The Bible Year

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D.C. · Sep 14, 1916

Assignment for September 17-23

September 17: Haggai. September 18: Zechariah 1 to 3. September 19: Zechariah 4 to 7. September 20: Zechariah 8 to 11. September 21: Zechariah 12 to 14. September 22: Esther 1 to 4. September 23: Esther 5 to 10.

Haggai and Zechariah

“The return from exile had been foretold by a number of prophets. The fall of Nineveh and Babylon had also been predicted. All these prophecies were fulfilled. When Haggai and Zechariah appeared, the returned band of over forty-two thousand exiles had been living in Jerusalem for sixteen years. The return had been made possible by the decree of Cyrus of Persia in 536 B. C.; it had been led by Zerubbabel, a direct descendant of King David. In the first year of the return the altar of burnt offering had been set up; two years later, work had been begun on the temple foundations, but was soon arrested on account of the bitter opposition which came from the surrounding peoples. For fourteen years the labor was at a standstill. The Jews were rapidly reconciling themselves to the situation when Haggai and Zechariah, in 520 B. C., arose with burning words, calling upon the people to arise and rebuild the sanctuary. The result was that in four years the temple was finished, and dedicated (see Ezra 3 to 6) in 516 B. C. See Jer. 29:10, 11.

“The prophets came at a grave crisis in the history of the chosen people. Their first enthusiasm at being upon the ground where Jerusalem had been, was worn away by the difficulties and dangers with which they were surrounded. The glory of the restored capital and temple pictured by the prophets before the exile seemed a mirage, never to be realized. The returned exiles, who were few in numbers and poor in resources, began to rebuild the ruins of the city and reclaim a long-neglected soil. A reaction was inevitable. To restore to this people hope, courage, and a holy zeal for God’s cause was the task of Haggai and Zechariah. How well they did it according to the word which God gave them is shown by the rising of the temple from its ruins.

“Haggai and Zechariah were, in all probability, among the exiles who returned with Zerubbabel from Babylon. Haggai began to prophesy in the second year of Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, and concluded his prophecy on the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Zechariah began his prophecy in the eighth month of the same year, and continued to prophesy for some years after that. The latter part of the book of Zechariah (chapters 9 to 14) has a much wider sweep than the first part, and is very rich in its predictions of the Messianic King and kingdom.”—Selected.

Esther

The authorship of this book is unknown. It was written in Hebrew, and by some has been attributed to Ezra. Others, taking into account the intimate knowledge shown of the personal affairs of Esther and Mordecai, believe it to have been written by Mordecai himself. It is one of the two books of the Bible bearing a woman’s name. Unlike all the other books of the Bible, the Deity is nowhere mentioned, nor is any reference made to his name. Yet the whole book is a record of God’s special providence exercised in behalf of his chosen people, and bears in itself the evidence of its divine origin.

The “golden text” of the book is found in the last clause of verse 14, chapter 4: “Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Accepting this question as personal when confronted with what seem insurmountable difficulties, we may, like Esther, not only find deliverance, but also exalt the name of the Lord.