Ezra chapter 6 and plant your eyes there at verse 13.
Since our start in our study of the book of Ezra, we have
virtually every week heard something similar.
We've heard about the reconstruction, the rebuilding
of what is known as the Second Temple in Jerusalem.
Everything from the initial excitement of the rebuilding to
the mixed feelings about the rebuilding, to the opposition to
the rebuilding and the revival toward the rebuilding.
But after we complete this chapter, we will no longer hear
about the reconstruction of the Temple for one simple reason.
We are going to realize that it is going to be completed.
That is essentially what the rest of Ezra chapter 6 is about,
the celebration of the completion of the House of God
that for many, many decades lay destitute and destroyed.
This is a monumental moment here.
But before we read about the rejoicing of this historic
achievement, we're going to learn and be reminded of what it
took for it to be realized. The verses that we're going to
open up with are essentially a summary of this massive
accomplishment. But within these verses we are
going to see some insights that are going to feed a central
truth the necessary for steadfastness in whatever God
has called us to do. And so let's do this as we come
now to this text. We're going to read the first 2
verses, beginning of verse 13 down to verse 14.
It says here. Then, according to the word sent
by Darius the king, Tatanai, the governor of the province beyond
the river Shethar, Bazani and their associates did with all
diligence what Darius the king had ordered.
And the elders of the Jews built and prospered through the
prophesying of Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son
of Edo. They finished their building by
decree of the God of Israel, by decree of Cyrus and Darius, and
Arctic Xerxes, king of Persia. Let's pause here for a moment.
Let's remind ourselves where we're at in this story.
There were certain governors during the Persian government
and empire that were ruling over the Judean province.
They saw these Jews who had returned from Babylon rebuilding
this great edifice and it concerned them.
So they sent message to Darius the king asking for
clarification if they have permission to do this.
Darius the king gives a letter promptly once he discovers the
historical precedence and the allowance for them to do this.
He tells Tatani and his associates, leave the Jews
alone, don't interrupt, don't interfere, don't get involved.
But additionally, he warns them and he says if anyone is to edit
my decree, they will be severely punished.
If anyone vandalizes this place of worship, they will be put to
death. And I call upon the God of
Israel to actually intervene. And So what we just read now is
the response of Tatani and the other governors to the letter
that they had received from Darius.
And here's what we discover. What's highlighted here is that
they did what Darius asked with what?
Look at the end there, verse 13, With all diligence.
Now that may not seem relevant,
but it is because whether Tatani and his associates wanted to or
not, they just became active participants in this project.
Go back to verse 8 of Ezra 6. This is just part of Darius's
letter to these men. In Ezra 6-8 it reads.
Moreover, I make a decree. This is Darius speaking
regarding what you shall do for these elders of the Jews for the
rebuilding of this House of God. The cost is to be paid to these
men in full and without delay from the royal revenue, the
tribute of the province from beyond the river.
So the very same men who reported on the Jews have not
been recruited to help the Jews. It's a remarkable turn of
events, but to our surprise, the attitude of Tetani and his
friends is actually praiseworthy, because there is
no hint whatsoever that they were reluctant to obey the
orders of Darius. In fact, it's the opposite.
They did so with all diligence. You know what that word
diligence means? With careful attention, with
effort, without reservation, with energy.
And that seems quite interesting, because the more I
meditated on this, the more inspiring it became.
Think about a couple things with me #1 as I just mentioned, these
men did not resist or question Darius's decree towards them,
did they? Not at all.
All Darius had to do was what? Give the word.
And they complied completely. They unreservedly submitted.
And what we find here is that though we don't know all their
motives, one thing is undeniable, that all it took was
Darius's word to get them moving.
All it took was one order, and they obeyed.
And for this demonstration of obedience to come from Gentiles
at this point in history who are serving a human king in this way
is a clear challenge to God's people then and now.
Should not your eagerness and mine match or even exceed that
of these men for our king, Our king, he's called a king of many
places in the Scriptures. Does he not deserve this exact
type of prompting and willingness and eagerness for
whatever he asks of us? If these men are willing to do
this for a human king named Darius, how much more us for our
King, Christ our Lord, our Master.
