1 00:00:00,960 --> 00:00:03,880 Father, we thank you for gathering us this night. 2 00:00:05,240 --> 00:00:13,360 To be able to look forward to an anticipate week after week time 3 00:00:13,360 --> 00:00:17,480 in the Word with a with a people who love you is a gift in 4 00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:19,040 itself, and we give you glory for it. 5 00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:22,160 And we ask now that you would assist us and guide us through 6 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:24,720 these passages in a way that would make everything and 7 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:28,320 everyone disappear except for the man Christ Jesus. 8 00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:32,040 That he would be front and center in our mind's eye, that 9 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:36,480 He will pull out of us greater affection and devotion, and that 10 00:00:36,480 --> 00:00:41,440 we would leave here awe struck by His absolute beauty and His 11 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:45,440 infinite glory. Only by the Spirit can such a 12 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:48,560 thing be possible. But we pray in faith that you 13 00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:51,760 would move in great power and that we would leave here knowing 14 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:53,920 that God was surely in this place. 15 00:00:54,280 --> 00:00:56,280 We don't rely on any personality. 16 00:00:56,600 --> 00:00:59,640 We don't rely on any equipment, we don't even rely on any 17 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:02,280 knowledge. We come to you admitting that we 18 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:05,760 need your grace to rest upon this time and we trust that you 19 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:08,240 will make it known. In Jesus name we pray. 20 00:01:08,640 --> 00:01:11,640 Amen. You know, as I was thinking 21 00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:16,920 about this time together earlier today, my heart quickly became 22 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:21,560 swollen with encouragement because I really just thought 23 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:24,560 about it. I am in a few hours, about to 24 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:29,960 gather with a people who will fill a church sanctuary to study 25 00:01:29,960 --> 00:01:33,120 an ancient genealogy on a Friday night. 26 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:38,520 That seems strange, doesn't it? But we know that we're not here 27 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:41,960 just looking at any ordinary historical record. 28 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:46,040 We've come because we realize that this document is found in 29 00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:50,080 God's written Word. This is divine revelation, and 30 00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:53,520 we believe that. Even a list of names and cities 31 00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:57,320 and numbers. Have something for us, for our 32 00:01:57,320 --> 00:02:00,000 spiritual growth, for the increase of our worship, for our 33 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:04,240 sanctification. And if you were not here last 34 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:08,120 week, then perhaps you didn't taste that. 35 00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:11,280 How? We just carefully looked at this 36 00:02:11,280 --> 00:02:14,960 registry and realized that there was so many profound truths for 37 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:18,080 us to feast on and to be nourished by. 38 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:22,920 And in case you weren't there last week, we began Ezra chapter 39 00:02:22,920 --> 00:02:26,840 2. And in Ezra chapter 2, we looked 40 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:33,320 at the first steps of a faithful remnant who chose to return from 41 00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:39,600 exile and to go back to a desolate city called Jerusalem, 42 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:44,000 located in a ruined state called Judea. 43 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:51,560 And what we saw in those steps. With many groups of people who 44 00:02:51,560 --> 00:02:54,760 have collected their faith and made this effort together. 45 00:02:55,120 --> 00:02:58,280 And although one can organize these different peoples and 46 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:03,760 names and families in various manners, we chose to look at 47 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:09,840 them through the lens of a total of 8 categories, 8 categories of 48 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:14,400 people who made the bold step of going back to the Promised Land. 49 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:17,520 Does anybody remember the first three that we covered in our 50 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:19,840 study last time? You can say it if you know it. 51 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:25,680 The leaders are #1 #2 the men of Israel, or in parentheses, the 52 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:30,080 families of Israel. And lastly, very good, the 53 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:35,840 priest and the Levites and we pause that verse 40 of Ezra 2 54 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:38,880 last week and we'll now pick up right where we left off to see 55 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:42,040 the fourth group that the Spirit of God draws our attention to. 56 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:45,120 Let's read one verse to begin with. 57 00:03:45,320 --> 00:03:52,240 In Ezra 241, the singers, the sons of. 58 00:03:52,360 --> 00:04:00,240 Asaph 128. Even if you are a diligent 59 00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:02,880 student of the Bible, this could be the first time you've 60 00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:05,840 discovered that there is actually a designated group of 61 00:04:05,840 --> 00:04:10,200 people who were called to sing at this time. 62 00:04:11,960 --> 00:04:15,280 Now what's interesting is that their origins go back to King 63 00:04:15,280 --> 00:04:20,399 David, who set apart different groups of ministers in 64 00:04:20,399 --> 00:04:23,680 preparation for the temple to be built later by. 65 00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:27,120 His son Solomon. And among those different groups 66 00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:33,960 of ministers were musicians and vocalists, and the details of 67 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:37,000 their designation are found in another obscure part of the 68 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:40,680 Bible, First Chronicles, chapter 25. 69 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:43,240 And I just want to read to you, unless you want to turn there to 70 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:45,840 see it with your own eyes. I just want to read to you the 71 00:04:45,840 --> 00:04:50,600 first verse of that chapter because there is something very 72 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:53,520 important regarding it. Here's what it says. 73 00:04:54,560 --> 00:04:59,040 First Chronicles 25 One David and the chiefs of the service. 74 00:04:59,120 --> 00:05:04,640 Also set apart for the service the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, 75 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:09,480 and of Judgothan, who prophesied with liars, with harps, and with 76 00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:12,080 symbols. The list of those who did the 77 00:05:12,080 --> 00:05:15,280 work of their duties was and it goes on to list the names of the 78 00:05:15,280 --> 00:05:19,520 singers. Three families were chosen by 79 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:23,000 David, who was evidently led by the Spirit of God to facilitate 80 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:27,480 the music. And the choirs and the singing 81 00:05:27,480 --> 00:05:30,520 in the House of God known as the Temple. 82 00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:34,360 Why is that important? Because we only learn of one of 83 00:05:34,360 --> 00:05:38,480 these families who chose to return to Jerusalem, the sons of 84 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:41,520 Asaph. And for reasons not explained to 85 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:44,440 us, we don't know why the two other families did not go back. 86 00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:49,400 But what's in focus here is Asaph and his descendants. 87 00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:52,120 Asaph should be familiar to us. You know why? 88 00:05:52,160 --> 00:05:55,400 Because if you read through the book of Psalms, you have looked 89 00:05:55,400 --> 00:06:01,120 at 12 of his own writings, his own pieces he's attributed 12 in 90 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:05,160 the spirit of God has preserved his songs, his journal entries, 91 00:06:05,160 --> 00:06:08,000 his poems, if you will, in the Psalter. 92 00:06:08,480 --> 00:06:12,600 And perhaps he is most known for the soul bearing transparent 93 00:06:12,600 --> 00:06:19,280 work in Psalm 73. Psalm 73 is really Asaph's 94 00:06:19,280 --> 00:06:22,520 confession of a crisis of faith. And the thing? 