1 00:00:00,600 --> 00:00:03,440 Let's turn in our Bibles now to Ezra chapter 2. 2 00:00:03,640 --> 00:00:07,680 Maybe you're already there, but if you're here visiting us, if 3 00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:10,240 you're here joining us in this journey for the first time, we 4 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:14,040 are beginning Ezra chapter 2. And before we start this new 5 00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:17,360 chapter, it's important to remember that the return of the 6 00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:23,440 Exiles from Babylon will very much mirror their removal from 7 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:30,680 the promised land, in that their recovery and their restoration 8 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:36,280 will not happen all at once. It will actually take place in 9 00:00:36,280 --> 00:00:42,440 three major waves. The first cycle will be led by a 10 00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:46,640 man named Zerubbabel, who we will learn more about tonight. 11 00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:50,360 The second will be led by Ezra himself. 12 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:56,320 And finally, we will see Nehemiah guiding a remnant back 13 00:00:56,320 --> 00:01:00,720 to the promised land. Unless we think that these 14 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:02,920 cycles happen in close succession. 15 00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:09,520 In reality, they all took place around 100 years over a span of 16 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:12,040 a century, close to a century at least. 17 00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:14,840 So these these didn't happen one after another. 18 00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:17,560 There was actually gaps in between these movements. 19 00:01:17,920 --> 00:01:22,400 And in a moment, we're about to explore the very first steps of 20 00:01:23,080 --> 00:01:29,160 the first Jews who were in captivity for decades now, 21 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:32,640 making their way back to what God had originally promised 22 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:36,160 them. And the way the Holy Spirit is 23 00:01:36,160 --> 00:01:39,640 going to unfold this pivotal moment in the history of God's 24 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:45,320 people is by recording and providing for us in remarkable 25 00:01:45,320 --> 00:01:50,640 detail the names of those who responded to the invitation 26 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:56,000 given by Cyrus. Now, if we're honest, although 27 00:01:56,000 --> 00:02:01,200 the significance of this text is monumental, the content may not 28 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:05,880 be the most exhilarating because if you look quickly, the last 29 00:02:05,880 --> 00:02:07,200 verse there, there might be a number. 30 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:08,280 There should be a number in your Bible. 31 00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:16,480 At least we have the number 7070 verses of all virtually names 32 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:21,960 with little commentary. And so at first we might be 33 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:26,960 struck with the thought, what value does this provide God's 34 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:31,200 people, especially today? Well, clearly it's meaningful, 35 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:35,640 and not just because it's found in the Scriptures, but because 36 00:02:35,640 --> 00:02:41,200 this very same registry is actually repeated in another 37 00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:44,640 part of the Bible. This very same genealogy is 38 00:02:44,640 --> 00:02:49,200 found in the book of Nehemiah when he decided to update the 39 00:02:49,200 --> 00:02:54,840 population of the returnees and use this very same catalog as a 40 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:58,160 resource. So if you like taking notes of 41 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:01,400 references, here's one. To begin with, in the margin of 42 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:05,720 your Bibles, Nehemiah 7 five. Let me read it to you. 43 00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:10,640 This is what he says as he's about to introduce almost a copy 44 00:03:10,640 --> 00:03:12,760 paste of what we're about to study this evening. 45 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:18,320 Nehemiah 75 reads. Then my God put it into my heart 46 00:03:18,760 --> 00:03:22,760 to assemble the nobles and the officials and the people to be 47 00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:27,040 enrolled by genealogy. And I found the book of the 48 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:32,240 genealogy of those who came up at the 1st and I found written 49 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:34,840 in it. And that's where the verse ends. 50 00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:41,640 So this verse shows US1 what we already confirmed that what 51 00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:44,000 we're about to look at is the first way, right? 52 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:47,920 Nehemiah says that himself. But I believe there are many 53 00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:52,040 reasons why this particular text would be valuable to the 54 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:54,920 original readers. Let me give you a few. 55 00:03:55,760 --> 00:04:00,560 Number one, this was God's way of honoring those who made the 56 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:05,280 sacrifice of going back to a land that was devastated, 57 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:10,760 brought to absolute ruin, and left behind their community, 58 00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:15,400 left behind their success, left behind their comfort zone with 59 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:22,040 the priority of rebuilding God's house. 70 years. 60 00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:24,880 Just imagine what your neighborhood would look like if 61 00:04:24,880 --> 00:04:29,600 it was unkept for 70 days. What about 70 months? 62 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:34,760 70 years? This is not an attractive 63 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:37,120 endeavor. This would be extremely 64 00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:39,000 challenging. This would be something that 65 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:41,760 would demand much faith and again, sacrifice. 66 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:44,640 And we could say right from the beginning, the fact that these 67 00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:48,320 names are mentioned is a way of God the Holy Spirit honoring 68 00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:52,240 those who took this bold action for His name's sake. 69 00:04:53,400 --> 00:04:58,160 Secondly, this would be a document that would grant 70 00:04:58,160 --> 00:05:03,120 confidence to the people of Israel about their covenantal 71 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:06,920 relationship with God remaining intact, that despite their 72 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:11,000 expulsion from the promised land, despite years of being 73 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:13,440 separated from what God had granted them. 74 00:05:13,840 --> 00:05:18,120 This would reveal no, no, no, we have our identity still. 75 00:05:18,440 --> 00:05:22,080 We have proof that we are still connected to Abraham. 76 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:26,000 So this would reassure the people of God that God has not 77 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:28,800 abandoned us. He's not erased us from history. 78 00:05:29,040 --> 00:05:32,320 He still has a purpose for us. There's still hope. 79 00:05:34,280 --> 00:05:37,760 Finally, very close to the second point, this would also 80 00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:41,440 serve as a validation of the ancestry of the Jewish people 81 00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:44,440 for generations to come. For what purpose? 