1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:03,880 Ezra chapter 3, if you don't own a physical copy of the Word of 2 00:00:03,880 --> 00:00:06,240 God, please come see me after the Bible study. 3 00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:10,000 I have a gift for you. I really encourage people to 4 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:13,040 have a physical copy of the Scriptures with them. 5 00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:17,720 And for whatever reason, if you don't possess one, again, please 6 00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:19,680 come see me immediately after the service. 7 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:24,960 I want to help you with that. Ezra chapter 3 and put your 8 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:31,120 finger there verse 8. Now when Cyrus king of Persia 9 00:00:31,680 --> 00:00:34,520 made his Kingdom wide announcement to the Jewish 10 00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:41,960 exiles about returning to the city of Jerusalem, he had one 11 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:46,880 main purpose in doing so, to rebuild the House of the Lord. 12 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:51,800 That is what his invitation centered on, going back to 13 00:00:51,800 --> 00:00:56,320 restore the House of worship. And in the latter portion of 14 00:00:56,320 --> 00:00:59,920 this chapter of Ezraim, we are actually going to witness the 15 00:00:59,920 --> 00:01:02,240 returnees beginning that very endeavor. 16 00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:08,160 Now, I say beginning because these exiles will only be able 17 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:12,480 to lay the foundation of the temple before significant 18 00:01:12,480 --> 00:01:14,480 challenges arise and hinder their work. 19 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:19,000 But that does not undermine the significance of this historical 20 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:20,880 moment. You have to put yourselves in 21 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:25,360 their shoes. For just over 70 years, this 22 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:31,240 covenant people did not have their temple, the designated 23 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:35,960 place divinely sanctioned by God Himself, where He promised to 24 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:39,960 cover their sin, where He assured them that He would 25 00:01:39,960 --> 00:01:46,680 commune with man. And humanly speaking, you would 26 00:01:46,680 --> 00:01:49,640 think that it's nearly impossible for this privilege to 27 00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:51,520 be restored after all that they went through. 28 00:01:52,120 --> 00:01:56,840 But God made many promises, notably in Isaiah 44, verse 28, 29 00:01:57,080 --> 00:02:00,840 where He prophesied that the foundation of this temple would 30 00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:05,880 be laid again one day. And you and I are now going to 31 00:02:05,880 --> 00:02:09,440 witness the fulfillment of that very promise. 32 00:02:09,440 --> 00:02:15,240 This is a great achievement, one that is worthy of careful 33 00:02:15,240 --> 00:02:18,040 attention. And that is why we are going to 34 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:23,320 consider at least three things about this exciting undertaking. 35 00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:25,840 3 things. The first thing that we will 36 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:31,280 look at are the people in the work, the people involved in the 37 00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:34,000 work. Secondly, we will look at the 38 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:38,600 praise for the work, how the people responded to the laying 39 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:42,800 down of this foundation. And finally, we will consider 40 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:47,200 the perspective of the work. So all starting with peace 41 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:50,320 preachers like to do this kind of stuff by the way, the people 42 00:02:50,320 --> 00:02:53,480 in the work, the praise for the work, the perspective of the 43 00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:58,000 work. And if you are engaged until the 44 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:03,360 end of the study, which I hope you always are, we will see how 45 00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:06,640 this very section of Ezra will connect to one of the most 46 00:03:06,640 --> 00:03:12,400 powerful and undeniable proofs that Jesus Christ of Nazareth is 47 00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:16,520 indeed the promised long-awaited Messiah. 48 00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:21,840 And not just Messiah, but Messiah who is God himself. 49 00:03:23,200 --> 00:03:25,600 I'm sure you're going to be amazed to see how this links to 50 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:28,640 that incredible truth. It's going to reinforce your 51 00:03:28,640 --> 00:03:32,360 faith and who Christ is and claims to be. 52 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:40,400 Lord, we ask you tonight again, Your word tells us that it is 53 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:43,680 like a mirror. And so we pray that we would be 54 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:48,760 honest in this study to see what You say of us, and that wherever 55 00:03:48,760 --> 00:03:51,400 there is a blemish, wherever there is anything that is not in 56 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:54,240 alignment with Your will, we would repent and we would 57 00:03:54,240 --> 00:03:57,640 conform to Your desire. Lord, Your word also says that 58 00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:00,040 it is like water. So we pray that it would refresh 59 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:04,480 us, that it would refresh our faith, our joy, our peace, our 60 00:04:04,480 --> 00:04:07,680 strength. But we also know that Your Word 61 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:11,800 says that it is like fire. And so we pray that it would 62 00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:15,680 consume any hint of disobedience, any growing 63 00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:19,120 rebellion, anything that would hurt or grieve the Spirit of 64 00:04:19,120 --> 00:04:22,079 God, consume it through the fire of Your Word. 65 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:24,640 And Lord, we also know that Your Word says that it is like a 66 00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:27,160 hammer. So even the most hardened heart, 67 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:30,800 the most calloused heart, the one who is growing cold towards 68 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:35,120 you, you would smash that heart and that you would melt it 69 00:04:35,120 --> 00:04:38,560 again, and it would be tender towards you and your will and 70 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:41,160 Your word. We pray these things in Jesus 71 00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:46,120 name, Amen. Let's look at the people, the 72 00:04:46,120 --> 00:04:49,960 people in the work beginning in verse 8 down to verse 9. 73 00:04:51,440 --> 00:04:54,080 Now in the second year, after their coming to the House of God 74 00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:57,880 at Jerusalem in the second month, Zerubbabel, the son of 75 00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:02,320 Shiao Thiel, and Joshua the son of Jozadak, made a beginning, 76 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:05,520 together with the rest of their kinsmen, the priests and the 77 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:08,800 Levites, and all who had come to Jerusalem from the captivity. 78 00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:14,080 They appointed the Levites from 20 years old and upward to 79 00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:16,520 supervise the work of the House of the Lord. 80 00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:21,600 And Joshua with his sons and his brothers, and Cadmiel and his 81 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:25,480 sons, the sons of Judah, together supervised the workmen 82 00:05:25,480 --> 00:05:29,000 in the House of God, along with the sons of Hennidad and the 83 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:31,160 Levites, their sons and brothers. 