Appendix B
The Ezra Reforms In
Its Original Sequence
Ezra7/8/Neh
7:73b-8:18/Ezra 9/10/Neh 9:1-5a
the text here is taken from the NASB)
[457 B.C.]
Introduction to the Ezra Story [Ezra 7:1-10]
1Now
after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, there went up
Ezra son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah,2son of Shallum,
son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, 3son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of
Meraioth, 4son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, 5son of Abishua, son of Phinehas,
son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the chief priest.
6This Ezra went up from
Babylon, and he was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses, which the Lord God of
Israel had given; and the king granted him all he requested because the hand of
the Lord his God was upon him. 7And some of the sons of Israel and
some of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple
servants went up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.
8And he came to Jerusalem
in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king 9For
on the first of the first month he began to go up from Babylon; and on the
first of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, because the good hand of his God
was upon him.10For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the
Lord, and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.
The Edict of Artaxerxes [Ezra 7:11]
11Now this is the copy of
the decree which King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, learned
in the words of the commandments of the Lord and His statutes to Israel: *
First Decree by Artaxerxes [Ezra 7:12-20]
12"Artaxerxes, king of
kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law
of the God of
heaven, perfect peace. And now*
13I have issued a
decree that any of the people of Israel and their
priests and the Levites in my
kingdom who are willing to go to
Jerusalem, may go
with you.
14"Forasmuch as
you are sent by the king and his seven counselors
to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem
according to the law of
your God which is
in your hand,
15and to bring the
silver and gold, which the king and his counselors
have freely offered to the God of
Israel, whose dwelling is in
Jerusalem,16with all the silver
and gold which you shall find in the whole
province of
Babylon, along with the freewill offering of the people
and of the
priests, who offered willingly for the house of their God
which is in
Jerusalem;
17with this money,
therefore, you shall diligently buy bulls, rams, and
lambs, with their
grain offerings and their libations and offer them
on the altar of
the house of your God which is in Jerusalem.
18"And whatever
seems good to you and to your brothers to do with
the rest of the
silver and gold, you may do according to the will of
your God.
19"Also the
utensils which are given to you for the service of the
house of your God,
deliver in full before the God of Jerusalem.
20"And the rest
of the needs for the house of your God, for which you
may have occasion
to provide, provide for it from the royal treasury.
Second Decree by Artaxerxes [Ezra 7:21-24]
21"And I, even I King Artaxerxes, issue a decree to all the
treasurers
who are in the provinces
beyond the River, that whatever Ezra the
priest, the scribe of the law
of the God of heaven, may require of
you, it shall be done diligently,
22 even up to 100 talents of silver, 100 kors
of wheat, 100 baths of
wine, 100 baths of oil, and
salt as needed.
23"Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be done with
zeal for the house of the God of heaven, lest there be wrath against
the kingdom of the king and his sons.
24"We also inform you that it is not allowed to impose tax, tribute
or
toll on any of the priests, Levites, singers, doorkeepers, Nethinim,
or
servants of this house of God.
A Command By Artaxerxes to Ezra [Ezra 7:25, 26]
25"And
you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God which is in
your hand, appoint
magistrates and judges that they may judge all
the people who are
in the province beyond the River, even all those
who know the laws
of your God; and you may teach anyone who is
ignorant of them.
26"And
whoever will not observe the law of your God and the law of
the king, let
judgment be executed upon him strictly, whether for
death or for
banishment or for confiscation of goods or for
imprisonment."
Ezra’s Prayer of Thanks [Ezra 7:27, 28]
27Blessed
be the Lord, the God of our fathers, who has put such a
thing as this in
the king's heart, to adorn the house of the Lord
which is in
Jerusalem, 28and has extended lovingkindness to me
before the king and his counselors and
before all the king's mighty
princes. Thus I was strengthened according
to the hand of the Lord
my God upon me,
and I gathered leading men from Israel to go up
with me.
