Heralds Digest

“But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel said to them, “You may do nothing with us to build a house for our God; but we alone will build to the LORD God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.” Then the people of the land tried to discourage the people of Judah. They troubled them in building, and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.” ‭‭Ezra‬ ‭4:3-5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/ezr.4.3-5.nkjv Resistance to the pursuit of the glory of God has been recognized as one of the evidences of living for a course higher than self. Discipline and dedication are absolutely necessary in order to avoid distractions from enemies of progress. While the enemies of the people of Judah and Jerusalem have perfected their schemes of insurrection, the people of God countered by appealing to the science of isolation. And although the ...

“When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the LORD, according to the ordinance of David king of Israel. And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD: “For He is good, For His mercy endures forever toward Israel.” Then all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.” ‭‭Ezra‬ ‭3:10-11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/ezr.3.10-11.nkjv The work of a supervisor is only easy to lazy-minded people; while fellows who understand the weight of responsibility would appreciate the opportunity of a genuine break. In the kingdom work, supervisors pay more attention to the owner of the work than the people on the field of work. Otherwise, what the eyes of supervisors see can mislead them away from the reality in the heart of God. When the Levites that were assigned t...

“Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his brethren, arose and built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God.” ‭‭Ezra‬ ‭3:2‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/ezr.3.2.nkjv There is always a silent call to worship in all of life’s affairs. Those who dare to defile the lay down institution for worship must weigh the consequences; and be prepared to provide alternative to institutional call to worship. The returning Israelites from the captivity have the option of building good settlement relationships and servicing a cooperation with the people of the countries at the cost of building an altar of God for divine guidance and worship. But when they chose to heed the divine call to worship, they had the fear of the people of the countries to contend with. Whereas, loyalty to constituted authority and the acceptance of a corporate social responsibility sho...

“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...