No hesitation, no arguments, no debate, all diligence the first
time. The secondly, notice how these
men obeyed Darius's order without any reward.
There is nothing promised to them.
All that letter shows is that Darius wanted something to be
done, and he warned them if they disobeyed, if they altered
anything that he had said. There is no indication that
there is any promise for promotion, any prize to be
granted, and yet, without anything in view, they still did
so with all diligence. Why?
Here's the only answer I can come up with for the King's
pleasure. That's why.
Because he asked for it, he desired it, and that's the only
thing that they're working with. What a thought.
It's possible to surrender to someone else's will simply
because you want to please them. And that's what Tatani and his
associates are demonstrating for their king.
But let me ask you something. That King Darius ever humble
himself to receive persecution or dishonor from others?
Did King Darius ever set aside His Royal Majesty to serve his
subjects? Has King Darius ever entertained
the thought of laying down his life for his enemies?
Of course not. And yet he still received such
fierce loyalty from those within his Kingdom.
And yet we have a King who exceeds all rulers, All Saints,
all prophets, and his beauty and his humility and his sacrifice
and his great love. What more do Christians need in
their motivation to obey this King other than the fact that it
pleases him, that it blesses him?
What other stimulation do we need?
Is there anything greater than the thought and knowing that
what he asks of me after all that he has done for me is
enough? Knowing the the thought crossing
my mind that this simply blesses the heart of my King should be
enough for us to do whatever he asks of us.
And so I look at Tat and I and I look at his associates and I
realized that their diligence for Darius should never outshine
what you and I are supposed to do for our king.
Moreover, the reason why this diligence is highlighted is
because it contributes to the completion of the temple that
we're about to read about. But this is not the only thing
that's highlighted. There's another thing that's
underscored in verse 14. Look at it again with me and the
elders of the Jews built and prospered through the
prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of
ID do don't you love that phrase?
They they prospered through the prophesying.
Now this is where we have to be clear.
This is not telling us that the Jews at this time, we're simply
riding on the momentum of the initial word that Haggai and
Zechariah gave when he tried to, when they tried to wake them up
from their years of complacency. Remember, God raised these two
men up to approach the same crowd who for many years
neglected the temple. And he said, hey, come on,
you're focusing too much on yourself.
You're ignoring God's house. This is the reason why He
brought you back to this land. This is not a commentary about
how they have been energized from that word, though it could
have played a part. Instead, what's being explained
here is the success of this group of people through the
regular, consistent messages of Zechariah and Haggai.
In other words, the reason why they were able to prosper
spiritually was because they were continually exposed to the
Word of God. And this reveals many things
about us. Let me just highlight one of
them. I believe it shows just how
easily we as God's people can become discouraged or
distracted. It's possible.
It's possible for you sitting here right now as you're hearing
this. It's possible for anybody.
Think about it. The first time that the Jews
stopped the building of the Temple was because initially
there was pushback from their neighbors.
There was threats, there was persecution.
And so they paused, and they paused too long because they
became caught up with other affairs.
But what's happening at this point?
Is there any opposition towards their efforts?
No, the opposite. Not only are there no obstacles
at this point, but you even have grants from the government,
allowance from kings to let you do whatever you need to do with
greater effect and speed. And even with this incredible
opportunity set before them, we learned that the real reason why
they prospered was because they were receiving the Word of God
regularly. In other words, even with this
open door before them, they still needed to be exhorted.
They still need to be reminded. They still need to be motivated.
What does that tell you about you and me?
That this flesh is remarkable at finding ways to drain our
enthusiasm for God, even if everything in your life is
cooperating? That's what's happening here.
Darius gave them the green light.
