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 at least as often as the villains surprise us by doing something good.

Let’s dig into this story from Jeremiah and see where it takes us.

When King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon conquered the land of Israel, he installed Zedekiah as a puppet king to run things in his absence. Later Zedekiah was blinded and thrown in a Babylonian dungeon, and Nebuchadnezzar made Gedaliah his new vassal, giving him the title of ‘governor.’ Soon someone discovered the existence of a secret plot, and brought the intel to Governor Gedaliah.

“‘Dost thou know … the Ammonites have sent Ishmael … to slay thee? But Gedaliah … believed them not” Jeremiah 40:14.

Gedaliah felt safe. It’ll never happen to me, he thought. Then Johanon (we’ll call him Joe) offered to quietly assassinate Ishmael before he could hurt the governor. But the governor said no.

Several months later, Ishmael, encouraged by the Ammonites and possibly motivated by his royal blood (he was from the line of David), “arose and smote Gedaliah … with the sword, and slew him” Jeremiah 41:2.

Ishmael also killed everyone with Gedaliah. The next day, the black-hat wearing Ishmael took his bloodlust even further, killing 70 men traveling to Jerusalem for worship. The Bible does not record why Ishmael killed them. He seems to have committed another seventy murders for no reason other than to steal the money and food the men were carrying. Israel under Babylon was the Wild West—complete lawlessness. Total anarchy. Exactly what happens when a society lacks an executive to enforce its laws.

At this point, Joe returns to the narrative. He wants to kill Ishmael even more than he did before. He rounds up a posse (probably wearing white hats) and they pursue Ishmael. But Ishmael escaped to the Ammonites.

Joe failed to prevent the murder of Gedaliah, and then he failed to avenge it. Now Joe and those with him are afraid they will be punished by Nebuchadnezzar, “because Ishmael had slain Gedaliah … whom the king of Babylon made governor in the land” Jeremiah 41:18.

Fearing for their lives, Joe and those with him seek out the prophet Jeremiah, begging him to pray and ask God what they should do:

“We beseech thee … pray for us unto the Lord thy God, even for all this remnant … that the Lord thy God may shew us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do” Jeremiah 42:2-3.

Jeremiah says he will pray for them and he will tell the people exactly what God says. In response, they assure Jeremiah they will obey God.

“Whether it be good or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God, to whom we send thee” Jeremiah 42:6.

For ten days God was silent. Finally, he spoke to Jeremiah, and the prophet returned to Joe and all the people with God’s answer:

“Thus sayeth the Lord, ‘If you will abide in this land, then I will build you up, and not pull you down, and I will plant you and not pluck you up … Be not afraid of the king of Babylon … be not afraid of him … for I am with you to save you and to deliver you from his hand. And I will shew mercies unto you” Jeremiah 42:9-12.

(Sounds good so far, right? Stay in Israel, don’t be afraid of the Babylonians, and God will protect you.)  There’s more:

God says if the people do not obey, and if they insist on running off to Egypt to escape the Babylonians, they will be punished. “So shall it be with the men who set their faces to go into Egypt and sojourn there. They shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, and none of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will bring upon them” Jeremiah 42:17.

This seems simple enough. Joe and the others asked Jeremiah to pray and give them an honest answer from God, which they promised to obey. But God has revealed the hidden things to his prophet. Jeremiah knows that Joe and all the rest of the people never had any intention of obeying God. They came to Jeremiah hoping God would approve plans they had already made. Their minds were made up. We are going to Egypt, and we are taking Jeremiah with us. (Surely God won’t kill us if we hold his prophet hostage!)

Knowing their hearts, Jeremiah continues:

“Go ye not into Egypt! Know that I have admonished you this day. For you dissembled [lied] in your hearts when ye sent me to the Lord saying ‘pray for us’ … Now therefore, know certainly that ye shall die by the sword, by famine, and by the pestilence’” Jeremiah 42:19-22.

When Jeremiah finished, Joe and others responded, accusing the prophet of lying! “Thou speakest falsely. The Lord our God hath not sent thee to say ‘Do not go to Egypt’”  And they rounded up every Israelite they could find, including Jeremiah, and took them forcibly to Egypt, Jeremiah 43:2-7.

None would ever return.

But what happened to this Joe character? He tried to protect the governor from an assassin, but the governor would not listen to him. Then he tried to execute justice on the governor’s behalf, but the assassin got away. Then he led a group to beseech the prophet, asking him to pray for guidance and promising to obey whatever God said.

Then when Jeremiah provided God’s answer, Joe turns on him and accuses him of lying, takes him captive, and marches down to Egypt—the place where God promised they would all die by the sword, famine, and pestilence.