84 00:05:32,440 --> 00:05:37,000 Question #1 Why did the people begin this project, which was 85 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:40,360 supposed to be their primary purpose in returning, in the 86 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:44,920 second month of the second year? That seems to be like a delay at 87 00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:50,200 first glance. Well, we get one answer from 88 00:05:50,200 --> 00:05:52,760 verse 7. Remember what it says in verse 89 00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:55,760 7? That with the funding that came 90 00:05:55,760 --> 00:06:00,360 from Cyrus, they hire the Cydonians and the Tyrians to 91 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:04,520 come and to bring cedar from Lebanon by sea. 92 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:08,080 That takes time, doesn't it? Yes. 93 00:06:08,360 --> 00:06:12,120 Apart from other planning and other purchases and other things 94 00:06:12,360 --> 00:06:14,240 and other preparations, it took time. 95 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:15,760 It's not that they were hesitating. 96 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:18,920 They just waited for all the material and all the men to 97 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:20,800 arrive. But there is something else, I 98 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:25,320 believe, beyond the obvious delay. 99 00:06:27,440 --> 00:06:31,200 The second month is also the same month of the year when 100 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:36,080 Solomon began building the First Temple, according to First Kings 101 00:06:36,080 --> 00:06:39,680 61. So it can be that this was an 102 00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:44,000 intentional kind of pursuit, that in the second month, they 103 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:48,080 would do this as a way of almost hoping that what they're about 104 00:06:48,160 --> 00:06:54,200 to continue in would echo the Golden Age of Solomon's 105 00:06:54,200 --> 00:06:56,520 construction and what he was able to usher in through his 106 00:06:56,520 --> 00:07:00,520 leadership. But by the end of the study, 107 00:07:00,520 --> 00:07:02,880 we're going to discover that whatever they do here is going 108 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:07,440 to fall very short of the standard that Solomon set when 109 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:13,800 he led a similar project. Now, there's something else that 110 00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:17,080 stands out here. In verse 8 and verse 9, the word 111 00:07:17,080 --> 00:07:22,520 together is repeated. And so at the outset of this 112 00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:25,480 construction, there is still optimism. 113 00:07:25,480 --> 00:07:28,320 The people are excited. They're one mind, one heart. 114 00:07:28,320 --> 00:07:31,160 They're doing this together, They're doing this in unity. 115 00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:33,120 And we can draw many truths from that. 116 00:07:33,760 --> 00:07:37,040 But what I really want to focus on is how the Holy Spirit 117 00:07:37,040 --> 00:07:41,720 highlights the age of the Levites who supervise the work. 118 00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:44,520 Did you catch that? Look again in the last part of 119 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:49,120 verse 8, the last sentence. They appointed the Levites from 120 00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:54,440 20 years old and upward to supervise the work of the House 121 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:55,960 of the Lord. Why do I need to know how old 122 00:07:55,960 --> 00:08:00,080 they are? Well, we can say it's because 123 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:03,800 they want to be obedient. Yes, that is one reason they are 124 00:08:03,800 --> 00:08:09,480 being obedient, because the law does spell out the minimum age 125 00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:13,760 of the Levites when entering into their office. 126 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:17,040 And there's actually an interesting history of that that 127 00:08:17,040 --> 00:08:23,000 is worthy of exploration. Levi, he's the son of who? 128 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:24,600 I'm talking about the original Levi. 129 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:30,000 No, he's the son of Jacob, who's later called who? 130 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:32,720 Israel. Now, let me ask you this. 131 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:40,720 Levi had how many sons? How many sons did Levi have? 132 00:08:41,799 --> 00:08:43,159 I'm talking about the original Levi. 133 00:08:45,040 --> 00:08:47,680 Did he have one son? Did he have two sons? 134 00:08:48,040 --> 00:08:51,720 He had three sons. OK Does anybody know the names 135 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:55,640 of the three sons? Good. 136 00:08:55,640 --> 00:08:56,520 Good. Somebody's got it. 137 00:08:56,560 --> 00:08:59,080 Say it. Gershon is one of them. 138 00:08:59,800 --> 00:09:01,880 Murari is the third. Who's the first? 139 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:05,720 Starts with the letter K Kohath. Very good. 140 00:09:05,720 --> 00:09:08,280 Did you hear it? Kohath. 141 00:09:08,760 --> 00:09:12,440 Gershon Murari, welcome to Friday night Bible study in the 142 00:09:12,440 --> 00:09:14,880 Hebrew Scriptures. It's good we have to repeat 143 00:09:14,880 --> 00:09:17,600 these things to remember them. I want you now to turn to 144 00:09:17,600 --> 00:09:20,320 Numbers chapter 4. Because God had given 145 00:09:20,320 --> 00:09:24,600 instructions to the descendants of Levi when he formalized and 146 00:09:24,600 --> 00:09:29,920 made their ministry official. These are some of the initial 147 00:09:30,080 --> 00:09:33,480 instructions that the Lord gave to Levi, which was the tribe 148 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:38,000 that was set apart to perform spiritual duties at the dwelling 149 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:40,480 place of God. Look at Numbers chapter 4 150 00:09:40,480 --> 00:09:44,880 starting at verse one. Numbers 4 verse one. 151 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:49,560 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron saying take a census of 152 00:09:49,560 --> 00:09:54,320 the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi by their clans 153 00:09:54,320 --> 00:10:00,440 and their father's houses from 30 years old up to 50 years old. 154 00:10:01,160 --> 00:10:04,360 All who can come on duty to do the work in the tent of meeting. 155 00:10:04,800 --> 00:10:09,560 So Kohath, his first son, how old were his sons supposed to be 156 00:10:09,680 --> 00:10:11,560 before entering into the service of the 10th of meeting? 157 00:10:12,200 --> 00:10:14,440 Good. Scroll down now to verse 29 of 158 00:10:14,440 --> 00:10:17,960 Numbers 4. Excuse me, verse 21, Numbers 159 00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:21,160 421. The Lord spoke to Moses saying, 160 00:10:21,160 --> 00:10:26,120 Take his census of the sons of Gershon also by their father's 161 00:10:26,120 --> 00:10:30,800 houses and by their clans, from 30 years old up to 50 years old. 162 00:10:31,040 --> 00:10:34,520 You shall list them all who can come to the to do duty to do 163 00:10:34,520 --> 00:10:37,480 service in the tent of meeting Gershon his sons. 164 00:10:37,480 --> 00:10:39,800 How old? 30 very good. 165 00:10:39,800 --> 00:10:45,600 Now verse 29 of Numbers 4. As for the sons of Marari, you 166 00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:48,840 shall list them by their clans and their father's houses from 167 00:10:48,840 --> 00:10:52,960 30 years old up to 50 years old. You shall list them everyone who 168 00:10:52,960 --> 00:10:56,480 can come on duty to do the service of the Tent of Meeting. 169 00:10:57,320 --> 00:10:59,360 So it's clear, isn't it? We can see it. 170 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:07,120 The original minimum age for all the Levites in the Tent of 171 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:09,360 Meeting to serve was 30 years old. 172 00:11:10,200 --> 00:11:13,120 Now that seems interesting in light of what we read in Ezra, 173 00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:17,200 but it becomes even more puzzling as this develops. 174 00:11:17,520 --> 00:11:19,840 We don't even get to finish the book of Numbers before we 175 00:11:19,840 --> 00:11:33,360 encounter this in Numbers 8. Now look here in verse 23 and 176 00:11:33,360 --> 00:11:37,880 the Lord spoke to Moses saying this applies to the Levites from 177 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:42,320 25 years old and upward. They shall come to do duty in 178 00:11:42,320 --> 00:11:47,760 the service of the 10th of meeting 30/25/20. 179 00:11:48,280 --> 00:11:51,800 Well, let's just deal with this for now, without any 180 00:11:51,800 --> 00:11:55,360 explanation. Just a few chapters after the 181 00:11:55,360 --> 00:11:59,600 initial and original command, we learn that the minimum age for 182 00:11:59,600 --> 00:12:07,240 the Levites drops by five years. Now notable Jews, rabbis, those 183 00:12:07,240 --> 00:12:10,240 who have written material for the Jewish people, unbelieving 184 00:12:10,240 --> 00:12:15,200 Jews, have suggested an attempt to reconcile this, that what we 185 00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:19,280 find here, Numbers 28 with the 25 year olds was a type of 186 00:12:19,280 --> 00:12:23,680 training apprenticeship, a way of entering in, not officially, 187 00:12:23,800 --> 00:12:28,080 but to become familiar and to become instructed with lighter 188 00:12:28,080 --> 00:12:33,560 responsibilities before they enter into the official office. 