Devotionals through Ezra/Nehemiah-Introduction

Ezra 1:1a

Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation through out all his kingdom, and also put it in writing…

I’m not normally a very trusting person when I first meet someone. I will always come across as friendly but trust is not something that I exhibit up front unless I really have a good feeling about somebody. Normally it is all based on the openness of the other person. Even though I may show some trust with people initially it doesn’t mean that I always trust them completely. Trust takes time and it becomes stronger over time. What is true in friendships is true in marriages as well as business relationships.

Over the next several months I would like to do a devotional study through the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. But before I can start theses devotionals we need to familiarize ourselves with these men, the backgrounds as well as the purposes for these testimonies. In order to trust the word of God and build a greater trust in Him we must understand what these writings are talking about.

When looking at the first chapter there is a realization that we are jumping off into the middle of a story. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah are put together in the Jewish Bible, are viewed as one complete work. It is possible that they were written or assimilated by the same person who put 1^st and 2^nd Chronicles together. There are many reasons scholars believe this but one of the biggest is because of the name listings throughout all four books. The other reason would be that 2^nd Chronicles 36 and Ezra 1 read very similar. One of the simularities is that Ezra and Nehemiah were both written from a personal view even though Nehemiah starts off from that view and Ezra does not show a personal view until Ezra 7:27. Other similarities between the two books include the fact that they are both concerned with rebuilding. They also mentioned king Artaxerxes as the one who commissions both men to carry out these acts. There are also three enemies mentioned in both books, even though they are different people in each writings. Both men rely heavily on Jeremiah 25:12 where Jeremiah the prophet foretells of the destruction of Babylon, “‘Then it will be when seventy years are completed I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,’ declares the LORD, ‘for their iniquity and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it an everlasting desolation.’” Anyone who reads Daniel chapter 5 will understand what happened. God used king Cyrus to end the barbaric reign of the Babylonians who God used to bring judgment on His own people. But the Babylonians over extended their calling and began to abuse the people of Judea, because of that God judged them. Both books also have heathen kings paying for the rebuilding projects and both men have a very poor attitude toward the people who had inter-married in the land.

Some of the differences between the two books are that Ezra is concerned with rebuilding the Temple while Nehemiah is rebuilding the wall. Ezra happen over a 30 to 60 year period while Nehemiah’s rebuilding process deals with 30 to 60 days. At the end of Ezra, Ezra demands those who have inter-married to get a divorce, while at the end of Nehemiah, Nehemiah stays silent about what action should be taken by the men.

The date of the writing or gathering of Ezra and Nehemiah is somewhere around 430 B.C. The reason for the books is somewhat difficult to conclude. Some ministers like to go through Nehemiah as opposed to Ezra because they can look at the issue of leadership skills or servant attitude. While admirable this is a misappropriation of the books. It is not a misapplication of the books because those things are there but it is a misappropriation of the books in that this is not the original intent of the writings. Some may study them in regards to the struggle of God’s people in doing God’s will, this too is a misappropriation of the two books, while again not a misapplication. Some look at the manuscripts as a study of rebuilding an individual’s life. While this may sound good it is a misapplication. I will deal with this misapplication in a minute. Some believe that these books are good stories teaching moral lessons. The truth is there are moral lessons in these books but they are also true historical events. In the 1990’s a letter was discovered written to Nehemiah the governor of the region, regarding Joshua the high priest and mentioned Sanballat. This letter is evidence that such people did exist and therefore such events did occur.

Some teach that these books are personal journals discussing personal journeys regarding the rebuilding process. While in part this is true it is not totally accurate because the first six chapters of Ezra do not mention Ezra but give some history building to Ezra’s introduction. Chapters 1-6 of Ezra are almost third party in its tone.

While most of these thoughts have valid reasons to them, I believe we must look at these books in light of the two volumes just proceeding them, 1^st and 2^nd Chronicles. All four books go together. They are separate works but may have been compiled for a specific reason. Both Ezra and Nehemiah tell of false accusations being made against the people of Jerusalem. 1^st Chronicles through Nehemiah would then be a compilation of works put together for the sake of answering those accusations. These selections may have played the same role for the Jewish people as the books of Luke and Acts in the New Testament did in regards to Paul’s trials in the first century A.D. If this is true then these books would have been official Persian governmental records making these accounts historical in nature. While this study will approach the books of Ezra and Nehemiah as narratives it will do so in light of their historical accuracies.