I thought Johanan was one of the good guys! I thought he was wearing a white hat.

But people will let you down, won’t they? The truth is, Joe was not about following God. When Gedaliah was threatened, Joe was ready to go to war. But when God said stay in Israel, Joe refused. Joe was doing whatever was best for Joe. This man was not following God at all—but he sure knew how to talk the talk, didn’t he?

Don’t we all know people like that, people who sound so deeply devout, like they absolutely love God with all their hearts … until something happens that reveals how selfish and godless they really are?

Look again at the convincing religious words of Johanan: “Whether it be good or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the Lord” Jeremiah 42:6.

This man is not wearing a white hat. Not even a grey hat. His hat is black, as is his heart.

“For false Christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect” Matthew 24:24.

“For such men are … disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds” 2 Corinthians 11:13-15.

Sadly, in the real world bad guys do not warn you by wearing black hats. Sometimes they disguise themselves by wearing white hats. What can you do? Whom can you trust?

Jesus said, “You shall know them by their fruits” Matthew 7:16.

Dear God, teach us to discern the fruit. Protect us from the con-men and liars and hypocrites. Help us discern among the spirits and to know whom to trust and of whom to be skeptical. Guide us by your Holy Spirit and protect us from wolves in sheep’s clothing.

AΩ.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_and_white_hat_symbolism_in_film

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 Jerusalem and he burnt the house of the Lord and the king’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem, every great man’s house burnt he with fire” 2 Kings 25:8-9.

The Captain of the Guard led the Babylonians in burning down Solomon’s Temple! Then he burned down the palace of King Zedekiah, all the houses of the best and brightest, and then began tearing down the walls of the city. The Captain of the Guard was destroying everything.

Then the Captain of the Guard went after the royal family:

“And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon” 2 Kings 25:7.

This story is recorded three times, once in 2 Kings and twice in Jeremiah.[1] “Then the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes … slew all the nobles of Judah … and put out Zedekiah’s eyes” Jeremiah 39:6-7.

The Babylonians were known for their cruelty, and this was no exception. They killed the sons of the king, made him watch, then immediately blinded him so the corpses of his sons would be the last things he ever saw. Then the grieving, blinded king was taken away to a Babylonian dungeon. “They carried him to Babylon and put him in prison till the day of his death” Jeremiah 52:11.

Judah’s leaders had tried to kill Jeremiah previously, throwing him into the muddy bottom of a cistern during a famine. Now he is languishing in prison, when he learns that the Captain of the Guard has arrived and wants to talk to him.

Jeremiah must have been concerned–the man who burned the palace and the temple and attacked the king and his princes has now come asking for Jeremiah.

When the Captain of the Guard comes to Jeremiah, he begins by defending Babylon’s actions, arguing Israel’s sins caused all this destruction.

“The Lord thy God pronounced this evil upon this place. Because ye have sinned and not obeyed the voice of the Lord, therefore this thing has come upon you…” Jeremiah 40:2-3.

Jeremiah must have been thinking ‘And why are you telling me this?…’ And then he got his answer:

“‘And now behold, I loose thee this day from the chains that were upon thy hand. You can come with me to Babylon or you can stay here in Jerusalem—whatever seems best to you’ … So the captain of the guard gave him food and a reward and let him go. Then went Jeremiah to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam … and dwelt with him among the people that were left in the land” Jeremiah 40:4-6.

Jeremiah was thrown in the quicksand of a cistern. Then he was abandoned in a prison. Finally, the Captain of the Guard comes to the prison. I can imagine Jeremiah thinking, ‘well, this can’t be good.’ But it was. The Captain of the Guard said a few diplomatic words, then told Jeremiah he was free to go. What an odd, anticlimactic moment that was. No angel choirs. No dramatic rescue. Just a few kind words, a sack lunch, and a handful of money, and “Okay. You’re free to go.”

This account reminds me of the release of Corrie Ten Boom at the end of her story THE HIDING PLACE. She was suffering in Ravensbruck, having watched her beloved sister die. Then one day they called her to the office and told her she was being released. Released? No one is released! From a Nazi Death Camp? Corrie Ten Boom buttoned her coat and walked out into the snow. Later her release was attributed to a clerical error.

But of course, God was behind it. Just as God protected Jeremiah’s life and saw that he too would be released. God had promised to protect Jeremiah: “‘Do not be afraid of them. For I am with you, to deliver you,’ declares the Lord” Jeremiah 1:8.

Will everyone be released? No. Some of God’s children will suffer and die, like Corrie Ten Boom’s sister, Betsy. But God’s children will never suffer alone.

“Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” Matthew 28:20.

Keep the faith and have courage!

AΩ.

[1] These events are also recorded in the extra-Biblical record known as the Babylonian Chronicle ABC-5. The Babylonian Chronicles are a collection of some 45 ancient stone tablets that record the history of ancient Babylon. The tablet designated ABC-5 (the “Jerusalem Chronicle”) documents the activities of King Nebuchadnezzar and is one of the many ancient writings that confirm the historicity of the Bible.

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 officer was afraid his Army pension would never be paid (because there was not yet a federal government to pay it and the various states were each hoping the others would pay the new nation’s bills). That officer, Colonel Lewis Nicola, wrote Washington urging him to become a king over a democratically elected Congress. The idea would be to form a hybrid government, an option that appealed to those struggling to understand how a nation could operate without a king at the helm.

But Washington was disgusted at the notion and upset that an officer in his army could still be enamored with the thought of any monarchy, even a hybrid monarchy. He wrote back immediately:

“Be assured Sir, [nothing that has happened in this entire war is more painful to me] than your information of there being such ideas existing in the army as you have expressed, and I must view with abhorrence and reprehend with severity [such a suggestion] … You could not have found a person to whom your schemes are more disagreeable.”[1]

The oversimplification inherent in the way this story is usually told lies in this: Colonel Nicola did not possess the authority to bestow a crown on the great general. But he could have started a campaign.

Yet Washington stopped that in its tracks. The general was not tempted in the least. Why not? Was Washington a dumb farmer who did not realize how wealthy he would be as a king? Did he not understand that this was a chance to set up his entire family for life?

He understood. But he and 200,000 soldiers had fought for and some 25,000 had died for something better. The founders waged a revolution to escape the despotic, crushing fist of the British king. Would they now replace it with an American king? No. The Founding Fathers had already concluded that a system of elected executives that rotate off would be far better than the God-made-me-king-for-life arrangements so common around the world and throughout history.

All things considered, Washington deserves credit for refusing to even discuss becoming king. Not only that, when the war ended, he surrendered his commission as general of the army, ensuring that the nation would be led by civilian politicians, not bellicose generals (contrast that with Fidel Castro, who wore army fatigues for fifty years after he seized control of Cuba).

In 1789, Washington was unanimously elected the nation’s first president. He considered bowing out after one term but was encouraged to run again to provide stability to a nation in turmoil. He was again elected unanimously. When his second term ended, this man, now one of the most powerful leaders in the world, ignored talk of a third term and went home to Mount Vernon, inspiring England’s King George III to dub his old enemy, “the greatest character of the age,” or in another version, “the greatest man in the world.”[2]

Perhaps it takes a king to recognize the greatness of a truly selfless leader.

Gideon was a similar leader.

Gideon was the fifth judge of the nation of Israel. He is listed in the “roll call of the faithful” in Hebrews 11:32. He tore down the altar of Baal. He put out the fleece—twice, receiving from God two incredible miracles, Judges 6:33-40. And he went into battle against 135,000 Midianites with only 300 men—and won that battle through an incredible miracle of God, Judges 7:22.

Finally, the people had seen enough. They were ready to make Gideon king! (And these men had the authority to make the offer.)

“Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, ‘Rule over us, both thou and thy son, and thy son’s son also, for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian.’ And Gideon said unto them, ‘I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you. But the Lord shall rule over you” Judges 8:23.

Could you turn down a crown? Could you?

Remember, these were capable men. They are no longer young, no longer inexperienced, no longer plagued with self-doubt. Washington and Gideon have fought incredible battles. They have stood on battlefields rank with the smell of the decaying flesh of their enemies. They have watched their own men bleed and die. They have grown experienced, wise, and decisive. Now they are older, seasoned, and thinking about doing something for their families, providing them with the finer things in life. The proffered crown could be the key to that next step. Imagine that LinkedIn bio: a handsome photo with the simple word, “King” underneath.

But they said no. And we honor them. Think of the dollar bills, the quarters, the cities, the state, the street names: America honors Washington everywhere, every chance we get. I believe God honored him too.

“God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time” 1 Peter 5:5-6.

Pray Psalm 131:

Lord, my heart is not haughty,
Nor my eyes lofty.
Neither do I concern myself with great matters,
Nor with things too profound for me.

Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul,
Like a weaned child with his mother;
My soul is like a weaned child within me” Psalm 131:1-2.

God, make us humble.

AΩ.

[1] https://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-events/was-george-washington-really-offered-king-us.htm

[2] https://blogs.loc.gov/manuscripts/2022/12/george-washington-the-greatest-man-in-the-world/

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.

