Zechariah 14
In the last chapter of his book, the prophet Zechariah describes an apocalypic vision of Judah’s coming restoration. It is not clear whether Zechariah’s vision refers to actual, specific events to come in the future, or whether it expresses a more general hope that one day God will ultimately intervene in history to judge the nations, protect his people, and establish his rule over the world. The vision begins by describing a time of great suffering when all the nations will be gathered for battle against Jerusalem. The city will fall, and half the city will go into exile. Since Zechariah lived after the fall of Jerusalem and the exile of many Judeans to Babylon, this portion of the vision may actually refer to these past events. The vision continues on, describing how the Lord will rise up for those that remain, and he will fight the nations, and the very land itself will be transformed for the Lord’s people. The Lord will stand on the Mount of Olives, just east of Jerusalem, and the mountain will be split in half from east to west, allowing the people of Jerusalem to flee through the new valley to Azal, an uncertain location somewhere east of the city. Living waters will flow out of Jerusalem as well, with half the waters flowing to the Dead Sea (literally, “eastern sea”) and the other half flowing to the Mediterranean Sea (literally, “western sea”). The Lord will become king over all the earth, and the land will become a plain from Geba to Rimmon, essentially the entire land of Judah. It is interesting to note that this restored Judah will once again include the region that was under the rule of the Idumeans (Edomites) at the time of Zechariah. The Edomites had apparently moved northward from Seir into this region while Judah was under attack from Nebuchadnezzar just before the fall of Jerusalem (see Ezekiah 25:12-14; Obadiah 1:1-21; see “Nebuchadnezzar’s Final Campaign against Judah” map). Jerusalem, however, will continue to remain elevated over the surrounding area. The city, which lay in ruins at the time of Zechariah, is described as spanning east to west from the Gate of Benjamin (on the eastern edge of the Temple Mount) to the Old Gate (on the western edge of the Temple Mount) to the Corner Gate (on the far western edge of the city). The city also spanned north to south from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses, likely near the king’s garden at the southern edge of the city.
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Abimelech Seizes Power
Judges 9
Virtually every account in the book of Judges paints this formative period in Israel’s history as a very dark, brutal time when everyone did what was right in their own eyes (Judges 17:6; 21:25). The story of Abimelech’s rise to power is no exception. Judges 6-8 recounts the heroic deeds of Gideon, a Manassite from the clan of Abiezer who rescued the Israelites from the Midianites. After Gideon’s victory, he returned to his hometown of Ophrah, and Israel enjoyed peace for the rest of his lifetime. But Gideon also left a legacy of idolatry by him, by his family, and by many Israelites. Gideon had many wives and seventy sons, as well as a concubine in Shechem who gave birth to another son named Abimelech (Judges 8:29-32). It appears that when Abimelech grew up, he settled in Arumah, (Judges 9:31), just outside Manassite territory in the tribal allotment of Ephraim (Joshua 16-17; see “Poster Map of the Tribe of Manasseh (West) and Its Surroundings, circa 1200 B.C.” map). Perhaps this move to non-Manassite territory reflected Abimelech’s lack of a legitimate heritage from his Manassite father. Later, Abimelech visited his relatives in Shechem and convinced them to persuade the leaders of Shechem to make him ruler over the city. To ensure that none of his seventy brothers, who were legitimate heirs to Gideon, challenged his authority, Abimelech went to Ophrah and killed all but one of them. The only brother to escape was Jotham, the youngest, and he went to the top of Mount Gerizim and warned them against betraying Gideon by making Abimelech king. Then he fled to the town of Beer, perhaps the same as Beeroth near the town of Gibeon. After three years, however, the leaders of Shechem began to grow dissatisfied with Abimelech as their king, and a man named Gaal offered to rule in place of him. Abimelech’s ally Zebul, who was one of the leaders of Shechem, went to Arumah and told Abimelech what Gaal was planning to do. So Gideon and his men split up into four groups and secretly surrounded the city at night. Then they attacked Gaal’s men, and Gaal’s men retreated into Shechem. Zebul drove them back out into the fields, and Abimelech’s men defeated them and captured the city. Some of the leaders of Shechem fled into the temple of El-berith (or Baal-berith), but Abimelech and his men cut down branches from Mount Zalmon (likely Mount Ebal just north of Shechem) and set fire to the temple, killing about 1000 people inside. Then Abimelech and his men went to Thebez and attacked the city. Many of the citizens took refuge inside a strong tower in the town, and Abimelech prepared to set fire to the entrance. But a woman on the roof dropped a millstone on his head, crushing his skull, so Abimelech commanded his armor bearer to kill him.
Audio-Visual Reading of Acts 8
Acts 8
Acts 8 recounts the early ministries of Philip the Evangelist and the apostle Peter.
Jeremiah Prophesies of a Restored Jerusalem
Jeremiah 31:38-40
Jeremiah 30-31, often referred to as the Book of Consolation, is ultimately a message of hope after a time of judgment and exile. Though Israel and Judah have suffered devastation for abandoning the Lord, one day the Lord himself would restore them. It is not clear whether these chapters were written after the devastation (including the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.) had already occurred, or they were speaking of it in the future. In any case, they clearly foretold of a day of restoration that lay ahead for God’s people. Jeremiah 31:38-40 specifically notes that Jerusalem would one day be rebuilt as part of this restoration, but not merely as it was before. The restored city would be expanded to include even the two valleys that had previously marked the boundary of three quarters of the city. The prophecy visualized plans being made for these new boundaries (presumably to be bounded by walls) by detailing the path of a measuring line that would go out from the northwest corner of the Temple Mount, encircle the city, and return to the southeast corner of the Temple Mount (see also the “Jerusalem during the Time of Nehemiah, circa 445 B.C.” map). The “whole valley of the dead bodies and the ashes” that would be included likely refers to the Hinnom Valley. By the time of Jeremiah, this valley had become known as the location of Topheth, a pagan altar where children were burned as a sacrifice to the Canaanite god Molech (see 2 Kings 23:10; Jeremiah 7:31-32; 19:6-13). But Jeremiah foretold of a time when the Lord would bring such destruction upon Jerusalem that the valley would be filled with dead bodies (Jeremiah 19:6-9). Yet in the day of Israel and Judah’s restoration, the whole valley, along with the fields (or terraced gardens) running the whole length of the Kidron Valley, would be sacred to the Lord, and the new city would never again be uprooted or overthrown.
Hebrew Calendar, Festivals, and Seasonal Activities
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