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Never Forget that Governments Use Crises to Seize Freedoms

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President Ronald Reagan was known for clever humor. At least once he quipped that the nine most terrifying words in the English language are, “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” I wonder how much more that joke rings in our ears today.

While reading through the book of Genesis in my newest Bible reading plan, I found myself thinking about government. No, I do not believe that the narrative at the end of Genesis is there for the purpose of teaching us about politics. But, I think, as we observe the narrative, we can at least see something of human nature and political nature holding true-to-form.

In Genesis, God moves to relocate the family and future nation of Israel to their own land in Egypt. God prepares the way for Israel to move to Egypt through the way that Joseph helps the government of Egypt deal with the disaster of seven years of famine. Over a period of four centuries between Genesis 50 and Exodus 1, the family of Israel will grow into a nation. Then, in Exodus, God will bring this new nation out of its incubator and into the promised land.

Now, let’s ponder government. With the point already made that this is not the message of Genesis, let’s catch some truth anyhow. What is the nature of a government when its people face a crisis? In historical human experience, when the government helps a people out of a time of crisis, the government will also use that time of crisis to increase its own power over the people. Particularly, in Genesis, Joseph puts together a food-storage program that saves the lives of many. However, when the people need to come to him, a government official, for their food, he gives it to the people in exchange for their property and eventually their freedom.

Genesis 47:20-21 – 20 So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for all the Egyptians sold their fields, because the famine was severe on them. The land became Pharaoh’s. 21 As for the people, he made servants of them from one end of Egypt to the other.

Understand, dear friends, that any government not bound by the standards of the Lord and his holy word will move to grant itself greater and greater power over its people. Government will happily use times of crisis to take freedoms from its people. And even when freedoms are returned, they are never as many as were taken. A government that takes five freedoms from you and returns to you three has not left you as free as you were before it reached into your world.

Joseph was used by God to save lives. But Joseph was also used by the government of Egypt to create a new world in which the people and the land were under the thumb of Pharaoh. Eventually, this same power became the power that enslaved the people of Israel. And let’s not take time to ponder much about the fact that the oppressive taxation of Pharaoh was a 20% flat tax, which, all the sudden does not sound as bad as some other systems with which you may be familiar.

It will be for you to figure out your own views on politics and government. But, dear friends, be very careful tolerating the taking of your freedom by leaders in power. The powerful have a very hard time giving freedoms back to the people. And if we let these things pass unnoticed, we put ourselves in a very vulnerable position.

A Call to Worship

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Nehemiah 9:5b-6 – Stand up and bless the Lord your God from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you.

Why worship the Lord? Here, as we see a congregational prayer in Israel after the walls of Jerusalem were built, we see a great starter reason. Worship the Lord, for he has made and sustains all things.

God is the only God. The Lord is the only God over all. Only the Lord created the heavens, the earth, and the seas. This is saying that God made everything there is, everything you can think of. God made the sky and all in the sky. God made the land and all that is on or under the land. God made the seas and everything within. There is no part of the entire universe that God did not create by his mighty power, out of nothing, for his glory. Thus, there is no part of this universe that does not belong to our God.

Not only did God create all things, he sustains all things. If God were to remove his power, the universe would disappear in an instant. Nothing we think is solid could remain without God empowering it to do so. God is necessary, not only for the beginning of creation, but for the continuing existence of all things.

Indeed, as the prayer begins, blessed be our God! Blessed be his name. Rightly do the heavenly hosts worship him. Rightly should we.

Yes and No

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Matthew 5:37 – Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.

In Matthew 5:33-37, the Savior poses a challenge to the way that the religious leaders of social movers of his day were using their oaths. Men were making flowery promises, swearing by the temple, by the heavens, and all the rest. But they were also coming up with legal loopholes so as not to have to keep their word. But Jesus tells them that this is lying, even if they think they have escaped on a technicality.