This leads us to the theme of Ezra and Nehemiah. It is found in a statement made seven times in these writings; five times in Ezra and twice in Nehemiah. It is found in variation in Ezra 7:6, 9; 8:18, 22, 31 and in Nehemiah 2:8, 18. That theme is the “good hand of God.” Ezra and Nehemiah will constantly remind us that no matter how bad things have been or how hard things are in the present God is always good and He is always at work. The idea is not that of rebuilding an individual’s life, but the re-establishing of the community of faith. As we move through this study it is my hope and prayer that you will begin to view life beyond of yourself. I want you to look and see how God is at work in your community. Many churches today are in trouble. They have placed themselves into this dilemma through inactivity and unwillingness to carefully assess what the needs of the community are surrounding them. They simply refusing to evangelize because they may reach people who were different from them. Regardless, the message of these two books is that God is good and He is at work. The question which remains is what will we as a community of faith do? Continue to allow people to go to Hell, while we curse the darkness? Or, fall on our knees, repent, and ask God to open our eyes to the need of evangelism and do it? Your comments are welcomed.

All Bible verses come from the New American Standard Version unless otherwise noted.

THE CULT OF SELFISM AND THE POST-MODERN WORLD-Part 6

This is final series from an essay which I entered into an essay contest. Over the next several days we are going to be looking at the cult of selfism and postmodernism from a historical, philosophical, sociological, and theological angle. Today I wish to look at the theological effect of postmoderism and the cult of selfism took on our culture.

Who Can Make A Difference?

(Theology)

If the religion of Selfism fostered by the philosophy of postmodernism is in fact what is undermining our society the question must be posed, “Is there any hope?” If there is any hope then where does it come from? Who can make a difference which will save lives from certain doom and society from its own prevailing disaster? Well there is an answer and it can be found as close as the person who knows or understands the need and in some situation closer than the corner of the street in most communities. The answer is not found really in a place but in a person. The people who hold the solution to these ills are called Christians and the churches of their Lord.

History is loaded with story after story of how western civilization was on the brink of destruction and how Christians and Christianity came to the forefront and the disaster was averted. I immediately know that postmodernist will speak out against using history but remember facts are facts. I’m not saying that there has always been a perfect outcome to everything, what I am saying is Christianity preserves the good. When Christians stand up for what is right according to the dictates of Scripture then things do turn around. When Christianity meets the philosophy of the moment head on in an intellectual and loving way then the truth can be made known. When the gospel is being shared by every believer to those who have a need for Jesus Christ then a difference can be made one life at a time.

It is not up to the individual Christian alone, the church as a local community must be involved. No longer can the churches live according to cult of Selfism, but they must rise up in each of their respective communities and proclaim the truth. The Christians who belong to these churches must begin to ask questions of each other, local officials and of their neighbors about the needs of the community. This is done as the churches and individual Christians reach out in a sacrificial manner helping those in need of hope. Churches must teach the truth and the Christians must distribute that truth.

The answer is found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. The teaching of the local church needs to hinge on the fact that humanity without God is no good. God seeing the need came as a man, totally human, totally God. Born of a virgin, lived a sinless/perfect life, never doing any wrong against God and humanity. Suffered on a cross, dying for our sins, was buried and three days later rose from the dead bodily. Now all who come repenting to the cult of Selfism and believing on Jesus Christ and his death on the cross for payment for their sins can find eternal life. This is the message of hope. This is the proclamation which needs to be declared from the churches and by the individual Christians. The cult of Selfism and the philosophy of post modernity have failed, only the good news of God’s love has ever succeeded.

THE CULT OF SELFISM AND THE POST-MODERN WORLD-Part 5

This is part 5 of a 6 part series from an essay which I entered into an essay contest. Over the next several days we are going to be looking at the cult of selfism and postmodernism from a historical, philosophical, sociological, and theological angle. I promise not to get to deep into the subject but get ready to start looking at our culture from a totally different viewpoint. Today I wish to look at the psychological effect of postmoderism and the cult of selfism took on our culture.

