The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1893-02-09
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.

International Lesson for February -,
1893 Nehemiah's Prayer Neh.
it'll.
GOLDEN TExT-Lord. be Thou my helper
Ps. 90:10
TIME-B. G. 445 Ninety years after the first
return, and seventy years after our last lesson.
PLACE.-Susa or Shusan ga lily" from the
abundance OF lilies In the neighborhocd), the
chief OF the three capitals o the Persian empire,
Two hundred miles south OF Ecbatanc the sum-
mer capital In the mountains 1t was two hun
dred and fifty miles cast OF Babylon the third
capital. and was situated on the Choaspes
(modern kerkhah) a branch Of the Tigris. 1t
was n journey Of one thousand miles from Jer-
usalem, by way of Tadmor. Here lived Queen
Esther, and here Daniel spent part Of his time
dan. 8:2)
RULERS. -Artaxerxes, called Longimaus (or
long -handcd), began to reign BIC 465; regned
Till December IL, 423 He was the son of Xerxes,
the Ahasuerus of Esther. Egypt was con-
quercd and added to the kingdom in his reign
PROPHET Malachi, the last of the Old
Testament prophets.
INTERVENING HIsToRY.-During the fifty
seven years between chapters and Of Ezra
belongs the Book OF Esther the Queen (473).
Then follow the remaining chapters of Ezra,
with the account Of the second return and great
reformation under Ezra
THE BOOK OF NEHEMIAH is D q continua-
ton OF the book OF Ezra, and In the earliest
i2) The author The main part OF this book
was doubtless written by Nehemiah being In
the first person. but portions are evidently
drawn from the state archives and part is writ
ten In the third person, as If by some other his
torian. 49, Time The narrative Of this book
extends over about fourteen years-thc first
visit Of twelve years, and the second visit year
Ut two later
THE SECTION OF History includes not only
Neh. /, but Ezra chaps. 7-l0, with IL glance at
Esther
LESSON NOTES
The Second Return, and RcJorn,atjOn
Under Ezra. In order to keep in mind
the continuity of the history. and to
understand the mission of Nehemiah. it
is necessary to glance at the work of
Ezra, the scribe. For though we have
been studying his book, yet the history
recorded in that part took place years
before he was born Fifty-seven years,
intervening between chapters and Z,
pass away without a record. except the
glimpse which the story of Esther gives
us. The new community certainly did
not prosper as well as we should expect;
their religious zeal and patriotism
waned, and the people yielded to the
Dad influences around them, instead of
being the golden candlestick on which
| the divine fame should burn and shine
into the surrounding darkness.
About b. c. ass, there was conjunc-
tion of two men, each of whom was the
focus of many providential influences.
These two were like the two carbons of
IN electric light, by whose approach
the electric currents can produce bril-.
liant illumination, while each without
the other was Intellectual. First, Ezra. the
scribe, who counted among his ancestors
Hilkiah, the priest (T:i). who found the
book of the law in the days of King
Josiah q Chron. 34), and traced his de-
scent back to Aaron. He was man of
great ability. He organized the great
council He instituted the order of
Scribes. He wrote probably the book
of Chronicles, as well as the book of
Ezra, and collected the fifth book of the
Psalms. He probably edited the earlier
books of the Bible, SO as to be adapted
to the changed condition Of the lam
guage of the people. Ezra was born
about B. G. 498 (Rawlinson), II years
after the completion of the temple. He
was twenty-four or twenty-five years old
at the time of Esther and the terrible de-
cree of XerXes for the destruction of the
Jews. The condition of affairs both at
Babylon, where he lived, and in Judea,
stirred the soul Of Ezra. He was a
thorough student of the Bible, especial
ly of the law of Moses (7:6.lO), and God
had filed his heart with a desire to
teach the law to the people. Hence he
proposed to go up to Jerusalem with an
other body of men, to renew and re-
form the feeble nation in the Holy
Land. He could not do it under the
weak and capricious Xerxes.
Second, Artaxerxes, Longimanus,
''the long-armed," the son and successor
of XerXes to the throne of Persia, came
to the throne Of Persia, b. c. 465. Sayce
thinks that the letter from the Jews
enemies in Palestine, recorded in Ezra
4:7-22, was written to this king, and the
Jewish efforts to rebuild the city of Je-
rusalem were delayed at first (4:23, "a.
But in his fifth year Egypt. which had
been tributary to the Persian empire,
rose in 4 rebellion which was not sub
dued for six years Now Jerusalem was
on the route between Persia and Egypt.
When well fortified it was as Gibraltar.
1t would be a great advantage to Arta-
xerxes to have a powerful fortress here
as a center of operations against Egypt,
or Il solid barrier against her advance
into the east. The colonists were at