Biblical Theology: The Exile | Interracial Marriage

Adrianna Anderson (00:01.942) Yeah, completely understandable. All right. Austin Suter (00:05.922) Alright. Grace and peace, friends. Welcome back to our Bible study series. We are back with Adriana Anderson. How are you, sister? Adrianna Anderson (00:14.838) It’s a great day, praise the Lord. Austin Suter (00:17.506) Praise the Lord. Friends, if you’re just joining us and haven’t caught up on previous episodes from this series, we’ve been walking through the Old Testament for the last four weeks. Today we’ll be looking at the exile. And there are a number of different ways we could have done this. We could have focused on the exile by looking, for example, to the warnings from Isaiah or Jeremiah about the coming exile. But we’re not going to do that. What we’re doing instead is we’re going to look at four books of the Bible, two which occurred during the exile and two which occur immediately after the exile as the exiles return. So Adriana, we studied the history books in our last episode and we’ll be looking at major prophets next week, which will flesh out sort of the significance of the exile. But can you give us just a quick primer on what the exile would have meant for a God -fearing Israelite? Adrianna Anderson (01:01.206) Yeah, so again, delighted to be able to talk with all of you today and to get to share more. And, you know, as I think about even just your question, I get really emotional about this because first of all, when you think of the very idea of exile, which literally means to be barred from your native country for either political or punitive reasons, that’s devastating. I mean, let’s just sit in that for a minute. Can you imagine being told that you are being exiled from America because you’re an American? Exile is horrifying. And so, you know, they were being forced to leave a land that God promised them through the covenant he made with them. You know, what would you think if that was happening? That God forgot you? Absolutely you would. And Israel would have been no different. They would have probably thought the same thing. Austin Suter (01:52.45) And we’re going to see in these first two books, especially how that’s not the case. And we’re going to go in reverse order. So reverse order from how you would encounter these books in the Bible. We’re going to start with Daniel. Adriana, who? I mean, Daniel’s a crazy book in sort of the best ways. It’s got prophecy. It’s got end times predictions. It’s got dreams, interpretations, plots, people acting like animals. But starting with Daniel, who is he and where is he when we meet him? Adrianna Anderson (02:22.742) So the Israelites were living in exile under Babylonian rule. That’s probably the most important thing to remember where they were. Daniel is a Hebrew youth who’s noted as being handsome, skilled in wisdom, knowledge, and able to teach. His name under this Babylonian rule was actually changed to Belteshazzar under the king’s rule and God gave him the ability to interpret visions and dreams and so Daniel what I love about him is he resolved in the midst of this Babylonian Empire if you will he resolved to not defile himself with the culture. of this empire and even while he was being groomed for service to the king, Daniel remained devoted to Yahweh and that’s what you will learn about his character as you read through this book. Austin Suter (03:10.434) What’s the significance of him being able to interpret dreams? Adrianna Anderson (03:14.102) So if you’re familiar with the story of, for example, Joseph in Genesis, he too was given the same ability by God to interpret dreams. And even in the midst of exile, God is always present and at work in the lives of his people. And God gave him these abilities because he had a specific purpose in which he was going to act. And he used them, or in this case, Daniel, to work in the lives of this particular kingdom. with this ability that God gave him that no one else had the ability to give him the answer that this king was looking for. Austin Suter (03:50.466) Well, you speak of the king, let’s talk about him. The king of the Chaldeans is introduced early in this book, Nebuchadnezzar. What’s he like as a king? Adrianna Anderson (04:01.27) So Daniel chapter three, if you read that, it definitely points us to this very interesting character who comes on the scene. His name is King Nebuchadnezzar. He was the ruler of Babylon. And what’s noted about him is that he did evil in God’s eyes. He