Why Should There Be Any Concern
(Psychology)

All of this leads to this point, the loss of concern. Since postmodernism is the strongest spawning grounds for the cult of Selfism, then the concerns for any and all community and people are lost. There are three basic areas which I have seen that are lost when the cult of Self is involved: The loss of value, the loss of sense and the loss of morals.

The loss of values is the first place to begin. When people are no longer valued as anything other than machines, tools, or instruments of self pleasure in order to get what I want, for money, sexual satisfaction, fame, or power, then we come to a place of inevitable destruction. Not only does a person’s life fall apart, but their family begins to come unglued. The resulting factor is that eventually the community begins to rupture. As the community ruptures the society begins to redefine itself in order to survive leading to laws that are statutory, telling people exactly what to do then leading to a form for Totalitarianism which dictates how people should live. I see this all of the time in church work as person after person comes through the church doors looking for only what they want and not really what they need. They have abandoned the value of people for the value of self.

The second loss is the loss of sense, or consequences. Again there is no real desire to think about the impact which will follow if a certain action is taken. Several years ago my wife knew a man who was down on his luck employment wise so he went to rob a bank. He robbed the bank, drove off in his car and went straight to his house. Within minutes he was caught. His statement was that he didn’t think they would be able to find him because he wore a mask. No thought of the impact it would bring to his family, the people he robbed, the neighbors he lived around, or to himself was ever taken into account. He simply cared about what he wanted at the time. There was a loss of sense.

Last there is the loss of morals. As a result of people showing no proper value in humanity and losing all sense of consequences there is a loss of morals. What was wrong socially is no longer viewed as wrong anymore. Even if there is a historical reason for it, it doesn’t matter because history was written based on that person’s interpretation of the moment, so if a man wants to live with his girlfriend he can. Never mind that they may not stay together and that she may get pregnant. It doesn’t matter because it’s what he wants. Or maybe the man who has a girlfriend and his wife knows about it and doesn’t care. No longer is that viewed as abnormal and adultery. In this range of thinking if she has a problem with it she can just go find a boyfriend. Before anyone thinks this is out of the norm allow me to say that I have dealt with cases like this. When values are lost and a sense of right and wrong are left behind morals go out the door because the religion of Selfism is being practiced.

Next time we will look at the final aspect of the post-modern/cult of selfism and its impact on Theology.

THE CULT OF SELFISM AND THE POST-MODERN WORLD-Part 4

This is part 4 of a 6 part series from an essay which I entered into an essay contest. Over the next several days we are going to be looking at the cult of selfism and postmodernism from a historical, philosophical, sociological, and theological angle. I promise not to get to deep into the subject but get ready to start looking at our culture from a totally different viewpoint. Today I wish to look at the sociological effect of postmoderism and the cult of selfism took on our culture.

What Has Been The Impact?
(Sociological)
There are three basic areas in which the impact can be seen regarding society. The first can be seen in the strong sense or idea of personal pleasure. The second can be seen because history is ignored. The last thing which is reflective of the impact that the cult of Selfism has made is how that the cultural relevance is brought down to the individual.
While working in churches in the suburban areas in Dallas I have seen the first impact most strongly. Now that I am working in an urban church in Dallas I see the impact of this cult even more. Most people including youth and adults alike have a constant flow of desire for personal pleasure mixed with worship. This is existentialism the idea that experience is more important than fact. Now we see our society and churches moving toward a form of nihilism. No longer are we a society which desires to care for the community for the sake of the community, but we care for the community on the basis of what the community means to me. Selfism becomes the driving force for taking care of the community and we are only in support of it if it takes care of us. What brings pleasure to me is what is important not what is sacrificially good for the community.
This can be seen because of the second thought which is ignoring and a miscommunication of history. History is being redefined and re-crafted so that it no longer shows how events took place or the downfalls from faulty ideas. Rather it is viewed as opinions and other people’s thoughts rather than facts. I first ran into this while working on my degree for history. In 1982 I decided I wanted to have a degree in history which would open me up to all kinds of areas and possibilities in life. The first history professor I had changed my mind about the degree. While in the class he made the statement that history was a series of circumstantial events which come together to form one big mess. If someone is coming from a humanistic view that would be true but from a purely Biblical view that was not true at all. If the facts and timelines were followed correctly along with an understanding of the philosophies which were being propertied at the time we would to see a beautiful tapestry being put together by a force far beyond our understanding. Today history is either ignored or misinterpreted for the sake of the individual. If it does not have a direct impact on me then why should I care?
This leads to the third point which is cultural relevance is brought down to the individual. The do it if it feels good culture of the 1960s and 1970s has now come to the point of everything being about the individual. Working in the ministry allows me to counsel people making me aware of this philosophy. When a couples marriage is in danger and divorce looks to be on the horizon, no longer is the impact of the divorce what matters rather “whatever works for me” is their idea. When singles entangle themselves into sexual lifestyles, the implications are not what matters it is whatever they want for the moment. When drug abuse is involved or suicide is regarded as a way to end the problem or when children massacre their families or friends, when the worker gets tired of dealing with the issues of employment, violence becomes the answer because it is the thing which purports to lead to the greatest self pleasure. There is no concern for the community or the impact on those they love. Post modernity leads to the cult of Selfism.

