by 5-10 min answers to Christian and cultural topics.
An online-first approach to planting and building a cross-denominational fellowship of Christians in Central Kentucky. Return to our first love in God through concise and convicting messages. Available in text, audio, and video formats. Find out more or support the cause at www.prodigals.online <br/><br/><a href="https://prodigalsonline.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast">prodigalsonline.substack.com</a>
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June 11, 2024
<p>One of the hallmarks of Jesus’ ministry was His reproach of the religious leaders in His day. The Sadducees and Pharisees were his frequent adversaries. Modern believers know these groups by name, though they may not know the difference between them. That exploration is for another message.</p><p>Suffice it to say that BOTH religious groups vehemently defended the Word of God–albeit incorrectly. Both interpreted the Torah differently, yet they each held incredible societal influence. Though their understanding was erroneous, at least they tried, right?</p><p>Compare their zeal to that of the Old Testament Israelites. Generations did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. Various minor prophets predicted and lamented the oncoming wrath to no avail. Their indifference or blasphemies resulted in their exile across the Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian empires. Compared to the generations of lax observance, one might think a stricter overreaction in Jesus’ day would be a welcome reprieve. </p><p>For over 1,000 years, the Israelites struggled to adhere to God’s rules, but NOW (...err… around 0 CE), the Jews are too observant. How? And why? It’s important to revisit the cultural context.</p><p>As the Jews tried to rebuild Israel, there were three post-exilic prophets–Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. Their messages had a strong influence on the fledgling Jewish community. Haggai’s words implored the imperiled Israelites to “Give careful thought to your ways.” (Haggai 1:7, NIV) in how they rebuilt the temple. God promised the high priest, Joshua–through Zechariah–a heavenly standing “If [he would] walk in my ways and keep my requirements.” (Zechariah 3:7, NIV) Zechariah also contains admonitions of the Israelites’ intentions during fasting (7:5), warns how obstinance resulted in wrath (7:14), and condemns the selfishness of wayward leaders (11:6). When paired with Malachi’s question-and-answer revelation of poor faith and stewardship, the apocalyptic prophecies in the rest of Zechariah certainly loomed large in their minds. For a community surrounded by enemies (Nehemiah 4 & 6) and familiar with the brink of destruction (Esther 3), faithful obedience was literally life and death. These Israelites were constantly surviving miraculously as the overwhelmed underdogs. There was no other explanation for their salvation beyond God. In their weakness, God’s power was made perfect. (ref. 2 Corinthians 12:9). The fear of the Lord was their regular hope.</p><p>This zeal, however, manifested itself in cruel ways. The first recorded example comes from Ezra 9 and 10. Ezra was a well-taught descendent of the priestly line of Aaron, Moses’ brother (Ezra 7:6, 7:10). Though the temple had been rebuilt, Ezra led the people into more serious observance through public Scripture reading and restoration of ritual sacrifices (Nehemiah 8). This culminates in Ezra chapters 9 and 10, where Ezra leads the other priests in public mourning for the ways in which the Jews had intermarried with surrounding nations. By mingling the “holy race,” as some leaders claimed in Ezra 9:2, many were accused of leading the people astray. With Zechariah’s warnings fresh in their mind, fear swept through. The reaction was swift and severe.</p><p>Every man who had returned to Israel had three days' notice to assemble in Jerusalem, or he would forfeit his property. (Ezra 10:8) As one mass congregation, Ezra commanded them to separate themselves from their foreign wives (10:11), and their intercultural children (10:44). Few could refute Ezra’s renowned and studied understanding of Scripture. So, his command stood, dividing families in the process.</p><p>If we callously read the Bible with an implicit endorsement from God, then the casual observer may feel indifferent about this or may applaud the Israelites' desire to “purify” themselves to the Lord. After all, believers are called to forsake their own families for their faith, if necessary (see Luke 14:26). However, biblical records are not a categorical endorsement from God. In fact, much of it contains the history of those opposing God’s will. God does not give Ezra, or anyone else, this instruction. So, we must look at this event for what it is: systematic racism that destroyed families and lives under the name of God. </p><p>This–I contend–is the first written example of Israel’s extreme overcorrection toward piety over peace and manipulation over mercy.</p><p>Ezra’s edict ignores the intention of the originating law. Found in Exodus 34:16, God warns, “when you choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will lead your sons to do the same.” (Exodus 34:16, NIV) God’s desire is not to preserve the “holy race,” as Ezra’s fellow leaders desired. God’s desire was to protect their faith.</p><p>These families had been exiled from Jerusalem for 70-120 years. Much of the population had been decimated; who else would they marry?