Today’s Thought “Walking the Mile” G. Ward

“Now these are the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of the exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon, and returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his city. ² These came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum and Baanah.” Ezra 2:1-2

 

“Walking the Mile” was an expression taken from the movie The Green Mile indicative of death row inmates time for execution. Although not a mile walk (from cell to death chamber), it certainly must be the longest walk ever for any man.

The uncertainties of life’s events are often encompassed with a reluctance to venture unto any pathway. Ours (the worry), can promote utter lethargy. Furthermore, it’s about the only time you can get a Christian to stand, allowing Holy God’s response. Mostly, we’ve been contained to pontificating a traditional stance of “God spoke to me” therefore I know what to do and where to go. I believe that stance more exacts Satan’s challenge to Jesus found in Matthew 4:5-7 (“Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple,  and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, He will command His angels concerning You; and  On their hands they will bear You up,
So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone. Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.).

There were 3 factions of Israelites escorted from Persian captivity (as slaves, cf. Ezra 2), by God’s leaders. Zerubbabel (the first designated), had to lead over 42,000 Jews back to the promised land. These slaves were well adjusted to their new positions as slaves in Babylonia. Unlike their predecessors, they were not compelled to make “bricks without straw” (i.e. hard labor). They became prosperous merchants. Now they’re being told to leave and go back to sheep herding.

Zerubbabel had a very difficult job. You must know that oppositional forces raised their ugly heads. It was comparable to many of you preachers sharing a message of “deny yourselves” and “take up your cross,” to a bunch of church-goers determined that you should preach and sing what they want, when they want… Happy Tuesday!