Next time we will look at the psychological effect regarding post-modernism and the cult of Selfism.

THE CULT OF SELFISM AND THE POST-MODERN WORLD

This is part 3 of a 6 part series from an essay which I entered into an essay contest. Over the next several days we are going to be looking at the cult of selfism and postmodernism from a historical, philosophical, sociological, and theological angle. I promise not to get to deep into the subject but get ready to start looking at our culture from a totally different viewpoint. Today I wish to look at the philosophical aspect of how postmoderism and the cult of selfism took over our culture.

How do they relate?
(Philosophy)
The widespread cult of Selfism was basically born from the philosophy of Post Modernism or as some would call it “Ultra modernism.” Postmodern thinking has two basic components: community and language. In terms of community the postmodern thought is not the idea of traditional community, but bracketed community. Community based on age, technological knowledge, style, privilege, status, a cause, or even ideas, but rarely is it based on family, neighborhood, ethnic status or religion. The postmodern community maybe someone who lives across town rather than around the corner causing a loss of connectivity with the surrounding population. Because connectivity is lost in terms of relationship based on close reliability then the community factor which is longed for is not fulfilled. Mobility and freedom to move about as we wish is more important than knowing who it is who lives next door to us. I have experienced this through the years by talking to my peers about needing to belong to a local church. Universalism has overtaken the philosophy that people no longer associate the need of belonging to a local society. It is an inquisitive desire to know people from a distance so that the ugly wart of Selfism cannot be readily seen by those around us therefore we cannot be identified to this cult.
Because community has been redefined there is a loss of base regarding the past and passing generations. Connection is lost so the past is either forgotten or ignored. This shows up in no other place strongest than in the Christian religion. At one time the strength of many local congregations across American was the fact that there may have been three or four generations who belonged to that church. This connection and community was starting to be lost by the Great Generation who began to dabble with mysticism and existentialism. As has already been discussed this was taken up by the peace movement of the “Baby Boom” Generation and embraced. Now the tapering off of the “Great Generation” and the embracing of the “Baby Boom” Generation has given birth to a religiously irreverent and ignorant society which has lost and ignores history.
That leads to the second thing the post modern movement claims for itself, language. The reason for ignoring history and not connecting to community regarding past generations is because there is no absolute truth. Where as one generation questioned truth this generation does not even question it, we just do not believe in it. There is a contradiction which will be seen later, but my generation and the generations directly attached to it have no strong, hard core belief in absolute truth. Truth is what you make it therefore what seems right to me is what I choose to do. Since there are no absolute truths then the law regarding running the traffic light on red does not apply. It does not seem right to make me wait two minutes at a light when I can “safely” go through it. Or as the story illustrated before, if someone won’t let others be with the person they want to be with then they can end the life of those who stand in the way of their happiness. The cult of Selfism protrudes most strongly from postmodernism in this area.

Next we will look at the sociological effect it has had on our culture.

THE CULT OF SELFISM AND THE POST-MODERN WORLD-Part 2

This is a continuation of a 6 part series from an essay which I entered into an essay contest. Over the next several days we are going to be looking at the cult of selfism and postmodernism from a historical, philosophical, sociological, and theological angle. I promise not to get to deep into the subject but get ready to start looking at our culture from a totally different viewpoint. Today I wish to look at the historical aspect of how postmoderism and the cult of selfism took over our culture.