As he concludes, Jesus challenges his followers not to use fancy oaths to give their word. Instead, the followers of the Savior should be able to get by with a simple yes or no. The point is that, if we are honest people, if we are known for truthfulness, if we are seen as reliable, nobody will need from us flowery promises. Once we are seen as people of our word, when we say yes to somebody or no to somebody, they will know we are telling the truth.

In our litigious society, people are more and more looking for loopholes. People love to agree to something only to do backflips to find the way out. May this not be true of us. May we be people of our word. May we never be able to be accused of telling a lie or tricking people with squirmy legal language. May we instead be honest, above-board, and trustworthy in all things. That is what it means for your yes to be yes and your no to be no. Christians

A Warning about Returning to Old Testament Law and Ceremony

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Should Christians return to Jewish law? Particularly, is it good for a believer to bind himself or herself by the laws of God that were clearly intended for the nation of Israel during the time before Christ? Is it good for us to revisit and subject ourselves to ceremonies and restrictions that were intended to point the people of Israel toward the future coming of Messiah?

Imagine a young man engaged to be married. His fiancé gives him a photo of her to keep with him before they are wed. It is proper and right for that young man to gaze at that photo and anticipate the joy of union with his bride. However, would it not be strange for him to, once he is married, find fulfillment in gazing at the photo of his fiancé instead of finding joy in actually spending time with his wife?

In many a way, the Old Testament ceremonies and food laws are like that photo. They were gifts of God to help Israel look forward to the coming of Messiah. But once Messiah has come, the church is no more right to turn back to those meals and laws than the imaginary husband in the previous paragraph would be right to love looking at the picture of his wife instead of enjoying her company.

I’ve been thinking about this recently, as it seems that there is a rise in fascination with the Jewish feasts and practices among faithful believers. I am sure that this comes from hearts intent on honoring God. I am also sure that it comes from an emotional connection to the mysterious feeling of ceremonies that are not part of our culture. But I do not believe that the practice of Christians participating in Old Testament ceremonies or binding themselves by Old Testament dietary laws is at all wise or good.

This discussion came to mind as I read through the book of Galatians recently. In that book, Paul is dealing with a church that is being persuaded to return to Jewish laws. Particularly, the circumcision group has persuaded people in that congregation to return to Jewish practices because they suggest that this is required for salvation. With clarity, let me say that I do not believe that my fellow believers who are interested in the ceremonies and practices of the Old Testament are doing so because they believe that they will earn salvation for themselves. Many are doing so out of simple curiosity. Others are doing so because they believe that, with the feasts and the dietary laws, God has given us good things to continue to practice and that he will be pleased with our participation in those practices.

Let’s look at a few things we see in this short letter, however, to see that it is not wise or good for Christians to put themselves under Old Testament restrictions on diet or to practice the old ceremonies.

Galatians 2:11-14 – 11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. 13 And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

Just after a section in which Paul points out that his gospel was approved of by the other apostles though he did not receive it from them, Paul points to a moment of conflict between himself and Peter. That conflict particularly bears weight concerning the topic of a return to ceremonial law. While Peter was in Antioch, he returned to a Jewish dietary lifestyle. This act confused others around him, because they assumed that, if Peter was limiting his diet to only ceremonially clean foods as revealed in the law, other Christians, gentile Christians, Christians whose cultures never required this in the past, should also restrict themselves to that diet.

Paul, however, opposed Peter to his face. Paul spoke out publicly against his fellow apostle because Peter was wrong. Part of the problem, of course, is that Peter was reshaping his life to gain the approval of other men, the circumcision group. But part of the problem is that God has not in any way called Christians to subject themselves to the Old Testament dietary regulations.

Galatians 4:9-11 – 9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? 10 You observe days and months and seasons and years! 11 I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain.

Later in the letter, Paul clearly includes the days and seasons from the Jewish law in his discussion of a dangerous temptation to return to what will not benefit a believer. Not only are we not to subject ourselves to Old Testament food regulations, we are also not to return to the Jewish calendar of holy days.

Galatians 3:1-3 – 1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?