Think of the art. The jewels. The buildings and bridges that are architectural wonders. The universities and libraries. The restaurants. Cities have all the money, the banks, the ports, the shipping. Cities have work for everyone: lawyers, investors, inventors, manufacturers, laborers, tradesmen and craftsmen, teachers, doctors, professors, writers, artists, and entertainers of every stripe. Cities have not just cultures, but personalities. And some cities have nicknames that fit those personalities: London is the Big Smoke. New York is the City that Never Sleeps. Paris is the City of Love. Birmingham (England) is the City of a Thousand Trades. Johannesburg is the City of Gold.

Cities are amazing reminders of both the greatest and worst of humanity. Incredible achievements in education, art, and research exist alongside some of the world’s most sophisticated and most evil crime.

Cities are filled with humble men of talent and success, and they are also filled with arrogant men who genuinely believe they are better than you and that the rules do not apply to them. This dichotomy is true nearly everywhere: most organizations include a few humble leaders and a few you might describe as “cancers” on the team.

The ancient city of Tyre or ‘Tyrus’ was just such a city. It was beautiful, with enough industries to fill a Social Studies textbook: there were shipbuilders, craftsmen, mariners, ship pilots, caulkers, soldiers, and a seemingly endless number of merchants and tradesmen, Ezekiel 27:5-25.

Like all great cities, Tyrus was built on a thriving port, and imported quality products from the farthest reaches: riches and commerce, slaves and brass, horses and mules, ebony and ivory, embroidered fabrics, oil and honey, wine and wool. Precious stones, lambs, rams, goats, spices, gold, clothing, cedar, oak, ivory, shields, dishes, vases, and vessels of every kind.

For the right price, you could acquire the ‘finer things in life’ in the great city of Tyrus.

Cities provide the same today: the wealthiest among us can have it all if they are willing to spend their money in the world’s greatest cities.

Tyrus was a beautiful city, a city of pride. The city was so prideful, in fact, that the Biblical indictment of the king of Tyrus also serves as a recitation of the sins of Lucifer for which he was banished from paradise.

“O Tyrus, thou hast said, ‘I am of perfect beauty” Ezekiel 27:3.

Have you ever seen a beautiful city? At sunset, a city skyline reflecting on the water can be truly stunning. Places like the Mall in Washington feature such carefully laid out architecture, lawns, and pools, that the city seems a masterpiece. Not all cities are beautiful—but some certainly are. Tyrus was one of those. The city reminds me of an expression girls used to describe a boy I knew in high school: he’s cute and he knows it. Tyrus was beautiful and Tyrus was arrogant.

“Because thine heart is lifted up and thou hast said, ‘I am a God, I sit in the seat of God,’ … thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas” Ezekiel 28:2,8.

Once again, the Bible repeats the warning: God will not tolerate arrogance.

He will not tolerate it among his angels, his people, or among cities. Organizations—teams, businesses, cities, and nations—must be vigilant. Watch out for pride. Watch out for arrogance.

“Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” Proverbs 16:18.

AΩ.

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, used this way, was not a negative term, but described a parent’s natural concern about finding a reliable source of income or livelihood for each of his children. Whether a parent has one child or seventeen, it is only natural to try to secure for each of them the best life possible. And because one of mine will marry in two weeks, these things are certainly on my mind.

They were also on the mind of Caleb when Israel divided up the Promised Land. Caleb’s tribe received the Land of Judah, and a portion of it was allotted to Caleb, one of only two in his generation who did not doubt God forty years before. Old Caleb’s land included a city filled with wicked pagans that God told Israel to defeat, and Caleb himself had an unmarried daughter for whom he must provide.

“And Caleb said, ‘he that smiteth Kiriath-Sepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife.’ And Othniel, son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, took it. And Caleb gave his daughter to Othniel” Joshua 15:16-17.

Westerners do not understand arranged marriages. But we must recognize that they worked well in Bible times. By making the offer he did, Caleb conquered the city he needed to conquer, while also marrying his daughter to a war hero. Othniel was a good catch, and would later go on to serve as Israel’s first judge following the death of Joshua.

But there is more.

Caleb’s daughter was using her head. Caleb may have found her a “prominent man of noble character,” (Ruth 2:1) but he gave her a territory in the arid south where water could be a problem. So Achsah went to her father with a request.

“Give me a blessing. For thou hast given me a south land. Give me also springs of water. And he gave her the upper springs, and the lower springs” Joshua 15:19.

And THIS is how fathers feel about their children.

