1 00:00:01,240 --> 00:00:03,320 Ezra, Chapter 8. If you're already there, then 2 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:07,360 you perhaps have recognized that what we have before us this 3 00:00:07,360 --> 00:00:10,400 evening is yet another genealogy. 4 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:14,640 And you have been here long enough, I'm sure, to be 5 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:19,400 convinced that even such records are worthy to be examined 6 00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:23,320 carefully, that they carry, yes, even lists of names, names that 7 00:00:23,480 --> 00:00:26,800 names that you might have trouble even pronouncing have 8 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:29,800 value. And they hold instruction. 9 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:32,960 And there's inspiration and wonderful connections for the 10 00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:35,680 diligent student. We've seen this in previous 11 00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:38,120 studies. But we have to ask this 12 00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:41,480 question. Why are we presented yet another 13 00:00:41,680 --> 00:00:45,400 registry in the short book? Known as the Book of Ezra. 14 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:49,800 Well, if you were here last week in the past few studies, then 15 00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:52,520 you would remember that in Ezra Chapter 7, we were introduced to 16 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:56,280 Ezra the man, and we learned that he is going to be set apart 17 00:00:56,680 --> 00:01:02,240 by God to lead this expedition of a second wave of Jews 18 00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:07,120 returning to their homeland. And so we've learned already 19 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:10,600 about Ezra, at least enough about him to trust his character 20 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:14,000 to understand that God is backing up this man's mission. 21 00:01:14,360 --> 00:01:18,640 But now Ezra by the Spirit wants to inform us about who's going 22 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:21,560 with him. And that's what this list is 23 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:24,160 about. We are going to see the 24 00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:26,120 different families, the different divisions. 25 00:01:26,120 --> 00:01:29,520 That will be joining him on this journey now. 26 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:35,480 It has been approximately 80 years since the first major 27 00:01:35,480 --> 00:01:39,360 group of Jews made their way back to Jerusalem, and now we 28 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:43,440 are about to encounter the second large group that will be 29 00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:46,840 joining the rest. But before we begin to look at 30 00:01:46,840 --> 00:01:50,800 this directory, I want us to remind ourselves of what Ezra 31 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:55,840 said in his summary of this expedition in Ezra Chapter 7 32 00:01:55,840 --> 00:01:57,520 verse. 7 Let's look at it together. 33 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:05,560 And there went up also to Jerusalem in the seventh year of 34 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:11,480 Arctic Xerxes, the king, some of the people of Israel, and some 35 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:16,760 of the priests and Levites, the singers and gatekeepers, and the 36 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:19,880 temple servants. Let's pause and pray for a 37 00:02:19,880 --> 00:02:23,920 moment. Lord, just reading your word 38 00:02:24,640 --> 00:02:30,600 provokes us to reverence you and to seek you in humility. 39 00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:35,520 And so, Lord, at this time, as your church gathers around these 40 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:40,600 truths, we pray that you would gift us with the grace of 41 00:02:40,600 --> 00:02:44,840 illumination and that even a text like this would be 42 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:50,520 nourishing, enlightening and transformative to our own walk 43 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:53,040 with you. So Lord, we pray that you would 44 00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:59,640 take this moment to glorify your name as we understand your voice 45 00:02:59,640 --> 00:03:02,000 at this time. In Jesus name we pray. 46 00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:05,320 Amen. So what we just read in that one 47 00:03:05,320 --> 00:03:09,600 verse again is a summary of what Ezra is about to explain in 48 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:13,360 detail in this new chapter. But I want you to notice that in 49 00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:17,280 verse 7 of Ezra Chapter 7, he lets us know that it was only 50 00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:22,080 some some of the Exiles who went back with him to Jerusalem. 