Tag: oppression

Restoration (Jeremiah 30:1-11a)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you. The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave their ancestors to possess,’ says the Lord.”

These are the words the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah: 

“This is what the Lord says:

“‘Cries of fear are heard—
    terror, not peace.
Ask and see:
    Can a man bear children?
Then why do I see every strong man
    with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor,
    every face turned deathly pale?
How awful that day will be!
    No other will be like it.
It will be a time of trouble for Jacob,
    but he will be saved out of it.

“‘In that day,’ declares the Lord Almighty,
    ‘I will break the yoke off their necks
and will tear off their bonds;
    no longer will foreigners enslave them.
Instead, they will serve the Lord their God
    and David their king,
    whom I will raise up for them.

“‘So do not be afraid, Jacob my servant;
    do not be dismayed, Israel,’
declares the Lord.
‘I will surely save you out of a distant place,
    your descendants from the land of their exile.
Jacob will again have peace and security,
    and no one will make him afraid.
I am with you and will save you,’
    declares the Lord.” (New International Version)

The cry of Jeremiah the prophet, by Slovakian artist, 1937

To be restored is a beautiful thing, namely because it presupposes that someone or a group of people were dilapidated and in need of healing. Restoration implies that something was lost, but now is found.

If you have lost things like finances, a home, a car, precious memorial items, a job; or relationships such as a marriage, a friendship, estrangement from family members; or your health to disease or disaster; or even lost your mind or your soul – you can completely understand the longing for restoration and wholeness.

The Jews lost their homeland, their property, their temple, and their dignity to the invading Babylonians. Babylon took everything from Judea. The people became exiled in a strange land. Only some poor folk were left behind in a land that was ravaged.

This was the place that was once referred to as a land of milk and honey, a good home of abundance and blessing. But in the prophet Jeremiah’s day, it was becoming a thing of the past. Would the people ever recover what they had lost? Is restoration even a possibility? Could they learn to hope again?

Into a time of distress and despair, God spoke, and said that yes, it is possible; yes, restoration can and will happen. The people will not be in captivity forever.

Things can get so bad that you become physically sick, emotionally spent, mentally fearful, and spiritually disheartened – as if your life has been ripped from you without mercy and with malice. Yet, what is true of us today is not necessarily going to be true of us tomorrow.

Oppression is a terrible thing. To be constantly harassed by others or by chronic pain or by adverse situations is draining; it sucks the life out of us. Into these sorts of circumstances, God says to us, “I am with you, and I will save you.”

Perhaps tomorrow comes and nothing changes. The pain is still there. The mean-spirited people haven’t gone anywhere. The lost things are not found. And yet, there is something primal and universal which has always been here and shall never go away, no matter the circumstances: God is with us, and God loves us.

If we have the spiritual eyes to see, we will notice that God is alongside us, weeping with us. God knows a thing or two about the sort of suffering and pain that is unimaginable.

“Why does not God do something sooner, if God is so loving and powerful?” you may ask. If you are a parent, you have likely had a child ask you why you are doing something to them that feels awful. You know that emotion of feeling hurt alongside them. You also know that there is sometimes no way you can adequately explain to them what’s going on.

You commit yourself to being there, being present, and assuring the child that you aren’t going anywhere. So, when it comes to us, why is it so hard to understand that God is not a divine Santa or a cosmic Genie granting our every wish? If we want kids to understand, then perhaps we ought to first understand our own relationship as God’s children.

There will be times of trial and tribulation, even divine judgment. Yet there shall also be deliverance from evil, and salvation from sin, death, and hell. The yoke of oppression won’t last because there is the promise of restoration.

No matter how nasty, misguided, or sinful the political leadership and governmental system, none of those rulers or politicians have the last word – God does, not them. Grace has the final say, utilizing a restorative mercy which cannot be undone.

The days are coming when there will be a new future, based in the resolve of God to accomplish it. Fortunes shall be restored. Rehabilitation and renewal are ahead for the faithful. Healing will happen, whether it be in this life, or the next.

