I just finished reading the books Ezra and Nehemiah. Wonderful and easy reads, I recommend them. Two things stuck out to me: the ‘gracious hand’ of God and ‘we.’
‘Gracious hand’ This is referenced to God in both books. As the book of Nehemiah draws out in a spectacularly sweeping narrative of Israel’s history—good and bad—he highlights that throughout, God has been gracious to his chosen people. The people of Israel and Judah were exiled, taken captive, explicitly because of their disobedience to the God who not only made them but saved them! And God, making good on his promise, is restoring his people and bringing them back to his promised land. So God is being over-the-top gracious with these people who keep turning their backs on him (see even the last few chapters of Nehemiah and how the people still disobeyed right when the wall was finished). But this term is not merely applied to the big, clear, abundant mercy which God had on his chosen ones; rather, the ‘gracious hand’ of God was intervening in the kings palace, with the faithful who peered over the rubbled walls to prevent the enemy from attacking, the many builders of both the Temple and the wall, and even setting God’s enemies against themselves. The hand of God was clearly gracious in big AND minor day-to-day ways. This hasn’t changed with those who are his today.
‘We’ I don’t much like the concept of we and frankly, it ain’t American…. I hope that sounds really stupid to you because it is… but I still believe too much of the statement to be proud of. In Ezra and Nehemiah the leaders, the real, good, actual, for the good of others, leaders knew this reality of ‘we.’ When the leader would confess his sins he would say all the sins everyone committed. ‘Oh he is saying that because he did all the sins in his heart.’ No he isn’t! He is saying that because he is so connected with his people that their sins are his sins—in a sense—; their failure his; their successes, his; their happiness, his. We don’t have this today. It is so foreign to us we would laugh at it if it knocked on our front door. The idea of ‘we’ is how the people of God work. Described as a body and bride, branches, etc… it us the Modern reader who is off, not the NT or OT people. When the people of God see themselves as a ‘we’ instead of a me and them things change; people are cared for; sins are forgiven; God is worshipped; the world drools at our peace and laughter. True love reigns, not some dumb rainbow, unicorn, weird guy with a `fro holding a neon John 3:16 sign at sporting events… no, love is where hurt is because love, from God, is the only thing which heals. It should not be a surprise that many of the minor prophets were prophesying against injustices against those whou had no power to protect themselves: the leaders were seeing opportunities to forward themselves and not help their brothers and sisters; remember also the beginning of Proverbs 31, to speak out for those who have no voice--'we' is in play; 'we' are all filled with eternal souls and 'we' all need our God.
God is a ‘we,’ an ‘our’ and if we are his, so we become.
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