And yet the Holy Spirit wants to bring to mind that the people of
God still needed the Word of God to redirect and keep them
aligned, keep them stable. And how much of this is a
temptation to us as Christians in America who have been granted
a level of liberty that this world has rarely known in all of
history? So then why is it that with so
much in our favor as the church, is it so common for many
Christians to be inconsistent? And their spiritual zeal and
their fervor and their commitment to whatever ministry
they signed up for week after week, month after month, year
after year? In no way is it God's will for
us to fluctuate in our faithfulness to to succumb to
whatever weakens our hands. But listen, He is incredibly
gracious. He knows that we have the
temptation to falter. He knows that we have the
tendency to quit even even if you're standing underneath a
shower of his blessing like they are.
Here you have the king of Assyria.
In this context, Darius was also the king of Persia, giving them
all that they want, and they still needed a supernatural
force to remain in the will of God, which is exactly the
answer. God is so gracious in knowing
our weaknesses that He supplies exactly what we need to know.
Sustainability. What is it?
The regular hearing and receiving of God's Word, that is
what's highlighted and explaining the reason for their
spiritual prosperity. You and I have no chance of
remaining steadfast if we distance ourselves from this
book, if we remove ourselves from a place like this that
faithfully points us to what God has said and is saying still
through His Word. And we actually have insight
here about what it was that was said on a continual basis to
keep this people energized. Because Haggai and Zechariah
have books with their names on it in our Bibles, and we won't
go into it. But if you read their content,
you'll learn that what they said to the same audience included
encouragement, included warning, included promises, included
faithful and wonderful hopeful insight into the future.
All these things combined is what helped this people navigate
each day. I mean, think about, here's one
that many of us know. What does it do to you to hear
something like Zechariah 46, the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel?
Not by might, nor by power, but by my what Spirit says the Lord
that'll move you. And so you get an idea of what
it was that these two prophets conveyed to flow fresh fuel into
their hearts, to remain anchored.
And that is why it is one of Satan's favorite strategies to
drive you away from engaging with this book, to lure you from
coming to a church that exalts God's Word, explains God's Word,
exhorts people through God's Word.
He understands that if he can cut you off from this, he cuts
off your life source. And it's just a matter of time
before you shrivel up and you give yourself to something
futile and fury even sinful. You will never be able, never be
able to point someone to me who claims to be a consistent
Christian and doesn't have a consistent and humble engagement
and relationship with the written Word of God.
You won't be able to find one impossible.
And that principle is so obvious here.
It was through the prophesying of the prophets of the word of
the Lord through them that help these remnant prosper
spiritually. So let's go on now.
We read these first 2 verses of this section, but let's continue
in verse 15. And this house was finished on
the third day of the month of Adar, in the sixth year of the
reign of Darius the king. So the end of verse 14, we
realized that they finished the building.
This is a remarkable thing. This is a huge milestone.
And so important was it that in verse 15, Ezra gives us the date
of its completion. Do we remember when, however,
the work of the temple resumed after it was ignored for so
long? Does anybody remember when?
If you don't, Oh good, who said it?
Say it out loud. What year of Darius's reign?
The second. If you need confirmation, look
at Ezra 424 for a moment. Ezra 424 Then the work on the
House of God that is in Jerusalem stopped, and it ceased
until the second year of the reign of Darius, king of Persia.
So the work began again in the second year of Darius the king,
and it was completed in the sixth year.
So how long did it take him to rebuild the temple?
Four years, Four years? Even with all the diligence that
they offered, even with the really miraculous support from
the Persian government, it still took this group of people four
years to resurrect this structure.
But I actually want to argue that it took longer than that.
When you zoom out, it actually took much more time because
we're only counting from when the work of the temple resumed
again to its completion. But we're not considering the
time that passed from the people laying the foundation of the
temple and them getting distracted until they started
again. So we learned that when these
Jews came back from Babylon to Jerusalem, they almost
immediately laid the foundation of this house.
Then persecution emerged. They were intimidated, they got
scared. They use it as an excuse, and
they start focusing on their own houses.
From that time of laying the foundation to the second year of
Darius where they began the house again, working on the
House again, many beliefs, 16 years had passed.
So when we consider that whole timeline, how many years did it
really take to rebuild the temple?