Ezra’s List of Returnees [Ezra 8:1-14]
Ezra 8:1Now these are the
heads of their fathers' households and the genealogical enrollment of those who
went up with me from Babylon in the reign of King Artaxerxes:
2of the sons
of Phinehas, Gershom;
of the sons of Ithamar,
Daniel;
of the sons of David,
Hattush;
3of the sons
of Shecaniah
who was of the sons of
Parosh, Zechariah
and with him 150 males who were in
the genealogical list;
4of the sons of
Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai
the son of Zerahiah
and 200 males with him;
5of the sons of
Shecaniah,
the son of Jahaziel
and 300 males with him;
6and of the sons of
Adin, Ebed
the son of Jonathan
and 50 males with him;
7and of the sons of Elam,
Jeshaiah
the son of Athaliah
and 70 males with him;
8and of the sons of Shephatiah,
Zebadiah
the son of Michael
and 80 males with him;
9of the sons of Joab, Obadiah
the son of Jehiel
and 218
males with him;
10and of the sons of
Shelomith,
the son of Josiphiah
and 160 males with him;
11and of the sons of Bebai,
Zechariah
the son of Bebai
and 28 males with him;
12and of the sons of
Azgad, Johanan
the son of Hakkatan
and 110 males with him;
13and of the sons of
Adonikam,
the last ones,
these being their names,
Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah
and 60 males with them;
14and of the sons of
Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud
and 70 males with them.
[ca. Mar 27, 457 B.C.]
Stop at River That Flows to Ahava [Ezra 8:15-23]
Ezra 8:15Now I assembled
them at the river that runs to Ahava, where we camped for three days; and when
I observed the people and the priests, I did not find any Levites there. 16So
I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan,
Zechariah, and Meshullam, leading men, and for Joiarib and Elnathan, teachers.
17And I sent them to Iddo
the leading man at the place Casiphia; and I told them what to say to Iddo and
his brothers, the temple servants at the place Casiphia, that is, to bring
ministers to us for the house of our God.
18And according to the
good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of insight of the sons of
Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, namely Sherebiah, and his sons and
brothers, 18 men; 19and Hashabiah and Jeshaiah of the sons of
Merari, with his brothers and their sons, 20 men; 20and 220 of the
temple servants, whom David and the princes had given for the service of the
Levites, all of them designated by name.
21Then I proclaimed a
fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God
to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our
possessions. 22For I was ashamed to request from the king troops and
horsemen to protect us from the enemy on the way, because we had said to the
king, "The hand of our God is favorably disposed to all those who seek
Him, but His power and His anger are against all those who forsake Him."23So
we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter, and He listened to our
entreaty.
Inventory of Goods [Ezra 8:24-30]
24Then I set apart twelve
of the leading priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and with them ten of their
brothers; 25and I weighed out to them the silver, the gold, and the
utensils, the offering for the house of our God which the king and his
counselors and his princes, and all Israel present there, had offered.
26Thus I weighed into
their hands 650 talents of silver, and silver utensils worth 100 talents, and
100 gold talents, 27and 20 gold bowls, worth 1,000 darics; and two
utensils of fine shiny bronze, precious as gold.
28Then I said to them,
"You are holy to the Lord, and the utensils are holy; and the silver and
the gold are a freewill offering to the Lord God of your fathers. 29"Watch
and keep them until you weigh them before the leading priests, the Levites, and
the heads of the fathers' households of Israel at Jerusalem, in the chambers of
the house of the Lord."
30So the priests and the
Levites accepted the weighed out silver and gold and the utensils to bring them
to Jerusalem to the house of our God.
Journey Resumes [Ezra 8:31]
31Then we journeyed from
the river Ahava on the twelfth of the first month to go to Jerusalem; and the
hand of our God was over us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and
the ambushes by the way.
[July 24, 457 B.C.]
Arrival In Jerusalem [Ezra 8:32-34]
32Thus we came to
Jerusalem and remained there three days. 33And on the fourth day the silver and
the gold and the utensils were weighed out in the house of our God into the
hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest, and with him was Eleazar the son
of Phinehas; and with them were the Levites, Jozabad the son of Jeshua and
Noadiah the son of Binnui. 34Everything was numbered and weighed,
and all the weight was recorded at that time.
Offering of Sacrifices [Ezra 8:35]
35The exiles who had come
from the captivity offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: 12 bulls for
all Israel, 96 rams, 77 lambs, 12 male goats for a sin offering, all as a burnt
offering to the Lord.
Delivery of King’s Commissions [Ezra 8:36]
36 Then they delivered the king's
edicts to the king's satraps, and to the governors in the provinces beyond the
River, and they supported the people and the house of God. When the seventh
month came, the children of Israel were in their cities.
[Sep 21, 457 B.C.]
