of Ezra and Nehemiah. He denounced
their impure marriages, their lack of personal godliness, their
failure to pay tithes and their skepticism. The special occasion for
the discourses was the discontent which arose because their
expectation of the glorious Messianic Kingdom had not been realized.
They had also had unfavorable harvests. It is thought by many that the
time of the prophecy is between the first and second visit of Nehemiah
to Jerusalem. The purpose seems to be: (1) to rebuke them for
departing from the law; (2) to call them back to Jehovah; (3) to
revive the national spirit.

The Story of Esther. King Ahasuerus of the book of Esther is thought
to be Xerxes the Great. On this view the events narrated occurred some
time before the second colony came to Jerusalem and the story would
fall between chapters 6 and 7 of the book of Ezra. The book throws
much light on the condition of the Jews in captivity and also upon the
social and political conditions existing in the Persian Empire at this
period. While the name of God does not occur in the book, his
providential care over his people is everywhere manifested. The
deliverance of the Jews from death by the intercessions of Esther
became the occasion of the establishment of the feast of Purim which
ever after commemorated it in Jewish history. These four books should
be read following the outline given in "The Bible Book by Book."

Synagogues and Synagogue Worship. The emphasis which Ezra gave to the
study of the Book of the Law no doubt did much to destroy idolatry and
led to a new devotion to the word of God, at least to the letter of
the law. This led to the institution or the re-establishment of the
Synagogue. There had no doubt been from the early times local
gatherings for worship, but the Synagogue worship does not seem to
have been in use before the captivity, After the captivity, however,
they built many of them, in every direction. They were places of
worship where they engaged in reading the law, in exhortation and in
prayer. The reading and expounding of the law became a profession,
those following this calling being designated "lawyers."

The Significance of the Period, In all the annals of national life
there is probably not a more significant sweep of history than that of
the Jews during the restoration which covers a little more than ninety
years. With the captivity their national life had ceased and now that
they are back in their own land they d