Gadfly's Muse

Job 1: The Lord Gives, The Lord Takes Away, Blessed Be The Name of the Lord

Image: "Patiently Waiting", 2020, Severna Park, Md

Job 1:8 Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?”

Job 1:21–22 And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD.” 22 In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.

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Sometimes the "critters" get downright pushy.  They will perch near a window and chatter or chirp away as if to ask "What's the hold-up"?  Where are the goodies?"  The cats, ungrateful wretches as they are, will sit at the glass door and scowl at you as you pass by.  It is the same with the squirrels shaking their tails and clucking at us.

Not so the beautiful doves.  They know the cracked corn is coming... the usual spots on the ground are discolored from past feasts... so they perch nearby and just watch.  They are alert to every movement of the door but are mostly unafraid.  They trust in the goodness of their provider.

The book of Job is about patience and faith, or "faithful patience."  In it we see Job showing marked signs of petulance and complaint, like the more pushy "critters" in our yard, but like the dove, he never gives up trusting in his Provider either.  As we read Job it is best to keep in mind that the true "Hero" of Job is another Sufferer who came a thousand or so years later.  This "Job" did not grumble or complain though He was afflicted far more than was this Job.  We can learn much from Job, but it is the One who was and is greater than Job, Who must be our focus.  Job stumbles in his testing, though not as to fall.  Our Lord Jesus never stumbled and His end and reward makes Job's restoration and glorification appear puny indeed.

A couple of words about this book.  It is ancient... perhaps the oldest in origin of all the canon.  It tells of a man in a place called Uz which we cannot fix with any certainty.  There are no historical markers in the book so we cannot fix exactly when he lived in relation to other Biblical characters.  I tend to think that he lived around the time of Melchizedek and was heir to the same religious tradition as he.  We know he worshiped God.  

The story line has many points of contact with other ancient literature.  Other civilizations had their "Job story" but it is unique in the "faithfulness" that Job displays and the startling confrontation with God that ends the story.  Since Job cannot, with certainty, be counted in the Israelite race and the name Job shows up in other cultures, we should take verse 3 at face value:  "... this man was the greatest of all the people of the East."  That means that God still had faithful followers, like Melchizedek, among the other tribes descended from Noah and Job's story took on legend form among those tribes.  Our blessing is that we have the Spirit inspired version and it is His preservation of it which evokes our confidence.

The message of Job is laid out before us in chapter 1.  Job is a "righteous man", one whom God Himself considers "blameless and upright."  This is not to say he was sinless... far from it.  Job is characterized by worship, offering sacrifices for himself and his family.  Job was conscious of his fallen sinfulness as was God.   But God says that Job's character was that of one who "fears God and shuns evil."  Here is the essential character of "faith."  Faith is that quality in us that causes us to respect ("fear") God for Who He is and which moves us to hate evil.  It is grounded in trust because the God Whom we respect / fear has made a way for us to be "blameless and upright" before Him.  Job knew that his sacrifices did not, of themselves, pay for his sins... but he trusted that God had made a way for him to be treated as just.  This was the ancient gospel and we are so blessed to know now, through Christ, just how that worked out.

But the story line continues.  We are given a glimpse of a heavenly throne room (cf. Rev. 4 & 5) where Satan, the enemy of God and righteous man, challenges God to test Job's righteousness.  Satan has already had long experience with turning men's hearts away from their Creator and he is confident that if Job is stripped of all his wealth and prosperity, then Job will prove just as quick to condemn God as he was to praise Him previously.  Satan is granted the authority to start persecuting Job.

In verses 13-18 we should note the range of disasters that fall on Job.  They are "natural" and "evil inspired" calamities.  Thus we see that there are dark powers in the world that can bring about sudden changes in our fortunes.  Something we should take to heart.

The closing verses though (20-22) can be taken as the message of the entire book.  Job understands that the ultimate cause of his "misfortunes" is that they reflect the will of God.  It is God's to give... it is God's to take away.   It is man's duty, like Job, to worship and "bless the name of the LORD" in whatever circumstances he faces.  "In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong."  What better epitaph could be written on our tombstone than this? 

Job's story is the story of "everyman" as far as the ubiquity of suffering goes.  Job's story is beautiful call to God's people to remember that their God can be trusted to provide, in due time, that for which they patiently wait. 

 

 

 

 

Esther 8-10: It is a Riddle, Wrapped in a Mystery, Inside an Enigma;

Image: Conundrum, 2019, Severna Park, Md

Esther 8:11 By these letters the king permitted the Jews who were in every city to gather together and protect their lives—to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the forces of any people or province that would assault them, both little children and women, and to plunder their possessions,

Esther 9:1 Now in the twelfth month, that is, the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day, the time came for the king’s command and his decree to be executed. On the day that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, the opposite occurred, in that the Jews themselves overpowered those who hated them.

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The title of this post is taken from Winston Churchill's 1939 speech about Russia.   Churchill's phrases often passed into general use. This one certainly has, being quoted even in a Seinfeld episode.  It brilliantly describes a "conundrum", a difficult thing composed of many layers or components which, taken individually, don't seem to make sense or "fit" together... yet they do.

The book of Esther might very well fall into this category... especially the closing chapters 8-10.  Several perplexing aspects of this book confront us right away. 

