| The matter of Authority in Ezra
I've come up with names for each King of Persia,
rulers of an ancient domain that ran from now –
Afghanistan to the shores of the Mediterranean.
Cyrus the Benefactor – He originally finds
sympathy with the exiled Israelites and sent them
home, in part because Jeremiah the prophet predicts
his rise to power. So he sends them home to
rebuild their temple and repopulate their land.
Xerxes the 'tweener – Why the 'tweener? So little is
said about him. In fact, one bible dictionary
and another resource book called "All the People
in the Bible" forgot to even include a section
starting with the letter X. Artaxerxes the Confused
– Why so confused? In Ezra, Artaxerxes is the
bad king who stops the building of the temple.
And in Nehemiah, the companion piece to Ezra,
Artaxerxes is sympathetic to the Jews and helps them
repopulate and rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. So
on face value, Artaxerxes flip flops, though some
scholars think the Ezra chronicler is the one who's
confused, since even the order of kings appears
different in Ezra from other biblical and
extra-biblical sources. Either way, Artaxerxes
is confusing. Regardless, Artaxerxes shuts
things down in Ezra, at least until the prophets urge
the people to build in the face of his decree.
Then comes Darius the Adamant – "They're going
to rebuild that temple and if anyone tries to stop
them, we're going to pull a beam from his own house
and he'll be made the centerpiece of a new modern art
exhibit. I have decreed it; let it be done WITH
DILIGENCE."
So the work goes on. But you can't help but
reflect on the impact of the foreign overlords, mostly
godless men, on the history and progression of God's
unfolding plan for the people of the covenant. The New
Testament treats the matter of governance and authority
with a completely different twist. In the New
Testament, the Romans are the overlords, and the Caesars
are no less cruel or fickle. But Jesus arrives on
the scene preaching a kingdom that's not of this earth,
and Paul, Peter, James and John write New Testament
letters that have more to do with spiritual authority
than human authority. Jesus and authority
Jesus takes common notions of authority and turns them
on their ear. If you have no human authority, then
love and serve and find real authority in the eyes of
God. And if you have human authority, then love
and serve and find real authority in the eyes of God.
Keep going in the New Testament
1 Peter
2:13-17
Submit to authorities. Strange as it seems, God
is involved in the ebbs and flows of governmental
leadership. Live as free men, as if God alone is
your king, but don't use that as an excuse or cover up
to behave badly. Live as servants, show people
respect, love your church family, fear God and honor
the king.
1 Peter 5:3
tells people who have authority in the church how to
behave.
Emphasis on this syllable "not lording it over
those entrusted to you, but being examples to the
flock. . ."
Paul tells the Romans virtually the same thing. (Romans
13:1-7)
And then gives a similar addendum as Peter in Romans
15:1 "We who are strong ought to make
allowances for those who are weak and not to please
ourselves," or have our own way.
And Hebrews 13:17 tells people to make the role of
pastor or elder a pleasure and not a burden by
"obeying," since the leaders already have to
answer to God with a stiffer accountability. Ephesians 5
gives one of the clearest pictures of the Christian
ethic on authority: "submit to one another
out of reverence for Christ." Philippians 2 tells
us attitude that makes mutual submission a
possibility. "Consider others more important
than yourselves..." But aren't there times to stand
up to authority? Injustice. We stand
up to injustice - sometimes through the system
- sometimes by building benevolent forces to
offset injustice - in some extraordinary cases, by
overthrowing unjust rulers.
The genius of U.S. governmental reality is that we
all share the governmental responsibility, and we have
the right and privilege of overthrowing unjust rulers
(if need be) every November. And with that, of
course, comes the responsibility to rule well
ourselves. We are the authority, though our Pledge
of Allegiance and other key documents remind us that we
are under God.
Here's the kicker. As individuals, we don't
have a better record of managing authority than the
Persian kings. In my own life, when I usurp God's
authority, I screw everything up. I have great
respect for you, but no more confidence in your ability
to run your own lives. A fundamental Christian
question: Who do we give authority to in our
lives?
- God
- Our spouses (Ephesians 5)
- One another - hold one another accountable . . .
reprove and correct in an attitude of love with
restorations in mind.
- Mentors and advisors
- 1 Peter 5: 5-6 talks about young people honoring
older people. Proverbs talks over and over
about submission to advisors and the folly of
independent decision-making without wise voices.
- Our parents - we must deal with this matter of
authority.
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