Things may seem impossibly hopeless now, but God can and will overrule the present evil machinations of oppressive rulers. Terror may be on every side, yet the Lord will break the bonds of oppression; God will burst the unjust practices. Indeed, God will save.

Therefore, we need not fear, for God is with us; and divine intervention is nearly here.

O God of heavenly powers, by your holy might, be present to us in your goodness and grace; banish all injustice and unrighteousness and restore your people in the strength of faith. Amen.

There Is No Other God (Daniel 3:1-30)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are thrown into a fiery furnace, by Chris Torre

King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue. It was ninety feet high and nine feet wide. He set it up in the Dura Valley in the province of Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar then ordered the chief administrators, ministers, governors, counselors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the provincial officials to assemble and come for the dedication of the statue that he had set up.

So the chief administrators, ministers, governors, counselors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. They stood in front of the statue the king had set up.

The herald proclaimed loudly: “Peoples, nations, and languages! This is what you must do: When you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, zither, lyre, harp, flute, and every kind of instrument, you must bow down and worship the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Anyone who will not bow down and worship will be immediately thrown into a furnace of flaming fire.”

So because of this order as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, pipe, zither, lyre, harp, flute, and every kind of instrument, all the peoples, nations, and languages bowed down and worshipped the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

At that moment some Chaldeans came forward, seizing a chance to attack the Jews. They said to King Nebuchadnezzar:

“Long live the king! Your Majesty, you gave a command that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, zither, lyre, harp, flute, and every kind of instrument should bow down and worship the gold statue. Anyone who wouldn’t bow and worship would be thrown into a furnace of flaming fire. Now there are some Jews, ones you appointed to administer the province of Babylon—specifically, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—who have ignored your command. They don’t serve your gods, and they don’t worship the gold statue you’ve set up.”

In a violent rage Nebuchadnezzar ordered them to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They were brought before the king.

Nebuchadnezzar said to them: “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: Is it true that you don’t serve my gods or worship the gold statue I’ve set up? If you are now ready to do so, bow down and worship the gold statue I’ve made when you hear the sound of horn, pipe, zither, lyre, harp, flute, and every kind of instrument. But if you won’t worship it, you will be thrown straight into the furnace of flaming fire. Then what god will rescue you from my power?”

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar: “We don’t need to answer your question. If our God—the one we serve—is able to rescue us from the furnace of flaming fire and from your power, Your Majesty, then let him rescue us. But if he doesn’t, know this for certain, Your Majesty: we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you’ve set up.”

Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and his face twisted beyond recognition because of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. In response he commanded that the furnace be heated to seven times its normal heat. He told some of the strongest men in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the furnace of flaming fire. 

So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were bound, still dressed in all their clothes, and thrown into the furnace of flaming fire. (Now the king’s command had been rash, and the furnace was heated to such an extreme that the fire’s flame killed the very men who carried Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to it.) So these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell, bound, into the furnace of flaming fire.

Then King Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in shock and said to his associates, “Didn’t we throw three men, bound, into the fire?”

They answered the king, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”

He replied, “Look! I see four men, unbound, walking around inside the fire, and they aren’t hurt! And the fourth one looks like one of the gods.” Nebuchadnezzar went near the opening of the furnace of flaming fire and said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”

Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire. The chief administrators, ministers, governors, and the king’s associates crowded around to look at them. The fire hadn’t done anything to them: their hair wasn’t singed; their garments looked the same as before; they didn’t even smell like fire!

Nebuchadnezzar declared: “May the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be praised! He sent his messenger to rescue his servants who trusted him. They ignored the king’s order, sacrificing their bodies, because they wouldn’t serve or worship any god but their God. I now issue a decree to every people, nation, and language: whoever speaks disrespectfully about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s God will be torn limb from limb and their house made a trash heap, because there is no other god who can rescue like this.”

Then the king made Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego prosperous in the province of Babylon. (Common English Bible)

Daniel’s three companions in the fiery furnace, by Adrianoupolitis Konstantinos, 1725

At the core of today’s story, and of the entire book of Daniel, is the assertion and demonstration that there is no other God but Yahweh.