51 00:03:22,080 --> 00:03:23,880 And he emphasizes this, at least in the ESV. 52 00:03:23,920 --> 00:03:27,440 And we talked about this when we were in Ezra Chapter 7. 53 00:03:27,440 --> 00:03:29,600 But it's worth looking back at again. 54 00:03:30,160 --> 00:03:33,800 You would think that a man like Ezra, with the zeal, character, 55 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:38,960 insight, and other wonderful virtues that he possessed, would 56 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:44,520 be the means of inspiring most, if not all of the Exiles to join 57 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:49,040 him, to partner with him, to unite with him, to return back 58 00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:53,880 to the city of God. But instead, we learned that 59 00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:57,280 it's only some. To me, that's staggering. 60 00:03:58,400 --> 00:04:03,360 Yet at the same time, it's it's helpful because as remarkable as 61 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:07,360 Ezra was as a leader, as passionate as he was, as 62 00:04:07,360 --> 00:04:11,440 dedicated as he was, even a man like this could not rally 63 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:16,120 everyone in his world to join him for the cause of the 64 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:19,480 righteousness of God and the holiness of God and the 65 00:04:19,480 --> 00:04:22,000 restoration of the the name of God. 66 00:04:23,040 --> 00:04:26,440 And this is quite shocking at first, I think, but we have to 67 00:04:26,440 --> 00:04:29,400 remember that this in no way discredits his relationship with 68 00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:33,280 the Lord, in no way undermines his fidelity to the truth, does 69 00:04:33,280 --> 00:04:34,840 it? I mean, in that same chapter 70 00:04:34,840 --> 00:04:37,920 where we learned that only some joined him, we also see that he 71 00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:42,040 was exceptional in his walk with the Lord, that he loved the word 72 00:04:42,040 --> 00:04:44,440 of God, that he loved God, that he was a man who obeyed it 73 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:50,480 before he taught it. And yet only some signed up for 74 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:53,520 this cause to return back and to bring glory to God. 75 00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:58,880 And this is something for you and I to consider because we 76 00:04:58,880 --> 00:05:02,520 might be discouraged at times, maybe even overcome with doubt, 77 00:05:03,640 --> 00:05:06,320 because those who are in our circles, those who are around 78 00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:10,200 us, those who are in our worlds, don't seem to share the same 79 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:17,080 drive or convictions or desires for God and his Kingdom, the 80 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:19,880 gospel. And no matter what we do, no 81 00:05:19,880 --> 00:05:22,360 matter what we say, it doesn't seem like it doesn't work. 82 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:26,240 It's not persuasive enough. It's not compelling enough. 83 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:27,600 Is there something wrong with me? 84 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:30,880 Is there something wrong with, with, with my knowledge? 85 00:05:30,880 --> 00:05:33,400 Is there something wrong with my, my gifting? 86 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:36,560 And, and in moments like that, where you feel perhaps 87 00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:41,480 inadequate, insignificant, or even worse, unqualified, 88 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:46,440 remember, Ezra, that even Ezra can only recruit some. 89 00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:51,240 And if you and I are not careful, we can spill most of 90 00:05:51,240 --> 00:05:57,160 our energy out of frustration toward those who aren't, instead 91 00:05:57,160 --> 00:06:01,440 of investing in those who are the people in our lives whom God 92 00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:05,200 has placed, who have an openness and an eagerness and a longing. 93 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:08,200 Discipline yourself. By God's grace. 