David Bahn – Reflections

Listen to today’s devotion

Today’s readings: Nehemiah 1-3; Psalm 112

Nehemiah 1:4-11

As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. ⁵ And I said, “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, ⁶ let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father’s house have sinned. ⁷ We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses. ⁸ Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples, ⁹ but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.’ ¹⁰ They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand. ¹¹ O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”

Now I was cupbearer to the king.

The night before we were to travel to Los Angeles, I couldn’t sleep. It was April 29, 1992. I got up and turned on the TV. Los Angeles was on fire. Unrest had broken out following the verdict in the trial of four LAPD officers charged in the beating of Rodney King. We changed our flight itinerary to avoid the worst of the danger and continued with our plans, which included a presentation to church leaders there.

We drove past burned buildings and saw National Guard soldiers, firefighters, and police officers in the streets. The sight left quite an impression on both of us.

The following Sunday, we attended St. John Lutheran Church in Orange. The congregation’s youth presented the musical Oh Me! Oh My! Oh Nehemiah! After what we had seen, its account of a damaged city and people working under guard struck us deeply. Later in Nehemiah, some stand guard while others rebuild Jerusalem’s wall, with swords at their sides.

But Nehemiah’s work begins before anyone lifts a stone. When he hears about Jerusalem’s broken walls and gates, he sits down and weeps. He fasts and prays. He confesses his own sins and the sins of his people. And he holds fast to God’s promise to gather his scattered people.

Nehemiah isn’t telling God something God has forgotten. He is praying on the strength of what God has promised. He asks God for favor as he approaches the king. The king grants his requests, and Nehemiah tells us why: God’s gracious hand was upon him.

Nehemiah saw what needed to be done, and he believed it could be done with God’s help. His vision grew from both burden and belief. The broken walls weighed on his heart and gave him a reason to begin. God’s promise to gather his people gave him courage to continue, even when the rebuilding became dangerous. Without that burden, he might never have started. Without that belief, he might have given up.

Yet Nehemiah prayed for more than a repaired wall. He held fast to God’s promise to gather his people and dwell among them. In Jesus, God comes to gather us to himself. He sees our sin and suffering, has compassion on us, and comes to bring us back to God. Through his death and resurrection, we have forgiveness and a hope that no broken wall – or broken life – can take away.

So we can face what is broken without looking away. We can pray, trust God’s promise in Jesus, and take the next step he gives us, relying on his gracious hand, and great promises.

Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.

Listen to today’s devotion

Today’s readings: Ezra 8-10, Psalm 111

Ezra 9:5-9

And at the evening sacrifice I rose from my fasting, with my garment and my cloak torn, and fell upon my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God, ⁶ saying:

“O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. ⁷ From the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt. And for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame, as it is today. ⁸ But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant and to give us a secure hold within his holy place, that our God may brighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our slavery. ⁹ For we are slaves. Yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to grant us some reviving to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us protection in Judea and Jerusalem.

I became good friends with the Episcopal priest while we lived in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. He and I would joke about our theological tendencies. He was liberal in his thinking, and I was conservative. When we played golf together, it was even more noticeable. He had a consistent hook off the tee. I had a slice. He went left. I went right. “Yeah,” we’d say, “true to form.”

We got to know each other pretty well and soon discovered that at least some of our preconceived notions about liberal and conservative tendencies were a bit overblown.

One thing I especially appreciated about John: he could make good fun of himself. He was actually an adult convert to the faith, and when he let that be known, one of his friends quipped, “I might have known, John, that when you caught religion, you would catch it in its least virulent form!” Virulent or not, his faith was real, and I am thankful to have been his friend.

Ezra, however, would not be accused of catching religion in its least virulent form! His was a deep conviction of his place before God and the responsibility he had to lead God’s people as they returned to Jerusalem. We read of the offerings of gold and silver entrusted to him, which he in turn entrusted to the priests. By today’s precious-metal prices, the silver and gold would have been worth more than half a billion dollars! That’s not a token offering. That’s not just symbolic. It represents an extraordinary devotion to God and his purposes.