Some might argue that, while God does not require a return to Jewish food laws and holy celebrations, to practice them is still helpful to our spiritual lives. Paul says that such a view is false. If you are saved by grace alone through faith alone, if this is a work of the Spirit of God, then there is no benefit to your spiritual life, your sanctification, in your returning to fulfilled ceremonial regulations.

Galatians 5:1-4 – 1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.

Obviously, here, Paul is talking about the call of the circumcision party that circumcision is required for the salvation of gentiles. He is adamant that any person who adds man-made requirements to a faith-alone gospel is not in possession of the gospel.

But can we not also see that any return to the food laws or to the ceremonies as if they are needed or beneficial is dangerous in a similar way? Maybe one claims that this is not about salvation. But a claim that we need the ceremonial law for personal sanctification is dangerously close to adding to the gospel, as being sanctified is a necessary result of salvation.

Dear Christian friends, the food laws of the Old Testament and the ceremonial holy Days like Passover, Saturday Sabbath observance, and even ceremonial circumcision are items intended to point to the coming of Jesus Christ. When Christ came, all of those laws were perfectly fulfilled. Christ particularly and specifically loosed the food laws (Mark 7:19) so that we would know that there is no longer any benefit in being bound by them. The food laws pointed to the separate nature of physical Israel as the nation through which God would bring Messiah. Once Messiah has come, there is no call for Christians to pretend as though we are part of an Israel still awaiting the Savior’s first advent. Similarly, Passover, the feast of booths, even Pentecost were festivals in which the physical nation-state of Israel was to remember the faithfulness of God to them in the past as they awaited the arrival of messiah through their particular genealogical lineage. But now Messiah has come, and there is no reason for gentile believers to subject themselves to those ceremonial requirements or to feel that participating in those ceremonies would be a spiritual benefit.

As the church, the people of God, we have been given by God ceremonies to practice. They are not ceremonies that anticipate the first advent of Christ, as the Savior has come, fulfilled the law, and accomplished the salvation of all the elect. Now we are given different ceremonies, baptism and Lord’s Supper, which point us to Christ’s completed work as they anticipate his second coming, the resurrection of the righteous, and our eternal joy in the presence of our Savior. We do not honor Christ by adding to these simple and beautiful ceremonies a fascination with things that are fulfilled.

A couple of points of clarity before I wrap up. No, I do not believe that it is sinful for a church to lay out a Passover meal to give their people a better understanding of what this would have looked like years ago. Neither do I think it is wrong for a Christian to visit one of those Revolutionary War era villages where people wear costumes and show you how they used to make root beer. However, I’ll add that there is a danger in laying out and practicing such a meal that people can be drawn into the novelty and think they are doing something spiritual when they are not. It is wrong if any Christian believes that he or she is spiritually benefitted by participation in such a meal.

Also, this post has nothing to do with civil law. Though I disagree with theonomy, that has nothing to do with my issue.

Throughout the centuries, there has been a temptation for believers to look for secret spiritual keys that will elevate their walks with the Lord beyond that of the ordinary. Some seek charismatic experiences. Some have looked for hidden spiritual truth in Gnosticism. And I believe that others are tempted by a spiritual-feeling fascination with Old Testament ceremonial practices. None of these is good for the soul of believers who should know that our Christian lives are to be simple lives of love of God, love of neighbor, and obedience to the commands of Christ. We are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. The Lord has given us the church and simple ceremonies that point us to salvation and to his return. We do not honor him by looking for ways to bring other ceremonies, fulfilled pictures and loosed laws, back into the faith as if this will make us more spiritual.

Dave Chappelle and Canceling Context

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Before you allow yourself to develop too much of an opinion of the Dave Chappelle and Netflix kerfuffle, consider that all things people do have a purpose. No, Chappelle was not merely trying to be funny. No, he was not only making a boatload of cash. No, he was not simply offensive, foul, and generally inappropriate. The comedian was making a deeply felt emotional argument.

