'But many....who were ancient men that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy....'
Ezra 3:11-12
The exiled Isrealites, whose sins led to the destruction of their homeland, were finally allowed to return to their destroyed lands, were overwhelmed with joy on finally being able to lay the foundation of the house of the Lord their God. This might just be a first stage of what is a long and uncertain struggle, but the very fact that what was near impossible, now made possible by the Grace of God, was in itself a reason for joy.
'.....the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will, and setteth up over it the basest of men...'
Daniel 4:17
It has been a great new experience for me these past few years. The unfettered joy of seeing a friend or even a stranger finally freed from their yoke of disbelief and taking that first wonderful step across to the kingdom of God. To start with Jesus Christ as the foundation of our lives is not the end all, as new believers and in fact, all believers will have to continue to build from there, a living sanctuary that the Spirit of God will reside in.
'And let them make Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell amongst them...'
Exodus 25:8
It will not be without its challenges, as the long unchallenged but now evicted demonic squatters of Satan's lot try to reimpose their grip on the freed souls.
'Neither shalt thou set thee up any image; which the Lord thy God hateth'
Deuteronomy 16:22
The ancient city of Babylon(present day Iraq), under King Nebuchadnezzar II was a wonder to the traveller's eyes, in terms of size and splendour.
Within it, was an equally spectacular sight, 'the Hanging Gardens of Babylon' a garden built by the King for his homesick wife, Amyitis. Amyitis came from Medes(present day Iran), a green and mountainous region unlike the flat, sun-baked terrain of Mesopotamia.
'...But the Lord will be a refuge for the people, a stronghold for the people of Israel'
Joel 3:16
Modern day Iraq today, might have seen better days, than the present sectarian driven daily violence and I am sure there is a longing amongst many Iraqis, to hark back to the halcyon days of ancient Babylon, maybe a new Babylon. Yet, utopian dreams are not the sole perogatives of the Iraqis, for in the lives of many of us, we have built or aspire to build our own little 'Babylons,' for self-indulgence, for refuge, for personal gratification and for grandeur.
'But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him...........
It doesn't fear when heat comes'
Jeremiah 17:7-8
The great Qin Emperor, the unifier of China, might have started the foundations of the Great Wall, but it was subsequent dynasties and most notably the Ming Dynasty Emperors who expanded upon it, in their bid to keep out the barbarians from the North. The capital was subsequently shifted from Nanjing to present days Beijing, the latter being protected by the natural mountainuos terrain and where there were gaps, the Great Wall.
Yet, the Great Wall literally fell to the deceit of traitorous man from within(namely one Ming General Wu Sangui ) and Qin's China became Qing's(ie the Manchus) China.
Today, the relentless windswept sandstorms, encroaching upon Beijing, from the Mongolian desert, is an apt symbolism of the finite ability of man, to deal with the unfathomable enemy from within and without.
'The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond care, who can understand it?
I the Lord...............'
Jeremiah 17:9-10
The writing is on the wall.
If my memory has not failed me, I do recall in China of Mao's days, access to information was tighter than the seal round a vacumn pack. The major and often, the only source of information was the common wall space, sort of a public notice board, upon which was stuck copies of the newspapers. It was a common sight to see many Chinese gathered round the perimeters of the wall, straining both body and soul, to get a clearer glimpse of the news.
Life was indeed simpler then.
Our young Lion City, Singapore, after almost a decade of Asian crisis induced stupor, has finally stirred, and the property market has come roaring back to life. The wealth effect has started to take root and many today, at least on paper, is definitely richer financial wise, than a year back.
While sceptics still abound, and there are many extrageneous factors that can derail the gravy train, on paper, the writing is indeed on the wall; good times are back and prosperity will abound.
It is indeed good to be thankful to the Lord for all blessings are from the Lord.
'The Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly'
Psalm 84:11
Yet, greed can loosen our focus on God, and fear of missing out will help the devil tighten its grip on us and pride will blind us to the dangers that lie within.
Man, in our self deceitful and prideful nature, often end up worshipping the blessings, instead of the source of all our grace and blessings, the Lord Our God.
'And he sought to see Jesus who He was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before , and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him..................'
Luke 19:3-5
Zaccheus was a rich publican and was perceived by the self righteous Jews to be a sinner. We are all sinners, for none is perfect.
Yet, like Zaccheus, we must desire to seek the Lord, with all our heart, soul and mind and acknowledge Him in all our ways and to love our neighbours as ourselves.
These are indeed dangerous times. Like the writings on the wall, obvious disastrous events like tsunamis, bird flu, earthquakes or a serious illness will often made many a determined and thankful follower of Jesus Christ.
Yet, it is the 'good' things of the secular world that often caused us to be oblivious to the real, creeping dangers of the hellish road that our sins are leading us to. For few would find it hard to resist or even want to desist from the exhilarating sugar coated poisons.
'What things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ'
Philippians 3:7
It is good to be thankful for whatever blessings that the Lord has bestowed upon us and do reflect upon how He wants us to be good stewards of His grace.
"Love people and not things, use things and not people"
(Daily Bread Jan 25th, 2007)
God Blesses
Eng Hieang
Colossians 3:8-17
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