And Ezra was equally serious about seeking God’s protection. Rather than relying on an escort from the king, he called the people to fast and humble themselves before God, asking him for a safe journey.

But we see another conviction in these chapters as well. Ezra is deeply convicted of his own and Israel’s sin. Their abandonment of true religion, purity of faith, and faithfulness in keeping God’s ways weighs heavily on him. And those convictions are brought to bear on the people he is leading. He was ashamed and blushed to lift his eyes to God because of this conviction of sin.

This makes me think of Jesus’ telling about the two men who went up to the Temple to pray. One stood proudly before God, touting his religious piety. The other would not even lift his eyes to heaven, but prayed, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” Jesus said the latter went home justified.

There are convictions of faith that enable us to stand against the tide of worldly values. And there are convictions of sin that shake us to the core and call us to repentance. We need both. We can thank the Holy Spirit for strengthening us to stand firm in faith—and when our sin is laid bare, we can look not to the strength of our convictions, but to Jesus, who has borne our sin and gives us mercy, forgiveness, and a place to stand before God.

Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.

Listen to today’s devotion

Today’s readings: Esther 9-10, Ezra 7, Psalm 110

Ezra 7:11, 13–14, 21, 23, 25, 27–28

This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, a man learned in matters of the commandments of the LORD and his statutes for Israel: ¹³ “I make a decree that anyone of the people of Israel or their priests or Levites in my kingdom, who freely offers to go to Jerusalem, may go with you. ¹⁴ For you are sent by the king and his seven counselors to make inquiries about Judah and Jerusalem according to the Law of your God, which is in your hand…

²¹ “And I, Artaxerxes the king, make a decree to all the treasurers in the province Beyond the River: Whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, requires of you, let it be done with all diligence… ²³ Whatever is decreed by the God of heaven, let it be done in full for the house of the God of heaven, lest his wrath be against the realm of the king and his sons.

²⁵ “And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God that is in your hand, appoint magistrates and judges who may judge all the people in the province Beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God. And those who do not know them, you shall teach.”

²⁷ Blessed be the LORD, the God of our fathers, who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king, to beautify the house of the LORD that is in Jerusalem, ²⁸ and who extended to me his steadfast love before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty officers. I took courage, for the hand of the LORD my God was on me, and I gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me.

How do you respond to the grace and favor of God? What do you do when good things happen to you? Sometimes we can legitimately take some credit. We work hard at our job and receive a promotion, a bonus, an award, or some special recognition. We finish a project and receive the accolades of others.

Then there are those good things that come to us through the grace of others. A friend invites you to lunch simply because he wants to reconnect and rekindle a dormant relationship. Or, as happened to us a few months ago—to our complete surprise—a “Yard of the Month” sign appears in your front yard. All we were trying to do was keep the yard looking decent!

But I recall one time especially when good news moved me immediately to praise and thank God. Our son’s medical test was negative. When the alternative is a potentially life-threatening diagnosis, negative is a wonderfully positive word. There are certainly other moments I could name, and I’m sure you could name a few of your own.

I join Ezra as he rejoices before God for the support and goodwill he has received from King Artaxerxes. God had done great things to bring his people back to Jerusalem. He had also preserved them from Haman’s vile plot, as recorded in Esther. That story takes place between Ezra 6 and 7, during the reign of Xerxes, Artaxerxes’ predecessor. Scripture makes no direct connection between Esther and Artaxerxes’ support of Ezra, but the parallel is striking. God’s providential hand is hidden in Esther; Ezra names it plainly: God “put such a thing as this into the heart of the king.”

We may not always recognize God’s work in our lives. Sometimes we may even neglect to acknowledge his providential care or name him outright. Yet he is always at work, upholding all things by his powerful word. And while every blessing may not bring the same rush of emotion, every good gift gives us reason to thank the Giver. So let’s take a page from Ezra. He received the favor of a king, but he saw behind it the gracious hand of God.

