Apocalyptic Visions of Daniel (extra credit)

Read through the visions in the second half of the book of Daniel (Daniel 7-12). Is there anything here that seems key to the survival of the Jewish people? How would having the book of Daniel have helped the Jewish people go through difficult times, e.g., the time of Antiochus Epiphanes?

Malachi (extra credit)

Read all of Malachi. What is the condition of the Jewish people as he writes? What are the particular problems he addresses? How is the situation different from that addressed by earlier prophets, e.g., Isaiah and Jeremiah? What keys to Jewish survival do you see here?

Haggai and Zechariah

Skim through Haggai and/or Zechariah. Note the problems in the Jewish community that these two prophets address. How would their prophetic message have helped in rebuilding Jerusalem and in helping reforms among the Jewish people? What aspects of their teachings might have helped the Jewish people survive even after the temple was destroyed and the Jews were removed from their land again?

You may turn this into two "extra credit" blogs if you like: one entry on each book.

Nehemiah (extra credit)

Skim through Nehemiah. Note that much of this book is Nehemiah’s account of his own role in helping the rebuilding of Jerusalem and in restoring the Jewish people. Note the problems he faces. What does Nehemiah seem proud of in terms of his own record/conduct? What obstacles does he face? What seems to be his motivation?

Ezra (extra credit)

Read Ezra Ch. 1 and Ch. 3-7. What difficulties do the Jews face as they try to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple? What helps them overcome these difficulties? Note especially the role of leaders like Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Haggai, Zechariah, and Ezra himself. Also note the contrasting attitudes of Persian leaders, e.g., Cyrus and Artaxerxes.

Daniel and Job (Assignment for Thursday, April 19)

On Tuesday, April 17, we will be finishing up Jeremiah and talking about Ezekiel.  Please remember to bring with you the "choral reading" sheets from Jeremiah and Lamentations.

For Thursday, April 19, please read through my study questions on the problem of evil and then Chapters 1-5, 19 and 37-42 of the Book of Job and Chapters 1-7 and 12 of the Daniel.  Add your response to the prompt below:

Both Daniel and Job deal with the problem of evil.  If the world is the creation of an all-powerful and loving God, why is there so much evil in the world?  The two books approach the problem from different perspectives.  Pick here one verse from each book that seems to you to be particularly important either in helping explain the problem of evil or in showing how a good man should live in a world full of evil.

Proverbs (extra credit)

For extra credit, please read the first three chapters of Proverbs and skim the rest of the book. Choose a proverb or two that you think is a particularly good example of Hebrew contributions to human wisdom. Explain why you chose this proverb/these proverbs.