Parish Bulletin Article: "Books in the Bible in a Verse-Seven of the Historical Books"--11-19-17

Last weekend, I offered nine verses within nine books in the historical journey with our ancestors.  Here are the last seven historical books in the Old Testament: 

·       Ezra—“Then rose up the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, every one whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem…”  (1:5)

·       Nehemiah—“So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days.”  (6:15)

·       Tobit—“Prayer is good when accompanied by fasting, almsgiving, and righteousness.  A little with righteousness is better than much with wrongdoing.  It is better to give alms than to treasure up gold.”  (12:8)

·       Judith—“Do not try to bind the purposes of the Lord our God; for God is not like man, to be threatened, nor like a human being, to be won over by pleading.”  (8:16)

·       Esther—“For if you [Esther] keep silence at such a time as this, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another quarter, but you and your father’s house will perish.  And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”  (4:14)

·       1 Maccabees—“Then Mattathias cried out in the city with a loud voice, saying: ‘Let every one who is zealous for the law and supports the covenant come out with me!’”  (2:27)

·       2 Maccabees—“But Judas, who was also called Maccabeus, and his companions secretly entered the villages and summoned their kinsmen and enlisted those who had continued in the Jewish faith…”  (8:1)

I am curious for any of your thoughts, ideas or questions about this process within our bulletin.  I would also like to hear your perspective with one question: do you enjoy these verses?

God Bless!