was an arrogant idolater. He forced the people, including all the nations, which is very important to worship this golden image that he makes. And then he basically issues a decree that those who refuse to worship, this idol that he made they were basically as good as dead. So that’s who King Nebuchadnezzar is. Austin Suter (04:38.562) I mean, just the arrogance, the demanding worship from every people and language, that’s God stuff. That’s the delusion of this man. Adrianna Anderson (04:47.574) Yes. Austin Suter (04:49.314) So there’s two instances of supernatural deliverance in this book, the first being from the fiery furnace and the second being from the lion’s den. How do God’s people end up in this kind of trouble and what does God do about it? Adrianna Anderson (05:01.75) So there is what I like to say, there was a situation. And the Chaldeans, so obviously these are all enemies of Israel, they openly accused Daniel and his three Hebrew friends, for those of you that are familiar with his story, they accused him for refusing to bow down to the image to worship it. Austin Suter (05:06.434) Yes, there was. Adrianna Anderson (05:27.67) And then in a rage, King Neb, that’s what I call him for short. orders them to worship the image or be cast into this fiery furnace. So guess what happens? They refuse to. They refuse to worship the image, but they’re resolved in their refusal to do so. The king orders the furnace to be heated seven times hotter. They’re thrown in, but then we have a miracle that happens. And I think most of our listeners are probably familiar with this. So when they go to look in the fiery furnace, four men are seen in the fire. and it notes that they were unbound, unharmed, and walking around. That is a miracle. But this fourth man was God himself in the pre -incarnate Christ and he gets in the fire with them and I love that he delivers them out of it because of their faithfulness to him. It’s amazing. Austin Suter (06:24.482) And I love the account, just chapter three, verse 18. They’ve already noted, God is able to rescue us. We trust him more than we fear you. But even if he doesn’t, we’re not gonna worship this false God. Like, just the integrity on these guys is fantastic. Adrianna Anderson (06:31.062) Mm -hmm. Adrianna Anderson (06:34.934) That’s right. Adrianna Anderson (06:38.934) That’s right. That’s right. Yeah. Yeah. Austin Suter (06:45.218) So then Daniel gets thrown in the lion’s den. What happens there? I thought he was beloved by the king. Adrianna Anderson (06:53.526) So, you know, he gets thrown into the lion’s den and obviously we see what just happened. So now there’s four in the fire. They get pulled out of there unscathed, unharmed, and it’s a miracle. And so now King, there’s like this switch of King Nebuchadnezzar. And I’m not sure if we’re going to talk about that, but. you know, there’s just a shift that happens where now it’s like, oh my gosh, I need to, you know, now pay homage to Daniel. And, you know, there’s this now focus on him and what has just happened. But the interesting thing is that the ones that commanded for all of this to happen, basically the ones that set the trap for them, they end up getting thrown into the fire themselves because this is like catastrophic now. You know, there’s shame, their pride has been wounded and you name it. So. Austin Suter (07:54.786) For the sake of time, we can’t cover everything in this book, but because you just mentioned pride and we highlighted Nebuchadnezzar’s arrogance early on, God humbles him. How does that happen? Adrianna Anderson (08:04.886) So as we all know for those that are knowledgeable in scripture, scripture constantly reminds us that God hates pride. And just because one carries the title of king doesn’t mean he’s exempt from the consequences of his pride. And so while the king is surveying the vastness of his kingdom, he ends up boasting in his own strength. And God hears that. And remember, Austin, this theme of self -reliance continues to raise its ugly heads. throughout scripture. God says, okay I’ll show you who’s in charge and it’s not you King Neb. He ends up taking the kingdom away from him, drives him into the wild, and makes him eat grass like an ox. And all I can say after reading that is wow. Talk about being humbled. Austin Suter (08:53.954) Well, he come, but it works. When he comes back from it, what’s he do? Adrianna Anderson (08:57.494) Yes. So, you know, when he comes back from it, yes, he talks about, you know, the fact that, wait, I’m