If one notes the full content of the special and not merely the sound bites, one will learn that Chappelle had previously befriended a trans comedian. This comic had defended Dave on Twitter after the trans community came after Chappelle for what he said in a previous special. The trans community on Twitter then attacked Chappelle’s trans comic friend for days on social media. According to his words in his special, Chappelle’s friend then committed suicide.

Chappelle mocked every group he could manage to mock in his Netflix special in order to point out the ridiculousness and evil of cancel culture. Chappelle insulted white people, black people, people from Detroit, people from Ohio, racists, hippies, Christians, Jews, and, yes, the trans community. And, you know what, anybody who watched that special knew exactly what they would see in Chappelle’s comedy. After all, his humor has not changed. He has always made his money with this same sort of content and style.

As a Christian and a pastor, I surely do not recommend you watch Chappelle or endorse his humor. Neither do I recommend that you develop any of your understanding of morality from Netflix, be it from comedy or documentary. But as a thinking human being, I do not recommend that you condemn Chappelle for doing harm to the trans community without first knowing what he said in its context and not from sound bites alone. Neither do I believe that we do society any good when we attempt to destroy any person’s reputation or livelihood simply because they say things that hurt our feelings.

No, I’m not recommending you watch the special. No, I do not think Chappelle needs my help. No, I do not fear for Netflix. No, my stance on sexuality and gender has not ever departed from that of Scripture. But it is a bit ridiculous that the entire point this foul-mouthed comic was making was to point out the folly and harm of the cancel culture in the life of a trans friend of his, and that , to my knowledge, none in the media have mentioned it. Chappelle tells a sad story of a person who was beaten down by their own community on social media perhaps resulting in that person’s suicide, and the result is that the left ignores that point to stir up another tempest in a virtual teapot. Ironic, isn’t it?

Friends, when Big Brother runs the news, you will only hear what the Ministry of Truth wants you to hear.

A Model of Preaching

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Nehemiah 8:8 – They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.

In Nehemiah 8, we run across one of those famous Old Testament scenes. Once the city of Jerusalem had its walls again, once the temple was functioning again, once the people were rejoicing in the faithfulness of God, the priests gathered the people and opened the word of God. We see a big platform, a group of priests reading the word, and those godly men explaining the word for the people of God to listen to. It was like a big, all-day conference.

Many a Bible teacher will use this passage to talk about biblical preaching, and I think that’s fair. What strikes me this time as we look at this form of preaching the word is less of what is present and more of what is absent in the description. Earlier in the chapter, we see the people gathered. We see that it is people of all ages, men and women and all who can understand (v. 2). And we see that men read the word clearly and gave the sense so that people could understand.

What is not there? There is nothing present that looks like a great deal of what passes for preaching today. There is no gimmick. There is no picture of clever sermon illustrations. There is no need for a drama, a concert, or a team of researchers who look up interesting historical anecdotes. There is just the word opened, the word proclaimed, the word understood.

I’m not for boredom. I’m not for lifeless preaching. But I wonder how many preachers spend more of their time looking for ways to capture their audience than looking for ways to proclaim the word clearly and give the sense. I wonder how many preachers today are more interested in the look of the “set” on “stage” and the lighting cues than they are about being sure the people hear the word as it was intended to be proclaimed.

Be careful, believers, not to lay this all at the feet of megachurch pastors. Men would not have turned the preaching of the word into a show were it not for crowds of people who demanded that preachers say to them what their itching ears wanted to hear. Preachers would not have gone gimmick crazy were it not for congregations who flock from church to church to hear the more engaging speaker regardless of his biblical faithfulness.

We see in Nehemiah a perfect coupling of something our churches need. We see men of God willing to stand before the congregation, read the word of God, and give its sense. And we see a congregation ready to listen. We see a congregation not looking for a more interesting or clever alternative. WE see a congregation longing for the straight up word of Almighty God—no watering it down, no artificial sweeteners, just the word. May we be Christians in churches where the word is preached and the preached word is received.

