Day 38, 2 Chronicles 33-36, Ezra 1-6

Before I begin the entry, let's collectively take a moment to appreciate the fact that CHRONICLES IS OVER! OUR STORY CAN ADVANCE!

Of course, we still have four chapters and some loose ends to tie up before we dive into the Babylonian exile. So let's waste no time!

Chapter 33 begins with the reign of Manassah, who -- if you remember from earlier -- is so atrociously bad as a king that he causes God to lose faith in Judah entirely. However, the Chronicler changes the story a little and has him repent at the end. After rebuilding the shrines and lighting his children on fire he gets taken captive in Assyria where he learns "that the Lord was God" (2 Chronicles 33:13). I guess one of the Assyrians lent him a thesaurus.

Manassah is followed by his son, Amon, who is actually even worse than him. He only reigns for two years, after which he is killed by his own courtiers! His eight-year-old son Josiah comes to power, and he is a pretty good king for an eight-year-old. Josiah destroys the rebuilt shrines and pleases God so much that he promises the monarch that Judah's destruction will not happen in his lifetime. Soon afterwards, Josiah meets a grisly end at the hands of the Pharaoh. Gee. That's great, God.

The final four kings are unremarkable fuck-ups, two of whom reign for less than a year. Their names are Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoachin, and Zedekiah. I don't even know how to comment on that. Anyway, throughout the end of this tome the increasing foreign influence in Judah is clear, and at the very end the Babylonians triumph. They burn down the temple, kill a bunch of Jews, and send the survivors to be slaves in Babylon. It's not all bad, though! The second book of Chronicles actually ends on a bit of a cliff-hanger, with the Persian king, Cyrus, telling the Jews to return and rebuild their temple after many years of exile.

What will happen next?!! Stay tuned to find out.

The Book of Ezra is closely linked to both Chronicles and Nehemiah, and tells the story of the Judahites return to the promised land after their exile. Apparently this particular tome is infamous for its historical inconsistency, but it doesn't really matter because it's not like anyone takes the bible seriously these days! I mean, it's not like people still use these books to make moral decisions and write laws, or believe them word for word? Am I right? Of course I'm right. That'd be silly.

Also, Ezra himself doesn't make an appearance until chapter 7. Today's reading concerned the return to the promised land under the leadership of a fellow named Sheshbazzar.

In chapter 1, the haggard exiles make their way back to Judah. Chapter 2 is a census, meaning we get to read all their names and how many of them there are, which never ceases to be a delight. According to this source, forty-two thousand Jews return. That is a pretty diminished population, compared to earlier censuses! Wow.

In chapter 3 the Jews begin to rebuild their temple on the old site, but in chapter 4 they encounter some hostility from the locals, who apparently want to help. This is totally not okay and the Jews say so, but the new inhabitants are so pissed that they bribe the court officials to "thwart the purpose of the Jews" (Ezra 4:5). So the temple-building is halted for a considerable period of time.

After a few Persian kings come and go, a local official goes to ask the Jews on what basis they think they are supposed to be rebuilding the temple. They tell the official about the decree from King Cyrus and he writes a letter to the current king, Darius. Incidentally, isn't Darius the name of the kid with headgear in As Told by Ginger? What a name!

Darius goes to the archive and, upon finding the decree, grants the Jews complete freedom to continue rebuilding. In fact, he says that anyone who "tampers with this edict will have a beam torn out of his house, and he will be fastened erect to it and flogged" (Ezra 6:11). Talk about supportive! What an accommodating guy!

That's it for today. Tomorrow, Ezra will actually make an appearance, which I'm excited for because I remember learning about him in Hebrew School and liking him. Or maybe I didn't learn about him, and just like the name Ezra. I really don't know. You don't know. But we both will tomorrow!