Speaking Truth to Power

May 2, 2021 Background Scripture: 1 Kings 22:1 – 40 Lesson Passage: 1 Kings 22:15 – 23, 26 – 28 When we boast today of speaking truth to power, we do so in a very tame environment where those in power have pledged to protect our rights to speak. In essence, in this country today, that expression has very little meaning other than one clearing one’s own conscience. This would not have been the case for minorities prior to the 1970’s in the southern part of this country. Today’s lesson takes us back to a time and a place where the danger of speaking truth to power was always looming. Ironically, it was in Israel, of all places. Israel was established by God as a theocracy, or a God-governed nation. The truth should have been welcomed by all there. The truth should have been spoken by all there. God told Israel that their government was different and warned them that they should not seek to be like the people around them. However, although the nation was founded as a theocracy, and they were warned, Israel had become a monarchy like the other nations around it. The disposition of the nation depended almost solely on the disposition of the king. If the king was god-fearing, then the nation was led to be a god-fearing nation. But when the king was ungodly, then the governed were at the mercy of the king. Such an environment was not a favorable one wherein one could be at ease to speak one’s mind. The latter was the case involving today’s text. At the time, the northern kingdom of Israel was being led by an ungodly king, and the southern kingdom of Judah was being led by a god-fearing king. Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, went to visit Ahab, king of Israel. Ahab desired to go to war to take back some land that should have been Israel’s, but he wanted Judah to join with them in battle. Jehoshaphat knew that a decision of that magnitude needed God’s direction. When he was asked about joining in battle with Israel, he quickly asked that inquiry be made for the word of the Lord. In other words, is this battle something that God will sanction. Ahab had a group of prophets who were going to say whatever was favorable to the king. Israel’s four hundred prophets endorsed Ahab’s plan. Jehoshaphat recognized that this was not the word of the Lord. So, he asked if the Lord had any prophets there. The god-fearing king knew he was not hearing the word of the Lord. Four hundred lies were not sufficient to replace the truth. Ahab told him about one prophet there who he hated because he did not prophesy things that were good concerning him. And therein lies the problem: Ahab would rather have four hundred lies that felt good to him rather than the truth of God’s word that warned him of his faults! Jehoshaphat assured Ahab that the word of the Lord is what is desirable. Even the messenger who went to get the prophet told him how the other prophets were all in agreement and suggested that he should speak in accord with the others. What is unanimous might feel good and still be wrong. So, the prophet of the Lord spoke to the king, apparently with sarcasm, what the others were saying. Ahab recognized that the prophet was not being honest. So, Ahab commanded him to give the correct prophecy. He prophesied that Ahab would die in the battle. He also exposed the four hundred prophets as being controlled by a lying spirit. One of those prophets hit him in the face. Then he told him what his fate would be as well. He knew that the truth would cause him to be mistreated by Ahab. However, the only word he had was what God gave him. It was the truth and he spoke that truth to the powers that be. Robert C. Hudson April 16, 2021

The Nation’s Plea

April 25, 2021 Background Scripture: Lamentations 5 Lesson Passage: Lamentations 5 Lamentations is a written account of an eyewitness’ view of the people of God being punished for years of backsliding. The prophet Jeremiah is the author of this writing. There is no wonder Jeremiah was called the “weeping prophet”. How could a servant of God who had cried out against the sins of God’s people for such a long time not weep when those warnings went unheeded? Not only did Jeremiah prophesy about God’s displeasure with the actions of Judah, but he also warned them of the consequences of their actions. Once Judah’s punishment started, Jeremiah already knew how far it would go because of the prophetic word he received from God. This was the beginning of a seventy-year exile in foreign lands. The beautiful city of David and the magnificent palace and temple had been destroyed. All that David, Solomon, and the other kings who followed had worked to build now seem to be for naught. The splendor of the nation was gone. Even worse, a once proud and sovereign people had become servants of foreigners. The best and brightest of their young people were being deported to serve as slaves. Lamentations is littered from start to finish with the intercessory prayers of the prophet. In a real sense, they are sincere prayers of repentance. First, the prayers acknowledged that the punishment the nation was enduring was less than the punishment they deserved. Judah had received every conceivable blessing from God. Indeed, God had given her more than she asked in many cases. Yet, she did not draw closer to God but withdrew farther from His presence. Many of her leaders, beginning with several of the kings, did not walk in the precepts of God. They readily embraced foreigners who were not God-fearing. They also embraced some of the ungodly practices of other nations. Throughout that time, God continued to send prophets to call the nation to repentance. This continued for one hundred thirty-six years after the northern kingdom of Israel had fallen to the Assyrians. Secondly, the prayers described Judah’s condition and shame because of the punishment. What the prophet saw was horrendous, and he did not try to sugar coat it. He talked about the ugliness of what he witnessed. Thirdly, the prayers acknowledged God’s holiness, righteousness, and patience with His people. Even during punishment, God’s holiness was still recognized and worshiped. God does not change. The people of God will sometimes get out of character. God does not get out of character to correct His people. God remains steadfast in righteousness. Finally, the fourth part of those prayers were words of hope. There is the remembrance of God’s mercy even during punishment. So, the plea went out to God that He would temper His justice with His mercy. God was asked to do for His people what they seemingly could not find it within themselves to do; give them a change of heart so they could return to following Him. A person’s made-up mind is not an effective tool against sin. We can allow our will to make us servants of sin. However, our wills cannot deliver us from the grip of sin. Only God can deliver us from sin. This is never more apparent than when we are being punished for sin and make our plea to God for deliverance. Robert C. Hudson April 3, 2021

