Good Morning “Learners From History.” Today we are in Nehemiah 7.
The wall is completed. Homes are not yet built. As Nehemiah surveys all that God has done he purposes to register and gather the genealogical records of those who have returned.
As we’ve talked, Israel’s struggle in many ways parallels The Church of today. Let’s never forget why they had to leave Jerusalem in the first place. The people departed from The Word of God and living according to it. They embraced other ideas and philosophies, and began to worship idols and other gods. God gave repeated warning through the prophets but eventually His patience turned to justice and He turned the Babylonians against them and took them into exile.
Check out the description of Jerusalem found in Lamentations:
“How deserted lies the city, once so full of people! How like a widow is she, who once was great among the nations! She who was queen among the provinces has now become a slave. Bitterly she weeps at night, tears are on her cheeks. Among all her lovers there is no one to comfort her. All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies.”
Lamentations 1:1-2 NIV
How does an entire nation fall that far? Well it doesn’t happen over night. It’s a slow fade. One person at a time falls away from The Word of God and quits living according to it. One person at a time embraces contrary ideas and like we are warned throughout Scripture, those ideas rub off on those around us. Like a cancer they spread.
“After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals. They forsook the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. They aroused the Lord’s anger because they forsook him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.”
Judges 2:10-13 NIV
Older timers such as myself have watched it happen with the US - in just our lifetime.
The beauty of that cancer analogy is this… it actually works the opposite way too! We can return! We’ve just witnessed the process through Judah. When the people return to The Word of God, repent and once more begin living according to it we become the salt and light God called us to be (Matthew 5:13-16). Funny thing about light - it dispels darkness (1 John 1:5-7, Psalm 18:28). Need a further demonstration or analogy… walk into a dark room and turn on a light. Notice the dark NEVER wins!
Love you all! Dig in! We’re not just readers of The Word but those who live it out!
The wall is completed. Homes are not yet built. As Nehemiah surveys all that God has done he purposes to register and gather the genealogical records of those who have returned.
As we’ve talked, Israel’s struggle in many ways parallels The Church of today. Let’s never forget why they had to leave Jerusalem in the first place. The people departed from The Word of God and living according to it. They embraced other ideas and philosophies, and began to worship idols and other gods. God gave repeated warning through the prophets but eventually His patience turned to justice and He turned the Babylonians against them and took them into exile.
Check out the description of Jerusalem found in Lamentations:
“How deserted lies the city, once so full of people! How like a widow is she, who once was great among the nations! She who was queen among the provinces has now become a slave. Bitterly she weeps at night, tears are on her cheeks. Among all her lovers there is no one to comfort her. All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies.”
Lamentations 1:1-2 NIV
How does an entire nation fall that far? Well it doesn’t happen over night. It’s a slow fade. One person at a time falls away from The Word of God and quits living according to it. One person at a time embraces contrary ideas and like we are warned throughout Scripture, those ideas rub off on those around us. Like a cancer they spread.
“After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals. They forsook the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. They aroused the Lord’s anger because they forsook him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.”
Judges 2:10-13 NIV
Older timers such as myself have watched it happen with the US - in just our lifetime.
The beauty of that cancer analogy is this… it actually works the opposite way too! We can return! We’ve just witnessed the process through Judah. When the people return to The Word of God, repent and once more begin living according to it we become the salt and light God called us to be (Matthew 5:13-16). Funny thing about light - it dispels darkness (1 John 1:5-7, Psalm 18:28). Need a further demonstration or analogy… walk into a dark room and turn on a light. Notice the dark NEVER wins!
Love you all! Dig in! We’re not just readers of The Word but those who live it out!
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