Now these are the people of the province who came up from the captivity of the exiles, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken captive to Babylon (they returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to their own town … Ezra 2:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 11, 2014): Ezra 1 & 2

In Canada, Quebec Separatism is a recurring idea. The idea springs from the idea that the province of Quebec not only possesses a different language than the rest of Canada (Quebec is predominately French while the rest of Canada is predominantly English) but that it also possesses a significantly different culture than the rest of Canada. The fear in Quebec is that the rest of Canada refuses to understand the essential difference, and not only do they not understand, they actively seek to minimize the difference destroying Quebec’s unique culture.  Whether that is true or not really doesn’t matter – it is the way that some Quebecers feel.

But Quebec separation is not the only separation concept that exists in Canada. Probably not surprising for country that physical size of Canada (Canada occupies the second largest land area of all of the nations of the world, second only to Russia), there are factions of the country that feel that they are out of step with the central power of the nation. And another group of separatists live in the Western part of the country. Politically, Western Canada tends to oppose the federal government on many issues, but the dream of Western Separatism is not a cultural ideal – rather it is fiscal in nature. The dream is that if Western Canada, especially Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, were to separate from Canada and unite with the Pacific Northwest area of the United States into one nation, the resulting union would form one of the strongest economies in the world. It is a dream that will most likely never happen, but for some, the dream keeps them warm at night.

Ezra starts out his record with the phrase “people of the province,” and the words are very carefully chosen. They highlight the heights from which Judah (and Israel) had fallen. Once Israel had been a power to be reckoned with. During the days of David, Israel’s military had been feared, and the nations that surrounded Israel had been effectively brought under her control. And during the reign of David’s son Solomon, Israel had become an economic powerhouse. This was the golden age for Israel. But as Ezra prepares to enter back into the land of Israel, it is no longer a powerhouse, it is not even a nation – now it is a province, once a province of the Babylon and now a province of Persia – but still just a province. The dream of separatism still existed in Israel, to once more become a nation like they were under the reigns of David and Solomon in the golden age, but it was a dream that would not really become a reality for more than 2000 years.

The nation had become a province. The proud had been humbled. And yet, God was still there. The presence of God had never left his people – and God’s promise was that no matter what the external reality of Israel was, he never would.

And we are heirs of the same promise. No matter what our external reality is, God will never leave us or forsake us.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Ezra 3