Tag: Israel

On Rebuilding: Starting from the Ground Up

Posted on by VoiceShepherd 
 They shall build up the ancient ruins;
    they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
    the devastations of many generations (Isa. 61:4).

If we look at the world around us today, we will see so many people in the midst of pain, brokenness, and darkness. Their lives are coming to an end, it seems. The statistics that report the number of people currently on medication for anxiety, depression, and other such problems are frightening. Those statistics are not limited to “the world,” though. The church is beginning to finally come to terms with the numbers of truly hurting people that sit in our pews every Sunday. We are all, in some ways, in a season (a lifetime) of rebuilding–and that includes the author of this post. A group of Jews experienced the same stresses and anxieties when it came to rebuilding their existence over 2,000 years ago.

Lives Ripped Apart

If you recall some history, the nation of Israel had been split in two after Solomon’s rule. The Northern Kingdom (Israel) continued her downhill spiral, and was finally sent into exile in 722 B.C. The Southern Kingdom (Judah) fared somewhat better. Judah did have some leaders who feared the Lord and sought Him. In the end, though, Judah also turned from the Lord and was finally sent into exile in 586 B.C. The Temple was destroyed, the ark was lost, and many of the treasures of the Temple were taken. It seemed that Israel’s history was over–a shining star for a few hundred years, then to fade to black.

The exile, however, would not be permanent. The Lord revealed that the exile would last 70 years, and then He would bring the people back, and they would worship Him. And that’s exactly what happened, as we read in Ezra. Notice the reference to the word of the Lord:

In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing:

“Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem. And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem” (Ezra 1:1-4).

Notice that Cyrus gives credit to the God of Heaven, and then names Him (Yahweh). God used this pagan king–even to the extent that the king recognized the true God–to accomplish His purposes. So, the rebuilding began.

Rebuilding Begins with Turning to God

After gathering all the materials needed, what was the first thing the people did? Rebuild the wall of the city for protection? No. Rebuild the structure of the Temple? No. the first thing that was done was this:

Then arose Jeshua the son of Jozadak, with his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel with his kinsmen, and they built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God (Ezra 3:2).

The first thing the people did was rebuild the altar of the Lord. Why? In the Old Testament context, “returning to the Lord” meant to get rid of any altars to any other god and offer offerings to the Lord on His altar. It was an act of both repentance and faith (see the post on Toward Christ: Ingredients for Change). The next verse tells us why felt it was important to build the altar first:

They set the altar in its place, for fear was on them because of the peoples of the lands, and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, burnt offerings morning and evening (v. 3).

They were afraid of the people in the land. Can you imagine? That was their land, given by God to them. Yet, now they were in foreign territory, it seemed to them–almost like they had been thrown back in time to the period of the Judges. The people in the land were not Jews. They were inhabitants from other places. The Babylonians, Medes, and Persians would often do that. They would take conquered people and disperse them throughout their empire to erase a sense of national identity. Yet the Jews had not forgotten theirs, and God preserved them.

They knew that if they were to accomplish God’s will in the midst of enemies.they must first turn to Him and seek His face. So, they rebuilt the altar and offered the sacrifices of the Lord.

What does this mean for us today? As we mentioned above, we are all in some stage of the rebuilding process. As with the Jews of old, so it is with us. All rebuilding of our lives must start with the Lord. We must turn to Him and “rebuild the altar” first.

What does that mean? We don’t have a physical altar. Instead our altar resides in our heart. Remember that the heart, in biblical thinking, is the center of the being, and the attitudes of the heart direct our behavior. When we are faced with a life that has been ripped apart, we must first see to our altar. Is my heart turned toward the Lord? Do I still believe He is good? Once we have rebuilt our altar–looking to God–then we can begin the task of allowing Him to rebuild and restore our lives. In the end, it is the Lord who does the rebuilding anyway.

The journey of rebuilding can be long, difficult, and painful. And it won’t be complete until the Day that we see Christ face-to-face. But make no mistake: It will happen. If you feel like you are sitting in the midst of ruins today, know that there is hope and healing before the throne of grace.

Next in the Series: Adversaries Among Us

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From Slave to Prime Minister: Lessons from Joseph

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If you’ve been in church or read the Bible for any length of time, you’re probably acquainted with the story of Joseph, the boy with the coat of many colors (Gen. 37, 39-50). As children, that’s sometimes the only thing we remember about him. But as we read more of the story, we find that there is a lot to learn from his life, this boy who went from slavery to Prime Minister of all Egypt.

Be cautious when sharing God-given dreams.