82 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:48,960 Demonstrating that their return to the land was their inherited 83 00:05:48,960 --> 00:05:52,760 right. This is your right, people of 84 00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:57,080 Judah. This is your invitation to 85 00:05:57,080 --> 00:05:58,840 somebody that already belongs to you. 86 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:03,360 And so we can look at this text as Christians and think this is 87 00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:08,880 irrelevant to me, but to the Jews, even to this day, this was 88 00:06:08,880 --> 00:06:14,280 a historical landmark providing so much promise and so much 89 00:06:14,280 --> 00:06:17,440 hope. But what about us? 90 00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:23,240 What does this text offer the Christian? 91 00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:27,280 How does this apply to those who have pledged their allegiance to 92 00:06:27,280 --> 00:06:29,000 the Son of God under the New Covenant? 93 00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:35,320 Well, this Bible study hopefully will prove that it has much to 94 00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:39,840 offer, but it will require patience, and it will demand 95 00:06:39,840 --> 00:06:44,640 careful attention in order to unearth the treasures within. 96 00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:49,560 And maybe you're like the average reader who comes to Ezra 97 00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:54,000 chapter 2 and immediately thinks, where do I even begin 98 00:06:54,720 --> 00:06:56,760 with interpretation or application? 99 00:06:57,560 --> 00:07:01,680 And I want to offer some help. The first step is simple. 100 00:07:02,360 --> 00:07:06,960 It's to read through this catalog and to realize that this 101 00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:12,280 long list of names and and cities and towns and numbers are 102 00:07:12,280 --> 00:07:16,880 actually grouped differently. And though you may have 103 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:20,800 different people group these sections and these different 104 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:25,640 categories, there's debate about what should be included, what 105 00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:28,800 should be excluded. Personally, I think that there 106 00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:35,120 are 8 solid classifications, 8 solid classes, groups, 107 00:07:35,120 --> 00:07:38,520 distinctions of those who will make their way back to the 108 00:07:38,520 --> 00:07:40,760 promised land. And when you understand that and 109 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:44,000 you make that distinction, it makes all of this a lot more 110 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:46,160 manageable. It's not as overwhelming. 111 00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:50,960 And so tonight, we're not going to look at all 8. 112 00:07:51,200 --> 00:07:53,360 Originally, I thought we're going to complete this chapter 113 00:07:53,360 --> 00:07:57,040 in one sitting, but then as I looked more carefully, I 114 00:07:57,040 --> 00:08:00,680 realized that there's too much too much here for us to rush 115 00:08:00,680 --> 00:08:02,600 through. And so we're actually only going 116 00:08:02,600 --> 00:08:05,120 to go through three. We're going to look at the first 117 00:08:05,200 --> 00:08:08,320 3 and I'm sure you'll see why we need to do that. 118 00:08:08,920 --> 00:08:12,000 And so let's begin here by reading the first group 119 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:19,080 mentioned in Ezra 2, one to two. Now these were the people of the 120 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:23,360 province who came up out of the captivity of those exiles from 121 00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:27,320 whom Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had carried captive to 122 00:08:27,320 --> 00:08:30,120 Babylonia. They returned to Jerusalem and 123 00:08:30,120 --> 00:08:34,679 Judah, each to his own town. They came with Zerubbabel, 124 00:08:35,120 --> 00:08:42,440 Joshua, Nehemiah, Soraya, Realiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, 125 00:08:42,760 --> 00:08:49,000 Mizpahr, Bigvi, Rehum, and Banna, the number of the men of 126 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:51,760 the people of Israel. We'll stop there. 127 00:08:52,040 --> 00:08:57,000 Can we pray and ask God's help? Lord, we pray that in a perhaps 128 00:08:57,000 --> 00:09:01,200 intimidating text like this, you would bring illumination in a 129 00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:05,040 way that would bring you so much glory, in a way that would 130 00:09:05,040 --> 00:09:09,480 captivate all our hearts to stand in awe of Your Word. 131 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:13,000 So we need the help of the Holy Spirit to arrive there, and we 132 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:17,040 have come in faith, trusting that you will teach us and that 133 00:09:17,040 --> 00:09:19,360 Lord, you will receive worship because of it. 134 00:09:19,800 --> 00:09:22,920 We thank you in advance. In the name of Jesus we pray. 135 00:09:23,480 --> 00:09:26,600 Amen. If you're taking notes again, 136 00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:31,600 the first group that is underscored here are the 137 00:09:31,600 --> 00:09:35,880 leaders, the leaders of this first movement, this first wave 138 00:09:35,880 --> 00:09:39,840 of exiles returning to the land. And as much as we would like to 139 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:43,480 think that the Nehemiah and Mordecai that are mentioned in 140 00:09:43,480 --> 00:09:45,760 these verses are the same ones from the books that we are 141 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:49,400 familiar of Nehemiah and Esther, they are not. 142 00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:51,680 They come much later in the story. 143 00:09:51,680 --> 00:09:53,720 And you just have to remember that there are people even in 144 00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:57,000 biblical times that had the same names and every generation had 145 00:09:57,000 --> 00:09:59,560 popular names, and these might be some of them. 146 00:09:59,560 --> 00:10:01,680 So these are not the same characters. 147 00:10:02,120 --> 00:10:06,200 What we are faced with instead are unfamiliar individuals, 11 148 00:10:06,200 --> 00:10:09,520 of them to be exact. But when you look at Nehemiah's 149 00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:12,840 version, there is an added name bringing the total to 12. 150 00:10:12,840 --> 00:10:19,240 And it could be that the number 12 in terms of the leaders is 151 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:23,200 meant to symbolize the totality of God's people who are now 152 00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:28,000 being restored to the Lord and their covenantal relationship 153 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:32,160 with Him. What is more obvious, however, 154 00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:36,040 is that the leader of the leaders is Zerubbabel. 155 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:40,680 He's the first one mentioned and as we read through this story, 156 00:10:40,680 --> 00:10:44,000 we will learn that Zerubbabel was the appointed governor of 157 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:47,920 the re established inhabitants of Jerusalem and Judah and will 158 00:10:47,920 --> 00:10:51,080 play a key role in rebuilding the temple. 159 00:10:52,240 --> 00:10:55,520 But he's more than that. More texts will show that 160 00:10:55,520 --> 00:10:59,320 Zerubbabel was not just a trusted leader, he was a 161 00:10:59,320 --> 00:11:03,040 descendant of David. He's actually from the royal 162 00:11:03,040 --> 00:11:10,120 line, which again makes him the heir to the throne, but also the 163 00:11:10,120 --> 00:11:12,680 ancestor 1 ancestor of the Lord Jesus Christ. 164 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:17,480 Zerubbabel appears in another genealogy, the one that belongs 165 00:11:17,480 --> 00:11:20,240 to our Lord in Matthew 112 to 13. 166 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:24,920 His name is found there. Now this is remarkable. 167 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:28,720 This is this is where we need to pause and ponder because if you 168 00:11:28,720 --> 00:11:33,080 do, you will relish in the depth of God's faithfulness. 169 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:36,960 Think about it. God did not just preserve his 170 00:11:36,960 --> 00:11:40,000 people over these 70 years in exile. 171 00:11:40,920 --> 00:11:43,600 He did not just safeguard the articles of the temple. 172 00:11:44,680 --> 00:11:48,800 He actually protected the Davidic line. 173 00:11:51,600 --> 00:11:56,360 He did not abandon or forget his messianic plan. 174 00:11:57,400 --> 00:12:01,080 This is amazing against all odds, through so much 175 00:12:01,080 --> 00:12:06,720 decimation, devastation after years and years and years of 176 00:12:06,720 --> 00:12:09,280 captivity. One of the first things we learn 177 00:12:09,280 --> 00:12:14,360 in this chapter is that God still has the promise he made to 178 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:18,120 David in mind, and He wants us to see his faithfulness in it. 179 00:12:19,720 --> 00:12:22,880 But the royal line is not the only thing that he preserved. 