In contrast to Saul (in yesterday’s lesson), David was chosen as king many years before he was actually inaugurated as king. This is the story of that choosing or anointing. It happens because of Saul’s disobedience to God. 1 Samuel 16:1-14.
He has his own book (Zechariah), but he and Haggai (another prophet with a book) both appear in Ezra (chapters 5-6) to motivate the people to rebuild the temple (Ezra 6:14). Zechariah is also a priest (Neh 12:12,16).
Ever heard of the books of 1 & 2 Maccabees, Tobit or Bel and the Dragon? These and about a dozen other books or sections of books are held by many to be a valid part of the Old Testament. I disagree, but so help me if I didn’t make you aware of them. Another example is “Additions to Esther,” which was my reasoning for including it in this week.
Esther (the person) is a Jew who winds up as queen of the Persian Empire and thwarts a genocide attempt on the Jews by a bitter man named Haman. To commemorate the retaliatory strikes, the feast of Purim is instituted at the end of the book of Esther (and is still observed today).
Kings and a Queen are the theme of this week (Esther is the queen).
Nehemiah 8. The walls of Jerusalem have been restored thanks to Nehemiah (Neh. 6:15), and the next* thing we read of the people doing is listening to the Bible for a week straight (8:18).
In Deut 7:1-6, God commands the Jews to not marry foreign women. In Ezra 9-10, Ezra learns that the people have done this anyway and some even had children, and Ezra commands the people to divorce those foreign wives.