“When will you (we) ever learn?”
Meditation – Monday, November 8, 2021 by Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Nehemiah 9:1-37 (Forward, p. 10) CEV p. 507
Years ago, in 1955 in fact, Pete Seeger wrote a song about the futility and irrationality of war entitled “Where Have All the Flowers Gone.” Each verse ended with the line, ‘Oh, when will you ever learn?’ While here he is addressing the problem of wars after wars occurring in a seemingly endless progression, his words might equally be applied to our overall conduct as humans. “Oh, when will you ever learn?” “When will we ever learn?” We seem just as dead set to persist in our well-trodden path of sinful and destructive behaviours.
That is what today’s passage from Nehemiah is all about. Facing up, finally, with what the Law commands the people of Israel are finally ‘owning up’ to their dismal track record and repenting of their sins, and not their sins only, but also those of their ancestors, their forbearers. Their peon of confession can be said to have three sections:
a) First off, they confess the incredible goodness, generosity and
steadfastness of Almighty God (verses 6-16). Here they speak
of the wonders of creation, of the deliverance and redemption
of Israel from its slavery in Egypt, and of its establishment in the
Promised Land. One would think that this alone would have
secured Israel’s undying gratefulness towards God and it
continued faithfulness. But it did not. “When will you ever learn?’
b) Second two (verses 17-25) addresses this issue. Somehow, they forgot what God had done and so refused to obey God’s laws, God’s instructions. They even insulted God by fashioning a golden calf and claiming that it was the god who rescued them from Egypt. Even so, God remained merciful and forgave them and was extremely loving, kind and patient. He helped them in so many and various ways, providing food and leading them in the wilderness, and driving out their enemies. You would have thought that this was enough, but oh no. “When will you ever learn?”
c) That sets us up for our third section (verses 26-31). Israel continued to rebel and disobey God’s laws. They even slew God’s prophets
who had been sent to warn them. And so, in recompense for their waywardness, God gave them over to their enemies. But even then, they did not learn:
-in their suffering, they would beg God for help, and He would
do just that (verse 27);
-but once they were at peace once more, they would again
turn against God. Again, disaster would strike, and they
would beseech God for His help and God would do just that,
not just once but repeatedly (verse 28);
-this sad litany of warning, rebellion and deliverance continued
repeatedly in Israel’s history, without end it would seem. “Oh,
when will you ever learn?”
Only in verses 32-37 does Israel seem to come to its senses, but even then, will that be sincere or real or lasting? The history of Israel, and of God’s people in general, would suggest not. Pete Seeger’s refrain would still seem to be most appropriate, “Oh, when will you ever learn?”
And we, are we any better? Do we not forsake God for golden calves of our own making? Do we not set up our new golden calves as gods, claiming, presuming, that our achievements, our possessions, our technology and science, our leadership or our institutions have saved us?
Have we not, far too often, forgotten all that God has done for us, left off trusting and depending upon Him, and chosen, instead, to go our own ways. I’m afraid that this has been, all too often, the well-established track record, not only of our world, but even of God’s people, the church. So, let us listen to Pete Seeger’s words, and learn. “Oh, when will you ever learn?” “When will we ever learn?” Amen.
Forward notes: “For their hunger you gave them bread from heaven, and for their thirst you brought water for them out of the rock, and you told them to go in to possess the land that you swore to give them” (verse 15).
“In 1986, the U.S. Congress directed the president to proclaim a week in November as American Indian Week. By 1990, the week became an entire month.
“When I was a kid, I had to endure the annual Pilgrim and Indians, turkey, harvest, and giving-thanks programs in school. These programs always started up in November and ended right after Thanksgiving Day.
“There’s a common misperception of the Americas as some sort of promised land for Europeans. In claiming this so-called promised land, the Europeans displaced or killed the Native peoples already living on the land.
“This month, read and learn about the laws and practices that perpetuated these actions. This includes the Doctrine of Discovery, a view by many Europeans that indigenous people needed to be westernized, as well as the landmark case Johnson v. M’Intosh and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Once you’ve read this history, how will you respond?
Moving Forward: “Research the Episcopal Church’s repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery. Is God calling you to act?”
Some concluding thoughts
We certainly need to learn from and heed our past history and its mistakes, and hopefully to act in such ways as to not repeat them. We do need, however, to recognize that ethnocentrism, or a sense of national or religious superiority, is still very much with us, and not just of white people of the West. Almost all cultures, religions and peoples see themselves as superior, and would in many cases, if given a chance, seek to impose their faith or culture on others. Certainly, that has been the pattern of both Christianity and Islam over the centuries, but not just of them. We have often assumed that our political systems are the best, or that world markets and consumerism are the ‘way to go’, and so have constructed systems to promote this. Actually, when we go this direction, even in the direction of new non-Biblical senses of justice and equality, we are in danger of constructing new gods, new golden calves, to replace Almighty God.
