Scripture

Our verse for today comes from Nehemiah 7:6, ” These are the people of the province who came back from the captivity, of those who had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, everyone to his city. ” 

Background

In 1977, the miniseries Roots was broadcast on television. I remember this mega-tv event about the slave ancestry of author Alex Haley, a series which ran from Sunday to Sunday and lasted over nine hours, for several reasons. One silly reason was that I bet my mom I could stay awake and watch at least five more minutes after she caught me nodding one night and told me to go on to bed. I lost that bet before the first minute was up. The more serious reason is because I cried while watching it. I don’t think I had ever cried before while watching a program. I remember feeling embarrassed as I sat on the sofa, eleven years old and trying to hide my tears from the rest of the family as Kunta Kinte’s foot was cut off to prevent him from ever trying to escape again. It was a powerful image, and it welled up within me intense sympathy for those slaves who had been captured in Africa and brought to America to be bought and sold and treated like animals. Fortunately, as the series ended, the main characters had found freedom and a new life in Tennessee, delivered from the brutality of slavery, if not completely restored to their homeland a world away. 

Application

Last night, I saw my kids display their captivity. They were unable to stop themselves from aggravating and, from their sister’s perspective, torturing one of my daughters. It was something insignificant, but intentional enough to upset her and give them some sense of satisfaction and pleasure. Captivity is a hateful thing. It takes us where we do not want to go and keeps us there when we desperately want to get away. It can be dressed up and explained away by some, but that doesn’t stop the destruction that is taking place within. We all were captives to sin. You probably experienced a personal reminder of what it was like just yesterday. Perhaps something still holds you where you know you shouldn’t be, maybe even drawing a tear from you as you sit embarrassed on the sofa. If so, Jesus is there to return you to His city, to Himself. Ask Him to bring you back from captivity. 

Charge

As we seek Him today, ask God to remove the invisible chains that are keeping you in bondage. Let Him bring you back from captivity, all the way to complete freedom. 

Salvation – Eternal Life in Less Than 150 Words