</p><p>These families braved a dangerous journey (Ezra 8:21) to resettle in a destroyed nation. They contributed offerings and labor to rebuild the temple and city walls.</p><p>Nothing suggests that these now-divided families worshipped idols. Their acts of faith in returning to Jerusalem suggest the opposite. Only a strict interpretation of Scripture, without context, mandated this severe sacrifice.</p><p>The leaders ignored God’s word through Moses to “not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.” (Exodus 22:21, NIV)</p><p>They ignored God’s word through Isaiah to “Let no foreigner who is bound to the Lord say, ‘The Lord will surely exclude me from his people.’” (Isaiah 56:3, NIV)</p><p>They ignored God’s word through the then-living Zechariah against the oppression of the foreigner. (Zechariah 7:10)</p><p>The religious leaders used the fear of death and wrath to coerce obedience. They did not lean on God’s words of love, mercy, and justice–they chose segregation and power cloaked in the name of ”faith.” They did not care how few rights women and children had. This overreaction set the stage for Jesus to arrive with the ultimate message of love–not only for the Jews but also for the Gentiles. (see: Galatians 3:28)</p><p>Now, there were two leaders who disagreed with Ezra’s command (Ezra 10:15). Like Joshua and Caleb before them, they could not convince the crowd to make the right choice, and the larger population paid the price.</p><p>Are we not living in similar times? Politically, religiously? Fear of loss–whether profession, finances, freedoms, or life–drives us to rallies and ballot boxes. Fear of damnation puts excessive pressure of holiness on believers. I applaud holiness as a means for spiritual growth but not as a weapon for group obedience.</p><p>Christians have to tread the tension between love and fear carefully. We are called to love our enemies so that they may believe. We are called to fear the Lord’s awesome power. When we start judging other’s specks of sin in their eyes, the logs in our own grow. </p><p>The Pharisees and Sadducees got it wrong and led the people in condemnation for 400 years. We must heed the warnings Jesus gave those leaders and instead seek the justice, mercy, and humility that God calls us to. Let’s leave the judgment in God’s hands.</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://prodigalsonline.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1">prodigalsonline.substack.com</a>
June 7, 2024
<p>Symbols make it easy for people to come together for a common cause. Take national flags, for example. You may not know every country’s flag, but you know yours. At the Olympics, millions of people are singularly identified by one colorful rectangle. Though countries are distinct through their traditions, geographies, laws, and languages, none of those are as easy to latch an identity onto. For those who hold those identities dearly, flags concisely encompass all they hope–or dread–their country to be.</p><p>Flags can also be used by opposing forces for drastically different causes. Revolutions will waive their country’s flag while trying to dismantle its own governance. Some US citizens stormed the Capitol building to stop what they understood to be a false election, desecrating a cherished institutional symbol while waving the same flag flying on top of it. Ironically, the same flag may represent drastically different futures to different people. Therefore, symbols like flags more accurately represent what people hope for more than what they may actually be.</p><p>This is reminiscent of the imagery of blood throughout the Bible. Human beings come in different shapes, sizes, colors, and languages, but the presence of blood binds us all in a common experience. Man can be represented through his common share of blood. God declared, “For the life of a creature is in the blood.” (Leviticus 17:11, NIV). We now know that DNA separates species from one another, but our blood is heavily loaded with that DNA. We all can visualize blood. We easily recognize it. The symbol of blood represents our life–and, therefore, our species’ identity–just as a flag represents our country’s heritage.</p><p>Like flags, “blood” can also represent corporate identities. We are reminded of family bloodlines–this was certainly important in biblical contexts across priesthood and kingship. We can also see it in national identities, especially when the Israelites were forbidden to intermarry with surrounding cultures. So powerful is the concept of blood in national contexts that the Assyrian empire would exile half the population of conquered nations and “import” different nationalities into the region to intermingle the bloodlines. Biblically, this is most evident in 2 Kings 17. Blood binds man, nations, and families together.</p><p>It is safe to say, then, that blood is a most precious symbol of God’s creation. That must be why God explains the ritual sacrifices as, “I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.” (Leviticus 17:11, NIV) The offering of an animal’s blood is the closest symbol that correlates to the death of man’s life due to sin. As our poor actions steal the promise of our lives, the Israelites must exchange one life for another. Each atoning sacrifice was a reminder of the death of our potential perfection.