Joseph was already the favorite of Israel (a bad start to his life, though he may not have thought so at the time). And then God gave him some dreams. In the first, his brothers bowed down before him. In the second, not only his brothers but also his mother and father bowed down before him. Now, let’s be real: If your younger brother had told you something like that, how would you have reacted?

Joseph’s brothers didn’t take it kindly. They already hated him, so then they decided to get rid of him. Thankfully, that was not the end of the road for him. God had other plans. But, we must ask the question: Was it really a wise thing to tell that to his brothers? Some of the things God gives us are meant to be kept in our heart to hang onto. Like Mary, we should keep them in our heart. There’s no suggestion that she ever told anyone the things Gabriel told her.

There’s a popular saying today that suggests you have to “speak your dreams into existence.” That’s a fairytale, and that’s not how God works. If He gave you the dream or vision, then it’s His responsibility to bring it to fruition. Your responsibility is hold onto it and act in faith.

God honors acts of faithful obedience—in His time.

So, Joseph was sold into slavery to a man named Potiphar in Egypt. The Lord was with Joseph, and He caused all Joseph did to prosper. Potiphar’s thinking, “I’m glad I found this guy! He’s taking care of everything and everything is running smoothly!” We’re told that Potiphar had no worries while Joseph was there. But then came the test. Potiphar’s wife decided she liked Joseph (yes liked, in “that” way). There’s no reason to believe she was anything less than beautiful. She kept urging Him until one day she grabbed the sleeve of his garment—and he left it in her hand. He ran out of the house. Why? He gave a great answer:

Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge. He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God (Gen. 39:8-9)

Joseph realized that Potiphar had given him a position of not only power but trust. He would not take advantage of that trust. And he recognized that he was bound to the God of his fathers, when he acknowledged that breaking that trust would be a sin against God. So, Joseph fled from Potiphar’s wife. He kept his integrity—but ended up in prison. She made up a story that Joseph tried to force himself on her. It seems that Potiphar might not have entirely believed her. He could have executed Joseph, yet he only sent Joseph to prison—and again God took over. It was at least 2-3 years, but God not only brought Joseph out of prison but set him over all Egypt. Joseph had proven himself faithful in smaller things (of his character), and thus God gave him responsibility over larger things (the whole nation).

God is the Redeemer of your past.

In societies that condoned slavery (virtually all societies at that time), a slave was on the lowest rung of the ladder, no better than property—in fact slaves were property. That’s why Potiphar could have executed Joseph at will and not faced any sanctions. So, Joseph may have had a colored coat, but his past was checkered. Yet, God, in His timing used that very past—the life of a slave—to fulfill His plan to not only save lives but also to bring Israel into Egypt, just as he foretold to Abraham. It was through Joseph that God fulfilled His purposes, slavery and all.

That’s not just true of Joseph, by the way. Look at his brothers. They sold their brother into slavery. They lived with the guilt of their actions for years, even after Joseph forgave them and even after Israel died. (One can just imagine what they were thinking, “Now that our father is dead…. what will Joseph do to us?” And they reminded Joseph, “Dad said to be nice to us.”)  Their sins were forgiven, though, and they became the great nation of Israel, so much so that in just a few generations, the land was literally teeming with Hebrews!

No matter what you have done in the past—or what was done to you—God is not finished with you and will not be finished until He accomplishes His purpose in you.

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Lessons from Abraham (Pt. 1)

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The Bible is full of examples of faithful men and women who heeded God’s call on their lives. In today’s post (the first of a two-part series), we’ll look at what we  can learn from the life of Abraham, the father of faith.

Obedience brings us one step closer to His purpose (Gen. 12:1-9).
Abram and all his family were on the way to Canaan. Gen. 15:7 tells us that God led Haran to leave Ur and head for Canaan. For some reason, however, they stopped (Gen. 11:31-32). It was a journey interrupted. They settled in Haran. One day, the Lord spoke to Abram and told him: “Leave this place and go to a land I will show you.” The Lord then promised to produce a great nation from Abram, make Abram a blessing to all people. All Abram had to do was believe God. The journey could continue.

So, Abram believed God. He obeyed. Without knowing where he was headed, he set out with his family—and the Lord. Turns out they were headed to Canaan (12:5). When Abram got there, the Lord told Him something else: “To your offspring I will give this land” (v. 6). Now, if you know anything of Abram/Abraham’s life, you know of this promise to give what would be come the land of Israel to Abram’s descendants. But did you catch that? God didn’t promise the land to Abram until Abram took the first step of obedience. Each step of obedience on the journey of faith brings us one step closer to fulfilling His purpose in us.

