Freed from Captivity

March 6, 2022 Background Scripture: Ezra 1; 2:64 - 70 Lesson Passage: Ezra 1:1- 8, 11; 2:64 - 70 The prophetic word of God was very clear. As unlikely as it might have seemed at the time, Jerusalem would be destroyed, and the people of God would go into captivity at the hands of Gentiles. Many of the Jews thought the magnificent temple that was constructed under King Solomon's rule would stand forever. It was their monument, or shrine, to the great God of the Jews. Unfortunately, the temple in Jerusalem had become more of an idol god than the place where God had placed His name. Many of their ancestors were truer to their faith when they lived and worshiped in tents. God warned them for years to repent and return to the first works, but they steadfastly refused. God allowed the temple in Jerusalem to be destroyed and His people to be taken as prisoners of war to a foreign land. The temple was once considered to be one of the seven wonders of the world. Many foreign dignitaries had traveled to Jerusalem just to see that amazing building. God allowed the king of Babylon to send a military to Jerusalem to burn it down and take the people captive. But the prophetic word of God did not end with God's people going into captivity. According to the prophecy God gave Jeremiah, the captivity would last for seventy years. Our lesson today begins at the end of the seventy years of captivity. At that time, God stirred up the heart of another Gentile king, Cyrus of Persia, to give a decree that ordered some of the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple and restore worship there. With one decree by a Gentile king, the Jews were led into captivity. With another decree by another Gentile king seventy years later, the Jews were set free and ordered to return to Jerusalem and restore the temple and worship. Throughout this time, God was in control of the hearts of the kings. Too often we overlook, or forget, that God is not just God of the people who have professed their faith in Him. God is God of everybody and everything. God controls all circumstances—either by direct engagement or through His permissive will that allows things to happen. In either case, God knows the details of the outcome. Events in time happen the way God allows them to happen. I confess to having mixed emotions whenever I read this historical narrative. I am reminded of just how fragile life is from our perspective and yet how controlled it is from the perspective of God. This seems to be a lesson that we are forever leaning. The Jews of the past are examples for Christians. It is like growing up with older siblings. We can save ourselves a lot of pain and disappointment by learning from their experiences. But too often we fail to learn the lessons of others' experiences—and some experiences of our own. "O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear," rings true from generation to generation because of our failure to learn the lessons of the past. One lesson to be embraced from this study is the faithfulness of God. After being warned for many years, the Jews suffered the fate they were warned would happen. But in today's lesson, they received the blessing God promised them would follow seventy years later. Even in judging their sin, God showed mercy. God never forsakes His own. Even when we deserve punishment, God does not destroy us or cast us off forever. God tempers His judgment with mercy. The Jews went into captivity because of their sin, and because of God's character, the Jews were freed from captivity. Robert C. Hudson February 12, 2022

