A fiery week in Taiwan

21April Saturday evening

Be still, be still

Feel like the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem in the book of Nehemiah! Building the walls at the same time as carrying weapons in preparation to ward off enemies! Had to take a week off work to fly back to Taiwan during the busiest part of my semester at Morling College (happened to sit at the place where the recent tragedy of the women sucked out of the plane was sitting)... Coincidentally, reading Romans 8 for the assignment, on the pains of #childbirth!

Need to stay focused on the kingdom that cannot be shaken!

22April Sunday

Around 5am, the plane landed safely in Taoyuan Taiwan Airport. A passenger in the same cabin had been snoring throughout the trip, shaking violently as he snored. He was so noisy that everyone stared at him because no one could fall asleep due to this noise. Even the air host tried waking him but he only briefly opened his eyes and then snored again. I don’t know if this person has a physical problem (ie. Very obstructed airways) or psychiatric problem.

As soon as the plane landed, I went off to a CPD activity in Taiwan (Don’t want to lose my Taiwanese Family Medicine licence). Although the teaching lasted for a whole day which was exhausting, it is very helpful clinically.

The reason why I've made the trip is to visit my aunt, who has terminal cancer. She was already diagnosed with end stage terminal cancer in July 2016. Although no one “formally” spread the gospel to her, she called upon God’s name during the treatment in 2016, and after three months the tumours became undetectable by MRI. I took her through the prayer to accept Jesus as her savior, but she didn’t feel like going to church afterwards. In actual fact, her treating doctor was already very amazed that she could reach “remission”. However, cancer that is undetectable by MRI doesn’t mean “cured cancer”. It’s just that the cancer cells are too small to be detected. So the treating doctor still didn’t think she’d live beyond a year after treatment. However, this was not revealed to my aunt, as people who knew her well feared that if she lose hope, she’d go into depression and commit suicide. On 8April, my aunt was admitted into the hospital with a major bleed. Two days later, it was discovered that the cancer had spread all over her liver and lungs. From these information, I speculate that she will not last more than a few weeks if there is no supernatural intervention, because there are so many acutely fatal conditions: nonstop haemorrhage, fatal loss of liver function or being unable to breathe are all things that can happen to her anytime. To get out of the hospital alive will be a miracle! In this horrendous situation, I wondered what will happen to her faith. Then I heard the news that she still replied “Christian” when the nurse asked her what her religion is.

At night, I visited my aunt and saw that she was extremely frail. She had just begun bleeding nonstop again and needed another blood transfusion.

23April Monday

My aunt requires a carer 24/7, but a professional carer hasn’t been hired yet, because we do not know which direction she is heading towards. My mom and my uncle in law both snore, and my aunt don’t have children, so she wants someone who doesn’t snore to stay with her at night. My 3^rd aunt and I are the only suitable candidates! So this week I had to take turns with my 3^rd aunt to sleep in the hospital. A cystoscopy was done today, and the urologist sealed the vessel that had been bleeding profusely. However, my aunt became so weak from the bleeding that she required help to go to the toilet, and she had to wake up every hour to go to the toilet! So I didn’t get to sleep! Caring for a sick person in the hospital is very exhausting.

24April Tuesday

The essay on “the relationship between Israel and the nations in the Pentateuch” had been marked.

http://dryvonnewang.blogspot.com/2018/04/israel-and-nations.html

I’ve never thought of the Jews as any better than the people of any other nations. I had a few Jewish classmates in medical school, and I didn’t think they are any special. Felt like this before, and still feel the same right now. Strangely enough, God has placed a kind of burden in my heart for Israel, because whenever I started interceding for this nation, I shed tears easily and have a strong desire to see the revival of that land.

The relatives only started coming to the hospital around noon, so I couldn’t get home until the afternoon. I simply collapsed on the bed and slept all afternoon. Then I continued to write up my essay assignments for Morling College. Although I’ve applied for 1 week extension for both essays, I still hope to finish the essays on time, because the later I finish, the more it will eat into the time I’ve got to prepare for the final exams.

25April Wednesday

Today, I started writing up the paragraph on “cruciform power” for my essay assignment. In the afternoon, I went to Dr Eileen Lin for a retainer follow up. I usually don’t wear the retainers during the day time because it impacts on my speech when I talk to patients. However, there is a tiny gap between two teeth. Dr Lin said she can see the retainer still has power to move the teeth, but I may need to wear the retainer both day and night for approximately three weeks before the gap can close. This reminds me that the Pentecost is coming up in approximately three weeks, might as well wear it continuously until then! Then I went to the Elim book shop and joined a revivalist prayer meeting/conference in the prayer centre next to the bookshop.

