Is Esther Historical?

A big objection some people have against the historicity of Esther is that secular history doesn’t seem to mention this, though there may be some allusions to it. 

Also, the idea of Haman’s proposal goes against how Persians usually treated minorities in their empire. They generally had a policy of tolerance unless you rebel. If you are willing to submit to their rule, they generally let you keep your culture, religion etc. because this makes people less likely to rebel. However, this does not mean that persecution of a particular ethnic group by an individual official would have been impossible.

So the allegation is that there was by the time of the Maccabees this festival of Purim, and Esther was a fairy tale made up to explain it.

But the lack of clear secular corroboration is not proof against Esther’s historicity. Ancient records are fragmentary, and Persian royal inscriptions were normally propaganda, celebrating kings, building works, victories, and divine favour—not palace scandal, an attempted empire-wide massacre, or a king’s humiliating reversal of policy. Herodotus is the major surviving Greek narrative source for Xerxes’ reign, but his interest was chiefly in the Persian Wars and Greek interaction with Persia; he had no reason to record every internal matter of the royal court. He mentions Amestris, a prominent queen associated with Xerxes, and some have speculated that she could be Esther. However, that identification is far from clear and is generally considered unlikely.

However, the book of Esther, both in the Hebrew version and in the extra parts found only in the Greek version, have intimate details of Achaemenid Persian courtly life and practices that the average Jews of the Maccabean period would not know. These include features such as the king’s seven senior advisers, royal banquets, the organisation of the royal women’s quarters and eunuchs, restrictions on access to the king, the golden sceptre, royal seals, written decrees sent throughout the empire, scribal practices, and other aspects of court protocol. Several of these features have parallels in what is independently known about Achaemenid Persia from Greek sources, Persian evidence, and archaeology. 

Someone familiar with the Achaemenid Persian court would have found it much easier to get such details right, whereas an ordinary Jewish writer in the Maccabean period, centuries after the fall of the Persian Empire, would have needed access to old documents or well-preserved traditions that were difficult to obtain. There was no public database, no mass printing, and no convenient library where one could simply look up Achaemenid court protocol—and, of course, no Google or AI like we have today to search for this information 😅. Records were handwritten on scrolls or tablets, scattered among official archives and elite collections, often far away and in foreign languages. Access would have required unusual connections, resources, travel, and literacy.

So while the form of Esther we have today in the Hebrew and Greek are probably from the Maccabean or Hellenistic period, the core story probably came from the Persian period. The text that Lysimachus son of Ptolemy translated into Greek probably had those details because it’s unlikely for Lysimachus to have known those details centuries after the fall of the Persian empire. In fact, Lysimachus shows his unfamiliarity with that period because he got the name of the king wrong—he wrote Artaxerxes instead of Xerxes, perhaps because of the similarity of the names in Hebrew—and yet got the Persian courtly details right. This strongly supports the idea that his source text for translating Esther had those details.

So, while from the historical evidence alone, one cannot conclusively prove Esther to be historical, I think that, given the balance of probabilities, the evidence suggests that Esther is more likely to be historical than to be a myth made up by a Maccabean-era Jew to explain the festival of Purim. Its Persian setting, courtly knowledge, administrative details, and coherent historical context are better explained by authentic tradition rooted in the Persian period.

Holier than thou?

S: Hosea 11:12 Ephraim has surrounded me with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit; and Judah is still wandering with God and is faithful to the Holy One.

2 verses later, Hosea 12:2 Yahweh has a quarrel with Judah and will punish Jacob according to his ways and repay him according to his deeds.

O: At the end of Chapter 11, Judah was looking good compared to Ephraim (Israel). But was Judah really good? 2 verses later, the situation is revealed when Yahweh declares that He has a quarrel with Judah and will punish Jacob (all of Israel – both north and south). Judah may not have reached Ephraim’s depth of rebellion, but Judah too stands accountable before God.

A: Sometimes we look good when we compare ourselves with people who have done things that are more visibly evil than us. But as Jesus said, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone” (Mark 10:18). We cannot think we are good because we’re better than someone else, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).  He “does not want any to perish, but all to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9) so we instead of trying to condemn evil people, we need to follow God in seeking their repentance.

This is not to say that there should not be laws and government action to punish crimes, but I’m speaking at an interpersonal level. We should be seeking to draw all to repentance and to follow God, rather than revenge.

P: Father, when people upset me, it’s hard to keep in mind Your desire for their repentance rather than their death. Remind me to see other people through Your compassionate eyes that do not tolerate injustice yet extends grace. In Jesus’ name, amen.

The Lord Hears the Cry of the Poor

 S: Hosea 4:14“I will not punish your daughters when they turn to prostitution, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery, because the men themselves consort with harlots and sacrifice with shrine prostitutes—a people without understanding will come to ruin!”

O: Along with the incident with Judah and Tamar in Genesis 38:26 God condemns the hypocrisy of going after prostitutes instead of the pimps and johns. Most of the time, prostitutes are victims of human trafficking and/or difficult circumstances, while the pimps and johns chose to victimise them.

A: We should support ministries that rescue girls from prostitution and call men to repentance. The laws of the land should prosecute the pimps and johns rather than going after the girls. Instead, the girls should be rescued and educated. From a web search, I found various ministries that minister to the urban poor, including prostitutes: Global Shepherds, KLUrban Fellowship (KLUF), Malaysian CARE, DUMC IMPACT Beyond, Grace CommunityServices, Holy Trinity Bukit Bintang — Social Action, and many others. Secular NGOs alike Tenaganita also minister to prostitutes.

P: Father, I pray for the girls trafficked into prostitution. May we have compassion on them and rescue them. In Jesus’ name, amen.

What’s your purpose in life?

Ecclesiastes (Vanity of vanities and all kinds of vanity) by Isaak Asknaziy, 1900.

S: Ecclesiastes 1

The words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

“Vanity of vanities!” says the Teacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity!”

