Nehemiah 2:1-4   And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before. Therefore the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart.” So I became dreadfully afraid, and said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire?”  Then the king said to me, “What do you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven.

Coming into the presence of the king looking sad was indeed dangerous.  The king could have removed Nehemiah without looking for a reason and have him executed, but Nehemiah had a relationship with God and had His number on speed dial, “So I prayed to the God of heaven.”  God showed up and touched the heart of the king.  Favor followed, and Nehemiah was given the tools needed to fulfill his calling.

You may never have access to the President of the United States, but you do have access to the very presence of Almighty God.  The writer of Hebrews tells us, “Let us, therefore, come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb 4:16) “So we may boldly say: “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”  (Heb 13:6)

Nehemiah 1:1-4  The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. It came to pass in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the citadel,  that Hanani one of my brethren came with men from Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who had survived the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.  And they said to me, “The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.”  So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

The account of Nehemiah is a great example of a person being called into ministry and the opposition that comes along with it.  As the work increases and Nehemiah pursue the work at hand, so the opposition from the enemy also intensifies, for the enemy is not ecstatic about your calling, you’re wrong.

Nehemiah may have come from either a priestly or royal lineage based on a reading of Nehemiah 10:1-8.  It’s possible that Nehemiah had never seen Jerusalem in person but had heard the accounts from his parents.  Upon hearing the report of Hanani Nehemiah was overwhelmed with a burden for Jerusalem and the people.  His reaction was to seek God through fasting and intercessory prayer for many days.

2 Kings 2:11-13   11 Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.  12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces.  13 He also took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan.

Receiving the burden from God is like Elisha picking up the mantle that fell from Elijah, and he was carried away:

1.      You’ve got to pick it up.  Nehemiah didn’t have to pick up the burden for Jerusalem; he could have ignored it and gone on with life.

2.      The mantle carries the weight of responsibility.  God not only finishes what He starts, but He expects us to do the same.

3.      The mantle has power.  Not only does God call but he equips.

4.      The mantle identifies you—“ And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,” (Eph 4:11)

When Nehemiah picked up the burden, he set the course for his life.  What has God placed before you?

Political Satire

This time of year life slows down in the pasture, the trees have shed their leaves, producing a carpet of browns and yellows on the ground.  Wait, is there something stirring in the far corner, by the big oak tree? Over in the hollow was a church, not just any church, no, this was the Hollow Church.

“Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms.” Singing filled the air, yes, it was Robin, Minister of Music, clearing away the leaves from the door of the Hollow Church, one leaf at a time.  “Hello!” said Robin. “Glad you could make it haven’t seen you in such a long time.” “Let me update your readers, after all, some might not know about the Hollow Church,” said Robin. “We are an Evangelical, fundamentalist, conservative fellowship, that believes the Moses and Charlton Heston used only the King James Version of the Bible and that John was a Baptist, Freewill of course.” “Bill Badger and Ned, the horse, are still deacons,” Robin continued, “and Marge, the parrot, is still the lead for intercessory prayer.  She gets all the latest news from Fox, though I never have been keen on those cunning Foxes that hang around at the farmhouse or the Weasels that live over by the bright birch.” The wind blew, rearranging the leaves and we went inside for a cup of tea. Bulletins still lay on the pews, with sermon titles such as ‘all elections are divine’ and ‘getting up when you fall from grace.’ Robin saw me looking at the bulletins.  “That was a powerful word,” said Robin piping up, “the preacher told us that we are in the last days and that if we don’t stand for the principles of law and order, those liberals will take it away.” Robin didn’t explain what ‘it’ was.

Suddenly, there was a loud banging on the door.  Robin went to investigate. Opening the door, Robin saw a sizeable brown goat, chewing on the door frame, “get out of here,” he shouted as he slammed the door shut. Robin, flustered and angry continued, “why it is situations like this that pastor warned us about and why we needed a building fund to build a wall around the church to keep the likes of them out.”

I felt it was time to excuse myself.  Robin wished me well with a prayer for grace and peace, and that everyone was welcome, as long as they were like them. “Come back soon,” said Robin, “grace and peace.”

