Year 8, Day 59: Nehemiah 12

Theological Commentary: Click Here

As we start to bring Nehemiah to a close, we see a worship service.  We see the religious leaders get together and walk the walls of the city.  They surround the city in worship.  What a neat perspective to consider as Nehemiah’s work comes to a close.  He came to help secure Jerusalem and make it safe.  The walls are up, and he administrates a citywide worship service.

Do you see the message that such an event tries to send?  Jerusalem is surrounded in worship.  As the people of Jerusalem go about their life, it is to be in the worship of God.  It is worship; it is surrounded by worship.  Life in Jerusalem is to revolve around God.

I think that’s an incredible legacy for Nehemiah to leave.  He needed to secure the city, that was his first priority.  Once it was secure, he provided for the teaching of the people through Ezra the priest.  Once that was in place he arranged for the worship of the city.  Nehemiah comes to meet a need, and he not only meets that need but he helps refocus the people onto their relationship with God.

When it is all said and done, the worship service leads back to the service of the people.  We see that donations are collected and managed.  The worship of the city’s leaders opens up to the work of the people.  A story that starts in the needs of the people ends in people equipped and able to be meeting the needs of others.

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Year 8, Day 58: Nehemiah 11

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There is an interesting concept that we get as we read through Nehemiah 11.  We see that many of the leaders volunteer to live in Jerusalem.  After all, that’s where the power resides.  That’s where the walls are.  That’s where the temple is.  Anyone who is anyone is going to live in Jerusalem.

What’s interesting about this chapter is that we also learn that there had to be a draft to get people to come to Jerusalem.  What is this draft and why is it necessary?  Largely, this draft was to fill Jerusalem with other people: merchants, servants, workers, etc.  Jerusalem wouldn’t function if all it had were the rich and elite.  Who would actually do anything of substance?

Therefore, there was a draft to fill Jerusalem with regular and lower-class people.  The question s why.  Why would people need to be convinced to come and live in the center of the Hebrew culture?  The reason is simple.  To live in Jerusalem meant to voluntarily give up one’s land and one’s means for providing for family.  To live outside of Jerusalem is to live on land that can be farmed or can raise animals.  The live in Jerusalem meant that you had to work just to make money.  Then, you would have to find someone who would trade your money for goods.  It’s a process we understand really well in modern days, but it was a troublesome process fraught with pitfalls in the ancient world.

So, what is the neat part of this chapter?  I can think of two elated teachings that we can get.  First, notice that the city doesn’t function with just the elite.  The city needs people of all abilities and status to function.  It’s a sign of humanity’s need for all people, not just the elite.  Second, remember that this is God’s city.  God wants people of all status around Him.  He isn’t just the God of the elite.  He doesn’t love those with the most resources.  God loves all people and values what all people can bring to Him.

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Year 8, Day 57: Nehemiah 10

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Nehemiah 10 feels like a very flat chapter.  It serves its role in the Bible.  It lifts up the houses and families that became prominent after the return to exile.  It lifts up the people who are to be held accountable for the spirituality of the people.  It shows who is responding to Nehemiah’s and Ezra’s teaching.

I find several things interesting as we move past the list of names.  First of all, Nehemiah puts forth clear expectations of the people.  There is a difference between knowing God and being in a relationship with Him.  God doesn’t provide for our salvation and then tell us to go back to doing whatever we want to do.  We have a role to play in His kingdom, a role defined by Him, not us.

I do find it interesting that in the post-exile that these roles revolved around the life in the temple.  The accountability expressed here in this chapter is all about providing for the temple.  It talks about giving money to the temple, bringing wood for the sacrifices, and the priests serving in their appropriate time of the year.  What we don’t see is a directive about teaching other people about relationship with God.  We don’t see who is responsible for challenging people, teaching them, and holding them accountable.  Many of the things that Jesus focuses on when He teaches in the New Testament are absent from the list of accountabilities in this chapter.

Another thing that I find interesting is the focus on the priests in Aaron’s line.  I realize that these are the high and important priests.  However, the feel of the tone of this chapter is not one of importance but of trust.  A priest descended from Aaron has to be present when the Levites receive the tithes.  This is an edict about trust, not importance.  It makes me wonder if there were reasons to need accountability – which is highly possible after the exile – or if there was a desire to keep a tight reign on power – which is also highly possible.  In either case, as the post-exilic Hebrew nation is being set-up, it does not have the same community of sharing and accountability as we see Jesus set up among His own disciples.

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Year 8, Day 56: Nehemiah 9

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In Nehemiah 9, we read a retelling of the history of the Hebrew people.  Naturally, it is a bit abbreviated.  Here are the highlights.  God is a loving God.  He called Abraham to be the father of His people.  They went to Egypt and became slaves.  God brought them out and they were faithful until life got easy.  They rebelled.  As a result of their rebellion, they are now slaves in their own land.

