Introduction:
A. Many of us have our favorite songs. Maybe it’s a song that describes the theme of our lives or of our relationships.
1. Major league baseball now uses what are called a player’s walk-up song – It is used as a player heads to the mound or walks to the batter’s box.
2. A player’s walk-up song can tell a lot about that player.
3. So I got to thinking about what might be the “walk-up song” for some biblical characters.
4. What song would you suggest for the following biblical characters?
1. Adam and Eve: “Strangers in Paradise”
2. Methuselah: “Stayin’ Alive”
3. Noah: “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head”
4. Moses: “The Wanderer”
5. Esther: “I Feel Pretty”
6. Samson: “Hair”
7. Daniel: “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”
8. Nebuchadnezzar: “Crazy”
9. The Israelites: “On the Road Again. I just can’t wait to get on the road again!”
10. The Israelites have done a lot of traveling – following God’s lead.
B. Last week we started a new sermon series on the Old Testament books of Ezra and Nehemiah called “Restoring and Renewing the People of God.”
1. We began by setting the historical stage for the events of Ezra and Nehemiah.
2. We learned that after the Israelites had disregarded years of God’s warnings, God allowed His people, the Jews, to be taken into Babylonian captivity, just as He had warned.
3. Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, destroyed the Temple of God in Jerusalem, and the whole city of Jerusalem, and took huge numbers of people away into exile.
4. Our sovereign and gracious God had spoken through the prophets, like Jeremiah, and had predicted the exile and its’ duration of 70 years.
5. Two hundred years before these events, God had prophesied through Isaiah the prophet, that Cyrus King of Persia would be the one to allow God’s people to return and rebuild after the exile.
6. All these things transpired just as God had promised.
7. God had not forgotten His people. God had not been defeated by the gods of Babylon. God had been faithful to His promises all along.
8. Today we want to examine what took place as God’s people began to take advantage of Cyrus’ edict allowing them to return and rebuild.
I. The Story
A. Let’s read Ezra 1:5-11: Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites--everyone whose heart God had moved--prepared to go up and build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem. 6 All their neighbors assisted them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with valuable gifts, in addition to all the freewill offerings. 7 Moreover, King Cyrus brought out the articles belonging to the temple of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his god. 8 Cyrus king of Persia had them brought by Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. 9 This was the inventory: gold dishes, 30 silver dishes, 1,000 silver pans, 29 10 gold bowls, 30 matching silver bowls, 410 other articles, 1,000 11 In all, there were 5,400 articles of gold and of silver. Sheshbazzar brought all these along when the exiles came up from Babylon to Jerusalem.
1. Let’s notice several things in these verses.
2. Notice that the tribes of Judah, Benjamin and Levi are mentioned.
a. The southern kingdom, called Judah, was comprised of only the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin.
b. The Levites had no land of their own and were scattered among all the tribes of the south and the north.
3. Notice that only those in whose heart God had moved decided to go up and build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem.
a. I wonder how that worked – did God target only some of their hearts to move them, or did God try to touch all of their hears, but some were more receptive than others.
4. In verse 6, we notice that all their neighbors assisted them by giving them money, goods, and livestock.
a. In many ways, this is reminiscent of the time when the Jewish people left Egypt and were sent off by the Egyptians will all kinds of stuff, so they plundered Egypt.
5. In verses 7 – 11, we are told about the articles from the Temple of the Lord that Nebuchadnezzar at taken and were now being returned by King Cyrus.
a. Let’s spend a moment getting a sense of what a big deal this must have been to the Jews.
b. Can you imagine what an awful sight it must have been to see the beautiful vessels of God’s temple in the hands of pagans?
1. They had been specially created for use in the worship of God.
2. They had been made from only the finest gold and silver. They were decorated by only the most skilled artisans.
3. And after all that, they were sanctified with the blood of a pure animal.
4. All of that care and attention to insure they were only the best. To guarantee they were always pure. To make sure they were the finest and most presentable they could be before they were placed into service for the Lord.
c. But not only were the items the purest they could be, they couldn’t be used by just anybody.
1. They were only allowed to be used by the priests.
2. Priests who were called out and set aside specifically by God.
3. Priests who had to cleanse and purify themselves with water and blood before touching them.
4. Priests who could only use them in specifically prescribed ways to honor and glorify God.
d. So, can you imagine what it was like after the temple was destroyed and those vessels were carried off?
1. They weren’t just carried off for their resale value.
2. They weren’t just carried off so they could be used by ordinary people.
3. They were carried off so they could be used in the pagan temples of idols.
4. Temples where the most vile, immoral, disgusting things took place as part of their worship. Temple prostitutes, orgies, even human sacrifice went on there.
e. That was where God’s vessels were when the Persian king Cyrus brought them forth.
1. Years before when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the temple, he took the vessels from Jerusalem and brought them to Babylon.