Job and the Just God

February 27, 2022 Background Scripture: Job 42 Lesson Passage: Job 42:1 - 6, 10 - 17 At the end of the Book of Job, Job had come to a more spiritually mature understanding of God's relationship with people. Job did not attribute his new understanding to being taught by a person, but rather his own personal experience. There is nothing like experiencing God for yourself. Contrary to the opinion of some, God doesn't become real to us because we read the Bible. But rather the Bible comes alive as we experience God in our lives. At that point, the Bible is no longer just words written in a book. Experiencing God gives new meaning to the word of God. Job admitted that he was ignorant before his experience. Ignorance means lack of knowledge. Ignorance is not the same as stupidity unless one wants to remain ignorant. Job thought he understood some things about God that he did not understand. Not only was Job willing to acknowledge his prior ignorance, but he also prayed a prayer of repentance. Experiencing God is always greater than anything we can be taught—or happen to read. Additionally, now that Job had a new awareness of God, God showed Job that there was another step that Job needed to take. Job needed to pray for his friends who had falsely accused him. This is not always an easy assignment. God personally rebuked Job's friends and sent them to Job with a sacrifice to be offered along with Job's intercessory prayer for them. At this point, God was placing Job in the position of being a priest for his friends. They brought sacrifices to Job so that he could offer prayers to God on their behalf. Although it was not required, God restored twice as much wealth to Job as what he previously loss. That's God's faithfulness towards His own. God also gave Job seven more sons and three more daughters. There are three things I find noteworthy about the rebuilding of Job's family. First, when it comes to property or livestock, the restored amount was twice as much as he owned previously. However, when it comes to children, the numbers are the same as before. This seems to speak to the perpetuity of the human soul. Job's first ten children were killed by a great wind destroying the house while they were in it, but they were still his children. In other words, there was no reason to give him six more daughters and fourteen more sons since the first group was still Job's children After all this had come to past, Job would count six daughters and fourteen sons as offspring. The second thing worth noting is that the names of the last three daughters are given. Neither the names of the first three daughters nor the names of any of the sons were given. Finally, it is worth noting that it was unusual during the times of the patriarchs for daughters to be given the right of inheritance alongside sons. Job gave his daughters that right. After these things, Job's friends and extended family came to visit and console him. Job lived an additional one hundred forty years after the events that are recorded. Those additional years allowed Job to see his offspring to four generations. I have no doubt that the additional years of Job's life were also spent teaching his family and friends the ways of God more perfectly. We sometimes speak of the patience of Job, but the events of this book speak more of the newfound wisdom of Job. It is wisdom because Job applied this newly gained knowledge of God: Even when the circumstances of life seem unfair, God is always a just God. Robert C, Hudson January 22, 2022

Bildad Misspeaks God's Justice

February 20, 2022 Background Scripture: Job 8 Lesson Passage: Job 8:1 -10, 20 - 22 The cultural behavior of those in the Book of Job, and Job's age, suggest that the events took place during the times of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. On the other hand, the theology being expressed suggests that this could have taken place at any time—including today! This type of theology tends to define God on human terms. Unfortunately, when we speak of God in human terms, we don't always remember that we can never think of God's character as being on our level. Bildad spoke of God's actions as "cause and effect". In other words, he described God as responding based on our actions or inactions. Bildad even suggested that Job should consider the teachings of their ancestors who lived before them. The theology was simple: If a godly person experiences hardship, then somehow, they have offended God and He is punishing them. On the other hand, if a godly person does well, then God rewards them. This theology is no different than the "prosperity gospel" proclaimed by many today. Perhaps the biggest flaw with this theology is that it ignores the sovereignty of God. God does whatever He chooses to do. God is not bound by anything to act based on another's actions—or twisted desires! If God chooses to bless a wicked person, He will. If God chooses to withhold blessings from the righteous, He will do that too. When we ignore God's sovereignty, we see Him as one dimensional and predictable. Idol gods are great for this type of thinking. We define what idol gods are and what they do. We determine how to get them to respond in the manner of our choosing. In essence, we decide the character of idol gods. This is not the case with God. We cannot comprehend the mind or character of the only living God. We only know what God chooses to reveal to us. Job's struggle was that his experiences were inconsistent with what he thought he understood about God. Job prayed earnestly for God to open his understanding and enlighten him. Job knew that something was going on that was beyond his understanding of God. It was unfortunate that as Job wrestled with this mental conflict, his friends came to see him, and then they judged him based on their own misunderstanding about God. In our ignorance, we want the justice of God to be a very simple concept too. We are woefully unprepared for such a simple concept of divine justice. First, this type of justice does not allow for grace. Secondly, this type of justice does not presuppose that God will ever temper His divine justice with mercy. And then worst of all, this simple concept of divine justice means our actions could tie God's hands and leave us to face the consequences of our sins. We can all thank God today that there are so many things we don't understand about Him. But as we consider this lesson, let us apply the same thoughts when we witness the misf01tunes of others. A difficult life is not synonymous with the absence of God's grace. Neither does it mean that the person is reaping what they have sown. Sometimes God gets glory when He sustains the righteous as we endure hardship. The answer to one's thorn in the flesh just might be: "My grace is sufficient; for My strength is made perfect in your weakness." We should learn from Bildad a lesson in how to comfort others as they endure hardships in life. We should be extremely careful to not go beyond what God has allowed us to understand about Him and His ways. When we lack understanding, it is tempting to misspeak concerning God. Robert C. Hudson January 8, 2022