We do something very much like that whenever we pray the Lord’s Prayer and conclude, “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.” The good we receive ultimately points beyond itself to the One from whom every good gift comes.

And nowhere do we see that gracious hand more clearly than in Jesus, through whom God has given us far more than favorable circumstances – forgiveness, life, and salvation. So whether at the end of the day or in the very moment when some unexpected blessing arrives, we can join Ezra in giving God the glory.

Yes! May the name of the Lord be praised!

Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.

Listen to today’s devotion

Today’s readings: Esther 6-8, Psalm 109

Esther 6:1-3, 6-10

On that night the king could not sleep. And he gave orders to bring the book of memorable deeds, the chronicles, and they were read before the king. ² And it was found written how Mordecai had told about Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, and who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. ³ And the king said, “What honor or distinction has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?” The king’s young men who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.”

 ⁶ So Haman came in, and the king said to him, “What should be done to the man whom the king delights to honor?” And Haman said to himself, “Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?” ⁷ And Haman said to the king, “For the man whom the king delights to honor, ⁸ let royal robes be brought, which the king has worn, and the horse that the king has ridden, and on whose head a royal crown is set. ⁹ And let the robes and the horse be handed over to one of the king’s most noble officials. Let them dress the man whom the king delights to honor, and let them lead him on the horse through the square of the city, proclaiming before him: ‘Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.’” ¹⁰ Then the king said to Haman, “Hurry; take the robes and the horse, as you have said, and do so to Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Leave out nothing that you have mentioned.”

I just love this turn of events in the account of Esther, Mordecai, Haman, and the king. The king can’t sleep, so he orders the Book of Memorable Deeds to be brought and read to him. There he learns of Mordecai’s act to reveal the plot against Ahasuerus and discovers that nothing had been done to honor him (Esther 6:1–3). And because the king couldn’t sleep, because that particular book was brought out, and because that particular deed was read, there will now be a grand reversal.

It is not going to land well on Haman. He has come to the palace to ask the king to have Mordecai hanged on the gallows he has prepared for him. Instead, the king asks Haman, “What should be done to the man whom the king delights to honor?” (6:6).

To make matters worse, it is Haman who will unwittingly suggest the manner of Mordecai’s honor, thinking it surely must be for himself. Dress him in the king’s robes. Put him on the king’s horse. Have one of the king’s most noble officials lead him through the city square proclaiming, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!” (6:7–9). Surely it will be for himself, Haman thinks.

Oh, but it won’t — and not by a long shot.

Don’t you love it when the high and mighty get brought low? Don’t you delight in seeing the tables turned on a brash and arrogant poser? Isn’t it great to watch the wicked con artist fall into the trap he has set for others? And this isn’t the full reversal just yet. Haman will eventually end up on the gallows he had built for Mordecai — all 75 feet of it (7:9–10).

Let’s think about honor for a moment — and about the surprising ways God bestows it. Jesus promises that the Twelve will sit on twelve thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28). That’s real honor. The faithful servants who put their talents to work and bring a return to their master hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant” and are entrusted with even more (Matthew 25:21, 23). Jesus defends the woman who anoints him for burial, saying that wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her (Matthew 26:13).

And then there’s the prodigal son. He who wishes his father dead, spends his inheritance on wild living, runs out of money, feeds the pigs, and finally comes to his senses returns to his father asking to be like one of his servants. Instead, he is given the best robe, a ring, and new shoes. And a party in honor of his return (Luke 15:11–24).

That’s grace.

It’s the great multitude who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb who stand before the throne with palm branches in their hands (Revelation 7:9, 14). It’s not the self-righteous who make their phylacteries broad and their tassels long and parade their righteousness before others who will be honored (Matthew 23:5–12).

It’s the repentant, the humble, those who wait, hope, and trust in God who will be lifted up. And think of the greatest reversal of all. Our Lord Jesus was stripped of his garments and humiliated beyond measure. He humbled himself even to death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name (Philippians 2:8–11).

And that changes the way we rejoice in reversals. Our hope is not finally the joy of seeing someone else brought down. We who trust in Jesus wait for his vindication and hope for his salvation. We look for the crown of life he has promised — and for a joy rooted not in another’s doom, but in God’s grace.

