Let's journey to Iraq to learn a history lesson and hear insight from Rick McEdward, president of the Middle East North Africa Union.
Used with permission from MENA - Link to original for reference
“I'm in the citadel of Erbil [ur-beel], Iraq. This citadel’s history spans more than 5,000 years. The rich history of this particular place goes back to the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Greeks, the Romans, all the way up through the Ottomans, and of course now this large Kurdish area.”
“This particular citadel has deep connections with biblical history. You think about all these different empires, the wars that were fought, and all of the things that were done. This place is one of the longest civilized places in the world. I'd like to show you just a little piece..”
“As I'm here in the Erbil citadel, I'm reminded of all those important biblical time periods. The Babylonians, the Assyrians, the Persians which are more centered in Iran but also have this territory, and even the Greeks and Romans. And don’t forget the Kurds. The Kurds in this area are the descendants of the Medes of the Medo-Persian empire.”
“It's interesting that all the biblical prophets from the Old Testament referred to this territory saying Israel is diminishing in its importance, it's not following the Lord, and describing its confrontations with Babylon and Assyria. Then there’s Daniel serving, and Babylon, and the Medo-Persian empire. All of these stories are right around us in this part of the world.”
“If you look at the essence of those prophecies, those prophets, there were some main concerns. One is that people should follow God. Really, the prophets are confronting God's people saying that they should repent, turn towards Him, and follow Him.”
“Second is that they should not have false gods in their lives.”
“And the third is that they should be fair, kind, and just to other people. Social welfare was extremely important to God and these prophets.”
“I think we could take that advice seriously for ourselves. We can be humble and repentant. We could get rid of all the false gods in our lives. We can look at others and be kind, generous, and just, so we can be God's representatives in this world.”
“Would you join me in this? Be God’s representative today.”
