Pharaoh - Ezekiel 32

Ezekiel 32:2 "Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou are like a young lion of the nations, and thou art as a whale in the seas; and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy fee, and fouledst their rivers."

After that some of Judah fled to Egypt, the king of Babylon invaded. It was the final chapter in the greatness of Egypt. Egypt is still there but the majesty of the Pharaoh's is gone.

Also, in studying this chapter I was drawn back to Tyre where the king set himself up to be God and was judged. There we studied the doings of Satan. Here we see also the presence of Satan as a beast in the river whose carcass was to be dragged on land for the fowls to feed on. It is symbolic of the end of the dragon.

Job 41:24 "His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone. v31 "He maketh the deep to boil like a pot; he maketh the sea like a pot of ointment." v23 The flakes of his flesh are joined together; they are firm in themselves; they cannot be moved."

Ezekiel 29:4 "But I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales, and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, and all the fish of the rivers shall stick unto thy scales."

So before God, there is a weakness in all things created.

Pharaoh is going to be defeated although I suppose he believed otherwise until the end.

Other nations will notice with trembling the fall of Egypt:

v24 "There is Elam and all her multitude round about her grave, all of them slain,... v26 There is Meshech, Tubal, and all her multitude; her graves are round about him; v29 There is Edom, her kings, and all her princes, which with their might are laid by them that were slain...

The pronouncement to Pharaoh is a terrible statement in that it was so tragic for him - that he would join these other nations who did not acknowledge God as their only God.

v31 "Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over all his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his army slain by the sword, saith the Lord GOD."

Assyria - Ezekiel 31

Ezekiel 31:3 "Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs."

In speaking to Egypt, the Lord told Ezekiel to tell Egypt about Assyria and their majesty. Upon doing so, it should have been clear to Egypt that even the greatest can be brought down.

Assyria was one of four great kingdoms (monarchies) of the time. It sat where Kurdisten now stands but spread far and wide. It is also related to Nineveh where tablets with a strange form of writing has been dug up in recent years.

v5 "Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth."

Assyria is compared to the garden of God, Eden.

v8 "The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him: the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chestnut trees were not like his branches; nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty."

But even this greatness came to nought under the judgment of God. So, Egypt would be no exception.

v16 "I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell with them that descend into the pit; and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth."

It is God who raises up nations and who has the power to cast them down.

v18 "To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden unto the neither parts of the earth; thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord GOD."

Egypt - scattered - Ezekiel 30

Ezekiel 30:26 "And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them among the countries; and they shall know that I am the LORD."

We often see these words in Ezekiel 'and they shall know that I am the LORD'. Oh how much trouble we would avoid if only we would acknowledge the Creator of the universe and all that is in it. Man is proud and we'd like to think that we were the makers of our own destiny, the captain of our own ship. We should never forget that the Lord made the sea we sail on and the wood that the ship is made from.

v3 "For the day is near, even the day of the LORD is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen."

As it was in the day of Noah, so it was with Egypt, so it is in our time. A day of judgment comes, like the clock ticking toward midnight. We are powerless to stop it.

v4 "And the sword shall come upon Egypt, and great pain shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down."

I think every great nation that has stood on earth must have thought that they could not be brought down. Babylon seemed indestructible. Egypt seemed indestructible. There are strong nations on earth today. Those that do not forget God and those who honor God will stand the test of time.

Egypt was Israel's crutch, their go to nation until God took away that crutch so Israel would turn to him alone.

v19 "Thus will I execute judgments in Egypt; and they shall know that I am the LORD.

Egypt's allies were also taken away so that Egypt had no one to call to support them.

v6 "Thus saith the LORD; They also that uphold Egypt shall fall; and the pride of her power shall come down; from the tower of Syene shall they fall in it by the sword, saith the Lord GOD."

Well it was a terrible time in the whole area. It went back to Israel turning to idols instead of honoring God. The land paid a great price.

Egypt - desolation - Ezekiel 29

Ezekiel 29:3 "Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself."

There is that boosting again. Of course, we are talking about Egypt in the times of Ezekiel.

There were two basic reasons why Egypt came under judgment here. One is that they did not give God the glory for their good fortune. The river/rivers were the source of the riches of Egypt. We all know about the Nile. I believe there was at one time a river system that made the land rich. I don't know much about what Egypt is like now.

Another reason is that Israel was bad about turning to Egypt when they were in distress instead of turning to God as they should have. But Egypt took advantage in those times and hurt Israel.