180 00:12:24,080 --> 00:12:27,760 There's also the priestly line. How do we know that with a name 181 00:12:27,760 --> 00:12:29,720 that comes immediately after Zerubbabel? 182 00:12:30,280 --> 00:12:32,360 Joshua. Is he not there? 183 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:35,760 Joshua. Now Joshua, if we look at Ezra 184 00:12:35,760 --> 00:12:39,680 3/2, look at it quickly, just flip over there for a moment, 185 00:12:39,840 --> 00:12:42,960 you'll realize what his role is among the leaders. 186 00:12:43,760 --> 00:12:47,840 It says you're in Ezra 3, two. Then arose Joshua the son of 187 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:55,680 Josadak with his fellow priests, and Zerubbel the son of Shaltial 188 00:12:55,680 --> 00:12:58,560 with his kinsmen, and they built the altar of the God of Israel 189 00:12:58,560 --> 00:13:01,120 to offer burnt offerings on it. He's a priest. 190 00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:07,040 He's a priest, but when you read texts like Hegei 11, for 191 00:13:07,040 --> 00:13:11,720 example, he's not just a priest, he's the high priest of this 192 00:13:11,720 --> 00:13:14,680 time. This is fascinating. 193 00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:19,440 So you have in the first names mentioned in this genealogy, a 194 00:13:19,440 --> 00:13:25,640 call to remembrance that God has now preserved the royal line and 195 00:13:25,640 --> 00:13:28,920 the priestly line. And as encouraging as this is, 196 00:13:28,920 --> 00:13:32,960 as much as this duo will do much for the restoration of the 197 00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:35,000 people of God and their walk with God, right? 198 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:37,760 Because what we're going to find is that they are working side by 199 00:13:37,760 --> 00:13:39,920 side frequently. They're mentioned together. 200 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:42,920 They're almost inseparable in their partnership. 201 00:13:44,280 --> 00:13:49,800 They point to a coming leader. They point to one who will 202 00:13:49,800 --> 00:13:56,800 combine both offices, who'll be both king and priest, and he 203 00:13:56,800 --> 00:13:59,400 will do something far greater what they were able to 204 00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:02,400 accomplish. He will bring the people of 205 00:14:02,400 --> 00:14:08,040 Israel to an everlasting covenant, to a superior way of 206 00:14:08,040 --> 00:14:13,880 worship, to an ultimate relationship and contract with 207 00:14:13,880 --> 00:14:16,280 God. And we know that the Hebrew 208 00:14:16,280 --> 00:14:19,960 Scriptures predict this in the person of Jesus Christ. 209 00:14:19,960 --> 00:14:24,160 That leader arrived 2000 years ago, and we are living in the 210 00:14:24,160 --> 00:14:29,000 reality of the captain of our salvation, who is still now not 211 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:33,200 just drawing the Jewish people, but all nations, and he's 212 00:14:33,200 --> 00:14:36,800 delivering them and he's rebuilding them, and he is, more 213 00:14:36,800 --> 00:14:40,760 importantly, regenerating them, and He's creating a new people 214 00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:44,800 in preparation for his Kingdom to come and to be established 215 00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:47,560 for all eternity. Who thought that we can find 216 00:14:47,560 --> 00:14:50,160 Christ in a text like this? But he's there. 217 00:14:51,040 --> 00:14:53,840 Zerubbabel and Jeshua, yes, separately, but working 218 00:14:53,840 --> 00:14:57,200 together, pointing to one who combined these things, the seed 219 00:14:57,200 --> 00:15:00,760 of David and a priest after the order of Melchizedek, Jesus 220 00:15:00,760 --> 00:15:05,680 Christ of Nazareth. But before we move on, we also 221 00:15:05,680 --> 00:15:08,840 have to observe something practical about these leaders. 222 00:15:10,400 --> 00:15:15,400 They show the importance of leadership, and this is 223 00:15:15,400 --> 00:15:17,640 something for us to consider even as Christians, as the 224 00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:20,600 Church of Jesus Christ. I find it fascinating that when 225 00:15:20,600 --> 00:15:24,800 the Lord stirred the hearts of this remnant to return to 226 00:15:25,360 --> 00:15:32,400 Jerusalem, that move of the Spirit led to structure and 227 00:15:32,400 --> 00:15:36,480 order, not chaos and confusion. When the Spirit of God was 228 00:15:36,480 --> 00:15:39,160 working in the hearts of the people, you didn't have these 229 00:15:39,160 --> 00:15:41,080 Jews saying every man for himself, every family for 230 00:15:41,080 --> 00:15:44,000 himself, and independently make their way back home. 231 00:15:44,920 --> 00:15:48,720 Evidently they rally together and they put some structure. 232 00:15:49,320 --> 00:15:53,000 They appointed their leaders and they understood their own 233 00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:56,800 separate roles. And here's the lesson for us. 234 00:15:58,040 --> 00:16:01,760 There are many ways, even unique ways, that a move of God, a work 235 00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:06,360 of God, can begin. But in order for that work to 236 00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:13,680 last, it requires proper, biblically qualified leadership, 237 00:16:14,120 --> 00:16:17,960 among other things. You see, without spirit 238 00:16:17,960 --> 00:16:22,800 appointed leadership, a genuine move of God becomes vulnerable 239 00:16:23,720 --> 00:16:29,400 to many dangers that can spoil or even snuff out that work. 240 00:16:31,560 --> 00:16:35,000 That's important in a day and age like today. 241 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:42,320 That is vehemently against the idea of authority, but you find 242 00:16:42,320 --> 00:16:44,760 this principle throughout the Scriptures. 243 00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:49,800 The one that came to mind is what Paul instructed Titus in 244 00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:55,760 Titus 1/5 and Titus 15. Paul says This is why I left you 245 00:16:55,800 --> 00:17:04,359 in Crete, that you may put what remained into order and appoint 246 00:17:04,599 --> 00:17:10,599 what elders and every town as I directed you. 247 00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:15,640 That was one of the priority things that Paul instructed 248 00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:18,119 Titus when he had left them back in this region. 249 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:21,560 So you had evidently souls who were saved in Crete. 250 00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:25,000 We don't have any record of that in Acts or other places in the 251 00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:26,760 New Testament, but clearly it happened. 252 00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:31,240 Souls were saved and one of the first top things that needed to 253 00:17:31,240 --> 00:17:39,560 be done almost with urgency. Find leaders, find pastors 254 00:17:39,680 --> 00:17:45,480 qualified, called by God so they can supervise and they can 255 00:17:45,480 --> 00:17:48,240 supply the needs and they can shepherd these souls. 256 00:17:49,080 --> 00:17:52,160 This is amazing. God is a God of order. 257 00:17:52,920 --> 00:17:56,840 God is a God who has given us a blueprint, A blueprint that has 258 00:17:56,840 --> 00:18:00,640 positions, a blueprint that calls for accountability, A 259 00:18:00,640 --> 00:18:02,760 blueprint that again calls for organization. 260 00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:07,640 Because, again, God's Spirit can do many things, and He can do it 261 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:10,720 in things in ways that can't even be copied. 262 00:18:11,960 --> 00:18:15,920 But if that thing is going to last, it needs to have, among 263 00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:18,760 other things, qualified leadership. 264 00:18:18,760 --> 00:18:23,040 Be careful of those who downplay or ignore the necessity of the 265 00:18:23,040 --> 00:18:28,680 local church elders. Accountability. 266 00:18:30,120 --> 00:18:34,320 God has commanded certain things to be in place in order for His 267 00:18:34,320 --> 00:18:36,240 work to be sustained through His people. 268 00:18:37,440 --> 00:18:40,880 So those who promote and even teach, oh, we don't need this 269 00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:43,600 and we don't need that. I have me and my Bible. 