Firstly, strangely, it never explicitly mentions God at all.  The closest we come to a God reference is in 4:14 which I considered in the meditation on that chapter.  Mordecai apparently alludes to the OT history of God's judgment on people and their houses if they fail to do what they should.  That's about it.

Secondly is the story's literary style.  Some scholars have classified it as "comedy" with no disparagement intended.  The characterization of Haman as an arch-villain and his humiliation when he has to parade Mordecai around at the king's command are the kind of things that some see to support this.  This idea is part of the larger question about the content.  The detailed descriptions of settings and events, like the following story of Job and also the Song of Solomon, seem highly stylized and  may have been used as pious literature (which does not mean they are not true)... it just classifies them as something like Proverbs.

Third is the strange action of the king.  What kind of king would sanction a civil war within his domain?  The king first authorizes the extermination and pillage of the Jews under Haman's influence and then, since he couldn't revoke an edict he had already distributed, allows Mordecai to issue another edict which says the Jews can not only defend themselves but pillage their oppressors (8:11).  In the narrative the king appears unfazed when he is told that 75,000 of his subjects died.

Lastly, of course, is the national feast instituted by Mordecai with the king's obvious blessing.  We read the familiar words about the Jews having rest from their enemies (9:22) which usually was applied to the people in the promised land.  It is strange that this implies that the Jews were to feel "at home" in Persia and the national holiday (Purim) would celebrate their protected status in the king's dominions.  

In the face of all these strange aspects, chapter 10 closes with a clear, Joseph-like, affirmation of historical reality.  The king's acts are said to be recorded in the "chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia."  Mordecai is said to be mentioned in them also as the "second" to the king and is strongly hinted as being the real author of his greatness.  The clear comparison with Joseph under Pharaoh reminds us of a major biblical theme, that what men mean for evil God uses for good.  That "good" in this book is clearly stated:  Mordecai was elevated by God to his high position in order to seek the good of his people and speak peace to all his countrymen.  No one can argue that this is not the main point of the book and thus, however mysterious its form and content may appear, its truth is undeniable.

So the story of Esther closes.  We might wish that there was something written in the New Testament to help us understand it better but there are no NT quotes or references to my knowledge.  We are left with an unforgettable narrative and that may be its original purpose.  Something happened in this phase of Jewish history.  There was a time when, during the captivity, the Jews were saved from extermination by the actions of a queen.  In this action, the Jews actually came out on top and the season of mourning was turned to joy.  This became a feast, instituted not as part of the Mosaic Law but as a national, historical memory.  This story brilliantly and memorably provides the narrative for the celebration.

God has placed this narrative within His canon and therefore we are to embrace the truths which it proclaims.  At the pinnacle of its proclamation is that this fallen world, with man in it, is indeed a "riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma."  With our limited abilities and finite comprehension, we can never really understand how it all fits together.  We cannot precisely state, ever, apart from Biblical revelation that "such and such was God's plan in order to accomplish this or that."   There are some narrowly defined instance where we might truly say something like this, but even then, we know that there are far more things that went into whatever events we are considering than just the surface events themselves.

What we can rest in is this.  This world, with all its complexities and riddles, is the one God has decreed to exist.  It was to this world and its continuing history that He sent His Son.  It is the culmination of this world, with its complexities, that will usher in His Eternal Kingdom when, at last, we will have a fuller measure of understanding and, I think, hindsight.  "We'll know it better bye and bye."  Until then, like Mordecai, we have to trust in the unchanging Person of our Triune God.  He is the only Answer which ties it all together.

 

Esther 5-7: Trapped By Our Own Iniquities

Image: "Garden Walk", 2017, Tanger Gardens, Greensboro, NC

Esther 7:10  So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s wrath subsided.

Proverbs 5:22–23 His own iniquities entrap the wicked man, And he is caught in the cords of his sin. 23 He shall die for lack of instruction, And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

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If you are looking for an "object lesson" or real-life example of how the Proverbs are true then consider the case of Haman.

Proverbs 5, quoted above, says that a wicked man is "caught in the cords of his sin".  It points out that "in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray."  Can there be any better illustration than Haman's story?

At root Haman's pride was his downfall.  He had, through whatever stratagems or talents he displayed, risen to the extraordinary position at the king's right... the second in command.  He was given power and responsibility and the king commanded that he be treated with all the pomp of oriental glory.  He was riding high and enjoying every moment of it... until!  There was that doggone stubborn Mordecai, the Jew, who refused to bow and grovel before him.  Mordecai was nothing (as far as Haman knew)...  he was no threat... Haman could have just ignored him or had him locked up or even had him flogged... but no... Haman's pride and the evil counsel he received at home came to full bloom.  "In the greatness of his folly" he went astray. 

Haman decided that Mordecai was representative of all Jews and therefore there was nothing to do but kill them all.  He would start with Mordecai and have him publicly hanged... that would teach him and everybody that Haman was a man to be feared.  So plans were put in place for the widespread extermination campaign and a gallows was built for Mordecai.

Then the righteous hand of God surfaced.  Mordecai put a word in Esther's ear... Esther, showing great courage, undertook to stand up for all Jews including her cousin Mordecai, and she played her part perfectly. 

Notice how Esther choreographs the whole thing.  She humbly submits to the king and waits for his signal to approach him on the throne.  This was the moment of trial.  Her unbidden appearance in court could have resulted in death or divorce but she banked on pleasure in her and it worked.  She is granted audience and she puts forth her request... the king and Haman are invited to a lavish feast.  The king knows he is being worked.  He asks what she wants... in other words... why are you buttering me up?  She says... let's do another feast and then I will tell you.