94 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:13,440 Train yourself to draw towards those who are being drawn by the 95 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:16,640 Lord, not towards those who are drawing away from Him or who are 96 00:06:16,640 --> 00:06:19,080 indifferent. Look at those who are willing to 97 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:21,920 make an investment. Look at those who have kernels 98 00:06:22,640 --> 00:06:26,600 of growth or, or potential. Those are the ones that you are 99 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:31,520 supposed to look to and help, as this man does. 100 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:36,800 Now we're about to begin this directory, and it's a very, very 101 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:41,320 simple breakdown. Ezra is a teacher, and we see 102 00:06:41,320 --> 00:06:45,480 that even in the way he puts this together, this list of 103 00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:49,120 names that we're about to look at has three sections or three 104 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:52,440 divisions. He wants to show us #1 the 105 00:06:52,440 --> 00:06:56,040 priestly sector that is going to join him. 106 00:06:56,360 --> 00:06:59,400 And then right after he's going to describe the royal line. 107 00:06:59,600 --> 00:07:04,680 And finally, he is going to spell out the lay families that 108 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:07,160 will also partner with them. And interestingly, when you come 109 00:07:07,160 --> 00:07:11,240 to that last part, the list of clans, there are actually a 110 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:16,960 total of 1212. Now, they don't each represent 111 00:07:16,960 --> 00:07:20,000 the 12 tribes of Israel, but I believe even in this, there's a 112 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:23,560 thematic kind of representation that we're almost again seeing 113 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:27,040 this restoration of the tribes of Israel as they now make their 114 00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:30,040 way back to God's original purpose and plan for them. 115 00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:35,160 So this is really an overview. It's a simple format for us to 116 00:07:35,520 --> 00:07:38,120 understand, but now we're going to consider the details and 117 00:07:38,120 --> 00:07:39,960 we'll begin with verse one of Ezra 8. 118 00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:43,240 Let's look at it together now, Ezra writes. 119 00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:49,320 These are the heads of their father's houses. 120 00:07:49,880 --> 00:07:53,680 And this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from 121 00:07:53,680 --> 00:07:56,880 Babylonia in the reign of Arctic Xerxes, the king. 122 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:00,840 So the first thing that Ezra wants to do is he prepares the 123 00:08:00,840 --> 00:08:06,440 reader of the leaders among these families who played a 124 00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:09,360 significant role in inspiring their relatives to take this 125 00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:12,400 step of faith. He calls them the heads of their 126 00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:16,600 father's houses. And right here we're supposed to 127 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:20,680 understand that these individuals did something in 128 00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:24,080 order to stir up those who were under their care. 129 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:27,560 And you even find this in Ezra's wording when he looks at these 130 00:08:27,560 --> 00:08:30,200 distinct families separately. So let's get a glimpse of it, 131 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:33,159 especially for verses 4 down to verse 14. 132 00:08:33,280 --> 00:08:37,120 Look at Ezra 8, verse 4 for a moment, of the sons of Pahath, 133 00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:42,760 Moab, Elio, and I, the son of Zariah, and with him 200 men. 134 00:08:43,360 --> 00:08:48,000 Look at verse 5 of the sons of Zaktu Shekinah, the son of 135 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:54,600 Jaziel, and with him 300 men. Look at verse six of the sons of 136 00:08:54,640 --> 00:09:00,200 Aidan Ebed, the son of Jonathan, and with him 50 men. 137 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:02,600 And you find this wording repeated over and over until the 138 00:09:02,600 --> 00:09:04,640 end of the list. And I think there's something 139 00:09:04,640 --> 00:09:09,240 obvious taking place here. Ezra is emphasizing how these 140 00:09:09,240 --> 00:09:13,560 leaders LED their respective families and how their kindred 141 00:09:13,560 --> 00:09:15,920 and extended relatives followed them. 142 00:09:17,320 --> 00:09:20,760 And though we have here leaders of multiple families related by 143 00:09:20,760 --> 00:09:25,200 descent, right, these are not just nuclear households, but 144 00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:29,600 larger families represented by different heads and different 145 00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:32,960 lineages. It does say something about the 146 00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:35,720 importance of the head. Of the household. 