270 00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:46,760 We'll read it carefully and see what it asks of you. 271 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:50,520 And if you read it honestly and in humility, it's going to lead 272 00:18:50,520 --> 00:18:54,240 you to a church and it's going to call you to identify and 273 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:57,360 prayerfully select leaders who will be held accountable for 274 00:18:57,360 --> 00:19:00,000 supervising your soul. They will stand before. 275 00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:03,480 There is going to be a separate line on Judgement Day for 276 00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:08,000 pastors realize that according to James three, those who teach 277 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:13,200 God's word and so leadership needs to stand in awe of God and 278 00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:16,360 the people of God also need to stand in awe of God and both 279 00:19:16,360 --> 00:19:18,080 realizing their need for one another. 280 00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:22,440 More can be said about that. But this is the first group, the 281 00:19:22,440 --> 00:19:26,000 leadership of this movement. But we move on now to the second 282 00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:28,560 part of verse 2 to look at the second group of people. 283 00:19:28,840 --> 00:19:32,120 And you can write it and you can categorize it as the following, 284 00:19:32,120 --> 00:19:36,240 the men of Israel, the men of Israel. 285 00:19:36,240 --> 00:19:38,720 And you can put in parentheses the families of Israel. 286 00:19:39,480 --> 00:19:43,360 Notice again the last part of verse 2, the number of the men 287 00:19:43,360 --> 00:19:47,320 of the people of Israel. What should stand out to you 288 00:19:47,320 --> 00:19:50,800 about that part of verse 2? You would think that it would 289 00:19:50,800 --> 00:19:55,560 read the people of Judah or the people of Judah and Benjamin. 290 00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:58,280 Why? Because those were the tribes 291 00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:03,560 who were dislodged, who were removed by Nebuchadnezzar. 292 00:20:04,320 --> 00:20:09,400 But again, you have yet another clear indication that God is 293 00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:14,120 beginning a new work and he is wanting to encompass all his 294 00:20:14,120 --> 00:20:17,600 people. He wants to restore the unity of 295 00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:22,360 the nation, and he's using this kind of language, Israel. 296 00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:27,320 Israel's coming back. It just shows us God's longing 297 00:20:27,320 --> 00:20:30,720 for the unity of his people in every generation. 298 00:20:30,960 --> 00:20:33,640 And this is refreshing to us after centuries of studying what 299 00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:37,600 a divided Kingdom, northern tribes, the southern Kingdom. 300 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:40,320 But as the people are coming back now, the language is 301 00:20:40,320 --> 00:20:42,680 changing. It's going back to its original 302 00:20:42,680 --> 00:20:48,520 design. Now, within this long list, the 303 00:20:48,520 --> 00:20:51,880 names that you find here are actually organized into two 304 00:20:51,880 --> 00:20:54,800 subgroups, and they're easy to remember. 305 00:20:55,440 --> 00:21:01,080 You have the the recordings of those who are listed by family, 306 00:21:01,840 --> 00:21:06,720 the sons of the sons of the sons of and you have those who are 307 00:21:06,720 --> 00:21:12,000 identified by their towns or their villages, the men of the 308 00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:15,920 men of. That's how you tell the 309 00:21:15,920 --> 00:21:19,680 difference between the two. And although we can attempt to 310 00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:22,900 spend our time looking at every single detail, I want to under 311 00:21:22,900 --> 00:21:29,120 score at least one, one family and one town. 312 00:21:29,720 --> 00:21:34,600 One family and 1 town and the first family is what I want us 313 00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:36,640 to look at the top of the list of verse 3. 314 00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:47,080 Let's look at verse 3, the sons of perish 2172. 315 00:21:48,280 --> 00:21:51,280 So if you compare this family with the rest, they rank among 316 00:21:51,280 --> 00:21:55,320 the highest and the largest of families returning back to 317 00:21:55,320 --> 00:21:58,080 Jerusalem. That says something about the 318 00:21:58,080 --> 00:22:01,000 value system of this family. That says something about their 319 00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:03,960 shared faith and making this decision. 320 00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:08,000 A lot of them have hundreds, and there are a few others that are 321 00:22:08,080 --> 00:22:11,680 are up there with the thousands. But the Sons of Perish are up 322 00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:16,080 there in terms of how many are going back from a single unit. 323 00:22:17,080 --> 00:22:20,480 And this should be encouraging to us, but it's also a warning. 324 00:22:21,360 --> 00:22:25,400 Do you know why it's a warning? This very same family reappears 325 00:22:25,400 --> 00:22:29,880 at the end of the book of Ezra, when the Holy Spirit, through 326 00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:36,800 Ezra, puts on record those who became guilty of the sin of 327 00:22:36,840 --> 00:22:41,160 interfaith marriage. That after years of returning 328 00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:46,520 and settling in the land, there were many of the Exiles who 329 00:22:46,520 --> 00:22:50,200 committed the grievous sin, one of the sins that actually led to 330 00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:55,360 their exile to begin with, by yoking themselves to idolaters. 331 00:22:56,120 --> 00:22:59,560 And I want you to see who first appears on the list among the 332 00:22:59,560 --> 00:23:02,160 men of Israel. I'm sure you can guess, but look 333 00:23:02,160 --> 00:23:17,320 at Ezra 10 verse 25, Ezra 10 verse 25, and of Israel, of the 334 00:23:17,320 --> 00:23:24,800 sons of Perosh, Ramaya, Izia, Malkia, Miemin, Eliezer, 335 00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:31,240 Heshabaya, and Binaya. What a sobering warning of how 336 00:23:31,240 --> 00:23:33,960 our spiritual senses can grow dull over time. 337 00:23:36,120 --> 00:23:41,120 The same men whose spirits were stirred by God to leave comfort 338 00:23:41,120 --> 00:23:45,320 and community for a wasteland to glorify the Lord. 339 00:23:46,360 --> 00:23:55,240 Over time, we're stirred by intense lust to partner in 340 00:23:55,240 --> 00:24:00,600 marriage with those who hate the God of Israel and the truth. 341 00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:08,680 And you and I, looking at this, learn a very valuable truth. 342 00:24:09,920 --> 00:24:17,200 We cannot afford our devotion to Christ to ride on a single 343 00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:23,880 moment or series of events. We must nurture and guard our 344 00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:32,360 hearts daily, every day, every week, every month, year by year. 345 00:24:34,760 --> 00:24:36,920 They were stirred in Ezra chapter 1. 346 00:24:37,040 --> 00:24:40,240 Surely Ezra 2 proves it. They made their way back to 347 00:24:40,240 --> 00:24:44,200 Jerusalem where their hearts still stirred in Ezra 10. 348 00:24:45,160 --> 00:24:53,840 Evidently, no, you can't. You can't afford to rest your 349 00:24:53,840 --> 00:24:56,960 faithfulness upon some past experience. 350 00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:03,960 We are forgetful. We are easily distracted. 351 00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:07,920 It requires a daily effort to seek the Lord, to plant your 352 00:25:07,920 --> 00:25:10,920 eyes on Him, and to feed your soul with His word and to 353 00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:15,240 fellowship in His presence. The sons of Paris show us that 354 00:25:15,240 --> 00:25:20,240 you can start well, but overtime lose track and even return to 355 00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:23,400 the very things that you you said you would never do again. 356 00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:28,560 Oh, what a sobering lesson. And this is what we learned from 357 00:25:28,560 --> 00:25:31,240 at least one family. Can you imagine what else we can 358 00:25:31,240 --> 00:25:33,240 learn if we look at more? But we won't. 359 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:36,560 We're going to read now, and this is where it's going to 360 00:25:36,560 --> 00:25:38,280 demand your attention. We're going to make an attempt 361 00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:43,520 to read through all these names and stop at verse 23. 