The simple math, there's no trick question. 20 years, 20 to
21 years for the single building to be rebuilt.
Last night I just sat back and I thought to myself, in that same
amount of time they could have rebuilt five of these temples.
But instead, because of what? Idleness and worldly ambition.
They built one. I praise God that this part of
Ezra's story, really all of Ezra's story, is one of grace
and God's faithfulness and his mercy, undeniably.
But here I want to highlight that it offers a sobering
warning about the value of time and how if we're not careful,
even as God's children, we can forfeit a lot of it easily,
especially in this age. For some who are listening, as
you look back at years, you may have to admit that you barely,
barely invested anything in building your relationship with
God. No.
No reading plan, little time and prayer.
No investment in any kind of ministry.
Be careful because I don't want it to be said of anybody,
including for myself, that we lived our days in such a way
that years passed by and it can hit us where we wonder and think
to ourselves, where could I have been in the Lord if I did not
burn my time on useless things? That's totally possible.
Time is the most precious gift in many ways because you can't
get it back. You know this very well.
And it could be also that there's some sitting here who've
come to that painful realization and you can't seem to shake off
the guilt. But I want to comfort you that
it does no good for you to reflect on on years wasted,
whether that be because you were living outside of Christ or
because even in Christ you named his name, but you squandered
many of your years. It does no good.
Instead, if you are reminded of that, use that as as motivation
to guard the days ahead. We don't know how many God, how
many years God is going to give us or days or months or weeks.
We have no clue. But if you are among those who
feel, I wish I got saved earlier.
I wish I wasn't so foolish with the resources that were at my
disposal. I should have listened to my mom
and dad, to my older brother. I should have paid attention to
those sermons all those years. Now I'm getting older, I'm
getting more frail. Now I have more responsibility.
All the all the free time I had as a single man, Just listen.
When those things haunt you, recycle it and then use it to
say with whatever time I have left, I will live maximally for
God and listen for anybody, no matter where you are in light of
this, for anybody who chooses to from this moment on, live for
the will of God. Joy is promised for you joy
today and joy tomorrow. In fact, that's what we we find
next. Let's read now from verse 16
down to verse 18. And the people of Israel, the
priest and the Levites and the rest of the return exiles
celebrated the dedication of this House of God with joy, with
joy. Highlight those two words with
joy they offered at the dedication of this House of God.
100 bulls, 200 Rams, 400 lambs, and a sin offering for all
Israel, 12 male goats according to the number of the tribes of
Israel. And they set the priests and
their divisions and the Levites and their divisions for the
service of God at Jerusalem, as it is written in the book of
Moses. So the house is now done, and
they're putting it to use. But before they do anything,
they're almost putting together a grand opening.
But it's more sacred than that. They want to consecrate this
house to God's glory, and so they they put together some of
their resources and they offered at the dedication.
If you put all those animals together and their numbers,
you're talking about 700. If you include the sin offering
that 712 beasts of different kinds.
That detail may seem irrelevant or insignificant to you, but it
carries meaning when you do one thing.
Remember that this was not the only dedication that took place
in Israel's history towards and for the House of God.
This is the second temple. Before the 2nd temple, there was
Solomon's Temple. Was there a dedication service
for Solomon's Temple? Yes.
Do you remember how many beasts were offered then?
A lot. Can I remind you how much?
Turn to 1st Kings chapter 8 and look at verse 62.
First Kings chapter 8 verse 62. Then the king and all Israel
with him offered sacrifice before the Lord.
Solomon offered as peace offerings to the Lord 22,000
oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people
of Israel dedicated the House of the Lord.
So when it came to the celebration of the first temple,
you're talking about 142,000 animals.
Quite the difference, isn't it? In fact, 1 might be tempted to
think by comparison, the dedication of the second temple
feels a little embarrassing, maybe worthless. 712 in
comparison to 142,000. A very great difference in terms
of the size of the offering. But I want to convey to you that
there is something similar that these two generations shared.
One word, one word. It's a very simple word, Joy,
joy. There is joy in Solomon's day.
Scroll down to verse 66 at First Kings 8.
