Heralds Digest

“And these were the ones who came up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer; but they could not identify their father’s house or their genealogy, whether they were of Israel:...and of the sons of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Koz, and the sons of Barzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by their name. These sought their listing among those who were registered by genealogy, but they were not found; therefore they were excluded from the priesthood as defiled.” ‭‭Ezra‬ ‭2:59, 61-62‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/ezr.2.59,61-62.nkjv There is an adage that says “No matter how sweet a vacation, the journey path back home cannot be mistaken”. The application of the same adage to apparently endless sojourning in a strange land is somewhat controversial. The children of Israel had spent ‘uncountable’ years in captivity, had different taste of life, and had accepted their fate as life served them in Babylon. And when ...

“Then the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, with all whose spirits God had moved, arose to go up and build the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem.” ‭‭Ezra‬ ‭1:5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/ezr.1.5.nkjv While answering the question “How do you know the wine Jesus served the people at the marriage in Cana of Galilee was non-alcoholic”, I personally wonder why anyone would think good about the desire to be intoxicated. Apparently, the spirits of all men are restless and are constantly open to intoxication. Little wonder the scripture admonished “And do not be drunk with wine...but be filled with the Spirit”. And in symbolic representation of an alcoholic wine, every attraction to the spirit that motivate the world into fame, fashion, and fun could readily intoxicate anyone who is not constantly engaged with the Spirit of God. When Cyrus the king of Persia was not intoxicated with his position and palace, he was inspired to bui...

“So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent...So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them.” ‭‭Jonah‬ ‭3:3, 5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jon.3.3,5.nkjv Without a privileged interaction with God, man cannot fathom the basis of the divine interest in man’s relationship. The depravity of sin brings total corruption to the expected response of man to God’s benevolence, irrespective of man’s understanding of God’s grace. Both Jonah the righteous and Nineveh the wicked have responded badly, and needed a re-awakened touch of heaven, in order to respond appropriately to the call from heaven. However, it is amazing to note that while it took Jonah to respond to God after the second call. Nineveh responded almost without a call to repentance: “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown”. Just the obedience of Jo...

“Thus I cleansed them of everything pagan. I also assigned duties to the priests and the Levites, each to his service, and to bringing the wood offering and the firstfruits at appointed times. Remember me, O my God, for good!” ‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭13:30-31‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/neh.13.30-31.nkjv One of the evils of promoting the riches of diverse cultural heritage in North America is the challenges of purging Christian homes from participating in the celebration of Halloween. Just as Christian parents are losing the battle against mixed multitude in their ward’s schools and heighbourhood, Christian singles are getting entangled in the carnal attractions of mixed marriages. Where many are always tempted to only focus on the apparent riches in diversity, Nehemiah could not ignore the consequent defilement of the priesthood by the products of mixed marriages. The problem of pagan patch has nothing to do with the benefits or otherwise of social and cultural interactions. The primary ai...

“Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said to them, “What evil thing is this that you do, by which you profane the Sabbath day? Did not your fathers do thus, and did not our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city? Yet you bring added wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”” ‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭13:17-18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/neh.13.17-18.nkjv The popular grouse about the lack of interest in sabbatical disengagement is the senseless loss of revenue and the apparent lack of productivity. Otherwise, the disengagement often makes sense as long as there is no threat of loss in the profit margin. When the forex market is open with attractive trading opportunities, it does not often make sense to play religion with the need to trade spiritual fellowship with material follower-ship. But why did Nehemiah pick fault in the bargain between profitability and profanity: “What evil thing is this that you do, by which you profane the Sabbath day?” The concern here is obvi...

“And I appointed as treasurers over the storehouse Shelemiah the priest and Zadok the scribe, and of the Levites, Pedaiah; and next to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah; for they were considered faithful, and their task was to distribute to their brethren. Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for its services!” ‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭13:13-14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/neh.13.13-14.nkjv The major challenge of faithfulness in fellowship and service to humanity is the chagrin of fruitfulness. Public servants with a sense of decency are considered workers on earth with only heaven- bound wages. The implications are that there are no legitimate earth-bound wages without abuse of offices, corrupt practices, embezzlement, financial misappropriation, and extortion. Eliashib the priest collided with Tobiah the politician to corrupt the office of priesthood for his own personal gain and gratifica...

“So it was, when they had heard the Law, that they separated all the mixed multitude from Israel.” ‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭13:3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/neh.13.3.nkjv The membrane of mixed multitude in the current world of information technology is clearly thin and truly invisible. When fellowship with diverse groups on different social platforms are no longer separated by wall of bricks and pebbles, subscriptions into mixed ideologies, manipulated orientations, and marred follower-ship can be as quick as a blink of the eyes. But the scriptural principle of separation remains the entrance of the Law of God (the Bible). “So it was, when they had heard the Law.” The words of the Lord are pure words; and as the dross of earth get separated from silver in the furnace, so the entrance of the words of God keep the heart pure from the pollution of this world. There is no other escape route for separation from the influence of mixed multitude today, compared to the principle of hearing the Law l...