What does a person gain in all his toil with which he toils under the sun? A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth stands forever. The sun rises, and the sun goes down; to its place it hurries, and there it rises again. The wind goes to the south and goes around to the north; around and around it goes, and on its circuit the wind returns. All the streams flow to the sea, but the sea is never full; to the place where the streams flow, there they continue to flow.

All things toil continuously; no one can ever finish describing this. The eye is never satisfied with seeing, and the ear is never filled with hearing. What has been—it is what will be; what has been done—it is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun. There is a thing of which it is said, “Look at this! This is new!” But it already existed in ages past before us. There is neither remembrance of former generations, nor will there be remembrance of future generations.

I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. I applied my mind to seek and to search by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. It is a grievous task God has given to humans. I saw all the works that are done under the sun. Look! Everything is vanity and chasing wind. What is twisted cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.

I said to myself, “Look! I have become great and have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has preceded me over Jerusalem. I have acquired a great deal of wisdom and knowledge.” So I dedicated myself to learn about wisdom and to learn about delusion and folly. However, I discovered that this also is chasing wind. For in much wisdom is much frustration, and whoever increases knowledge increases sorrow.

O: Ecclesiastes chronicles the struggles Qoheleth (the Teacher in the above translation, from the Hebrew קֹהֶלֶת) as he seeks to understand the world that God had made.

If Qoheleth was Solomon, as many people have traditionally assumed, then what a tragic story it would be. Solomon started out well, asking God for wisdom, but later drifted away from Yahweh and worshipped other gods. Ecclesiastes could then be understood as the reflections of an old man looking back on a life in which he had pursued wisdom, wealth, pleasure and achievement, only to discover that none of them could provide ultimate meaning. But even if he wasn’t Solomon, the observations remain valid.

Ecclesiastes shows how meaningless life is if you don’t have God’s purpose in your life. Here in Chapter 1, like the ending lyrics of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, Qoheleth bemoans how “nothing ever matters,” because no matter how much you toil, “there is nothing new under the sun.” Like Percey Shelly points out in his classic poem Ozymandias, you can be great in your time, build great monuments to yourself, but time will erase them.

He talks about how “in wisdom there’s much frustration and whoever increases knowledge increases sorrow.” Indeed, if Qoheleth is Solomon, what a great example of that he was! God gave him great wisdom, and he squandered it as he drifted away from Yahweh.

Then in Chapter 2, he gives himself over to hedonism, the wealth acquisition (again, if Qoheleth is Solomon, this fits with the historical record of Solomon’s reign being extremely prosperous) yet even that’s no ultimate fulfilment and he ends Chapter 2 by saying it’s “chasing after the wind.”

The despair and meaninglessness go on like that in chapters 3-11, until he finally realises in chapter 12, after “all has been heard” that the conclusion is “Fear God and obey his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.  For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.”

A: We don’t have to live Solomon’s wayward wasted life to figure out the conclusion. Let us fear God and obey His commandments now. Then only we will live the purpose-driven life (as Rick Warren puts it.)

Where Qoheleth asks, “What is the point of life if everything ends in death?” Warren answers, “Life makes sense when you understand that it is ultimately about God, not yourself.”

It’s not about you (or me.) The way to have a meaningful life is to live for God:

• Worship: we were planned for God’s pleasure.
• Fellowship: we were formed for God’s family.
• Discipleship: we were created to become like Christ.
• Ministry: we were shaped for serving God.
• Evangelism: we were made for a mission.

So our purpose isn’t primarily to achieve, accumulate, experience pleasure, or leave a legacy, as Qoheleth struggled with. It is to God, love God, become like Christ, serve others and participate in God's mission.

And because Christ has conquered death, our labour for Him is not ultimately futile:

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.

— 1 Corinthians 15:58

P: Father, thank You that Qoheleth is wrong when he said life is vanity. Life is not vanity if we live for You. Help me to live for You. Help me encourage my family and friends to live for You. And thank You that, because of Christ, our labour in You is not in vain. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Note: I wrote this and then showed it to various AIs, both Christian and secular and made a few changes where I agreed with the Ais’ suggestions. So the ideas and most of the text is my own writing.)

Nehemiah the Imperfect

S: Nehemiah 13

O: Everyone is imperfect, but the book of Nehemiah points out Nehemiah’s imperfections a bit more starkly than most autobiographical books. It shows his insecurity, his intemperance, and his exclusionary attitude toward foreigners, 4 times he kept asking God to “remember me” (Nehemiah 5:19; 13:14, 22, 31) and various intemperate actions like beating people up and pulling out their hair (Nehemiah 13:25).

(Regarding his attitude toward foreigners: Nehemiah 13 uses sweeping reform language because Nehemiah was enforcing covenant separation from hostile and corrupting foreign influence. However, the wider witness of Scripture shows that this cannot mean the absolute exclusion of every Ammonite or Moabite who genuinely turned to Yahweh. Ruth had already demonstrated that covenant faith, not ethnic origin, determines membership among God's people. And his forcing the Jews who have married foreign wives, even those having children, to divorce them was later shown in 1 Corinthians 7:12-13 to be not the way Christ would want it.)

And yet, God remembered him and used him to further the kingdom of God.

A: Sometimes we become discouraged when we realise how imperfect we are. Yes, we should repent and get closer to the image of Christ. But we should not despair. Instead, let us continue to serve Him faithfully, trusting that He can use us despite our imperfections.

P: Father, thank You for Your grace. Help us to become more and more conformed to the image of Christ. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Reminders

S: Nehemiah 9

The Levites recapped what Yahweh had done for Israel up to that point, how God rescued them from Egypt, but then they went and made the golden calf, yet God took the next generation to the Promised Land. But even after entering the Promised Land, they repeatedly turned away from Yahweh. Though He sent prophets to warn them and call them back, they remained stubborn, so God judged them and allowed them to be taken into exile. Yet God did not abandon them. In His mercy He brought them back to their land.