pausing, my brain just literally froze, I’m sorry. I know they’ll cut that out. Yeah, they’ll cut that out. But anyway, he comes back and he does humble himself. And so he gives honor to God and recognition to him. And yeah, he… Austin Suter (09:13.954) No, it’s okay. Adrianna Anderson (09:30.166) God’s mission was accomplished in the humility. So. Austin Suter (09:34.21) I think it’s so interesting in these accounts because you see this periodically in these exile books of foreigners giving honor to Yahweh and how Israel was supposed to be the shining light to the nations and when they weren’t, God actually disperses the people and accomplishes the goal he had set out anyway through the exile. It’s like he will not be thwarted. Austin Suter (10:01.41) Okay, there are a number of prophecies in this book, many seemingly about the end of the world, but we’re introduced to someone in chapter seven. We have to go to Daniel seven, if we’re going to talk about the book of Daniel. And we meet two figures in Daniel seven. Who are the Ancient of Days and the Son of Man? Adrianna Anderson (10:19.734) So again, I love these names because Daniel is giving us a glimpse into the coming King, the coming Messiah, Jesus. And since before Abraham, God has always had a plan to send Jesus as a fulfillment of the promises he made to send a savior. And I just want to read really quickly from Daniel seven, verse 14. And this is what it says. And to him was given. dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.” And so again, it just paints this beautiful foreshadowing of the coming Messiah. Love it. Austin Suter (11:10.594) I love it too, and I’m just struck as we’ve been going through these books of the Old Testament how often God’s pronouncements for His rule and His reign and His covenant include mention of all the nations. It’s central to the idea. And I just want to challenge our listeners to think of it that way. This is not an afterthought. Adrianna Anderson (11:29.014) Yeah, that’s right. Austin Suter (11:32.034) I encourage all of our listeners to read along with us and to read this whole book of Daniel. I’m sorry we couldn’t cover it more, but we do have to move on to Esther because this is another example of God’s people in exile. And like the last book, there are plots against God’s people, but we’ve never seen anything of this scope yet. So what scenario does Esther find herself in early in the book? Adrianna Anderson (11:55.574) So Esther and her people, which are the Jews, they are in exile in Susa and they’re under the reign of King Ahasuerus and Queen Vashti. The king has this vast kingdom, great wealth, he likes to throw lots of parties. And on one occasion, he calls for Queen Vashti to come so he can show off her beauty to all his court. And then she does the unthinkable. She refuses to come. That’s not something you do to the king. You don’t refuse to come. So he’s embarrassed, angry. His court now starts giving him all of this guidance and he ends up listening to them. He issues an order to have Vashti banned as queen. And then this is where we’re going to see a shift happen in this kingdom. So another edict is issued to bring virgins in. a harem for these special beauty treatments to prepare whoever the king chose to be queen in place of Ashti. Now enters Esther. So now we see her come under the scene. And for those of you that don’t know, Esther is an orphan who was raised by her uncle Mordecai and she ends up chosen to be the queen and is basically given direction by her uncle to not reveal her Jewish identity. Austin Suter (13:18.274) And the details are kind of sparse on Esther early on in the book, but she seems clearly committed to the Lord throughout this whole book. And Mordecai seems pretty shrewd. He seems like a smart guy. Soon after that, though, we meet another character in this book, Haman. And for my money, this is one of the most evil characters in the Bible. Do you think I’m out of line with that? Adrianna Anderson (13:41.59) Yeah. You’re not out of line at all. And I would just say old evil Haman is indeed one of the vilest and wicked men that has ever lived in my opinion as well. I fully agree with you. He hated the Jews and Mordecai specifically, you know, they end up getting into this just hatred or really Haman ends up hating Mordecai because he refuses to pay homage to him. And so Haman ends up deceitfully going to the king, tells him these lies about Mordecai, but ties in the Jewish people with Mordecai. And he petitions