Honestly speaking, I found the people in the prayer centre to be pretty crazy. However, sometimes things don’t have to make sense when we are being led by the Spirit. If everything had to make sense, then Abraham wouldn’t have been able to sacrifice Isaac: God had promised that a great nation will come from the line of Isaac, so if Isaac is gone, how can the great nation come about?

The topic of the prayer meeting is on “the anointing of Elijah: the power to call down fire”. The speaker from New York, Donald Lee, kept yelling “fire fire fire” and told us God does not like “lukewarm”. He said people may think he's nuts, but he didn't came to Taiwan to make friends. He came to do what God wanted him to do. He then talked about two revivals recorded in the bible. Acts 2: At the Pentecost, flames of fire came upon the disciples. Fear was burned up. 3000 souls saved! For revival, God wants people of fire! Elijah, 1Kings 18: Elijah was praying furious focused prayer for 3.5 years. God gave him the power to call down fire! The God who answers by fire is the true God! Are you asking for the fire?

He also talked about: 2King 1:10 the fire burnt the enemies of Elijah up! The fire of God can overcome your enemies! Jesus in Revelation was a man of fire! He also tells us how important it is for us to have “fire in our bones”! 2King 13:21 Elisha died a year already and they threw a dead man info Elisha’s tomb and the dead man came alive by the power of the “fire in the bones”! 

We prayed continuously for about two hours, which was very exhausting for me. During the meeting there was a song called “the sun above the cloud”, which I felt very touched by.

https://youtu.be/FnjEZHJQLZ8

At night, I went to sleep in the hospital. My aunt became stronger and I didn’t have to help her as much during the night.

26April Thursday

I continued to do my assignment, and started writing up the paragraph on “cruciform hope”. This reminded me that the prayer evening for this evening will be on “the valley of dry bones”. However, I was too exhausted and didn’t go. Furthermore, I had already felt compelled to pray in Hebrew on 15April using Ezekiel 37 and done it that day.

My aunt’s treating doctor carried the medicine ipilimumab with him during his ward round. This medicine is supposed to be given into the vein, but the doctor (who’s an authority in gynaecological cancers) bluntly told us that all his patients who were given this medicine died a day after treatment. "Either the cancer dies, or you die." Then he said he had a relative who had it intramuscularly and lived for approximately six months. He asked my aunt whether she wants IV or IM, and my aunt replied “IM of course”! He jabbed her with that medicine straight after her reply!

Asked some people from church to intercede for my aunt, and she went through the day uneventfully. Out of curiosity I start looked at the Hebrew calendar (I didn't take much notice of the Hebrew calendar before but lately there happened to be several coincidences which caught my eyes). If you look at the Jewish historical events, the month of Iyar's got the longest list out of all the Hebrew calendar months. The Proclamation of the State of Israel, conquering of Jerusalem during the Six Day War both happened on the month of Iyar.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iyar

I saw that it was 7 Iyar during sundown of 21April, the evening I went on the plane and kept thinking about the walls of Jerusalem and Nehemiah. Coincidentally, 7 Iyar (498 BCE) was when Jerusalem's rebuilt walls are dedicated, nearly 88 years after their destruction by Nebuchadnezzar. I also saw that it was 11 Iyar on the fiery and powerful sundown of 25April. Coincidentally, on 11 Iyar (1948) - Battle at Degania - It was the first Israeli victory of War of Independence! After observing the Hebrew calendar carefully this year, I found that there had been many timings on the land of Taiwan which aligned with the timings of Israel’s history. In the evening, an intercessor told me that one needs to pray more than one hour before strong powers can arise out of the prayer.

27April Friday

Went a long way today, to visit my dad and my paternal grandma’s graves. Then went for a haircut and spa in Beitou. Strangely enough, the pipes in our spa exploded, and we had to get the apartment manager to fix it quickly or else it will flood. Also received the good news that my aunt has been discharged from the hospital!! However, caution is needed. The hospital discharges people who don’t need drips or transfusions, and have stable vital signs. This doesn’t mean that everything is fine after leaving the hospital. Praying that she can have gratitude towards God and not take everything for granted.

28April Saturday

Finally, I can breathe and have rest today. Prayed for more than one hour in the morning. Usually when I am in Australia, I knew in my head and heart that I need to pray fierce focused prayers, but my body could not do it. It is not unlike Jesus’ disciples in Gethsemane. However, this time the situation changed as soon as I stepped into my home land, which is in a fierce spiritual warfare. I had to move my flesh, because there is no other choice but to fight this spiritual warfare.