O: This reminds me of Acts 7, where Stephen also recapped the history of God saving them, culminating in the very same Jesus that they had rejected.

I am also reminded of how in Deuteronomy, Moses recapped what God had done for them up to that point. (In fact, the Malay name for Deuteronomy in the Alkitab is Ulangan, which is the same word we use for reviewing what we have learned before an exam.) And many other places in the Old Testament, they build memorials here and there to remember what God had done, e.g. 1 Samuel 7 the story of Ebenezer.

A: We need to keep reminding ourselves of what God has done, because it is so easy for us to drift away and forget how He saved us. That’s why it’s so important to study the Bible regularly, to meet with other believers among whom the Word of God is taught. As Deuteronomy 6:7 says, “And you shall recite them to your children, and you shall talk about them at the time of your living in your house and at the time of your going on the road and at the time of your lying down and at the time of your rising up” and the same instructions are repeated in Deuteronomy 11:19.

P: Father, thank You for Your salvation that You have provided us through Jesus. Help me to keep reminding myself, my family, and my community of believers of Your truths and never forget Your blessings. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Marriage

 
Picture CC0 Public Domain

S: Ezra 10 

Ezra led the returning Jews to repent of marrying foreign women, and divorce their foreign wives, even those who already had children.

O: Even in the Old Testament, it’s clear that this is not a case of racism, but of faith. The problem with the foreign wives was not race or nationality – it was that they did not follow Yahweh. There are other examples in the Old Testament where foreigners follow Yahweh and God sanctioned them marrying in, e.g. Ruth.

However, the New Testament made it even clearer: 1 Corinthians 7:39 “A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord.” The phrase “in the Lord” shows that a Christian who is free to marry must marry someone who belongs to Christ.

Note that the New Testament also makes it clear that if you’re already married to an unbeliever, you are not to initiate a divorce. 1 Corinthians 7:12-16 “Now to the rest I say—not the Lord—if any brother has an unbelieving wife and she consents to live with him, he must not divorce her. And if any wife has an unbelieving husband and he consents to live with her, she must not divorce her husband. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the brother, since otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy. But if the unbeliever leaves, let him leave. The brother or the sister is not bound in such cases. But God has called us in peace. For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?”

A: While being married to a non-believer is a problem because of the spiritual disunity, it’s even worse to break up a marriage just because the spouse is not a believer. This is especially the case when there are already children. So, what Ezra led the returning Jews to do is not what we should do as New Testament believers.

If we’re not married yet, and we want to marry, we should marry a fellow-believer. The principle from 2 Corinthians 6:14 applies: “Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers, for what participation is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?” Although 1 Corinthians 6:14 is not specifically about marriage, but rather about partnerships in general, what more intimate partnership is there other than marriage? So, it also applies to marriage.

P: Father, strengthen our marriages. Give wisdom to our single brothers and sisters to find Godly spouses if they desire to marry. And help those who are already in “unequally yoked” marriages to be such a blessing to their family that they be drawn to You. As I am married to a fellow believer, I pray that I will also be a good husband; help me to love her as Christ loves the church and gave Himself up for her. In Jesus’ name, amen.

How should we treat “Samaritans”?

S: Ezra 4:1-4

Now the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple for Yahweh the God of Israel. And they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of the families, and they said to them, “Let us build with you. Like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to him from the days of Esarhaddon the king of Assyria who brought us up here. But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of the families of Israel said to them, “It is not for you but for us to build a house for our God. For we ourselves alone will build it for Yahweh the God of Israel, just as Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”

Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build and bribed officials against them to frustrate their plan for all the days of Cyrus king of Persia until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

O: This was a major step in the increase of the enmity between the Jews and the people who would be eventually known as Samaritans, to the point that by Jesus’ time, they would have nothing to do with each other. There may already have been some prejudice before that due to the fact that the Samaritans had a syncretistic form of Yahweh worship, but it certainly got a lot worse in Ezra’s time. Praise the Lord that Jesus then overcame this with the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4:1-42. The Samaritans came to Christ in droves as a result of that.

Because of the enmity between the Jews and Samaritans that started with Ezra above, many Jews when travelling from Judea to Galilee would actually cross over the Jordan to Perea, and travel on the east side of the Jordan till they got far enough north to cross back over to Galilee. Jesus did not do that. He deliberately travelled through Samaria and germinated the Samaritan revival.

It may have been after that Samaritan revival that Luke 9:51–56 records some Samaritans not welcoming him because he was headed for Jerusalem – the Samaritans’ own prejudices against Jews reared its ugly head. James and John, the “Sons of Thunder” as Jesus called them in Mark 3:17, in their hot-headedness, wanted to call down fire from heaven to destroy them, but Jesus rebuked them for it.

Then, not long after that, Jesus in Luke 10:25-37 makes a Samaritan the hero of the story in the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Then in Luke 17:11-19 we see the healing of the ten lepers, where only the Samaritan comes back to thank Jesus. And finally in Acts 1:8, just before He gets taken up into heaven, Jesus commands His disciples to witness to Samaria as part of the Great Commission.

The result of all this was a reconciliation between at least the Christian Jews and the Christian Samaritans. Acts 8 tells the continuing story where Philip went to another city in Samaria and led many to Christ there, and Peter and John laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.

A: We are surrounded by people who do not believe in Christ. Some of them are hostile to our faith. We might have prejudices against them, just like the Jews had towards Samaritans. Jesus calls us to show them His love, rather than hostility. Even as we hold firmly to Christ, we must show His mercy to all.

Related to this, see The Parable of the Good Muslim.

P: Father, help me to always be a good ambassador for Christ, and to show people Jesus’ love. Help me to overcome any prejudices I may have. In Jesus’ name, amen.