Whether you have one child or seventeen, you want to bless them. You would give them the world if you could. And an amazing spouse—not because they “need” to be married, but because families are God’s plan, and he gives tremendous joy and blessings through the riches of families. So Caleb provides a husband for his daughter. And a city. And two reliable water sources. And if he could do more for her, he would.

God loves you that way. Do you come to God with a tiny spoon? Or an empty pocket, maybe, asking him for a tiny blessing? Instead come to him with a tractor-trailer, or a freight train, or an ocean liner. Ask God for big blessings! After he gives you a great spouse, ask for a city. Ask for water wells.

“You have not because you ask not,” James 4:2. 

Are you asking? When was the last time you prayed hard, knocking down the doors of heaven? The Bible uses an urgent present tense. It’s not “ask, seek, knock,” Matthew 7:7. It’s “keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking AND DON’T STOP” Matthew 7:7.

Do you know how much your earthly father loves you? Do you know what your mother would do to bless you if she could? God loves you so much more than that!

“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, then how much more will your father in heaven give what is good to those that ask him?” Matthew 7:11.

Come to God boldly, like Caleb’s daughter. ASK FOR A BLESSING! Ask for a blessing for you—and for your children! Ask AND KEEP ON ASKING!  God loves you! He wants to bless you in a big way!

AΩ.

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 lease the minerals, to own the surface while renting that surface to farmers in exchange for a share of the crops. Liberty means having the agency to dispose of your possessions without restrictions.

You know what else you can dispose of without restrictions? Your own labor. Or at least you could. Today there are rules governing the disposition of labor. But in the past, men had the liberty—the freedom—to bind themselves as another man’s servant for a period of years, usually in exchange for a loan or the payment of a debt, or to pay for passage to the United States. Others agreed to serve a tradesman as an unpaid apprentice in exchange for an education in a specific trade. But these systems led to abuses, and were thus outlawed. Today such arrangements are viewed as human trafficking.

At 12 years old, Benjamin Franklin’s father made him an apprentice to Ben’s older brother James so Ben might learn the printer’s trade. Unfortunately, though Franklin had proven himself an able reader and writer, his brother frequently beat him and he ran away at 17, breaking the apprenticeship and rendering himself a fugitive.

The people of ancient Israel were also free to bind themselves as indentured servants. And the system led to abuses then too.

What if the tradesman refuses to teach you the trade, leaving you to do grunt work all day?

What if he makes you work extra hours, or feeds you bad food or too little food?

What if he beats you?

What if he simply refuses to release you after the agreed-term is concluded? God is just and will not tolerate such abuses forever.

Through the prophet Jeremiah, God reminds Israel that they agreed to release their ‘bondmen’ every seven years. And Israel did release them. But then they took the people back and enslaved them again.

“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant with your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I said,‘Every seventh year each of you must free any fellow Hebrews who have sold themselves to you. After they have served you six years, you must let them go free.’ …” 

“Recently … each of you proclaimed freedom to your own people. You even made a covenant before me in the house that bears my Name. But now you have turned around and profaned my name; each of you has taken back the male and female slaves you had set free to go where they wished. You have forced them to become your slaves again.”

“Therefore, this is what the Lord says: You have not obeyed me; you have not proclaimed freedom to your own people. So I now proclaim ‘freedom’ for you, declares the Lord—‘freedom’ to fall by the sword, plague and famine. I will make you abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth” Jeremiah 34:13-17. 

People sometimes argue about whether the Bible supports slavery. They complain that the ancient scriptures do not condemn slavery strongly enough. But this was a world in which people considered some slavery or indentured-servant arrangements to be an acceptable option for a free man in need of money or training in a trade.

Just as today’s homeowner will give the bank a right to the house (a ‘security interest’) in exchange for a loan allowing the owner to purchase the property, so also the laborer of old might give an employer power over the laborer’s body in exchange for money, the payment of a debt, or the acquisition of a desired skill. The Bible’s position on slavery is better understood against this historical context.

However, when the people of Israel abused those with less bargaining power—whether slaves, servants, debtors, or foreigners, God punished the nation for its lack of mercy.

God cannot be accused of ignoring slavery. “You have not obeyed me; you have not proclaimed freedom to your own people. So I now proclaim ‘freedom’ for you—‘freedom’ to fall by the sword, plague, and famine” Jeremiah 34:17.

Dear God, thank you that you are a God of compassion. Thank you for teaching us to treat others with mercy. Thank you for a legal system that enshrines justice and works hard to stop people from taking advantage of each other. Thank you for a legal system and a banking system that allows so many of us to afford college or trade school, houses, medical care, and so much more. May we grow more grateful every day.