The point of the story is quite plain.  God is a loving God.  God cares for His people.  God bathes them in His compassion.  God leads His people forth in His blessing.

God’s people, however are less than receptive.  Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not saying that we don’t want to be loved by God.  We do!  We want to be in a relationship with Him.  We want to know His blessings.

However, that’s not all we want.  When life gets easy, we want more luxury.  When we aren’t challenged, we become less than satisfied with God’s provision.  We want more.  We stray from Him.  We find ourselves walking away from God because our life is so comfortable we have the time and desire to live other than according to His ways.

For me, that’s a really important teaching.  It fits what we hear in God’s Word.  Who are some of God’s most faithful followers?  Joseph, sold into slavery in Egypt.  Moses, born to slaves in Egypt.  Joshua, leader of a people without a home.  David, repeatedly sought to be slain by King Saul.  Even in the New Testament, the disciples and the early church was persecuted as it grew.  Paul was rejected nearly everywhere He went.  Some of the most faithful were those who were rejected and oppressed.

For the record, look at the time of rebellion.  Joseph’s brothers had every luxury of the time when the sold him into slavery.  The Hebrew people rebelled and did what was right in their own eyes each time a Judge brought peace to the land.  The Hebrew kings helped the Hebrew people slide into rebellion as they lived under the umbrella of Solomon’s greatness.  The religious leaders of Jesus’ day missed seeing Jesus as the Messiah because they were too interested in their own position of power, wealth, and status in their day.

We don’t necessarily want to seek hard times.  Yet, we should appreciate what hard times can teach us when they do come.  Moments of difficulty help to remind us just how important God and His provision can be.

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Year 8, Day 55: Nehemiah 8

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As we come to Nehemiah 8, we hear about Ezra’s reading of the Law before all the people.  As the people hear, they respond.  It’s the way that it should be.  We should respond when we hear the truth in our life.  We should allow ourselves to be convicted and acknowledge that our humanity might have something to learn.  Personally, I think that’s the big takeaway for this day.

That being said, I think there is a secondary message that is much less obvious and worth diving into.  Think back to the timing of this event.  Ezra reads the Law after the walls are built and complete.  Isn’t it interesting that Nehemiah focuses on the walls and then focuses on God?

Let’s be careful.  I’m not about to say that safety is more important than God.  Nehemiah may have been more concerned with safety in the moment, but that doesn’t mean that it is ultimately more important.  I believe that nothing in this world is more important than our relationship with God.  What it means is that Nehemiah understands a very simple truth.  Sometimes we need to be more concerned with the things of this world before a person can be reached with the truth of God.

In education, we have a similar philosophy.  It’s called Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, and you can Google an image if you want to look it up.  Its principle is basic.  The foundational needs at the bottom must be met before a person is going to be able to examine the needs near the top of the triangle.

To put it plainly, physiological needs must be met first.  You can’t teach someone who hasn’t eaten in a while, who is dehydrated to the point of having headaches, or who hasn’t been able to access legitimate sleep patterns.  You can’t convince someone that you love them if they are worried about their relative safety.  You can’t help to boost someone’s self-esteem if they have no sense of belonging.

Nehemiah gets this.  He knows that relationship with God can’t really happen until the walls are built and until the people in Jerusalem feel secure in both literal safety as well as in their provision.  That’s why Nehemiah focuses on the walls first and then brings in Ezra only after the lower order needs of the people are met.

Nehemiah is a brilliant leader.  He understands people intuitively.  He also understands that sometimes we have to deal with a more basic need before we can deal with an ultimately more significant need.  This is an incredibly insightful understanding of humanity to have as a leader.

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Year 8, Day 54: Nehemiah 7

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As Nehemiah completes the wall, the next thing he does is set a guard.  There are some things we can learn from this process once we understand the steps that he takes.  First, he orders the city’s gates shut while the sun is still up, before the shadows can get near the walls and hide enemies.  Second, he posts a watch during the night.  Third, some of the watch is over the gates, some of the watch is near their homes.

What can we learn from this?  First of all, we need to be careful that we guard what is valuable to us.  I’m not talking material possessions here, I am talking about our character and our morals and our spirit.  We need to be careful who we grant access to our being, especially with respect to things like mentoring, teaching, and other means of influencing us.  We need to make sure that we don’t give the enemy an easy route into our being.

Second, Nehemiah posts a watch.  Nehemiah doesn’t assume things will be fine and his wall will keep out threats.  Nehemiah posts a watch to ensure things stay secure.  The same should be true with us.  We shouldn’t assume that our relationship with God will be okay, or our love for His ways won’t change.  We shouldn’t assume that our character and our ethics will never be compromised.  We need to guard those things, watching out for them and protecting them!