the king to annihilate all Jews, and the king orders it so. And it ends up becoming a fateful day for the Jews. It’s very sad how you see evil permeate decisions that are made. It’s just sad. Austin Suter (14:35.554) You know, we had Randy Newman on a few months ago. He’s a Jewish believer in Jesus. And I was talking with him about anti -Semitism, and he talked about the demonic influence in anti -Semitism, because it goes beyond the rational. It’s not just that we’re going to bring these people into exile and subjugate them and make them work for us. That’s like evil, but run -of -the -mill evil. There’s this demonic impulse that the people… Adrianna Anderson (15:01.974) Yes. Austin Suter (15:04.802) The Jewish people seem to matter to God, therefore the enemy just really has it in for them. And it’s hard to explain Haman otherwise. Adrianna Anderson (15:16.182) Mm -hmm, yeah. Austin Suter (15:18.594) Then in the story, the Lord uses Mordecai and Esther to save the Jewish people. How does that happen? Adrianna Anderson (15:25.814) So, you know, once again, God in his sovereignty, he now allows Esther to become queen. So she’s queen. Mordecai learns of Haman’s plot to kill all Jews. He ends up getting word to Esther, asks her to intervene. He allowed her to be placed in the palace where she could be positioned to petition the king on behalf of her people. But remember this came with great risk. So one could only approach the king if they were summoned. And so Esther ends up intervening and Haman’s plot is exposed. The reversal of the edict happens and the Jews end up being saved. And to this day, day which I love the Jews celebrate and commemorate this with the two -day feast of Purim and it’s just a beautiful picture of God’s amazing intervention on behalf of his chosen people. Austin Suter (16:16.066) And I want to highlight the bravery of Esther that you just mentioned because it would be wrong to think of this king -queen combo as like 1A and B in terms of power. The role of queen here is just subject to the king, as we saw early with Vashti. So it’s not like she had a position of power, she had a position of influence, but it came with risk to her and she didn’t try to preserve herself. Adrianna Anderson (16:25.91) right. Adrianna Anderson (16:33.942) Right. Adrianna Anderson (16:40.982) Yes. Austin Suter (16:44.77) she acted on behalf of her people. It’s just remarkable. Adrianna Anderson (16:47.19) Yeah, and she could have chosen that. Yeah, it is. Love, Esther. Austin Suter (16:50.978) And this, she’s amazing, and this is a remarkable book for a couple of reasons, but one reason is that it never mentions God by name, and it’s unique in scripture for that reason. What are we to make of that? Adrianna Anderson (17:04.246) So, you know, throughout these 10 chapters in the Book of Esther, as you said, Austin, God’s name is never mentioned. But because he is not mentioned doesn’t mean that he’s not at work. And we clearly see the trace of his hands throughout the book. And that’s what I love. The Book of Esther is a wonderful reminder of the sovereignty and providence of God, even when we can’t visibly see him. We do know he’s always at work. Austin Suter (17:32.098) I love that answer. And these two books are sort of, they’re examples of extraordinary instances, but what the exile was like for God’s people. And there’s those dynamics of being in a foreign country, not having positions of power and just being subject to the whims of these pagan kings. But when we switch to the book of Nehemiah, we see… Austin Suter (18:00.45) My notes aren’t making sense to me here. When we switch to Nehemiah, we’re going to see what the end of the exile is like. So who is Nehemiah? Adrianna Anderson (18:11.638) So Nehemiah is in Susa. He has inquired about the Jews who survived the exile and escaped. And in similar fashion, we see Nehemiah is honoring God and the missive of people and a culture who are not his own. Nehemiah ends up becoming the governor under Artaxerxes, which is a king and he serves him faithfully in the midst of a perverse culture. So very similar to Daniel and other, you know, Joseph people like that. So. Austin Suter (18:43.682) I love the book of Nehemiah for just its emphasis and testimony on prayer, because Nehemiah is a praying man, isn’t he? Adrianna Anderson (18:51.638) Yes he is, he definitely is. So yeah, he was a man of prayer. We see many prayers that he prayed throughout this book. Hearing about the destruction of Jerusalem drove him to