95 00:06:22,520 --> 00:06:25,280 That he was really wrestling with was how is it that the 96 00:06:25,280 --> 00:06:29,680 wicked can prosper, that evil doers can enjoy life, while 97 00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:33,640 those who are righteous and committed to the truth suffer? 98 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:38,680 And he even admits at the beginning of that Psalm that 99 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:42,400 these doubts were so intense that they almost derailed him 100 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:44,160 from his walk with God altogether. 101 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:47,360 Do you remember what he said in Psalm 73, verse 2? 102 00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:50,200 He mentions. But As for me, my feet had 103 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:54,320 almost stumbled. My steps had nearly slipped. 104 00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:59,160 I couldn't make sense of this to the degree that I was willing to 105 00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:03,080 walk away from all of it. This is a minister. 106 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:08,360 This is a praise team leader. This is a man of reputation. 107 00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:11,120 This is a man that people knew who were blessed. 108 00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:15,920 By and at one point in his walk with the Lord, he said I was 109 00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:19,400 ready to give up on everything but praise God. 110 00:07:19,400 --> 00:07:22,560 He made a choice. And in the very last verse of 111 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:27,920 that Psalm he gives us another. But he says in verse 28 of Psalm 112 00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:31,480 73, but for me it is good to be near God. 113 00:07:32,840 --> 00:07:36,480 It is good to be near God. I have made the Lord God my 114 00:07:36,480 --> 00:07:40,880 refuge that I may tell of all your works. 115 00:07:41,120 --> 00:07:43,720 That's the punctuation mark of that Psalm. 116 00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:48,240 I'm going to stay near God, which implies something It's 117 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:51,440 possible not to be near God. I didn't mean to say this, but 118 00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:54,280 it's worth asking right away. Are you near God tonight? 119 00:07:56,800 --> 00:07:58,800 I pray that this Bible study would draw you closer if you're 120 00:07:58,800 --> 00:08:03,960 not, Asaph said. I want to be near him, and 121 00:08:03,960 --> 00:08:06,680 here's what I want to argue. I'm convinced that Asaph's 122 00:08:06,680 --> 00:08:11,600 decision with this crisis of faith had generational 123 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:15,320 consequences. That's not something I'm 124 00:08:15,320 --> 00:08:16,600 inferring. That's not something I'm trying 125 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:22,200 to make happen in the text. Remember, I told you First 126 00:08:22,200 --> 00:08:27,200 Chronicles 25 is a chapter that tells us about the beginnings of 127 00:08:27,200 --> 00:08:29,920 this ministry group known as the Singers in the Temple. 128 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:33,440 Asaph is named there, among others. 129 00:08:33,440 --> 00:08:36,000 But there's this interesting verse and verse six of First 130 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:38,600 Chronicles 25. Don't turn there, but listen to 131 00:08:38,600 --> 00:08:42,480 what it says. They were all under the 132 00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:46,760 direction of their father in music, in the House of the Lord. 133 00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:50,920 Speaking about the sons of these worship leaders, they were all 134 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:53,840 under the direction of their father, including Asaph. 135 00:08:55,160 --> 00:09:00,680 Asaph was not just a dad. To his sons he was a ministry 136 00:09:00,680 --> 00:09:03,920 team leader. He was a spiritual guide. 137 00:09:04,800 --> 00:09:07,480 He was again a man of great reputation in the land. 138 00:09:11,400 --> 00:09:13,920 And you can only imagine what would have happened if Asaph had 139 00:09:13,920 --> 00:09:19,320 turned away from his faith. What if he had decided to walk 140 00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:22,800 away? Or what if he had decided to 141 00:09:22,800 --> 00:09:28,360 diminish his zeal to give? God half of his heart because he 142 00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:30,960 couldn't reconcile the dilemma that was ever before him. 143 00:09:32,920 --> 00:09:35,840 What if he recanted? What if he became apostate? 144 00:09:36,400 --> 00:09:39,840 What if you became worldly? What if he had never concluded 145 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:43,200 It is good for me to be near God? 146 00:09:44,320 --> 00:09:48,120 What would have happened to His sons who took His direction, who 147 00:09:48,120 --> 00:09:51,880 trusted in him, who watched him, who were inspired by Him? 148 00:09:55,400 --> 00:09:59,440 But I believe. Because this man vowed to 149 00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:03,200 declare his works not just to the nation, but to his own 150 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:06,440 family. When it came to the point that 151 00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:09,880 the sons of Asaph were taken into exile and the opportunity 152 00:10:09,880 --> 00:10:15,440 arose for them to return, they thought to themselves, we're 153 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:21,400 going back, we're going back. You know, Asaph said. 154 00:10:21,400 --> 00:10:23,520 It is good to be near God physically. 155 00:10:23,520 --> 00:10:24,760 We're not near God here in Babylon. 156 00:10:24,760 --> 00:10:27,840 Let's go back. Let's go back. 157 00:10:28,160 --> 00:10:31,080 Listen, never underestimate the far reaching, glorious 158 00:10:31,080 --> 00:10:34,960 consequences of your choice every single day to walk close 159 00:10:34,960 --> 00:10:38,480 to God. It may be the very reason why 160 00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:42,920 your children. Will choose to walk close to God 161 00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:45,280 even when you're no longer around. 162 00:10:47,160 --> 00:10:52,160 Your consecration and mine carries consequences beyond our 163 00:10:52,160 --> 00:10:57,360 own lives. I'd love to see that that 128 of 164 00:10:57,360 --> 00:11:00,640 the descendants of Asaph chose to go back to Jerusalem and 165 00:11:00,640 --> 00:11:05,240 being near his presence again. And it could be that Asaph's 166 00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:08,680 decision to be near God while he was still alive made a mark on 167 00:11:08,680 --> 00:11:11,000 them. Now, there's one more thing I'd 168 00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:13,440 like to highlight about these singers before we move on. 169 00:11:15,400 --> 00:11:20,640 Did you know that these exiles in Babylon made a different kind 170 00:11:20,640 --> 00:11:25,840 of vow while in captivity? They vowed that they would never 171 00:11:25,840 --> 00:11:29,240 sing God's songs while in captivity. 172 00:11:30,200 --> 00:11:32,760 Did you know that actually there's an entire Psalm about 173 00:11:32,760 --> 00:11:35,320 it? There is a Psalm in the Psalter 174 00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:38,520 written by the Exiles. While they were in Babylon. 175 00:11:38,520 --> 00:11:40,280 Did you know that? Well, now you do. 176 00:11:41,600 --> 00:11:43,200 Psalm 137. Look at it. 177 00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:45,440 Now let's turn there. I want you to see it from verse 178 00:11:45,440 --> 00:11:55,120 one down to verse 6. This is marvelous Psalm 137, 179 00:11:55,120 --> 00:11:58,760 verse one by the waters of Babylon. 180 00:11:59,160 --> 00:12:04,280 There we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion on the 181 00:12:04,280 --> 00:12:06,560 willows. There we hung up our liars. 182 00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:12,280 For there are captors required of us songs, and our tormentors 183 00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:16,000 mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. 184 00:12:17,320 --> 00:12:19,800 How shall we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land? 185 00:12:21,040 --> 00:12:23,880 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its 186 00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:26,360 skill. Let my tongue stick to the roof 187 00:12:26,360 --> 00:12:28,080 of my mouth if I do not remember. 188 00:12:28,080 --> 00:12:31,120 You if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy. 189 00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:36,160 O the vast amount of insights and principles concerning 190 00:12:36,160 --> 00:12:38,520 worship and praise in these verses. 191 00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:44,960 One thing that stands out to me is how these exiles refused. 192 00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:52,600 To sing God's songs merely for entertainment's sake, even 193 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:56,080 though they were pressured, even though there was a demand to 194 00:12:56,080 --> 00:12:59,560 sing these holy songs, these holy lyrics. 