147 00:09:36,680 --> 00:09:39,160 That theme is clear. That motif is obvious. 148 00:09:39,800 --> 00:09:41,880 And here's what's being taught here. 149 00:09:42,200 --> 00:09:43,920 I want to look at the men. I want to look at my brothers 150 00:09:43,920 --> 00:09:47,600 for a brief moment. By virtue of being the heads of 151 00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:51,200 our homes, you and I have been given the capacity and the 152 00:09:51,200 --> 00:09:58,560 responsibility by God himself to inspire, instruct, guide, 153 00:09:59,160 --> 00:10:04,560 discipline, and display what it means to live for Christ, what 154 00:10:04,560 --> 00:10:07,600 it means to prioritize His Kingdom, what it means to really 155 00:10:07,600 --> 00:10:12,400 worship the Lord. And there is true power in your 156 00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:14,080 influence, whether you realize it or not. 157 00:10:14,080 --> 00:10:19,560 And what we find with these men here is that they were able to 158 00:10:19,560 --> 00:10:24,760 persuade those who belong to them to leave Babylon and to 159 00:10:24,760 --> 00:10:29,360 join them into the journey that Ezra has laid out that Ezra's 160 00:10:29,360 --> 00:10:31,560 planning for. You have to think about this for 161 00:10:31,560 --> 00:10:33,840 a moment. All the clans mentioned here 162 00:10:33,840 --> 00:10:36,160 have been in Babylonia for decades. 163 00:10:36,160 --> 00:10:39,640 Most of them, if not all of them, have never seen Jerusalem 164 00:10:39,640 --> 00:10:41,880 with their own eyes. They've never seen the temple 165 00:10:41,880 --> 00:10:45,480 they've only heard of. It And yet because of the 166 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:49,640 influence of the heads of these families, they were able to 167 00:10:49,640 --> 00:10:55,520 understand that worship is more important than comfort, that 168 00:10:55,520 --> 00:10:59,440 it's more valuable than safety, that it's more fulfilling the 169 00:10:59,440 --> 00:11:02,760 stability, prosperity, even familiarity. 170 00:11:03,960 --> 00:11:07,440 These men, I mean, look at it. It says over and over with him, 171 00:11:07,440 --> 00:11:10,520 with him, with him. It started with the head. 172 00:11:11,880 --> 00:11:16,640 It started with the men. And the fact that Ezra goes on 173 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:18,960 to say this repeatedly demonstrates that if you and I 174 00:11:18,960 --> 00:11:22,120 want to see these values and these convictions instilled in 175 00:11:22,120 --> 00:11:24,520 the ones that we love, listen, it begins with you and me. 176 00:11:26,520 --> 00:11:32,360 I've met parents like this, especially men who sometimes 177 00:11:32,360 --> 00:11:36,080 come with desperation, asking for leadership in the church to 178 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:37,880 do something, to move their children. 179 00:11:38,880 --> 00:11:42,280 And in many cases, those same people don't have a walk with 180 00:11:42,280 --> 00:11:46,440 God. You're the head of the house, 181 00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:51,040 not me. And what we see here is that you 182 00:11:51,040 --> 00:11:56,440 have men in their own families doing something wonderful and 183 00:11:56,440 --> 00:11:59,560 possible for all of us. And so I want to look at the 184 00:11:59,560 --> 00:12:01,680 dads in this place. I want to look at the future 185 00:12:01,680 --> 00:12:05,160 fathers of this house. It does your heart have more 186 00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:10,160 ambition to see your children go to heaven with you or to have a 187 00:12:10,160 --> 00:12:14,880 certain kind of job or to play certain kind of sport or to make 188 00:12:14,880 --> 00:12:19,200 a certain amount of money? Oh, I see men here who have 189 00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:21,440 Jerusalem set on their own hearts and more than just on 190 00:12:21,440 --> 00:12:24,240 their own hearts, wanted to be embedded in the hearts of those 191 00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:30,760 who are under their leadership and they are move themselves. 192 00:12:30,760 --> 00:12:33,400 And they were able because they understood what God has called 193 00:12:33,400 --> 00:12:37,320 them to do and to be, to move others. 194 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:41,280 And I hope that each of us in here would be able to grow in 195 00:12:41,280 --> 00:12:46,520 that same kind of example, that we would be more concerned, more 196 00:12:46,520 --> 00:12:51,240 passionate about our spouses, about our children, especially. 