</p><p>Though the Israelites had not yet received the laws included in Leviticus, they experienced atonement through the blood firsthand in Egypt. During the Passover in Exodus 12, the Hebrews took a young, unblemished male lamb and prepared it roasted fully over a fire. Having saved some blood, they smeared it on the sides and top of their doorposts. God told them, “The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you.” (Exodus 12:13, NIV) Little could the ancient Israelites know just how precious the blood of atonement would one day be through Jesus, but it set the stage for them to be united by blood–both the lambs’ and their own.</p><p>It’s also the sensitivity of this symbol that made any interaction with blood so rigorously unacceptable. When Cain slays his younger brother, Abel, God hears Abel’s spilled blood cry out from the ground (Genesis 4:10). Though Abel died, his blood carried his identity. Like our identity, our blood was not meant to be stolen by another. </p><p>When Old Testament men came in contact with a woman’s menstrual blood or a dead animal or a dead person, they remained unclean until evening (Leviticus 15). Blood was not to be shared with another.</p><p>No one was to consume any blood. God would set His “face against that person.” (Leviticus 17:10) Whether for health reasons or symbolism, blood was not to be consumed by another.</p><p>Blood is the sacred identifier of an individual, whether a person or a beast. Their DNA is a unique imprint, given by God in accordance with His will on their life. Anyone attempting to steal, share, or consume it aims to destroy what God held precious. </p><p>Yet, Jesus arrived with opposite intentions. In both literal and metaphorical ways, Jesus came to have His blood spilled on Calvary by others, instruct His disciples to “consume” His blood through Communion, and share His blood with us in one final atonement. Jesus’ blood equally symbolized everything He is: His identity as God and Man, His provision of Salvation, and His hope for what man could be.</p><p>But just as His blood offers atonement for all who take refuge in it, it similarly condemns those who don’t. When God commanded the sacrificial rules, He warned, “Any Israelite who sacrifices…in the camp or outside of it instead of…the Tent of Meeting…that man shall be considered guilty of bloodshed.” (Leviticus 17:3-4, NIV) The angry Jewish mob that demanded Jesus’ life sent Him outside of the city–to Calvary–to die. Their oblivious sacrifice and obstinance cursed them within the Old Covenant as well as the New. </p><p>Like a flag torn between two opposing sides, Jesus’ spilt blood represented retribution for the Jewish leaders, whereas Christians now know it to mean reconciliation; it was always meant to. Though the Israelites were anointed to welcome the Suffering Savior, they were also the ones to spill His blood. However, for those of us who choose to see His blood as our atonement, that must be what we rally around—not a dynamic speaker or our favorite church brand. The blood alone. As Jesus poured out His life—His blood—for us, we must give our lives for everything It represents. His identity as the one unblemished Lamb is the only one worth uniting around as one nation under the blood. </p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://prodigalsonline.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1">prodigalsonline.substack.com</a>
June 4, 2024
<p>There are a dozen ways to answer a question like this–many of them correct, many more incorrect, and none of them comprehensive. Especially within a ten-minute delivery limit (I steer towards five if I can), there simply isn’t enough time to discuss all the sociological themes at play. There are many books written about it for those craving all the knowledge. Is it postmodernism? Is it social media’s influence? Is it the new generation? Everyone has a culprit to blame, but what if the blame belongs to the Christians? </p><p>They say (whoever they are) that those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it. Some of history’s greatest figures were indeed historians themselves who knew which way to pave forward instead of repeating well-trodden arcs. Specifically, within a bible-centered perspective, I suggest we look at our failing Western church through a historical lens–a biblical historical lens–to draw conclusions and even solace in ways that our survey statisticians and modern philosophers simply cannot. So, let’s try that.</p><p>At the height of ancient Israel’s power, “King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth.” (2 Chronicles 9:22, NIV) Kings sought his audience and offered him gifts of weaponry and fine metals for it. His throne was completely overlaid with ivory and gold. His was “the good life.” It would appear to any observer that God had fully delivered on His Abrahamic promises.</p><p>30 years later, God’s chosen nation is divided into two. In eight more generations, both were conquered, and Solomon’s majestic temple to God was ransacked and ruined. Not so good anymore. </p><p>How did it all fall apart so quickly? Historians will discuss the ascendency of the global empires, as Assyria gave way to the Babylonians, who gave way to the Persians, with ultimate influences of Greek and Roman conquests. Anthropologists may cite the further development and defense of nations over city-states, the rise of Greek philosophy, or the influence of Eastern ethos on Mediterranean cultures. But make no mistake–the ancient Israelites brought catastrophe upon themselves.