Micah 4 – “In the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s house will be the highest of all—the most important place on earth. It will be raised above the other hills, and people from all over the world will stream there to worship. People from many nations will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of Jacob’s God. There he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths.’” (4:1-2).

God will “wield authority over many…

Micah 2 –People lie awake at night thinking of evil things to do. “When you want a piece of land, you find a way to seize it. When you want someone’s house, you take it by fraud and violence” (2:2). The Lord will repay these evils with dire punishments. “You will no longer walk around proudly, for it will be a terrible time” (2:3).  Others will be placed in charge of them.

The people have no ears to hear any of this. They would prefer the words of false…

Micah

Introduction - This prophetic book was written sometime in the 8^th c. BC before the fall of Samaria in 722 BC. Micah is one of the twelve “minor prophets”; he was a contemporary of Isaiah, Amos and Hosea and the kings who reigned during his prophetic life were Jotham (742-735), Ahaz (735-715) and Hezekiah (715-696). His message is addressed to both Samaria and Jerusalem; he was the first prophet to predict the downfall of Jerusalem. But he also…

2 Maccabees 14 – Around 161 BC, Judas learns that the son of Antiochus Epiphanes who should have succeeded his father – Demetrius – has been released by the Romans and had arrived at the port of Tripolis with a strong army and a fleet of ships. He had killed his brother Antiochus V and Lysias.

A “former high priest” one Alcimus, approached the new king and present him “with a olden crown and a palm, together with the traditional olive branches from the Temple” (14:4),…

2 Maccabees 13 – It is 162 BC. Antiochus Eupator [nine years old ???] advances  against Judea with Lysias, [brother?, tutor, vizier] and 110,000 Greek infantrymen, 5300 cavalry, 22 elephants and 300 scythed chariots.

Menelaus – Benjaminite brother of the High Priest Simon who suggested that the Temple be plundered back in chapter 4 - collaborates with the enemy, but Antiochus finally has him…

2 Maccabees 12 – While there is this new pact of peace made with the Jews, some governors – Timothy, Apollonius, Hieronymus, Demophon and Nicanor, still will not let them live in peace.

It isn’t long before there is another assault on the people - an unexpected drowning of people in Joppa. Judas takes revenge and then goes on to head off a similar assault on the Jews of Jamnia. Clearly, as he sees it the whole campaign embodies a recommitment of the Jews to…

2 Maccabees 11 – Lysias, the brother of Antiochus [a new fact about him here introduced] and head of the government, wants Jerusalem to be a city amenable to those who love Greek culture. He also wants the good old days back when they taxed the Temple, sold the high priesthood of the Jews for lots of money and basically ignored the will of God for the city.

“Lysias was so pleased with his tens of thousands of infantry, his thousands of…

2 Maccabees 10 - The Maccabaeans restore the Temple, pull down foreign altars and then encourage a penitent spirit among the people, begging God’s forgiveness and praying that never again will the people be subject to such cruel and godless oppression.

They celebrate for eight days and institute this celebration for future times as well – the Festival of Shelters [Sukkot].

Then the story goes on to the history of Antiochus’ Epiphanes’ son…

2 Maccabees 9 – Antiochus is outraged when he hears of the defeat of Nicanor and Timotheus. He races out to take revenge but God strikes him with a terrible pain in his bowels and “excruciating internal torture” (9:5) that cause him to smell very bad. The author uses this as a lesson in how God takes his revenge on those who persecute even in this life, and no matter how exalted a man may be in power, his power is not greater than the power of God’s justice.

