Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Good morning, special ones.

We have some interesting time pressure upon us this morning. We’re slated to pick up my cousin and wife in Portland at 10am and head for Depoe Bay…where we’ll spend two nights. I may get to go fly a kite. A pile of work is going to just have to wait.

Blessings on whatever you must do today. Just make sure your address is maintained (Psalm 91:1).

Love, Dad/Ray.

It is clear that the work of God in Jerusalem surrounding the rebuilding of the temple was being hassled by troublemakers. Meanwhile, the work of God in Babylon surrounding Daniel was being hassled by troublemakers too. Please reject the notion that God is hassled or intimidated by troublemakers. Nope—not at all. In fact, He can actually make good use of troublemakers. Consider the Babylonian baloney those biased bums brought to bear on Daniel—causing him to be tossed to hungry lions. It had every appearance of being the troublemakers’ triumph. But they only got in one night of partying—and the whole scheme backfired on them. The next day, they were the ones to become lions’ food. Not only that, but the demonstration of God’s miraculous intervention that rescued Daniel triggered a dramatic conversion in the heart and mind of King Darius. And that conversion experience influenced the way he dealt with the troublemakers at Jerusalem. Those who were trying to shut down the temple project were completely shut down.

This makes me smile. Darius was not a ruler to make wimpy legislation by democratic process. In order to make sure the decrees of his monarchy would stick, he punctuated his message with some drastic threats—enlisting the psychology of fear. Listen to how he reinforces his decision to have the temple project carry on without interferrence—all paid for by Trans-Euphrates tax dollars—“Furthermore, I decree that if anyone changes this edict, a beam is to pulled from his house and he is to be lifted up and impaled on it. And for this crime his house is to be made a pile of rubble” (6:11).

My smile through this window of ancient Biblical history allows me to smile at the overview of today’s history in the making. To be sure, I’d much rather smile than be tormented by fear and insecurity. One could be tempted to join the fray and think that troublemakers are winning. Not so. Behind all the chaos and confusion of human government, both local and international, there remains a Sovereign Monarch over all. Let’s do what we reasonably can to stand for right and the TRUTH of God—but the heart-level problems that plague us are beyond repair by human government. Here’s the real repair as it relates to you and me personally—all boiling down to where we make our heart-level residence: “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust” (Psalm 91:1-2, KJV).