I was listening to some worship songs from Israel as I was praying. I felt the spiritual warfare on the land of Taiwan is as fierce and critical as the Six Day War. When the national anthem “Hatikva” (hope) started playing, tears started falling down my cheeks again. When the playlist started playing the advertisement clip on the “Pentecost conference in Jerusalem”, I felt this fierce warfare will continue until the Pentecost. This is not to say that we don’t need to pray fiercely usually of course, but there is just something quite unusual about this month especially. And I will need to keep praying that my aunt’s heart will be softened enough that she may visit the church or accept church visitors, and maybe even get baptized. Hope to see her again in July.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stda88Sxfd0&list=PLaeSz8m8MXVXpoXpAt9Xh29DzEb_TBIEG

Tonight coincides with the “second Passover” on the 14Iyar. This is a fast-moving week where I felt like I was blown into Taiwan by a fierce tornado and blown out of Taiwan again. Didn’t spend enough quality time with God during the “first Passover”. Hope the fire will not be vanquished as soon as I get back to Australia.

Nehemiah: Chinese and Australian Baptist Church family camp 2017

During the long weekend the Chinese and Australian Baptist Church had a family camp at the Merroo Christian Conference Center. This site’s got fat sheeps and a house of prayer. The theme of this camp is “I love the Lord's Church”, and the Scripture is on Nehemiah. The speaker, Rev. Chan, is a scholar on the book of Nehemiah. There is a feeling of familiarity in this because my house used to be the gathering place for a cell group called “Nehemiah”. When the group underwent dissolution because the cell group leader prepared to give birth, I happened to be studying at Morling College. At that time, I felt as though the hardware was there but the software suddenly crashed (actually it wasn’t that serious… just a reorganisation of the cell group members to other cell groups).

As I drove away from the camp grounds, I suddenly saw a large black thing in the middle of the road! As I drove closer, it suddenly grabbed a piece of meat (or an animal killed by a car) with its claws and flew up. Shiny brown feathers, sharp eyes and beaks! It was a gigantic eagle! I did not know that there are eagles in Sydney! This was the first time I had such a closeup view of an eagle (Wedge-tailed eagle)! It flew to the grass next to the road, and stared at me with its yellow eyes, as though it was angry that I interrupted its lunch.

https://www.bushheritage.org.au/species/wedge-tailed-eagles

Inspirational people: Nehemiah and Ezra, in the return of the exiles

It is better to be a failure in a cause that will ultimately succeed than to be a success in a cause that will ultimately fail.

Ezra and Nehemiah were two of the main leaders leading the exiles back to Jerusalem in 458 BC to rebuild the temple and city walls. It is interesting to note that these two leaders were able to cooperate so well despite having entirely different temperaments, as evidenced by their different reactions to the problem of mixed marriages: Ezra plucks out his own hair while Nehemiah plucks out other people's hair!

Issues faced by the returned exiles:

In Ezra 1 we see that there was providential intervention of God on behalf of his people so that the heart of a pagan ruler Cyrus was able to fulfil God’s will in letting the exiles return to Judah to rebuild the temple, bringing money and possessions with them.

In Ezra 2 we see that the returnees are listed by families and places leading to the view that the purpose was to identify legitimate Israelites and to restore land rights for those dispossessed by the Babylonians. The special mentions of the priests, Levites and temple servants reflect a primary concern upon their return: the re-establishment of temple worship.

In Ezra 3 the first activity recorded is the restoration of sacrifices and the celebration of the Tabernacles. Then the next project was rebuilding of the Temple. Through these activities, we see that the service of God require a united effort (v1), leadership (v2a), obedience to God’s word (v2b), courage in the face of opposition (v3), offering and funds (v4-7), and an organised division of labour (v8-9).

Ezra 4 is where one of the biggest issues came up: The inhabitants of the former Northern Kingdom brought in by the Assyrian kings after the fall of Samaria offered to help with the temple construction, but these people were almost certainly syncretistic (2 Kings 17:41) and did not share the exiles’ basic theological convictions. The returned exiles rejected, and it is likely more because they do not want to be brought into syncretism rather than unjustified racism. So opposition to the temple arose immediately from these “people around them”. These people discourage and intimidate (v4), bribed officials to work against them (v5), as well as lodging false accuses to Persian authorities (v6, 13). The work came to a standstill for almost twenty years as a result (v24).

Then we see from Ezra 5 that God raised up the prophets Haggai and Zechariah in the second year of Darius to encourage the people to recommence the temple building (v1-2). On watch for rebellion, Tattenai, the Persian appointed governor of this region, questioned the building. He nonetheless allowed the building to continue (v3-5). His letter to Darius asked for verification that Cyrus had authorised the project and for Darius’ decision. And we see in Ezra 6 that Cyrus’ decree was located (v1-5) and Darius allowed the building to proceed. The Jews were even given financial aid (v8-10) and any who disobeyed his decree were to be put to death (v11-12).