pray. When he met with the king, he prayed. When he faced opposition to rebuilding the wall, he prayed. He prayed for strength and help. And he also led the people to worship and give thanks to God through songs. So very commendable, you know, how he implored and involved the Lord in the midst of some really difficult circumstances. Austin Suter (19:26.85) And we keep seeing, whether it’s Joseph or Daniel or Nehemiah, we keep seeing this sort of same dynamic is that God’s people in exile still try to live faithful lives and even serve their captors and seek their good. And acting in integrity leads to position of influence or authority. And they’re not doing it for that reason, but God blesses their faithfulness. How do we see that with Nehemiah? Adrianna Anderson (19:56.758) So, you know, again, for those that don’t know, Nehemiah was a cut bearer. He was cut bearer to this particular king. And one day the king notices that his face was sad. You know, he was kind of down in his countenance and he wasn’t sick. So the king asked him, you know, and Nehemiah tells him that he’s sad of heart because his city was in ruins and was destroyed by fire. So the king asked him, like, you know, what do you want? What do you need? And so he ends up providing Nehemiah with financial resources to rebuild the wall. And the other great part about it is he also gives him protection to travel safely, which could have been potentially very dangerous for Nehemiah. Austin Suter (20:39.394) It’s a remarkable account because the king not only notices that his cupbearer, which is probably down the list of people of importance, I mean, not only notices that he’s sad, cares, and then when he hears about it, this pagan king, as far as we know, finances the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. And the king is more favorably disposed to him than people living near Jerusalem or in Jerusalem, as we will see later. So what… Adrianna Anderson (20:49.206) Right. Austin Suter (21:09.218) What kind of opposition does Nehemiah face as he goes back to rebuild the walls? With the king’s letter and the king’s money, he still faces opposition. Adrianna Anderson (21:19.03) Yes, he does. And you know, we all know, Austin, that the enemy is never just going to let us waltz in and do God’s work without intervention, right? And so here we meet Sam Ballot, kind of like another Hankman. Yeah, this guy, he hates the Jews. Sound familiar? Austin Suter (21:31.33) This guy. Adrianna Anderson (21:37.174) So he hates them, he’s out there mocking the work that they’re doing when they’re rebuilding. And then in anger, he plots with other enemies of the Jews to cause them great confusion, like we’re gonna stop this work, you’re not gonna do this. And so that’s how we meet, it’s old sand ballot. Oh. Austin Suter (21:55.586) But despite this, Nehemiah perseveres and the walls are rebuilt and then exiles begin returning. Then Nehemiah orders a public reading of the law and there’s this corporate confession of sin. Why is that significant? Adrianna Anderson (22:12.214) So if I may, I’d love to just read Nehemiah chapter nine verses 33. And I think this will help set a little context as well. And it says, yet you have been righteous in all that has come upon us. for you have dealt faithfully and we have acted wickedly. And so Israel ends up confessing that they’ve sinned against God. They end up assembling in sackcloth, they put on ashes, they separate themselves from all foreigners, they acknowledge their punishment is just, which drives them to pledge faithfulness to God. And so again, a good picture here of hearts repenting and acknowledging that. God, what you say is right. We are wrong. Austin Suter (23:02.914) And you almost expect the book to end there, but then there’s a few more chapters, because Nehemiah’s not done working. Like, he’s, okay, walls are built onto the next thing, and he tries to enact other reforms. He continues to act faithfully. So how does the book end? Adrianna Anderson (23:05.878) Right. Adrianna Anderson (23:09.494) No, he’s not. Adrianna Anderson (23:18.934) So, you know, we, oh gosh, there’s so much that happens here. The Jews had been marrying foreign wives who worshiped false gods. Now hold your breath here, because we read something that’s a little startling, and he actually beats some of them and tears out some of their hair. Would you ever think you would read that in scripture? I would not. But he ends up forcing them to make these oaths to God, you know, not to give