Walter Brueggemann in "Out of Babylon" talks about the period in the old testament when King Cyrus of Persia took control of the Babylonian Empire and eventually most of the Middle East. After the death of the Babylonian leader, Nebuchadnezzar in 562 BCE the empire became weak with poor leadership (Brueggemann, 2010).
Old Testament History Link (The Persian period and Return from Exile (538 BCE - 323 BCE)
In 539 BCE Gobryas, a former Babylonian general who had joined allegiance with Persia took the city of Babylon giving King Cyrus control of the Babylonian Empire (Bratcher, 2013). Cyrus welcomed the deported Jews and treated his people well. He was a tolerant ruler and allowed the various cultures in the Persian Empire to keep their traditions and beliefs.
Map of the Persian Empire
"In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, the Lord fulfilled the prophecy he had given through Jeremiah. He stirred the heart of Cyrus to put this proclamation in writing and to send it throughout the kingdom: This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build him a Temple at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Any of you who are the Lord's people may go there for this task. And may the Lord your God be with you!" (2 Chronicles 36:22-23).
Brueggemann talks about the change from exile-restoration to the understanding of accommodation-resistance. "Above all the change reflects the good sense of those more concerned with sustaining the life of the community than with being heroes" (Brueggemann, 2010, p. 135)
Nehemiah, during King Artaxerxes reign requests permission to return to Judah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. the king agrees to his request.
"And please give me a letter addressed to Asaph, the manager of the King's forest, instructing him to give me timber. I will need to make beams for the gates of the Temple fortress, for the city walls, and a house for myself. And the king granted these requests, because the gracious hand if God was on me" (Nehemiah 2: 8).
The above indicates that movement and development was taking place. Cultural awareness, funding and rebuilding and travel were happening. During the reign of Darius a tax collection system was developed .
"Moreover, I hereby decree that that you are to help those elders of the Jews as they rebuild this Temple of God. You must pay the full construction costs, without delay, from my taxes collected in the province west of the Euphrates River so that the work will not be interrupted" (Ezra 5: 8).
Today globalisation is defined as the process by which events, activities and decisions in one part of the world can have significant consequences for communities in distant parts of the globe (Hagget, 2001, p. 586).
Globalisation incorporates links to economy, trade and ideas between these communities. It encourages growth of individual country economies, environmental awareness and diversity and cultural understanding (The World Bank, 2004, cited in The Globalisation Issue).
What is Globalisation: Link
Globalisation is clearly evident within the Ancient World and the 21st Century. It is not a new phenomenon, but while great progress is made with globalisation, there can be a cost as power and financial gain become more important than people. It is interesting to note in Ezra 9 the situation has turned to one of enslavement and a change of circumstances. "So now today we are slaves in the land of plenty that you gave our ancestors for their enjoyment! We re slaves here in this good land. The lush produce of this land piles up in the hands of the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins. They have power over us and our livestock. We serve them at their pleasure, and we are in great misery" (Ezra 9: 36 -37).
There is evidence of similar situations occurring today:
My personal perspective is that the modern world is not taking note of the globalisation problems from the Ancient World. The corporate world is dominating the economy and becoming richer, creating a bigger gap between the wealthy and the poor. An interesting reading on Nehemiah 9: Let us Bow before our Maker highlights the connection between people today and the Israelites of the Ancient World, and as with most stories there is a solution. We need to look inward and pray, fast and turn to God just as the Israelites did.
An interesting site with written material by Professor John W. I. Lee that may be purchased, gives a brief summary of his work. He indicates that The Persian Empire was the world's first global power.
"A diverse, multicultural empire with flourishing businesses and people on the move. it was an empire of information, made possible by a highly advances infrastructure that included roads, canals, bridges, and a courier system" (The Persian Empire, n.d.).
I make mention of this site as it looks like interesting reading about a period of time that so much can be learnt from.
Globalisation is clearly evident within the Ancient World and the 21st Century. It is not a new phenomenon, but while great progress is made with globalisation, there can be a cost as power and financial gain become more important than people. It is interesting to note in Ezra 9 the situation has turned to one of enslavement and a change of circumstances. "So now today we are slaves in the land of plenty that you gave our ancestors for their enjoyment! We re slaves here in this good land. The lush produce of this land piles up in the hands of the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins. They have power over us and our livestock. We serve them at their pleasure, and we are in great misery" (Ezra 9: 36 -37).
There is evidence of similar situations occurring today:
My personal perspective is that the modern world is not taking note of the globalisation problems from the Ancient World. The corporate world is dominating the economy and becoming richer, creating a bigger gap between the wealthy and the poor. An interesting reading on Nehemiah 9: Let us Bow before our Maker highlights the connection between people today and the Israelites of the Ancient World, and as with most stories there is a solution. We need to look inward and pray, fast and turn to God just as the Israelites did.
An interesting site with written material by Professor John W. I. Lee that may be purchased, gives a brief summary of his work. He indicates that The Persian Empire was the world's first global power.
"A diverse, multicultural empire with flourishing businesses and people on the move. it was an empire of information, made possible by a highly advances infrastructure that included roads, canals, bridges, and a courier system" (The Persian Empire, n.d.).
I make mention of this site as it looks like interesting reading about a period of time that so much can be learnt from.
References
BBC (n.d.). BBC_GCSE Bitesize: What is globalisation? Retrieved from
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/geography/globalisation/
globalisation_rev1.shtml
Bible History (n.d.). Map of the Persian Empire [Map]. Retrieved from
http://www.bible-history.com/maps/maps/map_persian_empire.html
Bratcher, D. (n.d.). The Persian Period and Return from Exile (538-323): OT
History. Retrieved from
http://www.cresourcei.org/othpersia.html
Brueggemann, W. (2010). Out of Babylon. Nashville: Abingdon Press
Globalisation TNCs and Sweatshops [Video file]. (2010). Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miGm045YHzE
Globalization and International Trade. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.worldbank.org/depweb/beyond/beyondco/beg_12.pdf
Haggett, P. (2001). Geography: A global synthesis. Harlow [u.a.: Prentice Hall.
The Persian Empire. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.thegreatcourses.com/tgc/courses/course_detail.aspx?cid=3117
Ray Stedman.org (n.d.). Let us Bow before our Maker | Nehemiah 9: 1-37 |
RayStedman.org. Retrieved from
http://www.raystedman.org/old-testament/nehemiah/let-us-bow-before-our-maker
Tyndale House Publishers (2004). Holy Bible: New Testament : New Living Translation.
Wheaton, Ill: Tyndale House Publishers.
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