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Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Jun 10, 1913

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 40, No. 23.

Schedule for Week Ending June 14, 1913

Day	Date	Reading
Sunday	June 8	2 Kings 25; Ezra 1; 2:1, 2, 64-70
Monday	June 9	Ezra 3, 4, 5
Tuesday	June 10	Ezra 6, 7
Wednesday	June 11	Ezra 8:21-36; 9; 10:1-17
Thursday	June 12	Esther 1, 2, 3
Friday	June 13	Esther 4, 5, 6
Sabbath	June 14	Psalms 42, 43, 44

We close the history of the kingdom of Judah with the 25th chapter of 2 Kings. We have the story of the laying waste of Jerusalem, the despoiling of the temple, the captives slain at Riblah, the capture of Zedekiah the last king, and the appointment of Gedaliah as governor, who was slain through treachery; and the remnant, contrary to the counsel of Jeremiah, went to Egypt. Then is recorded the kind treatment that was shown Jehoiachin by the king of Babylon.

We omit Chronicles, because the story is told practically in 2 Kings, and proceed direct to Ezra, at the close of the Babylonian captivity. The first chapter tells us of the decree of Cyrus, which had been before predicted by Isaiah, for the restoration of the Jews. We omit in these readings in Ezra the multitude of names of those who returned, the readings including chapter 1, verses 1 and 2 and 64-70 of chapter 2, and chapters 3 to 7 inclusive, omitting the first 20 verses of Ezra 8, reading the remainder of the chapter, chapter 9, and the first 17 verses of chapter 10. The decree of Cyrus was given in 536. Zerubbabel was governor of Judea. The foundation of the second temple was laid in 535 B.C. The accession of Cambyses as ruler over Persia occurred in 529. He is the Ahasuerus of Ezra 4:6. In 522 the pseudo Smerdis the Magian, called Artaxerxes in Ezra 4:7, came to the throne, under whom the Jews stopped building, at the complaint of the Samaritans. The next year the usurper was slain, and Darius Hystaspes, one of the greatest of the Persian rulers, came to the throne. Stirring appeals of Haggai and Zechariah came in at this time, and the temple was completed. The decree for the restoration of Jerusalem and the building of the temple by Artaxerxes Longimanus, given in his seventh year (see Ezra 7:7), was B.C. 457.

Then follow readings of Esther, chapters 1-6. The chronology of the book of Esther is placed by some at a later date. The Ahasuerus of that book is considered identical with Xerxes, who, Josephus tells us in “Antiquities” 11, was very friendly to the Jews. The purpose of the book seems to be the revelation of the plot against the people of God by the Amalekites, and God's overruling power to prevent it. The “Companion Bible” makes this Ahasuerus the same as Astyages, the brother-in-law of Nebuchadnezzar. It would place in chronological order the following books: first, Daniel; second, Esther; third, Nehemiah; fourth, Ezra. “Ahasuerus” is a title meaning “the venerable king”—not a name. The extent of his kingdom is indicated by the 127 provinces, “from India even unto Ethiopia.” This book records the first world's fair that was ever held, where Ahasuerus showed the glory of his kingdom for six months, as described in chapter 1, verses 4-8. We close the week with the excellent Psalms 42, 43, 44.