Lessons

Old Testament Study – Part 14. The lesson on June 11, 2006 focuses on the post-exile prophets and looks at the books Ezra, Nehemiah, Ester, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. These books wrap up the Old Testament and require you to learn them by reading them over and over. In order to be prepared to share the Word of God, you need to have scripture hidden in your heart. Several Companion Bible appendices are mentioned that work as good study aides on these topics ( Appx. 50, Appx. 53, and Appx. 58). It establishes that the Book of Ester came chronologically first, then Nehemiah, and then some 26 years later Ezra comes and is interested in rebuilding the Temple. During the time of Ezra and Nehemian, we find the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, and some 30 years after that we have Malachi. The timeframe for this time period is the 6th Century (500 BC) after David and Solomon’s reign as Kings of Israel, then with the time after Solomon with the divided Kingdom. Israel was held captive for 70 years as told in Daniel. Daniel tells of 70 weeks in chapter 9:24, 25 (Seventy weeks covers 70 x 7 years which is 490 years). The last 7 weeks (7 years) is known as the tribulation period. This passage is key to understanding the timing for the rebuilding of the Temple (It is explained thoroughly in the book Elijah’s Coming. Here is the chapter on the 70 weeks of Daniel). 454 BC is the timeframe for Nehemiah. This is the fourteenth lesson in the Old Testament series and covers the post-exile period prophets.