⁴ “Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith.  ⁵ “Indeed, because he transgresses by wine, He is a proud man, And he does not stay at home. Because he enlarges his desire as hell, And he is like death, and cannot be satisfied, He gathers to himself all nations And heaps up for himself all peoples.  ⁶ “Will not all these take up a proverb against him, And a taunting riddle against him, and say, `Woe to him who increases What is not his– how long? And to him who loads himself with many pledges ‘?  ⁷ Will not your creditors rise up suddenly? Will they not awaken who oppress you? And you will become their booty.  ⁸ Because you have plundered many nations, All the remnant of the people shall plunder you, Because of men’s blood And the violence of the land and the city, And of all who dwell in it.  (Hab 2:4-8 NKJ)

Behold the proud: Habakkuk wondered why Babylon – a nation even more sinful than Judah – would be used to bring judgment to Judah. In answering the prophet, God first assures him that He sees the proud, and knows that his soul is not upright in him.

• ·       Pride is everywhere and takes all manner of shapes.
• ·       Here is the rich man, proud of what he has
• ·       There is the poor man, proud of his “honor” in having less
• ·       Here is the talented man, proud of what he can do
• ·       There is the man of few talents, proud of his hard work
• ·       Here is the religious man, proud of his religion
• ·       There is the unbeliever, proud of his unbelief
• ·       Here is the establishment man, proud of his place in society
• ·       There is the counter-cultural man, proud of his “outcast” status
• ·       Here is the learned man, proud of his intelligence and learning

Judah’s pride came before their fall.  Babylon was proud and down they came.

 And look, here comes a chariot of men with a pair of horsemen!” Then he answered and said, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen! And all the carved images of her gods He has broken to the ground.” (Isa 21:9 NKJ)

 And another angel followed, saying, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” (Rev 14:8 NKJ)

Babylon in Isaiah and Habakkuk refer to the natural, and Revelation looks at Babylon in terms of the Roman Empire, a world system consumed with its own self-importance—would eventually collapse.

 ¹ What’s God going to say to my questions? I’m braced for the worst. I’ll climb to the lookout tower and scan the horizon. I’ll wait to see what God says, how he’ll answer my complaint. ^2-3And then God answered: “Write this. Write what you see. Write it out in big block letters so that it can be read on the run. This vision-message is a witness pointing to what’s coming. It aches for the coming—it can hardly wait! And it doesn’t lie. If it seems slow in coming, wait. It’s on its way. It will come right on time. Hab 2:1-3 The Message

Habakkuk was content to wait and see what God would do.  God’s instructions were to write it down, make it plain, and run with it.  It wasn’t for then—it had an appointed time.  Just suppose then that the vision and message was the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The Chaldeans were still coming, but God had a bigger plan.  Habakkuk adopted a ‘wait and see’ approach, but Jesus came with the message of the gospel, ‘the kingdom of God is at hand,’ run with it, make it plain, make a difference because I will be coming again soon.  When?  Don’t worry, I’m on my way and will be on-time. So will you be like Habakkuk and wait and see or will you be more proactive and take a kingdom now approach? Just a thought!

“Look among the nations and watch– Be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days Which you would not believe, though it were told you.  For indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans, A bitter and hasty nation Which marches through the breadth of the earth, To possess dwelling places that are not theirs.  They are terrible and dreadful; Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.  Their horses also are swifter than leopards, And more fierce than evening wolves. Their chargers charge ahead; Their cavalry comes from afar; They fly as the eagle that hastens to eat.  “They all come for violence; Their faces are set like the east wind. They gather captives like sand.  (Hab 1:5-9 NKJ)

 Habakkuk’s intercession on behalf of the nation cries out to God because of the violence, plundering, and injustice didn’t get the response he was looking for.  God’s reply, “I’m sending the Chaldeans.  Let’s put in a modern context. “Look among the nations and watch– Be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days Which you would not believe, though it were told you.  ⁶ For indeed I am raising up something or somebody even more evil than you.”  ‘You cannot be serious,’ that’s a paraphrase of Habakkuk’s reaction to God’s reply.  He could not believe that a holy and just God would send such a wicked, sinful nation to bring about correction.  Thinking he had heard wrong Habakkuk responds with, “I will stand my watch And set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected. (Hab 2:1 NKJ)

 Israel was about to realize the price they had to pay for being the children of God, bearing His name and living in the covenant.  God’s viewpoint was eternal and not temporal, and so He was willing to wait seventy years if that’s what it would take.

 Back to my paraphrase, “Look among the nations and watch– Be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days Which you would not believe, though it were told you.  ⁶ For indeed I am raising up greater evil to get your attention.”  We claim to ‘trust in God’, so could it be that God will hold us accountable when we trust everybody and everything but God—you decide

November 14, 2017. Studies in Habakkuk

The burden which the prophet Habakkuk saw.  ² O LORD, how long shall I cry, And You will not hear? Even cry out to You, “Violence!” And You will not save. ³ Why do You show me iniquity, And cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are before me; There is strife, and contention arises. ⁴ Therefore the law is powerless, And justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore perverse judgment proceeds.  (Hab 1:1-4 NKJ)

Habakkuk the prophet was a person just like us, frustrated with the state of the world, the violence, and terror.  The wicked seem to prosper, injustice is everywhere, and it seems as though righteousness is laughed at.  Keep the faith—God hears, sees and will act.