Third, Nehemiah appoints some guards who live close to their homes.  Nehemiah knows a simple fact.  When guards are protecting their own house, they will do a much more thorough job.  The same is true for us.  When we invest ourselves into the things about which we care the most, our performance will usually be better and more thorough.

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Year 8, Day 53: Nehemiah 6

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Today we see one of the hardest kinds of opposition to resist: subterfuge.  In this story, we see subterfuge from the outside through Sanballat and his attempts to scare Nehemiah.  We see subterfuge from the inside as Sanballat gets to Shemaiah and pays him to set Nehemiah up.

The reality is that when we do anything important we should expect opposition.  Quite often, the more important it is the more likely the opposition will be hidden.  When we do something people care about, the opposition will often be subterfuge: wolves in sheep’s clothing.  That’s what Nehemiah faces.  He goes to someone who should be a friend for a little advice and he gets set-up.

Fortunately, Nehemiah is listening to God.  Nehemiah is a thinking man, using the wisdom that God has already given to him.  Nehemiah recognizes the set-up for what it is and calls Shemaiah on it.  He stays out of trouble because God is with Nehemiah.

Ultimately, this shows us the role of faith.  There is no way that we can keep ourselves from every pitfall.  But if we rely upon God, we can trust that either He will protect us from evil or deliver us out of it.  In Nehemiah’s case, God protects Nehemiah from it.  In plenty of other cases in the Bible, God delivers.  One way or another, faith allows us to step up in righteousness and know that evil will come our way.  We can step up because we have a God who is bigger than our enemies.

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Year 8, Day 52: Nehemiah 5

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Today we see how Nehemiah handles internal issues.  Many of the poor common Hebrew people come to him with complaints.  They don’t have enough food.  They are having to ask the wealthy for money and are being charged interest.  They are having to sell their land – their inheritance – in order to get money.  They are even having to sell their own family in order to buy food.  Because of the interest, it is even harder to get back out of debt once they are in it.

We see Nehemiah deal with this threat, too.  Nehemiah could tell the poor that this is just how the world works and that they need to accept it.  However, in this case Nehemiah understands that there is an error happening. God’s people should not take advantage of one another!  We should not be caring more about the things of this world than we do about the people of this world!

Therefore, Nehemiah goes to the leaders and tells them that they are misbehaving.  Nehemiah stands up for what is right.  He doesn’t take the popular route, he takes the righteous route.  That’s what leadership does.

The people listen and follow.  They recognize Nehemiah’s wisdom and his solid footing according to God’s ways.  They back down and make restoration.  This time, the people are willing to give up their worldly gain to do the right thing. 

It doesn’t always happen this way, but one thing is for sure.  If nobody stands up for righteousness, people will think of themselves more often than not.  Leadership must be willing to stand up for what is right or nobody will.

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Year 8, Day 51: Nehemiah 4

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Today we get to see how Nehemiah deals with external criticism.  The people who are living in the land – especially since the Hebrews were deported by Babylon – aren’t happy to see them return.  They are willing to do whatever it takes to stop the progress on the wall.  The first card they play is the easiest one to play.  They criticize and threaten the work.

We face this all the time.  We meet with people who don’t believe we can do it.  We face people who would rather see us fail than succeed.  We meet competitors who are going after the same goal.  There are all kinds of people who stand in our way.  We face external threats all life long.

Look at what Nehemiah does to combat the external threat.  The first thing he does is to plan and then share the plan.  Education is key to fighting the external threat.  When we educate ourselves against the threat, we can plan for it so that it doesn’t defeat us.  Once we have a plan, we need to share the plan with others so that they can benefit from the plan and if necessary hold us accountable. 

Once Nehemiah has shared, the next thing that he does is ensure the cohesiveness of the community.  Nehemiah makes sure that nobody is left isolated.  Like most prey, we are most vulnerable when we are alone.  Nehemiah makes sure that doesn’t happen.

Finally, Nehemiah makes sure that the people are equipped.  People work with spears by their sides.  The builders work with their swords at hand.  A rallying trumpet is kept by Nehemiah’s side at all times so that help can be called if necessary.

This is what leaders do.  We expect opposition.  We work a plan to avoid it.  We invite community.  We equip the people around us.

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Year 8, Day 50: Nehemiah 2 & 3

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In Nehemiah 2 we hear about Nehemiah’s journey to the wall in order to help.  It starts with Nehemiah being humble in the presence of the king.  Instead of going in and demanding assistance, Nehemiah takes the place of a servant and simply allows his trouble to become visible on his face.  The king notices his trouble and inquires about it.  In that act, Nehemiah has gained both opportunity and a sympathetic audience.

