Archive for April 2002
Where is your heart? Where is your home?
The call is not for mere cosmetic changes, but one that demands us to set our hearts right…
© Angel’s original . Written February 2002
Published in The Frankelite, Editor’s column April-June 2002
A new monarchy had been set in place. The harassed nation had seen kings come and go. What would this new sovereign strip them of this time? Once, not so long ago, the people had lived carefree, careless, care-less lives. Spokesmen who understood the implications of their “don’t-care”, “live-for-myself” lifestyles, had made call after call for them to shape up or be shipped out of their home land. The prophets’ cries to the Israelites fell on deaf ears.
Then the Assyrians came – a superpower known to have skinned their captives and tacked their skins on to walls as a public display of their prowess. (No wonder Jonah the prophet refused to preach to them when sent by God.) They scattered the ten tribes of Israel in the north and sent the nation into exile leaving them with no home, no nation, no temple; no God? (The temple was central to the life of the nation – reminding the people of God’s pleasure and presence among them.)
Next came the Babylonians, this time besieging Judah, the remaining two tribes of Israel in the south. The Babylonians took the finest of their young men to serve them (the prophet Daniel was one of them.) No home, no nation, and no one left to rebuild the ancient ruins.
And now, they are hearing the latest of their captors, Cyrus, king of Persia saying, “Go home and rebuild your temple in Jerusalem.” Accompanying the pagan king’s decree is his provision for the rebuilding work to start. Zerubbabel leads the first batch of remnants home. His call to rebuild the temple is a call to make the worship of God central to their lives again.
Sixteen years after the foundation is laid, there is little progress. Their initial optimism is dampened by the daunting task. Haggai urges them on, “Why are you building your own homes when the temple is not yet complete? Messiah will walk the grounds of this temple soon. Get your act together!”
Ezra, determined to study and obey the law of the Lord and to teach these laws and regulations to Israel, directs the people back to the word of God.
Nehemiah, who weeps over the physical condition of the ruined city, calls the people to put their hands to work, restoring the walls (by implication, restoring the security of the nation.)
A temple, a nation, a home at last! – that’s what it meant for the people.
Reverberating from those spearheading the restructure of BFEC is a call to return to God, a call to place Him central in our life and worship. The call is not for mere cosmetic changes, but one that demands us to set our hearts right – to the worship of God, to the obedience of his word and to put our hands to work. Where is your heart? Where is your home? What does the restructure of BFEC mean to you?
He who has ears, let him hear!
