Surprise of the Day

To this day, every March, Jews keep a festival to remember how a former slave in the Bible saved the Jews from extermination around 450 BC. 

Esther 1 – Esther 9:1-32

Fact of the Day

Surprise!  Jewish Esther arrived in Babylon as a little slave girl. A while later, Xerxes, king of Persia conquered Babylon, Egypt and many other smaller kingdoms. When he marched to conquer Greece, he had such a temper that, when a storm stopped his advance, he ordered the sea beaten with 300 lashes.  So, when Esther asked King Xerxes to spare her people from extinction, she had to admit she was a former Jewish slave. With all that against her, Xerxes honored her wish and saved the Jews.

Oh, and the remains of her palace in Susa still stand today in Iran.

 

 

Surprise of the Day

To this day, every March, Jews keep a festival to remember how a former slave in the Bible saved the Jews from extermination around 450 BC. 

Esther 1 – Esther 9:1-32

Fact of the Day

Surprise!  Jewish Esther arrived in Babylon as a little slave girl. A while later, Xerxes, king of Persia conquered Babylon, Egypt and many other smaller kingdoms. When he marched to conquer Greece, he had such a temper that, when a storm stopped his advance, he ordered the sea beaten with 300 lashes.  So, when Esther asked King Xerxes to spare her people from extinction, she had to admit she was a former Jewish slave. With all that against her, Xerxes honored her wish and saved the Jews.

Oh, and the remains of her palace in Susa still stand today in Iran.

 

 

Oops of the Day

Daniel was alive when Esther married Xerxes (Ahaxeurus), and her grandson was King Darius, son of Xerxes (Ahaxeurus) as mentioned in Daniel 9

Esther 1:1-2 – Daniel 1:1f – Daniel 5:31 – II Kings 24 – II Chronicles 36

Fact of the Day

No! 

610 BC – DANIEL b.  
594 BC – To Babylon, age 16?

                    King XyaXARES of Media was Darius’ grandfather.
522-486     KING DARIUS I (THE MEDE), reigned using the Law of the Medes and Persians. 

520              Daniel had  vision, he was c. 90 years old.

Esther’s Artaxerxes was much later.
486-464     KING XERXES I reigned  – m. ESTHER
464-423     King Artaxerxes I: reigned (her son?)
424-404     His grandson was Darius II, reigned 
DANIEL WOULD HAVE BEEN 186 YEARS OLD IN DARIUS II’s 1ST YEAR,

Oops of the Day

Most of the men who returned to Jerusalem from their captivity in Babylon sinned by marrying pagan women

Ezra 2 and 10:18-44

Fact of the Day

No! Even though Ezra made 106 Jewish men separate from their pagan wives, the population was made up of 42,360 men.  So they accounted for only .0025 of the Jewish men who had married pagan women.  Bad, but not as bad as we thought.

Oops of the Day

The  Samaritans wrote Persian King Artaxerxes  asking him to force the Jews to stop rebuilding their temple.  That king was Esther’s son.

Ezra 1 – 7 & Ezra 8 – 10

Fact of the Day

No! There were two kings named Artaxerxes.  

• 559  BC – King Cyrus became King of Persia 
• 539 BC – King Cyrus also became King of Babylon and freed the Jews his 1st year (Ezra 1:1ff)
• 537 BC – The Jews began rebuilding the temple in their 2nd year (Ezra 3:8).
• 522 BC – King Darius became King of Persia after fighting 19 others claiming to be king, among them Artaxerxes I (Ezra 4:4-7).
• 520 BC – Work on the temple stopped until the 2nd year of King Darius (Ezra 4:24).
• 514 BC – The temple was completed the 6th year of King Darius (Ezra 6:15)
• 465 BC – Esther’s Son, Artaxerxes II, son of Xerxes (Aha-xuerus) became King of Persia (Ezra 7:7)
• 458 BC – Ezra arrived in Jerusalem the 7th year of King Artaxerxes II (Ezra 7:7)

Oops of the Day

God never authorized use of musical instruments to worship him. 

I Chronicles 25:1; II  Chronicles 29:25-30 – II Chronicles 30:21 – II Chronicles 34:12-13 – Nehemiah 12:27-28 & 36 – Ephesians 5:19

Fact of the Day

No! God told Gad David’s seer, and Nathan the prophet to have choirs and a small orchestra.  But only certain instruments were authorized:  Lyres, harps and cymbals. Further, they were to only be played by Levites and had to be played all day every day at the temple/church building during daily sacrifices.  And they had to be supported completely by the temple/church.  Seen any Levites lately?  All this was in Old Testament worship.  In Christian worship we are told to play on the strings of one instrument – our heart. How beautiful.