Daily Reading: Ezra 4-6 & Psalm 137
Ezra 4
4.1 According to the Bible Knowledge commentary, “The enemies of Judah and Benjamin refer to the people living in Palestine since the time of the fall of the Northern Kingdom in 722 b.c. The Assyrian Empire, which conquered the 10 Northern tribes, deported some of the people away to Assyria and brought in other peoples to intermarry (2 Kings 17:23-24). This tactic prevented strong nationalistic uprisings in the conquered lands.” It would be a mistake to apply this circumstance to the present day Middle East (on that note, do not neglect that a large number of Palestinian Arabs are our brothers and sisters in Christ).
4.2-16 The “enemies” make 3 attempts to halt construction on the temple and city. 1) they offer their help, with likely intent to sidetrack the project. Even more seriously, this help could be seen as illegal, since permission to build was limited to the people of Judah (see Ezra 1). 2) Bribes to the city officials 3) a letter straight to the top: to the King of Persia.
Note: This digression in the narrative clearly comes out of chronological order since Darius' reign comes before Xerxes and Artaxerxes (in chapter 5 we once again return to the time of Darius). This snapshot from the future is not unusual for historical writers of the era, were chronology is of secondary importance to the point that is being made (the same happens in the order of events in the gospels). The From the New Bible Commentary. “The reason for this digression is clear enough. The writer has just recounted the rebuff of an offer of help. This apparently harsh decision was justified by these later events, when the groups concerned revealed their true colors as indeed ‘the enemies of Judah and Benjamin’ (1). Since this is only the first of many accounts of opposition to the work of God in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, it serves as a warning that there is a constant need for vigilance, and that opposition is best dealt with while it is still ‘outside’ rather than allowing it to gain a foothold within the community, where it could be even more destructive.”
Note2: Interestingly, verse 7 switches from Hebrew (the default language of the OT) to Aramaic (the diplomatic language of the NT).
4.21 Notice that in Artaxerxes reply, he does not close the door entirely on the rebuilding of Jerusalem, he simply puts it on hold allowing for the possibility of resuming the work (which does happen under the direction of Nehemiah)
Ezra 5
5.1-2 Two prominent prophets (Haggai and Zehcariah) come to encourage the people in the building project, which had been under opposition. Despite obstacles, the work of God must continue. Just because we face opposition, doesn't mean we give up.
What obstacles have been placed in your way of obedience toward God? What obstacles are in your way? And how has God removed those obstacles in the pas?
5.3-17 The struggle is not over for the Jews. Now Tattenai, governor of the trans-euphrates stand in their way. However, more importantly is that the “eye of God” was watching over them.
Do not forget that the eye of God also watches over you.
5.11 The people's respones to the governor's question, “Who do you think you are!?” is a brilliant one: “We are the servants of the God of Heaven and Earth.” That response has power. If any of you are struggling to find your identity: try that on for size!
Ezra 6
6.1-12 Twenty years after Cyrus made the decree, Darius reaffirms it and in fact strengthens it. He includes a threat to anyone who does not support the project. These texts readily affirm that God is in control of even political processes. While Darius is (for all intents and purposes) king of the known world, God is still sovereign over even him.
6.13-16 This rededication of the temple is highly reminiscent of the original dedication by King Solomon in 1 Kings 8.
6.19-22 Important to a restored Israel is a renewal of their festivals. They are reentering into full covenant obedience. Even more significant is that this first festival is the passover, which marks the Exodus from Egypt—the central salvation event. Even salvation in the New Testament is modeled after the exodus. Once again, the people of God celebrate a God who saves!
Psalm 137
This is one of the most famous Psalms in the Psalter...or should I say “infamous.” Verse 9 is a tough one to swallow—as it should be.
137.1-4 From the New Bible Commentary: “The unsung song. To the grieving exiles (1), memories were bitter and joy was consigned to the past. Deliberately so—for the captors demanded songs and joy. But the Lord’s songs are statements of truth and acts of worship, not items in a concert. Furthermore, there is a proper time for weeping. Life is not ceaseless joy. Also, the invitation to sing was a veiled invitation to settle down—you’re Babylonians now! But they could not forget or conform. They were in a foreign land.”
137.5-6 These verses are primarily about remembering where your citizenship. While it was true that we were created for this world (see Genesis 1) and that our final home is HERE (see Revelation 21-22), we should not forget that our citizenship is in heaven. Paul writes in Philippians 3.15, “Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”
137.7-9 Now the really tricky part. How are we supposed to reconcile the words “Happy are those who seize your infants and dash them against the rocks” with Jesus words, “Love your enemies.” Christians have been wrestling with texts like these since the beginning. A few options to deal with these texts are as following.
1) The early Church put all of the Psalms on the lips of Jesus. These should not be seen as our personal prayers. This means that the imprecatory Psalms should be read as “war cries” of the Jesus. They are compatible with his judgment of evil; he incorporates these themes into the line of the Lord's Prayer: “Thy Kingdom Come.” As such these prayers are uttered only about the enemies of God, not our “personal” enemies out of vengeance. Furthermore we pray to God's glory and with the hope that through judgment they might be converted.
2) Some call them “man's defective prayers.” Even CS Lewis calls them “devilish.” Many more try to disassociate them from the mouth of God. These people call Psalms like this “pre Christian” or even “less Christian.” My professor called this a “Psalm-ectomy.” While this is the easy way out, it is quite dangerous (and even arrogant) for us to take the surgical knife to the Word of God, picking out which parts of the Bible we like and ignoring the parts we don't.
3) We can take Psalms like this on an individual basis and explain them metaphorically. For example, this Psalm would metaphorically be saying: we want to cut evil out at the root.
4) Here is another option in the form of a summary of a book by Eric Zenger, God of Vengeance. Zenger sets up the psalmist as victim and the “enemy” as oppressor (the shape of the imprecatory psalms typically include a cry for help, a rational that they are being oppressed, and then wish for the elimination for the source of their oppression). For Zenger, the physicality of these oppressors cannot be explained away as demonic. They hold individuals or specific groups and structures responsible for their oppression. Instead of taking personal revenge, the psalmists calls on God to be his/her rescuer (28) and sees it fitting that he should also work against these structures of oppression (33). Ultimately the appeal is to God's intervention on the basis of his justice. He reminds God that “my enemies are your enemies too!” Zenger implies that the problem is not with the Psalms themselves, but with us. We impose our own 21st century cultural values on these Psalms. Furthermore, we have very little exposure to injustice and have disconnected ourselves with God's justice/judgment in the present. Instead, referencing Ratzinger, many contemporary Christians have reduced justice to moralism, forgetting God's commitment to restorative justice (64). Imprecatory Psalms are essentially cries for justice in response to the problem of evil. This justice can come at an individual level (the accused comes to know his sin), but will at least come at cosmic level (God is working to restore all things). The good news is that there is a difference between good and evil, justice and injustice. God is on the side of justice and is able to enforce it. The wrath of God has been misunderstood. God as avenger reflects God's personal response to injustice as savior to the oppressed, not an uncontrolled emotional act of revenge—either from God's action or the psalmist's plea (72). Today, we forget to cry for Jesus' swift return.
Sermon - Audio