362 00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:47,080 Can we do that? Verse 4. 363 00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:54,720 The sons a chef Ataya 372. The sons of Ara, 775. 364 00:25:55,080 --> 00:25:58,120 The sons of Payath Moab, namely the sons of Joshua and Joab, 365 00:25:58,120 --> 00:26:03,000 2812. The sons of Elam, 1254. 366 00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:08,240 The sons of Zatu 945. The sons of Zakai, 760. 367 00:26:08,480 --> 00:26:13,640 The sons of Banai, 642. The sons of Bibai, 623. 368 00:26:13,840 --> 00:26:19,840 The sons of Asghat, 1222. The sons of Adonikem, 666. 369 00:26:20,440 --> 00:26:26,480 The sons of Big Vai, 2056. The sons of Aden, 454. 370 00:26:26,760 --> 00:26:29,840 The sons of Eder, namely of Hezekiah, 98. 371 00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:34,640 The sons of Bizai, 323. The sons of Jorah, 112. 372 00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:39,400 The sons of Haisham, 223. The sons of Gibar, 95. 373 00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:44,040 The sons of Bethlehem, 123. The men of Nitophat, 56. 374 00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:52,520 The men of Anathoth, 128. I was stopped in my tracks when 375 00:26:52,520 --> 00:26:56,640 I came to verse 23, and the same should be true of you. 376 00:26:59,880 --> 00:27:02,000 Does Anathoth sound familiar to anybody here? 377 00:27:05,200 --> 00:27:08,040 Any idea why this town is significant? 378 00:27:09,480 --> 00:27:12,960 It is the hometown of Jeremiah the prophet according to 379 00:27:12,960 --> 00:27:17,640 Jeremiah 11. And what's amazing about this 380 00:27:17,640 --> 00:27:21,200 hometown is it not only had a claim to fame, if you will, 381 00:27:22,120 --> 00:27:26,200 unfortunately, they developed a notorious reputation for 382 00:27:26,200 --> 00:27:31,960 persecuting Jeremiah. And so ugly and nasty was their 383 00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:35,800 treatment of the servant of God that the Lord addressed this 384 00:27:35,800 --> 00:27:40,000 specific town in the book of Jeremiah and gave a very 385 00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:43,840 harrowing promise. Jeremiah 11. 386 00:27:43,880 --> 00:27:45,600 Let's turn there and see what happens. 387 00:27:46,400 --> 00:28:03,000 Jeremiah 11, verse 21. Says therefore thus says the 388 00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:07,480 Lord concerning the men of Anathoth who seek your life and 389 00:28:07,480 --> 00:28:12,240 say, do not prophecy in the name of the Lord, or you will die by 390 00:28:12,240 --> 00:28:17,320 our hand. Can you imagine this men from 391 00:28:17,320 --> 00:28:20,400 your hometown, children that you grew up with on the streets, 392 00:28:20,400 --> 00:28:26,600 playing families that integrated with your own, are so sick and 393 00:28:26,600 --> 00:28:32,120 tired of your ministry, are so turned off by the word of the 394 00:28:32,120 --> 00:28:35,040 Lord through your mouth, that they threatened to actually kill 395 00:28:35,040 --> 00:28:38,880 you? Let's read on in verse 22. 396 00:28:39,600 --> 00:28:43,440 Therefore thus says the Lord of Hosts, Behold, I will punish 397 00:28:43,440 --> 00:28:46,920 them. The young men shall die by the 398 00:28:46,920 --> 00:28:50,520 sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by famine, 399 00:28:50,760 --> 00:28:54,680 and none of them shall be left, for I will bring disaster upon 400 00:28:54,680 --> 00:28:58,720 the man of Anathoth the year of their punishment. 401 00:29:02,440 --> 00:29:06,280 If you have never read the book of Ezra, or maybe you have but 402 00:29:06,280 --> 00:29:09,440 decide to skip chapter 2 because you glance at the list and 403 00:29:09,440 --> 00:29:14,160 thought this isn't really important to me, and then you 404 00:29:14,160 --> 00:29:18,880 come to this text. For example, you might arrive at 405 00:29:18,880 --> 00:29:23,200 the conclusion that when God spoke and promised to destroy 406 00:29:23,200 --> 00:29:25,200 the men of Anathot that he did so completely. 407 00:29:27,680 --> 00:29:30,920 This sounds like total annihilation at face value, does 408 00:29:30,920 --> 00:29:33,240 it not? I will destroy you. 409 00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:38,160 None of them shall be left. But then you come to Ezra 410 00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:42,080 chapter 2, and you read down that list, and you make a 411 00:29:42,080 --> 00:29:47,400 startling discovery. The men of Anathoth are still 412 00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:55,720 around #1 and #2 they're actually going back to 413 00:29:55,720 --> 00:30:00,240 Jerusalem. What an important reminder never 414 00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:05,720 to skip any part of the Bible. And more than that, this 415 00:30:05,720 --> 00:30:09,680 genealogy teaches us that the Lord not only preserve the 416 00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:16,280 remnant of this condemned town, but stirred their hearts to come 417 00:30:16,280 --> 00:30:20,560 back home. Did he judge the the generation 418 00:30:20,560 --> 00:30:22,600 that harassed his servant Jeremiah? 419 00:30:23,200 --> 00:30:28,920 Yes, he did, But He did not hold their sin against them forever. 420 00:30:32,280 --> 00:30:38,400 And when it came to this move of God in Babylonia after Cyrus the 421 00:30:38,400 --> 00:30:42,920 king of Persia took over, God did not skip over the men of 422 00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:48,760 Anathoth when he decided to woo his people back into his arms. 423 00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:55,520 You would think if we had that kind of power and scanning 424 00:30:55,520 --> 00:30:58,440 through the Exiles and finding the men of Anathoth, oh, yeah. 425 00:30:58,440 --> 00:31:00,600 You were the ones who didn't believe my word through my 426 00:31:00,600 --> 00:31:03,200 prophet. You were so despicable, so 427 00:31:03,200 --> 00:31:05,640 disrespectful, so persistent in your rebellion. 428 00:31:06,080 --> 00:31:09,400 How about you stay in Babylon? It's actually what you deserve. 429 00:31:11,360 --> 00:31:15,040 It's not what the Lord does. This move, this moved me so 430 00:31:15,040 --> 00:31:20,960 deeply that here, these men with a very dark past, very 431 00:31:20,960 --> 00:31:26,760 dishonorable history, had their spirits moved by the hand of 432 00:31:26,760 --> 00:31:29,360 God. It's time to go home. 433 00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:33,880 It's time to come back. It's time to go back to the 434 00:31:33,880 --> 00:31:39,480 promise that I even gave you. Who who thought that you can be 435 00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:42,520 moved by the grace of God in a list of names? 436 00:31:43,760 --> 00:31:47,800 But it's there. And what a refreshing thing for 437 00:31:47,800 --> 00:31:52,920 us, who might even have many failures, that every time you 438 00:31:52,920 --> 00:31:57,600 even think about it makes you cringe, makes you ashamed, makes 439 00:31:57,600 --> 00:32:02,080 you want to hide. Look at the men of Anathoth and 440 00:32:02,080 --> 00:32:03,440 look at the grace of God in this. 441 00:32:05,560 --> 00:32:09,120 He can restore anybody. And you look at these other 442 00:32:09,120 --> 00:32:11,800 names in these other towns, and that's just reinforced over and 443 00:32:11,800 --> 00:32:15,160 over. It's amazing when you actually 444 00:32:15,160 --> 00:32:17,920 look at the accounts of these towns and these families and 445 00:32:17,920 --> 00:32:22,520 their histories, how much this chapter drips with mercy. 446 00:32:25,400 --> 00:32:30,040 This is the second group, the men of Israel, And we just 447 00:32:30,040 --> 00:32:34,200 looked at one family and 1 town, and there's a lot left in there 448 00:32:34,200 --> 00:32:39,160 for you to discover on your own. Let's come to the last one for 449 00:32:39,160 --> 00:32:41,640 our study where we will spend the most time. 450 00:32:43,440 --> 00:32:51,760 We read to verse 23, but let's come down here to verse 36. 451 00:32:53,720 --> 00:33:00,600 The priests, the sons of Jediah of the House of Joshua, 973 The 452 00:33:00,600 --> 00:33:08,720 sons of Imr, 1052 The sons of Pashur, 1247 The Sons of Harem 453 00:33:09,280 --> 00:33:14,520 1017 verse 40. The Levites, the sons of Joshua 454 00:33:14,720 --> 00:33:20,480 and Cadmiel, and the sons of Hoda Vaya 74 Now it would be 455 00:33:20,480 --> 00:33:24,360 totally acceptable to separate the priests and the Levites in 456 00:33:24,360 --> 00:33:27,520 their own categories, but I chose to merge them under a 457 00:33:27,520 --> 00:33:31,520 single heading. So here's the third group, the 458 00:33:31,520 --> 00:33:39,120 priests and the Levites. Now, remember, every priest in 459 00:33:39,120 --> 00:33:45,680 the Old Covenant had to be a Levite, but not every Levite was 460 00:33:45,680 --> 00:33:51,320 a priest. Within the Levitical tribe, you 461 00:33:51,320 --> 00:33:55,920 had one family that was set apart to be the priestly line. 462 00:33:55,920 --> 00:33:57,760 Which family? The sons of who? 463 00:33:58,440 --> 00:33:59,360 Aaron. Very good. 464 00:33:59,880 --> 00:34:04,720 So only the sons of Aaron were permitted to offer sacrifices, 465 00:34:04,720 --> 00:34:08,760 for example, and other functions within the House of God. 466 00:34:09,600 --> 00:34:11,760 So then what about the Levites? What, what, what were they 467 00:34:11,760 --> 00:34:13,199 called to? Well, they were ministers as 468 00:34:13,199 --> 00:34:18,440 well, but they were called by God to assist the priests. 