The Prophecy of Hagai and Zechariah.  The task of these prophets was the same and was by no means an easy one.  The work of rebuilding the temple, which had been begun when Jerubbabel and his colony came to Jerusalem, had been stopped by the opposition which they met.  Along with this laxity of effort to build the temple the Jews were busy building houses for themselves (1:4) and had become very negligent of all duty.  They had begun to despair of seeing their people and the beloved city and temple restored to the glory pictured by the prophets and were rapidly becoming reconciled to the situation.  These two prophets succeeded in arousing interest and confidence in the people and through their appeals secured the finishing of the temple.

The Prophecy of Malachi.  This prophecy condemns the same sins as those mentioned in the last chapters 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.”