-Public Reading of the Law [1st
Day] [Neh 8:1-13]
Neh 8:1And all the people
gathered as one man at the square which was in front of the Water Gate, and
they asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the Lord
had given to Israel. 2 Then Ezra the priest brought the law
before the assembly of men, women, and all who could listen with understanding,
on the first day of the seventh month. 3And he read from it before
the square which was in front of the Water Gate from early morning until
midday, in the presence of men and women, those who could understand; and all
the people were attentive to the book of the law.
4And Ezra the scribe stood at a
wooden podium which they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood
Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand; and
Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on
his left hand.
5And Ezra opened the book in
the sight of all the people for he was standing above all the people; and when
he opened it, all the people stood up. 6Then Ezra blessed the Lord
the great God. And all the people answered, "Amen, Amen!" while
lifting up their hands; then they bowed low and worshiped the Lord with their
faces to the ground. 7Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub,
Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the
Levites, explained the law to the people while the people remained in their
place. 8And they read from the book, from the law of God,
translating F88 to give the sense so that they understood the
reading.
9Then the Tirshatha said
to all the people, "This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or
weep." For all the people were weeping when they heard the words of the
law. 10Then he said to them, "Go, eat of the fat, drink of the
sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy
to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."
11So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, "Be still, for
the day is holy; do not be grieved." 12And all the people went
away to eat, to drink, to send portions and to celebrate a great festival,
because they understood the words which had been made known to them.
[Sep 22, 457 B.C.]
-Public Reading of the Law [2nd
Day] [Neh 8:13-18]
13Then on the second day the
heads of fathers' households of all the people, the priests, and the Levites
were gathered to Ezra the scribe that they might gain insight into the words of
the law. 14And they found written in the law how the Lord had
commanded through Moses that the sons of Israel should live in booths during
the feast of the seventh month. 15So they proclaimed and circulated
a proclamation in all their cities and in Jerusalem, saying,
"Go out to the hills, and bring
olive branches, and wild olive branches, myrtle branches, palm branches, and branches of other leafy
trees, to make booths, as it is written."
16So the people went out and
brought them and made booths for themselves, each on his roof, and in their
courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the square at the Water
Gate, and in the square at the Gate of Ephraim. 17And the entire
assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in
them. The sons of Israel had indeed not done so from the days of Joshua the son
of Nun to that day. And there was great rejoicing.
18And he read from the book
of the law of God daily, from the first day to the last day. And they
celebrated the feast seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn
assembly according to the ordinance.
[Dec 5, 457 B.C.]
Report of Covenant Violation [Ezra 9:1-5]
Ezra 9:1Now when these things had
been completed, the princes approached me, saying, "The people of Israel
and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples
of the lands, according to their abominations, those of the Canaanites, the
Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the
Egyptians, and the Amorites. 2"For they have taken some of
their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy
race has
intermingled with
the peoples of the lands; indeed, the hands of the princes and the rulers have
been foremost in this unfaithfulness."
3And when I heard about
this matter, I tore my garment and my robe, and pulled some of the hair from my
head and my beard, and sat down appalled. 4Then everyone who
trembled at the words of the God of Israel on account of the unfaithfulness of
the exiles gathered to me, and I sat appalled until the evening offering.
5But at the evening
offering I arose from my humiliation, even with my garment and my robe torn,
and I fell on my knees and stretched out my hands to the Lord my God;
Ezra’s Prayer of Intercession [Ezra 9:6-15]
6and [Ezra] said:
"O my God, I am ashamed and
embarrassed to lift up my face to Thee, my God, for our iniquities have risen above our heads, and our guilt has
grown even to the heavens. 7"Since the days of our fathers to
this day we have been in great guilt, and on account of our iniquities we, our kings and our priests have been given into
the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to
plunder and to open shame, as it is this day. 8"But
now for a brief moment grace has been shown from the Lord our God, to leave us an
escaped remnant and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may
enlighten our eyes and grant us a
little reviving in our bondage.
9"For we are slaves; yet
in our bondage, our God has not forsaken us, but has extended lovingkindness to
us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us reviving to raise up the
house of our God, to restore its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and
Jerusalem.