469 00:34:19,239 --> 00:34:21,960 In fact, when you look at the Book of Numbers, the Levites are 470 00:34:21,960 --> 00:34:24,480 called a gift to the sons of Aaron. 471 00:34:24,480 --> 00:34:28,600 They would, in many helpful and practical ways, help and assist 472 00:34:29,120 --> 00:34:31,520 the priest in doing what they were called to do, but they 473 00:34:31,520 --> 00:34:33,080 could not be priests in the same way. 474 00:34:33,480 --> 00:34:37,880 So the Levites were ministers in and around the temple, but they 475 00:34:37,880 --> 00:34:40,840 were never to be priest. Only the descendants of Aaron 476 00:34:40,840 --> 00:34:44,239 were permitted to do so. And here's what we have to ask 477 00:34:44,239 --> 00:34:50,000 ourselves when looking at this. There's a staggering 478 00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:55,159 observation. If you have only one family 479 00:34:55,679 --> 00:34:58,360 within the Levitical tribe that were called to be priest, 480 00:34:59,080 --> 00:35:02,120 wouldn't that mean then that the rest of the Levites would 481 00:35:02,120 --> 00:35:08,240 naturally outnumber the priests? Wouldn't there be more Levites 482 00:35:08,480 --> 00:35:11,160 than sons of Aaron? Answer yes. 483 00:35:11,480 --> 00:35:13,680 And in fact, when you look at other genealogies in the Bible 484 00:35:13,680 --> 00:35:16,120 and the priests are accounted for in comparison to the 485 00:35:16,120 --> 00:35:20,920 Levites, the Levites always, always, always outnumber the 486 00:35:20,920 --> 00:35:24,160 sons of Aaron. Did you see the numbers that we 487 00:35:24,160 --> 00:35:26,720 just read? Look at it again. 488 00:35:26,960 --> 00:35:31,000 Compare the numbers of verse 36 down to verse 39 with what we 489 00:35:31,000 --> 00:35:32,800 find in verse 40. Look at it again. 490 00:35:33,880 --> 00:35:37,800 The sons of Jediah and verse 36 of the House of Jeshua in 973. 491 00:35:38,040 --> 00:35:42,680 The sons of Emer, 1052. The sons of Pascha, 1247. 492 00:35:42,800 --> 00:35:46,480 The sons of Harem, 1017. These are the priests. 493 00:35:46,480 --> 00:35:49,920 These are the sons of Aaron. And then you come to verse 40. 494 00:35:49,920 --> 00:35:52,360 What do you discover? The Levites, the sons of Jeshua 495 00:35:52,360 --> 00:35:58,080 and Cadmium, the sons of Hodavaya 74 That's strange. 496 00:35:59,320 --> 00:36:03,160 That doesn't seem right. Now some want to say, well, hold 497 00:36:03,160 --> 00:36:05,000 on. Look at what we find next in 498 00:36:05,000 --> 00:36:07,160 verse 41. The singers, the sons of Asaph 499 00:36:07,160 --> 00:36:13,000 128 The sons of the gatekeepers. Scroll down in all 139. 500 00:36:13,080 --> 00:36:16,120 Well, singers and gatekeepers were what? 501 00:36:16,640 --> 00:36:19,800 They were also Levites. OK, but even if you combine 502 00:36:19,800 --> 00:36:24,480 them, they are still far fewer in number than the sons of 503 00:36:24,520 --> 00:36:28,600 Aaron. Now, in case one might think 504 00:36:29,560 --> 00:36:32,480 maybe we're reading too much into the small inclusion of the 505 00:36:32,480 --> 00:36:36,440 Levites, I want to actually let you know that it was a concern 506 00:36:36,440 --> 00:36:39,640 to another person, not a commentator, not a modern day 507 00:36:39,640 --> 00:36:45,040 theologian, to Ezra. Who was the one who led the 508 00:36:45,040 --> 00:36:47,560 first wave back to Jerusalem? What's his name? 509 00:36:48,200 --> 00:36:49,800 Very good. Who is the 2nd leader of the 510 00:36:49,800 --> 00:36:51,160 second wave? Ezra. 511 00:36:51,160 --> 00:36:54,560 Very good. Look what Ezra does in Ezra 8, 512 00:36:55,320 --> 00:37:01,120 Ezra 8, verse one, just to confirm that this is his own 513 00:37:01,120 --> 00:37:05,520 genealogy of the men and the families that he led back to the 514 00:37:05,520 --> 00:37:09,280 Promised Land, Ezra 8, verse one. 515 00:37:10,320 --> 00:37:12,960 These are the heads of the father, their father's houses. 516 00:37:13,200 --> 00:37:16,400 And this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from 517 00:37:16,400 --> 00:37:19,360 Babylonia in the reign of Arctic Xerxes, the king. 518 00:37:19,360 --> 00:37:24,160 So this is his own genealogy now of the people that he led back. 519 00:37:24,960 --> 00:37:27,120 Now Scroll down to verse 15 of Ezra 8. 520 00:37:27,880 --> 00:37:30,640 Ezra writes in verse 15. I gather them to the river that 521 00:37:30,640 --> 00:37:34,160 runs Sahaba and there we camped 3 days. 522 00:37:34,520 --> 00:37:38,800 As I reviewed the people and the priest, I found there none of 523 00:37:38,800 --> 00:37:44,280 the sons of Levi. Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, 524 00:37:44,280 --> 00:37:48,760 Shamaya, El Nathan, Jereb El Nathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and 525 00:37:48,760 --> 00:37:52,880 Meshulan leading men, and for Joy Rib and Al Nathan, who are 526 00:37:52,880 --> 00:37:57,400 men of insight, and sent them to Edo, the leading man at the 527 00:37:57,400 --> 00:38:01,160 place of Casafia, telling them what to say to Edo and his 528 00:38:01,160 --> 00:38:04,880 brothers and the temple servants at the place Casafia, namely to 529 00:38:04,880 --> 00:38:08,200 send us ministers for the House of our God. 530 00:38:10,160 --> 00:38:11,920 So Ezra, on his journey back, stops. 531 00:38:11,920 --> 00:38:15,120 He pauses, He reviews the registry and he realizes we 532 00:38:15,120 --> 00:38:18,640 don't have any Levites. And So what does he do? 533 00:38:18,640 --> 00:38:22,560 He begins a recruitment campaign and he sends trusted men to go 534 00:38:22,560 --> 00:38:26,720 back to Babylonia under a new ruler at this point. 535 00:38:28,320 --> 00:38:33,120 And he says, hey, find as many Levi's as you can and call them 536 00:38:33,120 --> 00:38:37,600 to their original purpose, and that is to serve God and his 537 00:38:37,600 --> 00:38:42,200 people. This is shocking. 538 00:38:44,200 --> 00:38:48,960 Chapter 2, in the first wave, you have 74 Levites, and then 539 00:38:48,960 --> 00:38:52,440 when the second cycle begins, that number goes down to what, 540 00:38:52,760 --> 00:38:58,080 0? And this is the question that I 541 00:38:58,080 --> 00:39:02,480 had. How is it that the very people 542 00:39:02,480 --> 00:39:06,280 who are set apart from all the other tribes to have unique 543 00:39:06,360 --> 00:39:11,960 access to the House of God and the elements of the place of 544 00:39:11,960 --> 00:39:15,000 worship and being in close proximity to the presence of the 545 00:39:15,000 --> 00:39:17,400 Lord? How is it that such a privilege 546 00:39:17,400 --> 00:39:22,280 group were so reluctant to return to their inheritance? 547 00:39:25,240 --> 00:39:27,040 And people speculate, people guess. 548 00:39:28,680 --> 00:39:30,760 And I believe there is one answer that makes the most 549 00:39:30,760 --> 00:39:35,400 sense. What did Jeremiah instruct the 550 00:39:35,400 --> 00:39:40,600 people when they were in exile in Jeremiah 29? 551 00:39:40,840 --> 00:39:43,280 He gave him many instructions and one of them we reviewed last 552 00:39:43,280 --> 00:39:49,960 week. Build homes, plant gardens, eat 553 00:39:49,960 --> 00:39:51,720 of the fruit of the land, have families. 554 00:39:51,720 --> 00:39:54,440 You're going to be there a while. 555 00:39:55,920 --> 00:39:58,160 Pray for the welfare of the city, because in their welfare 556 00:39:58,720 --> 00:40:03,120 you will have welfare. Now. 557 00:40:03,120 --> 00:40:06,360 You can imagine how difficult it would be after almost 2 558 00:40:06,360 --> 00:40:11,800 generations of investments. To suddenly uproot yourself, 559 00:40:11,800 --> 00:40:14,040 pack your bags, and walk away from it all. 560 00:40:14,360 --> 00:40:18,400 To go back to what? A destroyed city with virtually 561 00:40:18,400 --> 00:40:22,080 no resources, surrounded by vicious enemies? 562 00:40:24,120 --> 00:40:28,800 How much harder would it be for a Levite who could never own 563 00:40:28,800 --> 00:40:33,720 land in Israel? God was their inheritance. 564 00:40:33,720 --> 00:40:37,160 Remember, they did not have the right to own real estate. 565 00:40:38,840 --> 00:40:41,560 That's how they were differentiated from all their 566 00:40:41,560 --> 00:40:45,120 siblings. I'm your inheritance. 