Steven Wales

Heroes and Villains. Jeremiah 42:19-22.

Old western movies employed the hat-color device: good guys wore white hats and bad guys wore black hats. There is even a Wikipedia page discussing the trope.[1] But the reality is not always so simple, particularly in the Bible. These are real people, not fictional characters, and the heroes seem to let us down atContinue reading “Heroes and Villains. Jeremiah 42:19-22.”

The Captain of the Guard Comes for Jeremiah. Jeremiah 39:4-6.

Image. Corrie Ten Boom being released from Ravensbruck Concentration Camp. (This is a still from the 1975 film the HIDING PLACE starring Jeannette Clift as Corrie Ten Boom.) Jeremiah had reason to be scared. The pagan king Nebuchadnezzar had no regard for Jeremiah or Jeremiah’s God. The Captain of Nebuchadnezzar’s Guard “came … unto JerusalemContinue reading “The Captain of the Guard Comes for Jeremiah. Jeremiah 39:4-6.”

King Washington? Judges 8:23.

The story goes that George Washington turned down a chance to be king—that but for his amazing self-restraint, the United States would be a monarchy today. Like so many stories of our heroes and villains, the tale of Washington refusing the crown has been oversimplified. As the Revolutionary War neared its end, an older officerContinue reading “King Washington? Judges 8:23.”

The Beautiful City. Ezekiel 27:3.

Image: Santorini, Greece. I LOVE living in the country. But few things are as amazing as a world-class city. Don’t believe it? Think of it this way—with the exception of natural wonders, every incredible thing you can think of can be found in the world’s greatest cities: London, Paris, New York, Tokyo, Shanghai, Cairo. ThinkContinue reading “The Beautiful City. Ezekiel 27:3.”

Ask Your Father for a Blessing! Joshua 15:19.

Yesterday I read an interesting phrase. The writer said the father of Benjamin Franklin had 17 children “of which to dispose.” But it’s not what you think. The arcane phrase simply means Josiah Franklin had to find jobs, apprenticeships, husbands, or other arrangements to secure the future of each of his 17 children. Dispose, usedContinue reading “Ask Your Father for a Blessing! Joshua 15:19.”

Slavery. Jeremiah 34:17.

In the Post-Enlightenment West, liberty means agency or self-determination, even when you use your liberty to bind yourself. Let me explain: liberty means a landowner can do anything with his real estate. The owner is free to sell, to buy, to lease, to rent, to sell the underground minerals while retaining the surface, to leaseContinue reading “Slavery. Jeremiah 34:17.”

Cleanliness is Next to Godliness … Sometimes. Ezekiel 24:6,12-13.

Image. Three children of a Depression-era migrant worker in Michigan, 1940. Americans were not always so clean and shiny, our teeth the envy of the world. One Brit traveling in the Midwest in 1819 described Americans as “filthy, bordering on the beastly.”[1] He could not get used to “dirty hands, heads, and faces everywhere.” SettlersContinue reading “Cleanliness is Next to Godliness … Sometimes. Ezekiel 24:6,12-13.”

Sin City: Jerusalem. Ezekiel 22:6-16.

Just as individuals have personalities, groups of people have personalities. Ask any teacher—no two classes are the same, and you love some and you … struggle to love others. Group personalities are even present in extremely large groups. Churches, cities, even nations have personalities. Several factors drive group personalities. One is proximity. People who liveContinue reading “Sin City: Jerusalem. Ezekiel 22:6-16.”

Humble Yourself Under the Mighty Hand of God. Ezekiel 19:1-14.

Could anything have been more terrifying in a world without gunpowder than lions? Imagine an absolutely silent hunter, yet one whose roar can be heard up to five miles away. Lions once roamed the earth in far greater numbers than they do today. Among other things, gladiators fighting for their lives in the Roman ColosseumContinue reading “Humble Yourself Under the Mighty Hand of God. Ezekiel 19:1-14.”

Can We Enjoy American Prosperity While Also Enjoying American Diversity? Ezekiel 17:22-23.

American Exceptionalism. The United States is special. A huge, bountiful land, filled with fresh water and rich farmland. Our history of exporting food won us the name the “breadbasket of the world.” This is a place of liberty, democracy, freedom, and equality. Never in human history were such critical human rights provided to so manyContinue reading “Can We Enjoy American Prosperity While Also Enjoying American Diversity? Ezekiel 17:22-23.”