Seventh Day Baptist
Christian Education Council
PO BOX 1678
Janesville, WI 53547
—Ezra 4:6-16
by: Matthew Berg.
The subtle pressure to conform may give way to false claims about who you are as a people and who you represent. Ultimately we see that the motivation is political and economic (two very unreliable motivations!). "They are a wicked and rebellious city" (v. 12). As in Daniel, the pressure to conform to government is strong. Reducing yourself to retaliating with slander shames the witness of God and the Gospel. The pressure to conform will always be the easy solution. The tougher and more consequence-filled solution lies in obedience.