Introduction
It appears to me that we may be living in a post-exile moment. For the last 70 years, America has been in a kind of “exile” of humanistic secularism, but over the last several years, perhaps beginning in earnest during Covid, accelerating in the assassination attempt on Trump, and culminating in Charlie Kirk’s murder and his memorial service, the conservative movement has increasingly insisted that America must return to Christ, that America is and always has been a Christian nation.
The Jewish exile in Babylon and the socio-political dynamics that led to their return to the land seems to me to be one of the more intriguing stories in Scripture. You have Daniel and his three young friends in Babylon early in the exile, standing courageously, exerting a growing influence, no doubt protecting many other exiles. You have the story of Mordecai and Esther saving many Jews and thwarting the plots of Haman. And you have Ezra and Nehemiah leading the return back into the land, rebuilding and renewing covenant with God. And there’s a chance that they all knew one another, or at least overlapped somewhat. There’s a long and tangled debate about the exile and post-exile chronology – who is Cyrus or Artaxerxes or Darius, exactly? And I won’t go into the theories here, but it’s at least possible that some of those names are actually royal titles (like Pharaoh/Caesar) and not proper names, and it’s therefore possible that the “queen” mentioned in Neh. 2:6 is none other than Esther.
This means that the miracle of the return from exile in Ezra and Nehemiah was a miracle that God worked through the means of a number of different men and women being raised up by God to stand firm in the face of fierce opposition. And it appears that God has been doing something similar for us over the last number of years. Just think about the odd and colorful coalition of voices and figures: Rush Limbaugh (like a voice in the wilderness), Charlie and Erika Kirk, Tucker Carlson, Tulsi Gabbard, Elon Musk, Pete Hegseth, Douglas Wilson, and of course, Donald Trump in the middle of it all. And I’m not assigning any particular parts to any of these characters. As these things go, people can play different parts and blends of parts. And of course there are a multitude of other parts in the background: other podcasts and writers and mothers and pastors and friends.
A Couple of Lessons
If something like this is correct, there are two main conclusions, I would draw from this lesson.
First, the need for courage, heroism, and hard work is now. There was not a “breakthrough” moment when all the faithful coasted back into the land and reestablished the kingdom. It was a slog all the way through. From Daniel and his three friends standing faithfully against the constant corruptions of the Babylonian deep state to Esther and Mordecai’s daring exploits to Nehemiah rebuilding the city walls with swords and trowels to Ezra and Haggai and Zechariah teaching, preaching, and admonishing the people: Reformation comes by the work of the Spirit and the sweat, blood, and tears of the faithful. And it’s not just one person; there were thousands upon thousands doing their part faithfully, courageously sacrificing, serving, keeping their hands to the plow, risking lives, livelihoods, and reputations for the glory of God and the restoration of Israel. Our moment calls for the same thing: an uncompromising persistence, pulling toward the goal: all of Christ for all of life, all of Christ for all of America.
Second, I want to underline a particular part of the persistence required. While God clearly worked through a colorful coalition in those days, and therefore we too need to learn to work with and alongside people that are crusty, creepy, or simply loose cannons (Nebuchadnezzar, Haman, and numerous antagonistic court officials in Babylon, the princes in the land harassing Nehemiah and the people, not to mention the many Jews who themselves often compromised), at the same time, there were numerous principled stands against compromise that could have resulted in death and destruction. This is what God uses. Daniel and the three friends refused the king’s food and wine; the three friends refused to bow to the statue; Daniel refused to stop praying; Esther interceded when it could have cost her life; Nehemiah stood against the enemies in the land; and Ezra rebuked the people for their intermarriage with pagans.
Conclusion
This moment, this Charlie Kirk moment, has clearly revealed the absolute impotence of the seeker-friendly models of cultural engagement. The David Frenches, Russell Moores, and Rick Warrens of this age sold their principles for seats at the tables of the blind magicians of the king’s court. It is the Daniels that refused the king’s meat who have something to say to the king, and because they refused to compromise, the Elon Musks and Don Jrs. are confessing that the God of Charlie Kirk is the true God of Heaven. Whether or not they truly believe (yet), they can see the difference between integrity and chasing fads.
This Charlie Kirk Memorial moment seems to me to be the signal to “return to the land.” With the entire presidential cabinet at the memorial, and the President giving his enthusiastic blessing to the whole proceedings, whatever his remaining confusions, whatever the state of his soul before the Lord, our nation just confessed faith in the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. We just recommitted ourselves to be a Protestant Christian nation. And God does not take these things lightly. He takes these things seriously. We just renewed covenant, or at least we said we fully intend to, and the whole world watched and it was glorious. And now we have work to do.
We have many high places that need to be torn down. Now the work begins in earnest. Now we need to rebuild the walls of Christendom, and we have to expect more opposition, more mockery, and all kinds of pressures to slow down, to compromise, to not speak out. This moment still requires wisdom and grace, but it requires even more courage, even more sacrifice, even more hard work, and a certain hard-headed persistence in the work. They will try to get you to come down off the walls, but as Nehemiah insisted, we cannot come down, the work is too great.
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