Before the next banquet God sends a dream to the king and Mordecai's previous warning about a plot against the king was brought to his attention.  In a sublime bit of irony Haman has to be the one who conveys the king's gratitude and reward to Mordecai.  At this point I think he began to see that his plans might just be going wrong.

Esher plays the king like a violin.  By the time the second feast is finished he is caught up in affection for his wife and ready to give her anything.  Haman, in the meantime, has been numbed into inaction.  His pride in being invited to the banquet prevents him from being suspicious.  He might have taken steps to block the queen's actions but he was fooled.  After the second banquet, Esther tells the king what has happened and asks that she and the rest of the Jews be saved.  Notice how she is betting her life and the future of her race on the king's love for her.  It works... the king is outraged and goes for a walk in the park.

When he comes back he quickly and decisively brings Haman's folly down on his own head.  Haman is taken out and hanged on the very gallows where he intended to execute Mordecai.

Some things to note:  Mordecai rose to great power, wealth and influence.  He was a man who obviously possessed considerable talent.  It was the evil in his own heart that did him in.  

From this, as we see in Psalm 73 that sometimes God allows the wicked to prosper.  The people in Esther's day might have been tempted to envy Mordecai... perhaps even to follow his example.  After all, according to the world's wisdom, you gotta do what you gotta do in order to "get ahead."  Certainly history is replete with examples of men accumulating power and wealth only to use them for wickedness.  Worldly wisdom will point to these data... it will draw our attention to this history and say "look, this proves how you must live if you want to be important."  

But what is not often noticed in history is the misery attendant to those examples.  You don't see the broken lives of people around those men nor are we invited into their bed-chambers to see the terrors that hindered their sleep.  Evil men either live in fear or in a cynical acceptance of their vulnerability.  They know that others can do to them what they have done.  History doesn't often present us with a full picture.

Haman's story does.  He was a fool and he suffered a fool's humiliation and defeat.  A more accurate view of history will show that God's habit is to do this over and over again.  Stalin died in terror.  Hitler spent his last days cringing in a bunker.  The wages of sin is death and afterwards judgment.  Haman's story starkly shows forth the foolishness of chasing after worldly power as an end to itself and for the gratification of our own pride.  God opposes the proud (James 4:6)... in the end He always wins.

Esther 3 & 4: The Risky Business of Faith

Image: A Dependable Guide, 2013, Pilot Boat, Brunswick Me Harbor

Esther 4:13–14 And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. 14 For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
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Anti-Semitism is an age old and constant reminder that the world resents people who stand apart, who obey a different law and in general think that they are special in some sense. (cf. 3:8)  Now Christians have all too often been guilty of sinful anti-Semitism also and that is something of which we should repent.  But importantly, perhaps, we ought to stop and think about why, in this country, Christians are generally not subjected to similar animosity?  After all, we are a special people, a chosen race, we profess to obey God and not man when God's laws are different than man's, etc.  According to Scripture we are not supposed to intermarry with unbelievers.  We insist, or at least ought to insist, that our children be separated from teachings, influences and even friendships with people whose "religion", whether secular or actual, might be a snare.  

Could it be that we are far too comfortable melding in with the crowds around us?  Perhaps the example of anti-Semitism actually makes us want to avoid being treated similarly.  All this is to say that being a witness to the world that there is a God in heaven who judges between men and nations, who acts to promote and further His covenant people as an example and beacon to others, can be a scary thing.  Faith is indeed "risky business."

Now, in these New Testament times we must acknowledge that the Jewish race is no longer the "covenant people" of God through whom salvation is offered to the world.  They are still preserved as a race (Rom. 9-11) but as a sign of what happens when people reject Jesus of Nazareth as the Christ of God.  That said though our concern for them is for their conversion and salvation.  We reject anti-Semitism in its hate and contempt.  Still, however the above thoughts apply to us.

In Esther 3 & 4 we see how this all works out.

We are introduced to Haman, a despicable creature if ever there was one.  If this was an old timey black and white western movie, Haman would be the villain with a waxed pointy mustache and sneering smile.  That's pretty much how he is presented to us.  He comes on the scene, wiggles his way into the king's favor and becomes exalted above all the other petty courtiers.  Immediately he embarks on a pride trip.  He, in accord with oriental custom, was of such importance that people were supposed to bow and prostrate themselves before him... and they did, ... except for this guy Mordecai.

Mordecai equated this act with worship and he refused to do it.  We are left to wonder if he would have done so to the king himself, but whether he would or not, he was not going to do it to this sniveling buffoon.  Haman, in the words of Queen Victoria, "was not pleased."  He immediately takes Mordecai's actions as being representative of the entire race of Jews and conspires to purge the king's dominions from their seditious presence.

The question then became how and when.  They cast the lot ("pur" from which the plural "purim" is taken for the feast of celebration observed by the Jews to this day) and settled on a specific day some months in the future which would allow them to plan the logistics of massive slaughter.  I am reminded of how systematically Hitler's Germany undertook the same task and the degree of planning it took to carry it out.

Haman gets the kings approval and like a spider goes to his web and waits for the prey to be snared.