189 00:12:33,680 --> 00:12:35,640 That's described in Numbers Chapter 4. 190 00:12:35,640 --> 00:12:38,720 Now they wouldn't. They wouldn't explain it in that 191 00:12:38,720 --> 00:12:41,320 depth, but they would just kind of label it as well. 192 00:12:41,320 --> 00:12:46,360 This is just really a training phase from the age of 25 to 30 193 00:12:46,360 --> 00:12:50,480 before they actually walk into and they are officially serving 194 00:12:50,480 --> 00:12:52,560 as Levites and, and there is some truth to that. 195 00:12:52,560 --> 00:12:55,880 And we don't even have to go to rabbinic tradition to confirm 196 00:12:55,880 --> 00:12:57,640 it. All you have to do is compare 197 00:12:57,640 --> 00:13:00,480 Numbers Chapter 4 and Numbers Chapter 8. 198 00:13:00,880 --> 00:13:04,520 Look at the context and look at the wording to come to a very 199 00:13:04,520 --> 00:13:09,040 similar conclusion. In Numbers chapter 4, when the 200 00:13:09,040 --> 00:13:11,640 Lord said, look, the sons of Levi, they have to start at the 201 00:13:11,640 --> 00:13:15,640 age of 30. What's being emphasized there is 202 00:13:15,640 --> 00:13:20,200 the responsibility of setting up and tearing down the Tabernacle. 203 00:13:20,240 --> 00:13:23,440 Remember, this is long before the actual permanent temple. 204 00:13:23,440 --> 00:13:25,120 We're talking about the portable tent. 205 00:13:25,120 --> 00:13:29,280 And in numbers four, they were called to set up tear down. 206 00:13:29,280 --> 00:13:31,640 And not only that, but each of the sons of Levi were 207 00:13:31,640 --> 00:13:36,400 responsible for different articles of the Tabernacle and 208 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:39,760 to bear it and to transport it to the next location. 209 00:13:41,080 --> 00:13:44,960 When you come to Numbers Chapter 8, we don't have that emphasis. 210 00:13:45,720 --> 00:13:48,160 In fact, if you look at the context carefully, you learn 211 00:13:48,160 --> 00:13:53,600 that there is a broader application being made that the 212 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:57,120 Levites who are starting at 25, we're not to be engaged in that. 213 00:13:57,120 --> 00:14:01,480 What we find in Numbers 4 necessarily, because the Levites 214 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:03,520 had other things to do, especially when the Tabernacle 215 00:14:03,520 --> 00:14:05,560 was situated. They would have to watch who 216 00:14:05,560 --> 00:14:07,640 comes in and who exits the Tabernacle. 217 00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:10,040 They'd have to make sure things were clean, or they have to 218 00:14:10,120 --> 00:14:13,080 evaluate if something is unclean and they had other smaller 219 00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:15,880 duties. And so here's how you can make 220 00:14:15,880 --> 00:14:17,960 sense of this, even if you know Hebrew. 221 00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:20,720 This helps because when you look at the Hebrew wording for 222 00:14:20,720 --> 00:14:23,840 service in comparison to the duty in both chapters, it's 223 00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:26,480 different words. Now you may not have access to 224 00:14:26,480 --> 00:14:29,160 the Hebrew, but just the context explains it. 225 00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:31,240 So here's how we can make sense of this. 226 00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:36,560 The 25 year olds were indeed supposed to be recruited at 25. 227 00:14:37,400 --> 00:14:39,760 They were called to deal with different matters in the 228 00:14:39,760 --> 00:14:43,800 Tabernacle, and once they turned 30, they were supposed to enter 229 00:14:43,800 --> 00:14:46,760 in in a more official way and deal with the holy things of the 230 00:14:46,760 --> 00:14:50,200 Tabernacle. Now that seems to solve this, 231 00:14:51,080 --> 00:14:53,440 but just when we thought that, we came to a solution with his 232 00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:55,560 dilemma. You keep reading your Old 233 00:14:55,560 --> 00:14:59,000 Testament, you're studying now about David and you realize that 234 00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:01,440 David has it on his heart to build a temple. 235 00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:05,520 And as he's making preparations for the temple, notice what is 236 00:15:05,520 --> 00:15:09,480 said in First Chronicles 23 verse 24. 237 00:15:12,360 --> 00:15:16,240 These were the sons of Levi by their fathers houses, the heads 238 00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:19,240 of fathers houses, as they were listed according to the number 239 00:15:19,240 --> 00:15:25,640 of the names of the individuals from 20 years old and upward who 240 00:15:25,640 --> 00:15:28,480 are to do the work for the service of the House of the 241 00:15:28,480 --> 00:15:34,200 Lord. So we just made sense of the 30 242 00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:37,160 year olds and the 25 year olds. And now we Fast forward to 243 00:15:37,160 --> 00:15:39,960 David's time and he goes, actually, I want to lower the 244 00:15:39,960 --> 00:15:48,360 age from 30 to 20. This time, however, we are given 245 00:15:48,360 --> 00:15:51,160 a reason, and this is divinely sanctioned. 246 00:15:51,160 --> 00:15:52,800 By the way. David is not just making up his 247 00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:54,200 own rules. He's not just adjusting the law 248 00:15:54,200 --> 00:15:56,680 of Moses. You read in this context that he 249 00:15:56,680 --> 00:15:59,880 is being led by God for the blueprint of the temple and all 250 00:15:59,880 --> 00:16:01,160 these other things that he's adding. 251 00:16:02,920 --> 00:16:05,560 What is the reason in the very next verse of First Chronicles 252 00:16:05,560 --> 00:16:07,320 23? Look at verse 25. 253 00:16:07,840 --> 00:16:11,400 For David said the Lord the God of Israel has given rest to his 254 00:16:11,400 --> 00:16:14,080 people, and he dwells in Jerusalem forever. 255 00:16:14,680 --> 00:16:17,800 And so the Levites no longer need to carry the Tabernacle or 256 00:16:17,800 --> 00:16:19,400 any of the things for its service. 257 00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:22,280 For by the last words of David, the sons of Levi were numbered 258 00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:28,200 from 20 years old and upward. So what's the explanation now 259 00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:32,600 that the Tabernacle is becoming the Temple, and the Temple is 260 00:16:32,600 --> 00:16:35,960 this permanent structure remaining in Jerusalem? 261 00:16:36,760 --> 00:16:39,240 The setting up and the tearing down and the carrying of the 262 00:16:39,240 --> 00:16:41,520 burdens of these articles are no longer required. 263 00:16:41,720 --> 00:16:45,640 And since the responsibilities have changed, let's now change 264 00:16:45,640 --> 00:16:49,360 the age. Let's bring it down to the age 265 00:16:49,360 --> 00:16:51,960 of 20. Let's adjust it. 266 00:16:54,320 --> 00:16:57,680 We went through all of that to at least draw 2 lessons. 267 00:16:58,920 --> 00:17:01,720 The first one is this. As we look at the ages of the 268 00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:08,359 Levites, we learned that God desires for you and I to offer 269 00:17:08,359 --> 00:17:13,359 up the best years of our lives to His service, the best years 270 00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:19,880 the prime of your life. It's totally possible for the 271 00:17:19,880 --> 00:17:24,280 Lord to recruit anybody at any point to do things for His name, 272 00:17:24,280 --> 00:17:27,280 even great things. But there is something special 273 00:17:28,440 --> 00:17:32,920 about a person who gives the Lord the peak of their strength, 274 00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:38,600 energy, agility, mental capacity. 275 00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:42,160 And that's what you find here. The Lord says I want you Levites 276 00:17:42,160 --> 00:17:48,120 to consecrate your 20s, your 30s, your 40s to me. 277 00:17:49,400 --> 00:17:51,320 And notice the retirement age is 50. 278 00:17:51,320 --> 00:17:53,760 But that doesn't mean that the Levites were never to engage in 279 00:17:53,760 --> 00:17:55,680 temple service. They were not promoted to 280 00:17:55,680 --> 00:17:59,600 supervising the younger ones. But what he wanted in terms of 281 00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:04,520 full time service was the best years of their lives. 