We need to understand why this tactic works, though.  Nehemiah is not a manipulative man.  He has not gone in and deceived his king into caring.  Rather, Nehemiah has been humble and genuine in years of service.  Because of his humble and genuine lifestyle, the king has gotten to know Nehemiah.  The king has learned to care enough about Nehemiah to know when he is upset.  It isn’t Nehemiah’s craftiness that makes this story happen, it is his genuinely humble servant nature that allows Nehemiah to be in the position that he finds himself.

This pattern of behavior continues when Nehemiah finds himself inspecting the wall.  When he arrives, he doesn’t do so with fanfare and bold declarations of what is going to change.  Instead, he simply goes out at night, looks at what is happening, looks at what needs to be done, and then sets forth in making preparations.  He then goes the next day and talks to the leaders about what he discovers.  A plan is set up and the repairs begin.  The people are willing to follow a humble leader.

One more comment should be made prior to signing off for the day. Notice how thoroughly the work is spread out among the people.  Families take on parts of the tasks.  Towns take on other parts.  Groups of priests even get together to work.  The work is embraced by a variety of all people.  Many people are willing to get behind the manner in which God works through Nehemiah.

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Year 8, Day 49: Nehemiah 1

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Nehemiah gives us another perspective of the rebuilding effort, from a different perspective in a slightly different timeframe.  Nehemiah isn’t a priest like Ezra was.  Nehemiah was a servant to the Persian king.  He had the kings ear; but he was little more than a royal servant taken from a captive nation.  It is this man that God calls upon to help the rebuilding efforts back home.

What I love about Nehemiah is that he is a man of action.  When he asks about the rebuilding effort, he hears a grim report.  Immediately he is troubled.  The first thing that he does is to go to God in prayer.  He goes to God and asks what can be done.  He goes to God and seeks how he can be obedient to God’s will.

Nehemiah goes to God and confesses his humanity.  He goes to God and reminds Him of His promise of protection.  He goes to God and asks God to watch over His steps and to prepare the path that Nehemiah knows he must take.

Nehemiah is a man who is willing to step up to the plate.  He is a man who is willing to step up and find resolution for a problem.  But he is not a rash man in doing so.  Nehemiah is calculating, pausing to make sure that the path he is on is the path that God has ordained for him to take.

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Year 8, Day 48: Ezra 10

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Ezra 10 contains some teaching that is hard for us to here.  Ezra and the leaders of the Hebrew people tell those who have returned from exile that they have a choice to make.  Either they put aside their foreign wives and their foreign gods or they forfeit their inheritance in the land.  The Bible doesn’t tell us what would happen if a foreign wife gave up her foreign gods and chose to become a God-fearer, but in such a case I expect they would have allowed the marriage to last.

That being said, there are some interesting teachings that we can make out of this passage.  First of all, following God may occasionally lead us to hard choices.  Following God is not easy, especially the more time we spend thinking about what a faithful life really looks like.  We will need to examine parts of our life that we have come to enjoy and appreciate and occasionally be asked to let those parts of our life go.

Second, notice that God does not force the choice.  The people can continue in their marriages as long as they let go of their inheritance.  The comparison to us in our sinfulness is astounding.  We can continue to cling to our sin and pursue it with our heart – even after God confronts us with the knowledge of our sinfulness.  We have the freedom to relinquish our inheritance in Him and hold onto our sins if we desire.

Third, notice that getting rid of sin takes longer than desired.  Ezra wants the choice and the decision to be over and done in a matter of days.  The people know that just isn’t possible.  It is going to take time to explain the circumstance, have the delicate conversations, explain the consequences, give people time to decide, and then enforce the decision.  That takes time.  The same thing is true about us.  It takes time for God to convince us of our sin and prove why it isn’t in our best interests.  It takes time for us to let go of our sin and follow God more faithfully.

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Year 8, Day 47: Ezra 9

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As Ezra sets up the worship, he is alerted to the fact that many of the Hebrew people have intermingled with non-Hebrew people.  In the Western melting-pot mindset, we typically don’t see the big deal about this.  In the pre-Christian Hebrew mindset, keeping the bloodlines pure had more to do with maintaining religious purity than anything else.  As other nations were married into Hebrew families, the chance that people would start worshipping other gods increased.

I love how Ezra handles this moment.  Ezra immediately goes to pray about it.  When he prays, he doesn’t make excuses.  He doesn’t make light of it.  He doesn’t try to blow it off.  In fact, Ezra is clear how serious he takes the situation when he says that the Lord has been far more gracious than the people deserved.  That’s what I love about Ezra’s leadership.  Ezra understands the breadth of human sinfulness.