When we try to help God, bad things happen (Gen. 12:10-20).
Because of a famine in the land of Canaan, Abram and his family traveled to Egypt. Abram was afraid. He had Sarai, woman very beautiful, and he was afraid that others would kill him to take her for their own. So, he decided to tell a lie. “Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me” (v. 13). The lie he told perhaps had an additional motive behind it. If he were killed, as he feared, what would happen to God’s promises to him? I have to do my part in this….right? That’s what his mind might have been saying.

We know what happened. He wasn’t killed, but Sarai was taken away from him—after all, according to both of their testimonies, she was his sister not his wife. And things went well for Abram—he gained wealth and possibly fame from that lie (v. 16). But that lie cost others. Pharaoh’s house suffered plagues because of Sarai. (The Egyptians just couldn’t get away from those plagues. Seems the Pharaoh of Moses’ time should have remembered those…. but I digress.)

The Bible doesn’t tell us how they knew, but the Egyptians knew that it was because of Sarai. And Pharaoh suspected correctly that Abram lied to him. You can hear the anger in his voice: “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her, and go” (vv. 18-19). The text says they “sent him away,” meaning they kicked him out of the land. He was fortunate that his fear wasn’t confirmed then—he lived to tell the tale. Bad things often happen when we try to “help God out.” He knows what He is doing.

God is able to provide, no matter where we are (Gen. 13:1-18).
So, after being deported from Egypt, Abram and his folks returned to the land of Canaan. Abram was traveling with Lot  also. Both of them, the text tells us, had a lot of stuff, and a lot of people (13:2, 5-6). The land was crowded, and strife developed between the herdsmen of Abram and Lot. They realized that they would have to part ways.

Abram gave the choice to Lot. Lot decided on the Jordan Valley, a place that was “well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt” (v. 10). Lot chose the better place for himself. The texts hints that perhaps he compared it to Egypt, perhaps his missed the lifestyle there (the Israelites in the wilderness could have learned a lesson from this). Abram, however, did not worry. He was in the place God had called him. And the Lord assured him: “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you” (vv. 14-17). He knew that God was faithful, and would provide whatever he needed, wherever God called him.

God is big enough to handle honest questions (Gen. 15:1-21).
Now we have Abram and his family (minus Lot) dwelling the land of promise. Everything seemed to be going fine. Then the Lord appeared to Abram in a vision and said THOSE two words: “Fear not.” Usually when the Lord says those words, He’s getting ready to lay something on you that you’ll say, “Uh….what?” The Lord continued: “I am your shield; your reward shall be very great” (15:1). So, Abram, thinking back to the earlier promises, decides to get real with God. A modern paraphrase in our culture might go something like this:

Look Lord, you brought me to the is land and said you’d give it to me and that I’d have more descendants than could be counted. There’s just one teeny problem with that. I DON’T HAVE A CHILD! So, um, Lord, I’m gonna have to leave all my stuff to some servant who’’s not even a relative and he will get all this land (v. 2, paraphrased).

The Lord, however, was not perturbed in the slightest. He assured Abram: “This man shall not be your heir. Your very own son shall be your heir” (v. 4). Abram’s wheels must have been turning big-time then. Wait. I’m gonna have a son? Me and Sarai, we’re getting along in years. God’s gonna have to work overtime on this one. So, old and childless, Abram would have a son. And that son would go on to have descendants more numerous than the stars in heaven and sand on the seashore. The Lord did lay something big on Abram.

But, even with the questioning, “Abram believed the Lord and He counted it to him as righteousness” (v. 6). His mind, however, still had trouble wrapping around the thoughts. So he had to ask the question, “Lord, how will I know for certain that I will possess it” (v. 8). At this point, we might have said, “How many times do I have to tell this guy?” Not the Lord, though. He is big enough for the honest and hard questions.

At the Lord’s command, Abram brought some animals, typically used in sacrifice. He cut them in half and laid the halves facing each other, creating a corridor of sorts. This was a common custom, called cutting covenant. Two parties making the covenant would walk between the pieces reciting the terms and the curses of the covenant. The idea was, “As has been done to these animals, may the same be done to me if I fail to keep covenant.”

But notice something here. We are told in verse 17 that God alone walked between the pieces. Abram was not part of the covenant. God alone made the covenant. It was not a covenant between God and Abram. He alone was responsible for keeping the covenant. The promise was established. Not only did God handle Abram’s doubts and questioning, but He went so far as to swear by Himself that what He said was true.

The next time we are tempted to doubt God’s promises, we should ask Him. He is big enough to handle our questions.

We’ll continue our look at Abram’s life in Part 2 –>

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