2. He took them from God’s house and placed them in the house of demons. And now it was time for them to be transferred back.
f. How significant and hopeful it must have been for these returning exiles to have those original temple articles returned to them – God had, in fact, preserved them and made sure they would be returned for their original purpose.
g. Look at the inventory starting in vs. 9.
1. The point of the painstaking counting out of the temple articles suggests the completeness of the restoration as a restoration and not a mere innovation.
2. God’s people were not going back to start something new, but to restore and resume the original covenant and religion of God.
3. One of our focuses as churches of Christ is the restoration of NT Christianity.
4. We are not trying to reform or innovate the church, we are committed to being the NT church.
h. Take note of one last thing – these temple articles represent tremendous wealth, yet Cyrus was willing to send them back with the Jews – that’s amazing!
B. Let’s begin reading from Ezra chapter 2: 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 his own town, 2 in company with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum and Baanah):
1. You will notice that the rest of chapter 2 gives a list of everyone who returned to Jerusalem under the leadership of Zerubbabel.
a. I will not attempt to read the entire list for two reasons: First, I would no doubt butcher the pronunciation of the names, and second, I would put everyone asleep, including myself.
2. Note for a moment the people listed in verse 2.
a. Many scholars believe that the Sheshbazzar mentioned in chapter 1, verse 11 who received the temple articles is just another name for Zerubbabel mentioned in chapter 2, verse 2.
b. Also, in that list here in verse 2, we recognize the names Nehemiah and Mordecai, but need need to realize that they are not the same persons as the Nehemiah and Mordecai we are familiar with.
c. The Nehemiah who wrote the book bearing his name and who lead the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls did not return with the first group, but came to Jerusalem 93 years later.
d. The Mordecai who was important in the story of Esther could not have been a part of this group, because he would be too old to play the role he did in Esther’s story.
3. One of the things we will notice as we study Ezra and Nehemiah is the fact that there are numerous lists of people.
a. These lists, although somewhat boring to us, serve several very important purposes.
b. For one, these lists are a monument to God’s care and Israel’s vitality.
c. The thousands of homecomers are not lumped together, but are related to local and family circles which humanize a society and orientate an individual.
d. The tenacious memory of places and relationships after 2 generations in exile, showed a refusal by the Jewish people of abandoning either their past or their future.
e. So these were living portions of Israel, roots and all, being replanted.
f. A fundamental motive for this careful grouping was not social but religious.
1. This was a holy nation being given a new chance to live up to its calling.
2. There could be nothing casual in its preparations – not only must every priest have his credentials, but every member too.
C. Let’s look at the end of the chapter, starting with verse 64: The whole company numbered 42,360… 68 When they arrived at the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, some of the heads of the families gave freewill offerings toward the rebuilding of the house of God on its site. 69 According to their ability they gave to the treasury for this work 61,000 drachmas of gold, 5,000 minas of silver and 100 priestly garments. 70 The priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers and the temple servants settled in their own towns, along with some of the other people, and the rest of the Israelites settled in their towns (64, 68-70).
1. The number of exiles who returned with Zerubbable was a little more than 42,000, which sounds like a lot of people, but it was a small percentage of the Jews who went into exile.
2. About 10% of the group were priests – I would have thought that all of the priests would have been excited about returning to rebuild the temple and resume the worship of God!
3. Notice how upon their arrival their first desire was to make a freewill offering to the Lord.
4. Notice how they each gave according to their ability – which is always what God expects from His people – He doesn’t expect us to give more than our ability.
5. It’s interesting to me that there is no acknowledgement in this passage of the difficulty of the journey.
a. All it says is that they made the trip and settled into their own towns – period.
b. I don’t want us to miss is the fact that those people of God called out of the exile faced the daunting challenge of traveling close to 1000 miles over rugged territory.
c. This was not a vacation trip for the returning exiles!
d. This was a 4 month journey by foot, carrying their supplies and everything they owned on the backs of animals or in carts.
e. And keep in mind they were leaving a fairly comfortable environment, and headed toward a very tough one.
f. They were headed to a homeland destroyed and in ruin.
g. And they surely wondered how they would be received by those who remained in Jerusalem and Judah.
h. So those who went were making a huge statement of faith.
II. The Application
A. So what lessons can we learn from what we have looked at today from Ezra chapters 1 and 2?
B. First, We learn that when God is ready to move, He will move His people and He will move through His people.
1. We don’t want to run ahead of God; nor do we want to lag behind God.
2. But when we feel God calling us and moving us, what should we do?
3. Like Isaiah the prophet of old, we should say to God, “Here am I, send me.”
4. And if God confirms our call, then we should respond with faith and obedience.
5. We should serve God faithfully and obediently and leave the results to God.
B. So God called the Jews in exile and stirred their hearts; some of them responded and some did not. Why do you think there were so many who did not go?