Therefore, Egypt was given to Nebuchadrezzar as his wages for the work in Tyre.

Once Egypt was made a base nation, Israel would no longer turn to them as they did when Egypt was full of power and splendor.

II Kings 18:21 "Now, behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on which if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt unto all that trust on him."

So, we can see, in these studies, that during this time the face of the whole region changed tremendously. There was greatness all around but it went to Babylon under the judgment of God.

v13 "Yet, thus saith the Lord GOD; At the end of forty years will I gather the Egyptians from the people whither they were scattered; v14 And I will bring again the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to return into the land of Pathros, into the land of their habitation; and they shall be there a base kingdom."

v19 "Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold I will give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall take her multitude, and take her spoil, and take her prey; and it shall be the wages for his army."

I would like to have seen these nations in their glory days. It must have been a sight to behold. But they rejected or turned from the Lord GOD and it cost them their kingdoms.

Johanan Refuses to Obey - Jeremiah 43

Jeremiah 43:7 "So they came into the land of Egypt; for they obeyed not the voice of the LORD; thus came they even to Tahpanhes."

Tahpanhes: a city in Egypt on a branch of the Nile.

The chapter comes after Jeremiah told the remnant that they would be safe in Judah. The leaders accused Jeremiah of being deceived by Baruch, you remember the scribe who wrote down what Jeremiah told him and the book that was burned.

v3 "But Baruch the son of Neriah setteth thee on against us, for to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they might put us to death, and carry us away captives in Babylon."

They, apparently, remember the time of Joseph when Israel was protected in Egypt but have forgotten the many years of slavery there and that they had to be delivered by Moses.

They have also 'forgotten' their promise to obey what ever word Jeremiah brought from the LORD. I think often we pray to tell God what to do rather than to submit to his wisdom in doing the thing we need instead of the thing we want.

As a reminder of the words Jeremiah spake from the LORD, a witness was set up in Egypt.

v9 "Take great stones in thine hand and hide them in the clay in the brick kiln, which is at the entry of Pharaoh's house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah;"

These were a material symbol of a prophecy spoken by Jeremiah that on that very spot the king of Babylon would sit after he had conquered Egypt and dealt with the remnant of Judah for disobeying the LORD.

v11 "And when he cometh, he shall smite the land of Egypt, and deliver such as are for death to death; and such as are for captivity to captivity; and such as are for the sword to the sword."

I do not know really, why Egypt tried to come to Judah's rescue earlier nor why they want to shelter them now. I'd think that after the Red Sea and the pestilence inflicted on them because of Israel that they would shun them. Now, the king of Babylon is coming.

v12 "And I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt; and he shall burn them, and carry them away captives: and he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd putteth on his garment; and he shall go forth from thence in peace."

Well, it is a far cry from the greatness when David and Solomon were kings. Those kings honored God in their doings and the kingdom was great. The people turned to idols and the kingdom fell. It should be clear which way was best.

Next chapter, tells of the arrogance of the people. They are no longer ashamed of their transgression but lash out.

Gedaliah Dead - Jeremiah 41

Jeremiah 41:2 "Then arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men that were with him, and smote Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword, and slew him, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land."

Jerusalem has fallen. The king of Babylon has made Gedaliah governor. The remnant were promised that they would be safe in Judah if they submitted to the governorship. Jeremiah was there and he had said all along that Judah should do so. But Ishmael, probably out of jealousy, came after the battle was over and sat down to eat with Gedaliah, then rose up and killed him and all the Jews with him. Then I guess he went back under the rock he crawled from under.

Then , not knowing the deed that was done, there came some men to make offerings at the house of the LORD where Gedaliah was. Ishmael was not only a murderer but a liar as well.

v6 "And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went froth from MIzpah to meet them, weeping all along as he went; and it came to pass as he met them, he said unto them, Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. v7 And it was so, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah slew them, ..."

Ishmael carried away the women that were left and went back where he came from.

Johanan was left to deal with the situation. He gathered men and went after Ishmael and slew him and recovered the women. But Johanan was now afraid of the Chaldeans since Ishmael had also slain some of them and Johanan thought the people might be blamed.

v17 "And the departed, and dwelt in the habitation of Chimham, which is by Bethlehem, to go to enter into Egypt."

I don't read of anything good that happened to Israel when they went into Egypt. We'll see in following studies.