195 00:13:00,880 --> 00:13:04,000 Just to please some people who are outside of covenant with 196 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:05,960 God, they said we will not do that. 197 00:13:08,080 --> 00:13:11,600 And unfortunately, today we're seeing an entire industry in 198 00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:14,040 Christendom moving in the opposite direction. 199 00:13:16,040 --> 00:13:23,680 Catering supposed worship music for the carnal mind, for the one 200 00:13:23,680 --> 00:13:25,440 who is not in covenant with Christ. 201 00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:31,160 No hesitation whatsoever. To capitalize on the Lord's 202 00:13:31,160 --> 00:13:34,560 songs. This is tragic. 203 00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:38,040 This may offend some people, So be it. 204 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:42,360 I believe a lot of what we call worship today has been infected 205 00:13:42,360 --> 00:13:52,360 by a Babylonian mindset. But what we find here is a group 206 00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:57,280 of people who refused. This belongs to the Lord. 207 00:13:57,280 --> 00:13:59,280 This is holy. This is this is for his 208 00:13:59,280 --> 00:14:01,600 pleasure. Everything that we organize, 209 00:14:01,600 --> 00:14:05,480 everything that we write is for His ears primarily. 210 00:14:07,480 --> 00:14:08,920 But that's not why I brought you to the Psalm. 211 00:14:08,920 --> 00:14:11,760 The main thing I want to show you is how, according to these 212 00:14:11,760 --> 00:14:19,400 verses, sin robs us of the soul enriching experience of singing 213 00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:23,560 to the Lord. They're writing this while in 214 00:14:23,560 --> 00:14:26,360 captivity. We will not sing. 215 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:33,880 We cannot sing. No one can truly sing it. 216 00:14:33,920 --> 00:14:39,400 It's amazing how human nature is wired to belt out things. 217 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:45,000 If you think singing is just a Christian exercise, there are 218 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:52,000 stadiums filled with people who will repeat lyrics and even lift 219 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:58,200 their hands to those who are rejoicing over sin and evil and 220 00:14:58,200 --> 00:14:59,960 darkness. And what is that? 221 00:15:00,120 --> 00:15:04,240 What makes people want to sing? We're wired that way. 222 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:13,680 But to sing the songs of God? Truly and genuinely is 223 00:15:13,680 --> 00:15:17,840 impossible while you're in captivity is impossible while 224 00:15:17,840 --> 00:15:22,320 you're in bondage to sin. In Proverbs 29 six, it says that 225 00:15:22,320 --> 00:15:25,400 the evil man is ensnared in his transgression. 226 00:15:25,600 --> 00:15:27,560 But a righteous man, what does he do? 227 00:15:27,720 --> 00:15:33,920 He sings and rejoices. Only a went man who's been truly 228 00:15:33,920 --> 00:15:37,720 suffering from the shackles of sin can really sing. 229 00:15:39,640 --> 00:15:42,360 And that's why I think highlighting the singers in Ezra 230 00:15:42,360 --> 00:15:47,080 2 is helpful and insightful because it shows us that one of 231 00:15:47,080 --> 00:15:50,960 the things that we recover when we are restored to the Lord, 232 00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:54,680 when when we rebuild our relationship with Christ is our 233 00:15:54,680 --> 00:15:58,480 singing and the joy and the pleasure that comes with it. 234 00:15:59,840 --> 00:16:03,920 So this is what we see with the singers, but we move on now to 235 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:06,360 the fifth group according to verse 42. 236 00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:13,560 The sons of the gatekeepers, the sons of Shalom, the sons of 237 00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:18,440 Ater, the sons of Talman, the sons of Akub, the sons of 238 00:16:18,440 --> 00:16:21,840 Hatita, and the sons of Shabaya in. 239 00:16:21,840 --> 00:16:28,600 All. 139 The fifth group are the gatekeepers. 240 00:16:30,080 --> 00:16:32,440 Who are the gatekeepers? They're essentially the 241 00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:37,520 bodyguards of the temple. Their responsibilities included 242 00:16:38,160 --> 00:16:43,920 opening the entrance into the temple, monitoring who comes in 243 00:16:43,920 --> 00:16:47,800 and who leaves, ensuring that the utilities that go out and 244 00:16:47,800 --> 00:16:51,880 come in are are are fined, that they're still there, they're up 245 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:55,840 to date, they're they're clean, they're preserved and other 246 00:16:55,840 --> 00:16:59,040 menial tasks like this, They were, they're essentially just 247 00:16:59,040 --> 00:17:04,640 supervising the temple grounds. And at first glance, when you 248 00:17:04,640 --> 00:17:08,960 look at the gatekeepers and what they're called to do and compare 249 00:17:08,960 --> 00:17:12,839 them with the priest and the Levites and the singers, their 250 00:17:12,839 --> 00:17:17,960 duties don't really seem that impressive, rather ordinary. 251 00:17:19,920 --> 00:17:23,440 And that's what makes this so special. 252 00:17:24,920 --> 00:17:28,079 So you had the priests who interceded, you had the Levites 253 00:17:28,079 --> 00:17:32,280 who taught, you had the singers who move the hearts of people 254 00:17:32,280 --> 00:17:36,400 with their prophetic songs. And what about the gatekeepers? 255 00:17:38,240 --> 00:17:42,640 They just had a clipboard at the front, making sure that the 256 00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:45,400 right people were coming in and making sure that nothing was 257 00:17:45,400 --> 00:17:47,680 taken out. It's not very glamorous. 258 00:17:49,600 --> 00:17:52,360 In fact, we might say it's easily replaceable. 259 00:17:53,560 --> 00:17:58,440 And yet, when it came to this genealogy, the Lord recognized 260 00:17:58,440 --> 00:18:02,680 the gatekeepers. The Lord highlights these 261 00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:07,920 ministers and he rewards them. He applauds them. 262 00:18:08,440 --> 00:18:13,720 He inscribes their names in our Bibles to say in my eyes. 263 00:18:13,720 --> 00:18:17,240 Oh, Gatekeepers, you are so valuable. 264 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:21,880 You are very much needed for the operations of my house, my 265 00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:25,520 dwelling place on the earth. I do not overlook you. 266 00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:31,480 I, I place you among those who truly play a part in my Kingdom. 267 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:36,600 So I told you that in First Chronicles 25 is is the chapter 268 00:18:36,600 --> 00:18:37,760 where we learn about the singers. 269 00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:40,720 Well, on the very next chapter in First Chronicles 26, we learn 270 00:18:40,720 --> 00:18:44,200 about the designation of the gatekeepers, the people 271 00:18:44,200 --> 00:18:46,560 associated with it, the people who are in charge of it, They're 272 00:18:46,560 --> 00:18:51,160 descendants. And then you find this verse as 273 00:18:51,160 --> 00:18:54,240 you read through those names in First Chronicles 26, as though 274 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:58,200 to reassure the gatekeepers of the significance of their 275 00:18:58,200 --> 00:19:00,800 ministry. Just listen. 276 00:19:01,560 --> 00:19:06,520 First Chronicles 26, verse 12. These divisions of the 277 00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:10,800 gatekeepers, corresponding to their chief men, had duties. 278 00:19:11,240 --> 00:19:18,200 Just as their brothers did, ministering in the House of the 279 00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:21,360 Lord. Isn't that precious that moved? 280 00:19:21,360 --> 00:19:28,040 Me, no matter how menial, how practical your service in the 281 00:19:28,040 --> 00:19:31,000 Church of Christ may be. Do you see what the Lord is 282 00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:35,880 saying in this verse? Make no mistake, you are 283 00:19:35,880 --> 00:19:41,800 ministering in the House of God. You are important. 284 00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:48,120 God requires your participation in your involvement. 285 00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:54,000 So maybe you serve in the sound and visual team and you think 286 00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:56,120 that you just come here on Fridays and Sundays to push some 287 00:19:56,120 --> 00:19:58,880 buttons. No, no, no, no, no. 288 00:19:58,880 --> 00:20:00,960 You're ministering in the House of God. 289 00:20:01,800 --> 00:20:03,440 Maybe you're with the hospitality team. 290 00:20:03,680 --> 00:20:05,680 Maybe you've been recruited by the hospitality team. 291 00:20:05,680 --> 00:20:08,120 To do what? Clean those tables and sweep 292 00:20:08,120 --> 00:20:12,080 those floors. Take out the garbage and you 293 00:20:12,080 --> 00:20:15,360 think, all right, God, I'm waiting for you to call me to 294 00:20:15,360 --> 00:20:16,760 something. And maybe He does have something 295 00:20:16,760 --> 00:20:19,400 in mind for you. But do you not understand that 296 00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:23,560 even in that you're offering service to the Lord? 297 00:20:24,360 --> 00:20:28,960 To God Almighty in his house. Here's the Lord going out of his 298 00:20:28,960 --> 00:20:33,360 way to say, you gatekeepers, you have duties just like your other 299 00:20:33,360 --> 00:20:34,880 brothers. Yeah, just like the priests and 300 00:20:34,880 --> 00:20:36,920 just like the Levites and just like the singers. 301 00:20:37,840 --> 00:20:42,920 You are ministers in my sight. These are the gatekeepers. 