Role of the Law (Torah) in the reforms of Ezra and Nehemiah:

Ezra’s genealogy (7:1-5) establishes him as a direct descendant of Aaron and therefore with the right to act as priest and to introduce certain reforms. Ezra is described as a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses (v. 6; cf. v 10). There seems to be a change in the structure of Israel’s religious life as the teaching function of the priests is now shared by this new group that emerged in Babylon, the scribes.

Ezra did not come as a civil governor as had Sheshbazzar or Zerubbabel (or Nehemiah later). His task is defined in 7:14, 25-26: to discover to what extent Jewish law is being observed in Judea. The legal role he is to play is connected to the law of God and to the law of the king. This link between divine and imperial law has prompted research on the role of the Persian Empire in establishing a legal foundation for the Jewish community. Ezra had power to compel obedience on all who classed themselves as Jews in the Trans-Euphrates area. In practice, Ezra restricted his activities to Judah.

Ezra was disturbed by the absence of Levites and priests to serve in the temple (8:15) and gathers more before he returns. On arrival (9:1-2), he discovered that Jewish men had been marrying non-Jewish women. He tore his garments in despair (9:3) and confessed the sins of Israel before God, then braved the opposition of some of his own countrymen to purify the community by enforcing the dissolution of the sinful marriages (10:2-5, 14). Ezra is cast as a passive character who did not directly attack the people, but prays in their presence a prayer that echoes the style of a prophetic covenant lawsuit. Ezra’s public reading of the law (Neh 8:1-12) marked the climax of his ministry. This prayer is contagious among the people, leading them to similar rites. He calls for a tribunal to which the people are to come voluntarily and resolve their disobedience.

Note also that marriage with foreigners was not absolutely forbidden in the OT, as exemplified by Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Boaz & Ruth. Marriage to the inhabitants of Canaan was strongly forbidden in Exodus and Deuteronomy, for reasons of faith, as the foreign wife will influence her husband and children’s faith. The breaking up of families was a horrible event, but of a lesser evil than breaking God’s law. Ezra and the community of God’s people had to apply the teaching of the Torah to their own circumstance, no matter how difficult or costly.

Nehemiah’s ministry: a success or a failure?

A superficial reading of the book of Nehemiah will indicate that it is a book about building - about building the walls of the city of Jerusalem. But what is the significance of this person? There are some very positive aspects to Nehemiah’s character:

·         Being appointed the trusted role of a cupbearer for the king (a person entrusted with the responsibility to serve the king wine, ensuring that he would not be assassinated with poisoned drinks), which is a very prestigious position, is evidence that Nehemiah was capable of winning the trust of his superiors.

·         He was also a man of vision, to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

·         He was also a man of prayer: his first report was to prayer (1:4-11) and he prayed spontaneously even in the presence of the king (2:4-5).

·         In being able to inspire action in others (2:18), he was spiritually sensitive, a man of cooperation and organisation.

·         In meeting opposition squarely (chapter 4-6), he was a courageous leader.

·         He was also a man of compassion, renouncing his own privileges (5:18) and denounced the wealthy who had exploited their poorer compatriots (5:8).

·         Most importantly, Nehemiah was a man of right motivation. The last words of Nehemiah, “Remember me with favour, O my God” (13:31), served as evidence that his motive throughout his career was to please and serve God.

The Persian king sent him on an official mission with permission to rebuild the walls. His principal achievements were rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, building a governor’s residence and administrative infrastructure and repopulating the city of Jerusalem. He administered Torah and sought to rectify social wrongs.

The next chapters (7-12) focus on the “building” of the people behind the walls. The law of God came into focus with Ezra’s public reading of the law (8:1-12). Priority was given to prohibiting mixed marriages (9:30). Other reforms included observing the Sabbath (10:31), maintenance of the temple, and to forgiving debts in the seventh year. There was national repentance followed by a renewal of the covenant, complete with signatories (chapter 9).

Unfortunately, chapter 13 represents an anti-climax, indicating that Nehemiah’s short departure for the Persian capital after twelve years of leadership in Jerusalem resulted in a collapse of the walls once again - only this time they were spiritual walls. It is far easier to build physical walls than spiritual ones. Unfortunately, we learn that physical walls alone cannot withstand the contaminating forces on the outside and, on this note, the book ends. But probably one of the other lessons is that Nehemiah will need more than his presence and the law of God to stem the tide of contaminating forces, for they originate within hearts inside the walls as well those outside. The building of the walls of the city, and the building of the wall of the law are insufficient to change the human heart. Nevertheless, Nehemiah persists in the work of building, reforming, and praying to the end.

