Skip to main content

Memoirs of the Way Home: Ezra and Nehemiah





Memoirs of the Way Home: Ezra and Nehemiah as a Call to Conversion by Gerald M. Bilkes
http://www.heritagebooks.org/memoirs-of-the-way-home-ezra-and-nehemiah-as-a-call-to-conversion/

This new book on Ezra and Nehemiah by Professor Gerald M. Bilkes of Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary is a great snapshot of the Ezra and Nehemiah in both historical and practical perspective.  Bilkes writes, “They read more like the confessions of a humbled prodigal and bear an uncanny resemblance to the experiences of the younger son in Christ’s parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), traveling as he does from the far country back to the father’s house” (2).  The people of God are returning from exile to rebuild the temple and in the case of Nehemiah, to rebuild the broken walls of Jerusalem.  Gerald is keen to point out in his writing that the Jews responded to their covenant keeping God is often how people respond to the gospel today; some respond with their hearts changed and live out the gospel while others ‘at the end of the day, go on living as they have always lived, ‘after hearing the gospel and the need for repentance (15). 

What was so good about this look into Ezra and Nehemiah was the way Bilkes makes these post-exilic books so contemporary to the church and its place in history.  After highlighting the importance of the genealogical records given in Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7, Bilkes writes, “Today, we no longer use genealogies in the same way.  But how important it is that our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life!  The membership records of our churches may be inaccurate, but this Book of Life is perfect and accurate.  What a mercy that Christ has come” (24)!  Gerald made it a point to note that God works through families and this is no less the case than in the family line of Christ (Matthew 1).  I think the genealogical records also indicate the mighty way our covenant God works through a line of families throughout the generations, and in every generation there are those that are faithful to the end.  Why is this important?  One, we need examples of those before us who walked the path of faith to give us encouragement as we face great difficulties, brokenness, and sin in our lives.  Secondly, we need the reminder that God does not give up on his people, that he never removes his presence from those who are led by the Spirit.

Lastly, Gerald provides his readers with a healthy dose of wisdom as he faces Nehemiah’s challenge to the people.  Gerald writes, “He met the badness of the people’s situation with the goodness of the Lord’s disposition…It is only God’s goodness that can empower weak hands and raise up distressed spirits” (95).  Rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and the city itself was no small task and couldn’t be done by Nehemiah himself.  What was needed was a Herculean effort that could only come from the goodness of Almighty God.  The application here is that Nehemiah met the people with the terrible situation that they were in but he didn’t leave them there but pointed them back to the one who could strengthen their hands.  This good word is very applicable to believers who find themselves in either bad situations or dealing with their own sin, trying to find a way out for freedom to flourish.  Resting in Christ and fleeing to His grace is the only way forward.


Thanks to Cross Focused Reviews and Reformation Heritage Books for the copy of this book in exchange for review.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Rise of the Modern Self by Carl Trueman

  The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl Trueman Navigating the culture that we take up residence in, with its laser focus on sexual identity, tolerance, and an individualism that raises its head at every corner, Christians need a robust account of how we got to this point in our Western culture without retreating to our churches nor morphing with the latest trends.   Carl Trueman, professor of religion and theology at Grove City College, brings his keen historical research to bear on this issue in his new book, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self.   Part historical survey and philosophical analysis, Dr. Trueman traces the trajectories of key thinkers such as Rousseau, Freud, and Marx, while also incorporating the insights of Charles Taylor and Phillip Rieff to form a cogent argument as to how we got to this point in our history, both in our expressive individualism and sexual freedom outlooks.   The book is surprisingly insightful and yet demands from the reader the pa
Post a Comment
Read more

The Conditioned Mind

The Conditioned Mind: Overcoming the Crippling Effects of Sin and Guilt by Michael J. Mannia Counselor and author Michael J. Mannia knows firsthand how the spiraling of sin and guilt can eat away at life.  His new book, The Conditioned Mind, is a look into how believers can overcome the effects of sin and guilt and live in the freedom that we have in Christ.  Through a careful look into the patterns that we develop and the mindsets that we get ingrained in, Michael is able to offer ways through guilt that bring freedom and healing.  I think this is not only a timely but a book that aims toward bringing real healing to its readers. In the first chapter Michael looks at two needs that we have: our need for love and our need for security.  Love isn’t something optional for the human race, but something it needs at its core.  “Additionally, we need to reciprocate love.  We need to feel loved as much as we need to love others (8).”  Love is a two-way street that inv
Post a Comment
Read more

Passover and Jesus

The Messiah in the Passover , Edited by Darrell Bock and Mitch Glaser Why should Christians celebrate and remember the Passover?   This is a striking question that needs to be understood as well as the historical and theological context of the Passover.   However obscure we sometimes view the Old Testament, there is some significant reasons why we should reach back and study the Passover.   Mitch Glaser in the Introduction states, “When Christians celebrate the Passover, they grow in their understanding of the Old Testament, affirm the Jewishness of the Gospel, deepen our understanding of the Lord’s Supper, and build community with fellow Christians…” (20).   This book is answer to why celebrate the Passover but even more importantly an answer to what the Passover is and what it signifies to us today.   The various contributors of this book, Messiah in the Passover, bring a wealth of ministry experience in relating the Jewishness of both Jesus and the Old Testament to
Post a Comment
Read more