Where Did This Begin?
(History)

There are a number of places we can start with to find out where this cult originated. In the third chapter of Genesis it talks about the fall of humankind into sin and what it would do. While this cult has belonged to humankind since the beginning of time, recently it has come to the place of preeminence not just in the American society but worldwide. Maybe it’s the fault of the internet, rock & roll or country music. It could also the fault of television and movie entertainment. Blame the retailers and their lust for money and greed or the lack of parental involvement or even the educational system. While these may have played some role the reality is that it belongs with a general flaw and belief systems which were originally spawned by the generation of the Second World War, the Great Generation. This generation began to pick up on eastern mystical religion after the war because of the disillusionment with the status quo of life. They had experienced two traumatizing worldwide events, the Great Depression and World War II. Couple that with the existential movement which began only a generation before and there is a boiler waiting to explode.
Out of that generation starting in 1941 until 1964 or 1968 (depends on who you read regarding sociology) came the “Baby Boom” generation. This generation is composed of over 80 million people. It quickly became the most consumer based group in the world in history. It was also viewed as a generation which could and would spread the American dream to the world. A problem with this was found in a little Southeast Asia country called Vietnam. When this generation recognized the size and force they could exhibit they chose to protest against the war and began to question established authority. This generation bought into the eastern mystical cults for more than the “Great Generation” and mixed it with the “if it feels good” philosophy which would dominate their generation. This is the generation which starts to allow the glue to come apart in the fabric of society. By doing this a fire was being built which would have an impact like none other.
From the “Baby Boomer” generation came the “Baby Buster” or “X-Generation” born mainly from 1964 or 1968 and ending around 1982 or 1988. This generation was at one time regarded as a quiet generation but came into it’s own during the technology revolution of the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s and began to exert its muscle squeezing out the “Baby Boomers” based on sheer knowledge. That in culmination with the “Y-Generation” and the “Millennial Generation” began to make strides toward domination in business, ethics, law and entertainment which the “Baby Boom” generation had not imagined. These are the generations where violence and amoral beliefs begin to unfold. It has now gone from a “feel good, me generation” to an “it’s only about me” generation. Therefore if a person does not like it, they may choose to kill in order to end the turmoil. The cult of Selfism which began with the “Great Generation” is now reaping what was sown.

Next time we will be looking at the philosophical side of this phenomenon.

God Bless,

Steven

THE CULT OF SELFISM AND THE POST-MODERN WORLD-Part 1

The following is the part 1 of a 6 part series from an essay which I entered into an essay contest. Over the next several days we are going to be looking at the cult of selfism and postmodernism from a historical, philosophical, sociological, and theological angle. I promise not to get to deep into the subject but get ready to start looking at our culture from a totally different viewpoint.

Introduction

On the morning of March 1, 2008 a family was woken up to a horrifying situation. Their sixteen year old daughter’s boyfriend and a friend broke into their house with the intent to commit a mass murder. Before the event was over the mother would lie dead of gunshot wounds along with the thirteen year old son and the eight year old son stabbed to death. The father lay playing dead on the floor with a gunshot wound to the head and two in the back. He quickly crawled out of the house as the two young men set it on fire to cover the evidence. The father dragged himself almost three hundred yards to a neighbor’s house for help. A mile down the road was an eighteen year old woman and the sixteen year old girlfriend waiting in a car to pick up the two murderers. In less than twenty four hours all were in custody and the sixteen year old girl’s father was in the hospital recovering from his physical injuries. Normally, this would not even be something that I would pay attention too except to pray for the family and for those who committed this horrible crime. I would probably give enough respect to the story to wonder why such an action had occurred then move on. This time the situation took on a new meaning because I work with a distant family member of the eighteen year old young lady who drove the get-a-way car.

On the surface we could speculate that the reason for the murders was over a sixteen year olds fascination with a nineteen year old man. The fact that the families wanted the two to split up because they felt the daughter was too young. We could rationalize that raging hormones had something to do with it. Or maybe a misguided belief that if the family was out of the way they could spend the rest of their lives together. All of these theories and thoughts may be true or it maybe more hideous, more involved or something which has taken a culture by storm and is now invading the very nature of our society. While the above reasons are true I have come to believe that such actions are the result of belonging to the religious cult of Selfism.

God Bless,

Steven