Roundtable Discussion: Ezra Calling
Parallels to Israel “Coming out of Babylon” in Economy
This morning we will discuss a topic we can call: “Ezra Calling”, which is part of God’s reformation in business and economy – a return to Old Testament / Tanakh scriptural truth when it comes to moral ethical economic issues in faith and community – just as Ezra rediscovered the scriptures and taught the people, so we must do similarly in these days. This may become a 2-part discussion where we then look to “Jesus Calling”, in how Jesus built upon the Torah and the Prophets (like Ezra, but as one “greater than Jonah”) and took these truths even higher when he gave the sermon on the mount.
This discussion is going to be a natural lead-in to kicking-off the following week’s Monthly study, whereby we will set aside the 2nd Wednesday every month for the next 12 months to look at the intersection between the “One New Man” and “Returning to God’s Economy”. How the One New Man (Jew and Gentile – The “Reconnection”) directly relates to the return to covenantal relationship between God and Man in economy (The “New Breed of Business”). Both are critical pillars in the preparation of the return of the Lord, preparing “a Bride without spot or wrinkle”.
Background Reading:
So, we must “Come out of Babylon” and put away the foreign wives as putting away the foreign gods/idols of Baal, Mammon and the Egyptian Calf worship system of ancient Northern Israel. These today all have modern day equivalents.
OT Scriptural Truths:
Return to:
Sabbaths – Once a week; every 7 years; every 50 years
No charging of interest – Don’t be a money lender to Israelites / believers
Returning the pledge – Don’t take the pledge/bed/house/donkey/car
Helping others as we trust God to help us – Proverbs11:25
Divorcing foreign gods, such as Baal (self-interest), Mammon (money)
Putting away idols, such as our ‘golden calves’, our materialistic goods/goals, self-reliance
Embracing the Abrahamic Hebraic Covenantal cycle of life as a way of life instead of survival-of-the-fittest, Greek based logical linear mindsets
Parallels to Ancient Israel
Moses – God told Moses if the people follow the law “there shall be no poor among you”. Deut 15:4.
Ezra – Coming out of Babylonian marriages, idolatry and worship practices. Returning to the sabbaths and the shmita.
Nehemiah – Rebuking the wealthy who wrote mortgages profiting from and enslaving the poor. Ezra 9-10. Nehemiah 5.
Elijah – Mt. Carmel challenge. Israel faltering between two opinions, Jehovah and Baal. Serve one or the other. 1 Kings 18.
Gideon – Midianite robbers and crop spoilers. Tearing down his father’s altar to Baal. Judges 6.
Jehu – Kills Jezebel, tears down Baal, but fails to remove Egyptian golden calf system Jeroboam set up in 1 Kings 12:28-29. 2 Kings 10:29.
Saul – A King the people wanted
David – A King after God’s own heart
Jonathan Cahn has done a great job in prophetically warning America that we are following the path of ancient Israel and its slide into apostasy. And we must “Return to God” if we hope that He will return to America. He started with writing “The Harbinger” where he looked at the Isaiah 9:10 parallel to 9/11 in 2001. Now, he has just released “Return of the Gods” which gets into the very same issues of our discussion here today. This is prophetically timely.
Here is an outstanding teaching that Jonathan gave on these things years ago, but prophetically relevant to today: The Mammon Key
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