302 00:20:44,520 --> 00:20:47,800 But now we come to another group in our main text. 303 00:20:48,960 --> 00:20:52,760 Let's look at verse 43 and we're going to listen. 304 00:20:52,760 --> 00:20:55,040 Now you have to pay attention because we're going to read 305 00:20:55,040 --> 00:20:57,640 through these names down to verse 58. 306 00:20:59,480 --> 00:21:02,240 The temple servants. The temple servants. 307 00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:03,880 This is the sixth group that we are looking. 308 00:21:03,880 --> 00:21:06,480 At of the returnees back to the promised land. 309 00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:09,800 The temple servants, the son of sons of Ziha. 310 00:21:09,800 --> 00:21:12,480 The sons of Hasufa, the sons of Tabaoth. 311 00:21:14,200 --> 00:21:17,800 The sons of Kiros, the sons of Saya, the sons of Paden. 312 00:21:18,480 --> 00:21:20,960 The sons of Libanah, the sons of Hagabah. 313 00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:23,520 The sons of Akub. The sons of Hegeb. 314 00:21:23,840 --> 00:21:26,040 The sons of Shamlai. The sons of Hainan. 315 00:21:26,280 --> 00:21:28,800 The sons of Guedel. The sons of Gehar. 316 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:31,320 The sons of Raya. The sons of Resin. 317 00:21:31,600 --> 00:21:34,040 The sons of Nikoda. The sons of Ghazam. 318 00:21:34,320 --> 00:21:36,600 The sons of Ouza. The sons of Pasiya. 319 00:21:36,880 --> 00:21:39,400 The sons of Bisai. The sons of Asna. 320 00:21:39,640 --> 00:21:41,880 The sons of Meunim. The sons of Nephisim. 321 00:21:42,120 --> 00:21:45,160 The sons of Bakbuk. The sons of Hakufa, The sons of 322 00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:47,160 Harhour. The sons of Bazluth. 323 00:21:47,360 --> 00:21:51,400 The sons of Mehida, The sons of Harsha, The sons of Barkos, The 324 00:21:51,400 --> 00:21:55,400 sons of Sisera, The sons of Tima, The sons of Niziah and the 325 00:21:55,400 --> 00:21:58,880 sons of Hatifa, The sons of. Solomon's servants. 326 00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:02,840 The sons of Sotai, the sons of Haisophoreth, the sons of 327 00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:06,760 Peruda, the sons of JA Allah, the sons of Darken, the sons of 328 00:22:06,760 --> 00:22:10,840 Gidel, the sons of Shifataya, the sons of Hatil, the sons of 329 00:22:10,840 --> 00:22:15,520 Pokareth Hezebaeim, the sons of Amy, all the temple servants, 330 00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:17,120 and the sons of Solomon's servants. 331 00:22:17,120 --> 00:22:23,640 Were 392. So we looked at the singers, we 332 00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:26,360 looked at the gatekeepers, we briefly touched on their 333 00:22:26,360 --> 00:22:30,040 origins. Who are the temple servants? 334 00:22:30,960 --> 00:22:33,200 Is it even important asking? I think it is. 335 00:22:33,960 --> 00:22:36,920 Does anybody here read the new King James of the King James 336 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:38,280 translation? Do you have that in your hands 337 00:22:38,280 --> 00:22:39,240 here tonight? Anybody. 338 00:22:39,680 --> 00:22:40,600 Is everybody? Phew. 339 00:22:40,880 --> 00:22:42,880 Do you see the temple servants or do you see something else 340 00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:44,080 mentioned? Another name? 341 00:22:46,080 --> 00:22:50,440 Say that again, Nephenim. If you have the King James and 342 00:22:50,440 --> 00:22:54,760 the new King James, the temple servants are not identified. 343 00:22:54,760 --> 00:22:57,680 Instead you have this title, the Nephanim. 344 00:22:57,680 --> 00:23:01,920 Why is that? Because those translations chose 345 00:23:01,920 --> 00:23:07,120 to use a transliteration of the Hebrew word Nephanim, whereas 346 00:23:07,120 --> 00:23:12,840 the ESV and the NASB for example opted to translate the function. 347 00:23:12,840 --> 00:23:18,680 Of this group of people, and the word nephanim essentially means 348 00:23:18,920 --> 00:23:22,400 to be given. Given to others. 349 00:23:23,760 --> 00:23:26,600 And so the idea here is that they are given. 350 00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:30,280 Once they are, they are consecrated and they are brought 351 00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:33,640 forth to someone else for a specific purpose. 352 00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:35,760 So both really mean the same thing. 353 00:23:35,760 --> 00:23:40,080 And when we understand the role of these temple servants, the 354 00:23:40,080 --> 00:23:45,040 name makes perfect sense. This group, the temple servants 355 00:23:45,040 --> 00:23:49,560 in the original Word, are found in First Chronicles, Ezra and 356 00:23:49,560 --> 00:23:52,720 Nehemiah. And when you? 357 00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:55,800 Look at where they're mentioned. You realized who they were in 358 00:23:55,800 --> 00:23:57,760 more detail. So we're sticking in Ezra. 359 00:23:57,760 --> 00:24:02,440 Now Fast forward and go to Ezra chapter 8 and look at verse 20. 360 00:24:02,440 --> 00:24:04,880 This is going to give us a clear understanding of who we're 361 00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:09,160 looking at here. Ezra 8, verse 20. 362 00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:19,320 Besides, 220 of the temple servants the same group of 363 00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:22,840 people. Whom David and his officials had 364 00:24:22,840 --> 00:24:28,320 set apart to attend the Levites. These were all mentioned by 365 00:24:28,320 --> 00:24:31,040 name. Let's backtrack for a moment. 366 00:24:33,760 --> 00:24:38,880 The priests, were they Levites? Good, yes. 367 00:24:39,840 --> 00:24:43,680 But from which family line? The sons of Aaron? 368 00:24:44,880 --> 00:24:48,600 That means not every Levite was a priest. 369 00:24:49,120 --> 00:24:53,200 So you had the sons of Aaron from the tribe of Levi who were 370 00:24:53,200 --> 00:24:55,680 set apart to be the priestly line. 371 00:24:56,720 --> 00:25:02,680 The Levites were given to assist the sons of Aaron to perform 372 00:25:02,680 --> 00:25:05,200 their priestly duties. We understood that right? 373 00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:06,920 But there's another layer to this now. 374 00:25:07,200 --> 00:25:10,080 So you have the sons of Aaron, the Levites, who assist them in 375 00:25:10,080 --> 00:25:13,440 their priestly role. But now we learn about these 376 00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:16,040 temple servants who were given to help who? 377 00:25:17,080 --> 00:25:24,280 The Levites, Interesting. Now we understand what they're 378 00:25:24,280 --> 00:25:27,960 supposed to do, but we still haven't answered the question 379 00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:32,040 who they are. Do we have any clues where they 380 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:34,000 come from? Well, we can determine one 381 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:36,440 thing, right? Are the temple servants Levites 382 00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:38,800 or not Levites? They're not Levites. 383 00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:39,760 Why? Because they're assisting the 384 00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:43,200 Levites, so they're outside of the Levitical tribe. 385 00:25:44,080 --> 00:25:48,880 So we're one step closer now, but there isn't any explicit 386 00:25:48,880 --> 00:25:51,120 text that shows us really their origins. 387 00:25:52,040 --> 00:25:56,560 But there is one place and all of the Bible that gives us a 388 00:25:56,560 --> 00:26:00,000 very strong clue of their ancestry. 389 00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:04,400 Who here remembers the Gibeonites? 390 00:26:06,360 --> 00:26:08,160 You would remember if you were with us when we went through the 391 00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:12,200 book of Joshua, the Gibeonites were Canaanites. 392 00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:16,560 The Canaanites who lived in the Promised Land before Israel 393 00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:20,960 entered into conquer, were destined to be judged by God for 394 00:26:20,960 --> 00:26:25,040 their centuries upon centuries of iniquity and rebellion. 395 00:26:26,360 --> 00:26:31,520 These Gibeonites heard about Moses, heard about the miracles, 396 00:26:31,720 --> 00:26:36,160 and heard that now Moses, successor Joshua, is leading 397 00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:38,800 this nation into our own land to take over everything. 398 00:26:38,800 --> 00:26:42,680 They're terrified. And so they come up with a plan. 399 00:26:44,360 --> 00:26:48,120 Let's pretend that we're coming from a distant land, approach 400 00:26:48,120 --> 00:26:52,080 Joshua and the leaders, convince them that we are not among the 401 00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:53,920 Canaanites and make a covenant with them. 402 00:26:55,280 --> 00:26:57,880 And once they make a covenant with us, because remember a 403 00:26:57,880 --> 00:27:00,040 promise back then a whole different way than it does 404 00:27:00,040 --> 00:27:02,040 today. We're coming up to that in a 405 00:27:02,040 --> 00:27:06,400 moment here. We are going to trick them to 406 00:27:06,400 --> 00:27:09,640 believe that we are their allies and we'll make a pact, we'll 407 00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:11,200 make a treaty, and we'll be safe. 408 00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:16,920 So they did it, Joshua. And then the leaders did not 409 00:27:16,920 --> 00:27:19,080 seek the Lord. According to Joshua Chapter 9, 410 00:27:19,960 --> 00:27:22,000 they make this covenant. And it didn't take very long 411 00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:25,800 before they realized we've been lied to, we've been tricked, 412 00:27:26,560 --> 00:27:29,600 we've been hoodwinked. And so they approached the 413 00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:32,880 Gibbey Nights saying, you lied to us, you deceived us. 414 00:27:33,600 --> 00:27:36,840 And the Gibbey Nights say, well, OK, look, we heard about who you 415 00:27:36,840 --> 00:27:38,480 are. We heard about your God. 416 00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:41,560 This is how we responded to do with us as you please. 