I wonder what good things would have happened to their offspring had they stayed in the area of Bethlehem and had been there when Jesus was born.

Psalm 41:9 "Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me."

First Sermon - Jeremiah 2

Jeremiah 2:2 "Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown."

Israel was a young nation when they were in the wilderness. It compares to the way the United States was back in the discovery days. It seemed much like a wilderness to our forefathers. We met sometimes hostile forces and relied on the Lord to get us through.

Israel is reminded that, back then, they relied on the Lord and sought to do his commandments.

v3 "Israel was holiness unto the LORD, and the firstfruits of his increase; all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the LORD."

My note: "I remember when you were young and loved me."

So what happened to change your mind.

v5 "Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have y our fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me and have walked after vanity, and are become vain?"

Israel is established. It is plain to see that it was the Lord who established them. We as a nation seem to be established in the world. We have risen to be the most powerful nation. Why is it that now we turn away from God?

v6 "Neither said they, Where is the LORD that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt?"

Israel did not follow a well travelled trail to Canaan. They were given food and water where there was none. The Lord guided them by day and night.

My note: "What did I do to change your mind? Why did you no longer seek me?"

The Lord provided:

v7 "And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination."

What have we done to our country? Is it not similar to what Israel did to theirs? We have changed the landscape. We have let our morals slip and there is violence on every hand.

Even the leaders of Israel no longer sought the Lord. You'd think the leaders would be wise enough to remember why they have had success.

v8 "The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not; the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal and walked after things that do not profit."

We know that there was much idol worship. Things made by the hand of man were worshipped as gods. Children were killed in the name of worship and to appease.

Yet in the face of all this, the Lord still loves Israel and still pleads with them.

v9 "Wherefore, I will yet plead with you, saith the LORD, and with your children's children will I plead."

Then Jeremiah and the Lord lay out the situation in simple terms.

v13 "For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water."

Of all the nations, Israel has forsaken their God. The other nations held on to theirs. It was a strange thing, even by earthly standards for a nation to forsake their God.

v11 "Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit."

He goes on with other comparisons to show how ridiculous it was for Israel to forsake the Lord. The message is one of hurt of the heart for Israel. It is like a devoted man when a wife gets ready to leave him for another or the other way around. He( or she) cannot understand. He has taken care of her. Provided. Yet she goes to another. God is trying to get Israel to see that there is hurt down the road if they continue with their present course of forsaking Him.

v37 "Yea, thou shalt go forth from him, and thine hands upon thine head; for the LORD hath rejected thy confidences, and thou shalt not prosper in them."

You have a false confidence in yourself and your ways. There is trouble ahead. I would, that our nation turn back to God.

Peace - Isaiah 66

Isaiah 66:13 "As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem."

Basically, this chapter says, I the Lord started it and will finish it. In the end Jerusalem will be a place of rejoicing.

v9 "Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the LORD; shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God."

Remember what we have studied, how the Lord took Abraham on a journey from his home to the land of Canaan. Then, how he multiplied his family after he was old and Sarah was old. Then in travail, he forged a nation from slaves out of the land of Egypt and marched them to victory in Canaan.

The sad part is that after all they they rebelled against Him and worshipped idols. Thus the punishment, but victory will still come.

v15 "For behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire."

We cannot pass this chapter with mentioning verse 12 which I believe the great song "It is Well with my Soul" came. V12"For thus saith the LORD, Behold I will extend peace to her like a river, ..." I Heard a story about the writing of that song which I hope is a true account: A man lost his family on a voyage to America. He journeyed back across the ocean and the captain told him when he reached the spot where his family went into the deep. He then penned the words to the song upon receiving peace in his soul that only God can give in such a tragedy.

"When peace like a river, attendeth my soul and shadows like sea billows roll..."

v23 "And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD."

Egypt Isaiah 31

Isaiah 31:1 "Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many;and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!"

Doesn't Israel sound a lot like all of us in our Christian life? We look every where for help when the Lord is standing there with outstretched hands.

Egypt is often used in a spiritual sense, in addition to the physical where the children of Israel fled to for protection.

Spiritually, Egypt is the place Christians often head for when things go wrong at church or in their life generally. Like Israel, they remember the food and good times but not the idols and slavery. Once we have crossed Jordan in our spiritual life, we have no business back in Egypt. The Lord is our protector now, even when things are bad.

v3 "Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh and not spirit, When the LORD shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is helped shall fall down, and they all shall fail together."