Honest Assessment or Belittling Hatred

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Matthew 5:21–22 – 21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

In Matthew 5, Jesus repeatedly teaches with the phrase, “You have heard that it was said … but I say…” In this, Jesus is challenging the faulty way that the religious in his day handled the Scripture.

In the religious community of Jesus’ earthly ministry, there were many people who made the law of God about outward acts and not so much about the heart. This allowed sinful men to be sinful in their hearts, attitudes, and sometimes in certain behaviors while claiming righteousness because they had not broken the specific law in question by the exact wording of that law.

Let me illustrate. Picture a child rebelling against his mom. She tells him not to eat any candy from the candy dish before dinner. But, during the day, somebody bumps the dish, and a piece of candy falls out onto the table. The child gobbles up the candy, reasoning that this candy was no longer in the dish and therefore fair game. Of course we know that is not the mom’s intent, but the kid thinks he has gotten away with it on a technicality.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has no tolerance for technicalities that allow hard-hearted men to go against the Lord. And the first area in which we see his teaching is on the issue of anger. The religious of Jesus’ day knew the command from the Ten Commandments not to murder. They reasoned that it was OK to hate people, be cruel in their hearts or even with their words toward people, so long as they did not actually take physical action against them. But Jesus clearly shows us this is not the case.

Now, let’s cut to the chase. Jesus tells us that, of course, murder is a sin. But so also is it a sin to hate people made in God’s image. It is a sin to belittle others made in God’s image so that you think of them as lesser than you or even subhuman. Jesus’ pointing to being angry, insulting, or even calling another a fool is him showing us that there is no room to claim to be righteous while murdering another in your heart.

Now, does that mean that, if we ever disagree with someone and they find it insulting, we are outside of the will of Jesus? No. The Savior himself called men fools (cf. Mat. 23:16-17). But when Jesus said that men were fools, that they were actually behaving as fools, he was not hating them. He was not devaluing them as people. The Savior spoke the perfect truth.

Christians, let’s be careful. Yes, we should always speak the truth of people and their actions. But we should not let our claim to be speaking the truth allow us to be ugly and hard-hearted toward others. We should grasp that sometimes we face the temptation to say that we are telling the truth while we look at others as lower than us, lesser than us, just plain stupid. That kind of thinking leads people who do not check it toward thinking of others as worthless or subhuman.

What is a wrong application here? Do not let yourself read what I just wrote and move toward embracing society’s new love affair with legislating speech. It is not hateful to tell someone they are wrong. It is not hateful or harmful to disagree with somebody. It is not dehumanizing to tell a person that their lifestyle choice or in fact their presenting identity is outside of the bounds of the word of God. You can say of someone that they are in sin, and that is neither hate nor invalidating their humanity. Speech, contrary to popular acceptance, is not violence.

But we also should be honest with ourselves and with the Lord. There is a way that we can put down those who oppose us in such a way that we no longer treat them as human. We can allow ourselves to think of those who disagree with us as evil simply because they do not agree with us and not for their actual behavior in relation to Scripture. It is one thing to believe somebody is wrong or even sinful. It is another to so belittle them in your mind that you no longer believe that they should be treated with the proper dignity appropriate for a person created in the image of God.

Jesus looked at the command not to murder, saw how men around him were handling it, and challenged his followers. Jesus tells us not to murder others in our hearts. This includes holding to boiling anger, speaking insults, and calling someone a fool.
We know that Jesus used the word fool, so the issue is not the word itself but rather a degrading of another person.

Let me close with a modern example that might help. Pick a political issue where you disagree with others. It might be COVID and vaccines, gun laws, the border, taxation, racism, or whatever. It is surely OK to disagree with others on these issues. And I believe that, in every one of these issues, there are people who are right and people who are wrong. There are people who are thinking clearly and people who are being foolish. And I do not think that Jesus is in any way telling us not to think they are wrong or even say that their view is foolish or even sinful.