God’s response, in this case, wasn’t what Habakkuk was expecting; God was about to fight fire with fire by sending an invading army that would pillage, burn and take captive the people.  So as we wait for the Lord, let us make sure we’re doing all we can, as salt and light, to make a difference in our world, speaking truth to power.

After two days it was the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take Him by trickery and put Him to death. But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar of the people.” And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head. But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, “Why was this fragrant oil wasted? “For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they criticized her sharply. But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me. “For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always. “She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. (Mar 14:1-8 NKJ)

Mark paints the picture for us.  The religious Jews want to kill Jesus, but they didn’t want to go into the house for fear that they would be unclean, and Passover was so close. Judas the treasurer complained that poring the oil on Jesus’ head was waste, probably telling Jesus how he could sell the oil and use the money to feed the poor. The woman may not have had prior knowledge, but she had this valuable oil and wanted to come and worship.

Our actions should always be acts of worship, done unto Jesus.  If we have an ulterior motive, then it is best we don’t do it.

“For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? (Mar 8:35-36 NKJ)

Yesterday we looked at Mark 13, and I gave you a rather lengthy historical discourse to put that scripture in context.  Persecution was everywhere, groups were fighting each other, and there were those who wanted to play both sides of the fence.  The Zealots on one side wanted to fight, the religious hierarchy on the other side wanted to calm things down and placate the Romans.  Into the midst of all this, Jesus gave birth to his Church.  When you understand all this, the Revelation of Christ, written by John, makes sense.

As a Christian, eternal life was not to be a source of worry or concern, they were to take the gospel and share it with whomsoever. John tells the Christians in the Book of Revelation that no matter what they experience, Jesus is right there with them. So, like Paul, John, Peter and James tell us, in various ways, My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials.” (Jam 1:2 NKJ)

The danger for us today is not persecution, but complacency, being lazy and lukewarm.  We should thank God for the grace we have, but prepare ourselves for whatever the future holds.

Then as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!” And Jesus answered and said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?” And Jesus, answering them, began to say: “Take heed that no one deceives you. “For many will come in My name, saying, `I am He,’ and will deceive many. “But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows. “But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them. (Mar 13:1-9 NKJ)

Jesus knew what was to come not in the far, distant future, but the century following his death. Revolts were always brewing under the surface. In AD 66, on the Sabbath day, a Gentile offered a pagan sacrifice next to the entrance to the synagogue. There was an outcry from the citizens of Caesarea. The authorities in Jerusalem decided to end all foreign sacrifices, including the one for Caesar himself, in the Temple. Florus the governor, who lived in Caesarea, came to Jerusalem with troops, entered the Temple treasury, and took a large amount of gold. When people gathered to protest, Florus unleashed his legionnaires on innocent civilians of the city. Hundreds of women were raped, whipped, and crucified. More than 3,500 people were killed, including women and children.

The reaction was outrage. Mobs swarmed the streets, driving the outnumbered soldiers out of the city. The people stormed the Roman fort and burned the archives, destroying records of debts. The revolt spread. The Zealots surprised the Roman garrison and occupied the fortress of Masada. From this fortress, vast supplies of weapons were distributed. Though there were voices urging calm, even the nonpolitical Pharisees joined the Zealot movement in droves. Hearing of the Jewish rebellion gentiles killed Jews all around the empire, 50,000 were killed in Alexander alone. Gaius moved against the Jews with a garrison from Syria, but he was ambushed and his garrison destroyed.  The Jews had independence, even if it was for a short time.

In 67AD Vespasian, with 50,000 soldiers moved to Galilee, Joppa, and Jericho before surrounding Jerusalem. The Jews big problem was not the Romans as much as it was the in-fighting between liberals and conservatives. In 70AD the Romans breached the walls and destroyed the temple.

Emperor Hadrian renamed Jerusalem and built a temple to Jupiter. The Jews, angry at the Roman mockery, led a second revolt under the leadership of Ba Kokhba.  Hadrian responded with the full weight of the Roman empire. 580,000 Jews were killed. Jewish were banished from the region and only allowed to return on the 9^th Av to mourn their dead.  Judea was renamed Palestine.