197 00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:55,000 Those are where we are especially responsible for to go 198 00:12:55,000 --> 00:13:01,320 in the way of righteousness, to join us in eternal life, and to 199 00:13:01,320 --> 00:13:04,600 have no greater passion or pursuit than that. 200 00:13:05,640 --> 00:13:08,720 But more than just going to a destination, living for him now, 201 00:13:09,240 --> 00:13:13,480 loving him now, showing like what these men are showing, that 202 00:13:13,720 --> 00:13:16,640 there's nothing for us here in Babylonia, a picture of the 203 00:13:16,640 --> 00:13:22,400 world, nothing. There's more treasure in the 204 00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:24,240 world that God has prepared for us. 205 00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:30,560 And so we can never expect those around us, especially the men, 206 00:13:31,360 --> 00:13:33,640 to move in the direction that God has prepared for them if 207 00:13:33,840 --> 00:13:39,280 we're not making and showing them how to do it, as I 208 00:13:39,280 --> 00:13:41,240 mentioned earlier. Now as we look at verse 2, this 209 00:13:41,240 --> 00:13:42,880 registry is divided into 3 parts. 210 00:13:42,880 --> 00:13:45,160 And so he introduces us the heads of the Father's houses. 211 00:13:45,400 --> 00:13:49,240 But now he wants to speak about the priestly tribe to begin 212 00:13:49,240 --> 00:13:50,680 with. So look at verse 2 of it, 213 00:13:50,680 --> 00:13:56,080 chapter 8 of the sons of Phineas Gersham, of the sons of Ithamar 214 00:13:56,080 --> 00:13:59,280 Daniel, of the sons of David Hatush. 215 00:14:00,200 --> 00:14:03,160 So in that one verse you actually have the two first 216 00:14:03,560 --> 00:14:05,040 divisions, you have the priestly. 217 00:14:05,040 --> 00:14:08,200 Line and the royal line and the rest of this section will deal 218 00:14:08,200 --> 00:14:10,880 with the lay families. So this is really brief, is it 219 00:14:10,880 --> 00:14:13,000 not? And you would not know that Ezra 220 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:16,360 is actually referring to the priestly line unless you knew 221 00:14:16,360 --> 00:14:20,000 who the sons of Aaron were, the direct sons of Aaron. 222 00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:23,600 So here's my question. You can answer if you know. 223 00:14:24,640 --> 00:14:28,120 How many sons did Aaron have? Good. 224 00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:34,280 What were their names? Say it one more time, Nadab and 225 00:14:34,280 --> 00:14:39,320 I buy who? Yes, three out of the four are 226 00:14:39,320 --> 00:14:44,200 right. No. 227 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:48,120 Three out of the four are right. You got Nadab, you got to buy 228 00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:50,760 who, You got ith Amar, who's the 3rd? 229 00:14:51,560 --> 00:14:53,840 If you don't know the answer, you got to turn to Exodus 28. 230 00:14:55,120 --> 00:14:57,400 Good Eliezer, but we're going to read it anyway. 231 00:14:58,640 --> 00:15:01,160 Exodus 28, I want us to look at verse one. 232 00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:06,600 Very good guesses. Nonetheless. 233 00:15:06,600 --> 00:15:09,880 You got most of them. But This is why we have Bible 234 00:15:09,880 --> 00:15:11,360 study to remind ourselves of these things. 235 00:15:11,360 --> 00:15:15,240 Exodus 28 verse one reads. Then bring near to you Aaron, 236 00:15:15,240 --> 00:15:18,480 your brother, and his sons, with him from among the people of 237 00:15:18,480 --> 00:15:23,120 Israel, to serve me as priests. Aaron and Aaron, sons Nadab and 238 00:15:23,120 --> 00:15:27,160 Abayu, Eliezer and Ithmar. Now here's my next question. 239 00:15:28,160 --> 00:15:32,240 Did something happen to two out of these four sons shortly after 240 00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:33,480 we learn about them? Yes. 241 00:15:34,320 --> 00:15:36,520 Who are the ones that were disciplined by God? 242 00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:38,840 Very good. Nadab and Abayu. 243 00:15:38,840 --> 00:15:42,000 The count of their deaths are found in Leviticus chapter 10. 244 00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:46,840 So very early, even before the people entered into the Promised 245 00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:51,000 Land, two branches from the priestly line were cut 246 00:15:51,880 --> 00:15:55,400 permanently, and now you have two mainstreams, you have 247 00:15:55,400 --> 00:16:00,680 Eliezer and you have Ithmar. Now we come to Ezra chapter 8, 248 00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:03,520 and we learn as Ezra is mentioning the priestly division 249 00:16:03,520 --> 00:16:09,560 that joined him of Ithmar, but he mentions Phineas. 250 00:16:09,560 --> 00:16:12,800 You would think that he would mention who Eliezer. 251 00:16:12,800 --> 00:16:15,000 Right now, Phineas is the son of Eliezer. 252 00:16:15,920 --> 00:16:22,920 He's the grandson of Aaron. But why does Ezra place Phineas 253 00:16:22,920 --> 00:16:27,120 here instead of Eliezer? Any idea? 254 00:16:28,320 --> 00:16:30,920 Do you understand the question? Hopefully. 255 00:16:34,160 --> 00:16:37,440 Was Phineas famous for anything? Absolutely. 