What is said on the 8th day? He sent the people away and they
blessed the king and went to their homes, joyful and glad of
heart for all the goodness that the Lord had shown to David his
servant and to Israel his people.
Now go back to Ezra 6, Ezra 6 verse 16 says, and the people of
Israel, the priests and the Levites and the rest of the
return exiles celebrated the dedication of this House of God
with joy. So both experienced joy.
In fact, look what the Holy Spirit does in Ezra 616.
He's so specific. It says here that they
celebrated the dedication of this house, this house, as if to
emphasize from the human standpoint that what seems to be
inferior, the inferiority of this house and the far less
impressive dedication of this house did not determine their
joy. It didn't.
So how was it that with only 712, you're talking about a
meager offering? Was this crowd able to genuinely
rejoice in this moment? You know the answers in the same
chapter and it's glorious. Look at the last verse of Ezra
6. You heard this last week if you
were here. Ezra 622 And they kept the feast
of Unleavened bread 7 days with joy.
There it is again. For the Lord had made them
joyful. For the Lord had made them
joyful. And I turned the heart of the
king of Assyria to them so that he aided them in the work of the
House of God, the God of Israel. That's the answer.
God made them joyful. And there are a couple of things
we can learn from this that will change your life radically if
you actually choose to believe it #1 God can make us joyful
whether you have little or much. No matter what you possess, it
is possible to actually be happy, to know genuine
contentment. You know this could have been
another occasion for this generation of return exiles to
weep like they did when they laid the foundation of the
temple. You remember that some rejoice
when they laid the foundation and other wept.
Why did they weep? Because the older generation
remembered Solomon's temple and so they couldn't help but
compare and think, this is it. This is what we've been restored
to. But supposing that that older
generation is still alive because it could have been that
they died, so there's a little bit less weeping because they're
no longer alive. That's possible, but let's just
suppose that they're still alive.
God worked in their hearts in such a way that they can
recognize the good of the moment and give God glory and
experience a wave of genuine joy.
It's a work of God despite their lack.
And in this case, the people experience something unique and
they discerned it, right? We read it in the verse.
They discerned that God moved in the heart of Darius for their
favor, and he aided them to build this house.
That's a different testimony than Solomon, isn't it?
In Solomon's case, God just prospered him and his
administration and and the nation at that time to enable
them to build the temple at such a grand scale.
It's two different testimonies, but it says the same thing, that
God is still at work and they understood that God is still at
work doesn't look the same, but it doesn't dismiss the fact that
he is moving in our midst and we can rejoice because of that.
If your joy is in what you have or what you don't have, I
promise you a very fickle and flimsy contentment.
It won't last because possessions and materials come
and go. But if your joy is in God, if
your joy is in Christ, who's always working no matter what
you own, you will know happiness that will endure all
circumstances. And that's why Israel's past
success did not cloud their contentment here.
There's no comparison here like they did earlier, because it was
God who worked in their hearts. And the source of the joy was
what God was doing, the fingerprints that they were able
to recognize, ha ha, they were able to rejoice.
There's another thing to consider.
True joy isn't found in what you have, but in what you do with
what you have. You can't separate the theme of
joy with Solomon and an Ezra's story with the reality of
sacrifice and the worship of God.
Joy is found in those contexts. They rejoice in First Kings 8.
Why? Because they were able to
recognize the goodness of the Lord to David and his
descendants here. They recognize the goodness of
the Lord because He was moving the hearts of leaders of nations
on their behalf. But also they've come to
sacrifice and they've come to worship God, and they are living
at a point where they are prioritizing God's house.
See, knowing joy is not just recognizing that God is a
fountain of all your blessings. That's true.
If you really want to unlock it in your heart, you have to be
willing to come to a place of responding to that truth with
unreserved worship. So when you make the Kingdom of
God your priority, when you make Christ's pleasure your desire,
when your devotion to Him is all that you really want, that will
position you to receive and experience God's joy no matter
what your possessions look like. It will put everything in its
proper perspective. And that's what we find here.