I think that this is one important dynamic in spirituality that often gets overlooked.  We want to hear about forgiveness, and we should.  We want to hear about God’s promise, and we should.  But, we must understand our need to hear about the consequences of our sinfulness as well.  As we see in this chapter, it is our understanding of our sinfulness that teaches us a proper understanding of God’s graciousness towards us.

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Year 8, Day 46: Ezra 8

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Do you know what faith is?  Faith is gathering a great treasure and walking into a wilderness without any kind of guard.  That’s what we see here.  Ezra and his volunteer followers gather the precious metals that they need for worship in the temple and then they walk straight into a wilderness.  They don’t bring a military escort.  They don’t bring protection.  It is by the hand of God that they get through the journey safely.

I’m impressed by this show of faith.  In those days, the wildernesses were not safe places.  The roads were watched by bandits.  Rebel insurgent armies moved through the land on the run from one form of authority or another.  Poor townsmen from local towns would seek any opportunity to plunder or swindle and passing opportunity.  Into these conditions, volunteer priests head off with a great mass of wealth.

The neat thing about this story is that the mission succeeds.  Their faith does not return to them empty.  Their faith returns to them fulfilled.  These people are protected by the hand of God.  When we humble ourselves before God and become obedient to Him, He will protect us in our endeavors.

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Year 8, Day 45: Ezra 7

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Today I am going to keep it relatively short and sweet.  We don’t have too much going on in this chapter except that Ezra finally comes to town.  He comes to town from Babylon, most likely the city to which he and his family was deported.  He comes with a pedigree that is traceable all the way back to Aaron, Moses’ brother.

How does Ezra come?  He comes with musicians.  He comes with supplies.  He comes with a letter granting him authority.  He has the authority to appoint ministers and judges.  He comes with the ability to uplift those who worship God and to banish those who do not.  Artaxerxes has a stake in making sure that the God of the Hebrew people is honored and worshipped – regardless of whether or not Artaxerxes gives Him worship.

Perhaps more importantly, why does Ezra come?  Ezra comes to teach.  Ezra is an expert in the Law.  Ezra has come to make sure that everyone in Israel knows God’s ways and knows how to live by them.  His mission is pretty simple, really.

To wrap this all up, let’s look from the perspective of Artaxerxes.  Artaxerxes wants to make sure that the God of the Hebrew people has nothing against him.  He doesn’t want any divine being to hold a grudge against him.  Out of this desire, worship begins again in Israel.  Teaching begins again in Israel.  The faith is officially passed along from generation to generation once more.  All of this happens because a king takes seriously his desire to not have God hold a grudge against him.

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Year 8, Day 44: Ezra 6

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In Ezra 6 we get to see the results of the Hebrew appeal.  A decree is issued.  A search for the command of Cyrus is found. The Persian king is interested in doing the right thing, not just the popular thing.

Something cool happens in this passage.  Not only is the decree from Cyrus found, but the powers that be find out that they are supposed to be supporting the effort!  Cyrus made it clear that the Hebrew people are supposed to have their efforts paid out of the royal treasuries!  The work is not supposed to stop.  As a result of the Hebrew appeal, it is discovered that their work was being under-supported, not just allowed.

Perhaps even more importantly, Cyrus declares that the regional governors, the ones who are likely to cause trouble, are told to stay away from the area.  Cyrus knew that they would cause trouble, so he gave them a direct order that they have chosen to disobey.  The people who would come to cause trouble are put in their place.

The greatest thing about this whole story is the role of truth.  It isn’t the charisma of the Hebrew people that win the day.  It isn’t the ability of the Hebrew people to slander their opponents that wins the day.  It isn’t their personal relationship with the Persian king that wins.  What wins the day is truth.

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Year 8, Day 43: Ezra 5

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In Ezra 5 we see the defense of the Hebrew people.  This should really be kept as simple as possible.  Up until now, we’ve had a simple he-said-she said argument.  It’s the word of the Hebrew people versus the word of the native people in the land.

I respect what the Hebrew people do here.  It would have been easy to start accusing the opposition.  It would have been easy to try and smear the reputation of the native people.  However, the Hebrew leaders don’t do this.  Instead, they simply stand upon the truth.  Cyrus gave them an edict to rebuild.

The Hebrew people don’t overextend.  They don’t take advantage.  They don’t try to play favorites.  What the Hebrew try to do is simply ask for the same thing that their opponents do.  They simply ask for a search of the records to be made in order that their case should be proven.

This is a great example for us to live by.  How often do we try to win by demeaning the opponent?  How often do we seek to gain esteem not by rising above but by tearing down?  We should seek truth and seek to live by it.  That way, when we are questioned we can appeal to the truth and stand firm.