While the “failures” of reformers Nehemiah and Ezra show the need for a continuation of the story, Nehemiah’s modest efforts are signs of hope for the walls of salvation to come. One thinks of the saying that it is better to be a failure in a cause that will ultimately succeed than to be a success in a cause that will ultimately fail.

References:

Dempster, S. G., “The Place of Nehemiah in the Canon of Scripture: Wise Builder”, Southern Baptist Journal of Theology 9 (2005), 38-50.

Yamauchi, E. M., “Ezra and Nehemiah, Books of”, in B. T. Arnold and H. G. M. Williamson (eds.), Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books (Downers Grove: IVP, 2005), 284-95.

Chronicles and eschatological hope: the one who will make lasting reforms

Comparison of the account in Samuel-Kings and Chronicles certainly shows a different perspective on that history. The Chronicler does not report incidences that would tarnish the kings. “All Israel” acting together in concert is a prominent theme in Chronicles. But rather than demeaning Chronicles as a source of history, it’s better to recognise it as a highly interpretive presentation of the events of the past: another word, two different but ‘accurate’ portraits of the same person. The Chronicler lives at a time later than the writer of Kings, so the needs of his audience are different. The restoration community is not asking “How could this have happened?” Rather it is asking “Are we still the people of God?”

The book is divided into three large sections: genealogies, united monarchy under David and Solomon, and post-schism kingdom.

The genealogies directly address the question of the continuity of the restoration community with Israel of old. The term “all Israel” suggests that the Chronicler regards schism as neither permanent nor desirable, and he is possibly giving some expression to an eschatological hope for a revival of the nation in its largest extent. Furthermore, there is the tracing of the Davidic line well into the post-exilic period (1 Chr 3:17-24), which suggests that the Chronicler continued to see the house of David holding the key to Yahweh’s future purposes.

Compared to the books of Kings, David’s faults have been greatly reduced. For instance, David’s adultery and Absalom’s revolt are omitted. It is important to understand the different contexts of Kings and Chronicles. David was being idealised in to the ‘type’ of Davidic king of prophetic expectation.

Kings was written in the exilic period to account for the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of the nation. The clear message of Kings is that the reason for this destruction and exile was the judgment of God for the continued rebellion of the people and their kings. The retelling of this history in Chronicles is for a different purpose. There was no need to recite the sins again, for the people were only too aware of the consequences. What the people in that period needed to hear was the basis for any hope for the future. The Chronicler looks to engender hope for the restoration of the Davidic dynasty. It may be asked why this hope is not more explicit in Chronicles? The simple answer is that the Chronicler is writing history and not prophecy. The Chronicler’s work is to be understood as part of a wider stream of prophetic literature, which as we have seen raised the expectation of a future Davidic king. It was the prophets, who, staring in the face of the historical reality of the failure of the house of David, saw in the promise to David of an eternal dynasty the hope of a Davidic king to come.

Chronicler portrays David and Solomon in priestly roles: David wears the same outfit as the Levites in 1 Chronicles 15:27, and blesses the people in the name of Yahweh. David and Solomon offer sacrifices (1 Chr 16:2; 21:26, 28; 2 Chr 8:12). Again, this parallels the portrait of the future Davidic king in Zechariah who as a priest provides purification for sin.

Chronicles focuses on the Davidic dynasty to the exclusion of the northern kings. This concern with the southern kingdom and the house of David also suggests that the Chronicler saw it as holding the key to the future. The Chronicler seems to use the life of Manasseh to parallel the experience of the people of Judah. If they will only humble themselves and repent, the reign of a Davidic king shall once again be established in Jerusalem beyond the judgment of exile. Hence, the presentation of Manasseh seems to hold out hope for the restoration of the Davidic dynasty.

In consistently highlighting the promise to David of an eternal dynasty when there was no king on the throne, the Chronicler expresses the hope for a future Davidic king. The Chronicler offers a highlight reel of David, Solomon, and Judah in order to paint a picture of the future kingdom. It is perhaps for this very reason that the book concludes with the decree of Cyrus. If in fact Dan 9:25 identifies the decree of Cyrus as the beginning of the countdown to the Messiah.

Also note that the Jewish canon concludes with Chronicles rather than Ezra-Nehemiah, reversing the natural chronological order. The Chronicler highlights the coming of the one that is needed who is greater than Ezra and Nehemiah, who will be able to make lasting reforms - David’s greater son.