567 00:40:45,120 --> 00:40:48,480 God says you live by faith. I'll call the other ones to take 568 00:40:48,480 --> 00:40:50,480 care of you. So they only lived in cities 569 00:40:50,760 --> 00:40:55,360 within the tribes of the promised land and here now they 570 00:40:55,360 --> 00:41:00,080 come to a brand new country and they're actually granted homes 571 00:41:01,560 --> 00:41:06,280 and fields. They don't have to wait for the 572 00:41:06,280 --> 00:41:10,240 yearly tides. They can actually just walk in 573 00:41:10,240 --> 00:41:12,800 their slippers and go to the backyard and pick their own 574 00:41:12,800 --> 00:41:15,520 fruits and vegetables and they can even sell it. 575 00:41:15,520 --> 00:41:24,920 And what you have here is an honest commentary of a 576 00:41:24,920 --> 00:41:29,160 temptation that has kept many throughout history from obeying 577 00:41:29,160 --> 00:41:37,280 the call of God into full time ministry, held back by money, 578 00:41:38,160 --> 00:41:43,960 held back by worldly pursuits, held back by pressures even from 579 00:41:43,960 --> 00:41:48,760 their own family. There have been many since the 580 00:41:48,760 --> 00:41:56,080 days of the prophets who have reluctantly answered the call of 581 00:41:56,080 --> 00:41:59,760 God, or even though they answered it disqualified 582 00:41:59,760 --> 00:42:03,280 themselves because they they went after things that God said 583 00:42:03,280 --> 00:42:10,160 was not yours. And so this shows us the 584 00:42:10,160 --> 00:42:13,320 temptation of the world for the one who's been genuinely 585 00:42:13,320 --> 00:42:17,360 summoned by the Lord to serve him in the capacity of 586 00:42:17,360 --> 00:42:21,000 vocational full time service to him. 587 00:42:21,120 --> 00:42:24,880 But it's not limited to that. It is true for those who have 588 00:42:24,880 --> 00:42:27,960 received the nudge from the Holy Spirit and providential 589 00:42:27,960 --> 00:42:32,040 confirmation to pursue something like full time ministry. 590 00:42:32,040 --> 00:42:35,960 But it's it's also a call for those who are so invested and 591 00:42:35,960 --> 00:42:38,080 consumed by the world that they don't have any room in their 592 00:42:38,080 --> 00:42:44,960 lives to serve Christ. And I find it so amazing that 593 00:42:44,960 --> 00:42:49,240 this illustration of a haunting temptation that looms over so 594 00:42:49,240 --> 00:42:52,920 many, even perhaps some who are listening to me now, does not 595 00:42:52,920 --> 00:42:56,680 just stay in the Old Testament. It shows up in so many different 596 00:42:56,680 --> 00:42:59,880 illustrations and even one that looks similar to this in the New 597 00:42:59,880 --> 00:43:03,040 Testament. When I when I found this earlier 598 00:43:03,040 --> 00:43:05,880 this week, I rejoiced because of God's Providence and what we 599 00:43:05,880 --> 00:43:07,760 heard last Sunday. Do you remember who we spoke 600 00:43:07,760 --> 00:43:09,600 about for those who were here for the baptism service? 601 00:43:10,040 --> 00:43:11,520 Barnabas, the son of encouragement. 602 00:43:11,520 --> 00:43:13,840 And do you remember what we learned about Barnabas? 603 00:43:13,840 --> 00:43:16,440 One of the first insights about him, in fact, the introduction 604 00:43:16,440 --> 00:43:19,160 to him in our Bibles. Let me remind you, and maybe for 605 00:43:19,160 --> 00:43:21,520 those who have never seen this or weren't with us last Sunday 606 00:43:21,720 --> 00:43:25,200 in Acts 4, Barnabas was what a Levite. 607 00:43:25,200 --> 00:43:27,880 And what does Barnabas do as a Levite? 608 00:43:27,920 --> 00:43:33,000 Acts 436 when the church was experiencing revival and out of 609 00:43:33,000 --> 00:43:35,320 the abundance of people's hearts we're giving to the poor and the 610 00:43:35,320 --> 00:43:40,320 needy, Acts 436 reads. Thus Joseph, who was also called 611 00:43:40,320 --> 00:43:43,160 by the apostles, Barnabas, which means son of encouragement, A 612 00:43:43,160 --> 00:43:48,800 Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and 613 00:43:48,800 --> 00:43:51,200 brought the money and laid it at the apostles feet. 614 00:43:52,200 --> 00:43:54,800 Do you see how understanding the Old Testament helps you 615 00:43:54,800 --> 00:43:57,920 interpret the new? If you didn't know the Levites 616 00:43:57,920 --> 00:44:00,880 or how they were called by God and what was permitted and what 617 00:44:00,880 --> 00:44:03,520 was prohibited, you can just read by this and just think. 618 00:44:03,520 --> 00:44:07,240 OK yeah, Barnabas was a kind man and he was clearly a Jew. 619 00:44:07,240 --> 00:44:09,040 No, no he wasn't. He was more than a Jew, he was a 620 00:44:09,040 --> 00:44:11,640 Levite. What's a Levite doing selling 621 00:44:11,640 --> 00:44:14,720 land? You shouldn't be owning land. 622 00:44:16,640 --> 00:44:18,480 God didn't allow you to own land. 623 00:44:19,960 --> 00:44:21,640 So we have, we only have two answers here. 624 00:44:21,640 --> 00:44:25,920 One, like many of God's commands over time, they were not as 625 00:44:25,920 --> 00:44:27,200 binding. They were not taken as 626 00:44:27,200 --> 00:44:30,880 seriously. Or two, because we learned he 627 00:44:30,880 --> 00:44:33,880 was a native of Cyprus. His land was there. 628 00:44:38,080 --> 00:44:42,560 So you can imagine how hard it was for a man like Barnabas as 629 00:44:42,560 --> 00:44:48,360 he witnessed and saw a genuine move of God with the essential 630 00:44:48,360 --> 00:44:54,000 message that the Messiah has come, is now wanting to, 631 00:44:54,000 --> 00:45:00,440 prompted by God to give up land. And he does so, so willingly, so 632 00:45:00,440 --> 00:45:04,120 joyfully that it was a means of encouragement to others. 633 00:45:05,920 --> 00:45:10,040 Yes, he came from a heritage that could not experience this. 634 00:45:10,520 --> 00:45:12,600 The safety and the comfort. I can pass this down to my 635 00:45:12,600 --> 00:45:14,680 children. That didn't matter to Barnabas. 636 00:45:17,240 --> 00:45:19,960 He saw the cause of Christ and the message of Christ worth 637 00:45:19,960 --> 00:45:23,960 everything he had and when he had opportunity to give in his 638 00:45:23,960 --> 00:45:25,480 own way. And this is not a call for us to 639 00:45:25,480 --> 00:45:27,440 just sell everything. That's that's not the message. 640 00:45:27,800 --> 00:45:30,240 It's to give yourself over completely. 641 00:45:30,960 --> 00:45:35,920 He did so look at how Barnabas is so much more different than 642 00:45:35,920 --> 00:45:47,400 the Levites in Ezra chapter 274 down to 0 with such a wide open 643 00:45:47,400 --> 00:45:52,320 door to go back and to actually be one of The Pioneers of 644 00:45:52,320 --> 00:45:56,760 rebuilding the House of God and ministering to the people of God 645 00:45:56,760 --> 00:46:00,320 from the presence of God. And they thought my cucumber 646 00:46:00,320 --> 00:46:04,760 field is better than that. You think that's silly? 647 00:46:05,080 --> 00:46:10,400 OK, there are people like, like the Levites today who are 648 00:46:10,400 --> 00:46:14,280 slaving over the silliest of things. 649 00:46:16,880 --> 00:46:21,920 And then you meet Barnabas. And he reminds us, I'm sure even 650 00:46:21,920 --> 00:46:25,560 of what we find here in Ezra, that there was something far 651 00:46:25,560 --> 00:46:29,200 greater than a temple, far greater than land, far greater 652 00:46:29,200 --> 00:46:33,720 than borders and walls, far greater than regions and 653 00:46:34,520 --> 00:46:38,640 mountain tops and land flowing with milk and honey. 654 00:46:39,600 --> 00:46:48,640 Christ, Christ, where's our excuse with someone so much 655 00:46:48,640 --> 00:46:51,280 greater than whatever they had under the old covenant? 656 00:46:52,920 --> 00:46:58,400 How can there even be hesitation in any person's heart or mind to 657 00:46:58,400 --> 00:47:04,080 do whatever Christ asks of them? Don't we not have a greater 658 00:47:04,440 --> 00:47:05,800 promise? Do we not have a greater king? 659 00:47:05,800 --> 00:47:07,560 Do we not have a greater covenant? 660 00:47:08,800 --> 00:47:11,800 Imitate this man and beware of falling to the trap of the 661 00:47:11,800 --> 00:47:15,720 Levites in Ezra chapter 2. Is there anything you're holding 662 00:47:15,720 --> 00:47:21,160 back tonight? Is God calling you to something 663 00:47:21,840 --> 00:47:26,680 and it's been weeks? It's been months and you 664 00:47:26,680 --> 00:47:31,600 hesitate to answer because you're afraid what He might ask 665 00:47:31,600 --> 00:47:37,080 of you. You know those Levites who 666 00:47:37,080 --> 00:47:40,560 stayed back? Can you imagine what they missed 667 00:47:40,560 --> 00:47:45,480 out on? The prophecies that would be 668 00:47:45,880 --> 00:47:48,680 shared through the prophets in that restored place? 669 00:47:50,120 --> 00:47:54,680 The privilege of being able to, though they didn't know, have 670 00:47:54,680 --> 00:47:57,000 their names written in God's word for all to see. 671 00:48:00,560 --> 00:48:03,920 It may seem like a sacrifice now, but when you really think 672 00:48:03,920 --> 00:48:07,400 about it, it's a privilege always. 