Nougat 8

What blessings are found in today’s Holy Nougat. Enjoy!

“The Passover meal was eaten by the people of Israel who had returned from exile and by the others in the land who had turned from their corrupt practices to worship the Lord, the God of Israel.” ‭‭Ezra‬ ‭6‬:‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

What is strange, rather – odd – in the nougat? This is an exilic text written for a people who were trying to stay in God’s favor. Religious purity was extended to personal cleanliness and sometimes social exclusionism (remember the Pharisees, Essenes and Sadducees? -well this group could have the precursor, or something close). The commandments and sundry laws were revived and followed with great zeal and that included ‘cultural purity’. We might recall that the downfall of Israel was often attributed to miscegenation between Jews and Gentiles (see God’s instructions in Exodus 34, where Moses received the Ten Commandments on stone tablets for the second time).

It’s thus a mite strange to note that yet again, the foreigners were still in the land (possibly the original peoples) and some had renounced their own practices to adopt Judaism. This for me affirms that God’s plan included us Gentiles as long as we believe. We have legitimate access to all God’s blessings and promises when we believe. With Jesus’ resurrection, we have even greater access as His resurrection and ascension ushered in the season of Grace through Faith by way of God’s Spirit.

It also challenges us to ensure that we are not exclusionary in our approach to our Faith. The most well known verse in the Bible, John 3:16, affirms that any person can on their own choose Christ as Savior. And upon that confession of faith there’s a space reserved for the person in Heaven. Even an Ethiopian eunuch. A murderer. A thief. A jailer. Me. You. All of us. We accept them just as Christ accepts us.

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May all we seek be found in Christ