The Restoring Builder

April 18, 2021 Background Scripture: Nehemiah 2:11 – 20; 13:1 – 22 Lesson Passage: Nehemiah 2:11 – 20 The word “restoration” has so much packed inside of it. It embodies hope for returning to a point in time that is craved because of what it meant. It also includes the expectation of hard work because there is the need to restore what has been damaged or lost. It could also include painful memories of what might have transpired to cause the setback or overall failure to retain that which was once possessed. Sometimes, there is much more than this depending on what needs restoring. This was the situation for Nehemiah as he felt the pull of destiny to return to Judah. Nehemiah was the king’s cupbearer in Persia. Nehemiah was so trusted that his master depended on him to ensure the safety of whatever he was going to eat or drink. The Jews were carried from Judah to Babylon as punishment for their unfaithfulness to God. That’s a lot to live down for a people who were once a sovereign nation among others in the world. Perhaps the greatest sign of the shameful devastation was the destruction of the wall around the capitol city of Jerusalem. If a sovereign nation cannot defend its capitol city, it cannot defend its sovereignty. After the years of punishment had passed, God allowed some of the Jews to return to Judah. The glory of the nation was gone! The temple, once one of the great wonders of the world, was destroyed and replaced with one of far less magnificence. The exiles were returning but many returned in tears when they saw the remnant of a once proud kingdom. Those who returned were at the mercy of their neighbors because the wall around Jerusalem had been broken down and burned with fire. Their safety could not be ensured from day to day—especially at night. The word of the living conditions in Jerusalem made it back to the Jews who were still living in foreign countries. This included Nehemiah in Persia. The distressing news was heartbreaking to him, and it showed on his face. Nehemiah’s facial expressions did not go unnoticed by the king who received the cup from his hand to drink from. Why would Nehemiah be disturbed and give the king something to drink? The king asked and Nehemiah shared the plight of his fellow Jews in Jerusalem. The king offered Nehemiah more than he would have dared to ask of the king. Nehemiah was given a leave of absence to return to Jerusalem to lead the effort to restore the wall of the city. Furthermore, Nehemiah was given access to the building materials of Persia that were needed for the construction. This was not the point in time to roll the credits and announce that they lived happily ever after. Despite the king’s assistance, Nehemiah still faced challenges from both the Jews and their adversaries. Given the scope of work needed to finish the repair, Nehemiah had to organize a large company of the Jews to accomplish the work. Meanwhile their enemies mocked the work that was being undertaken. Nehemiah told the Jews about the hand of God guiding the circumstances that allowed him to be in Jerusalem, and he encouraged them in the work. Nehemiah rebuked their enemies and declared that the God of Heaven would make their work prosper. After the walls were finished, Nehemiah assisted in restoring order in the city according to the word of God. Restoration for Nehemiah included rebuilding the walls of the city and restoring order among the people of God according to the word of God. The work was difficult, and it took a long time. Nehemiah was not merely a cupbearer or a wall builder. He was a restoring builder for God’s people. Robert C. Hudson April 2, 2021

The Faith-in-Action Preacher

April 11, 2021 Background Scripture: Ezra 9 – 10 Lesson Passage: Ezra 10:1 – 12 James, the writer of the New Testament epistle that bears his name, is best remembered for his statement “Faith without works is dead.” Put another way, true faith is always accompanied by action or activity that supports faith’s claim. Some have adopted the mantra “I can show you better than I can tell you.” No matter how one chooses to say it, the bottom line is: how we act is based on what we believe. To act otherwise is to be labeled a hypocrite. When our actions align consistently with the mission and ministries of God, then our religious faith is demonstrated. Consistency is important when it comes to a person’s character being reflected. Regardless of what we say over and over, what we do over and over speaks louder than our words. Throughout recorded history, there have always been people who became role models because of their consistency of character in difficult situations. Today’s lesson focuses on such a person, Ezra. The recorded history of Ezra presents him as a “roll up his sleeves and get it done” type of person. What’s even better, Ezra is presented this way as a servant of God. Ezra is introduced on the pages of history with his pedigree that is traced back to Israel’s first High Priest, Aaron. In other words, Ezra was born into the lineage of priests according to the word of God. God had promised Israel that there would always be a descendant of Aaron to serve in the office of priest; to stand before Him on behalf of his people. Ezra had prepared himself to serve by being a student and teacher of the word of God. The historical backdrop for our lesson is the return of some of the Jews to Israel at the end of the seventy years of Babylonian captivity. Their return needed to include a return to the true worship of God as delivered to Israel through Moses. Judah had fallen into captivity because of her departure from the ways of the Lord. Their return to the Promise Land needed to include acts of true repentance. The hand of God was on Ezra and he was led up from Babylon to Israel. It did not take long for Ezra to realize that the work would be great in leading the Jews to return to God. Ezra found that everything that had led to Judah’s fall and captivity was still prevalent in the land. Many of the Jews had intermarried with Canaanites in opposition to God’s warning for them not to do so. The matter was made worse in that the Levites and the priests had joined in the blatant hypocrisy and disobedience to God. How could they lead the people to do right when they were doing wrong? Ezra fell on his knees outside the temple and prayed openly to God on behalf of the nation. The leaders of the Jews responded by suggesting that Ezra arise and lead them according to the word of God. They agreed that all among them who had intermarried would divorce their foreign wives. Ezra called for an assembly of the people in three days to address the matter. Not only had many of the Jews intermarried, but many of them had children by their foreign wives. This was a very difficult thing that Ezra was asking of them. Nevertheless, Ezra stood on the word of God and addressed the people on the third day. He insisted that the only way forward was for the people to comply with the word of God. To this they all agreed. Ezra’s example of seeking God and following the word of God led the people to align their lives with the word of God. Ezra didn’t just talk; he put his faith into action. Robert C. Hudson March 31, 2021