10"And now, our God, what
shall we say after this? For we have forsaken Thy commandments, which Thou hast commanded by Thy servants the
prophets, saying, 'The land which you are entering to possess is an unclean
land with the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations
which have filled it from end to end and with their impurity.12 'So
now do not give your daughters to their sons nor take their daughters to your
sons, and never seek their peace or their prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good things of the land
and leave it as an inheritance to your sons forever.' 13"And
after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and our great guilt, since Thou our God hast requited us less than
our iniquities deserve, and hast given us an escaped remnant as this, shall we
again break Thy commandments and intermarry with the peoples who commit these
abominations? Wouldst Thou not be angry with us to the point of destruction,
until there is no remnant nor any who escape?
15"O Lord God of Israel,
Thou art righteous, for we have been left an escaped remnant, as it is this
day; behold, we are before Thee in our guilt, for no one can stand before Thee
because of this."
[Dec 8, 457 B.C.]
Initial Proposal for Renewing The Covenant [Ezra 10:1-12]
1Now while Ezra was praying and
making confession, weeping and prostrating himself before the house of God, a
very large assembly, men, women, and children, gathered to him from Israel; for
the people wept bitterly. 2And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of
the sons of Elam, answered and said to Ezra, "We have been unfaithful to
our God, and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land; yet now
there is hope for Israel in spite of this. 3"So now let us make
a covenant with our God to put away all the wives and their F108 children,
according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the commandment
of our God; and let it be done according to the law. 4"Arise!
For this matter is your responsibility, but we will be with you; be courageous
and act."
5Then Ezra rose and made the
leading priests, the Levites, and all Israel, take oath that they would do
according to this proposal; so they took the oath. 6Then Ezra rose
from before the house of God and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of
Eliashib. Although he went there, he did not eat bread, nor drink water, for he
was mourning over the unfaithfulness of the exiles.
7And they made a
proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the exiles, that they should
assemble at Jerusalem, and that whoever would not come within three days, according
to the counsel of the leaders and the elders, all his possessions should be
forfeited and he himself excluded from the assembly of the exiles.
9So all the men of Judah
and Benjamin assembled at Jerusalem within the three days. It was the ninth month
on the twentieth of the month, and all the people sat in the open square before
the house of God, trembling because of this matter and the heavy rain.
10Then Ezra the priest stood up
and said to them, "You have been unfaithful and have married foreign wives
adding to the guilt of Israel. 11Now, therefore, make confession to
the Lord God of your fathers, and do His will; and separate yourselves from the
peoples of the land and from the foreign wives."
12Then all the assembly answered
and said with a loud voice, "That's right! As you have said, so it is our
duty to do.
Another Proposal for Renewing The Covenant [Ezra 10:13-16a]
13"But there are
many people, it is the rainy season, and we are not able to stand in the open.
Nor can the task be done in one or two days, for we have transgressed greatly
in this matter. 14Let our
leaders represent the whole assembly and let all those in our cities who have
married foreign wives come at appointed times, together with the elders and
judges of each city, until the fierce anger of our God on account of this
matter is turned away from us."
15Only Jonathan the son of
Asahel and Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah opposed this, with Meshullam and
Shabbethai the Levite supporting them. 16aBut the exiles did so.
[Dec 18-Apr 15, 456
B.C.]
A Four-Month Investigation Period [Ezra 10:16b-17]
16bAnd
Ezra the priest selected men who were heads of fathers' households for each of
their father's households, all of them by name. So they convened on the first
day of the tenth month to investigate the matter. 17And they
finished investigating all the men who had married foreign wives by the first
of the first month.
List of Offenders [Ezra 10:18-44]
18And among the sons of
the priests who had married foreign wives were found of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his
brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah.
19And they pledged to put away
their wives, and being guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their
offense.
20And of the sons of Immer there
were Hanani and Zebadiah;
21and of the sons of Harim:
Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah;
22and of the sons of
Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.
23And of Levites there were
Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (that is, Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.
24And of the singers
there was Eliashib; and of the gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem, and Uri.
25And of Israel, of the sons of
Parosh there were Ramiah, Izziah, Malchijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malchijah, and
Benaiah;
26and of the sons of Elam:
Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah;
27and of the sons of Zattu:
Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza;
28and of the sons of Bebai:
Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai;
29and of the sons of
Bani: Meshullam, Malluch, and Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeremoth;
30and of the sons of
Pahath-moab: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh;
31and of the sons of Harim:
Eliezer, Isshijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, 32Benjamin,
Malluch, and Shemariah;
33of the sons of Hashum:
Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei;
34of the sons of
Bani: Maadai, Amram, Uel, 35Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluhi, 36Vaniah,
Meremoth, Eliashib, 37Mattaniah,
Mattenai, Jaasu, 38Bani, Binnui, Shimei, 39Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, 40Machnadebai,
Shashai, Sharai, 41Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah,42Shallum,
Amariah, and Joseph.