What do people go back to? For some it is drugs or the bottle. They remember the friends that gathered round them and the feeling they got when all their problems seemed to disappear. Problems and troubles do not disappear just because they are forgotten in a drug or alcohol state. Someone still has to deal with them. It is only when their life comes crashing down that those returning to Egypt remember why they sought the Lord. Best to stay with what works even when times are bad.

v5 "As birds flying, so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem, defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it."

The Lord loves Jerusalem and loves us no less. He will defend us and preserve us if we let him.

Better days are ahead.

v7 "For in that day every man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin."

So we see that it was not the best thing for Israel to flee chastisement by going down to Egypt and trusting in Egypt's horses and chariots. Those horses and chariots would be fine in a physical battle but Israel's problem is a spiritual one. They have forsaken the Lord for idols. Payday is here and there is no escape.

Egypt - Isaiah 19

Isaiah 19:1 "The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt; and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it."

We are still trying to put together an accurate history of Egypt. They dwelt in a most rich and fertile land to which the surrounding peoples came in times of drought and famine. The black soil produced by the Nile gave forth plenty to use and share. The magnificence of the rulers is still announced by the many monuments there.

v4 "And the Egyptians wilt I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall ride over them, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts."

So, what of the well watered soil:

v5 And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up."

It would take a lot to bring down such a kingdom as Egypt. They were protected on all sides by either deserts or sea. The one thing that made them great, the water, was the one thing that defeated them.

v8 "The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish."

The order of Egypt is disrupted and there is confusion so that even the advisers are of no use.

"v12 "Where are they? where are thy wise men? and let them tell thee now, and let them know what the LORD of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt."

We can read in Daniel more of Egypt in this time but the very wise Daniel is far away from Egypt.

v17 "And the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt, every one that maketh mention thereof shall be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the LORD of hosts, which he hath determined against it."

We can remember how Israel left Egypt. Egypt called it an expulsion but Israel called it redemption. I agree with redemption. During the time of the kings of Israel, there were times when Egypt was still involved in the affairs of Israel. Such as, have wives in Israel. But in the verse above things are reversed.

It seems to me that about the time Israel was dispersed into captivity, that the whole world was turned on its ear. Nations that were great were no longer great and from out of 'no where' came mighty people to overthrow them.

In the midst of this, I find one encouraging verse: v21 "And the LORD shall be known to Egypt and the Egyptians shall know the LORD in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the LORD, and perform it. v22 And the LORD shall smite Egypt; he shall smite and heal it; and they shall return even to the LORD, and he shall be entreated of them, and shall heal them."

Finally we are given three peoples: Assyria, Egypt and Israel.

v25 "Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance."

These are difficult passages for me especially since I am not schooled in a broad understanding of the history of all these nations. Perhaps it will become more clear as we go through. A note though is that Ethiopia was part of Egypt, at least ancient Ethiopia.

Summary Nehemiah's Arrival Nehemiah 13

Nehemiah 13:6 "But in all this time was not I at Jerusalem: for in the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon came I unto the king, and after certain days obtained I leave of the king:"

Verses 1-3 refers back to Deuteronomy when the Ammonite and Moabite refused to help the children of Israel as they came out of the wilderness. It was when Balaam was involved with putting a curse on Israel but God turned it to a blessing.

Deuteronomy 23:3 "An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD forever; v4 Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee."

So Nehemiah came to Jerusalem and found the Ammonites and Moabites mingled with the Jews and cast the out of the congregation.

Verse 4-9 is about Tobiah who was the servant of the current governor. He had allied himself with Eliashib, a priest who had charge over the chamber of the house of God. The chamber was supposed to be used for offerings but was made into a home for Tobiah. Nehemiah cast his stuff out of the temple.

v8 "And it grieved me sore: therefore I cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber."

We are seeing here the fiery character of Nehemiah. He was chosen by the king to be his cupbearer for a reason. He was surely a strong man.

v10-14 deals with the food the Levites were suppose to be getting. They were not getting their portion of food and so had to return to the fields to gather for themselves so they could eat. Nehemiah set that right so they could again do their job.

v11 "Then contended I with the rulers, and said, Why is the House of God forsaken? And I gathered them together, and set them in their place."

Verses 15-22 deals with the sabbath. People were doing stuff on the sabbath they should not do and were making it a day of deal making like a flea market. Nehemiah stopped the activity and again threatens to get physical if they do not comply.

v21 "Then I testified against them; and said unto them, Why lodge ye about the wall? If ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on the sabbath."