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Year 8, Day 42: Ezra 4

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As I read through Ezra 4, I find that I am torn between the what-could-be and the skeptic within.  This chapter opens with the enemies of the Jews coming and offering to help.  The Jews refuse to accept help, and this sets of a period of turmoil and the Persian king is even brought in to order the Jews to stop working.  A part of me wonders if that would have happened had the Jews had the graciousness to accept the help instead of refuse it.

On the other hand, time and time again we heard God tell His people in the Old Testament to be careful of the influence of the rest of the world.  The skeptic in me says that this offer of help was probably just a ploy for subterfuge.  These people could have been offering to help but only as a means of getting on the inside so that they could disrupt the building process.  I have no means for justifying such skepticism other than the fact that the Bible calls these people enemies and my own human critical thinking.  It doesn’t make sense that the enemies of the Jews would want to voluntarily help them all of a sudden.

In any case, what we see happening here is that the temple effort is eventually hindered.  The rebellious nature of the Jews, just being humans, comes back to haunt them.  The Jews hadn’t done anything in articular to rebel against the Persians, but the Jews did have a strong reputation for rebelling against the Assyrians and the Babylonians.  For the record, so did ever vassal nation.  Who wants to be a vassal when the opportunity for freedom might exist?

There is a lesson to be learned here, too.  It is really important to learn to keep our human nature in check.  We will develop a reputation.  All people and all groups of people get reputations.  If we don’t keep our humanity in check, we will find our reputation able to be soured and used against us by our enemies.

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Year 8, Day 41: Ezra 3

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Ezra 3 gives us a report on the reconstruction effort.  There are many things going on here.  First of all, notice that the exiles coming back are able to give gifts to the nations around them.  They no doubt do this to try and put themselves in a favorable position.  They also do it so that they will send them building supplies like cedar.  The point is that these people have come back equipped to do the job.  These are Hebrew people coming back from exile, but they aren’t coming back empty-handed.  God has taken care of them.

Second, notice that the effort begins with the worship of God.  When the people come together -even before gathering the materials – they begin with worship.  For me, I think this is a crucial point in this chapter.  It speaks to the centrality of God in our efforts, naturally.  But it also speaks to the reality that God doesn’t need a temple for our worship.  I can worship God without a fancy building.  I can worship in His creation.  Worship is a function of the outpouring of my response to God, not a function of the lavishness of my surroundings.  We cannot get more lavish than the creation around us that God has made for us.  What is important is that I worship Him, not where I worship Him.

I think we see an indication here of how easy it is to fall into the trap of caring more about the location and the building than God.  Do you hear what is said at the end of the chapter?  Most of the people are praising God for the work that is being done.  But some of the older people weep because the new temple isn’t as great as the temple that Solomon built.  What should be joy turns into sorrow because the people are focused on the building, not upon God.

I believe that the Bible is right when it points the fingers at the old generation and the heads of the families.  As I have gotten older, it gets far easier for me to be critical and even cynical.  Sometimes, when wisdom is found there, it is the right place to be.  But in times where criticism and cynicism crush joy towards God, I am in the wrong place.  I should always celebrate what God is doing.  I should always want to be a part of His hand at work.  The so-called wisdom that comes with age, often useful, should never be given permission to trump the joy of the Lord.

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Year 8, Day 40: Ezra 1 & 2

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Ezra 1 & 2 is a rollercoaster of emotion.  Honestly.  I know it doesn’t read that way on the surface, but it truly does show us the awesomely humbling power of God and how it relates to us as human beings.  I’m going to take a closer look.

Think back to the Exodus.  There was a pre-iron age civilization.  In Egypt, even the most conservative estimate of the Hebrew population rose to a half-million.  There could have been as many as two million people.  God brought that host out of Egypt and created the Hebrew nation.

Unfortunately, they disobeyed.  The Hebrew people went into decline and then went into captivity.  Israel fell into captivity under Assyria.  Judah went into captivity under Babylon.  That huge host of people was reduced to being servants of another nation.

Here in Ezra we hear how God brings the people out once more.  This time, there is no great Exodus; God uses a Persian king to free His own people without any plaguelike depictions of His power.  The number of Hebrew people who come back are less than a half of a hundred thousand – a shy cry of the possible two million that came out of Egypt.  Nothing in this congregation of the Hebrew nation matches the first one.

Nothing, that is, except the God who is empowering it to happen.  God doesn’t need massive numbers of followers.  God doesn’t need great displays of power.  God is enough all by Himself.  That’s why this chapter is the gamut of emotion.