He…

2 Maccabees 8 – Judas Maccabaeus gathers together a group of 6000 men who are ready to fight. They “called upon the Lord: to look upon his people, who were down trodden by all; and to take pity on the temple, which was defiled by the impious; and even to take pity on the city by utter destruction, for it was willing to be immediately leveled to the ground; and to hear the voice of the blood that was crying out to him, so that he would remember also the most iniquitous deaths of the…

2 Maccabees 7 – Seven brothers are also models of the kind of Jewish revival the Maccabees seek. They refuse to comply when the king orders them to eat pig’s flesh. To punish them, he orders one of the seven – the spokesman – to be tortured and killed. He is cut up and fried. Both mother and other brothers look on but only encourage one another in accepting martyrdom. “Inhuman fiend, you may discharge us from this present life, but the King of the world will raise us up,…

2 Maccabees 6:18-31 – A man named Eleazar, an elderly man who is “one of the foremost teachers of the Law” (6:18) goes to an event at which he is compelled to eat “pig’s flesh.” He chooses to go “to the block” rather than submit to this desecration of Jewish Law. There are people at the event who respect him and try to save him by getting him to “pretend” to eat it (6:21). Instead, he “publicly state[s] his convictions” (6:23), fearing that the young might be misled by his…

2 Maccabees 6:1-17 – The king sends an “old man from Athens to compel the Jews to abandon their ancestral customs and live no longer by the laws of God; and to profane the Temple in Jerusalem and dedicate it to Olympian Zeus” (6:1) -- to compel the Jews to accept Hellenization.

The Temples in Jerusalem and Samaria are filled with idols and the “altar of sacrifice was loaded with victims proscribed by the laws as unclean” (6:5).  There is a monthly celebration of…

2 Maccabees 5 - The author tells us that during an expedition against Egypt by Antiochus, a series of apparitions hits Jerusalem. During this time, on a false report that Antiochus had died, Jason leads an unexpected attack on Jerusalem. He slaughters many and causes Menelaus to take refuge in the Citadel, but he does not succeed and finally flees and dies abroad.

The king thinks Judaea is in revolt, so he comes and “storms the city” massacring 40,000 and…

2 Maccabees 4 – After Seleucus’ death, Antiochus Epiphanes succeeds to the kingdom, and Onias’ brother Jason usurps the high-priesthood. He is a Hellenizer – loves the athletic aspects of Greek culture and builds a gymnasium right near the Temple. Like American music and culture today, Greek culture at this time was a BIG DRAW to people, especially young people of the time. Just imagine how difficult it would have been to keep the youth of this “identity marked” culture from…

2 Maccabees 2 – The author tells how the prophet Jeremiah ordered those who were taken into exile to “hide some of the fire from the altar” so it could be found as they have just found it to rekindle the light of the Temple. He also instructed them concerning God Law and warned them about the temptation of idol worship that they would see in the land they were being taken to.

“These same records also tell us that Jeremiah, acting under divine guidance, commanded the…

2 Maccabees 1 – The book begins with two letters; the first one is to the Egyptian Jews:

“May he give you all the heart to worship him, and to do his will, with a great heart and a willing soul. May he throw open your heart with his law and with his precepts, and may he create peace. May he heed your prayers and be reconciled to you and may he not forsake you in the evil time” (1:3-5).

And the second one is to Aristobulus, tutor to King Ptolemy.…

Nehemiah 12 – The names of the priests and Levites who came up with Zerubbabel are listed. In verse 31, it goes back to first person narration. Nehemiah says he brought all the leaders up onto the wall and they went in procession, one company to the right with musicians and the whole regalia; the other to the left. Again, particular people are mentioned and their place along the wall. It was a great affair. “They offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them…

Nehemiah 11- The leaders of the people are now living in Jerusalem. “A tenth of the people from the other towns of Judah and Benjamin were chosen by sacred lots to live there, too, while the rest stayed where they were” (11:1). Most of them stayed where they were.

The representatives of the different groups are named-—Judahites, Benjaminites, Priests, Levites, gatekeepers, an overseer of the Levites, and others. The responsibilities of each “were carried out according…

Nehemiah 9 – Still assembled, the people fast and are in a repentant spirit. Those of Israelite descent separate themselves from all foreigners, confess their sins and the sins of the ancestors as well. They stand and read from the book of the law for a quarter of the day, and spend another quarter confessing and worshipping: “Stand up and bless the Lord your God from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed by your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise”…