282 00:18:06,360 --> 00:18:09,600 And speaking about Solomon in this study, that's exactly one 283 00:18:09,600 --> 00:18:12,600 of his final exhortations in the book where he speaks about the 284 00:18:12,600 --> 00:18:15,280 vanity of life. You know, when people want to 285 00:18:15,280 --> 00:18:18,720 try to encourage the young, the youth to be consecrated to 286 00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:22,280 Christ, they often quote Ecclesiastes 12 verse one, 287 00:18:22,280 --> 00:18:25,680 right? Remember your Creator when in 288 00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:29,480 the days of your youth, before what the days of evil come and 289 00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:32,640 the years draw near, which you will say, I have no pleasure in 290 00:18:32,640 --> 00:18:35,000 them, and they tend to stop it right there. 291 00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:38,080 Yes, remember you're created in the days of your youth. 292 00:18:38,640 --> 00:18:43,560 But he didn't stop the charge at that point, he does something 293 00:18:43,560 --> 00:18:46,360 else. From verse 2 down to verse 7 of 294 00:18:46,360 --> 00:18:52,160 Ecclesiastes 12, Solomon gives a very poetic and descriptive 295 00:18:52,800 --> 00:19:01,800 picture of aging and he provides many illustrations, but the main 296 00:19:01,800 --> 00:19:07,280 one is of a house falling apart. It's amazing. 297 00:19:07,600 --> 00:19:11,160 And there's there's debate about what part actually signifies 298 00:19:11,160 --> 00:19:12,800 what. But when you look at it, it's 299 00:19:13,240 --> 00:19:17,400 kind of plain before your eyes, then before you slouch over, 300 00:19:17,760 --> 00:19:22,000 before you don't find pleasure because of of your exposure to 301 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:24,600 the things of this life and the burdens and the trials. 302 00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:29,520 All these things are given as a charge, as a as an exhortation 303 00:19:29,520 --> 00:19:34,600 for the young to give what they can before it becomes harder to 304 00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:38,080 serve God. And that's just the truth of the 305 00:19:38,080 --> 00:19:41,200 matter. This is something for you and I 306 00:19:41,200 --> 00:19:44,400 to consider because they're it's so encouraging. 307 00:19:44,440 --> 00:19:47,440 How many of those here are in that very bracket of time? 308 00:19:48,080 --> 00:19:50,960 How much are you truly investing in serving the Lord? 309 00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:54,360 Because look, the Bible is so honest. 310 00:19:54,920 --> 00:19:56,960 God is gracious, His arms are always open. 311 00:19:56,960 --> 00:19:59,240 Anybody can come to Him at any point, as I said earlier. 312 00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:05,640 But it also communicates that there are going to be undeniable 313 00:20:05,640 --> 00:20:08,520 challenges that come as you advance in years. 314 00:20:11,120 --> 00:20:15,200 This is the segment of your brief existence where you can 315 00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:19,560 develop your roots and establish habits. 316 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:24,040 And create a history with God that can have ripple effects for 317 00:20:24,040 --> 00:20:28,440 the years to come. Give your mind over to knowing 318 00:20:28,440 --> 00:20:30,840 the Word of God with the freedom that you still have with your 319 00:20:30,840 --> 00:20:34,680 schedule before it becomes more stuffy, as it naturally will. 320 00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:38,800 Do with it what you can to really serve the Lord. 321 00:20:38,800 --> 00:20:42,920 You'll have no regrets while you have strengthened your joints 322 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:45,800 and in your muscles, and while you're still able to to actually 323 00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:49,560 endorse certain things. Lay it off the feet of the Lord. 324 00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:54,360 And that's what the Lord says here, I'm sure with the Levites. 325 00:20:54,360 --> 00:20:57,720 But there's a second thing to learn, that as much as the Lord 326 00:20:57,720 --> 00:21:00,400 is ready to recruit the young, this is so important. 327 00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:06,040 He still requires maturity. He still requires maturity. 328 00:21:07,360 --> 00:21:10,480 Did you notice that the different ages for the Levites 329 00:21:10,480 --> 00:21:13,440 corresponded to the level of responsibility assigned to them? 330 00:21:14,480 --> 00:21:17,720 So why did he make it 30 years old and Numbers 4? 331 00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:20,040 Because the responsibility was greater at the time. 332 00:21:20,480 --> 00:21:24,640 You're going to have to handle these holy articles, these holy 333 00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:26,880 furnishings. You're going to have to be 334 00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:30,720 careful with setting up the House of God, bringing it down 335 00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:33,400 carefully. Not especially the the sons of 336 00:21:33,400 --> 00:21:35,120 Kohath, not peeking into the things. 337 00:21:35,120 --> 00:21:36,840 You have to cover it with certain materials. 338 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:42,800 So there was a demand for maturity and, and, and once the 339 00:21:42,800 --> 00:21:45,800 responsibilities change by David's time, OK, we can make it 340 00:21:45,920 --> 00:21:47,920 younger now. We can ask the younger guys to 341 00:21:47,920 --> 00:21:52,200 come in. And this is really something for 342 00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:55,360 those who are eager to serve God in their younger years. 343 00:21:55,600 --> 00:22:00,080 And I've met these young guys and gals where they're so 344 00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:04,200 frustrated because they feel as though they have the zeal, they 345 00:22:04,200 --> 00:22:09,640 have the availability, they have the energy, and yet things don't 346 00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:12,800 seem to be moving, doors don't seem to be opening. 347 00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:17,120 And here's where you have to remind yourself of the 348 00:22:17,120 --> 00:22:18,280 following. Be patient. 349 00:22:19,200 --> 00:22:22,240 Be patient. Because had the Lord not 350 00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:25,960 considered the maturity level of these different Levites, it 351 00:22:25,960 --> 00:22:28,080 could have done way more damage than good. 352 00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:32,040 And that's something for you and I to consider. 353 00:22:32,760 --> 00:22:36,000 And oftentimes, not always, but generally, maturity requires 354 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:39,760 time and experience. If you and I have not developed 355 00:22:39,760 --> 00:22:43,080 the characteristics and the convictions that are necessary 356 00:22:43,080 --> 00:22:47,080 for longevity, you can not only harm yourself but harm others 357 00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:52,560 that you are called to serve. So this is what we see with the 358 00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:54,320 people in the work, at least some things. 359 00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:56,280 But we now transition to the praise for the work. 360 00:22:56,280 --> 00:23:01,760 Come back to Ezra 3 and look at verse 9 down to verse, excuse 361 00:23:01,760 --> 00:23:07,200 me, verse 10 down to verse 11. And when the builders laid the 362 00:23:07,200 --> 00:23:09,880 foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priest in their 363 00:23:09,880 --> 00:23:13,560 vestments came forward with trumpets, and the Levites, the 364 00:23:13,560 --> 00:23:17,520 sons of Asaph, with symbols to praise the Lord according to the 365 00:23:17,520 --> 00:23:19,360 directions of David king of Israel. 366 00:23:19,920 --> 00:23:24,440 And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to 367 00:23:24,440 --> 00:23:26,640 the Lord. For He is good, for His 368 00:23:26,640 --> 00:23:30,000 steadfast love endures forever toward Israel. 369 00:23:30,800 --> 00:23:33,720 And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praise 370 00:23:33,720 --> 00:23:37,480 the Lord, because the foundation of the House of the Lord was 371 00:23:37,480 --> 00:23:39,040 laid. Now there are many things that 372 00:23:39,040 --> 00:23:43,440 we can say about this exuberant response of the people, but the 373 00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:49,120 one thing that I want to point out is when they praised, when 374 00:23:49,120 --> 00:23:51,240 they praised, or why they praised. 375 00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:52,920 Look at the last part of verse 11 again. 376 00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:59,320 Because the foundation of the House of the Lord was laid, now 377 00:23:59,320 --> 00:24:06,720 you might expect such explosive acts of worship to be given at 378 00:24:06,720 --> 00:24:11,000 the completion of the temple. We're just at the beginning. 