256 00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:39,960 We have to remember that he was known for his zealous defense of 257 00:16:39,960 --> 00:16:44,360 God's law and His honor in Numbers chapter 25, that when 258 00:16:44,360 --> 00:16:47,080 the men of Israel in the wilderness were persuaded and 259 00:16:47,320 --> 00:16:50,560 allured by the Midianite woman to have sexual relations with 260 00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:53,200 them, and more than that to worship their gods, it was 261 00:16:53,200 --> 00:16:55,080 Phineas who took it upon himself. 262 00:16:55,840 --> 00:17:00,920 To stand up and to face a specific leader among the people 263 00:17:00,920 --> 00:17:03,760 of Israel who was flaunting his relationship with a Midianite 264 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:05,599 woman and to put them both to death. 265 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:10,359 And because of that, he stopped a plague that broke out against 266 00:17:10,359 --> 00:17:15,359 the camp. And Phineas courage and his zeal 267 00:17:15,359 --> 00:17:17,839 for the righteousness and the holiness of God was so commended 268 00:17:17,839 --> 00:17:22,800 by God that God rewards Phineas and his descendants something 269 00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:25,119 spectacular. If you want to know it, you have 270 00:17:25,119 --> 00:17:28,359 to turn to Numbers chapter 25 and look here at verse 10 with 271 00:17:28,359 --> 00:17:31,040 me in Numbers chapter 25, verse 10. 272 00:17:38,880 --> 00:17:42,240 And the Lord said to Moses, Phineas the son of Eliezer, son 273 00:17:42,240 --> 00:17:46,720 of Aaron, the priest, has turned back my wrath from the people of 274 00:17:46,720 --> 00:17:50,560 Israel, and that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so 275 00:17:50,560 --> 00:17:53,400 that I did not consume the people of Israel in my jealousy. 276 00:17:53,960 --> 00:17:59,480 Therefore say, Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace, and it 277 00:17:59,480 --> 00:18:02,880 shall be to him and to his descendants after him, the 278 00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:06,840 covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was 279 00:18:06,840 --> 00:18:09,400 jealous for his God and made atonement for the people of 280 00:18:09,400 --> 00:18:12,600 Israel. So this is this is very simple. 281 00:18:13,360 --> 00:18:17,760 Because of Phineas faithfulness, God pledged that his progeny 282 00:18:17,760 --> 00:18:19,800 would serve as priest permanently. 283 00:18:21,280 --> 00:18:24,000 This is a covenant that's being established by God with this 284 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:26,280 man. And so significant was it that 285 00:18:26,280 --> 00:18:28,520 Phineas became a defining ancestor. 286 00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:32,280 Remember those words? A defining ancestor in his 287 00:18:32,280 --> 00:18:36,360 specific priestly branch. So God makes a promise with him 288 00:18:36,360 --> 00:18:38,040 and his descendants. And here you are. 289 00:18:38,040 --> 00:18:40,160 You're reading in the Book of Numbers, and you're faithfully 290 00:18:40,160 --> 00:18:42,160 going book by book. And you come and you stumble 291 00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:44,240 upon Ezra chapter 8. And what do you read? 292 00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:50,720 Oh, that after all the centuries and after a very dark history, 293 00:18:51,640 --> 00:18:53,800 God has still kept his promise to Phineas. 294 00:18:56,080 --> 00:18:59,200 One of his descendants, 1 is still alive. 295 00:18:59,920 --> 00:19:02,520 And two is still going to function as a priest. 296 00:19:04,640 --> 00:19:06,480 Do you know what you're supposed to take from this, this one 297 00:19:06,480 --> 00:19:09,520 little verse here in Ezra 8 verse 2, God is faithful. 298 00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:14,080 And that is highlighted and emphasized and amplified even 299 00:19:14,080 --> 00:19:16,560 more by the fact that in the same verse that we learned that 300 00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:21,160 Phineas descendant is alive and well, you have the royal line 301 00:19:21,800 --> 00:19:25,480 still intact, right, of the sons of David Hatush. 302 00:19:27,560 --> 00:19:29,920 So not just God is faithful, that's true. 303 00:19:30,200 --> 00:19:34,400 But God is precisely faithful. God is completely faithful. 304 00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:36,640 If he made a promise to Phineas, he's going to keep it. 305 00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:39,320 When he made it to David, he's keeping it. 306 00:19:40,080 --> 00:19:43,920 Any of God's promises, all of God's promises, no matter when 307 00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:46,400 he made the promises, can be counted. 308 00:19:46,400 --> 00:19:49,200 On. We can believe Him and trust Him 309 00:19:49,200 --> 00:19:55,200 no matter how, when, where? Here it is, here it is. 310 00:19:55,200 --> 00:19:58,800 Even here. Tucked in this genealogy, we see 311 00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:01,760 a glistening truth about God's reliability. 