foreign daughters and mares to their sons. He cleansed them from everything foreign, establishes duties of the priests and Levites. And then he ends with this prayer. And I love this prayer because it says, remember me, oh, my God, for good. It’s incredible. Austin Suter (24:07.49) And it just seems like, I mean, this guy clearly works hard. He works his tail off this entire book, but he understands unless the Lord builds a house, the laborers work in vain. And he’s just entrusting all of this work to God by prayer, like just everything he does, he’s praying about. Adrianna Anderson (24:17.046) That’s right. All right. Mm -hmm. That’s right. Austin Suter (24:26.114) We come then in reverse order to Ezra. And while Nehemiah is focused on the rebuilding of the city walls, which is essential for the city’s existence, right? You can’t have a city without protection of it. Ezra focuses on the rebuilding of the temple. And the timeline of this book overlaps with Nehemiah, but not perfectly. But we see this interesting tieback. Adrianna Anderson (24:31.254) Mm -hmm. Adrianna Anderson (24:48.15) Mm -hmm. Austin Suter (24:55.554) to the ending of Chronicles. So how does Ezra begin? Adrianna Anderson (25:01.078) So Ezra begins by sharing the proclamation of Cyrus, king of Persia, and I think that’s found in 2 Chronicles 36. So now we have the exiles returning from Babylon. They end up making offerings of gold and silver to erect the house of God on its site, and that’s kind of where he begins. Austin Suter (25:20.93) And I love it, there’s this freewill offering and it’s almost like the account of the tabernacle where it’s just the people care about the temple in ways that we haven’t seen in these history books. And they’re giving of their own probably meager storehouses to rebuild the temple of God. Like Nehemiah, Zerubbabel and then Esther face opposition in their efforts to rebuild the temple. The enemies of God stir up controversy. And Artaxerxes, this favorably disposed king, halts construction. But then there’s this loophole. What’s that about? Adrianna Anderson (26:00.086) So a letter is written to King Artaxerxes by some enemies of the Jews. So here they are again. They lie to the king by writing that if the Jews are allowed to rebuild this would hurt you, oh king. He basically tells them they’re not going to pay tributes, they’re not going to pay their customs, tolls, and king, by the way, this will impact your revenue. So this letter’s read to him and he makes a decree to have the work cease and desist. So by force, they then go now and make the Jews stop building the house of God. It’s just, you know, it’s what I say, the same old tricks. Austin Suter (26:42.018) But even in that decree, he leaves this room unless there’s another decree found. Like he seems to be kind of a buy the book kind of guy. He’s like, I’m not sure about this, but I’ll defer back to prior rulings. And then enter King Darius. Darius gets involved and he like goes on a hunt for a paper trail. What does he find? Adrianna Anderson (26:47.734) Mm -hmm. Mm -hmm. Adrianna Anderson (27:04.662) So he makes a decree that there should be a search for basically those original documents concerning the house of God. Darius finds the original written decree and issues a new decree that the house of God is to indeed be rebuilt and this is the part that I love that he says and the cost to pay for it would come from the royal treasury. So I always when I read that I always say checkmate. Austin Suter (27:32.002) Right, right. He goes like, he finds the decree of Cyrus and is like, we will, we will actually make this happen. So the enemies, the enemies of the Jews were worse off than when they started because now they’re foot in the bill. Adrianna Anderson (27:38.551) That’s right. Adrianna Anderson (27:42.966) That’s right. That’s right. Love how the Lord works. Austin Suter (27:48.93) So the temple is completed, now with this extra funding. Ezra arrives on the scene. So despite this name bearing his book, he doesn’t actually show up until the exiles start returning. Artaxerxes issues this surprising decree that any exiles who want to return to Jerusalem may do so. So Jerusalem, they do, as it turns out, and Jerusalem starts filling back up with these returning exiles. And then we come to chapters nine and 10. And of all the texts we’ve covered today, this is perhaps the most often abused text. And we see that Ezra, like Nehemiah, begins enacting reforms for God’s people. And then we come to the topic, as