417 00:27:42,960 --> 00:27:44,520 And Joshua was a man of integrity. 418 00:27:45,280 --> 00:27:48,080 And so he decided not to slay them, not to kill them. 419 00:27:48,080 --> 00:27:49,600 Why? Because they're protected by 420 00:27:49,600 --> 00:27:52,560 this oath. And So what does he do? 421 00:27:54,680 --> 00:27:59,760 He assigned to them permanent servitude that as long as they 422 00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:03,560 would remain with the people of God for generations upon 423 00:28:03,560 --> 00:28:08,720 generations, they would. Be servants to what capacity? 424 00:28:09,360 --> 00:28:13,800 Let me show you in Joshua 9, verse 23. 425 00:28:17,360 --> 00:28:19,640 Now, therefore, Joshua's speaking. 426 00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:24,200 Now therefore you are cursed, and some of you shall never be 427 00:28:24,200 --> 00:28:30,600 anything but servants. Cutters of wood and drawers of 428 00:28:30,600 --> 00:28:31,840 water. For what? 429 00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:34,480 For the house. Of my God. 430 00:28:36,400 --> 00:28:38,800 He emphasizes this in verse 27 in Joshua 9. 431 00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:43,800 But Joshua made them that day, cutters of wood and drawers of 432 00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:48,320 water, for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord. 433 00:28:50,080 --> 00:28:55,760 To this day, in the place that he should choose, I believe the 434 00:28:55,760 --> 00:29:01,280 non Levitical background and the responsibilities of the 435 00:29:01,320 --> 00:29:06,040 Gibeonites aligned perfectly with this group known as the 436 00:29:06,040 --> 00:29:09,120 Temple Servants. In other words, it's a high 437 00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:14,440 possibility that the Temple Servants are Gibeonites and it 438 00:29:14,440 --> 00:29:17,160 could be that over time they were formerly given to the 439 00:29:17,160 --> 00:29:20,680 Levites to assist them in their labor. 440 00:29:21,360 --> 00:29:27,400 And with that, the Nephanim and some of your translations became 441 00:29:27,400 --> 00:29:34,800 their official title as a group. K solved, in my estimation at 442 00:29:34,800 --> 00:29:37,720 least. But there's still more to 443 00:29:37,720 --> 00:29:40,600 understand from this. What do they have to teach us? 444 00:29:41,840 --> 00:29:46,040 What spiritual lessons do they have to offer us as Christians, 445 00:29:46,040 --> 00:29:49,800 as followers of Christ? And I was meditating on this. 446 00:29:49,800 --> 00:29:54,040 I was thinking, now that I know something about their history. 447 00:29:54,440 --> 00:29:57,440 And here we are in Ezra. If the temple servants are 448 00:29:57,440 --> 00:30:01,480 indeed the Gibeonites, they're now in a brand new land, They're 449 00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:05,480 in Babylon. There's different rules. 450 00:30:05,480 --> 00:30:10,720 Here. In other words, imagine being in 451 00:30:10,720 --> 00:30:15,560 their shoes where as long as you were under this government, you 452 00:30:15,560 --> 00:30:17,880 did not have the freedom to choose your own career. 453 00:30:18,640 --> 00:30:22,760 You you couldn't explore and dream about your kids becoming 454 00:30:22,760 --> 00:30:27,520 this or becoming that. You were held by an oath that 455 00:30:27,520 --> 00:30:30,920 for the rest of your life and for generations to come, you 456 00:30:30,920 --> 00:30:35,040 would disciple your kids to know how to cut wood and draw water 457 00:30:35,040 --> 00:30:37,520 efficiently. In order to help the Levites 458 00:30:37,720 --> 00:30:40,040 better do their work, so they can help the priest better do 459 00:30:40,040 --> 00:30:42,920 their work. That is all that you are known 460 00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:44,680 for. That is all you have to look 461 00:30:44,680 --> 00:30:47,000 forward to. You are servants forever. 462 00:30:47,840 --> 00:30:51,040 But then one day Babylon comes knocking on the door, takes you 463 00:30:51,040 --> 00:30:53,960 and everybody else. Now there's no more temple. 464 00:30:54,600 --> 00:30:55,720 Now there's really no more people. 465 00:30:55,720 --> 00:30:59,600 At least for 70 years. Blank Slate. 466 00:31:01,120 --> 00:31:04,120 A brand new opportunity not just for you, but for your 467 00:31:04,120 --> 00:31:09,520 descendants, for your progeny. And now Cyrus speaks, and he 468 00:31:09,520 --> 00:31:11,200 says whoever wants to go. Back. 469 00:31:11,320 --> 00:31:15,560 Go back. I wonder what some of these 470 00:31:15,560 --> 00:31:18,040 temple servants thought. Why would we go back to that? 471 00:31:18,040 --> 00:31:20,880 Cutting wood and drawing water? We have a brand new life here. 472 00:31:22,720 --> 00:31:24,000 Do you see? What I'm saying? 473 00:31:25,400 --> 00:31:29,360 And then you come to Ezra too, and you read that the temple 474 00:31:29,360 --> 00:31:35,520 servants, along with Solomon's servants, packed their bags and 475 00:31:35,520 --> 00:31:40,760 made their way back to a destroyed temple to do their 476 00:31:40,760 --> 00:31:44,800 part to resurrect it, to go back to their duties. 477 00:31:47,120 --> 00:31:53,760 How do you make sense of this? I think there's only 1 logical 478 00:31:53,760 --> 00:31:56,160 answer. Covenant. 479 00:31:58,360 --> 00:32:02,320 Covenant. These temple servants understood 480 00:32:02,560 --> 00:32:06,240 that they were joined to the people of God and they benefited 481 00:32:07,520 --> 00:32:09,800 from the people of God and the promises that they inherited 482 00:32:09,800 --> 00:32:13,720 from God. And so they were, they were 483 00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:15,520 bound to this God and this people. 484 00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:20,480 And even though they could have started all over, even though 485 00:32:20,480 --> 00:32:22,840 they could technically make an excuse and not be blamed for 486 00:32:22,840 --> 00:32:25,600 staying in Babylon, they said, no, no, no, no, no. 487 00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:29,120 We are part of this group. We are part of this nation. 488 00:32:29,360 --> 00:32:31,480 We serve this God. We're going back even if we have 489 00:32:31,480 --> 00:32:38,840 to cut wood and draw water. This is a remarkable display of 490 00:32:38,840 --> 00:32:44,600 unbreakable faithfulness. What you have with the temple 491 00:32:44,600 --> 00:32:50,600 servants is a marvelous example of keeping your word. 492 00:32:52,640 --> 00:32:57,840 It's a lost art today. Did you know that one of the 493 00:32:57,840 --> 00:33:00,920 marks of a citizen of the Kingdom of God according to 494 00:33:00,960 --> 00:33:04,800 Jesus Christ is how we make and keep oaths? 495 00:33:05,400 --> 00:33:08,280 Did you know that? Read the Sermon of the Mount 496 00:33:08,280 --> 00:33:12,880 carefully. Our Lord, our Savior, our Christ 497 00:33:13,120 --> 00:33:17,960 desires of us to have such trustworthy character that you 498 00:33:17,960 --> 00:33:20,120 will not even need to rely on a promise. 499 00:33:20,120 --> 00:33:23,400 You would have to rely on elaborate kind of vow. 500 00:33:23,720 --> 00:33:27,240 All it would require of you is a yes or no. 501 00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:33,480 Imagine that. Imagine living to a degree of 502 00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:37,440 trustworthiness where nobody has to squeeze out of you. 503 00:33:37,560 --> 00:33:38,960 Do you promise? Do you swear on this? 504 00:33:38,960 --> 00:33:40,640 Do you swear on that? I just, I just said yes. 505 00:33:40,640 --> 00:33:43,880 That's it. Well, we want to be disciple, 506 00:33:43,880 --> 00:33:44,720 right? This is discipleship. 507 00:33:44,720 --> 00:33:48,960 This is discipleship, making oaths and keeping them. 508 00:33:50,720 --> 00:33:53,680 And this is what we find here. You have here this group of 509 00:33:53,680 --> 00:34:00,560 people who did not really have the most impressive tasks, who 510 00:34:00,560 --> 00:34:03,880 are really stuck, but they made a promise. 511 00:34:05,280 --> 00:34:09,600 They made a promise. Today it's more common for 512 00:34:09,600 --> 00:34:11,600 people to break their promises. It's actually not even 513 00:34:11,600 --> 00:34:14,000 surprising anymore. People break their promises all 514 00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:15,560 the time. They said yes at the altar when 515 00:34:15,560 --> 00:34:17,800 they got married. And all it takes is a few years 516 00:34:18,320 --> 00:34:19,800 for that to mean nothing anymore. 517 00:34:20,840 --> 00:34:22,840 People say yes in memberships when they become members of it. 518 00:34:23,040 --> 00:34:25,360 And it takes very little for them to no longer hold up to 519 00:34:25,360 --> 00:34:29,360 their covenant. It's it's becoming a lost 520 00:34:29,520 --> 00:34:31,880 reality. And here's a Bible study to 521 00:34:31,880 --> 00:34:35,719 remind us how beautiful. It is when somebody says yes and 522 00:34:35,719 --> 00:34:37,840 they mean it even for generations to come. 523 00:34:40,840 --> 00:34:44,440 May the Lord convict us, and I say us, including myself. 