Is God Inclusive?

Reflections

BibleProject

God, Spirituality, Jesus, The Bible Project, Tim Mackie, Theology, Bibleproject, Meditation, Religion, New Testament, Bible, Mindfulness, Religion & Spirituality, Bible Study, Cheree Hayes, Christianity, Old Testament, Reflection

5 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 14 July 2021

⏱️ 15 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Yahweh warned Israel not to tie themselves to foreign gods through marriage. But when those same foreigners left their gods to honor him, Yahweh welcomed them with open arms. Yahweh’s people were not as welcoming. Ezra and Nehemiah loved God, but they were misguided to exclude foreigners from joining God’s people. Since Ezra and Nehemiah weren’t exactly models for godliness and reform, what can we learn from their stories? How can we welcome others in the family of God who are different from us?

Transcript

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0:00.0	Ezra and Nehemiah weren't exactly model characters for godliness and reform.
0:05.5	So what can we learn from their stories?
0:23.8	Hey, this is Shri at Bible Project with another episode of Reflections.
0:28.8	Today, Kursa is unpacking the complex nature of the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.
0:34.1	We're talking about what it means to follow God's words with the whole heart while we welcome others.
0:39.6	If you are struggling to understand where you or others belong within God's people,
0:44.6	stay tuned.
0:45.6	I think today's message will inspire you.
0:48.1	Listen in.
0:51.7	Hi, this is Kursa at Bible Project.
0:54.0	I'd like to invite you to reflect with me on the book of Ezra and Nehemiah.
0:58.5	Some stories are meant to encourage us, others help us imagine something beautiful,
1:03.1	and others are meant to challenge our belief systems.
1:05.7	So what is the purpose of the story of Ezra, Nehemiah?
1:09.4	The books of Ezra, Nehemiah, were originally contained on one scroll until one continuous story.
1:15.4	Together, the books are set many years after the exile to Babylon and tell of the return of the
1:20.0	exiles to the land and the rebuilding of God's temple in the city of Jerusalem.
1:25.2	The characters of the leaders in the book, namely Zerubbable, Ezra, and Nehemiah, are complex.
1:32.5	In other words, they have both positive characteristics and negative ones,
1:36.0	and sometimes it's hard to tell the difference.
1:38.2	Especially when the narrative doesn't straight up say this was pleasing to God,
1:42.3	or they did this in accordance with the will of the Lord.
	...

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