people throughout the Old Testament times, leading up to his coming to earth as a baby with a mortal mother and a divine Father some 2018 years ago, so he will guide each of us leading up to His glorious Second Coming. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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