524 00:34:45,639 --> 00:34:47,440 Who knew that you can learn something from the temple 525 00:34:47,440 --> 00:34:52,920 servants? These men have menial jobs, but 526 00:34:52,920 --> 00:34:58,760 giant character. They convicted me. 527 00:35:00,120 --> 00:35:02,400 That's group number six. We still have two more. 528 00:35:03,920 --> 00:35:07,840 Let's come now to group #7. This is probably the most 529 00:35:07,840 --> 00:35:13,320 intriguing group listed in this genealogy, which we can label as 530 00:35:13,320 --> 00:35:18,600 the following The unidentified. The unidentified. 531 00:35:18,600 --> 00:35:22,240 Let's read from verse 59 down to verse 63. 532 00:35:23,440 --> 00:35:27,560 The following were those who came up from Tell Mila, Tell 533 00:35:27,560 --> 00:35:34,480 Harsha, Kirab, Adan, and Imer, though they could not prove 534 00:35:34,480 --> 00:35:38,680 their father's houses or their descent, whether they belong to 535 00:35:38,680 --> 00:35:44,360 Israel, the sons of Delaya, the sons of Tobiah, and the sons of 536 00:35:44,360 --> 00:35:49,440 Nikoda. 600 and. 52 Also of the sons of the priest. 537 00:35:49,720 --> 00:35:54,160 The sons of Habaya, the sons of Hecos, and the sons of Birsalai, 538 00:35:54,360 --> 00:35:57,120 who had taken a wife from the daughters of Verzalai, the 539 00:35:57,120 --> 00:35:59,640 Gileadite, and was called by their name. 540 00:36:00,160 --> 00:36:03,720 These sought their registration among those enrolled in the 541 00:36:03,720 --> 00:36:07,360 genealogies, but they were not found there, and so they were 542 00:36:07,360 --> 00:36:09,840 excluded from the priesthood as unclean. 543 00:36:10,400 --> 00:36:13,400 The governor told them that they were not to partake of the most 544 00:36:13,400 --> 00:36:17,760 holy food until there should be a priest to consult Urim and 545 00:36:17,760 --> 00:36:25,960 Thummim, the unidentified. The most important part of this 546 00:36:25,960 --> 00:36:29,240 whole section is how these individuals and families could 547 00:36:29,240 --> 00:36:33,640 not prove their father's houses or their descent, whether they 548 00:36:33,640 --> 00:36:40,120 were part of Israel or not now, whether they lost their family 549 00:36:40,120 --> 00:36:47,320 records while in exile or they were pretenders, or a mixture 550 00:36:47,320 --> 00:36:49,960 of. Both is not exactly clear. 551 00:36:50,960 --> 00:36:54,520 However, what the Holy Spirit wants to under score is the 552 00:36:54,520 --> 00:36:59,160 vital importance of being able to prove your status and their 553 00:36:59,280 --> 00:37:02,680 inability to do so. They couldn't so. 554 00:37:02,680 --> 00:37:05,200 The call was out. We're going back to Jerusalem. 555 00:37:05,200 --> 00:37:08,400 All the people of God pack your bags, make your way. 556 00:37:08,560 --> 00:37:11,440 And you have some who came to the leaders and says we want to 557 00:37:11,440 --> 00:37:14,720 go, but we don't know which family line we come from. 558 00:37:16,240 --> 00:37:19,360 Hold on, you don't know. And and what's more staggering 559 00:37:19,360 --> 00:37:22,520 are some of the priests who when they looked at the registration 560 00:37:22,520 --> 00:37:27,640 like we can't find you here. And so they weren't outright 561 00:37:27,640 --> 00:37:30,120 rejected, but they were severely limited. 562 00:37:30,200 --> 00:37:32,440 What's the lesson here? Here's the spiritual lesson. 563 00:37:32,920 --> 00:37:38,320 This is a staggering picture of those who cannot give a clear 564 00:37:38,320 --> 00:37:44,120 testimony of their salvation. This is a strong illustrations 565 00:37:44,120 --> 00:37:49,080 of professing Christians. Who do not know how to prove 566 00:37:49,080 --> 00:37:54,320 that they are really of Christ. And we have many like this who 567 00:37:54,320 --> 00:37:58,800 exist in our churches. By the way, they long to be part 568 00:37:58,800 --> 00:38:00,240 of the community of God's people. 569 00:38:01,400 --> 00:38:05,040 They can even recount their background growing up in church. 570 00:38:06,000 --> 00:38:09,560 They might even show how they have been involved in some level 571 00:38:09,560 --> 00:38:14,320 of ministry. But upon closer examination, 572 00:38:14,920 --> 00:38:19,040 there's a troubling lack of spiritual evidence that they 573 00:38:19,080 --> 00:38:26,600 actually belong to God's family. And this is more common than you 574 00:38:26,600 --> 00:38:30,080 think. I can't tell you the amount of 575 00:38:30,080 --> 00:38:33,720 conversations I've had with other pastors and even other 576 00:38:33,720 --> 00:38:35,960 serious Christians. And maybe a name. 577 00:38:35,960 --> 00:38:41,720 Or we discover mutual friends and at some point the question 578 00:38:41,720 --> 00:38:44,440 is asked. Is so and so a believer? 579 00:38:45,640 --> 00:38:51,640 And the horrific answers that surface along the lines of, you 580 00:38:51,640 --> 00:38:55,960 know what I don't know? I mean, they come to church from 581 00:38:55,960 --> 00:39:01,880 time to time and they seem nice and but when you talk to them, 582 00:39:01,880 --> 00:39:11,920 it just, it's not that obvious. And sadly, this is something 583 00:39:11,920 --> 00:39:13,800 that's becoming all so far too common. 584 00:39:14,680 --> 00:39:18,680 And I want to ask you, is that something that people say about 585 00:39:19,160 --> 00:39:24,640 your faith? Would that be said of you by 586 00:39:24,640 --> 00:39:27,160 those who know you or who observe your life? 587 00:39:30,440 --> 00:39:32,680 I have to say that there are far too many people in Christendom 588 00:39:32,680 --> 00:39:37,640 who make it very difficult to confirm their testimony because 589 00:39:37,640 --> 00:39:40,200 you look at their choices and you look at their social media 590 00:39:40,920 --> 00:39:44,280 and you look at their priorities and you hear how they speak and 591 00:39:45,200 --> 00:39:47,040 you're. I think you are, but I don't 592 00:39:47,040 --> 00:39:51,320 know if you are. I've been to those funerals. 593 00:39:51,920 --> 00:39:54,040 Those are the worst funerals. And I've mentioned this before 594 00:39:55,640 --> 00:39:58,320 where the person has enough churchianity in their history, 595 00:39:58,320 --> 00:39:59,440 but you don't know if they've really been been. 596 00:39:59,440 --> 00:40:03,920 Born of God and you're wondering how confident do I have to be 597 00:40:03,920 --> 00:40:07,080 behind that pulpit when I give this eulogy about where this 598 00:40:07,080 --> 00:40:09,960 person is? This is exactly. 599 00:40:09,960 --> 00:40:13,840 You have an Old Testament picture of that today. 600 00:40:14,280 --> 00:40:16,000 Are you an Israeli? I think so. 601 00:40:16,000 --> 00:40:17,400 I mean, my mom is this and what about. 602 00:40:17,720 --> 00:40:19,480 OK. But yeah, I I visited Israel 603 00:40:19,480 --> 00:40:21,560 before I've been there. Actually there's some mission 604 00:40:21,560 --> 00:40:23,120 trips here in. The but what? 605 00:40:23,920 --> 00:40:29,720 I need concrete proof and they're unable to provide it. 606 00:40:31,480 --> 00:40:34,520 And perhaps you're here today and this group and this 607 00:40:34,520 --> 00:40:37,960 genealogy resonates with you the most because you don't know if 608 00:40:37,960 --> 00:40:40,400 you're saved. You might, you might have been 609 00:40:40,400 --> 00:40:43,200 coming here week after week and you're like, I just like hearing 610 00:40:43,200 --> 00:40:45,760 interesting thoughts from the Bible, But you don't know if 611 00:40:45,760 --> 00:40:47,960 your heart has really been transformed by the Spirit of 612 00:40:47,960 --> 00:40:51,320 God. And maybe that's troubled you. 613 00:40:51,320 --> 00:40:53,960 I hope that's troubled you. I understand that there are 614 00:40:53,960 --> 00:40:56,960 those who have a very sensitive conscience and they're godly and 615 00:40:56,960 --> 00:40:59,840 they, they, you can smell the fruit of the spirit off their 616 00:40:59,840 --> 00:41:02,840 lies And, and this and Satan, I'm not talking about that. 617 00:41:02,840 --> 00:41:06,960 I'm talking about when you look at your own life, you can't 618 00:41:07,000 --> 00:41:09,520 really determine I I'm a follower of Christ. 619 00:41:11,200 --> 00:41:15,800 Can I let you know something? There is instruction here for 620 00:41:15,800 --> 00:41:18,400 you. There are so many things that we 621 00:41:18,400 --> 00:41:20,600 can pull out of this text, but I want us to look at what? 622 00:41:20,960 --> 00:41:24,840 The governor told the priest in verse 63. 623 00:41:24,840 --> 00:41:28,160 Look at verse 63 again. The governor told them that they 624 00:41:28,160 --> 00:41:32,160 were not to partake of the most holy food until there should be 625 00:41:32,160 --> 00:41:35,440 a priest to consult Urim and Thummim. 626 00:41:36,320 --> 00:41:40,440 What are Urim and thummim? They're gemstones according to 627 00:41:40,440 --> 00:41:45,720 the book of Exodus, that were kept by the High priest and were 628 00:41:45,720 --> 00:41:53,040 used to make decisions or get clarity in a supernatural way by 629 00:41:53,040 --> 00:41:55,600 God in cases. Such like this. 630 00:41:56,320 --> 00:41:59,480 We're not told anywhere how the Urim and the Thummim worked. 631 00:41:59,600 --> 00:42:02,560 There isn't this, you know, explanation or protocol of what 632 00:42:02,560 --> 00:42:04,680 they would do. So there's debate about how this 633 00:42:04,680 --> 00:42:06,880 worked. Were there, were there markings 634 00:42:06,880 --> 00:42:09,280 on it that would shine? Would, would one turn this way 635 00:42:09,280 --> 00:42:11,240 and another way? We, we don't have that. 636 00:42:11,240 --> 00:42:14,440 And I think that's by God's wisdom, because there's a lot of 637 00:42:14,440 --> 00:42:17,320 superstitious people out there who might try to copy this. 638 00:42:18,080 --> 00:42:20,480 So it's veiled. And another thing that's 639 00:42:20,480 --> 00:42:22,720 important is that you see no such practice in the New 640 00:42:22,720 --> 00:42:26,080 Testament or any encouragement to seek God's will in this way. 641 00:42:29,080 --> 00:42:32,120 You priests, or at least those who claim to be priests, you 642 00:42:32,120 --> 00:42:36,120 cannot partake in the holy fruit of the temple or function as 643 00:42:36,120 --> 00:42:39,680 priests until we figure out by God through the Urim and the 644 00:42:39,680 --> 00:42:44,800 tomb if you are truly His. You and I don't have access to 645 00:42:44,800 --> 00:42:47,200 such things. But we have another thing at our 646 00:42:47,200 --> 00:42:49,880 disposal to confirm our status the Bible. 