43Of the sons of Nebo
there were Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah.
44All these had married
foreign wives, and some of them had wives by whom they had children.
Passover
[April 28-May 4,
456 B.C.]
[May 7, 456 B.C.]
A Second Public Reading of the Law [Neh 9:1-5a]
Neh 9:1Now on the
twenty-fourth day f this month the sons of Israel assembled with fasting, in
sackcloth, and with dirt upon them. 2And the descendants F94 of
Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their
sins and the iniquities of their fathers.
3While they stood in
their place, they read from the book of the law of the Lord their God for a
fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshiped the Lord
their God. 4Now on the Levites' platform stood
Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and they
cried with a loud voice to the Lord their God.
5Then the Levites,
Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and
Pethahiah, said, "Arise, bless the Lord your God forever and ever!
[???, 454 B.C.]
Letter From Rehum to Artaxerxes [Ezra 4:7-16]
7And in the days of
Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his colleagues, wrote
to Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the text of the letter was written in Aramaic
and translated from Aramaic. 8Rehum the commander and Shimshai the
scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes, as follows--
9then wrote Rehum the commander and
Shimshai the scribe and the rest of their colleagues, the judges and the lesser
governors, the officials, the secretaries, the men of Erech, the Babylonians,
the men of Susa, that is, the Elamites, 10and the rest of the
nations which the great and honorable Osnappar deported and settled in the city
of Samaria, and in the rest of the region beyond the River. And now 11this
is the copy of the letter which they sent to him:
"To King Artaxerxes: Your servants, the
men in the region beyond the River,
and now
12let
it be known to the king, that the Jews who came up from you
have come to us at
Jerusalem; they are rebuilding the rebellious
and evil city, and
are finishing the walls and repairing the
foundations.
13"Now let it be known
to the king, that if that city is rebuilt and the
walls are
finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and it
will damage the
revenue of the kings.
14"Now because we are in
the service of the palace, and it is not
fitting for us to see the king's
dishonor, therefore we have sent and
informed the king,
15so that a search may be made in the record books
of your fathers. And you will discover in
the record books, and learn
that that city is a rebellious
city and damaging to kings and provinces,
and that they have incited revolt within
it in past days; therefore that city
was laid waste.
16"We inform the king
that, if that city is rebuilt and the walls
finished, as a
result you will have no possession in the province
beyond the
River."
Artaxerxes’s Reply [Ezra 4:17-20]
17Then the king sent an
answer to Rehum the commander, to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their
colleagues who live in Samaria and in the rest of the provinces beyond the
River:
"Peace.
And now 18the
document which you sent to us has been
translated and before me.
19"And
a decree has been issued by me, and a search has been
made and it has been discovered
that that city has risen up
against the
kings in past days, that rebellion and revolt have been
perpetrated
in it, 20that mighty kings have ruled over Jerusalem,
governing
all the provinces beyond the River, and
that tribute,
custom, and
toll were paid to them.
Work-Stoppage Decree [Ezra 4:21-23]
21"So,
now issue a decree to make these men stop work, that the
city may not
be rebuilt until a decree is issued by me.22"And beware
of being negligent in carrying out
this matter; why should damage
increase to
the detriment of the kings?"
23Then as soon as the
copy of King Artaxerxes' document was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe
and their colleagues, they went in haste to Jerusalem to the Jews and stopped them
by force of arms.
[This story is then continued in Neh 1:1ff- (444 B.C.-)]
No comments:
Post a Comment
This blog aims to be factual and, at the very least, implicitly documented. Therefore if applicable, any comment which contains unsubstantiated/unsupportable ideas will not be allowed to be published on this blog. Therefore make the effort to be Biblical, truthful and factual.
-It typically takes 1-2 days for an accepted submitted comment to be posted and/or responded to.
[If you leave an "anonymous" comment and, if applicable, would like to know why it may not have been published, resend the comment via email (see profile) to receive the response.]