Volume 3, Issue 3

February 18, 2025

Do you remember when the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) overturned the ruling on Roe v. Wade? As Christians, we celebrated, considering it a huge victory. And it was.

 

But it didn’t do what the majority of Americans expected it to do. In and of itself, it actually changed nothing. It simply threw the issue of abortion back to the states.

 

And some states were not prepared.

 

Here in Missouri, we had some of the strictest abortion laws in place. In fact, there was not a single abortion facility inside our borders. While the laws still allowed for abortion in extreme cases (a topic for another day), most abortions were considered illegal in this state.

 

But when Amendment 3 came up for a vote this past November, we were not prepared. I broke down some of the elements of Amendment 3 in a previous newsletter, but here are some highlights:

Christians, pro-lifers, and abolitionists did not have anything in place to pass anti-abortion legislation nor to combat the efforts of the culture of death. And, I am sad to say, the amendment passed. 

 

I share this because this is my concern for education in the upcoming months.

 

President Trump has announced that he wants to abolish the Department of Education (DoE), and he should (again, the methodology is a topic for another time). We don’t need all of the power over our nation’s education consolidated in one entity. 

 

But just as it was with the overturning of Roe, the abolition of the DoE will be only the beginning.

 

If/When the DoE is abolished, it will simply fall back on the states to individually decide how to move forward in the government school system. We won’t have time after the fact to get a plan in place. And I guarantee that the other side will be ready.

 

While the majority of teachers in the government school system are there because they love their students and want what is best for them, many of the powers that be simply want to continue with the agenda that has been pushed in recent history. 

 

It won’t be difficult for them to be prepared since they want to maintain the status quo: indoctrination toward a socialist/marxist society.

 

But if we want to effectively change the education in government schools, we will need to come up with a viable alternative. Have we done that?

 

I urge you to get involved now. Your taxes pay for education in your state, so it doesn’t matter if you’ve never had kids, if your kids are grown, or even if you have chosen to educate your kids outside of the government system. Go to meetings, spread the word, or even run for school board and other offices in your area. 

 

It won’t be easy because fighting the forces of death and evil never is. But it will be worth it when we are able to get our schools to actually educate the future generations instead of indoctrinating them with anti-God ideology.

I know you are into the book of Leviticus at this point, but I wanted to share some historical context for the book of Exodus as it is still fresh on your mind.

 

The book of Exodus is the second book of the Torah (Hebrew) or Pentateuch (Greek), which are the first five books of the Old Testament. While the book doesn’t specifically state that Moses wrote it, it is commonly accepted that He wrote the entire five-book set, and they should be read as a unit, keeping the other books in mind as we read.

 

One thing Moses does not include in his writings is dates. The exodus from Egypt completely changes the Jewish calendar, making it difficult to pinpoint the time frame for the events in the book. This has created a lot of debate about the historical accuracy of the events described.

 

Furthermore, there is no record in the history of Egypt that there was ever a mass exodus of Jews from its borders. However, there is much evidence that Egyptian history is wildly inaccurate as each Pharaoh only included the events that made him look good, and they even went so far as to “erase” previous Pharaohs from their records, which are typically carved into stone on monuments and buildings. Since the events of the Jewish exodus from Egypt would have been a stain on Egypt’s reputation, it is no wonder that the event does not appear in any of the records found to date.

 

In addition to finding no evidence in historical records, there has also been no archaeological evidence found of the Jews ever having lived in Goshen. This is explained by the fact that the Jews likely lived in mud homes that have since been destroyed, if not by the Egyptians themselves then by the elements. And they would have taken everything they owned, along with what they plundered from the Egyptians, with them as they left Egypt.

 

There have even been questions raised about the plagues themselves as scientists have posited they could have simply been the natural results of the flooding of the Nile, which produces a red algae, brings with it extra insects and frogs, and can cause all kinds of physical reactions and diseases. This doesn’t explain the darkness, the hail, or the death of the first born in each family. It also doesn’t serve to cast doubt on the events as God could certainly have used the flooding of the Nile to accomplish His purposes.

 

In addition, there are many theories about the Red Sea, ranging from a freak weather event to there being only a few feet of water in the Sea at the time of Israel’s crossing. Again, none of these theories cast doubt on the narrative. It seems we are willing to believe anything, no matter how unlikely or improbable, to not believe the Bible.

As you are reading through the book of Leviticus, you will come across some descriptions of worshipers. Some are unclean and some are clean. It is important to understand the meaning of these words.

 

Unclean is not dirty or sinful. When someone is unclean in the book of Leviticus, it simply means that he or she is not in a ritual state. In other words, he or she is not prepared to participate in a ritual. And someone who is described as clean is prepared to participate in a ritual.

 

The introduction to the book in my ESV study Bible compares it to being registered to vote. If you are not registered to vote, you cannot participate in the election. This does not say anything about your standing before God; it simply means that you have not prepared yourself to participate in the voting process.

 

The analogy isn’t perfect, but it helps us understand that there are rules that must be followed in order to participate in specific practices.

Naomi's relationship with God during her time in Moab must have been something to behold!

 

Think about it: Moab and Israel were sworn enemies. Naomi and her family lived among these people with different traditions and beliefs, yet her daughters-in-law were willing to leave behind everything they knew--their families, their customs, their gods--to follow Naomi back to Bethlehem and live in poverty with no hope for change in the future. They had no reason to believe the Jews would accept them, let alone marry them.

 

While Naomi was able to convince Orpah to turn back, Ruth was resolute in her decision. Why? Because the thought of going back to the gods of Moab and walking away from the God of Naomi was unbearable. She chose to walk into a future of constant hardship for the sake of following Naomi's God! Ruth truly understood that this life, with its joys and hardships, is a vapor, passing quickly, and eternity is the goal.

 

My prayer for each of us is that we live that kind of example for others to follow. That when they look at our lives, they see such a strong faith and dependence on God in spite of difficult circumstances that they want to join us.

The most prominent theme in the book of Ruth is the theme of redemption. Boaz is a type of Christ as he sacrifices to redeem Ruth. Just as Boaz had nothing to gain from the transaction, Jesus redeemed us all at His expense.

 

Boaz was not required to do it, he had no guarantee that Ruth would bear him children, and he acquired a mother-in-law in the process. But Boaz's redemption of Ruth did not only affect Ruth and Naomi; it also brought blessing to the community, and through David, to the nation.

The account described in the book of Ruth is a beautiful picture of our redemption through Jesus' sacrifice.

And these are just a few of the parallels we find in the book of Ruth.

If this is your first Faith FULL Echoes newsletter, you can access previous issues by clicking the button below. Feel free to reach out to me to let me know what topics you would like discussed in the future.

If you would like to peruse the content on my blog, including lessons on studying the Bible, instructions for Christian living, book reviews, and more, click the button below. It will take you to my blog library.

If you would like to watch some video teachings, Bible mark-up videos, or just some family fun, head over to my YouTube channel. There is a little bit of everything, including meeting a celebrity in Alaska.

P.S. I LOVE receiving email responses to my newsletters! If you have questions, concerns, comments, or suggestions for future topics, please hit that “reply” button and let me know.

Was this email forwarded to you? You can subscribe here to automatically receive your own copy of the newsletter.