Mordecai gets the word and using his influence with Esther convinces her that she will have to undertake the risky business of faith.  Notice how he phrases it:  God will deliver His people one way or the other (4:14) but if you do not act on their behalf then God will judge you among the enemies of His people.  "You and your father's house will perish." 

Two things should be noticed here. 

(1) Mordecai's high view of God and His Covenant Promises.  This alone will explain his confidence that Haman's scheming would not succeed.  God had sent His people into captivity, most certainly, but He had not abandoned them and they had His promise that He would restore them to their inheritance.  Esther's father's house had a part in that inheritance and that was at stake of course, but God would not allow all of His remnant to be destroyed.  Mordecai probably thought that he, himself, was a "goner," after all his crime was public and recorded, but he at least had hope that the people could be saved.

(2) Esther's call to courage.  Esther, as she explained, had to impose on the king in order to deliver a message to him.  She had no right to just burst into his presence and demand that he listen.  He had not "called her" in a month or so... she had no guarantees that he would call her again before the killing started.  She had to make him listen and in doing so she was having to depend on God to save her neck... literally.

Thus she prepared with prayer and fasting and called on all the local Jews to pray for her.  She was squarely faced with the truth that "faith requires courage because often it involves risky business."

Esther's example ought to shame us into being more visible in our faith at the very least.  If we are not at risk for Christ, ever, then we ought to wonder if our Christianity is making a difference in our lives or not.  That's something serious to consider.

 

 

Esther 1 & 2: Mysterious Wisdom

Image: Spring Moon, 2013, Severna Park, Md

Esther 2:17–18 The king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins; so he set the royal crown upon her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. 18 Then the king made a great feast, the Feast of Esther, for all his officials and servants; and he proclaimed a holiday in the provinces and gave gifts according to the generosity of a king.
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As we read Esther chapter 1 we should at least note the rather "flattering" prose the writer employs.  There is no 'matter-of-fact' simple recounting of events here.  The king is described as demonstrating the "splendor of his excellent majesty" and his domain is described as "his glorious kingdom."  Now this is the language of a courtier, someone who wants to remain in favor of whatever power sits on the throne now.  The story may be about a time earlier in King Ahasuerus' (probably another name for Xerxes) reign or even after his death since it uses past tense terminology, but one gets the feeling that the author was eye-witness to the events or at least "in the know" in some way or another and he did not want want to lose his position.  Thus we don't read any negatives about the king.

Another fascinating aspect of this book is the insight into just how sensual and voluptuous was the life of the king.  In one of Mel Brooks' films he does a bit where he plays a monarch and he looks at all the "good stuff" that is his for the taking and he says "It is good to be the king." (History of the World, Part I)  Brooks was portraying a depraved and lecherous King Louis XVI so we should not agree with him.  Nor should we be uncritical of King Ahasuerus as we read Esther.  This book gives us a glimpse of just how petty and powerful such men could be.  "Absolute power corrupts absolutely" someone once said and this king is an illustrative example.

He throws a 6 month party at which all his subordinate princes and rulers and governors had to be present.  Think of the scale and expense of such a festival.  Note the detail the author records about the closing feast... he obviously saw it.  Here was lavishness on a scale that should be embarrassing to us.  

The king, we are told, respected people's own decisions about drinking (vs. 8).  In this we get another glimpse of the man's complex character.  We are immediately shown another side of him when Queen Vashti displayed a foolish arrogance in refusing the king's order to appear before him.  Who knows what she was thinking.  Maybe she just didn't like being treated like a pet poodle that the king's guests were supposed to admire.  Maybe she wanted to be respected for her brains and character rather than her good looks.  Who knows... but she refuses the king.  And here we get our first insight into the mysterious wisdom of God.  This woman was a pagan.  She was already given over to the King of Lies... but God still calls the shots and now, in accord with His divine decree, she is given over to her impetuous and foolish pride.  The result:  there now is a vacancy in the queen position.

We are told that the king uses this to reinforce the "men are masters of their own household" rule in his kingdom (1:22).  I am sure there were some smug faces among the men who had reason to fear their own wives apart from this rule.  What it really reveals is just how far the "one flesh" purposes of marriage for which God instituted it can be cast aside.  The king's pettiness is pretty much on a par with his wife's foolishness.

But, again, behind the scenes God is working and we are introduced to a real-life Cinderella.  The king commands that women be brought to the palace and groomed for his .... shall we say .... evaluation of their suitability.  Mordecai is introduced as being an older first cousin of a young woman called Esther.  Both are Jews but not openly.  Esther's parents are deceased and Mordecai in obedience to Levitical laws becomes her guardian.  He is also politically astute and sees an opportunity.

Now, again, we have to be uncomfortable with what he does.  He essentially gives her to the king for a concubine.  Nowhere in the OT is this commended but that's what happened.  The book of Esther is often treated as a romantic fairy tale like Cinderella and with good reason.  But we must always remember the essentially depraved nature of this kingdom and how far removed its government and practices were from the Kingdom of our Lord Christ.

Like Joseph being sold into slavery, Esther demonstrates the essential integrity and intelligence that, along with her good looks and obvious ability to "please" the king in her one-night stand with him and is chosen to be queen.  If this was a fairy tale we would think that "they lived happily ever after" would come next.

No, immediately we see two things happen which are essential to the story.  Mordecai stays in touch so as to be able to counsel and guide Esther which will be very important.  Secondly we see a plot to kill the king which Mordecai uncovers and then communicates to the queen.  Here we see God laying the ground work for how the whole story will develop.