it’s often, you know, titled in our Bibles with headings, interracial marriage. So perhaps you can help us understand what this is and isn’t saying. Adrianna Anderson (28:41.206) Sure. So, you know, as we briefly touched on earlier, Ezra forbids the Jews from marrying their sons with foreign women. But this did not mean foreign as an ethnicity or race, but rather based on their worship of foreign gods. And I love that scripture always supports scripture because this is why Ezra actually cites when he’s talking to them like, Remember what Solomon did that’s what you’re not supposed to do and you know another thing is that we have examples like Zipporah and Ruth who were non -Jewish women marrying Jewish men, but they both believe in Yahweh and that’s the difference. So like we see throughout scripture in both the Old and New Testament interracial marriage is not prohibited, but being unequally yoked is. Austin Suter (29:33.378) Yeah, and the heading of interracial marriage or intermarriage, it can be a little bit misleading for us, not because of the word itself, but because of sort of the cultural baggage we have and the false teaching that’s like just in the walls around us because these texts were used for just ugly things in our country’s history. Adrianna Anderson (29:52.726) Yes. Yeah, it’s so sad. Austin Suter (29:54.69) And I don’t want listeners to get the wrong idea. I mean, if you’re not in an interracial marriage, if you’re not friends with people who are in interracial marriages, you may think that opposition to them is a thing of the past. And that is just not the case. Adrianna Anderson (30:13.398) Yeah, brother, I wish we could both sit here and say that those days have long gone, but sadly they’re not, and we know that’s because sin still reigns in the hearts of men. That’s sad. Austin Suter (30:26.818) Well, thank you for helping us cover these books. I mean, once again, we’ve covered hundreds of pages of Scripture in about a half hour. And so, friends, just to keep hammering that drum, please read along at home because we’ve been seeing and we’ve been following the people of God. We’ve seen the people of God established in the covenant with Abraham, God’s continued faithfulness to Isaac and Jacob, the journey into Egypt with Joseph, the Exodus with Moses, the conquest with Joshua, the establishment of the kingdom with Saul and David. We saw Israel split and then the people taken into exile. And these four books represent the exile but then the return of God’s people to the promised land, which is just mercy on top of mercy. And it sets us all up to look at the prophets next week, which offer more commentary on this history. So I’m really enjoying this series, Adriana. Thank you so much for coming out to do this with us. Adrianna Anderson (31:23.03) Amen, Austin. Looking forward to looking at the prophets on the next episode. Austin Suter (31:27.234) Well, why don’t we close this by just praying and thanking God for his providence and mercy? Would you like to open us and I can close? Adrianna Anderson (31:35.574) That sounds great. Father, thank you so much for the time that we get to spend talking about the great truths of your word. Lord, thank you again for the many, many amazing examples that you give us of the ways that you’re always working in our lives in a sovereign way. Lord, thank you again for this time and for those that are listening. I pray that you would deepen their love for scripture and most importantly for you. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen. Austin Suter (32:02.594) Amen. Lord, thank you for this time, for the wisdom we continue to see in your Word and for the comfort we get in learning about your providential care for your people across time and across spaces and across countries. That no matter where your people go, we have your help. And all the more so now with the coming of the Spirit. And so Lord, we just thank you for your faithfulness to us despite our unfaithfulness. Thank you for the example of these faithful saints and their work. May we have integrity like Daniel and courage like Esther and a prayer life like Nehemiah. And may you just encourage us to further faithfulness through your faithfulness and through the example of saints throughout the storyline of the scripture. In Jesus’ name, amen. Austin Suter (32:59.618) Well, friends, thank you so much for joining us again. We hope you come back next week. Grace and peace. Adrianna Anderson (33:10.934) Do we have another record time?