There’s an ancient book I’ve been reading lately about a group of people who had been homeless for over a generation. Under the decree of a powerful king, they all began to move back to their homeland to establish new lives back in the place of their ancestors. The book I’m talking about is a short story in the Old Testament, written down by a scribe and a priest of the time, Ezra.
The story opens by a list of people who had been homeless and who were returning to Jerusalem. Not only are the people mentioned by name, but also listed, are the names of those from whom they descended. I think this is fascinating. Awhile back, before DNA testing, I did some extensive research and found that my great great great great great great grandfather, David Halliburton, came to America from Scotland in 1746. This was right at the climax of the Jacobite Rising in Scotland when the whole country was in war and turmoil. I can only imagine the life he left behind in order to find new opportunities and perhaps new peace in a new land.
I want you to think about those in your history right now. Think of the ancestor in your own family that is the furthest back you can remember. Maybe it’s a grandmother, or a great aunt. Maybe it’s a name that has been passed down in your family. Someone that you can say, “I am a descendant of _________” Now, where was that descendant of yours born? Chances are if you go back long enough, it wasn’t in the US. Was it somewhere in Mexico maybe? Europe? Africa? Norway?
Last May, my husband and I had the incredible opportunity to visit Scotland, and we also went to Norway. Both places were amazing, but let me tell you Norway has to be the most beautiful place on earth! Just incredibly breathtaking! I can show you pictures on my phone, but they don’t do it justice. At one point, I was standing way up on a mountain overlooking a Fjord of deep blue water, surrounded by snowcapped mountains with waterfalls trickling down throughout the landscape and I just thought to myself, “why would anyone want to leave this beautiful place to move to North Dakota?”
When I got back home, I asked a few of my Norwegian friends that same question. They shared with me that “back in the day” in Norway, the oldest son inherited everything. So if you were the 2nd born or later, you had no land. But there was plenty of land available in North Dakota, so those early pioneers, many of them teenagers, courageously came to a new “promise” of land. Much like these people I read about in Ezra.
Today, we have people here in our little town of Watford City who have come from all over the world! As you go about your busyness this holiday season, I want to challenge you to find a little out about the people around you. Where were they born? Who are their descendants? What brought them here? Was it a promise of new land, new opportunity, the hope of providing necessities for their families? For many of us, that’s why we are here…no matter how far back you go in our history.
Now, back to this story in Ezra. Once the exiles returned to their homeland, Jerusalem, they immediately began building a temple to honor the One True God, our God, the One we love and serve here today. They built the temple with provisions God had provided and preserved throughout history. Their work was threatened by opposition, people who hated them, but God protected them and made a way for them to keep building. And once the temple was completed, you better bet there was a great celebration in that city. Ezra wrote, “They observed the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, because the Lord had made them joyful, having changed the Assyrian king’s attitude toward them, so that he supported them in the work on the house of the God of Israel.” Ezra 6:22.
That’s a great story right? Homeless people found their home, moved there and built an incredible temple and established a new home and land for themselves. And God orchestrated the whole thing…and they celebrated! But there’s one part of this story that makes me delight in our incredible God even more. Not only do we see the people who were originally from Jerusalem return to their homeland, but there are others who came with them. We read just a few verses earlier in Ezra that Gentiles were also included in this great gathering and reunion of descendants! It didn’t matter where they were from, it only mattered that they worshiped the same God and had the same joy in their hearts.
Over the next few weeks, let’s celebrate what God is doing in Watford City. Let’s enjoy our holiday feasts to come over the next weeks, and lets include our new neighbors and new friends in our celebrations. We can enjoy our new and old lives together as we celebrate an awesome God and his son, Jesus. At Bakken Oil Rush, we know it feels good when where you’re living feels like home. My prayer for you all is that you will feel more at home here in Watford City as you are surrounded by friends and family, celebrating God’s Goodness.