Grace! Glorious grace!

Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.

Listen to today’s devotion

Today’s readings: Esther 3-5, Psalm 108

Esther 4:8-16

Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for their destruction, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her and command her to go to the king to beg his favor and plead with him on behalf of her people. ⁹ And Hathach went and told Esther what Mordecai had said. ¹⁰ Then Esther spoke to Hathach and commanded him to go to Mordecai and say, ¹¹ “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law—to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.”

¹² And they told Mordecai what Esther had said. ¹³ Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. ¹⁴ For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” ¹⁵ Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, ¹⁶ “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.”

The book of Esther is a delightful narrative with all the twists and turns of a compelling drama. First the Jewish people are threatened with annihilation. Then Mordecai hears of it and urges Esther to intervene before the king. Esther is afraid to go to the king uninvited for fear of being put to death. Then comes the powerful rejoinder from her cousin:

“Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

The phrase, “for such a time as this,” carries the weight of a defining moment, a crucial moment of critical decision. It is an invitation to think differently about what is happening and what is at stake in the decisions being made in that moment. Now is the time to act in faith and courage.

But there is more to this story than Mordecai’s urging, the Jews’ predicament, or the king’s edict. There is another character we need to consider. Haman incites the king to make the decree to annihilate all the Jewish people. He is excited about the honor he is receiving from the king and very ready to see his reputation and standing before the king rise. He is plotting and power-hungry.

This is where I’d like to pause for a moment to consider the way this drama plays out and how the idea of for such a time as this needs to be carefully considered. Haman thinks that his time has come for exaltation, honor, and glory. He is working all the angles to position himself for success and fame. Esther, on the other hand, is considering how her actions may save the Jewish people. She is risking herself in the hope that she might be God’s instrument of deliverance and service.

There is something else remarkable about Esther: God’s name is never mentioned in the entire book. Yet his providential care stands behind the entire story. Esther cannot see the whole plan. Even Mordecai says, “Who knows whether…” She is simply called to act faithfully and courageously in the place and moment she has been given.

Spoiler Alert: Their fortunes will be dramatically reversed. We’ll wait to see how that unfolds. But we can already see that the question is not merely whether our time has come. The question is what we will do with the time and place God has given us. Haman sees his moment as an opportunity to exalt himself. Esther is called to use hers for the sake of others.

Jesus lived that perfectly. When his hour came, he did not use it to save himself, but to save us. He humbled himself and gave himself into death for the sake of all people. And God raised him from the dead and exalted him to his right hand. Through faith in him we receive grace upon grace. He is the one who has intervened for us when we could not intervene for ourselves.

Because Jesus has intervened for us, every “such a time as this” moment in our lives becomes a time for humility, faith, and courage on our part. So we embrace his gifts and use the time and place he has given us to serve others in his name.

Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.

Listen to today’s devotion

Today’s readings: Zechariah 8-10, Psalm 105

Zechariah 8:1-8

And the word of the LORD of hosts came, saying, ² “Thus says the LORD of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath. ³ Thus says the LORD: I have returned to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the LORD of hosts, the holy mountain. ⁴ Thus says the LORD of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age. ⁵ And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. ⁶ Thus says the LORD of hosts: If it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, should it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the LORD of hosts? ⁷ Thus says the LORD of hosts: Behold, I will save my people from the east country and from the west country, ⁸ and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.”

What a comforting and hopeful picture we are given in the opening words of Zechariah 8! Old men and women lean on their staffs. Young boys and girls play in the streets. Jerusalem is promised to be a place of peace and tranquility. God will sow peace and save his people. They will no more be a curse, but a blessing. All this is God’s doing, and I would certainly want to live there!