We're going to worship God. We're going to sacrifice what we
can give Him. We've prioritized His house.
And that's why you see this repeated truth.
Joy, joy, joy, joy. And that's why perhaps some of
you are miserable, because you've stuffed theological
statements and truths and doctrinal ideas in your head,
but you've never responded to it.
And other things take precedence in your life.
Other things have greater priority.
Other things are demanding your devotion, and so you don't
understand the numbness and you perhaps look at other Christians
and you criticize them because you, you, you think this is a
little bit too ecstatic. This is a little bit too much.
But what you find in these two instances when we compare it
with Solomon and Ezra, that the the experience of joy is within
the realm of sacrifice and worship and living for God's
house, God's name, God's glory. That was true for the churches
in Macedonia. Have you ever heard of them?
Do you remember how Paul described the churches in
Macedonia when he praised them for their financial partnership
when he was raising funds from the different churches to help
the poor Saints in Jerusalem? This will blow your mind.
Go to 2nd Corinthians chapter 8, Second Corinthians chapter 8 and
look at verse one with me. 2nd Corinthians 8 verse one Paul
says to the Corinthians, We want you to know brothers, about the
grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia.
For in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of
joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed and a wealth of
generosity on their part. How do those two descriptions
fit in the same statement? Abundance of joy right next to
what? Extreme?
Not just poverty, extreme poverty.
Now, poverty in America in 2026 looks different than poverty and
antiquity. And we're not talking even about
the poor. He's talking about extreme
poverty. And yet somehow the Macedonian
believers tapped into not even just not just joy, abundant joy.
It reinforces the truth that we're learning in Ezra, does it
not? That your joy is not in what you
have, it's in God himself. And your joy can heighten and
mature on what you do with what you have and in this context,
with the little that they have. They wanted to somehow play a
part in the relief of the Saints in Jerusalem.
You're saying, what's the secret?
How do I get to this point? Because brother, if I'm honest,
I'm a wreck. I'm numb.
I'm going through the motions. Let me offer a potential insight
to the reason why you can't figure out your own misery.
Do you know why the Macedonian believers were able to do what
they're doing here? Do you know why they were able
to know the spring of joy to the point that it almost just LED
them to this, to this decision to sacrifice in this way?
Look at verse 5, Second Corinthians 8, verse 5.
Paul's still talking about them and he says and this not as we
expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and
then by the will of God to us. The reason why these believers
were the way that they were, the reason why they knew this
abundant joy is because they made a decision.
I'm going to give myself first to the Lord.
He calls the shots of my life. I submit to him but my own
desires. But when you really taste of
this joy, your desires become His desires, and you live in
this genuine, awesome growth of joy as the days go by.
That doesn't mean that joy isn't challenge.
It doesn't mean that sometimes you ask, like what the psalmist
said, why are you cast down, O my soul?
But you will have a reference point in your soul where you
know what it's like to know God's joy, and you won't settle
for anything else. Let's look at the last parts of
Ezra 6, verse 19, down to verse 22.
On the 14th day of the first month, the return exiles kept
the Passover for the priests and the Levites had purified
themselves together. All of them were clean.
Oh, I'd love to say so much about that.
All of them were clean. So they slaughtered the Passover
lamb for all the return exiles, for their fellow priests and for
themselves. It was eaten by the people of
Israel who had returned from exile, and also by everyone who
had joined them and separated himself from the uncleanness of
the peoples of the land to worship the Lord, the God of
Israel. So apparently you had Gentiles
along this journey who realized that the God of Israel is the
true God, and they yoked themselves to the true God by
faith. These are proselytes.
These are converts. I'm not going to comment on that
too much either. Let's look at verse 22.
And they kept the Feast of Unleavened bread 7 days with
joy, for the Lord had made them joyful and had turned the heart
of the king of Assyria to them, so that he aided them in the
work of the House of God, the God of Israel.
So many things can be said here, as I already mentioned, but I
want to just focus on one simple thing, one observation from
these last verses. Three out of the four verses we
just read include this identity about the people of Israel, the
people of Judah. The Holy Spirit labels them as
the returned exiles 3 times in 4 verses, the return exile.
