a small remnant

January 2, 2018

Against the Philistine cities (Zech 9:5-9:7)

“Ashkelon shall see it.

They shall be afraid.

Gaza too,

Shall writhe in anguish.

Ekron also,

Because its hopes are withered.

The king shall perish

From Gaza.

Ashkelon shall be uninhabited.

A mongrel people

Shall dwell in Ashdod.

I will make an end

Of the pride of Philistia.

I will take away

Its blood

From its mouth.

I will take away

Its abominations

From between its teeth.

It too shall be a remnant

For our God.

It shall be

Like a clan in Judah.

Ekron shall be

Like the Jebusites.”

Once again, there is a diatribe against the Philistine cities on the Mediterranean coast.  Only 3 of the 5 cities are mentioned here.  Ashkelon and Gaza would be afraid.  Ekron would have its hope crushed.  There would no longer be a king in Gaza.  No one would live in Ashkelon.  Only a mongrel or mixed race would live in Ashdod.  The pride of the Philistines would be crushed.  Yahweh was going to end their unclean practices of eating their meat with blood in their mouths, since they would follow the Israelite dietary laws.  These Philistines would become a small remnant just like Judah had become.  Ekron would become like the decimated Canaanite Jebusites, who had formerly inhabited Jerusalem, before the time of David.

February 4, 2015

The prayer of Ezra (Ezra 9:5-9:9)

“At the evening sacrifice I got up from my fasting, with my garments and my mantle torn. I fell upon my knees. I spread out my hands to Yahweh my God, saying.

‘O my God,

I am too ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face to you,

My God,

Our iniquities have risen higher than our heads,

Our guilt has mounted up to the heavens.

From the days of our ancestors to this day

We have been deep in guilt.

Because of our iniquities,

We, our kings, and our priests

Have been handed over to the kings of the lands,

To the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame,

As is now the case.

But now for a brief moment

Favor has been shown by Yahweh our God,

He has left us a remnant,

He has given us a stake in his holy place,

So that he may brighten our eyes

And grant us a little sustenance in our slavery.

We are slaves.

Yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery.

But he has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia,

To give us new life

To set up the house of our God,

To repair its ruins,

To give us a wall in Judea and Jerusalem.’”

This is the beautiful prayer of Ezra in the first person, singular and plural. He accepted the guilt for his fellow returning captives for their actions. Ezra is so ashamed that he cannot lift up his head. The guilt of his people from the beginning to today has mounted up to the heavens. Due to their guilt, they have been handed over to others, killed, captured, and plundered. However, in the midst of this slavery, there is a bright spot. Yahweh has led the kings of Persia to let a small remnant return to a new life, to repair the Temple, and build a wall around Jerusalem. This later part was the point of a big dispute earlier in this work.