Trouble is coming and God has moved his chess pieces into position so that His glory and His people will be preserved and blessed.  This is the Joseph story again.  You would think that God wants us to learn something.

I think it necessary for us to be very realistic about this kingdom and this king.  This was no Camelot and this king was no good king Arthur.  The world of Mordecai and Esther was brutal.  A young woman and a Jew at that lived at risk of those in power.  The king was on the top of the heap but under him were multitudes of petty, perverted satraps and governors who imitated his lifestyle if not at his level.  What we must see is that in the midst of such depravity God is not absent... He is daily moving his chess pieces on the board to bring about His good purposes.  This is the story of Esther and it is the story of our lives also.

 

 

 

Nehemiah 13: Remember me, O my God, for good!

Image: Steps Along The Way, 2017, Severna Park, Md

Nehemiah 13:22 And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should go and guard the gates, to sanctify the Sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of Your mercy!
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What we see in chapter 13 is the sheer instability of the visible Christian church when deprived of strong leadership... something we ought to take to heart.

Nehemiah had to return to King Artaxerxes in order to give a report... check in... renew friendship... do all of those necessary political duties that helped ensure that his head continued affixed to his shoulders.   In his absence, which was probably quite a few months and perhaps over a year (it was no small journey in those days), the moral tone of Israel essentially fell apart.

First we have the sordid account of how the priest, Eliashib, had brought his kinsman Tobiah into the temple and even set him up with a room in proximity to the temple treasures.  Tobiah was an enemy of Nehemiah for certain.  We have every reason to doubt his religious embrace of the One True God though he probably gave lip service to God even as he was tolerant or accepting of idolatry.  What Eliashib did was truly let the fox into the hen house.  Tobiah as a local petty ruler could effectively undermine Nehemiah's influence and authority by being inside the Temple precincts.  

Nehemia recognized this immediately.  He was not a passive man... he had a hot temper and we are told that the situation "grieved" him bitterly (vs. 8).  He dumps Tobiah and all of his possessions out of the room.  What comes next is a very telling comment:  he "commanded them to cleanse the rooms" before he brought God's valuables back into the room.  This is tantamount to declaring Tobias "unclean".  Eliashib must have had rough sledding after that.

Further indications of how the leaders he had left behind had slacked off was that the Levites had not been given their portions and had returned to the fields in order to feed themselves and their families.  Worship in the temple and its precincts had come to a halt.  Nehemiah calls the local "rulers" on the carpet, called for and received the tithe from the people of Judah and put more trustworthy people in charge.

Next there was the widespread violations of the Sabbath.  Now we have a chicken and egg situation here.  I am inclined to think that the Sabbath compromises probably preceded and set the stage for the other egregious failures that happened.  When God's people see the Sabbath as "just another day" then the whole, healthy, spiritually refreshing fruit of the Sabbath is missing from their lives and other temptations spread their evil roots in our souls.  Nehemiah knew this and he diligently and forcefully put an end to it.  Even the traveling merchants who set up tents outside Jerusalem's walls (thinking they had found a loophole) were sent packing.  Nehemiah set about, with all the resources and authority at his command, to "sanctify the Sabbath day." (vs. 22)

Lastly, again, Nehemiah follows up on Ezra's prior actions and faced down the Jews who "had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab." (vs. 23)  This was not a "come, let us reason together" moment.  A wry smile crosses my face when I read that Nehemiah "cursed them, struck some of them, and pulled out their hair...!!"  Sometimes you have to just get a person's attention before they will listen.  This is not an example we should be quick to emulate but it does indicate that sometimes there needs to be "heat" in our confrontations with outrageous sins.  

Nehemiah reminded them that even Solomon, blessed of God as he was, sinned with foreign women and they had to put a stop to it.  Nehemiah does not tell us explicitly that, as happened with Ezra, that the men had to divorce their wives but we are safe, I think, in assuming he did.

Nehemiah then sums up his activities after he returned: "Thus I cleansed them of everything pagan..."  Here is where he points to the "Steps Along the Way" (image above) that he traveled to get where he was now.  He had been zealous for the Lord... unflinching in his resolve and powerful in his leadership.  He had many achievements on his record.  Interspaced throughout this chapter is Nehemiah's "reminding" God of what he had done in God's name.  He had tried... he had been faithful .... though Israel had shown themselves to be just as stupid as they had in the past.  In effect he is calling on God not to hold him accountable for the further transgressions of the people because he was sure that there was more to come.

Yes Nehemiah does, with some intensity, point to his spiritual accomplishments.  But notice the context and the implied reality of his prayers.  He points to his good deeds but he doesn't put his trust in them.  He pleads with God to "remember" him, for his good.  He calls on God (vs. 22) to spare him according to the "greatness of Your mercy!"  Nehemiah knew that nothing he had done put God in his debt.  God could accept his works and assign value to them... or not.  How God viewed and treated Nehemiah was entirely up to Him and what Nehemiah is pleading for is mercy.  

All of our righteousness, including our righteous deeds, are as filthy rags before our Creator who dwells in unapproachable light and is infinitely pure.  There is no defect in Him and no taint of sin.  He has every just claim to our lives and to do with us whatever He deems right.  Nehemiah knew this and so should we.