King Nebuchadnezzar believed that he himself was big stuff. It turns out, not so much. Even the great king ended up confessing that there is no other god who is able to deliver like the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. When the mighty king looked into the fire, all of his pomp and control and wrath and power proved to be nothing before the One God of all.

The earthly king threw all of his weight into showing how powerful and great he could be; and all of that unleashing of kingly destructive force did absolutely nothing to even singe the hair of the three worshipers of God.

Nebuchadnezzar did a lot of talking, a lot of posturing, and showed a lot of anger. Conversely, God said nothing, and was supremely successful over him. Turns out that Nebuchadnezzar was only a little yippee puppy barking in front of the large Mastiff dog who could squish him with but a movement of his paw if he wanted.

The experience of King Nebuchadnezzar is a telling lesson on all earthly rulers who presume to be supreme and all-powerful in their position.

And even in the great king’s confession of God’s true might and power, it’s almost tongue-in-cheek, as if Nebuchadnezzar himself is delusional enough to think that he’s the one who is setting up God as God. For those who are familiar with the prophecy of Daniel, they know what’s coming up in Nebuchadnezzar’s future that will purge him of that idea once and for all.

In truth, whatever strength Nebuchadnezzar had, it was God-given. In reality, you and I are recipients of God’s grace and strength; not a one of us conjured up our own success.

Things like a pompous attitude, a spirit of self-centeredness, and a position of hubris are totally out of sync with the values of God’s rule and reign on this earth. We fret and strut upon the stage of this planet in vain; the Lord is really the One who holds it all. Carrying the world on our shoulders is to be way out of touch with our job description as humans. Such a thing will only make us look as foolish as old King Nebuchadnezzar.

In between a rock and a hard place, within the throes of trouble, there is no step by step formula in dealing with it. Even in searching for clear instructions betrays that we desire to have situations within our own control. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not presume upon God, but fully trusted God and knew that they had no control over the circumstance other than choosing their own attitude in it.

All of the officials had gathered before Nebuchadnezzar’s statue; but by the end of the story they stood as witnesses to the work of the true God. Their worship of the statue had gained them nothing; they ended up under a new threat from Nebuchadnezzar. The king commended Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s defiance of his decree, but followed it with a new decree commanding the worship of their God.

King Nebuchadnezzar commanded others, but he himself did not worship. His death-threat is hardly a fitting way to bring people to worship the true God. That sort of behavior ought to highly instruct us in this American  election year cycle.

The oppressor does not have the last word. God creates a future beyond oppressive human systems.

Sovereign Lord, I pray that You will right all wrongs taking place in our world; and vindicate those being treated unjustly. Keep us from taking matters into our own hands, for vengeance is Yours, not mine. In Your grace and mercy, give justice and peace to all who have been cruelly and unfairly treated by their fellow humanity. May injustice and carelessness end, and may all people be drawn into Your saving arms of grace. Amen.

Injustice Makes Everything Weird (Zechariah 11:4-17)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

This is what the Lord my God says: “Shepherd the flock marked for slaughter. Their buyers slaughter them and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, ‘Praise the Lord, I am rich!’ Their own shepherds do not spare them. For I will no longer have pity on the people of the land,” declares the Lord. “I will give everyone into the hands of their neighbors and their king. They will devastate the land, and I will not rescue anyone from their hands.”

So I shepherded the flock marked for slaughter, particularly the oppressed of the flock. Then I took two staffs and called one Favor and the other Union, and I shepherded the flock. In one month I got rid of the three shepherds.

The flock detested me, and I grew weary of them and said, “I will not be your shepherd. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish. Let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.”

Then I took my staff called Favor and broke it, revoking the covenant I had made with all the nations. It was revoked on that day, and so the oppressed of the flock who were watching me knew it was the word of the Lord.

I told them, “If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.” So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.

And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the handsome price at which they valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord.

Then I broke my second staff called Union, breaking the family bond between Judah and Israel.

Then the Lord said to me, “Take again the equipment of a foolish shepherd. For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hooves.

