Hebrew Bible and Christian Scriptures

In Ezra-Nehemiah, the Jews are starting to split into various groups.  Each of the religious groups falls under the main umbrella heading “Jewish”, but they have slightly (and sometimes not so slightly) different interpretations on how their faith should be lived out.  This is the beginning of the religious sects within the believing community.  Unfortunately, the process of splitting off into independent groups based upon interpretational differences has not ceased throughout the centuries.

Although, today, we would not call various Christian groups religious sects.  Instead, we prefer the softer term, denominations.  Yet, perhaps for many Christians, the term sect is more appropriate.  I say this because while many believers like the idea of recognizing other denominations as “fellow Christians”, they tend to look down their nose at other denominations.  In other words, they doubt the faith of those who do not attend either the same church as they do, or they doubt the faith of those who are not at least members  of a specific type of church.

Why compare Christian denominations to money?  Firstly, the word “denomination” is a word used to describe money.  Every currency has several denominations that make up the  money system.  So, in America, we typically do not discriminate against the various types of coins and bills that make up our money system, but we would surely become upset if we were given change in another currency such as pesos.  Yet, as Christians, we are often not happy to work along side someone of the same “currency” (i.e. another Christian), unless they are of the same denomination.  Secondly, I find it somewhat funny that Christians are often caught up in judging others for the evils that stem from loving money.  Yet, we insist upon using a term to describe our various groups that has an alternate (yet widely used) definition that is for the very thing we exercise a love-hate relationship with.

I think we need to be honest about how we feel towards other Christians.  If we are willing to accept them, then we should call our various Christian groups denominations.  If we are unwilling to accept that there are other Christians out there who believe/interpret differently from ourselves, then we should refer to our own  group as a sects.  In a nutshell, unless you are going to ask a cashier what currency the various portions of your change are, don’t go around asking other Christians what religion they are!  Recognize and embrace the fact that you have brothers and sisters in Christ.  Acknowledge the fact that there are various methods of arriving at the same goal:   worshipping Christ.

In the words of President Lincoln, who paraphrased Christ, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

This is the book of prayers.

What is the Book of Psalms?

The two Psalms that are too depressed to “come back” and praise God.  What are Psalms 44 and 88?

Nememiah sought to abolish this.

What is interest?

He told David to count the people.

Who is Satan?

It is so easy to identify with the Moses of Exodus chapters 3 and 4.  We can experience things that are clearly God’s hand – our own burning bushes that draw us near to God and prove His presence in our lives and before we have come down from that mountain top we are creating excuses to prove to God that we cannot do what He has asked us to do;  we don’t know all the answers, we would not be able to persuade others, we aren’t gifted with the right gifts for the job.   What we should be learning from Moses is not how best to make excuses but we should learn that God provides for our shortcomings and His power is what does the job regardless of what we are called to.   Unfortunately we don’t always learn the best lessons Scripture has for us and we can be Moses over and over again.

When a king arose in Egypt that did not know Joseph he expressed three fears about the growing number of Hebrew slaves.     

 (“ ¹they will join themselves to those who hate us and

²will fight against us and

³depart from the land” Ex 1:10)

The Psalms are some of my favorite pieces of literature ever written. I loved to read growing up, but I could never bring myself to sit down and have a ‘quiet time.’  I thought too that the best way to connect with God would be to start reading a book and just keep on reading it until I was done.  By the grace of God, this was partially true, as I began to read the Psalms.  As a sophomore in high school I began to read Psalm 1 one night and its honest and heartfelt words drew me in.  Over the next 150 days I read all 150 Psalms- 1 a night (and yes I stayed up late the night I read Psalm 119).  It was over the course of the next 150 days that I fell in love with reading the Bible.

To this day though there are certain Psalms that I really enjoy.  For example, Psalm 25 has always been one of my favorites.  Psalm 27:13-14 says, “I believe that I will look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”  This passage has spoken to me over and over as I have needed encouragement.  There have been many times that I have needed to be patient with God and have needed to take courage in him.

I love the honesty and brokenness that the Psalms convey as well.  Psalm 51 has been one of my favorites to turn to when I know that I have deeply grieved God’s heart and need to repent.  The heartfelt confession and repentance of David have been a great reminder in my life of what that looks life and have many times been the voice of my prayers.  The humility and desperation found in other Psalms has been a theme that I have latched onto many times.

On the other hand, the majestic acts of the Lord prod me to worship Him as I read the Psalms.  God in the Psalms is a God who forgives, a God who gives life, and a God who deserves our praise.  The words of the psalmist have many times been the praises that I have said or sung.  For example.  In Psalm 115 David writes, “not to us O Lord, but to your name be glory.”  The Lord is one who has power over Creation, he saved the people of Israel, and He formed me in my mother’s womb (Psalm 139).  How great is His name and He is worthy of all praise!

The comfort found in Psalms such as Psalm 57 has also been another helpful tool found in the Psalms.  God is seen as a God who cares for his people and his compassionate.  He is a rock, a fortress, a protector, a provider, and a Savior.  I love that He is the one who delivers from the enemy and the one who listens.  The psalmist’s desperation in crying out to God though in a time of need has been my prayer many times as well as I have needed comfort.  The Lord’s steadfast love has been the answer to this question as the psalmist records.

I love the passion the psalmist conveys for the Word of God as well.  He respects and diligently studies who God is and asks the Lord for wisdom and guidance.  This has been a necessary prayer of mine for all of my life. I need to be reminded of who I am and who God is.

At the end of the day I must end how the Psalms end (Psalm 150):

Praise the Lord!  Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens!  Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!  Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord!

As we are training to ministers of the gospel, in churches all over the place, I think it important to take note of what happens in Exodus 4 and after. Moses is called by God to serve, but doesn’t feel adequate.  However, God has a plan for this inadequacy.  This is where Aaron comes in the picture….a man who is eloquent in speech, unlike Moses.

Moses and Aaron together are sent to talk to the elders, and to show the plans God has for the Israelites.

A great lesson can be learned from this.

A huge part of ministry is finding people to engage in serving alongside you.  Yes, God has given ministers of the gospel many gifts, but not all of them! Many “lay” people are just waiting for someone to engage them in service. So, this is the challenge set before us:  to minister to others, but also to minister alongside others.