AΩ.

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.” Settlers “seldom shaved” or washed their faces, and almost never changed their clothes.

We were a dirty lot. But because so few lived closely together in big cities, the lack of hygiene did not contribute to the spread of disease as it would today. Nevertheless, concern about disease eventually led to a greater emphasis on cleanliness. Clean water, flush toilets, and soap would soon defeat cholera, dysentery, and hookworm. Then toothbrushes and fluoride stopped the wholesale rotting of America’s teeth. Once we discovered hot showers and fresh breath, a billion-dollar personal hygiene industry was born.

A book reviewer put it this way: “Americans are known worldwide for their obsession with cleanliness—for their sophisticated plumbing, daily bathing, shiny hair and teeth, and spotless clothes”[2]. The reviewer goes on to note that post-war advertising for soaps, mouthwashes, toothpastes, and deodorants conveyed the message that cleanliness would lead to success. Soon

“Cleanliness shifted from a way to prevent disease to a way to assimilate, to become American.”

But you can take cleanliness too far, as anyone with an Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder knows:  

“At the height of my crisis, I was spending up to ten hours each day in a continuous cleaning ritual. I couldn’t break my rituals to eat or drink, so I lost weight and became unwell. On top of that, I limited my food and water intake so that I didn’t need to use the bathroom throughout the day …

I had to scrub everything, my body, the surfaces—in sets of eight … But soon eight became sixteen, which became thirty-two and so on.

I’d scrub my body until I fainted in the shower, clean my bedroom until I had repetitive strain injuries. My OCD told me that my fingernails had to be cut as short as possible in case of germs, so I cut them until they bled. I used boiling water and bleach products on my bare hands, so they were covered in ghastly rashes and blisters that I hid from friends and family.”[3]

This account is unusual, but probably more common than we know. Even Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth becomes obsessed with cleaning. Though a fictional character, it is interesting to note that this cold-blooded murderer, who accuses her own husband of being too feminine, too “full of the milk of human kindness,” is calculating enough to plan a series of murders and get away with them. But her mind will not let her have any peace, and she goes mad trying to wash imaginary blood from her hands.

The Bible does not say, “cleanliness is next to godliness.” John Wesley said that.

In fact, common sense requires that even the godliest among us will be dirty at times. Nevertheless, there is a deep association in our culture between cleanliness and purity. The Old Testament established that association through repeated instructions to wash people, to wash things, to remove things from the camp, to remove things from the city, to wash yourselves and your clothes and, in some cases, even after washing you must stay away from others until evening.

Do you ever wonder whether there might be a correlation between promiscuity and personal hygiene? In other words, do we try to wash off our immorality?

Does our modern culture try to address guilt, shame, and promiscuity with soap, sanitizer, and shaving?[4]  

God understood our interest in cleanliness and used it to explain to the people of Jerusalem how sinfully dirty they were:

“Woe to the bloody city, to the pot full of scum, scum that cannot be washed away” Ezekiel 24:6.

God says to build a huge fire, hot enough to melt the pot, because only a fire that melts brass will be able to burn away the scum.

Jerusalem “hath wearied herself with lies, and her great scum went not out of her. Her scum shall be in the fire. In thy filthiness is lewdness, because I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged. Thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness anymore” Ezekiel 24:12-13.

The city—and by that, we mean the PEOPLE of the city—are so sinful they can no longer clean themselves. Only the fire of judgment can burn away the scum. In other words, only God can burn away the sin of Jerusalem. Only God can clean this filthy city. And only God can clean us! Come to Jesus. He can wash away all your sins. He can make you deeply, truly clean!

AΩ.

[1] CHASING DIRT: The American Pursuit of Cleanliness, by Suellen Hoy.

[2] From a review of CHASING DIRT: The American Pursuit of Cleanliness, by Suellen Hoy https://www.amazon.com/Chasing-Dirt-American-Pursuit-Cleanliness/dp/0195111281

[3] https://www.rethink.org/news-and-stories/blogs/2023/05/from-ocd-crisis-to-a-joyful-life-georginas-story/ Georgina, the writer of this story, eventually found help in medication and therapy.

[4] I am not speaking here of the writer above wrestling with OCD. That is a deeply complex mental health problem; such things cannot be healed with an off-hand remark by someone with no medical or mental health training (me).

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 live in densely populated urban areas often behave in ways that are so assertive as to seem pushy and rude to outsiders. But city life demands it—if you do not assert yourself, your needs will not be met, whether on the subway, hailing a cab, or shopping in an open market.

Weather also has an influence: people who live in hot climates develop habits (like siestas) that those in cold climates do not, and vice versa. However, no factor has more influence on the personality and culture of a city than the behavior of its leaders.