Still and all, that does not mean that Nehemiah's good works... or ours... are of no merit at all.  They are when they are done in faith.  Nehemiah's works certainly were and therefore we can be certain that he received a heavenly reward for them on top of the salvation that was given him entirely by grace and entirely apart from those works.  Every work done in Jesus' name and in firm reliance, faith and joy in Him will certainly be rewarded also.

Nehemiah pointed to the steps he had walked in serving God and offered them to God even as he depended on God's mercy.  So shall we for apart from having good works as a fruit of our faith we cannot really claim to have faith at all.

 

 

 

Nehemiah 11 & 12: Encircled By Gladness

Image: Geometry, 2014, Baltimore Historic Train Station, Baltimore, Md

Nehemiah 12:43 Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and the children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off.
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Chapter 11 is mainly concerned with the roster of the people living in Jerusalem and the surrounding countryside.  For us today it is of limited application though it has a good deal of historical interest.  Some tidbits surface.  There evidently wasn't a great deal of enthusiasm among the people for moving into the city.  They had to "cast lots" (e.g. "roll the dice") to choose one out of ten to leave their current residence and come into Jerusalem (11:1).  Those who "willingly offered" to do so (v.2) were greatly appreciated by the others.  We can understand this.  These were real people and they had put down roots in their villages.  Not being a "city guy" myself, by inclination and nature, I would have been glad for someone to go instead of me also.

Another little tidbit is the geographic limits of restored Judah that is mentioned here.  One commentary notes that no artifacts of post-exilic Israel have ever been uncovered outside of the area described here.  That speaks volumes for the accuracy of these verses.

Chapter 12 gives us more to ponder.  The narrative takes on great power if we allow our imagination to picture the events as described here.  Imagine two large contingents of colorfully dressed priests, Levites, dignitaries, singers and common people.  The ascend up a set of stairs to the top of the high wall and then divide and go in opposite directions.  As each continent marches along the path there is music and loud singing.  They marched until they met again at one of the "gates" where they descended into the city and then they went directly to the Temple.  The celebration continued with vehement and ecstatic singing so loud that vs. 43 says the "joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off."  Now THAT's a worship service.

I think it might be fruitful to ask why such gladness abounded.  Of course the sheer immensity of the wall-rebuilding task was well worth celebrating at its completion.  If that was as far as it went then it would be good to party.  But there was a deeper significance I think.

The temple had already been rebuilt.  Now that the wall was in place Jerusalem was, in a sense, reconstituted.  God's city, His Holy Zion on earth again was a visible symbol of His Presence and Power, a witness and a warning to all the surrounding nations.  God's people were physically relatively secure behind the walls and the temple called them to remember where their true security lay.  Now the returning exiles could really feel "at home", their capitol city was rebuilt and they could seek to rebuild their identity as a separate people, a holy nation, a priesthood set apart by God for His special purpose and His special love in the world.

That was cause for rejoicing indeed and, at least at some level, I think it permeated the entire assembly on that glad day in Jerusalem.  We are not told what Psalms the choirs sang as they wended their way around the city on the top of those walls.  It is not too far fetched to think that they included Psalm 91 at some point.  For did not the very walls on which they stepped remind them that "He (God) is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust!" (Psa 91:2)  Certainly this Psalm has burst forth from the lips of God's people both Old Testament and New for centuries and shall continue to do so until we all sing that "New Song" at the Lord's return.

It is a sentiment and truth that we should constantly be refreshing in our minds.  Our God is our "strong city", His Throne room is our Jerusalem.  His power surrounds us as strong walls and we live in His shadow.  "Yea, though we walk through the valley of death, we will fear no evil, for He is with us..." here is our consolation, our hope and the ground of our gladness.  

Today, even as it was on that day in Jerusalem, God's eyes are always on His beloved people.  What He tears down among them He will rebuild and they will not bear shame forever.  We all know what it was like to live in exile, under the shadow of His wrath, but through the Lord Jesus Christ... not some mere Persian autocrat... we have been restored.  All things have been made new and God's earthly Zion, His visible Church, is even now standing before the eyes of the world proclaiming Her eternal message.

We ought to have days of glad thanksgiving on occasion just to celebrate this aspect of our God.  He is worthy to be praised because He has done great things... and He will do even more.

"It is good to give thanks to the LORD, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High: To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning and Your faithfulness every night!" (Psalm 92:1,2)

 

 

 

Nehemiah 9 & 10: Heavy Freight Requires Great Power....

Image: Hauling Freight, Impressionist View, 2010, Roadside View, Montana 

Nehemiah 9:33 However You are just in all that has befallen us; For You have dealt faithfully, But we have done wickedly.

Nehemiah 10:29 ...these joined with their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse and an oath to walk in God’s Law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord, and His ordinances and His statutes:

Romans 5:20–21 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, 21 so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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In Nehemiah 9 we find a rather complete synopsis of the OT history of Israel recorded in a song of praise.  Ezra (presumably) lays out the entire sad story having praised God as Creator and then jumping right to Abram's story as the initiator of the covenant line preserved in Israel.  I am strongly reminded of Stephen's indictment of the Jews in Acts 7 as I read these verses. 