379 00:24:12,200 --> 00:24:17,920 This is just phase one. And yet they could not help but 380 00:24:17,920 --> 00:24:22,560 give to the Lord this honor and this recognition with their 381 00:24:22,560 --> 00:24:28,320 talent and with their voices. What does that teach us? 382 00:24:29,760 --> 00:24:34,360 It teaches us that you and I must develop the conviction that 383 00:24:34,360 --> 00:24:39,440 God is worthy of praise in the process as much as in the 384 00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:45,000 completion. That you and I must recognize 385 00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:50,320 God's doing, His grace, His provision, His protection at 386 00:24:50,320 --> 00:24:53,800 every step, not just at the arrival. 387 00:24:55,840 --> 00:24:58,560 And you find this pattern all over the Bible. 388 00:24:59,600 --> 00:25:04,360 You even see it at another laying of another foundation far 389 00:25:04,360 --> 00:25:07,440 greater in size and scale than what we find here. 390 00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:13,600 God spoke to Job directly at the end of that book. 391 00:25:13,640 --> 00:25:17,880 And one of the things that He asks of Job speaks to this very 392 00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:20,680 thing that we find here. Do you remember what He said 393 00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:24,560 about creation? Let me remind you, in Job 38 394 00:25:24,560 --> 00:25:30,040 verse 4, God says where were you when I laid the foundation of 395 00:25:30,040 --> 00:25:33,840 the earth? Tell me if you have 396 00:25:33,840 --> 00:25:37,200 understanding, who determined its measurements? 397 00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:41,720 Surely you know, or who stretched the line upon it, or 398 00:25:41,720 --> 00:25:46,480 what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone? 399 00:25:46,480 --> 00:25:48,600 The cornerstone was the very first stone that you would put 400 00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:51,520 down in any construction project. 401 00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:57,040 Look at verse 7, when the morning stars sang together and 402 00:25:57,040 --> 00:26:03,280 all the sons of God shouted for joy, one of the angels of 403 00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:07,080 heaven. Rejoice in song, in creation, 404 00:26:07,960 --> 00:26:12,280 the beginning, not at the end when God laid the foundation, 405 00:26:12,600 --> 00:26:17,880 when he placed the cornerstone. And so that just reinforces what 406 00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:22,280 we find here in Ezra, that heaven and earth testifies that 407 00:26:22,280 --> 00:26:27,560 God is worthy of our praise at every step, every step. 408 00:26:29,080 --> 00:26:34,520 I'm speaking to those who serve God and are often discouraged 409 00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:40,800 because you can't seem to see the fulfillment of your prayers, 410 00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:43,480 the realization of your dreams and your desires. 411 00:26:44,840 --> 00:26:47,120 That no matter how much you seek God, no matter how much you 412 00:26:47,120 --> 00:26:50,840 serve him, no matter how much you resist sin and compromise, 413 00:26:50,960 --> 00:26:55,640 no matter how much you're able to overcome a lesser quality of 414 00:26:55,640 --> 00:26:58,600 faith and a lesser quality of of serving the Lord. 415 00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:01,680 It doesn't seem to be happening the way I hoped that it would 416 00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:04,440 happen, or it doesn't seem to be coming as soon as I would like 417 00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:07,280 for it to come. Learn from this. 418 00:27:08,080 --> 00:27:11,400 Learn from this. OK, so here you are saying, 419 00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:16,600 Lord, I would love to be on that platform or in that position so 420 00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:18,120 that I can have a greater impact. 421 00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:20,120 Great. And he might grant that to you, 422 00:27:21,120 --> 00:27:24,280 but are you joyfully mindful of the opportunities that he's 423 00:27:24,280 --> 00:27:29,200 giving you now? Right now, Lord, I want more 424 00:27:29,200 --> 00:27:32,200 souls to invest and I want to disciple more people. 425 00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:35,120 Time is running out. OK, great. 426 00:27:35,120 --> 00:27:37,560 That's, that's a that's a great and worthy thing. 427 00:27:38,320 --> 00:27:42,160 But what about the people that He has allowed you to encounter? 428 00:27:42,880 --> 00:27:44,880 What about them? Are you thankful? 429 00:27:48,120 --> 00:27:51,920 And this is what we see here, a common thing among God's 430 00:27:51,920 --> 00:27:59,320 servants, that they lose sight of the progress of the very 431 00:27:59,320 --> 00:28:01,120 thing that He's doing right under your nose, of the thing 432 00:28:01,120 --> 00:28:03,360 that He's allowed right there before your eyes. 433 00:28:04,640 --> 00:28:06,200 So there is a danger looking back. 434 00:28:06,200 --> 00:28:08,280 We're going to find that out in the next section. 435 00:28:08,560 --> 00:28:11,680 But there's also a danger of looking too far ahead, that you 436 00:28:11,680 --> 00:28:13,960 miss what God is doing here. And I think that this is a 437 00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:15,640 timely word for this very church. 438 00:28:16,520 --> 00:28:19,680 It's a reminder for us that as we are anticipating the next 439 00:28:19,680 --> 00:28:26,480 chapter to this ministry story, not to become blind to the very 440 00:28:26,480 --> 00:28:29,960 foundation that He has been laying over these past four 441 00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:37,120 years, to really rejoice week after week, year after year, as 442 00:28:37,120 --> 00:28:40,280 new ministries start, as other ministries are strengthening. 443 00:28:41,720 --> 00:28:45,200 Do we have big desires? Sure do. 444 00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:47,760 Do we have a trajectory in mind? Maybe. 445 00:28:48,320 --> 00:28:54,000 But don't become so fixated that you lose sight of the glory of 446 00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:57,280 the moment. Enjoy it. 447 00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:02,680 Give God glory for it. And this is what we learn from 448 00:29:02,680 --> 00:29:05,480 the praise for the work. But now we finally come to the 449 00:29:05,480 --> 00:29:09,360 perspective of the work. This is really interesting. 450 00:29:11,160 --> 00:29:13,000 You could say that this is the first time, as we're about to 451 00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:15,560 read verse 12 down to verse 13, that this is the first time in 452 00:29:15,560 --> 00:29:20,560 the book of Ezra where we find dissonance among this remnant 453 00:29:21,720 --> 00:29:26,280 who up to this point were united in mind, united and ambition, 454 00:29:26,280 --> 00:29:29,000 united in zeal. Let's read it in verse 12. 455 00:29:30,440 --> 00:29:35,840 But many of the priests and Levites and heads of Father's 456 00:29:35,840 --> 00:29:42,720 houses, old man who had seen the 1st house, wept with a loud 457 00:29:42,720 --> 00:29:46,320 voice when they saw the foundation of this house being 458 00:29:46,320 --> 00:29:49,160 laid. Though many shouted aloud for 459 00:29:49,160 --> 00:29:52,440 joy, so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the 460 00:29:52,440 --> 00:29:55,840 joyful shout from the sound of the people's weeping. 461 00:29:56,560 --> 00:30:00,240 For the people shouted with a great shout, and the sound was 462 00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:06,600 heard far away. Unexpectedly there's weeping, 463 00:30:08,840 --> 00:30:13,760 and it's coming from one distinct group within this 464 00:30:13,760 --> 00:30:19,680 company, old men who had seen the 1st House. 465 00:30:21,560 --> 00:30:25,960 So evidently you have people among the remnant who even after 466 00:30:25,960 --> 00:30:31,400 70 years of exile, were still alive when they beheld Solomon's 467 00:30:31,400 --> 00:30:35,640 temple. And they've now arrived to this 468 00:30:35,640 --> 00:30:38,800 historical pivotal moment. The foundation is laid. 469 00:30:39,920 --> 00:30:42,360 And the younger generation who weren't really exposed to the 470 00:30:42,360 --> 00:30:44,600 former temple, they're like, this is amazing. 471 00:30:45,640 --> 00:30:47,520 We're going to rebuild the temple. 472 00:30:48,200 --> 00:30:50,440 We're going to re establish our worship. 473 00:30:51,880 --> 00:30:54,280 And they're shouting and they're embracing. 474 00:30:54,280 --> 00:30:58,080 And then in that, there is a mingling of sounds where the 475 00:30:58,080 --> 00:31:01,640 older men are actually weeping out loud. 476 00:31:04,440 --> 00:31:07,400 Why? Because they could not help but 477 00:31:07,400 --> 00:31:11,760 compare the glory of the former temple with the modest progress 478 00:31:11,760 --> 00:31:15,200 of this one, and it broke their hearts. 