673 00:48:08,160 --> 00:48:10,480 It's always an honor, no matter what the Lord asks of us. 674 00:48:10,560 --> 00:48:12,440 I mean, you're here for how long? 675 00:48:13,040 --> 00:48:19,880 On average, 72 years. Give every part of who you are 676 00:48:19,880 --> 00:48:23,560 to him, just every day. Lord, it's yours every day. 677 00:48:23,560 --> 00:48:26,280 Pray something like this, Lord, Whatever you ask of me, I will 678 00:48:26,280 --> 00:48:30,000 gladly give it. Now, encouragingly, some of 679 00:48:30,000 --> 00:48:32,720 those Levites that Ezra invited did join them. 680 00:48:33,720 --> 00:48:37,000 But what a sad sight to see here at the outset of chapter 2. 681 00:48:38,040 --> 00:48:45,320 That's so few, so few did. We'll stop here before we 682 00:48:45,320 --> 00:48:48,400 continue in the other categories and give thanks to the Lord for 683 00:48:48,400 --> 00:49:02,400 how He spoke to us tonight. Well, we do thank you that even 684 00:49:02,400 --> 00:49:07,680 through verses like this, there's gold and silver and 685 00:49:07,680 --> 00:49:13,480 precious stones. Lord, it is my prayer that every 686 00:49:13,480 --> 00:49:18,840 person here would be inspired, that every part of the Bible 687 00:49:19,000 --> 00:49:22,640 speaks. And Lord, help us remember that 688 00:49:22,640 --> 00:49:25,240 it takes the whole Bible to make a whole Christian. 689 00:49:27,320 --> 00:49:31,960 So Lord, may we never be negligent of any book, any list 690 00:49:31,960 --> 00:49:35,280 of names. May we always remember that 691 00:49:35,280 --> 00:49:37,960 you've designed your word to be cross referenced. 692 00:49:39,160 --> 00:49:46,640 Your word interprets itself. So by your grace, may we mature 693 00:49:47,280 --> 00:49:51,120 even with things like names and cities. 694 00:49:52,640 --> 00:49:56,440 And more than that, help us see Christ, the foreshadowings, the 695 00:49:56,440 --> 00:50:00,200 promises. We want it all. 696 00:50:01,240 --> 00:50:07,880 We want it all, Lord, we pray for our leaders, that they would 697 00:50:07,880 --> 00:50:11,840 be strong, they would be holy, they would be God. 698 00:50:11,840 --> 00:50:16,360 Fearing that you would raise up more leaders so that when your 699 00:50:16,360 --> 00:50:21,800 spirit moves, when revivals break out, when mass evangelism 700 00:50:21,800 --> 00:50:26,960 takes place, that work could be sustained because there are 701 00:50:26,960 --> 00:50:30,600 right leaders ready to serve God's people. 702 00:50:32,240 --> 00:50:37,160 We pray, Lord, as we saw with these families and these towns, 703 00:50:38,280 --> 00:50:40,000 that we would not be like the sons of Parachu in the 704 00:50:40,000 --> 00:50:43,200 beginning, we're so zealous and committed, but overtime became 705 00:50:43,200 --> 00:50:45,920 cold and indifferent and even dangerous in their decision 706 00:50:45,920 --> 00:50:48,600 making. At the same time, we think of 707 00:50:48,600 --> 00:50:54,240 the men of Anathoth who are undeserving of experiencing the 708 00:50:54,240 --> 00:50:57,520 move of the Holy Spirit in their hearts, but were recipients of 709 00:50:57,520 --> 00:51:00,520 it. We see the hint of your mercy 710 00:51:00,520 --> 00:51:02,200 even in that. And we pray for those who are 711 00:51:02,200 --> 00:51:06,640 broken and wounded listening to this study, that they would also 712 00:51:06,640 --> 00:51:09,000 sense your Spirit stirring in their hearts. 713 00:51:10,440 --> 00:51:14,760 And Lord, we look at the priests and the Levites, and we see your 714 00:51:14,760 --> 00:51:17,800 wonderful grace in preserving the royal and the priestly line. 715 00:51:17,800 --> 00:51:22,560 But oh Lord, these Levites, what discouragement is this? 716 00:51:23,960 --> 00:51:26,640 Lord, if there's anything of this world that's holding us 717 00:51:26,640 --> 00:51:31,920 back from giving our all to you and being a part of building 718 00:51:31,920 --> 00:51:39,480 your house, show us how foolish and how feeble these things are 719 00:51:40,800 --> 00:51:45,040 that we may be constantly ready to run in the direction of Your 720 00:51:45,040 --> 00:51:47,920 call for our lives. For some that might be full time 721 00:51:47,920 --> 00:51:50,440 ministry. For others, it may just be a 722 00:51:50,440 --> 00:51:54,920 place in the church where they can fill a gap and they can 723 00:51:54,920 --> 00:51:57,840 serve the purposes of God within the local assembly. 724 00:51:59,000 --> 00:52:01,960 Lord, we are eager to see the other groups and what you have 725 00:52:01,960 --> 00:52:05,240 to teach us. Until then, may these Drews 726 00:52:05,680 --> 00:52:11,040 marinate in our hearts and bleed into our souls and change us. 727 00:52:11,040 --> 00:52:13,520 For your glory and your name we pray. 728 00:52:13,920 --> 00:52:15,920 Amen. Let's stand and worship the 729 00:52:15,920 --> 00:52:17,000 Lord. Give him thanks. 730 00:52:17,280 --> 00:52:19,080 Let's give him. Let's give him thanks for Genie, 731 00:52:19,080 --> 00:52:22,560 all of the Geez, tonight. We thank you for those names. 732 00:52:22,720 --> 00:52:26,360 We thank you for those numbers. We thank you that your wisdom is 733 00:52:26,360 --> 00:52:36,200 woven in between it all. You know, over the years, I have 734 00:52:36,440 --> 00:52:39,360 heard people who would dare to handle a text like that. 735 00:52:40,320 --> 00:52:42,880 And I've been more discouraged than encourage of how that was 736 00:52:42,880 --> 00:52:45,720 done. And one of the reasons for that 737 00:52:45,720 --> 00:52:49,440 is because the impression that was given as it was being 738 00:52:49,440 --> 00:52:52,480 expounded was this is almost like silly, like let's just do 739 00:52:52,480 --> 00:52:55,040 this to get it over with because it's there and it's God's word, 740 00:52:55,040 --> 00:52:57,080 and let's just try our best here. 741 00:52:57,080 --> 00:53:01,840 And so frivolous, even borderline irreverent. 742 00:53:03,160 --> 00:53:07,000 But I'll be honest, if you came to me in the first few years of 743 00:53:07,000 --> 00:53:12,480 my walk with the Lord and said, you know, you can actually 744 00:53:12,480 --> 00:53:18,160 worship God in this genealogy through this genealogy, that 745 00:53:18,160 --> 00:53:21,120 would probably hard be hard for me to believe at first. 746 00:53:21,200 --> 00:53:24,640 But I'll tell you something so early in the study of Ezra, 747 00:53:24,680 --> 00:53:27,760 especially in this chapter, because of the nature of the 748 00:53:27,760 --> 00:53:30,680 framework of this text and what I was discovering as I was 749 00:53:30,680 --> 00:53:32,000 reading on. And there's things that were 750 00:53:32,000 --> 00:53:36,960 even left out. I worshipped, I worshiped God in 751 00:53:36,960 --> 00:53:39,120 my study. I found myself at a new level of 752 00:53:39,120 --> 00:53:42,120 worship. Lord, this is incredible. 753 00:53:42,800 --> 00:53:48,680 I'm, I'm just like God's voice was vibrating through those 754 00:53:48,680 --> 00:53:52,400 names and those numbers. And I thought one of my main 755 00:53:52,400 --> 00:53:56,480 prayers for this study was I want every person there to feel 756 00:53:56,480 --> 00:53:58,760 the same way. And I hope your heart is 757 00:53:58,760 --> 00:54:03,000 encouraged and don't be frustrated and don't, don't beat 758 00:54:03,000 --> 00:54:05,280 yourself up. If you're like Anathoth, 759 00:54:05,280 --> 00:54:07,120 Anathoth, come on, man. I would have read right back 760 00:54:07,120 --> 00:54:09,120 that I would have probably, I don't know what I would have 761 00:54:09,160 --> 00:54:12,080 done with Anathoth. This is what the study is for, 762 00:54:12,080 --> 00:54:15,840 not just for you to hear, but to be equipped not just to learn, 763 00:54:15,840 --> 00:54:20,040 but to be built up, and over time you will develop the lens 764 00:54:20,400 --> 00:54:24,760 as we endeavour to do this together, to see gold in every 765 00:54:24,760 --> 00:54:26,360 part of God's Word. Amen. 766 00:54:27,440 --> 00:54:31,560 We do worship you, Lord. We actually almost tremble, 767 00:54:31,560 --> 00:54:36,120 Lord, in your presence with a text like this, to see just your 768 00:54:36,120 --> 00:54:42,520 wisdom and your brilliance and your glory behind every aspect 769 00:54:42,520 --> 00:54:46,040 in detail. We come before you in lowliness, 770 00:54:46,760 --> 00:54:50,920 but also with excitement, thinking this is truly Your 771 00:54:50,920 --> 00:54:53,360 word. Oh, we pray that that would be 772 00:54:53,360 --> 00:54:56,000 our realization every morning when we wake up. 773 00:54:56,040 --> 00:54:58,960 I have to hear him speak. I can't wait to. 774 00:54:59,320 --> 00:55:01,200 What is he going to say to me in Leviticus? 775 00:55:01,200 --> 00:55:03,640 What is he going to say to me in Zephaniah? 776 00:55:03,640 --> 00:55:05,960 What is he going to say to me in Philemon? 777 00:55:05,960 --> 00:55:08,560 Lord, give us the eyes to see and the ears to hear. 778 00:55:09,040 --> 00:55:11,000 This can only come from the Holy Spirit. 779 00:55:11,760 --> 00:55:14,640 Open our understanding so that we can fellowship with You in 780 00:55:14,640 --> 00:55:17,120 Your word. Thank you for this part of this 781 00:55:17,120 --> 00:55:19,400 chapter. Bring us back again should you 782 00:55:19,400 --> 00:55:24,160 tarry, so that we can enjoy more of it in Jesus name, Amen. 783 00:55:24,560 --> 00:55:24,920 Amen.