 

The Mission Is Not Yet Complete

 

S: Mark 13:9-13 “You must watch out for yourselves. You will be handed over to councils and beaten in the synagogues. You will stand before governors and kings because of me, as a witness to them. First the gospel must be preached to all nations. When they arrest you and hand you over for trial, do not worry about what to speak. But say whatever is given you at that time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. Brother will hand over brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

O: Three major ideas here are backed up by many other parts of the New Testament:

• The Gospel will be preached to all ethnic groups. “Nations” (Greek: ἔθνη) refers not to modern countries but to ethnic groups.
• Our faith will be challenged, but we should not worry, for the Holy Spirit will guide us.
• It’s not “once saved, always saved”. While we are saved by grace through faith and not by our own works, Scripture also calls us to remain faithful to Christ to the end. You can’t say “I received Christ back then, so I’m saved no matter what I do now.”

A: I must do my part to share God’s love with people who have yet to know Him. Christ Himself told us that the Gospel must be preached to all ἔθνη – so the Church’s mission is still incomplete. This is why I am sceptical whenever people confidently insist that Jesus must return within a particular timeframe. I lived through the “88 reasons why Christ must return in 1988” craze, and such failed predictions can damage people’s faith unnecessarily.† As Augustine of Hippo wrote around 419 AD, it cannot be said that Christ's return is immediately upon us while His own sign—the preaching of the Gospel to all nations—remains unfulfilled. (Paraphrasing Augustine’s Letter 199.) This remains true today, though we are all called to do our part in proclaiming the Gospel. We are all ambassadors for Christ – it’s not only the job of the “official” evangelists to share the Gospel.

The Holy Spirit will guide us, as this and other passages promise. This is not an excuse to neglect study, wisdom, or preparation, but it does mean we need not be ruled by fear.

And finally, we must be steadfast in Christ. We must daily take up our cross and follow Him. When we sin, we must repent and turn back to Him. We must not indulge or wallow in sin. If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness, so let’s make sure to confess to God and repent.

P: Father, thank You for Your salvation. Thank You that when I sin, You are faithful to forgive as I repent and turn back to You. May I be Your good and faithful servant and ambassador. May my lips be guided by Your Holy Spirit to share Your good news. May I be salt and light for You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

† This should never become an excuse for complacency (see also Matthew 25:1–13). Even if Jesus does not return during your lifetime, you will still meet Him. We may "meet our Maker" today through death, so we must always remain watchful and steadfast in Christ.

The Father or the Fig Tree

S: Mark 9:14-29; Mark 11:12-26

O: In the first passage, a desperate father brought his suffering son to Jesus’ disciples, but they could not heal him. His son had suffered since childhood, so this father had likely carried years of grief, disappointment, and exhausted hope. Then he heard about this miracle-working rabbi and thought maybe this was finally a way out.

However, when he brought his son to them, the disciples failed to heal him, he was disappointed yet again. No wonder when Jesus finally showed up (after the transfiguration! But he didn’t know that) he said, “But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

Jesus almost sounded offended, “If you can? Everything is possible for one who believes.”

No wonder the father desperately cried, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” He didn’t have much faith at that point, but he was desperate, and he brought the little faith he had to the right person.

And Jesus demonstrated His power and healed the boy.

Then in the second passage, Jesus saw a fig tree that was “in leaf” but had no fruit. Fig trees of the kind found in Israel can produce early small figs, sometimes called “early figs” or “breba” fruit, before the main crop. These early figs may appear around the time the leaves come out. So, if you see a tree full of leaves before the main season, you would expect there to be some early fruit.

This became a living parable of the religious leaders and the Temple establishment. They had the appearance of faith but no spiritual fruit. They had the leaves but no figs. So they fell under the curse the same way as illustrated by the fig tree Jesus cursed.

The tree looked fruitful from a distance because it was leafy, so it invited inspection, but it proved barren—making it an apt symbol for outward religiosity without corresponding fruit.

A: In the first story, the man didn’t have any polished religious image. He had no beautiful robes, no fancy theology. Even his faith was frayed, mixed with unbelief. But he was desperate, and he put his trust in Jesus. Jesus showed mercy and healed his son, in spite of his imperfect faith.

In the second story, the priests, scribes, Sadducees and Pharisees had plenty of religious sophistication, but they rejected Jesus, having no true faith and fruit as a result – and so they fell under the curse of the fig tree. This also was repeated many times through history as churches became so caught up in the pomp and pageantry of official sanction but did not have the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, we should trust Jesus even if our faith is imperfect, rather than being caught up in religiosity. This is not to say that you cannot have true faith if you’re in a formal traditional church. You certainly can. And it’s certainly possible to have fake faith for show only in a “contemporary” church. What matters is the heart, sincere trust in Jesus, however imperfect or desperate.

P: Father, thank You for Your grace that overcomes our imperfections. I confess that my faith is often imperfect and have mixed motives. May I always be sincere and following You, even in my shortcomings. I repent of my sins and put my trust in You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Illustration created by ChatGPT.

Desperation - I believe, help my unbelief.

Today, instead of my usual Friday SOAP, my meditation on Mark 9:14-39 became the start of a song. Right now, I only have come up with the lyrics; haven’t figured out the music yet. (I might modify the lyrics when I put it to music later, I dunno yet.)

I was meditating on the passage, when it occurred to me, all the songs I know about “I believe, help my unbelief” are meditative, reflective songs. But in the original situation, the phrase is not a meditative phrase – it was a cry of desperation! The father wasn’t reflecting on faith – he was in despair that his son would ever be healed! The disciples had failed. Could Jesus do it? He didn’t know! That’s why he said what he said to Jesus. 

So I tried to come up with a song that echoed that desperation.

[Image source]

[Verse 1]

Coming down the mountainside,
The Lord beheld the scene;
The scribes and disciples argued there,
A crowd stood in between.

A father stepped before the Lord,
His voice was weak with grief:
“Teacher, I brought my only son,
But they brought no relief.”

[Verse 2]

“Since he was but a little child,
A spirit troubles him;
It casts him into fire and streams,
And leaves his body grim.

I begged Your followers for help,
To set my poor boy free;
They failed to drive the spirit out.”
He said, “Bring him to Me.”