479 00:31:17,920 --> 00:31:22,400 And this single observation carries wonderful instruction 480 00:31:22,400 --> 00:31:28,040 for us. Notice what they sang in verse 481 00:31:28,040 --> 00:31:30,800 11. What did they sing all together 482 00:31:31,240 --> 00:31:32,200 for? He is good. 483 00:31:33,160 --> 00:31:36,000 For His steadfast love endures forever toward Israel. 484 00:31:36,080 --> 00:31:39,880 That is a glorious and appropriate truth to scribe to 485 00:31:39,880 --> 00:31:42,440 the Lord and to proclaim, because this group have been 486 00:31:42,440 --> 00:31:47,120 what? Forgiven, restored, and in real 487 00:31:47,120 --> 00:31:50,120 time they are rebuilding their relationship with God. 488 00:31:51,640 --> 00:31:56,160 So yes, His steadfast love endures forever toward Israel. 489 00:31:57,680 --> 00:32:06,040 But Please remember this truth. God's love is so strong, so 490 00:32:06,040 --> 00:32:12,480 available, that He is willing to erase any sin, and He is willing 491 00:32:12,480 --> 00:32:20,080 to always reconcile with us. But that does not promise the 492 00:32:20,080 --> 00:32:23,360 erasing of the consequences of our sins. 493 00:32:25,560 --> 00:32:31,760 These people are restored to God, but they're still weeping 494 00:32:31,960 --> 00:32:35,160 at the loss caused by their own iniquity. 495 00:32:39,080 --> 00:32:43,560 They could not help but be reminded of all that had been 496 00:32:43,560 --> 00:32:47,320 forsaken, all that they had been surrendered, even as they found 497 00:32:47,320 --> 00:32:53,800 themselves here standing before God's faithfulness, God moving 498 00:32:53,800 --> 00:32:58,560 nations and kings to bring them back to himself, that still 499 00:32:58,560 --> 00:33:03,720 could not deal with the sorrow that their sin brought to their 500 00:33:03,720 --> 00:33:07,120 lives. And I want to share this as a 501 00:33:07,120 --> 00:33:13,960 warning because love warns, do not entertain any kind of sin 502 00:33:13,960 --> 00:33:16,320 with a dangerous mindset that God will forgive you. 503 00:33:19,320 --> 00:33:23,640 Don't premeditate your disobedience because there's a 504 00:33:23,640 --> 00:33:26,720 lot of reasons why that kind of thinking is wrong. 505 00:33:26,720 --> 00:33:31,040 And one of them is that it never takes into account how, yes, God 506 00:33:31,040 --> 00:33:34,600 is merciful, but you can lose things in this life that you 507 00:33:34,600 --> 00:33:38,560 will never recover. Not many preachers will tell you 508 00:33:38,560 --> 00:33:40,200 that. And I'll say this because they 509 00:33:40,200 --> 00:33:45,800 don't love their people. There's some sins, there are 510 00:33:45,800 --> 00:33:52,360 some decisions that can rob you in this life for the rest of 511 00:33:52,360 --> 00:33:55,480 your life. That's how much sin hates you. 512 00:33:55,480 --> 00:33:58,520 Why don't you hate sin with greater intensity? 513 00:33:59,800 --> 00:34:04,800 Why don't I hate it when I realize just how damaging it can 514 00:34:04,800 --> 00:34:08,000 be, just how much it can ruin me? 515 00:34:09,679 --> 00:34:12,400 And so there are times, though, even I am restored unto the 516 00:34:12,400 --> 00:34:16,480 Lord, that consequences carry over and those consequences are 517 00:34:16,480 --> 00:34:21,080 not signs that God is displeased with me or that he will always 518 00:34:21,080 --> 00:34:23,199 keep me at arm's length. No, that's not the case at all. 519 00:34:23,199 --> 00:34:26,080 The context suggests otherwise. It's just the reality of sin. 520 00:34:28,280 --> 00:34:30,960 And the most important thing in our lives, even if we sin, is 521 00:34:30,960 --> 00:34:32,280 that we are restored to the Lord. 522 00:34:33,320 --> 00:34:37,480 But there are some things, there are some painful ramifications 523 00:34:37,920 --> 00:34:42,560 that are not so easily healed. You see that even with I brought 524 00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:45,400 this up many times, but we see that even with the plagues in 525 00:34:45,400 --> 00:34:49,760 Egypt, some of the plagues when Pharaoh have heartedly asked to 526 00:34:49,760 --> 00:34:54,440 be forgiven or asked for Moses to intercede were immediately 527 00:34:54,440 --> 00:34:55,800 removed. Others linger. 528 00:34:55,800 --> 00:34:59,920 Do you remember the frogs? The frogs didn't just evaporate, 529 00:35:00,880 --> 00:35:03,400 they stayed. And it says there an exodus that 530 00:35:03,400 --> 00:35:10,080 the land stank, and there's some things that we do that leaves a 531 00:35:10,080 --> 00:35:14,360 stench even though we are restored to God. 532 00:35:15,360 --> 00:35:18,480 Remember that I'm saying this not to discourage you, but to 533 00:35:18,600 --> 00:35:20,760 encourage you in your fight against sin. 534 00:35:21,720 --> 00:35:24,880 The next time temptation comes knocking at your door, you would 535 00:35:24,880 --> 00:35:30,480 realize you're more dangerous than you're making yourself out 536 00:35:30,480 --> 00:35:34,000 to be, and that you would fight it with this truth. 537 00:35:35,480 --> 00:35:36,640 But there's another thing to learn. 538 00:35:38,400 --> 00:35:42,440 Another lesson emerges here, and it is how different generations 539 00:35:42,480 --> 00:35:49,720 in a community of faith can perceive God's work differently. 540 00:35:51,920 --> 00:35:56,000 And in this case, here you have the older generation that was so 541 00:35:56,000 --> 00:36:00,480 attached to past glories that they could not even discern 542 00:36:00,480 --> 00:36:05,680 God's work today. And that's really possible for 543 00:36:05,680 --> 00:36:09,680 anybody who's long, who's walk with God long enough to have 544 00:36:09,680 --> 00:36:13,080 experienced his power to experience testimonies, to 545 00:36:13,080 --> 00:36:16,640 experience ministries and how God used certain ministries, 546 00:36:16,640 --> 00:36:22,920 certain local churches that you're so fixated on that you're 547 00:36:22,920 --> 00:36:27,240 so living in the past that you can't even register the new 548 00:36:27,240 --> 00:36:30,080 thing that God is doing. And that's dangerous. 549 00:36:30,080 --> 00:36:35,880 That's actually very unwise. You have to be able to come to 550 00:36:35,880 --> 00:36:41,880 the realization that living so much in yesterday, even what God 551 00:36:41,880 --> 00:36:46,360 has done yesterday, can cripple your faith for tomorrow. 552 00:36:48,640 --> 00:36:54,080 It's actually a form of unbelief to constantly ruminate over all 553 00:36:54,080 --> 00:36:57,080 what the Lord has done. Oh, what God has done. 554 00:36:57,240 --> 00:36:58,800 Oh, what He's done at that point of history. 555 00:36:58,800 --> 00:37:00,800 Oh, what He's done in that church I once was a part of. 556 00:37:00,800 --> 00:37:02,480 Oh what He's done with those group of friends that I have. 557 00:37:02,720 --> 00:37:08,480 When you think like that, you are denying the possibility that 558 00:37:08,480 --> 00:37:11,960 God can do greater things in the days ahead. 559 00:37:13,520 --> 00:37:16,520 Many people are like this and it's not just for older 560 00:37:16,520 --> 00:37:17,800 generation. It could be those who are just 561 00:37:18,040 --> 00:37:19,800 experienced in their walk with the Lord. 562 00:37:19,800 --> 00:37:21,600 And if you struggle with this, I want to encourage you to bring 563 00:37:21,600 --> 00:37:25,640 it before God. Ecclesiastes says it is not wise 564 00:37:25,640 --> 00:37:28,080 to say why were the former days greater. 565 00:37:30,800 --> 00:37:34,560 That's not wise because you're bringing harm to your own faith 566 00:37:35,200 --> 00:37:38,080 among other things. No matter what you and I have 567 00:37:38,080 --> 00:37:41,400 experienced before, you have to always expect greater things to 568 00:37:41,400 --> 00:37:46,240 come. And so sorrow over the past has 569 00:37:46,240 --> 00:37:49,600 become so ingrained with this older generation that it 570 00:37:49,600 --> 00:37:52,040 actually lasted longer than the celebration here. 571 00:37:52,040 --> 00:37:55,520 Do you see this? Maybe you don't see it. 572 00:37:55,680 --> 00:37:58,120 You'll only see it when you read on in the Old Testament. 573 00:37:59,440 --> 00:38:09,120 So severe was this pain and so ingrained was this reminiscing 574 00:38:09,120 --> 00:38:12,840 of the the glories of the past, that God finally had to speak to 575 00:38:12,840 --> 00:38:16,280 one of his prophets and say, I need you to send a message to 576 00:38:16,280 --> 00:38:20,000 that generation. Does anybody know which prophet 577 00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:22,280 it was? Good. 578 00:38:22,280 --> 00:38:26,360 Hey Guy, let's go to Hey Guy in chapter 2. 579 00:38:28,080 --> 00:38:31,080 And keep in mind that this prophetic message came sometime 580 00:38:31,080 --> 00:38:33,560 after the foundation of the temple was laid, not at the 581 00:38:33,560 --> 00:38:38,480 moment the people were weeping. So time goes on and God speaks 582 00:38:38,480 --> 00:38:43,160 to Haggai in chapter 2 verse one down to verse 5, and he gives 583 00:38:43,160 --> 00:38:47,240 them a series of encouragements that apply to us. 584 00:38:47,880 --> 00:38:50,120 And here's the most exciting part that actually points to 585 00:38:50,120 --> 00:38:55,520 Christ. Look at Haggai 2 verse one in 586 00:38:55,520 --> 00:38:58,400 the 7th month. On the 21st day of the month, 587 00:38:58,400 --> 00:39:01,800 the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet. 588 00:39:02,640 --> 00:39:06,160 Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shaltiel, governor of Judah, 589 00:39:06,440 --> 00:39:09,960 and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak the high priest, and 590 00:39:09,960 --> 00:39:13,160 to all the remnant of the people, and say, who is left 591 00:39:13,160 --> 00:39:17,000 among you who saw this house in its former glory? 