Leaders are the model for everything: work habits, integrity, relationships and family life, recreation, dietary choices, religion, and more.

When Jerusalem was filled with corrupt leaders, God held them responsible for their choices. In a passage from Ezekiel, God sends a message to the leaders of the city by addressing the city of Jerusalem directly. I will replace the word you with the word Jerusalem and the word they with the word leaders.

“‘See how each of the princes of Israel who are in Jerusalem uses his power to shed blood. 

In Jerusalem leaders have treated father and mother with contempt.

In Jerusalem leaders have oppressed the foreigner and mistreated the fatherless and the widow.

Jerusalem has despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths. 

In Jerusalem are slanderers who are bent on shedding blood. 

In Jerusalem are leaders who eat at the mountain shrines and commit lewd acts. 

In Jerusalem are leaders who dishonor their father’s bed.

In Jerusalem are leaders who violate women during their period, when they are ceremonially unclean. 

In Jerusalem one man commits a detestable offense with his neighbor’s wife, another shamefully defiles his daughter-in-law, and another violates his sister, his own father’s daughter. 

In Jerusalem are leaders who accept bribes to shed blood.

Jerusalem collects interest and make a profit from the poor.

Jerusalem extorts unjust gain from its neighbors. 

Jerusalem has forgotten me, declares the Sovereign Lord. …

Will your courage endure or your hands be strong in the day I deal with Jerusalem? …

I will disperse Jerusalem among the nations and scatter it through the countries; and I will put an end to your uncleanness. When you have been defiled in the eyes of the nations, you will know that I am the Lord’” Ezekiel 22:6-16.

Are you a leader? Yes. Either at work, or at home, or among younger friends—we are all leaders in one way or another. And leadership is serious.

“To whom much is given, much is required” Luke 12:48.

God gives leaders opportunity, and God requires leaders to use those opportunities wisely. “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such, we shall incur a stricter judgment” James 3:1.

God, may we obey you. May we remain humble before you, no matter the opportunities, no matter the power, authority, or notoriety we may experience. Use us to lead people to walk more closely with Jesus. Use us. We submit our lives, our time, our energy to you. Do your will in our lives.

AΩ.

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 Colosseum reduced the number of European lions. Soon, the lions were gone and, until recently, some historians argued there never were lions in Europe[1]. But lions did roam Europe, as seen not only in cave drawings but in the prominence of lions in European art. And of course, the Biblical record indicates the presence of the man-eating cats in Israel.

The prophet Ezekiel used the king of beasts to convey a key truth to the people of Judah.

“Men and women, take up a lament for your kings. Grieve for them. Judah is a lioness, a mother with cubs. She nourished one of her cubs, trained him to be a man-eater, and the cub devoured men. But the nations heard of him, dug a pit and trapped him. Then they brought the young lion, bound in chains, to Egypt.”

This was King Jehoahaz who was taken captive to Egypt in 609 B.C. Ezekiel continues:

“The mother lion waited and waited for her son the maneater to return. But he did not. So she raised up another cub [King Zedekiah] and trained him to be a maneater. And he went up and down the land, devouring men. And he laid waste the cities. He made the land desolate. He terrified the people with the noise of his roaring.”

“But then the nations came against him, and they threw their net over him and caught him. Then they put this second lion in chains too and brought him to the king of Babylon. The roaring of his voice was silenced. Then his mother was drawn away into the desert wilderness. The once green vine would grow brown and withered.”

“Men and women, take up a lament for your kings” Ezekiel 19:1-14 (paraphrased).

God is using Ezekiel to prepare the people of Judah. They will be in captivity for a long, long time. Seventy-five years will pass. Generations will pass. The sooner the people accept their lot, the easier the experience will be for them.

So Ezekiel crafts a parable about lions, a subject sure to capture everyone’s attention, from the youngest to the oldest. This is the story of three lions: the mother lion, who represents the kingdom of Judah, and two cubs-turned-maneaters, who represent Judah’s kings, King Jehoahaz and King Zedekiah. The two kings were taken captive, and then the entire nation was taken captive.

Ezekiel is telling the people to accept what God has done. Accept the humiliation of being taken captive. Accept it, humble yourself, and prepare for a long, long ride. Ezekiel’s parable about the lions is sort of an abstract way of saying something about the Babylonian captivity that Jeremiah said in a direct manner:

“Build houses and settle down, plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease” Jeremiah 29:5-6.

Have you ever found yourself in terrible circumstances? A job you despise? Or joblessness? Or loneliness? Or relationship problems? Or reaping what you sow in some unpleasant way, whether through the courts or through terrible circumstances?