Zechariah includes an interesting prediction that many Christians see as being fulfilled in events surrounding Alexander the Great (9:13). Others want to dismiss any correlation. But when Zechariah turns to describe the king coming into Jerusalem humbly and riding on a donkey, we see the connection most clearly. The king of whom Zechariah speaks will be a king of humility and salvation. Jesus so clearly fulfills that picture:

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
    Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
    righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
    on a colt, the foal of a donkey. – Zechariah 9:9

We read this every Palm Sunday to remember Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem in what would be the week leading up to his death and resurrection.

And consider these examples from Zechariah that are connected in the New Testament to the ministry of Jesus.

When I think of Old Testament prophecies fulfilled by Jesus, I think of Isaiah, Jeremiah, or the Psalms. But Zechariah gives us some gems as well. After all, the Old Testament points us forward to Christ, and the New Testament helps us see how those promises find their fulfillment in him.

So, dear reader, you should not be surprised that every time I write these blog posts, I keep pointing to Jesus in them. That’s the one thing I sometimes miss in the BibleProject videos — helpful as they may be. The connection to Jesus is not always made as explicitly as I would like. They can be helpful, but let’s look for Jesus throughout the Scriptures and rejoice when we see him so clearly promised as we do here!

Click on this graphic or the link below to watch the Bible Project overview of the book of Zechariah.

https://bibleproject.com/videos/zechariah

Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.

Listen to today’s devotion

Today’s readings: Zechariah 5-7, Psalm 104

Zechariah 7:8-10

And the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying, ⁹ “Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, ¹⁰ do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” 

These chapters begin with some wild and crazy visions, with symbolism that is at once obscure and plain as day. A huge flying scroll represents God’s curse going out over the land; a woman named Wickedness is sealed inside a basket and carried away to Babylon; and four chariots emerge from between two bronze mountains and go out through the earth at God’s command. The images themselves are strange, but Zechariah is given enough explanation that we are not left entirely to guess what they mean.

God explains the visions through an interpreting angel who accompanies Zechariah, answering his questions about what he sees. The explanations are often brief: the flying scroll is identified as the curse going out over the land; the woman in the basket is identified as “Wickedness” and is carried to Shinar; and the four chariots are identified as the four spirits of heaven going out after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth.

Then comes chapter 7 and the issue of fasting. God asks, “When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh, for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted? And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves? Were not these the words that the Lord proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous, with her cities around her, and the South and the lowland were inhabited?”

They had fasted regularly. But they had not listened to the prophets who had spoken to them in previous times. This is why Judah had been taken into exile and Jerusalem sacked and ruined. So now that God’s people are back in Jerusalem, God calls them to faithfulness.

The call of God is always to humble faith, compassionate mercy, and loving justice – not just formalistic religious practice. Fasting has its place. In fact, it is a valuable spiritual discipline to heighten our awareness of our need for daily bread, and to remind us that man does not live by bread alone – a lesson the children of Israel should have learned in the wilderness after leaving Egypt.

Amidst the confusing visions of flying scrolls and four chariots comes this clarity. God wants our hearts to be devoted to him. He delights in true worship. But when worship is used as a way to hide arrogant self-righteousness and blind selfishness, it is of no value. The fullness of true worship overflows into a life of justice, mercy, love, and grace.

That’s what we have seen and experienced ourselves in Jesus, who was grace and truth incarnate. He has shown us mercy and given himself for us, and he calls us to follow him and reflect that character to a world turned in on itself and in need of that same grace we have received from him.

Click on this graphic or the link below to watch the Bible Project overview of the book of Zechariah.

https://bibleproject.com/videos/zechariah

Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.

Listen to today’s devotion

Today’s readings: Zechariah 2-4, Psalm 103

Zechariah 3:1-5

Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. ² And the LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, O Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?” ³ Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. ⁴ And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.” ⁵ And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD was standing by.

“Rags! New rags for old! I take your tired rags! Rags!” This is a line from a powerful parable by Walt Wangerin. It’s a story of a man going through the streets taking soiled rags from various people: a little girl with a blood-soaked rag tied around her head. A man with his jacket sleeve tucked into his jacket pocket because he has lost an arm. A mom crying into her hanky over a terrible loss. And as he takes each rag, the injury comes with it and becomes the Ragman’s own. Each person is left healed and whole. It’s a wonderful metaphor of Christ taking our sins upon himself and our being clothed in his righteousness.