592 00:39:18,080 --> 00:39:22,520 How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your 593 00:39:22,520 --> 00:39:26,120 eyes yet? Now be strong, O Zerubbabel 594 00:39:26,120 --> 00:39:28,600 declares the Lord. Be strong, O Joshua the son of 595 00:39:28,840 --> 00:39:31,600 Jehozadak the high priest, be strong. 596 00:39:31,600 --> 00:39:34,480 All you people of the land declares the Lord work. 597 00:39:35,400 --> 00:39:38,760 I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts, according to the 598 00:39:38,760 --> 00:39:42,120 covenant that I had made with you when you came out of Egypt. 599 00:39:42,440 --> 00:39:46,880 My spirit remains in your midst. Fear not. 600 00:39:47,760 --> 00:39:52,120 What a word. Again, we learned here in the 601 00:39:52,120 --> 00:39:54,880 beginning that he, he came, the prophet came in the seventh 602 00:39:54,880 --> 00:39:56,400 month. Why is that significant? 603 00:39:58,200 --> 00:40:00,640 Well, if you look more carefully, it's actually taking 604 00:40:00,640 --> 00:40:04,040 place at the end of. The feasts of all the feasts, 605 00:40:04,040 --> 00:40:09,600 this is the final feasts. But more than that, the 7th 606 00:40:09,640 --> 00:40:15,040 month is the same month of the year when Solomon not built the 607 00:40:15,040 --> 00:40:19,400 temple but dedicated it. That's in First Kings 8 verse 2. 608 00:40:20,720 --> 00:40:23,160 And it could be now that you have this people who are even 609 00:40:23,160 --> 00:40:26,280 mindful of the history of the temple. 610 00:40:26,480 --> 00:40:32,000 It was this time of the year when King Solomon dedicated that 611 00:40:32,520 --> 00:40:36,640 much more glorious temple. Then Haggai shows up. 612 00:40:37,600 --> 00:40:41,200 Hey all, you who are left, who saw the former glory of this 613 00:40:41,200 --> 00:40:42,480 house, what do you think about it now? 614 00:40:44,280 --> 00:40:49,920 It's nothing. And he doesn't, he doesn't make 615 00:40:49,920 --> 00:40:55,520 a case of how this building is far more glorious, more 616 00:40:55,520 --> 00:41:01,480 splendid, adorned and dazzled. He doesn't do that, but he does 617 00:41:01,480 --> 00:41:03,920 teach him something about what makes something truly glorious. 618 00:41:03,920 --> 00:41:06,320 He goes, God's presence is with you. 619 00:41:08,440 --> 00:41:11,680 The significance of this place is not the structure, it's not 620 00:41:11,680 --> 00:41:13,960 the architecture, It's it's God's presence. 621 00:41:13,960 --> 00:41:16,520 And I'm here to tell you that although the building itself is 622 00:41:16,520 --> 00:41:20,440 inferior, the Spirit of God is in your midst. 623 00:41:20,960 --> 00:41:23,480 Isn't that what counts the most? Isn't that what's most 624 00:41:23,480 --> 00:41:28,640 important? But the promise and the 625 00:41:28,640 --> 00:41:32,160 encouragement doesn't end there. Look what he says in verse 6. 626 00:41:33,560 --> 00:41:37,480 For thus says the Lord of hosts. Yet once more, in a little while 627 00:41:37,480 --> 00:41:43,360 I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry 628 00:41:43,360 --> 00:41:47,400 land, and I will shake all nations, so that the treasures 629 00:41:47,400 --> 00:41:50,840 of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with 630 00:41:50,840 --> 00:41:55,760 glory, says the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine and the gold 631 00:41:55,760 --> 00:41:58,240 is mine, declares the Lord of Hosts. 632 00:41:58,560 --> 00:42:01,800 The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the 633 00:42:01,800 --> 00:42:06,000 former, says the Lord of hosts, and in this place I will give 634 00:42:06,000 --> 00:42:08,200 peace, declares the Lord of Hosts. 635 00:42:09,040 --> 00:42:11,080 Brothers and sisters, this is the time to lean in and pay 636 00:42:11,080 --> 00:42:12,200 attention. If you have enough to this 637 00:42:12,200 --> 00:42:17,760 point, do you understand the implications of this promise in 638 00:42:17,760 --> 00:42:22,960 this prophecy? The latter glory of this house 639 00:42:23,640 --> 00:42:29,480 will be greater than the former. Now, here's in a very a very 640 00:42:29,480 --> 00:42:36,160 critical part of this prophecy. Over and over he emphasizes this 641 00:42:36,160 --> 00:42:39,760 house, this house. What house are we talking about? 642 00:42:39,960 --> 00:42:41,480 Well, Solomon built the first Temple. 643 00:42:41,800 --> 00:42:43,080 We're dealing with the second Temple. 644 00:42:43,560 --> 00:42:46,560 He's discussing about the glory of the second Temple. 645 00:42:47,840 --> 00:42:50,440 Now, how have rabbis tried to explain this? 646 00:42:52,520 --> 00:42:54,640 There are two main explanations on their part. 647 00:42:56,440 --> 00:43:02,280 Number one, they think, OK, the glory of the Second Temple is 648 00:43:02,280 --> 00:43:05,960 greater than the first because it endured longer than 649 00:43:05,960 --> 00:43:07,440 Solomon's. Because you got to remember the 650 00:43:07,440 --> 00:43:11,840 second Temple went all the way up to when 70 ADI mean. 651 00:43:11,840 --> 00:43:15,440 This is the same temple that Jesus walked into eventually. 652 00:43:16,760 --> 00:43:19,400 This is the same temple that Herod would later adopt and 653 00:43:19,400 --> 00:43:22,800 beautify and expand. Which brings me to the second 654 00:43:22,800 --> 00:43:25,600 explanation among rabbis that it's not necessarily the 655 00:43:25,600 --> 00:43:29,960 duration of the temple, but how gorgeous it was in terms of 656 00:43:29,960 --> 00:43:34,040 material, in terms of his expansion and renovations, that 657 00:43:34,040 --> 00:43:37,680 Herod made this temple far greater than even Solomon's. 658 00:43:40,000 --> 00:43:41,600 But there are a few problems with this. 659 00:43:43,920 --> 00:43:49,360 How does that actually justify it being greater in glory than 660 00:43:49,360 --> 00:43:52,640 the glory of God that manifested in the first Temple? 661 00:43:55,200 --> 00:43:58,440 Do you remember what happened at the dedication of the first 662 00:43:58,440 --> 00:44:00,680 Temple? Let me remind you, in First 663 00:44:00,680 --> 00:44:02,640 Kings 8:10 to 11:00, you don't have to turn there. 664 00:44:02,640 --> 00:44:07,280 Just listen in First Kings 810 And when the priest came out of 665 00:44:07,280 --> 00:44:10,840 the holy place, a cloud filled the House of the Lord, so that 666 00:44:10,840 --> 00:44:13,480 the priest could not stand to minister because of the cloud, 667 00:44:13,680 --> 00:44:17,360 for the glory of the Lord filled the House of the Lord. 668 00:44:18,640 --> 00:44:24,800 God's manifest presence was so potent in the very Temple 669 00:44:24,920 --> 00:44:28,600 Solomon's that the priest could not even enter into it to 670 00:44:28,600 --> 00:44:30,160 minister. They have to stay outside. 671 00:44:32,280 --> 00:44:35,960 Are you telling me that the duration of the second Temple, 672 00:44:37,200 --> 00:44:42,000 or the gold and the carvings and the expansion in terms of size 673 00:44:42,080 --> 00:44:45,920 that Herod brought to this temple is better than this 674 00:44:45,920 --> 00:44:50,520 glory? Because if you bring this point 675 00:44:50,520 --> 00:44:54,400 up to your Jewish friends who are studied, they will say 676 00:44:55,240 --> 00:44:59,160 there's nothing more to this than the silver and the gold and 677 00:44:59,160 --> 00:45:01,000 the treasures that would be brought to the temple. 678 00:45:01,360 --> 00:45:04,160 Because remember, what does he say there in Haggai too? 679 00:45:04,600 --> 00:45:06,960 That the silver is mine. And verse A, the gold is mine, 680 00:45:06,960 --> 00:45:09,560 declares the Lord of hosts. He's speaking about physical 681 00:45:09,560 --> 00:45:11,920 glory. And here's how you need to 682 00:45:11,920 --> 00:45:14,920 respond. You would be hard pressed to 683 00:45:14,920 --> 00:45:21,600 find the phrase filled with glory and limit that to physical 684 00:45:21,600 --> 00:45:25,880 appearance when you look at kings. 685 00:45:25,880 --> 00:45:29,600 When you look especially in Ezekiel, that phrase filled with 686 00:45:29,600 --> 00:45:35,200 glory speaks primarily about God's manifest presence in the 687 00:45:35,200 --> 00:45:39,520 House of God. And it's no accident that Haggai 688 00:45:39,520 --> 00:45:42,720 is using similar language to the glory of God filling the temple 689 00:45:42,720 --> 00:45:49,080 of First Kings. 8 It's this temple. 690 00:45:50,280 --> 00:45:53,240 Why is that so important? Because some would even explain 691 00:45:53,240 --> 00:45:54,920 it this way. Even believers. 