“Woe to the worthless shepherd,
    who deserts the flock!
May the sword strike his arm and his right eye!
    May his arm be completely withered,
    his right eye totally blinded!” (New International Version)

Injustice makes everything weird. Leaders who treat others with dishonor and disrespect are only looking to take advantage of people for their own selfish purposes. Unfortunately, such leaders try and make their leadership appear as if they care about the people they lead – even though they really don’t. This is what makes a group of people led by a charlatan feel insecure, confused, and unsure about things.

Today’s Old Testament lesson is a rather confusing allegory of ancient Israel’s history. Despite God’s desire to lead the people in righteousness and justice, many (if not most) of the leaders oppressed them.

As a sign of what was going on, and what was about to happen, the prophet himself was called to lead the people. He shepherded a flock that was marked for slaughter. The shepherds before him were only concerned about their financial bottom line and fleecing the sheep.

When the prophet took over, he used the shepherd crooks of “Favor” and “Union,” indicating that he was concerned to extend grace and form unity around what is right and just. Although the wicked shepherds were forced out from their leadership, the prophet became exasperated in caring for the sheep.

Thus, he destroyed the shepherd staffs – symbolizing God’s rejection of the flock. The owners of the flock paid the prophet thirty shekels of silver, which were then thrown into the potter’s field. New Testament readers will immediately connect this to Judas Iscariot. All of this is a demonstration of the wealthy trying to try pay off God for them not properly shepherding the sheep.

God, however, raised up another worthless and evil leader who shepherds the flock through oppression and injustice. For which the Lord then curses such leadership.

Yes, it’s all a convoluted affair – which is typically what sin does to everything and everyone it touches. Sin messes with and mucks up people to the point that they don’t know which way is up.

What makes it all even more complicated is the reality that the sheep are just as bad as their shepherds. The people got the leaders they deserved. So, the prophet had the unenviable task of watching over a group of people marked for divine judgment.

But, of course, not every single individual is guilty. Some are true victims who don’t deserve any of the injustice that was happening. And that is the very sad thing about the presence of unrighteousness, wickedness, and injustice – that good people, trying to do the right thing, have to endure such suffering of both body and soul.

And the prophet became a victim of the flock. No amount of money can make up for people who treat their leader poorly by refusing to accept the shepherd’s genuine care, clear warnings, and true counsel.

It’s a sad situation whenever people become so stubborn and self-centered that they are unable to receive good things when offered to them. The only thing people have to look forward to, in such a situation, is divine rebuke and retribution.

There are things much more valuable than money. Honor, respect, dignity, listening, obedience, wisdom, humility, righteousness, justice, and salvation are vitally important and needed – and of greater worth than any sort of financial sum.

Wolves are kept at bay by faithful shepherds who are concerned for the flock. This is how God leads and cares for people. So, evil shepherds who fleece the flock, as well as wicked sheep who oppress their shepherds, are especially heinous to God.

A flock who detests a good shepherd will end up getting a predatory tyrant for a leader, as a means of both divine judgment, and as a way of weaning people back to good leadership. Suffering at the hands of bad shepherds has its root cause in a failure to value and respond properly to the loving care and discipline of the ultimate and true Good Shepherd of the sheep.

It is impossible to be in right relation with God apart from listening to and obeying God’s Word. No matter who we are – whether leader or follower, shepherd or sheep – all must consider the worth of justice and the evil of injustice in navigating the world we live in. For injustice, indeed, makes everything and everyone a creepy sort of weird.

O God:
Give me strength to live another day;
Let me not turn coward before its difficulties or prove recreant to its duties;
Let me not lose faith in other people;
Keep me sweet and sound of heart, in spite of ingratitude, treachery, or meanness;
Preserve me from minding little stings or giving them;
Help me to keep my heart clean, and to live so honestly and fearlessly that no outward failure can dishearten me or take away the joy of conscious integrity;
Open wide the eyes of my soul that I may see good in all things;
Grant me this day some new vision of your truth;
Inspire me with the spirit of joy and gladness;
and make me the cup of strength to suffering souls;
in the name of the strong Deliverer, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

God Will Make a Way (Exodus 2:1-10)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Moses is saved from the water by Pharaoh’s daughter, by Marc Chagall, 1966

Now a man from Levi’s household married a Levite woman. The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She saw that the baby was healthy and beautiful, so she hid him for three months. When she couldn’t hide him any longer, she took a reed basket and sealed it up with black tar. She put the child in the basket and set the basket among the reeds at the riverbank. The baby’s older sister stood watch nearby to see what would happen to him.

Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe in the river, while her women servants walked along beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds, and she sent one of her servants to bring it to her. When she opened it, she saw the child. The boy was crying, and she felt sorry for him. She said, “This must be one of the Hebrews’ children.”

Then the baby’s sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Would you like me to go and find one of the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?”

Pharaoh’s daughter agreed, “Yes, do that.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse it for me, and I’ll pay you for your work.” So the woman took the child and nursed it. After the child had grown up, she brought him back to Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopted him as her son. She named him Moses, “because,” she said, “I pulled him out of the water.” (Common English Bible)

A new Pharaoh was enthroned in Egypt. Enough time had gone by that the legacy of Joseph as the administrator in saving many Egyptian people was lost. So, because the Israelites had grown to such large numbers, Pharaoh was afraid.

The politics of fear typically results in somebody getting oppressed. Indeed, fear became the driving force to a series of escalating oppressive policies initiated by Pharaoh, even to the point of planned infanticide. The Jewish midwives were instructed toward this end.

But the midwives did not fear the Egyptian Pharaoh. Instead they had a healthy fear of God (Exodus 1:17, 21). With such rightly ordered fear, the Jewish midwives defied the order of Pharaoh and openly disobeyed the royal command to murder Hebrew boys.

Here then, we have the setting for a special Hebrew baby to be born named Moses. He is the healthy child of two devout Levites. And although God’s name is not referenced in the verses for today, we can nonetheless see the providence and protection of the Lord within the narrative.

Through a complex chain of events, both the birth mother and the royal daughter care for this baby, protecting his life, with a divine provision for the needs of the infant Moses. Most stories in the Old Testament have contrasting characters within them, and today’s is no exception.

Pharaoh was the ruler over all of Egypt, and yet, he feared a loss of power and the status quo because of the Israelites – even though he reigned during a time of political peace, with hegemony reaching into the Middle East. As Pharaoh’s paranoid fear rose, so did God’s response of divine sovereignty over him, by providing protection against his diabolical intentions.

In contrast to Pharaoh, a powerless and non-descript Hebrew couple were married, conceived and bore a family of a daughter and two sons – Moses being the youngest. They had nothing, yet everything; whereas Pharaoh had everything, yet nothing. Thriving and flourishing has to do with a lot more than wealth and material resources.

Maternal care is powerful. And it finds a way to win the day and not only save a baby, but also to ensure that the baby grows, lives, and thrives. No royal edict can defeat the resilient strength of maternal compassion.

Despite Pharaoh’s increasing oppression, the compassion of several women ends up raising the very one who will lead the Israelites into liberation from this oppression.

With the Lord, a way will be found where there is no way. God + nothing = everything.

For us today, there is often a tendency to look back on the good old days when God did great things, and to look ahead when the Lord will return and make all things new and right. Yet we too often neglect to be mindful and live in the present moment, and know the God who is present with us right now.

We may remember the awesome deeds that God once did; and rejoice in biblical stories which demonstrate the Lord’s power, provision, and protection. We may look forward to the fulfillment of God’s promises in the person of Jesus when he returns, and gain hope from that.

Now, in this present evil age, and in this messed up world, we also have the God of the present tense. God will make a way, in this present time, where there seems to be no way. God is doing something new and amazing for us today.

And that way will be clear enough for us to know – and incredible enough for us to not predict or imagine. For God’s watch-care and deliverance can (and does) take many forms. When the Lord fulfills divine plans, it sometimes comes in the most creative and incredible way possible, so that we will have no doubt where it came from.

“God Will Make a Way” by Don Moen

God will make a way, Where there seems to be no way
He works in ways we cannot see, He will make a way for me
He will be my guide, Hold me closely to His side
With love and strength, For each new day
He will make a way He will make a way

By a roadway in the wilderness, He’ll lead me
And rivers in the desert will I see
Heaven and earth will fade
But His Word will still remain
He will do something new today