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Thursday, September 24, 2009

Ezra- mixed emotions

Hey guys,
I'm no blog pro, nor am I a bible scholar.  However, I felt compelled to share something which struck me as very poetic as well as powerful.  To me, the September 23rd reading, the first couple chapters of Ezra, came as a relief, as it was the beginning of a new regime and its attendant policies.  Thankfully the Israelites were able to live in happiness, which entailed rebuilding their temple, due to the fact that Cyrus figured that a happy people would lead to a submissive nation. 
I think this happiness is evidenced in the reading, is a stark dichotomy from the previous readings, and culminates in the passage Ezra 3: 11-13, specifically, "No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise.  And the sound was heard far away."  The exiles were in an emotional upheaval.  It seems to me that happiness is not just being happy, but being afforded the opportunity to display a wide range of emotion.  That is powerful.  We as disciples are safe, and have every good thing in Christ.  

1 comment:

Tera Chau said...

Hi Laura! Awww so WONDERFUL to cya on here :) and GREAT thoughts! Amazing how we really do have every good thing in Christ. (miiiiiiss u, cya Sat)