Pastor Prince

One of the most remarkable stories in history is the return of the Israelites to Judea after their exile in Babylonia.  The two main heroes of that time were Nehemiah and Ezra, and the books named after them are our primary sources of information about what happened during that time. The book of Nehemiah tells the story of how an Israelite official in the court of the Persian King Artaxerxes became concerned about the desperate situation of his people in Jerusalem.  The king granted him permission to go to Jerusalem and assist in rebuilding the city.  Despite meagre resources and opposition from non-Israelites in the region of Jerusalem, Nehemiah rebuilt the walls of the city. The book of Ezra focuses on the story of the rebuilding of the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem.  Ezra 1:1ff tells how the Persian King Cyrus, who had conquered the Babylonians, ordered that the Israelites be allowed to return to Jerusalem and rebuild its temple.  The slow, difficult work began, with

Covenants are critical parts of the Big Story of the Bible.  They include God's covenant with all living after the great flood in Noah's time, his covenant with Abraham, his covenant with the nation of Israel at Mt. Sinai, and his covenant with David.   God's covenant with Israel at Mt. Sinai governed his relationship with the nation of Israel.  The Bible describes that covenant in Exodus 19:1ff.  God came to his people and entered a special relationship with them.  He said he would be their God and they would be his people as long as they obeyed his commands. God's most important commands required his people him alone.  Since he was committing himself to them, worshipping other gods would be spiritual adultery. Sadly, the Israelites failed to worship the Lord alone.  They engaged in idol worship, including horrible practices like child sacrifice.  For this reason, the Lord sent prophets to warn his people that if they didn't change, he would destroy th

Part of the Big Story of the Bible concerns suffering.  The earliest idea about suffering seems to have been related to the idea that God blesses the righteous and punishes the wicked (See Psalm 1).  If people were suffering, it was because God was punishing them for their sins. But then Job comes along.  The book of Job is a deep dive into suffering.  Job suffered, yet he was a righteous man.  His friends say he needs to acknowledge his sin.  But he debates with them, maintaining his innocence and protesting his suffering.  In the end, God appears and condemns Job's friends, who had been standing up for him.  The final message of the book is that sometimes the righteous suffer, but they may never know why. Then, Isaiah 52:13-53:12 comes along and takes the conversation about suffering to a whole new level.  This passage is part of a group of "Servant Songs" in Isaiah.  As they begin, they appear to describe corporate Israel.  But by the time they get to chapter 52