This is also the image Zechariah offers here in these verses. Joshua is clothed with filthy rags. But what makes it worse is that he is not only poorly clothed, or even injured like the people in the Ragman story, he is being accused by Satan himself. The name Satan means “accuser,” and the Accuser is doing his best to clothe Joshua with shame and condemnation.

If you’ve ever felt shame, you know how terrible it can be. Guilt can be almost as bad — though there is a distinction. Guilt is the condition of having done wrong. Shame is the painful sense that there is something wrong with me. Both can be spiritually debilitating, and together they can be deadly.

This is where the grace of God is so rich and such a blessing. For the angel commands that Joshua’s filthy garments be taken off and promises that he will be clothed with pure vestments. What’s more, he will have a clean turban put on his head. This points back to the high priest’s turban bearing a gold plate engraved: “Holy to the LORD.” This is an extraordinary reversal.

Notice, also, who it is that makes this happen. It’s the angel of the LORD. Christians have long understood the angel of the LORD as a manifestation of the preincarnate Christ. Seen in that light, this becomes a picture of exactly what Jesus does for us by taking our sin, guilt, and shame and giving us his righteousness — all by his grace.

The Ragman in Wangerin’s parable is clearly a Christ figure. For he takes all the people’s rags, and dies — only to rise three days later. Wangerin ends his story with, “The Ragman, the Ragman, the Christ!”

What a glorious exchange — new clothes of righteousness for the filthy rags of our sin. We are now holy to the LORD – thanks be to God.

Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.

Listen to today’s devotion

Today’s readings: Zechariah 1, Psalm 102

Zechariah 1:1-6

In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying, ² “The LORD was very angry with your fathers. ³ Therefore say to them, Thus declares the LORD of hosts: Return to me, says the LORD of hosts, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. ⁴ Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’ But they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the LORD. ⁵ Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? ⁶ But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers? So they repented and said, ‘As the LORD of hosts purposed to deal with us for our ways and deeds, so has he dealt with us.’”

Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful. Slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love; and abounding in steadfast love. There are several liturgical chants that have stuck with me through the years. That is one of them. Sung between the second lesson and the Gospel during Lent, it has a rich message and a singable melody. That one and the post-communion canticle, Thank the Lord and Sing His Praise — either intonation — are two of my favorites.

I had to think of the former when I read this from Zechariah: “Thus declares the LORD of hosts: Return to me, says the LORD of hosts, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts.” I notice how repeatedly Zechariah attributes this invitation to the LORD of hosts. It’s like I like to say, “I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.” Get it?

God certainly wants his people to get the message. There should be no doubt that he wants them to come back to him. And he issues not only an invitation, but also a promise: Return to me, and I will return to you.

It’s challenging to think that God would forsake his people. We don’t want to think that he would do to us what he did to Jesus on the cross. Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” He was praying the words of Psalm 22. There on the cross Jesus endured the abandonment and judgment our sin deserves.

Zechariah recounts how their fathers had refused to listen to the prophets who called them to repentance. They had abandoned God in so many ways. God had allowed them to be taken into captivity and the temple to be desecrated. Now, however, God was inviting them to return. And he promised to return to them.

It’s not that they would never sin again. Sin offerings were a regular part of temple worship. But they were being called to return to God in repentance and faith. Their fathers had abandoned that relationship. God was inviting them back into his grace.

It’s the same for us. It’s not that we never sin. We admit it every Sunday: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” But it doesn’t end there: “If we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

That’s what the LORD of hosts was offering the people of Zechariah’s day. It’s what he offers us daily. God’s invitation to return to him is not a one-time invitation. It is the daily rhythm of repentance and faith.

And we return knowing that God has already turned toward us in Jesus. He bore our sin and forsakenness on the cross and rose again so that we might be reconciled to God. So we return again and again to the God who is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love — until Jesus returns and we know the fullness of his grace in the life of the world to come.

Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.