647 00:42:50,640 --> 00:42:54,160 The Word of God. Did you know that the Bible 648 00:42:54,480 --> 00:42:58,240 wants you to know with absolute certainty that you're a child of 649 00:42:58,240 --> 00:43:01,800 God? The Bible, God's Word, does not 650 00:43:01,800 --> 00:43:06,560 want you doubt for a moment. So the same man who wrote the 651 00:43:06,560 --> 00:43:10,240 Gospel of John with the intent of seeing people say by 652 00:43:10,240 --> 00:43:13,440 recognizing this Jesus Christ of Nazareth is indeed the Son of 653 00:43:13,440 --> 00:43:16,360 God, wrote another epistle called First John. 654 00:43:17,200 --> 00:43:20,440 And in First John, he's not writing so that people could 655 00:43:20,440 --> 00:43:22,560 believe. He's writing to the believer so 656 00:43:22,560 --> 00:43:24,760 that they would know that they have eternal life. 657 00:43:25,600 --> 00:43:28,360 Here's a reference, First John 513. 658 00:43:28,600 --> 00:43:31,000 Notice what John says in First John 513. 659 00:43:33,560 --> 00:43:35,960 He writes here. I write these things to you who 660 00:43:35,960 --> 00:43:38,840 believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that 661 00:43:38,840 --> 00:43:45,520 you have eternal life. Let me give you this in case 662 00:43:45,520 --> 00:43:47,520 anybody approaches you the way I've been approached. 663 00:43:48,680 --> 00:43:51,760 There are different people on the spectrum of doubts that I 664 00:43:51,760 --> 00:43:55,360 have talked to that that sometimes they even come 665 00:43:55,360 --> 00:43:56,720 trembling eyes filled with tears. 666 00:43:56,920 --> 00:43:58,080 Other people come dragging their feet. 667 00:43:58,080 --> 00:43:59,960 Just curious. Hey, how do I know if I'm really 668 00:43:59,960 --> 00:44:02,520 a Christian again? More more people were broken 669 00:44:02,520 --> 00:44:05,560 than that, but I give them the same instructions. 670 00:44:06,280 --> 00:44:09,240 You go to 1st John. And you read from cover to 671 00:44:09,240 --> 00:44:10,560 cover. It should take you no longer 672 00:44:10,560 --> 00:44:14,680 than 15 minutes. And ask yourself this, Can I 673 00:44:14,800 --> 00:44:17,520 Amen all that John says about those who are born of God? 674 00:44:18,200 --> 00:44:22,120 Just read it and read it again and check off every box. 675 00:44:22,200 --> 00:44:23,880 Because John uses this kind of language. 676 00:44:23,880 --> 00:44:25,800 Those who are born of God fill in the blank. 677 00:44:27,000 --> 00:44:28,920 Phil and Blake are those who are born of God. 678 00:44:29,080 --> 00:44:33,040 And what you need to do is come before that book and say, yes, 679 00:44:33,040 --> 00:44:35,320 that's true of me. Yes, that is me. 680 00:44:35,640 --> 00:44:37,640 Yes, I know that that happened to me two years ago. 681 00:44:37,640 --> 00:44:40,640 That was a turning point. And if you can pass that test, 682 00:44:41,840 --> 00:44:43,480 you can know that you have eternal life. 683 00:44:44,320 --> 00:44:48,120 The Bible wants you to know. Don't be like those who don't 684 00:44:48,120 --> 00:44:51,600 know because it is crippling. Notice that the priest could not 685 00:44:51,600 --> 00:44:54,200 function as priest. You know, missionaries and 686 00:44:54,200 --> 00:44:57,600 pastors of old would not hire people on their teams unless 687 00:44:57,600 --> 00:45:00,960 those people knew for certainty that all their sins have been 688 00:45:00,960 --> 00:45:02,160 forgiven. Did you know that that was one 689 00:45:02,160 --> 00:45:05,040 of the requirements that if anybody wanted to be a 690 00:45:05,040 --> 00:45:07,960 missionary, if anybody wanted to be an evangelist with these men 691 00:45:07,960 --> 00:45:11,080 who have changed history through their ministries, they had to 692 00:45:11,080 --> 00:45:15,120 know I have been forgiven of all my sins. 693 00:45:15,120 --> 00:45:17,160 Because if you're not convinced, what, what are you going to 694 00:45:17,160 --> 00:45:18,600 convey to those that you're preaching to? 695 00:45:20,520 --> 00:45:23,800 So the Bible wants us to be totally assured. 696 00:45:24,320 --> 00:45:27,680 And when you do doubt, even as a sincere believer, you don't stay 697 00:45:27,680 --> 00:45:30,920 there. You fight for that assurance 698 00:45:30,920 --> 00:45:32,560 with the truth and God will bring you there. 699 00:45:33,520 --> 00:45:35,360 Because if you don't, it's going to impact your ministry. 700 00:45:35,360 --> 00:45:36,520 It's going to impact your testimony. 701 00:45:36,520 --> 00:45:39,880 It's going to impact your joy, which in fact impacts your 702 00:45:39,880 --> 00:45:46,800 testimony. So the the unidentified is 1/7 703 00:45:46,800 --> 00:45:48,880 group. But now we come to the eighth 704 00:45:48,880 --> 00:45:51,000 group and this is an interesting one as well. 705 00:45:51,320 --> 00:45:54,800 I called them the assets. The assets. 706 00:45:55,040 --> 00:45:59,200 Look at verse 64. The whole assembly together was 707 00:45:59,280 --> 00:46:03,960 42,360, besides their male and female servants, of whom they 708 00:46:03,960 --> 00:46:10,200 were 7337, and they had 200 male and female singers, not the same 709 00:46:10,200 --> 00:46:11,520 singers as the ones in the temple. 710 00:46:12,400 --> 00:46:17,560 Their horses were 736, their mules were 245, their camels 711 00:46:17,560 --> 00:46:21,440 were 435, and their donkeys were 6720. 712 00:46:23,080 --> 00:46:25,000 Some of the heads of the families when they came to the. 713 00:46:25,000 --> 00:46:27,680 House of the Lord that is in Jerusalem made free will 714 00:46:27,680 --> 00:46:30,560 offerings for the House of God to erect it on its side. 715 00:46:31,400 --> 00:46:34,280 According to their ability. They gave to the treasury of the 716 00:46:34,280 --> 00:46:38,960 work 61,000 derricks of gold, 5000 meters of silver and 100 717 00:46:38,960 --> 00:46:44,040 priests garments. So the Holy Spirit now wants to 718 00:46:44,040 --> 00:46:48,160 tell us also the resources that join the people who went back, 719 00:46:48,280 --> 00:46:50,360 the total number of people in this first wave. 720 00:46:50,360 --> 00:46:52,720 Remember, this is just the first cycle of returnees. 721 00:46:52,880 --> 00:46:55,120 We're still going to look at two more in our future studies. 722 00:46:55,600 --> 00:47:01,720 Total that what 42,360 now. Besides that we learned that 723 00:47:01,720 --> 00:47:04,840 there are just over 7000 male and female. 724 00:47:04,840 --> 00:47:06,200 Servants. What does that tell you? 725 00:47:06,920 --> 00:47:09,400 What does that tell you about your social status if you have a 726 00:47:09,400 --> 00:47:14,720 servant? You're wealthy, so looks like 727 00:47:14,720 --> 00:47:19,520 some of these families in Babylon became wealthy and they 728 00:47:19,520 --> 00:47:23,720 brought their servants with them, which tells us that their 729 00:47:23,720 --> 00:47:27,520 riches and their possessions did not hinder them from 730 00:47:27,520 --> 00:47:33,800 prioritizing God's house. As much as riches and promotion 731 00:47:34,080 --> 00:47:39,120 and growth and economy is a snare to many, it's possible in 732 00:47:39,120 --> 00:47:42,200 this life to be successful and spiritual. 733 00:47:44,000 --> 00:47:46,200 It just takes an incredible amount of discipline. 734 00:47:46,520 --> 00:47:50,920 And you constantly asking God to satisfy your heart so that 735 00:47:50,920 --> 00:47:53,080 you're not tempted for other things to attempt. 736 00:47:53,760 --> 00:47:56,040 To satisfy your heart. These people with their servant 737 00:47:56,040 --> 00:47:58,480 says we're going back. Oh, you can imagine their 738 00:47:58,480 --> 00:48:00,520 estate, you can imagine their land, you can imagine their 739 00:48:00,520 --> 00:48:01,960 comfort. But no, no, no, we're going back 740 00:48:01,960 --> 00:48:04,280 to the rubble and we're going to do what we can to build God's 741 00:48:04,280 --> 00:48:06,400 house. May God raise up more 742 00:48:06,400 --> 00:48:07,840 businessmen like that in this place. 743 00:48:08,200 --> 00:48:10,120 May God raise up more entrepreneurs like that in this 744 00:48:10,120 --> 00:48:11,960 place. We don't get so caught up in 745 00:48:11,960 --> 00:48:14,200 their own success, but use their success for the advancement of 746 00:48:14,200 --> 00:48:17,680 an eternal thing. But not everybody was so 747 00:48:17,680 --> 00:48:20,440 successful. Look at the numbers of the mules 748 00:48:20,440 --> 00:48:24,360 and the horses and the camels. When you add them all up, it's 749 00:48:24,360 --> 00:48:33,600 just over maybe 1000, but for 42,000 people it's clear that 750 00:48:34,000 --> 00:48:36,880 wealth and resources were unevenly distributed. 751 00:48:38,880 --> 00:48:42,120 So you have a mixed crowd of faithful returnees here, yet 752 00:48:42,120 --> 00:48:44,520 some who are more wealthy, others who are not so. 753 00:48:45,800 --> 00:48:49,840 And yet the Lord highlights something that is so incredibly 754 00:48:49,840 --> 00:48:55,040 encouraging about their first investments for the House of God 755 00:48:55,040 --> 00:48:56,360 once they came back to Jerusalem. 