Some other translations say the descendants of captivity or the
children of captivity. Here's my question.
Why I emphasize that here. Aren't we far enough into the
story of Ezra to know that we are reading about the captives
who had returned from Babylon to Jerusalem?
Why do I need to hear it over and over in this closing
section? It's the return exiles.
It's the return exiles is the return exiles.
I know it's the return exiles. Here's what I believe the answer
is. There's something about the
enjoyment and the celebration of the Passover and the unleavened
bread. That connects with the truth of
the return exiles. In other words, the people of
Israel have not experienced these holy feast in the fullest
sense like what we're seeing here since the days before their
exile. This is huge.
This is massive, and the Holy Spirit wants us to know that it
was the return exiles who enjoyed it.
Think about it this way. The book of Ezra opens with a
decree. Cyrus, who was the king of
Persia at that time, extended an invitation to the Jews in
Babylon. You can go back home if you
want. Now, did he extend that
invitation to all of the Jews or some of the Jews?
All of them? All of them.
Did all of them go? No, some of them.
And we've discussed in the past perhaps some of the reasons why
many of these Jews decide to stay back in Babylon.
But now we come to this point in Ezra's story, and here's the
question we have to ask. Who are the ones who are
experiencing the Holy Feasts and in the proper way?
Who are the ones who are now relishing in the presence of God
in the House of God once again? Who are the ones who are being
renewed in their understanding of the revelation of God's mercy
and might in His temple? Who are the ones, the ones who
decided to pay a price to go back?
Those are the ones. This is why, in part, this
repetition is made to emphasize this reality that the ones who
chose to go back were the ones who relished in this revival and
entered into a new level in the relationship with the living
God. Here's what that means for you
and I. There are certain spiritual
advantages and there are certain experiences that can only come
to those who are willing to walk away from what God asked them to
walk away from to truly know them.
Sometimes the things that we have to separate ourselves from
are sinful. Other times they're just
temporal. They're shallow, they're
foolish, they're vain, they're pointless.
But whatever the nature of our hindrances may be, one thing is
for certain, sacrifice of various kinds is often the path
to spiritual reward. The returned exiles were the
ones who got to taste the miracle before them.
But they first had to make a very difficult decision to walk
away from familiarity, to walk away potentially from family and
friends, a new way of life, to go back to a land of
destitution, to a lot of hard work, to to enemies that are
ready to devour you at your most vulnerable point.
But because they understood that life is ultimately about the
glory of God, they took that step of faith and now they are
enjoying something that others are not.
So here I am reading this, studying this, ruminating over
it, and I'm thinking to myself, there's got to be so many other
examples of this principle, even in the New Testament.
And for whatever reason, the one example, and potentially because
it deals with an individual, and perhaps because I preached about
a many, many, many years ago, even before Maranatha Bible
Church existed, I thought maybe this is a good way to illustrate
it in a personal way. Have you ever considered how the
Bible introduces us to the person, the character, the
minister named Timothy? Go to Acts 16.
Here's where we'll land because I just want to solidify this
truth in our hearts. The sacrifice of various kinds
is often the path to spiritual reward.
Acts 16. This is where we're introduced
to Timothy and Acts 16 verse one.
Paul came also to Deer Bee and to Lystra.
A disciple was there named Timothy, the son of a Jewish
woman who was a believer, but his father was Greek.
He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium.
Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him.
Pause there. What an honor, this remarkable
man of God by the name of Paul, who was once a terrorist who
terrorized the church, who is now the leading apostle in many
ways, comes into town to check on the the Saints.
And he, he discovers about this man named Timothy, a young man,
and all the brethren, all the believers there speak well of
him. Now we know Timothy's a young
man even when Paul writes to him after he becomes a pastor.
So if he was young when he was a pastor of the Church of Ephesus,
how young was he here? It's really a reminder for young
people to to not wait to take your faith seriously.