[Chorus]

Lord, I believe! Help my unbelief!
My doubt is heavy and my trust is small.
I bring no mighty faith to win relief,
Just a shattered hope, and yet I bring it all.

I am hoping against hope You are the one,
I’m holding to the fraying edge of grief;
I have nothing left to offer for my son,
But “I believe, oh, help my unbelief!”

[Verse 3]

The spirit saw the Saviour near,
And threw him to the ground;
He writhed and foamed before them all,
While crowds stood gathered round.

“How long has he been suffering so?”
The Lord in mercy said.
“Since childhood, Lord, and every year
I’ve lived with fear and dread.”

[Verse 4]

“If You can do a thing for us,
Have mercy, Lord,” he cried.
Jesus answered, “If I can?
Why let your faith now hide?

All things are possible indeed
For those who will believe.”
Then tears broke from the father’s eyes,
This mercy to receive:

[Chorus]

Lord, I believe! Help my unbelief!
My doubt is heavy and my trust is small.
I bring no mighty faith to win relief,
Just a shattered hope, and yet I bring it all.

I am hoping against hope You are the one,
I’m holding to the fraying edge of grief;
I have nothing left to offer for my son,
But “I believe, oh, help my unbelief!”

[Bridge]

Not a perfect faith,
Not a fearless heart,
Just a father on his knees.
Lord, I cannot save my son,
So I beg you, Jesus, please.

[Verse 5]

Jesus saw the crowd draw near,
And spoke a stern command:
“You deaf and mute spirit, depart,
And leave at My demand.”

The spirit shrieked and left the boy,
Who lay as one long dead;
But Jesus took him by the hand,
And raised him up instead.

[Chorus 2]

Lord, I believe! Help my unbelief!
When shadows fall and future trials arise,
I will remember how You brought relief,
And chased the ancient terror from his eyes.

I will anchor to the victory You have won,
How You rescued us from tragedy and grief;
When You reached Your gentle hand to raise my son,
Lord, I believe! Oh, help my unbelief!

[Outro]

In the valley after glory,
In the struggle after light,
The Saviour meets the trembling soul,
And leads it through the night.

---

Note: I used several discussions with various AIs to help work through the ideas and help me with rephrasing my ideas with rhyme and meter.

Two-stage healing

S: Mark8:22-26

²² They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. ²³ He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spat on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, ‘Do you see anything?’

²⁴ He looked up and said, ‘I see people; they look like trees walking around.’

²⁵ Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. ²⁶ Jesus sent him home, saying, ‘Don’t even go into the village.’

O: Oddly, Jesus’ healing seemed to be not complete the first time round, and he had to heal again. But this actually makes sense, given modern research.

Neurologist Oliver Sacks documented a case of Shirl Jennings, who was medically healed of blindness, but his brain had difficulty processing the visual information. It took him weeks and months to adapt to vision, and actually never managed to achieve completely normal visual processing. [1]

Others also documented other cases of people who had been healed of blindness needing time to relate objects they saw with what they had only experienced before by touch. [2]

So, perhaps Jesus healed the blind man twice because there were two things that needed fixing – first, the hardware: his physical ability to see, and second, the software: his cognitive ability to process what his eyes were seeing.

During my master's research, I worked a little with machine vision. It gave me a new appreciation for the miracle of sight. Even getting a computer to identify simple lines in engineering drawings was remarkably difficult. (This is now largely a solved problem; my research was decades ago.) If recognising lines is hard, how much more remarkable is the human ability to instantly recognise faces, trees, and people? [3]

A: Sometimes God’s work in my life unfolds in stages. I may pray for help, healing, guidance, or change, and the answer may not seem complete at first. Like the blind man, I may see something, but not yet clearly.

This passage reminds me that Jesus is not limited or struggling. He is Lord over both the miracle and the process. If His work seems gradual, there may be reasons I do not yet understand.

The blind man was honest with Jesus. He did not pretend that everything was clear. He simply said what he saw. I need to learn that kind of honesty in prayer too. Instead of pretending, giving up, or becoming quietly disappointed, I can tell Jesus where things still feel unresolved: “Lord, I can see a little, but not clearly yet.”

I also need to keep trusting Him after the first touch. Partial progress is not failure. It may be part of the process by which Jesus teaches me dependence, patience, and deeper faith. My responsibility is to stay with Him, be honest before Him, and trust Him until He brings clearer sight.

P: Father, when Your answer seems delayed, partial, or different from what I expected, help me not to give up or pretend. Teach me to be honest with You, to trust Your process, and to keep looking to Jesus until I see more clearly. In Jesus’ name, amen.

References

1.     Oliver Sacks, An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1995), chap. 2, “To See and Not See.” ISBN 0-679-43785-1

2.     Held, R., Ostrovsky, Y., de Gelder, B. et al. The newly sighted fail to match seen with felt. Nat Neurosci 14, 551–553 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.2795

3.     Chai, I., Dori, D. (1992). Orthogonal Zig-Zag: An Efficient Method for Extracting Straight Lines from Engineering Drawings. In: Arcelli, C., Cordella, L.P., di Baja, G.S. (eds) Visual Form. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0715-8_14

Note: The ideas are mine, but I did get some help from AIs to copyedit what I wrote.

One woman’s touch

S: Mark 5:24b-34

A large crowd followed and pressed around him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

At once Jesus realised that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’”

But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

O: So many people were touching Jesus, bumping into him, jostling, etc. in the crowd as Jesus made his way from the shore to Jairus’s house. Yet one woman’s touch was different. One woman’s touch made Jesus stop in his tracks! One woman’s touch, in faith, brought healing. One woman’s touch.

It’s not that the people crowding around Jesus were not interested in Jesus. They obviously were – otherwise, why would they have come crowding around him? But there was a qualitative difference between their interest in Jesus and that one woman’s. They were interested in Jesus – she put her faith in Jesus.