Verses 23-31 concerns the Jews being married to wives of other nations. The children could not even speak the language of the Jews. Nehemiah got pretty rough with them. He expressed his deep concern that the men would be drawn away by the wives as even Solomon was.

He proposed the question: v27 "Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great evil, to transgress against our God in marrying strange wives?" In verse 36 he calls them "...nevertheless even him did outlandish women cause to sin."

In verse 28 Nehemiah found out that the high priest was married to the daughter of Sanballat the Horonite and so he "...chased him from me."

So after going through the book of Nehemiah, we find a little about the person Nehemiah. He seems to have come into Judah with the blessings of the king and like a whirlwind wasting no time with diplomacy to fix what he say was wrong. After all, he had given the king a time for when he would return.

That closes the book of Nehemiah for now. Next we go to Esther (pronounced with the 'h').

Malachi 3:16 "Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name."

Nehemiah recounts his arrival and deeds.
Dedication of wall.http://oldoldstory.blogspot.com/2009/03/dedication-of-wall-nehemiah-12.html

Dedication of Wall Nehemiah 12

Nehemiah 12:47 "And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah gave the portions of the singers and the porters, every day his portion: and they sanctified holy things unto the Levites; and the Levites sanctified them unto the children of Aaron."

We again see a list of names. I think this chapter is retro and is a summary of the people and the events of the time.

The book of Ezra covers about 80 years and Nehemiah covers about 11 years. Nehemiah came up after Ezra (14 years)and set things in order. I do not quite get the time frame of Zerubbabel but it seems he was the strong man of the people who returned.

In reading these books we should do some remembering. Israel was redeemed out of Egypt as slaves. The wondered in the wilderness where they were taught to trust in the one true God and learned the law there. They rose to the greatest nation on earth under David and Solomon. They turned from God and worshipped idols and as a result were taken away into captivity. They were granted permission to return to Jerusalem and to rebuild it. Most of the people choose to stay in Babylon and Assyria because they prospered there. A remnant, with a heart for God, came back and did the rebuilding of Jerusalem. These books are their stories.

v27 "And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgiving and with singing with cymbals, psalteries, and with harps."

It is a flashback to the procedures set up by David to praise the LORD. The people were divided into two groups and they climbed the steps above David's house and joined at the top to dedicate the wall.

v43 "Also that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced for God had made them rejoice with great joy: the wives also and the children rejoiced: so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off."

The chapter places emphasis on the singers set up by David and Solomon, Asaph was chief in the old days. His descendants carry on the talent for the LORD. Looking in the book of Psalms, you will see the name of Asaph on many of the chapters.

v46 "For in the days of David and Asaph of old there were chief of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving unto God."

So to some degree we see now the shame taken away. The destroyed city of Jerusalem represented the nation Israel and the shame they bore for turning from the LORD. It is a physical sign of their spiritual revival.

Next we have the last chapter of Nehemiah.

Malachi 1:5 "And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The LORD will be magnified from the border of Israel."

Dedication of the wall of Jerusalem.

Who will live in Jerusalem?

Josiah II Chronicles 35

II Chronicles 35:1 "Moreover Josiah kept a passover unto the LORD in Jerusalem: and they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month."

The passover represents the deliverance of the firstborn while the children of Israel were in Egypt. Blood from the lamb was splashed on the door post and mantle. This prevented the death angel from entering. The passover also represents the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as the lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world.

Josiah honored this command to observe and remember how God had made a way for their deliverance.

v6 "So kill the passover, and sanctify yourselves, and prepare your brethren, that they may do according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses."

v11 "And they killed the passover, and the priests sprinkled the blood from their hands, and the Levites flayed them." It reminds us of the suffering of Christ as they beat him with the cat of nine tails.

v20 "After all this when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Charchemish by Euphrates: and Josiah went out against him."

There was some talk between the two kings where Necho warned Josiah to stay out of the war which did not concern him but Josiah remained to help Charchemish. Josiah was injured and later died at home.

v23 "And the archers shot at king Josiah and the king said to his servants, Have me away; for I am sore wounded.

So Josiah was taken home before the people were taken into captivity. It was the promise God had made to him, that he would not see the judgment to come.

Psalm 95:1 "O come let us sing unto the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation."

Josiah observes the passover and later dies in battle.