On one hand, this chapter is incredible humbling.  God doesn’t need us to be great in number or in person.  He doesn’t need us to be powerful.  He doesn’t accept us because of our power or prestige or anything else.  Yet, this chapter is exhilarating because we can recognize that God is incredibly powerful!  He can make a nation out of millions of slaves.  He can rebuild the nation with less than two percent of that with which He originally started. He is an incredibly awesome God who is able to do anything with big or small things.

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Year 8, Day 39: Romans 16

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Romans 16 reads like a family gathering.  Paul gives us a list of the people in Rome that he knows or has heard about according to their faith.  Paul then gives a list of the people with him who are also in the faith.  At the very minimum, Paul is trying to make connections and ensure that the body of Christ stays connected.

I think Paul is trying to do much more than that, though.  Paul is trying to lift up attributes of faith and demonstrate examples in our midst.  Look at how many people Paul indicates have worked hard in the faith.  Listen to how many people Paul says have stood under pressure and persecution.  Hear how many people Paul says are like family to him.  These are all attributes that help people grow strong in the faith.  These are models and examples that we can look up to – and so can the faithful people in Rome!  This is more than just a greeting; Paul is helping establish the reputation of the faithful and help people figure out who they can look upon as a mentor?

However, this greeting isn’t just a means for connecting people.  Paul also gives a few pieces of advice.  First, Paul tells us to watch out for smooth talk.  Paul reminds us to be wary of people who look to take advantage of the naïve.  We should be careful when people try to get us to believe that our salvation rests in anything other than the grace of God as revealed to us through Christ. We will have differences in some things – I spoke about that topic over the past few days.  But we shouldn’t be led astray from the core truth of the faith.

The second neat teaching that Paul gives us in this chapter is the teaching at the very end.  What is it that Paul wants to leave in the back of everyone’s mind?  It is God who establishes us.  It is God who made Himself known to us.  It is God who has brought salvation not just to His own people but to the whole world.  It is God who is the focus and the center of the faith.

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Year 8, Day 38: Romans 15

Theological Commentary: Click Here

In this chapter we hear about Paul’s call to the Gentiles and his desire to come to Rome to visit the followers of Christ there.  Those are fairly mundane – yet important in their context – points.  Therefore, I’m going to focus on the beginning third of this chapter.

I love how Paul wraps up his theological treatise in this chapter.  He continues the theme of living in love.  He is clear that we should be active in looking out for the best for the people around us.  It’s not just a suggestion, it’s a calling!

But the true capstone of Paul’s theology is that his position is rooted in a response to God’s action.  Paul reminds us that our relationship with God starts because God had our best interests in mind!  God saved us.  He loved us.  He provided for us.  He does all of these things when He didn’t have to do so!  He did them because He had our best interests in mind.

Therefore, just as Christ accepts us, we should accept one another.  As Christ loved us, we should love one another.  As Christ served us, we should serve one another.

When we live like this, we will be filled with hope.  We will be filled with peace.  We will be filled with love.  When we live like Christ, we will be filled with Him.

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Year 8, Day 37: Romans 14

Theological Commentary: Click Here

I love the fact that Paul puts this passage immediately following his section about how we should live in love. If we are living in love, then we should be thinking about the other person ahead of ourselves.  We should be able to live with our differences, accept God’s gifts in each other, and stand with Christ who unites us.

For example, here are some unique ways that I bring faith into my life.

• I don’t wear white as a reminder that one day after the resurrection I will be given a white robe cleansed in the blood of Christ.  Much like the singer Johnny Cash, so long as I look around and see the evidence of sin in my life and the world around me, I won’t wear white as a devotional reminder of the fallen world in which I live.
• I don’t close my eyes when I pray.  I used to, and I found that my ADD very quickly took over and before long I wasn’t even hearing the words being said.  Then, I heard someone challenge me by asking why I closed my eyes and bowed my head when I pray.  I told them that I do it out of respect for God.  They told me they pray with their head held high and their eyes to the sky, looking for the Son whenever He should return.  I kind of liked the thought, so I tried it.  Now I pray looking up to the sky now.  The upside is that the visual helps keep my ADD in check and I can focus on what’s being said far more easily!
• I never say the name of God that contains the letters YHWH.  I don’t do it because of Jewish tradition.  In the ancient world of Abraham, Moses, David, and Isaiah you only used someone’s personal name if you had power and position over them.  I never say the name of God as a reminder that He is God, I am not.  I don’t have power over Him, and I don’t say the name of God as a way of reminding myself of that fact.