The crowd pressed against Jesus with curiosity and excitement. She reached for Jesus with desperate faith. Many touched him accidentally; she touched him intentionally. For twelve years she had lived with shame, weakness, loss, and isolation. And yet Jesus didn't simply let the healing happen quietly. Instead, he called her forward so that the one who had been known by her condition would now be known by his compassion.

A: Daily I encounter Jesus. Most days, I pray and read the Bible. But often, it’s just part of my routine. Many days, I touch Jesus… like the people crowding against him as he walked from the shore to Jairus’s house. How often do I touch him like that woman touched him?

P: Psalm 27:4 says “One thing I have asked of Yahweh, that I will seek after: that I may dwell in Yahweh’s house all the days of my life, to see Yahweh’s beauty, and to inquire in his temple.” I admit, Father, that I do not often feel like that. I’m filled with other things I’m seeking than to spend quiet time with you. Father, forgive me. May I learn to be content with you above all else. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Why Did Jesus Speak So That People Wouldn’t Understand?

S: Mark 4:9-12

⁹ Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

¹⁰ When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. ¹¹ He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables ¹² so that,

“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
    and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’^[a]”

O: Jesus quotes Isaiah 6, where Yahweh commissions Isaiah to preach to a hardened Judah. Isaiah’s preaching does not create innocent unbelief, but exposes and confirms rebellion already present. In the larger sweep of Isaiah, Judah’s refusal of God’s word leads toward national devastation, exile, ultimately culminating in the Babylonian captivity.

Jesus applies that same prophetic pattern to His own ministry: He’s announcing the Kingdom of God, but not everyone receives it. This is preceded by the Parable of the Sower – the same gospel seed is sown, but the condition of the heart determines the response. Some reject immediately, some respond shallowly, some are choked by worldly concerns, and some truly hear, accept, persevere, and bear fruit.

Jesus is not saying, “I arbitrarily do not want people forgiven.” He is saying that the mystery of the kingdom is given to those who draw near to Him in faith, humility, and repentance, while those repeating Israel’s old pattern of hardness remain blind even while hearing. The issue is not mere intelligence. The disciples themselves often misunderstand. The issue is the posture of the heart: whether one comes near, asks, listens, repents, and follows.

At the same time, a person’s heart condition is not necessarily static. People can later repent. Even in Isaiah’s larger context, judgment does not destroy God’s mercy; a remnant remains. Therefore, this passage warns us not to presume upon hearing the word, but to receive it with repentance, perseverance, and fruitfulness.

A: Spiritual understanding grows as we stay near Christ. I must not be content merely to hear God’s word outwardly. I must receive it inwardly with repentance, faith, and obedience. I should draw near to Christ in prayer, study of Scripture, and faithful living, trusting that spiritual understanding deepens as I remain close to Him and bear fruit in perseverance.

P: Lord Jesus, I thank You
with my whole life and soul, I do
My heart belongs to You,
I know You love me true

The only sacrifice
I can bring is my soul,
my body and my heart,
You can take me whole.

My riches are like rags
compared to You, my Lord
My works are not enough
the ones I could afford.

So take my heart, O Lord,
I offer it to You
Tell me now my Lord,
what You want me to do
Receive it all my Lord,
this body that was mine
until the end of time.

Amen

Subtle idols

S: Mark 2:16-17, 24, 27-28

Some of the teachers of the Law of Moses were Pharisees, and they saw Jesus eating with sinners and tax collectors. So they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

Jesus heard them and answered, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but sick people do. I didn’t come to invite good people to be my followers. I came to invite sinners.”

…

Some Pharisees asked Jesus, “Why are your disciples picking grain on the Sabbath? They are not supposed to do that!”

…

Jesus finished by saying, “People were not made for the good of the Sabbath. The Sabbath was made for the good of people. So the Son of Man is Lord over the Sabbath.”

O:

We have a tendency to make an idol of our own rules and interpretations of the faith, of our own tribe, and hence end up pushing people away from Yahweh. We may excuse the wrong things people we support do, while emphasising the wrong things people we disagree with do.

Jesus came to reconcile the ungodly people to Yahweh. We are His ambassadors, so we should be in that same business. But too often, we let our own prejudices get in the way of that.

A: I need to repent of my own sins, and show God’s compassion to others, whether they are already with Christ or still outside the family of faith. Many or most of those tax collectors and sinners Jesus ate with were not yet converted, yet He openly fellowshipped with them. I must show that same love and welcome as well.

P: Father, give me your heart for those outside the family of faith. Help me to show Your love to them. Let me recognise my own sins and grow closer to You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐯𝐞 𝐃𝐨𝐧𝐞

For All The King’s People

By Rob Hibbitt

Look my people, look what you’ve done

And there is nothing new under the sun

In your freedom you’ve bowed down to gold

It′s the same story, that same story of old

Come now children, put down that calf

I want the whole heart not just the half

By all means sing, I love to hear your voice

But O my children, love is freedom’s choice

Look my people, where is your fruit

That Love and peace and kindness

Stemming from my Spirit root

You sing, and dance, while the poor they die

You worship me while the nations cry

Come now children, put down that calf

I want the whole heart not just the half

By all means sing, I love to hear your voice

But O my children, love is freedom’s choice

Look my people, it is all in my Word

Why chase compromise and the absurd

The nations blaspheme because of you

So repent, my people, ’cause I still love you

Come now children, put down that calf

I want the whole heart not just the half

By all means sing, I love to hear your voice

But O my children, love is freedom′s choice

Throw down that calf of gold

Remember the promise of old

You will be like the stars up in the sky

And a land of promise for you and I

Now throw off the yoke of lust

And in my Word alone trust

Look my people, it is all in my Word

Why chase compromise and the absurd

The nations blaspheme because of you

So repent, my people, ’cause I still love you

Come now children, put down that calf

I want the whole heart not just the half

By all means sing, I love to hear your voice

But O my children, love is freedom′s choice

Come now children, put down that calf

I want the whole heart not just the half

By all means sing, I love to hear your voice

But O my children, love is freedom’s choice.