Here we have the stirrings of revival in Ezra's day as the people, having completed the joyous celebration of booths, now undertake to live in solemn remembrance of their past sins.  Now is the time to renew the covenant and undertake to bring forth "fruits worthy of repentance" (Mat. 3:8-9) and so, as their forefathers did at the foot of Mt. Sinai they affirm the "sure covenant" that will bind their future walk before their God.  They made an "oath to walk in God's Law, which was given by Moses... to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord..." (10:29).  We can hear the echo of Exodus 19:8 - "Then all the people answered together and said, 'All that the LORd has spoken we will do.' "  And, of course, they did not.  Neither, as the crucifixion of Jesus and the stoning of Steven after his speech prove, did the Jews whose fathers made this solemn and scary covenant in Jerusalem in the days of Nehemiah and Ezra, keep their covenant promise.

And so it is with God's covenant people throughout history.  All of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  We all know this.  But the awful truth is that we keep on doing it.  We fall on our knees and confess our sins as did the Jews under Ezra's preaching... we hang our head in shame as the litany of our past unfaithfulness resounds in our spiritual ears... and we hear the words of forgiveness and hope as did they.  Then we rise up... undertake to learn our lesson and henceforth to live uprightly in obedience.

Then... again... at some point... we are back on our knees.  What does this all mean?

The key is found in Romans 5 as recorded above.   The law was given so that "offense may abound" (Rom. 5:20).  This is a delicate verse and we have to understand that God did not give us the law so that we would sin more but rather that we see the multitudes of our sins all around us.  What was hidden to our eyes before was the depth of our sins... the magnitude of them... the multiplicity of them.  Under the clear, penetrating light of the law our sins are exposed... we are not only aware of them we are broken by them.  God's wisdom shines forth here in blazing brightness.  The knowledge of sin wrought in us by the law is what finally breaks our stubborn spirits and fits us with humility.  Only as a people who know sin up close and personal can we have any hope of making progress in righteousness.

As I have stated often in my years of ministry: "The freight train of sanctification is pulled by the locomotive of repentance."  Spirit wrought repentance is the power that can haul heavy freight and that is exactly what God promises to provide.

"...where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, ..." (Rom. 5:20)  The sinner's sad confession of continued sin, his horror at his own weakness, his desperate cry to God, all set the stage for God's mercy to be appreciated and embraced even more.  As was the case with Israel, God pours out His grace on the broken heart, mends it, and then strengthens the weakened knees so that we can stand before Him.  We know the power of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection as that which can "carry" all our freight and that we are freed of its burden.  Sin loses its dominion over us (Romans 6:14) and therefore we have no desire to "sin more so that grace may abound" (Romans 6:1).

Here is the life we, oft-stumbling sinners that we are, regularly display.  We are weak but then we are strong.  We are humbled by our sin and elevated by our forgiveness.  We are shaken to our core when we discover that there is no sin that we are not liable to commit or have already done so, and then, amazingly God shows us that He can and does forgive "even that!"

So, does this mean that we just not make the effort?  Do we just passively become spiritual "couch-potatoes"?  Of course not... We are saved from the guilt of our sins so that we may serve our Lord Christ in humility and trust.  We are emboldened in our efforts because we know the power of forgiveness.  If our God through Christ has poured out grace on our sins will He not likewise give us all things?  Yes and amen.  As a great man once said in another context: "Praise God Almighty, I am free at last."

Nehemiah 7 & 8: The Joy of the Lord IS Your Strength

Image: Joy, Joy, Joy, 2019, Severna Park, Md

Nehemiah 8:10 Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

2 Corinthians 7:11 For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.
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It seems almost a non sequitur!  Ezra and the scribes read the law of God (8:1-8) and they diligently helped the people understand it (9:3) and the people were evidently struck to the heart for they "wept when they heard the words of the Law." (9:9)  But Ezra tells them to stop weeping and party instead!

And, we might think, "but they should weep!"  They had sinned... mightily... egregiously... and consistently over the centuries.  Had there been a generation that did not turn their back on the grace of God?  Had they not sought out the gods of the surrounding nations because they thought that they could get a "better deal?"  Had there been any family or tribe that had consistently sought after righteousness?  No... and on this day when the Law was read powerfully in their hearing and the Levites and others answered their questions and gave them the sense of the teaching... in other words.. preached the received Word to them.. how could they help but be brought to their knees in weeping.

Repentance, rightly understood, is far more than simply saying "I'm sorry!"  Those two words can be very cheap.. they can be spoken under pressure for the purpose of just ending an uncomfortable conversation... they can said with the expectation that the other person will say them also and thus there will be shared guilt.  But this is not repentance.  

Repentance is standing before God first and those we wronged second, and confessing our guilt and the sincerity of our remorse.  It does not seek to share blame because it is based on the prior conviction, as with David, that "against you and you only have I sinned!"  It offers no excuse because it recognizes there is none.  It does not bring up "mitigating" factors with the implied idea that "if you know what I was going through you would have done it also" because no situation requires that we sin... there is always a way not to do it.

Repentance starts here, with what Paul calls "godly sorrow" (2 Cor. 7:10), the sorrow that "leads to salvation and is not to be regretted."  But repentance does not "live" in such sorrow... far from it.  Rather "godly sorrow" is directed toward a far higher plane of life.  It produces "clearing" of ourselves, "indignation" at the sin itself, "fear" of the Holiness of God, "vehement desire" for righteousness, "zeal" in pursuing the Kingdom of God and, amazingly, "Joy" in our "vindication." (cf. 2 Cor. 7:11)

Ezra understood this. That is why he (or perhaps Nehemiah, the text is ambiguous) said "Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."  What Ezra (for certain) understood was that the Law of God contained far more than just the flaming arrows of condemnation, of accusation, of conviction of sin.  No, the Law also proclaimed that through repentance and faith there is forgiveness for sin.  God is the God of Mercy who shows grace to sinners.  It is the discovery of this grace as it comes to us in repentance that proves our "vindication" which is another way of understanding our "justification."  God's Holy Spirit opens to our hearts and minds that we stand, positionally, as objects of grace, to whom and through whom, God will be glorified for His mercy.

