Intro to Ezra-Nehemiah

Thursday, October 22, 2009 -- Week of Proper 24, Year One

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 988)
Psalms 37:1-18 (morning) 37:19-42 (evening)
Ezra 1:1-11
1 Corinthians 16:1-9
Matthew 12:15-21

Today we begin reading Ezra-Nehemiah for the next few weeks. Some background info is in order.

It is best to read Ezra-Nehemiah not so much as an historical narrative, but more as an historical apologetic. This work's intention is to defend a particular theological (and therefore political) perspective. Ezra the priest and Nehemiah the governor are both historical figures and literary figures. They work to rebuild the "house of God." The house of God is a major metaphor throughout the readings as they rebuild the physical structure of the Jerusalem Temple, as well as the renewed community in Judah, and finally the walls of Jerusalem. These walls also have a cultural effect to separate the Jews from the surrounding tribes and religions. The community as the house of God is being redefined.

Ezra and Nehemiah both carry out the policy of the Persian Empire and do so under Persian authority. The Persians used a fascinating technique to control their subject populations. The Persians maintained control of their conquered regions by controlling access to the farm land. Their emissaries were charged with maintaining order in agriculture, and a big part of that was securing stability in land ownership, defining the boundaries and access to lands.

The biggest threat to land boundaries was the presence of neighboring tribes. As long as the tribes stayed within their borders, passing on their ancestral lands from generation to generation, the goal of agricultural stability was maintained. But if families from different tribes intermarried, the definitions about who had access to which lands blurred.

Therefore the Persians enforced a strict policy against intermarriage between the tribes in their conquered territories. They authorized officials such as Ezra and Nehemiah to enforce their restriction on tribal intermarriage, in order to control access to the farmland and maintain order in the empire. You might say that Persia was the first agricultural multinational. The Persians also promoted the traditional religious practices of each region as an additional strategy for keeping distinct boundaries between the conquered nations. They used religious and governmental agencies to maintain separate territories based on tribal definitions to secure orderly access to the lands. The Persian ethnic cleansing policy pursued by Ezra and Nehemiah met with resistance among Jewish families who were already related to the neighboring tribes. Their policy and was seen as a direct threat to many married inter-tribal couples. The book of Ruth is a form of protest literature directed at the policies of Ezra and Nehemiah.

The fifth century BCE was a century of war and conflict for the great empire of Persia (modern Iran). There was a series of battles with Greece, and there were two rebellions by Egypt. A major Egyptian rebellion in the 460's made the region around Jerusalem strategically important.

Let's talk dates. Jerusalem was conquered and her people sent into exile by Babylon in 587 BCE. Cyrus the Great defeated the Babylonians in 539 BCE, and Cyrus issued his Edict of Restoration for Israel (our reading today from Ezra 1) at that time. The important leader Ataxerxes I ruled Persia from 465 to 424 (Nehemiah was his cupbearer). Egypt rebelled against Persia in 460, provoking a six year war. Ezra came to Jerusalem in 458 BCE, and Nehemiah's first stint as governor as in 445. The book of Ezra-Nehemiah was written around 400 BCE.

During these days Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides are writing great plays in Athens. Athens is attempting to become an empire competing against Persia and Sparta. The Great Canal begins in China and Buddha dies in India in the 480's; Confucius dies in 479. Socrates is born in 469; Pericles leads Athens 461-429 as philosophy and science bloom. The next century will bring us Alexander the Great and Republic of Rome is rising.

For the next few weeks we'll live with the sometimes petty, often whiny, challenging work of Ezra and Nehemiah to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. There will be intrigue and drama, faithfulness and racism, politics and prayer. These leaders did it their way (also the Persian way), and the books in their names offer their contemporaries an historical and theological defense of their acts and offer us a wonderful peek at a troubled time.

Lowell

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Morning Reflections is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117

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The Mission of St. Paul's Episcopal Church
is to explore and celebrate
God's infinite grace, acceptance, and love.

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We aspire to...
worship weekly
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Lowell Grisham, Rector

St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, Arkansas