312 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:06,200 How concrete he is, how steadfast he is. 313 00:20:08,280 --> 00:20:10,000 And it's no less true in the new covenant. 314 00:20:10,760 --> 00:20:13,760 So whether the promises are to Phineas, to David or any promise 315 00:20:13,760 --> 00:20:17,120 that we find in Christ, you can trust those promises because you 316 00:20:17,120 --> 00:20:20,080 can trust the promise, Sir, this is what we find and it's a 317 00:20:20,080 --> 00:20:24,000 wonderful thing to understand. And we also going to see 318 00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:25,400 something. I think there's a reason why 319 00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:28,440 Phineas has mentioned twice already in relation to to Ezra, 320 00:20:28,440 --> 00:20:31,720 because I think I believe, and many have made this observation 321 00:20:31,720 --> 00:20:37,000 as well, that that Ezra is almost a type of Phineas in his 322 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:40,160 own way. Because the last two chapters of 323 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:43,160 of this very text we're going to read that Ezra when he returns 324 00:20:43,160 --> 00:20:46,800 to Jerusalem, he's going to discover that after 80 years of 325 00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:48,480 the people returning back to Jerusalem. 326 00:20:48,840 --> 00:20:52,400 One of the main crimes that they have committed yet again is 327 00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:56,520 interfaith marriage, inappropriate relationships, 328 00:20:56,920 --> 00:20:59,920 clear defiance against God's rules and laws for house people 329 00:20:59,920 --> 00:21:04,360 were to to continue to see the righteous seed. 330 00:21:04,760 --> 00:21:09,120 And so like Phineas who came and did something about the 331 00:21:09,120 --> 00:21:13,400 Midianites polluting. The people of God, Ezra himself 332 00:21:13,400 --> 00:21:16,840 is going to follow on those same steps and do what he can to stop 333 00:21:16,840 --> 00:21:20,160 the pollution in his own way. It's amazing how these things 334 00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:23,880 are found throughout our Bibles. The continue the continuation of 335 00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:26,880 the Scriptures is a wonderful thing to observe, but now we 336 00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:30,400 come to the largest part of this section. 337 00:21:30,600 --> 00:21:33,880 The lay families that Ezra mentions, and we'll read it from 338 00:21:33,880 --> 00:21:38,320 verse 4 down through verse 14, but we're going to return to 339 00:21:38,320 --> 00:21:40,640 verse 13. We're not going to look at every 340 00:21:40,640 --> 00:21:42,680 detail here. We have no time for that, but we 341 00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:46,080 will consider at least one of these clans and meditate a 342 00:21:46,080 --> 00:21:49,120 little bit longer on them. Let's look at it now in verse 343 00:21:49,120 --> 00:21:50,680 four. Of the sons of Pahath. 344 00:21:50,680 --> 00:21:54,800 Moab Eliyonai, the son of Zeriah, and with him 200 men. 345 00:21:55,120 --> 00:21:57,640 Of the sons of Zatu and with him, or excuse me, the son of 346 00:21:57,640 --> 00:21:59,280 Zatu. Shakani, the son of Jehaziel, 347 00:21:59,280 --> 00:22:02,480 and with him 300 men. Of the sons of Aidan Ebed, the 348 00:22:02,480 --> 00:22:04,360 son of Jonathan, and with him 50 men. 349 00:22:04,600 --> 00:22:08,880 Of the sons of Elam, Joshiah the son of Athalia, and with him 70 350 00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:11,080 men. Of the sons of Shabethiah, 351 00:22:11,080 --> 00:22:13,280 Zebatiah the son of Michael, and with him 80 men. 352 00:22:13,600 --> 00:22:17,400 Of the sons of Joab Obadiah, the son of Jehiel, and with him 218 353 00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:22,080 men are the sons of Bani, Sheila Myth, the son of Josephiah, and 354 00:22:22,080 --> 00:22:24,880 with him 160. Men are the sons of Babai. 355 00:22:25,120 --> 00:22:28,360 Zechariah, the sons of Babai, and with him 28. 356 00:22:28,360 --> 00:22:32,000 Men are the sons of Algad, Johanna and the son of Hakkatan, 357 00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:34,720 and with him 110. Men are the sons of Adonikum, 358 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:37,880 those who came later, their names being Eli, Fellat, 359 00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:40,280 Jaywell, Shamaya, and with him sixty. 360 00:22:40,280 --> 00:22:44,360 Men are the sons of Big VI, Uthai and Zakor, and with them 361 00:22:44,560 --> 00:22:46,200 70. Men. 362 00:22:46,200 --> 00:22:48,440 It seems quite repetitive, but something stood out to me in 363 00:22:48,440 --> 00:22:50,080 verse 13. I'm not sure if you saw it. 364 00:22:52,680 --> 00:22:58,960 The sons of Adonakam, those who came later, those who came 365 00:22:58,960 --> 00:23:00,880 later. I'm curious to know if anybody 366 00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:03,160 here holds a King James, our new King James. 