By the way, I just discovered this artist today. I mentioned the line “The nations blaspheme because of you” in a conversation with Eric Skattebo and he thought I was referring to a song, and so he Googled for the song and found this song. I was actually referring to Romans 2:24, but this was a serendipitous discovery because I really like the few songs I’ve since listened to from this channel.

Persist in repentance

S:

1 Kings 21:21, 25, 27-29 Behold, I will bring evil on you, and will utterly sweep you away and will cut off from Ahab everyone who urinates against a wall, and him who is shut up and him who is left at large in Israel.

…

But there was no one like Ahab, who sold himself to do that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.

…

When Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his body, fasted, lay in sackcloth, and went about despondently. Yahweh’s word came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, “See how Ahab humbles himself before me? Because he humbles himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days; but I will bring the evil on his house in his son’s day.”

2 Kings 3:1-2

Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years. He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, but not like his father and like his mother, for he put away the pillar of Baal that his father had made.

2 Kings 6-9

When Syria repeatedly attacked Israel, God had Elisha warn Jehoram many times where he would be, until the king of Syria thought he had an Israelite spy in his camp, but then when he was told it was the prophet, he tried to kill the prophet, but God blinded them so that Elisha could lead them into Samaria where they were shown Yahweh’s power, so they stopped attacking Israel.

But later, the next king of Syria, Ben Haddad, invaded again, but God didn’t warn Jehoram anymore and Samaria besieged and staving, and Jehoram said “God do so to me, and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat stays on him today.”

But the next day, God miraculously made the Syrians run away, and Samaria was saved.

However, some time after that, Elisha instructs one of his disciples to anoint Jehu to enact the earlier pronounced judgment on the House of Ahab, and Jehu kills him.

O: At first, we might wonder: “there was no one like Ahab, who sold himself to do that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight” yet when he showed remorse (though temporarily), God postponed that judgment to his son’s time.

Yet, his son Jehoram seemed less evil, having “put away the pillar of Baal”. Yet did Yahweh jinx him by the curse on Ahab earlier? Didn’t Yahweh say not to punish the children for the sins of the parents? (Ezekiel 18:19-20)

Then there’s the interesting thing: Yahweh first helps Jehoram against Syria by sending Elisha to warn him whenever they would attack. But then later He allows an attack so severe Ben Haddad had actually besieged Samaria till they were resorting to cannibalism from their hunger! And then Jehoram demanded Elsha’s life before God intervened and rescued them.

What’s the deal there?

My theory is: Jehoram did make steps towards Yahweh… but didn’t persist. Because if there’s anything the Book of Jonah taught us, it’s that God always has an implicit “unless they repent” clause on all His judgments even if it’s not stated. Even the Ninevites knew that.

So my theory is that God sent Elisha to warn Jehoram of the Syrian attacks at first because Jehoram was at least kind of trying to follow Yahweh. But then he drifted back to the bad old ways. So God allowed Syria to attack. But I’m guessing that Jehoram didn’t repent even after God delivered them miraculously from that siege.

So God had Elisha’s disciple anoint Jehu and enact the judgment earlier pronounced.

So: God is not unjust. While there are natural consequences that might harm one’s descendants, God does not judge a person’s offspring for their parent’s sins. And there is always an implicit “unless they repent” clause.

A: So we must always be quick to repent and turn back to God. And stay heading back to God. Both Ahab’s and Jehoram’s problem was an incomplete and temporary repentance – then going back to their bad old ways, which then brought back the judgment. Contrast that with David’s horrible sins of adultery and murder: when he repented, he stayed repented. Not that he never sinned again (he did.) But he kept heading back to God, even after later failures.

P: “Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned,” as the Catholic confession prayer goes. Father, I mess up again and again but I repent each time and head back towards You. Renew my mind and conform me to Your Son. May I be a good ambassador for You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

The Faithful Little Slave Girl

S: 2 Kings 5:1-3, 14-19

Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him Yahweh had given victory to Syria; he was also a mighty man of valour, but he was a leper. ² The Syrians had gone out in bands, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little girl, and she waited on Naaman’s wife. ³ She said to her mistress, “I wish that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would heal him of his leprosy.”

…

¹⁴ Then went he down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. ¹⁵ He returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him; and he said, “See now, I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel. Now therefore, please take a gift from your servant.”

¹⁶ But he said, “As Yahweh lives, before whom I stand, I will receive none.”

He urged him to take it; but he refused. ¹⁷ Naaman said, “If not, then, please let two mules’ load of earth be given to your servant; for your servant will from now on offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice to other gods, but to Yahweh. ¹⁸ In this thing may Yahweh pardon your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon. When I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, may Yahweh pardon your servant in this thing.”

¹⁹ He said to him, “Go in peace.”

So he departed from him a little way.

O: This is one of my favourite stories in the Bible.

Imagine being a little girl, growing up peacefully with parents who taught you to worship Yahweh, the one true God. They taught you to pray, to trust Him, and to know that He is faithful.

Then disaster strikes.

Syrian raiders invade. Your family is torn apart. Your parents are killed, and you are carried away as a slave into a foreign land.

And not just to any household—you are given to serve in the house of Naaman, commander of the army that may have destroyed your home.

You weep. You grieve. You feel abandoned.

But then you remember Yahweh.

You remember what your parents taught you: that even in calamity, Yahweh has not forsaken you. He still loves you. He still cares for you.

So in a strange land, you remain faithful. You learn the Syrian language. You learn the hard life of a servant. And through it all, you keep praying.

Over time, the household you serve is no longer made up only of strangers. You come to know them.

But they do not know Yahweh.

They worship Rimmon, the god of storm and war—powerful, feared, a god associated with thunder and victory in battle.

Then one day you learn that Naaman, your master, suffers from a terrible disease.

And an extraordinary thought rises in your heart:

The God of Israel can heal him.

His prophet Elisha can be the instrument of that healing.

And so, instead of bitterness, you choose compassion.