1. Some may have syncretized their lives with the Babylonians and then the Persians and were absorbed in paganism.
2. Some may have feared the daunting task of travel, and rebuilding, and of living with nothing.
a. Even exile sounded pretty good compared to the deprivation the returning exiles might face
b. Remember how the Israelites felt after they came out of Egypt and faced problems in the dessert?…it made slavery look good!
3. Others may have had well-established businesses and were willing to support the pilgrims but were not willing to be part of their number.
a. I don’t think we should disparage those who stayed behind.
b. One reason we shouldn’t is: God’s future instruments of restoration, Ezra and Nehemiah, were both born and nurtured in families still living in Persia long after Zerubbable’s initial return.
c. Isn’t that interesting…you would think that God’s future instruments of restoration would have come out of the generations that had gone with Zerubbabel back to Jerusalem, but that’s not where Ezra and Nehemiah came from!
d. Who God uses and how God uses them is often different from what we might think.
4. We don’t have to be the judge – God is able to do that all by Himself.
5. God will work with the willing and available, no matter how big or small that group might be.
C. What qualities and attitudes characterized those who were willing to return and rebuild?
1. For one thing, they were sensitive to the Lord’s prompting and direction – what can we be doing to try to be more sensitive to the Lord’s prompting? (Bible study, prayer, listening?)
2. They were willing to obey the Lord, suffer loss and deprivation, face hardship, and learn to rely on God – how might we prepare ourselves to be more willing to experience those things?
3. They were willing to be part of something much bigger than themselves - that was a corporate call to work with others on a large scale and not a time for individualism – how willing are we to give ourselves in a group effort to accomplish something for God’s glory?
D. A second lesson we learn is that everyone has a part to play – we can all be partners in God’s enterprise.
1. One important truth that we learn about the way God has made us and about the way God has made the church is – we are all different and we have different roles to play.
2. We are not all called and gifted to play the same roles.
3. Paul reminds us in Ephesians 4:11-12: It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up…
4. Paul explained to the Corinthians: There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. 7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good… But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body (1 Cor. 12:4-7; 18-20).
5. So God calls and equips some to be leaders and others to be followers, but everyone is needed.
6. Not everyone is called or gifted to serve in the same ways.
7. For instance, under the old covenant, not everyone was called to be a priest.
a. Even though there were 12 tribes in Israel, only men of the tribe of Levi were allowed to be priests.
b. Additionally, not all the men of the tribe of Levi could be priests, but only Levites in the lineage of Aaron could be priests.
c. People could have said, “It is not fair that God made that choice.”
d. People could have said, “I am more spiritual or more gifted then Aaron’s descendants – I should be a priest.”
e. God has His reasons, our responsibility is to trust and obey.
8. Here is another example, not everyone is called to be a foreign missionary.
a. Some serve God by going into the mission field and some serve God by staying and serving at home.
b. And just because God didn’t call us doesn’t mean we’re not to support those He did call.
c. In warfare it is estimated that for every soldier out on the fighting front, there are ten people behind him getting supplies to him – food, clothing, medical care, and ammunition.
d. The same is true in God’s army today those on the front need many supporters.
9. The reality is that it takes money to fund the work of God.
a. God’s faithful followers understand that everything belongs to God and God’s faithful followers willingly support the work of God with the resources God has provided.
10. As we look at Ezra 1 and 2, we must not gloss over the giving that was practiced both by those exiles who went back to Jerusalem and those who did not.
a. For an exiled people, the amount of their gifts represents generosity and sacrifice.
b. Ezra 2:69 says that each gave “according to their ability,” which is the same comment that Paul gave about the Macedonians, adding, however, that they gave beyond their ability (2 Cor. 8:3).
c. This is the pattern laid out for us as well in 1 Corinthians 16:2, that each is to give “a sum of money in keeping with your income” or “as you have prospered.”
11. Some of the questions we should ask ourselves regularly include:
a. Am I doing my part? Am I using my gifts for the good of the Kingdom and the glory of God?
b. Am I faithfully and generously supporting God’s work financially?
E. Third, and finally, we are reminded again of the truth that God is all wise and all knowing, and that God has the power to carry out all His plans and promises.
1. The Lord is God and there is no other.
2. Our responsibility is to trust and obey God.
3. Our responsibility is to follow God’s lead – that’s what the people of God did back then, and that’s what the people of God do today.
Resources:
Ezra-Nehemiah, by Mark Throntveit, Interpretation Commentary Series, 1992
Ezra & Nehemiah, by Derek Kidner, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, 1979
Ezra, Nehemiah, & Esther, by J. Vernon McGee
What Can We Learn from a Genealogy? Sermon by Dr. Phil Newton, www.southwoodsbc.org
