Winston Churchill (among others!) is credited with the quote: “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Can the same be said for the ancient History we find in the Bible? The answer is that’s what it’s there for! Not necessarily that we might be in danger of repeating it, but certainly that we might learn!
On Sunday morning we found ourselves with lists of names from Ezra Ch 2 and the danger of failing to see real people with real lives making real sacrifices so that the LORD would be honoured and people come to know Him.
A cursory glance over the chapter will remind us of people and places from elsewhere in the Bible with Bethlehem being a key example. There are connections all over the place and they all add together, contributing to God’s amazing rescue plan for the world!
As we look back at History, it is striking that we have benefitted from the work done by people most of whom we’ve never heard of – but Ezra ch 2 assures us that God knew them! In their day and age they lived and loved and yearned and smiled and cried and worked just like we do today. They each fulfilled different roles: some up-front, some behind the scenes but all vital for the task they were engaged in: of fulfilling what God had said and eventually bringing the Gospel to the world.
Today, living in the light of Jesus coming and dying on the cross and rising from the dead, we have far more access to God and His Word than they ever imagined! Let’s make sure that we live-out that privilege: applying His Word to whatever tasks we have before us and seeking to honour Him above all.
Spencer Shaw