Can there be anything more uplifting and joyful than that?  Can there be any condemnation of us when God has nailed our sins to the cross of Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ of God, and we know that we bear them no more?  We are forgiven!  

We will never know the power of those words until we have experienced repentance.  But, for those who truly repent of their sins, in the fullest sense of those words, that knowledge will shine through.  The clouds will part, the sun will shine, the flowers will bloom and we will know that God is in His Heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ is with us and all that is beautiful is ours to inherit.

This knowledge and its corresponding existential transformation in us is called the "joy of the Lord" and it is precisely our strength.  It produces in us the awakened reality that we can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens us.  

It appears paradoxical that true knowledge of our sin leads to joy but that is exactly the case.  That is the amazing wisdom of God and in it, He is indeed worthy to be praised.  The Israelites partied at the Feast of Booths for seven days... It might be a good time for us to party also for the same reasons as did they.

 

 

Nehemiah 5 & 6: A True Public Servant

Image: Seeing What's There, 2005, Lake Waterford Park, Pasadena, Md

Nehemiah 5:19 Remember me, my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people.

Nehemiah 6:16 And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God.

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Politicians seldom leave a powerful office less wealthy than when they took it up. Harry Truman was one who did if I remember correctly.  It's a sad fact that power itself creates an environment wherein opportunities to abuse the privilege becomes the very air that is breathed.  There are always those who are only too happy to promise "figure-head" type positions to leaders, along with fantastic salaries, for when they leave office.  The bottom line is that power breeds corruption, corruption sucks out integrity, and as integrity starves so does concern for the less fortunate.

I sincerely doubt that any of the current crop of presidential candidates have a sincere concern for the poor... the policies they espouse are not much more than band-aids.  The current president does promote policies that increase jobs which will help the poor but, again, I doubt that he weeps over the desperately poor very often.  All of this is to say that Nehemiah's integrity, as depicted in these chapters, makes me long to have someone like him leading our country today.

The economic circumstances described in chapter 5 are essentially that of the 30's Great Depression and for the same reason.  Money was scarce.  The Persian kings had a nasty habit of requiring high taxes from their subject provinces.  However they did not then turn around and spend that money on improving the local infra-structure (roads, etc.).  Rather they would take the silver and gold, melt it down, pour it into earthen pots, let it cool into ingots, break the pots and then store the treasure in their vaults.  This effectively took money out of circulation... the same essential thing that brought on the Great Depression.  Since there was no money, there were few jobs and no one could buy the merchant's goods.

Things got tough pretty quickly.  Hard times call for desperate measures.  People were mortgaging homes, businesses, farms and vineyards and selling their children into slavery.  They could not even afford the interest on the loans.  The greedy people who made the loans were exacting "usury" (5:6), an unfair interest rate, which had the malevolent intent of causing bankruptcy so that property could be seized for payment of debt.  Things were nasty.

So it is refreshing to read how Nehemiah reacted.  He became "very angry".  He rebukes the wealthy people and reminded them that they were covenant brothers with their victims and that God had expressly condemned such practices.  He lead by example: lending money and grain to the suffering people so that they may live.  He required the wealthy to restore the means of making a living to their victims and to cut the interest rate to fair proportions (5:11).  

What Nehemiah did was sincerely identify with the poor and then make the big decisions about what could and should be undertaken to ease their burdens.

Notice that "lending at interest" is not condemned here.  "Lending at usurious interest rates" is condemned because, clearly, it is extorting wealth from the poor.  What we see in this chapter of Nehemiah is both the need for leaders that strongly identify with the people and also that there must be some regulation of economic activities to offset excessive greed.  

In chapter 6 we read that the animosity against Nehemiah rises to a murderous pitch but that he is too wiley to fall into his enemies' traps.  His accurately saw aim was to slow or halt the work on the wall. He courageously refused to cower and hide.  He took steps for his own protection but his ultimate trust was in God's hand.  He was not disappointed.

So, in the face of economic hardship and active, deadly opposition, "the wall was finished" (6:15).  Nehemiah is not above a bit of gloating in 6:16 when he surveys the many opponents and saw that the finished wall made them "very disheartened".  He knew that they had to admit that this work was "done by our God."  There was no question in his mind that such was the case.

I think that we can be encouraged by this story in a couple of ways.

First we see that we should not despair when it appears that the entire world is conspiring against us and the work that God has given us to do.  The fact of the matter, as with Nehemiah, is that such may be the case.  But no circumstance of man, whether corruption, economic failure, greed, violence or any other adversity, is greater than God's power to bring about His good works using His people to do it.  "When times get tough, the tough get going" is still valid today if we remember that for us to "get going" we need to be firmly committed to the Lord's ways and His works.

Secondly I think we need to look for those men and women in whom God is raising up godly cares and concerns as well as fitting for useful service.  Nehemiah was not the last of a breed... we need to trust God to give us leaders that we can respect... who have godly integrity and sincere hearts.