</p><p>Secularly, a nation divided and warring with its former brothers is much more vulnerable than one united. Religiously, the Bible records the people’s continual descent into sin and error, inviting God’s wrath. No matter how you slice it, the people of Israel sealed their own fate.</p><p>Perhaps the Western church has done the same. Both ancient Israel and the modern Western church (MWC) had lost their divinely appointed purpose as they leaned into behaviors of the surrounding cultures instead of being the antidote. Both ancient Israel and the MWC ascended to prestige, wealth, and influence on the back of God’s Word, only to opt for more through political means. Ancient Israel and the MWC were plagued by poor leadership that was particularly overcome by sin, whether it be Ahab and Jezebel of antiquity or the terrible sexual exploitation of children and church staff we read so frequently about. Israel and the MWC both gave up their God-given identities for political and secular indulgences. When this happened, the world saw them for what they truly were–vulnerable humans no longer protected by the grace of their God.</p><p>But in God’s plan, there’s always a remnant. When Elijah is despondent about being God’s only faithful servant left, God replies, “Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal” (1 Kings 19:18, NIV) When the ancient Hebrews were more fearful of the Canaanites than trusting in the Lord, two men–Joshua and Caleb–remained faithful (Numbers 14). As the world’s leaders bowed to a golden image of Nebuchadnezzar, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah remained standing (Daniel 3). When the odds are stacked against God’s elect, He strengthens the few.</p><p>At the height of Solomon’s earthly glory, he alone had 12,000 horses at his command (2 Chronicles 9:25). 422 years later, when the Jewish people returned to rebuild the temple, the entire population only had “736 horses, 245 mules, 435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys.” (Ezra 2:66-67, NIV) Israel had ascended to power like a flash in the pan, only to be decimated through war, famine, and exile. </p><p>Yet, a remnant remained.</p><p>This is our history. Jewish history is Christian history, up until a point (Jesus). The MWC is repeating that history. It has enjoyed the height of its secular fame and political power but now sees its numbers decline and its median age rise as it offers no salt to those lost in the muck and mire that is our culture. As the Assyrians and Babylonians dismantled all that the ancient Israelites secularly leaned upon, today’s culture has now similarly turned its ire on the church for its hypocrisies, moral failings, and pursuit of power. God, as He has historically done, allowed the MWC to chase the fleeting winds of power to its own demise. </p><p>Sure, this message does not break down all the philosophical trends of modern man to understand how an ancient religion no longer jives with current luxuries and choice, but those studies squarely focus on the MWC while ignoring the growth of Christianity in the global south. Yes, there are many socioeconomic differences between Western standards of living and 2nd-world countries, but the Father, the Son, the Spirit, and the faith are all the same. They grow in one place while the MWC stumbles in decline. Maybe the fault isn’t with the faith–maybe it is with the faithless.</p><p>This message reveals our repeating role in our faith’s troubles. The MWC has not read the Bible as it should, meaning it does not know its history. The MWC has chased legislated morality through elections over personal piety. The MWC is afraid to speak of sin because it measures itself by the worldly standards of property size and attention through attendance. Instead, if the MWC “will humble themselves and pray and seek [God’s] face, then will [He] hear from heaven and forgive [our] sin and heal [our] land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14, NIV, adaptation mine). God spoke these words to Solomon at the height of Israel’s fame and power. It’s almost as if God knew where they–where we–would one day end up. </p><p>All it takes is a remnant. It can begin with us right now through prayer, fasting, reading, and seeking. Yes, for us Western Christians, we appear to be losing the culture war as postmodernism rips our children’s identities away, and numbers of our brethren ride the coattails of a political despot. The numbers are overwhelmingly against us, yet God’s power is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). Like Paul, let us rejoice in our weakness as we wait for God to rebuild His church through our true deep faith. If we hold up our end of the bargain, He’s promised both Solomon and us that He will keep His. He knows our history, yet He’s merciful enough to repeat His. </p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://prodigalsonline.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1">prodigalsonline.substack.com</a>
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An online-first approach to planting and building a cross-denominational fellowship of Christians in Central Kentucky.
Return to our first love in God through concise and convicting messages. Available in text, audio, and video formats. Find out more or support the cause at www.prodigals.online <br/><br/><a href="https://prodigalsonline.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast">prodigalsonline.substack.com</a>
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