But, and here is the point, do you think that people who disagree with you on your pet political issue are so stupid as to be somehow less than you? Do you think to yourself that you wish those people would all be locked up, muzzled, kicked off the Internet, or just not allowed to walk the same streets as you? Be careful. Yes, there are some political positions that lead people to do such immoral things that God’s word is clear that they are committing crimes, and those crimes must be addressed. But in general, if you assume that those who disagree with you are bad people, stupid people, people unworthy of life, you are going against the command of our Savior to avoid the sins found in the murder family.

Freedom and Sovereignty at Work

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Genesis 20:4-6 – 4 Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, “Lord, will you kill an innocent people? 5 Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” 6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her.

One of the more difficult issues for many of us to grasp is the sovereign moving of God on our lives in relation to the significance of our choices. Are we free? Do we do what God sovereignly decrees? Interestingly, the answer is a glorious “yes” to both questions.

When Abraham was living near King Abimelech, for a second time in his life, he declared his wife to be his sister. Abimelech, as a king may well do, took Sarah into his harem. And God intervened to protect the woman.

In verses 4-6 of Genesis 20, we see the conversation between Abimelech and the Lord when God warns the king not to touch Sarah and to return her to her husband.

Notice two things at work. On the one hand, Abimelech had not approached Sarah yet. Though he had been misled by Abraham, he, living his life as he planned, simply had never gone to Sarah as a wife or concubine. As he pleaded his innocence before the Lord, Abimelech pointed out that he had not wronged Sarah in any way.

At the same time, when the Lord responded to the king, he let Abimelech know that it was God’s own sovereign hand that actively prevented Abimelech from going to Sarah. The Lord clearly intervened to protect this woman. Though he did not tell us here, it is clear that God would not allow the line of promise to be corrupted by the introduction of the descendant of a Canaanite king.

Considering freedom and sovereignty, in verse 6, we see both that Abimelech acted in his own integrity, and the Lord acted to prevent Abimelech from crossing a line that God was protecting. Abimelech felt that his actions and his decisions were in fact his own—and indeed they were to an extent. At the same time, Abimelech, once he learned the truth of the situation, also had to bow to the fact that it was the act of God that shaped his free actions so that God’s perfect will was accomplished.

When we deal with the issue of sovereignty and human freedom, much of our thinking needs to be along the lines of what we have seen here. God allows us to move in accord with our desires. God certainly never moves us into sin, as the Lord will not author sin. Yet, when all is said and done, we will realize that it was the sovereign guiding hand of God that moved us to accomplish his will. Thus, we know that God has made us free. But our freedom is limited by God’s sovereignty.

Of course this applies in our thinking about salvation. the lost person is not moved by God to not believe. Instead, the lost person is allowed to freely oppose God as fits his deepest desire.

In contrast, when you are saved, you are saved by grace through faith. You believe. You turn. You trust Jesus. You cry out for mercy. If, however, you could see behind the scenes, you would see that the faith you exercised was a gift given you by God (Eph. 2:8).

Dodging Dangerous Distractions

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Nehemiah 6:1-3 – 1 Now when Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies heard that I had built the wall and that there was no breach left in it (although up to that time I had not set up the doors in the gates), 2 Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come and let us meet together at Hakkephirim in the plain of Ono.” But they intended to do me harm. 3 And I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?”

Nehemiah led a tremendous project, the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. And in that season, as we might imagine, he faced opposition. Evil men wanted to keep Nehemiah from accomplishing the plan and purposes of God.

Here we see a tactic used by these men. As the work was progressing, enemies of Nehemiah, enemies of God, tried to coax Nehemiah into going out to meet with them. Their goal was clearly to kill Nehemiah when he was away from the city. Nehemiah, for his part, would not go with the men. He reasoned that he had far too much work to do for the purpose of God to allow himself to be taken from it to deal with these evil men.

I wonder if we might find a principle here for faithful living before the Lord. Nehemiah had a God-given task. The more Nehemiah focused on what he was called to do, the more he was safe from the schemes of his enemies. Nehemiah’s enemies wanted to draw him away from the work and into conflict with them. The man of God simply pressed on with the work.