756 00:48:56,440 --> 00:48:59,000 Do you realize now that we're back in the promised land at the 757 00:48:59,000 --> 00:49:04,880 end of Ezra 2? This phrase soothe my soul. 758 00:49:07,040 --> 00:49:10,600 Look here, verse 69 again, according to their ability, they 759 00:49:10,600 --> 00:49:12,280 gave to the treasury of the work. 760 00:49:13,600 --> 00:49:19,720 According to their ability, that's what God looked for. 761 00:49:24,080 --> 00:49:28,040 For those who really want to do great things for God, for those 762 00:49:28,040 --> 00:49:32,600 who have prayed, Lord, how, how can I give myself more to you? 763 00:49:33,240 --> 00:49:37,520 That's a wonderful thing to desire and request, but you have 764 00:49:37,520 --> 00:49:41,560 to be careful. You have to be careful that. 765 00:49:42,200 --> 00:49:44,720 What you are? Doing for the Lord with with the 766 00:49:44,720 --> 00:49:51,120 best of your ability is not discounted in your own sight, or 767 00:49:51,120 --> 00:49:56,240 worse, thinking that God doesn't see it as valuable and as 768 00:49:56,240 --> 00:50:00,320 beautiful. There was a change in my own 769 00:50:00,320 --> 00:50:04,800 heart, if I can be transparent, when I finally realized early in 770 00:50:04,800 --> 00:50:07,360 my walk what Christ really asked of me. 771 00:50:08,800 --> 00:50:12,920 Because I remember being handed books of revivalists and 772 00:50:12,920 --> 00:50:16,440 missionaries and people who won thousands to Christ and. 773 00:50:16,880 --> 00:50:19,480 And the things that they endured and the persecution that they 774 00:50:19,480 --> 00:50:22,960 evaded and the steadfastness of their faith though they were 775 00:50:22,960 --> 00:50:25,640 being tortured. And I thought, what am I doing? 776 00:50:25,680 --> 00:50:28,520 I'm a, I'm a 20 something year old studying creative 777 00:50:28,520 --> 00:50:30,840 advertising in Toronto, Canada. Who am I? 778 00:50:31,960 --> 00:50:35,920 Lord, launch me somewhere. I'll drop out right now. 779 00:50:35,920 --> 00:50:38,320 Actually, just put me wherever you want to put me. 780 00:50:38,320 --> 00:50:41,240 Let me do something for you. I'm limited here. 781 00:50:41,240 --> 00:50:45,760 I'm trying to do the best I can. And in the sweetness of the 782 00:50:45,760 --> 00:50:49,440 guidance of the Spirit, he began to show me things in his Word 783 00:50:50,920 --> 00:50:53,400 that made me realize exactly what God was asking of me. 784 00:50:55,800 --> 00:51:02,880 And the clearest memory I had was what Jesus said of Mary of 785 00:51:02,880 --> 00:51:07,400 Bethany shortly before he would be killed. 786 00:51:08,920 --> 00:51:13,880 You know the story very well that Jesus and his disciples are 787 00:51:13,880 --> 00:51:17,120 having dinner, Mary and her siblings are in attendance. 788 00:51:18,360 --> 00:51:21,720 And spontaneously Mary goes out and she gets this bottle of 789 00:51:21,720 --> 00:51:26,080 perfume and she breaks it open, doesn't open it. 790 00:51:26,080 --> 00:51:30,000 She breaks the neck, meaning I'm not taking a drawback, And she 791 00:51:30,000 --> 00:51:32,920 pours it on Christ from head to toe. 792 00:51:34,440 --> 00:51:36,640 And if you look at the Gospel accounts carefully, Judas was 793 00:51:36,640 --> 00:51:39,320 the first one to criticize. What are you doing? 794 00:51:39,560 --> 00:51:41,840 And then we're told that another gospel account that all the 795 00:51:41,840 --> 00:51:44,040 disciples criticized. Because complaining is 796 00:51:44,040 --> 00:51:49,920 contagious, isn't it? And Mary, what I love so much 797 00:51:49,920 --> 00:51:54,200 about Mary's, wherever you see her in the New Testament, she's 798 00:51:54,200 --> 00:51:57,560 at the feet of Jesus. In every scenario, she's at the 799 00:51:57,560 --> 00:52:02,320 feet of Jesus. And in this final one, she, she 800 00:52:02,320 --> 00:52:07,960 gives this extravagant sacrifice and she's being criticized. 801 00:52:08,520 --> 00:52:10,400 She does not speak up for herself. 802 00:52:11,160 --> 00:52:14,240 Christ defends her. And I want to read to you, don't 803 00:52:14,240 --> 00:52:17,560 turn to just soak this in. I want to read to you what Jesus 804 00:52:17,560 --> 00:52:21,240 Christ, the Son of the living God, said about this woman in 805 00:52:21,240 --> 00:52:24,680 her attempt to show honor to her Christ before he would die. 806 00:52:26,120 --> 00:52:30,480 He says in Mark 14-6, leave her alone. 807 00:52:32,720 --> 00:52:35,960 Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing 808 00:52:35,960 --> 00:52:39,800 to me. She has done a beautiful thing 809 00:52:39,800 --> 00:52:42,440 to me. And you can think, OK, so Lord, 810 00:52:42,680 --> 00:52:44,520 if if you want me to do a beautiful thing to you, do you 811 00:52:44,560 --> 00:52:47,640 want me to just like empty my bank account and give it to my 812 00:52:47,640 --> 00:52:49,280 local? What is it that what is 813 00:52:49,280 --> 00:52:52,960 beautiful to your site? And then you read on verse 7 For 814 00:52:52,960 --> 00:52:55,400 you always have the poor with you and whenever you want you 815 00:52:55,400 --> 00:52:58,080 can do good for them, but you will not always have me. 816 00:52:58,160 --> 00:53:01,560 And here it is in verse 8. She has done what she could. 817 00:53:03,440 --> 00:53:07,600 That's the phrase. She has done what she could. 818 00:53:08,000 --> 00:53:10,560 She has anointed my body beforehand for burial. 819 00:53:10,640 --> 00:53:12,280 What was beautiful in the sight of Christ. 820 00:53:13,160 --> 00:53:19,360 Mary doing what she could so. You might be sitting here and 821 00:53:19,360 --> 00:53:23,000 thinking, I only have so much time. 822 00:53:24,960 --> 00:53:33,480 My body can handle only so much. I only really have one gift that 823 00:53:33,480 --> 00:53:38,000 I think God has given me, but I look over there and that person 824 00:53:38,000 --> 00:53:40,040 has five. And that person, it's like no 825 00:53:40,040 --> 00:53:42,280 matter what they do it, it turns into gold. 826 00:53:43,160 --> 00:53:47,680 I just have this. If you're not careful, you can 827 00:53:47,680 --> 00:53:52,560 think to yourself, I don't know if this really means much to the 828 00:53:52,560 --> 00:53:58,800 Lord. You find it in the old, you find 829 00:53:58,800 --> 00:54:02,040 it in the new. All Christ is looking for is for 830 00:54:02,040 --> 00:54:06,280 you to do what you can, and if in the sincerity of your heart 831 00:54:06,280 --> 00:54:11,880 you are doing it with all that you can, though you may have all 832 00:54:11,880 --> 00:54:15,960 these restrictions and obstacles, it will be beautiful 833 00:54:15,960 --> 00:54:18,040 to Him. Do you understand this? 834 00:54:18,640 --> 00:54:24,680 It will be beautiful to Him. The last verse of Ezra. 835 00:54:24,840 --> 00:54:26,560 Just as a conclusion of chapter 2. 836 00:54:27,400 --> 00:54:31,960 Now the priests, the Levites, some of the people, the singers, 837 00:54:32,160 --> 00:54:36,040 the gatekeepers and the temple servants lived in their towns 838 00:54:36,520 --> 00:54:39,480 and all the rest of Israel in their towns. 839 00:54:39,520 --> 00:54:41,080 What stands out to you about that verse? 840 00:54:44,360 --> 00:54:49,880 Who came back to Jerusalem? A remnant from primarily 2 841 00:54:49,880 --> 00:54:53,960 tribes, Judah and Benjamin. What does the Holy Spirit say 842 00:54:54,800 --> 00:55:00,360 the rest of Israel? Wait a minute, Israel was taken 843 00:55:00,360 --> 00:55:04,120 by the Assyrians many years before this. 844 00:55:04,680 --> 00:55:08,000 So what's going on here? We have another instance where 845 00:55:08,000 --> 00:55:11,960 Ezra by the Spirit speaks of all Israel, not just Judah, because 846 00:55:11,960 --> 00:55:14,640 it reminds us that in God's eyes, even though the small 847 00:55:14,640 --> 00:55:19,520 remnant comes back, He has in view the eventual restoration of 848 00:55:19,520 --> 00:55:25,520 all of His covenant people. Let's pray. 849 00:55:36,120 --> 00:55:41,160 Thank you, Lord, that you have used these two weeks to show us 850 00:55:41,160 --> 00:55:46,040 the glory of this genealogy. Thank you that we have put in 851 00:55:46,040 --> 00:55:52,000 the depths of our hearts these gems from these different 852 00:55:52,000 --> 00:55:56,000 groups. Thank you, Lord, that you showed 853 00:55:56,000 --> 00:56:01,560 us multiple ways how we can honor you, and you've warned us 854 00:56:01,560 --> 00:56:12,680 in multiple ways as well. Lord, we are, as you know, a 855 00:56:12,680 --> 00:56:17,920 very forgetful people. And Lord, if we forget much of 856 00:56:17,920 --> 00:56:21,200 what we've learned these past two Fridays, help us remember 857 00:56:21,200 --> 00:56:26,440 this, that whenever we encounter genealogy in your word, to not 858 00:56:26,440 --> 00:56:32,360 dismiss it, but to believe that your voice is there, that 859 00:56:32,360 --> 00:56:36,880 inspiration is there, that gold is there, and that you're ready 860 00:56:36,880 --> 00:56:41,000 to speak to us and furnish us through a list of names and 861 00:56:41,000 --> 00:56:46,440 numbers. Oh Lord, we we just end with the 862 00:56:46,440 --> 00:56:50,520 final thought of our study. Remind us that you were just 863 00:56:50,520 --> 00:56:54,640 after what we can give you. I pray that that would comfort 864 00:56:54,800 --> 00:56:58,040 the mom of four. I pray that that would comfort 865 00:56:58,040 --> 00:57:00,320 the man working 2 jobs. I pray that that would comfort 866 00:57:00,320 --> 00:57:07,960 the one who has a disability. Show us what you ask of us and 867 00:57:07,960 --> 00:57:11,360 Lord, may we trust that it is pleasing in your sight. 868 00:57:13,120 --> 00:57:15,440 We worship you because we've heard you today. 869 00:57:15,680 --> 00:57:17,760 In Jesus name we pray. Amen. 870 00:57:18,240 --> 00:57:20,960 Amen. If you want to remain seated and 871 00:57:20,960 --> 00:57:24,200 respond to any of these truths from your heart, you're free to 872 00:57:24,200 --> 00:57:25,440 do that. If you want to stand and join 873 00:57:25,440 --> 00:57:28,640 the praising to sing to the Lord, you're invited to do that 874 00:57:28,640 --> 00:57:31,040 as well. But whatever you do, take these 875 00:57:31,040 --> 00:57:35,400 next few minutes to really speak to the Lord and give Him your 876 00:57:35,400 --> 00:57:35,720 heart.