Don't delay in your seriousness because Timothy didn't all of a
sudden become genuine in his faith.
He always was to the point when Paul walked into town, the
believer says you got to meet this young man, this exceptional
St. named Timothy. Paul meets him.
I wonder what the conversation was like.
But it was enough for this man, and Paul was picky with who he
worked with. You know that, right?
I want you to come with me. I want you to be a partner in my
missionary endeavors. The thrill.
But it came at a price. Look at verse 3 again.
Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him and he took him and
circumcised him because of the Jews who are in those places,
for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
Many, many people will come to this text to debate.
I've heard it, I've read about it.
What's the debate about? Was Paul right in circumcising
Timothy, the Paul go against his convictions?
Or is Paul being strategic? There's the clashes, and there's
the blog post and there's the commentaries.
That's fine. I think it's an important
conversation to have. But you want, you know what?
I've never stumbled upon somebody coming to this text to
speak about Timothy. This is the first time Timothy's
mentioned in the Bible. What does this say about this
young man? He says something about the
price he was willing to pay to follow the call of God.
You can debate if Paul was writing this or not, but just
focus in and look at it from Timothy's perspective.
He was not 8 days old when he was circumcised in this part of
the story, you know that, right? He was a young man, very
conscious, very aware, but very willing.
And what I thought to myself was what if Timothy had denied such
a thing? What if he had rejected it?
What if he thought this is a no thank you?
I appreciate the invitation, but I think I'll just go on with my
life the way it always has been. He would have missed out on the
adventure of a lifetime. You get the impression from the
Bible that Timothy had a stronger relationship with his
mom and his grandmother. The implication is that his
father, yes, was a Gentile, but also an unbelieving Gentile.
So how how present was Timothy's dad in his life?
We don't know. But you know, because of this
moment in his life, he gained a spiritual father.
And more than that, Paul entrusted him with one of the
most thriving churches in the region.
Timothy became the teaching elder in Ephesus.
And what about all the other adventures in the stories of
these trips and the miracles that he beheld and the
conference that he saw? I bring all this up to say that
it all hinged upon a personal sacrifice.
Difficult decision to walk away from comfort in a very real way.
And yet there are many people professing Christians who are
not willing to walk away from some things.
You will not know the fullness of God's will until you fully
give yourself over to Him. How much time has passed in your
life where you consciously know that you're holding something
back? Let it change for 2026.
I've yet to be convinced that somebody has more joy, more
peace, more excitement in their life living for themselves and
living for God. You know, somebody show me
after, show me after. And don't show me an Instagram
profile or a TikTok account. Some of those people are the
most miserable of them all. Always need to live for people's
applause and recognition. Somebody, somebody who's rock
solid content, immovable, and doesn't have a relationship with
the living God because they have surrendered everything.
I can go and show you example after example after example of
how the Bible presents this constant theme.
A sacrifice is the path for spiritual reward.
In Timothy's case, I mean, his life was never the same.
In the case of these returned exiles, they had to make a
decision many, many years ago. We will go back and they got to
stand in the courts of the Second Temple, while some, for
selfish reasons, stayed back in Babylon.
Why? Because they had a business that
they started or because they had a new home.
And some Levites surely wanted to stay back because they got
land. And when you went back to
Israel, you have to give up your land.
You have to live by faith. But what do we find at the end
of Ezra 6? Joy, joy, joy, joy, joy for the
return to exiles. Lord, we thank you for this
Bible study. How amazing it is to even look
at a corner of your word that is so historical, so specific, so
obscure, and yet it can be so packed with power.
We confess gladly that we believe this is the Word of God.
It's so sharp. You never fail to show us just
how precise the sword of the Spirit is.
Lord. Many things were said and we
pray that the same way. The prophesying of Haggai and
Zechariah kept the people focused and energized.
May this Bible study and the ones to come provide that same
grace. Help us believe that this book
in our hands is our lifeline. Lord, we pause to rejoice, to
give you thanks for how you've spoken to us.
Be glorified in all things in Jesus name, Amen.
Why don't we stand and let's worship God?