Accept it. Submit to God. Let him do his will. Stop fighting. Buckle up for the long haul. Stop being in such a hurry to escape your circumstances. Instead, talk to God and enroll in his school. Let him teach you whatever he wants.

God, hard times can be so awful. But we trust you. We accept our painful circumstances. We welcome your holy spirit. Teach us whatever we need to learn. We humble ourselves in the midst of our unpleasant situations. Be glorified in us. Help us listen, submit, and trust you more every day. Do your will in our lives and in our hearts and attitudes and minds. We love you. Teach us to “humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God” 1 Peter 5:6.

AΩ.

[1] https://www.sapiens.org/archaeology/lions-europe/

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 many for so long.

Have there been abuses, evils, and tragic failures? Absolutely. But all things considered, America is a special place. To throw off the shackles of a corrupt British monarchy, and launch a nation founded not on a king, but on three competing institutions, all controlled by a voting democracy—something that had never been done successfully? And 250 years later the US Constitution remains the oldest national charter still in continuous use? Amazing!

On top of that, we are separated from much of the world (and protected from invasion) by two oceans? That isolation has afforded us peace. Centuries of peace, with brief interruptions. And what does peace afford us? The opportunity for markets to flourish, for inventors to invent, for business owners to start new businesses, for entire industries to be born and grow into world-changing operations. On top of all that, America has witnessed a number of spiritual revivals, some of which have circled the globe, changing millions of lives.

Do you ever wonder why?

Why did God bless this land the way he has?

I can’t claim certainty. But perhaps there is a clue in Ezekiel 17. God compares his people to birds nesting in and under trees. One tree is King Nebuchadnezzar. Another is the puppet-king that Nebuchadnezzar installed to run Judah, King Zedekiah. But then God speaks of the king to come, the Messiah:

“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘I myself will take a shoot from the very top of a cedar and plant it.… On the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it; it will produce branches and bear fruit and become a splendid cedar. Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will find shelter in the shade of its branches” Ezekiel 17:22-23.

God will plant a great tree that is Jesus. That tree will produce branches, bear fruit, and become a beautiful cedar tree. Birds of every kind will nest in that tree, finding shade in its branches.

Birds of every kind will nest in that tree. The King James version says, “Under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing.” Every species of birds will dwell under the tree that is Jesus. Every person from every nation, tribe, and tongue will find shade in the Messiah.

Jesus did not simply come for the Jews. God loves everyone. Jesus came to save everyone—from every race.

“And he made from one man every nation of mankind” Acts 17:26.

“For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek” Romans 10:12.

“Here there is neither Jew, nor Greek, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free, but Christ is all and in all” Colossians 3:11.

Why did God bless America? Perhaps because America has learned—and is still learning—to honor and accept all people. This is a nation that has rarely had the luxury of being homogenous (which is MUCH easier). Every classroom, neighborhood, town, and city has people with different ethnic backgrounds.

Do we do it right all the time? Absolutely not. Do the races clash and struggle? Of course. But when American life throws everyone into a melting pot, we eventually do get better at getting along. We simply have no choice. And then our culture (movies, music, books, and more) is exported around the world, leading the way in nations where everyone looks like everyone else—which is most of the nations on earth.

Is diversity the only thing God cares about? Definitely not. I would not even put it in the top ten. But God is the one who made people look so different, not only differences in skin and hair, but height and weight. When you survey the world the only conclusion to draw is that God loves VARIETY.

And maybe one reason God has blessed America is because we have been forced to struggle with the variety so much more than anyone else. We struggle to get along in a situation most nations have never experienced. And you know what?

Our nation looks like heaven:

“And I looked and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, tribe, and tongue, standing before the throne and before the lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands” Revelation 7:9.

Maybe that is one reason God blesses us: He blesses us with the greatest freedom and opportunity any society has ever seen—and he challenges us with the most racial and ethnic variety any society has ever seen. Will we make it work? Can we love each other and maintain some peace?

Can we enjoy American Prosperity while also enjoying American Diversity?

Jesus loves the little children,

All the children of the world.

Red and yellow, black and white,

They are precious in his sight.

Jesus loves the little children of the world.

Jesus loves everyone. Do you?

AΩ.

*Loving people is not politics. Nor is it activism. Believe what you want about the politics and causes related to the heavily loaded term ‘diversity.’ There are so many issues, no two people will agree on them all. And that’s not the point. We may disagree on politics. But Jesus commands us to love one another (and he calls it a ‘COMMAND’): “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” John 13:34.