with the rebuilding of the Temple and the keeping of the Passover in the year 515. The prophesying of Haggai and of Zechariah belong to this period (Ezra vi. 14).

The story of Esther and Mordecai may most probably be assigned to the years B.C. 484 to 464.* The considerable revival which took place then among the Jews of the Dispersion makes this date worthy of special notice.

The later chapters of Ezra record another return of exiles to Jerusalem. The number of persons seems to have been between six and seven thousands. The purpose was to restore the worship and service of Jehovah both in the Temple and among the people generally and the date was the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king,' that is B.C. 457 (Ezra vii. 7, 8).

Now the date given us in this book of Nehemiah is the twentieth year of the same king (Neh. i. 1; ii.1); that is B.C. 444, thirteen years after the return of Ezra, the priestly scribe, and some thirty or forty after the exalting of Mordecai. A period of twelve years from the date of his arrival is definitely * See The Story of Esther the Queen, p. 16.

mentioned (v. 14); and another period is referred to (xiii. 6, 7), the duration of which it is not easy to determine exactly.

The position of the book in Jewish history is thus clear enough. Some of the people had returned ninety years ago: the Temple had been rebuilt seventy years ago: the place of God's people among the nations had been remarkably defined and their spiritual life quickened about thirty or forty years ago: and quite recently, by a man who soon appears as Nehemiah's work-fellow, steps had been taken to bring about a scriptural reformation among those dwelling in the holy city and the holy land.

The interest of the book, however, is not chiefly historical. It is a chapter of autobiography told with delightfully stirring freshness. Nehemiah comes before us in his prime; a man born in exile, but nursed.on the purest traditions of the peculiar people; belonging to the same class with Daniel and Mordecai as one who held high office at the court of Persia in the days of Artaxerxes

Longhand; the companion of the man by whom the Canon of the Old Testament is understood to have been formed. As we follow the story we make acquaintance with a very noble character, quite independent of dates, a character that may appear in any age or country, and the oftener the better. Here is a man who worked hard, kindly, single-eyed, fearless, capable, shrewd; in one sense, a thorough man of the world. Telling his story with genuine humility, Nehemiah reveals how far he was from being a man of this world only; lets us see how his character had its root in a heart devoutly fearing God, full of zeal for the cause of God on earth, and maintaining effective fellowship with God in heaven. The book is a great lesson, given under the seal of the Holy Spirit, touching those two things which should never be sundered, Prayer and Work. No matter although the aphorism be old and well-worn; it is all the truer for that: Work without Prayer is presumption; Prayer without Work is hypocrisy. No man could work more vigorously than Nehemiah, or to better purpose;

in no man's case do we see more fully how and success are gotten by prayer.

courage

For a moment, at first, we catch a glimpse of the hero at the splendid winter-capital of the Persian monarchy, the Susa with whose luxurious magnificence Esther has made us familiar; but we do not linger there. The scene lies in Jerusalem, its walls and the eager crowds in its streets; rather, it lies in the hearts of the people and of the man who suddenly appeared as their dictator.

The book falls into two parts at chap. vi. 14; the former part giving the exciting story of how the wall was rebuilt, the latter telling of the moral and spiritual reformation which followed.