Thought for Today

Daniel 5:24 "So from his presence the hand was sent and this writing was inscribed. 25 "And this is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN. 26 This is the interpretation of the matter: MENE, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; 27 TEKEL, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting; 28 PERES, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians."  

Matthew 2:1 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,

It’s Monday, and the latest war still rages. For those of you who are wondering what any of this conflict has to do with our lives (other than its effect on the cost of gasoline) and especially what it might have to do with our faith . . . look at those verses above. The modern nation of Iran is the descendant of the kingdom of “the Medes and Persians.”

The northern kingdom of Israel was defeated by the kingdom of Babylon and the Jews were carried off in captivity to Babylon. The ‘handwriting on the wall’ was the prelude to Babylon’s fall to that same kingdom of “the Medes and Persians.”

“Cyrus II of Persia (c. 600 – 530 BC), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Hailing from Persis, he brought the Achaemenid dynasty to power by defeating the Median Empire and embracing all of the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East, expanding vastly across most of West Asia and much of Central Asia to create what would soon become the largest empire in history at the time. The Achaemenid Empire's greatest territorial extent was achieved under Darius the Great, whose rule stretched from Southeast Europe and Northeast Africa in the west to the Indus Valley in the east.” (en.wikipedia.org)

“The name Marathon comes from the legend of Pheidippides, the Greek messenger. The legend states that while he was taking part in the Battle of Marathon, which took place in August or September 490 BC, he witnessed a Persian vessel changing its course towards Athens as the battle was near a victorious end for the Greek army. He interpreted this as an attempt by the defeated Persians to rush into the city to claim a false victory or simply raid,hence claiming their authority over Greek land. It was said that he ran the entire distance to Athens without stopping, discarding his weapons and even clothes to lose as much weight as possible, and burst into the assembly, exclaiming "we have won!", before collapsing and dying.” (ibid)

And, of course, as Christians, we all know that those “wise men from the East” were the μάγοι (magoi), “μάγος, ου, ὁ from Persian magus (great); (1) magus, plural magi, the high priestly caste of Persia; wise man of the Magian religion (MT 2.1); (2) magician, sorcerer, one using witchcraft or magic arts.” (Friberg, Analytical Greek Lexicon)

Even if you are not Christian, not Greek, not a distance runner or not even a user of petroleum products, Iran and its history have played a major role in your life. And, even if you are not aware of it, the current events in Iran and in that region of the world have an impact on your life. The modern nation of Iran and the nation of “the Medes and Persians” have historically been major players on the stage of world affairs. Iran has long served as a ‘bridge’ between east and west, as a balancing force between the world powers of the last few centuries. Today, much of that bridge is burning.

As a Christian and as a lover of history, I am appalled by the loss of life and the destruction of historical sites resulting from any armed conflict in the Holy Land and the “cradle of civilization . . . a region in Western Asia and North Africa, which is considered the birthplace of agriculture, urbanization, writing, trade, science, and organized religion.” (Copilot Search)

I hope and pray that in my lifetime we can make more discernable progress toward that for which we pray to God, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  Every time I hear of “wars and rumors of wars,” I cannot help but wonder whether we have made any progress since Cain and Abel. I know we have ‘progressed’ (??) from bashing each other with rocks to targeted missiles and guided bombs. Sadly, we don’t seem to have found any better way to deal with our interpersonal issues than through violence and destruction. I do see the need to eliminate sources of evil and terrorism; I just wish we would find a better way to do so than through killing.

Stay safe, pray for true progress toward God’s Kingdom, trust God,

Pastor Ray