Instead of silence, you bear witness.

You tell your mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet in Samaria…”

And wonder of wonders—Naaman listens.

He goes to Israel.

He meets the prophet.

He washes in the Jordan.

And he returns changed.

Not only healed in physically—but healed spiritually.

The conqueror comes home worshiping Yahweh.

The warrior bows before the God of Israel.

And all because a little slave girl, faithful in suffering, spoke one word of hope.

What an awesome epic movie this would make! So I guided AI to make the following movie poster 😁

Naaman was powerful, honoured, and victorious, yet was helpless before leprosy. The little Israelite slave girl was powerless, unnamed, and captive, yet she is the one who speaks the true word that sets healing in motion. God uses the weak to reach the strong, and His mercy extends even to Israel’s enemy.

A: God doesn’t desire the wicked to perish, but that they’d repent and be saved. (Ezekiel 18:23) We are ambassadors for Christ, and we are to be salt and light to the world, sharing His love and salvation with everyone – including those we think of as enemies. (2 Corinthians 5, Matthew 5, Matthew 28, John 13.)

Let the little faithful little slave girl inspire us to go and do likewise!

P: Father, thank You for Your mercy to sinners and enemies through Jesus Christ. Keep me from bitterness, fear, and silence. Make me faithful like this little servant girl, ready to speak one true word at the right time. Use even my weakness to point others to Christ. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Great Jumpin' Jehoshaphat

S: 1 Kings 22:2-5  In the third year, Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel. The king of Israel said to his servants, “You know that Ramoth Gilead is ours, and we do nothing, and don’t take it out of the hand of the king of Syria?” He said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to battle to Ramoth Gilead?”

Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.” Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please inquire first for Yahweh’s word.”

O: Jehoshaphat was a follower of Yahweh, but he allied himself with Ahab, who persecuted the prophets of Yahweh. It’s not clear from the text why he did that. Perhaps he was afraid of invaders and wanted allies.

I also find it interesting that he recognized that Ahab’s prophets did not speak for Yahweh, and asked for a real prophet of Yahweh, and they called Micaiah, who prophesied that they would lose. Yet Ahab persisted, and Jehoshaphat went with him, even as much as to wear royal robes while Ahab dressed ordinarily so that the Syrians would attack him instead of Ahab. But God’s word still prevailed, and Ahab was killed. God spared Jehoshaphat, but rebuked him in 2 Chronicles 19:2-3 “Should you help the wicked, and love those who hate Yahweh? Because of this, wrath is on you from before Yahweh.” But it also affirmed, “Nevertheless there are good things found in you, in that you have put away the Asheroth out of the land, and have set your heart to seek God.”

In the end, he let Ahab’s daughter Athaliah marry his son Jehoram, and Jehoram ended up following in Ahab’s ways. Finally, when Jehu brought God’s judgment on the house of Ahab, Jehoram’s son Ahaziah was also killed because he happened to go visit his uncle, King Joram of Israel, and Athaliah usurped the throne of David, and tried to kill all the descendants of David, but God rescued one, Joash, and the Athaliah was executed and the throne of David restored.

Jehoshaphat had enough spiritual discernment to distrust Ahab’s prophets and ask for a true prophet of Yahweh. Yet after hearing Micaiah’s clear warning, he still went into battle with Ahab. This shows that spiritual discernment without obedient separation from evil is incomplete. He could identify falsehood, but he did not fully act on the truth he received. God therefore both spared him and rebuked him. His compromise did not end with one battle; it extended into family alliance with Ahab’s house, and that compromise later wounded the Davidic kingdom through Athaliah.

A: “Do not be unequally yoked” (2 Corinthians 6:14) is usually invoked nowadays in the context of marriage, but it applies not only to marriage but also to serious partnerships that bind us to people who oppose God, like what happened between Jehoshaphat and the house of Ahab.

Not every cooperation with unbelievers is wrong, but alliances become sinful when they require shared moral direction, compromise of obedience, or practical support for wickedness. Jehoshaphat shows that it is possible to love God sincerely and still fail in boundary-setting. True discernment is not only recognizing the word of God, but ordering our loyalties and actions by it, even under pressure.

Discernment is not just recognizing truth — it is acting consistently with it under pressure.

P: Father, help me to be discerning when having to partner with a nonbeliever; when we could legitimately partner with them do to something good, and when it’ll cause us to compromise with evil. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Naboth the martyr

S: 1 Kings 21

O: When we list martyrs, we tend not to think of Naboth. In fact, when many of us, lacking the original context, may not even realise Naboth was a martyr. We might think, “Ah, he was a man who didn’t want to sell his land to King Ahab, and so Queen Jezebel had him framed and executed.”

But Naboth refused not because he was merely attached to his land, but because he was obeying the Law of Moses: Leviticus 25:23 says, “The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine; for you are strangers and live as foreigners with me.”

He might well have allowed King Ahab to lease the land – that was permitted under the Law of Moses – but then it would revert to his family in the Year of Jubilee. But Ahab didn’t ask for that – he wanted to buy the land in perpetuity.

So, Naboth was killed because he obeyed Yahweh.

A: Obeying God can carry a real cost. He does not always spare His people from death in this world. Naboth was killed for obeying Yahweh. In the same way, Christians in our own time have been killed for belonging to Christ, such as the 21 Egyptian Christians, along with one Christian from Ghana, whom Daesh executed publicly on video on a beach near Sirte in Libya in 2015. They called on Jesus even as Daesh filmed them being executed. They became an incredible testimony to the world in their martyrdom, so Daesh inadvertently ended up spreading the Gospel!

As Jesus said in Matthew 10: 28, “Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.”

Most of us are not called to martyrdom. But this Good Friday, as we remember Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, let us resolve that we will always stand for Christ and follow Yahweh in both small and big ways.

P: Father, help me to follow you in the little things as well as the big things. Help me to flee temptation and run to you. Strengthen me to obey you whatever the cost. In Jesus’ name, amen.