692 00:45:55,240 --> 00:45:58,800 OK, yes, this is speaking about a heavenly glory, divine 693 00:45:58,800 --> 00:46:03,000 presence, manifest power. So it has to speak about the 694 00:46:03,000 --> 00:46:05,200 millennial Kingdom. It has to speak about the 695 00:46:05,200 --> 00:46:07,720 millennial temple. Now why would they have to say 696 00:46:07,720 --> 00:46:10,040 that? Because if this is the second 697 00:46:10,080 --> 00:46:14,840 temple, then you have to find in this bracket of time where there 698 00:46:14,840 --> 00:46:16,720 is a greater glory than Solomon's. 699 00:46:16,920 --> 00:46:21,720 So between the rebuilding of the temple here in Ezra and 70AD, 700 00:46:22,800 --> 00:46:27,440 where is this greater glory? And if you can't identify it, 701 00:46:27,640 --> 00:46:31,720 then you have failed prophecy. You have failed prophecy. 702 00:46:31,760 --> 00:46:35,960 That's a big problem. But it's not a problem to the 703 00:46:35,960 --> 00:46:40,240 Christian because we have determined that there is 704 00:46:40,240 --> 00:46:44,840 something greater than a cloud appearing in the first temple on 705 00:46:44,840 --> 00:46:48,640 a single day, and that is the glory of God taking on flesh, 706 00:46:51,960 --> 00:46:57,160 and that glory not just visiting the temple one day, but on many 707 00:46:57,160 --> 00:47:01,080 days. He cleansed the temple, He 708 00:47:01,080 --> 00:47:05,840 purified it, He did miracles in its courts. 709 00:47:08,360 --> 00:47:12,960 He entered in, He engaged with people, He taught. 710 00:47:15,360 --> 00:47:19,200 The only way this prophecy in Haggai makes sense is if you 711 00:47:19,200 --> 00:47:25,000 understand God in Christ being the greater glory than the cloud 712 00:47:25,000 --> 00:47:27,520 that entered in the temple and 1st Kings. 713 00:47:29,720 --> 00:47:34,760 This prophecy is fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ, and 714 00:47:34,760 --> 00:47:38,560 it's one of the most undeniable pieces of evidence that Christ 715 00:47:39,000 --> 00:47:42,160 of Nazareth is the Messiah. Why? 716 00:47:42,440 --> 00:47:45,520 Because he said that the latter glory of this temple would 717 00:47:45,520 --> 00:47:49,520 exceed the first. So where does that fit? 718 00:47:50,600 --> 00:47:54,600 In fact, if you look at rabbinic literature who have commented on 719 00:47:54,600 --> 00:47:58,640 the Second Temple, they would say that there are actually many 720 00:47:58,640 --> 00:48:01,120 things that were missing in the Second Temple in comparison to 721 00:48:01,120 --> 00:48:03,480 the first. So they talked about how the 722 00:48:03,480 --> 00:48:06,240 divine presence wasn't in the Temple, how the ark was not in 723 00:48:06,240 --> 00:48:10,680 the Temple, how what they call the Shekinah, glory Shekinah, by 724 00:48:10,680 --> 00:48:12,800 the way, is not. That's a Hebrew thing. 725 00:48:12,960 --> 00:48:18,120 That's a Jewish terminology. So even rabbis in their own 726 00:48:18,120 --> 00:48:21,800 writing say there are many things missing in the Second 727 00:48:21,800 --> 00:48:25,600 Temple. So they're trying to understand 728 00:48:25,840 --> 00:48:30,360 this prophecy, and most of them just say it's about the actual 729 00:48:30,360 --> 00:48:34,880 structure that opens up more problems and solutions. 730 00:48:35,680 --> 00:48:40,040 But for us as Christians, this is Christ, this is Christ. 731 00:48:40,760 --> 00:48:46,320 He came into that second temple and he came as glory, the glory 732 00:48:46,320 --> 00:48:48,120 of God, the perfect radiance of God. 733 00:48:50,760 --> 00:48:52,520 And they denied him. They missed it. 734 00:48:54,400 --> 00:48:55,960 There's so many things that we can say at this point. 735 00:48:55,960 --> 00:48:59,920 We can compare to Malachi 3. We can look at the peace that 736 00:48:59,920 --> 00:49:03,040 Christ he did bring because it talks about how He's going to 737 00:49:03,040 --> 00:49:05,720 bring peace to this place, the peace that they denied. 738 00:49:06,640 --> 00:49:08,280 Remember when he wept over Jerusalem? 739 00:49:08,280 --> 00:49:13,800 Oh, if you only knew the the times of peace that I've come to 740 00:49:13,800 --> 00:49:17,000 bring. But I want to give you this 741 00:49:17,000 --> 00:49:18,520 final thought of the conclusion of this study. 742 00:49:21,040 --> 00:49:26,120 Why were the Israelites exiled? Well, because of their 743 00:49:26,120 --> 00:49:31,400 disobedience. They committed bloodshed, 744 00:49:31,400 --> 00:49:34,720 immorality, idolatry. They kept going. 745 00:49:34,880 --> 00:49:36,840 They kept going. They kept going. 746 00:49:37,120 --> 00:49:40,520 All right, enough is enough. You are going to be taken out of 747 00:49:40,520 --> 00:49:42,160 the land. For how long? 748 00:49:43,000 --> 00:49:45,080 70 years. I'm going to give you 70 years 749 00:49:45,080 --> 00:49:49,720 before you you can return. The temple was destroyed. 750 00:49:49,720 --> 00:49:52,760 Solomon's temple was destroyed, and they would be able to 751 00:49:52,760 --> 00:49:59,000 rebuild it after seven years. The second temple was destroyed 752 00:49:59,760 --> 00:50:02,680 in 70 AD. For what? 753 00:50:02,680 --> 00:50:09,600 Crime, a far greater crime, denying the Messiah. 754 00:50:12,000 --> 00:50:16,120 I want you to think about this. When they committed idolatry at 755 00:50:16,120 --> 00:50:20,160 this time, they were expelled for 70 years. 756 00:50:20,960 --> 00:50:26,880 When they denied Messiah, it took 1900 years before the 757 00:50:26,880 --> 00:50:28,400 people of Israel went back to their land. 758 00:50:31,160 --> 00:50:37,280 Nearly 1900 years later did this dispersed people finally come 759 00:50:37,280 --> 00:50:41,000 back to their homeland. I believe even in that you have 760 00:50:41,800 --> 00:50:46,280 an indication of just how severe their sin of denying Messiah 761 00:50:46,280 --> 00:50:49,720 was. They pushed away the glory. 762 00:50:50,920 --> 00:50:56,840 They missed the prophecy. But remember, the steadfast love 763 00:50:57,120 --> 00:51:00,720 of the Lord endures forever toward Israel. 764 00:51:01,640 --> 00:51:06,200 And even after the denial of Messiah, God made promises to 765 00:51:06,200 --> 00:51:10,880 this people, and he promised that he would restore them and 766 00:51:10,880 --> 00:51:13,840 that he would regenerate them, and that he would one day rule 767 00:51:13,840 --> 00:51:16,720 over them as they would welcome and acknowledge them as their 768 00:51:16,720 --> 00:51:19,520 Savior and as their King. They would see that He is indeed 769 00:51:19,520 --> 00:51:21,960 the Son of David, the one that we read about, the one that 770 00:51:21,960 --> 00:51:23,760 we've denied, the one that we've killed. 771 00:51:24,040 --> 00:51:26,880 And Christ will embrace them, and he will show to the world 772 00:51:26,880 --> 00:51:28,560 once again just how faithful he is. 773 00:51:29,320 --> 00:51:33,680 That's our King. Never forget Haggai chapter 2 in 774 00:51:33,680 --> 00:51:35,760 your defense of why Christ is Messiah. 775 00:51:35,840 --> 00:51:39,400 He is the greater glory that came during the Second Temple 776 00:51:39,400 --> 00:51:41,600 period. What's your explanation? 777 00:51:41,600 --> 00:51:43,400 We have the greatest one because He's the truth. 778 00:51:44,000 --> 00:51:45,920 Amen. Lord, we thank you for the 779 00:51:45,920 --> 00:51:49,520 study. We give you glory and thanks. 780 00:51:50,560 --> 00:51:52,360 My prayer, Lord, with my brothers and sisters. 781 00:51:52,360 --> 00:51:53,640 Is that what we've studied? Tonight? 782 00:51:53,640 --> 00:51:58,160 We just whet our appetite and that we would again rediscover 783 00:51:58,160 --> 00:52:02,640 just how deep this word is, just how supernatural the authorship 784 00:52:02,640 --> 00:52:04,920 is. And Lord, with all the things 785 00:52:04,920 --> 00:52:07,160 that were shared and all the the thoughts and the insights that 786 00:52:07,160 --> 00:52:11,960 were provided, may the ultimate end be our devotion to you being 787 00:52:11,960 --> 00:52:15,320 greater and our love to you being more sincere. 788 00:52:16,000 --> 00:52:19,120 So though we rejoice now knowing that we are in the truth, that 789 00:52:19,120 --> 00:52:22,720 we in our faith have the backing of the Scriptures from Genesis 790 00:52:22,720 --> 00:52:27,040 to Revelation, that over and over again you confirm to us 791 00:52:27,520 --> 00:52:31,600 that Christ is indeed the Savior of the world and the soon coming 792 00:52:31,600 --> 00:52:34,680 King. May you equip us not just for 793 00:52:34,680 --> 00:52:37,280 knowledge sake, but to win others to the truth. 794 00:52:37,880 --> 00:52:41,440 Help us Lord, to grow and to serve you with the best years of 795 00:52:41,440 --> 00:52:44,080 our lives. Time is short, O God. 796 00:52:44,440 --> 00:52:47,520 So we do pray for that urgency to be more real, but we also 797 00:52:47,520 --> 00:52:50,440 pray for the patience and believe in your timing, for your 798 00:52:50,440 --> 00:52:53,640 promotion in our lives and the open doors in our lives. 799 00:52:54,720 --> 00:52:57,840 Lord, help us not dwell so much on the past, even on things that 800 00:52:57,840 --> 00:53:00,920 are good, but be like Paul, forgetting what lies behind, 801 00:53:01,760 --> 00:53:05,560 forgetting what's there and keeping focus on what's ahead. 802 00:53:06,240 --> 00:53:07,600 Lord, we love you and we trust you. 803 00:53:07,800 --> 00:53:11,680 We sing to you now in joy. In Jesus name we pray, Amen and 804 00:53:11,680 --> 00:53:13,120 Amen. Let's stand and let's worship 805 00:53:13,120 --> 00:53:14,000 the living Christ.