Today, there are many enemies who clamor for our attention. There are many who try to get us to step away from things that matter to enter into conflict with them. This is especially true on social media sites. It is as if there are a host of enemies telling us, “Stop focusing on the Lord and come argue with me.” While there is certainly merit in answering a fool according to his folly in order both to prevent him from being wise in his own eyes and from influencing others, there is also a danger. There is a danger of becoming so distracted by a focus on the fool that you forget to focus on the Savior and his holy word. There is a danger of spending all your time being angry about the errors of others instead of having your heart filled with the glory of the Savior whose honor you think you are defending.

May we be wise as we consider life. May we not spend more time focusing on error and enemies than we spend on the word of God and the work to which God has called us. The Lord wants us to love him with all our hearts, souls, and minds. God wants us to love our families. God wants us to love and treasure our local churches. God wants us to share the gospel. God wants us to grow in our knowledge of the faith. With all that, we do not have time to go out and argue all day with people who do not love the Lord and who only wish to drag us away from the work.

Benn — Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther — A Review

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Wallace P. Benn. Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther: Restoring the Church in the Preaching the Word Commentary Series edited by R. Kent Hughes. Wheaton: Crossway, 2021.

The Preaching the Word commentary series is an interesting and helpful set of books. At the same time, this series is not intended to be the resource for in-depth analysis of the word. Instead, this series is helpful to preachers and Bible students who want to understand a book of the Bible and get a solid feel for how to communicate important truths from those books to the people of God. This newest volume in the set covering Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther is a great example of the style and intent of this encouraging series.

As a commentary that covers three significant historical books of the Old Testament from the time after the Babylonian exile, Benn’s work is full of encouragement for believers who are living in a world that is not precisely what they would want it to be. In the preface, the author writes:

“The position canonically and historically of these books written after the exile is also of particular significance to us, as I believe the church in the West is going through a time of exile or judgment because of its manifest unfaithfulness to the gospel and the Word of God. Despite many encouragements, liberal teaching has eroded confidence in the Holy Scriptures, and we are not winning generally against the huge neo-pagan secular and materialistic tide. May God have mercy on us and restore, revive, and bless his people so that our nations may once again be shaken by the power of the gospel to change hearts and transform lives.”

As a reader, I particularly enjoyed the applicational tone of this commentary. Every chapter points to the hearts of believers. Each chapter helps us to see how New Testament Christians can apply the principles Benn brought out from the chapters of Old Testament history. In his section on Ezra, Benn even included a familiar song of worship to help believers better respond to what we have seen.

In simplest form, I believe that this commentary is helpful to believers who want a book that will familiarize them with the text of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther. It is better than a study Bible or Sunday School lesson, but not quite as intellectual or scholarly as many difficult commentaries. I believe that pastors can benefit from the applicational nature of this writing. Any believer can gain from using this book as an aid to personal study or devotional reading. There are great encouragements to rest in the sovereignty of God, to trust God’s ultimate goodness, and to obey his commands even in a world that appears to oppose you on every side.

What I would offer as criticisms here primarily apply in the work’s design. If you know the Preaching the Word series, you already know what you are getting when you read one of these books. But a pastor who wants something to help him truly juggle the thorny doctrinal or interpretive issues of a text may find himself wanting more. And, when Benn looks at something in a way different than you expect, there is not enough argument in the text to be convincing. As an example, at the conclusion of Esther, Benn suggests that the text may be showing us a flaw in Esther’s character, a bloodthirstiness in the response to those who would attack the Jews. I would ask if the author of the Scripture actually intends us to agree with that mindset, or is that something brought to the text from Benn’s own sensibilities and those of some other scholars? Unfortunately, the scope of this kind of work does not allow for a convincing interaction.

All-in-all, I would recommend this commentary with the understanding that we should let it be what it is. This book is simple, straight forward, and encouraging. It is helpful and a fine addition to any study notes on these Old Testament books.

** I received a free copy of this book from the publisher as part of a book reviewer program. My review is not influenced by the publisher in any way. **