The reality is that there are more things than that in my life, those are just the easy examples to lift up.  Here’s the neat thing about that list of expressions of faith.  Salvation doesn’t hinge upon any of the things in that list.  I can be a follower of God and do those things; other people can be a follower of God and not do those things.  These aren’t things that make me better; they are ways that my faith is enhanced within me.  I don’t feel the need to get offended by those who don’t do what I do.  We are all created unique in God’s image, who am I to say that other people must look like me and live out their faith like I do?

That’s what Paul is talking about here when he says to not judge one another.  That’s what he means by not being a stumbling block.  One genuine expression of my faith need not offend another, and another’s genuine expression of their faith need not offend me. 

On the other hand, if I know something offends another person and I continue to do it in their presence, then shame on me!  In that case I am not expressing myself, I am throwing myself into their path and forcing myself to be a stumbling block.  That’s a very dangerous proposition to make.  It’s one thing to express my faith according to God’s uniqueness.  It’s another thing to intentionally offend.  As Paul says, we should do everything in our power to lead one another to peace, not offend one another.

Of course, it is worth saying that there are a few things that are unable to be compromised.  Jesus is the only way to salvation, and my salvation rests solely upon Him.  God is our creator, and we will one day live with Him by His grace.  He is the source of all that is good within me and within the world.  I should be actively looking for and repenting of the sin in my life.  I’m sure there are a few others that could be added to this list, but those are the pretty big ones.  Those are the things that bind us together in unity.

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Year 8, Day 36: Romans 13

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Romans 13 gives us an interesting teaching that I always feel the need to place an asterisk behind and amend.  Paul tells us to obey our government.  He tells us to follow their direction.  He tells us to respect their decrees, pay our taxes, and live life under their rule.

There is always a part of me that wants to add an asterisk and say, “so long as the government is righteous.”  Naturally, God wouldn’t want us to support people who promote unrighteousness, right?

To be honest, as I read this passage today I realized that to put such an asterisk is missing Paul’s greater point.  Look at the context of this passage.  This is a greater passage about love.  This is a passage about how when we live in love we need not worry about the Law.  When we live in love, we are living obediently to God’s authority.  After all, what leader is afraid of people who live in love and who live life looking to be a blessing to the people around them?

For me, that’s the real hidden nugget of wisdom in this passage.  If we want to live, live rightly.  If we want to act, make sure it is in love.  If we want to live in peace, live in love.  When we are living in love towards the people around us, we will have nothing to fear. We will then be clothed in Christ.

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Year 8, Day 35: Romans 12

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Paul starts this chapter by reminding us that we are to live as sacrifices to God.  This should take us back through our theological training.  Why are we sacrifices?  We are sacrifices because we are slaves to God.  We are slaves to God because the alternative is being a slave to sin, which is not a good option!  We are we slaves to sin?  We are slaves to sin because of our flesh.  If we put this all together, what we see Paul encouraging is for us to be willing to sacrifice our sinful self-centeredness and exchange it for being His servant and living according to His ways.

In this light, it is easy for us to hear the rest of the words of this chapter.  Live humbly, Paul says.  How do we live humbly?  We live humbly because we are God’s servants.  We live humbly because we are about the greatness of God, not the greatness of ourselves.  We live humbly because as God lifts us up, we look to lift others up in the same way.  We live humbly to be a benefit to others.

We also live humbly to allow the gifts of others to rise up.  God has gifted His whole body, we should make room for many to work.  If I think so highly of myself that I do everything, then I don’t allow others to use their gifts.  We live humbly so that we can all experience being a part of God’s plan.

Finally, I love what Paul says about love being sincere.  When we give space for others to use their gifts, we need to do it sincerely.  We should want others to be a part of God’s plan.  We should want to give space to others to utilize their talents and abilities.  We should not live humbly in a begrudging fashion, because doing so robs us of the very joy of being in Christ in the first place.  No, true humbleness comes out of a love for God and a love for others.

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Year 8, Day 34: Romans 11

Theological Commentary: Click Here

In Romans 11, we have two main thoughts.  First, we hear a warning much akin to what I have been saying in the past few blog posts.  We who are in Christ have no right to look down in judgment upon others.  We are not God’s people because of our greatness or even our works.  We are grafted in to God’s family because God supports us and brings us in.

Second, we hear a discussion on if God failed His people.  After all, if they rejected God, yet God desires to save them, isn’t that saying that God wasn’t successful?

That’s really an important question.  It really boils down to the proverbial discussion on free will.  God desires all of us to be saved, but He does not force it.  If God forced it, then our love would be meaningless.  What’s the point of love if the person who gives the love has no option other than giving love?  Without free will, our worship and love of God is greatly tarnished.

That being said, in order for us to have free will, God must put aside His desire for all of us to be saved and allow us to accept His offer or reject it.  The fact that some people reject God isn’t evidence of His failure at all!  It is evidence of His love and His desire to be loved.

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