367 00:23:04,480 --> 00:23:06,320 You might notice something different with that wording. 368 00:23:06,840 --> 00:23:10,520 If you hold those translations, it would read of the last sons 369 00:23:10,520 --> 00:23:12,320 of Adonakam. Is that true? 370 00:23:13,120 --> 00:23:17,240 Of the last sons of Adoniken, which would imply that after 371 00:23:17,240 --> 00:23:22,760 this wave of refugees going back to Jerusalem among those of 372 00:23:23,040 --> 00:23:27,840 Adoniken, you have no more of their descendants left in 373 00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:31,960 Babylonia. The last of the last of them are 374 00:23:31,960 --> 00:23:35,840 returning now in this wave, which is a wonderful thought. 375 00:23:36,160 --> 00:23:40,200 All of them left Babylon to go back to the Promised Land. 376 00:23:41,840 --> 00:23:44,720 If you have the NESB, which is another faithful translation, 377 00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:47,080 however, you will see something else. 378 00:23:47,080 --> 00:23:52,760 It would read and have the sons of Adonicam, The Last Ones, The 379 00:23:52,760 --> 00:23:57,040 Last Ones which would be more of a chronological remark on Ezra's 380 00:23:57,040 --> 00:24:01,120 part, indicating that this particular family was the last 381 00:24:01,120 --> 00:24:06,080 to enlist for the journey. And I. 382 00:24:06,080 --> 00:24:08,840 Believe the ESV is seeking to capture that same thought. 383 00:24:10,160 --> 00:24:14,520 The sons of Adoniken were among those who enrolled later. 384 00:24:15,880 --> 00:24:18,280 And you say why the difference? It has to do with manuscripts. 385 00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:20,240 And we've talked about that at different points. 386 00:24:20,240 --> 00:24:22,280 I won't spend too much time on that now. 387 00:24:23,360 --> 00:24:25,760 But let's go with what the ESP says, how it renders it. 388 00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:32,480 These specific sons, for whatever reason, delayed to 389 00:24:32,480 --> 00:24:34,760 respond to the initial invitation that Ezra makes. 390 00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:41,040 And join them later. Is there any explanation for why 391 00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:42,200 they hesitated? No. 392 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:45,120 Is there anything given to us to give us some kind of clue? 393 00:24:45,120 --> 00:24:47,440 Not necessarily. But it's a wonderful 394 00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:49,360 illustration of of the grace of God. 395 00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:53,880 It really is the grace of God toward those who for various 396 00:24:53,880 --> 00:24:56,320 reasons, do not sign up for the things of God sooner. 397 00:24:58,480 --> 00:25:01,560 How many parables did Jesus give that allude to that truth? 398 00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:03,680 A people who come the last second. 399 00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:07,200 A people who respond the last moment, A people who slip in 400 00:25:07,600 --> 00:25:10,920 while the door still has a crack in it, a little slit, A 401 00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:14,200 foothold. How many examples do we see of 402 00:25:14,200 --> 00:25:16,240 that? Especially the thief on the 403 00:25:16,240 --> 00:25:19,080 cross, right? All these things are repeated. 404 00:25:19,080 --> 00:25:21,600 And we even find it in the Old Testament that those who are 405 00:25:21,600 --> 00:25:26,480 mentioned, who have come later are still enlisted, they're 406 00:25:26,480 --> 00:25:30,040 still recognized. And though the Bible, and no 407 00:25:30,040 --> 00:25:33,920 place ever recommends it, even warns more than anything else 408 00:25:33,920 --> 00:25:36,560 about us delaying. Our response to what God has 409 00:25:36,560 --> 00:25:39,400 called us through #1 for salvation and #2 to live from 410 00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:41,960 wholeheartedly. Should you have delayed? 411 00:25:42,920 --> 00:25:46,400 Should you have wasted your years, your youth, your 412 00:25:46,400 --> 00:25:50,200 resources, your opportunities? If you still have breath in your 413 00:25:50,200 --> 00:25:54,080 lungs, you might have come later, but God will still accept 414 00:25:54,080 --> 00:25:56,520 you. He was still bring you in. 415 00:25:57,120 --> 00:26:01,760 He will still accept who you are as long as you have humbled 416 00:26:01,760 --> 00:26:06,240 yourself and realized who He is. So this is the list. 417 00:26:06,600 --> 00:26:08,120 These are just some of the things that we can learn, but 418 00:26:08,120 --> 00:26:09,960 the list is not over necessarily. 419 00:26:10,720 --> 00:26:15,760 Ezra gives us this summary, but he's going to learn something in 420 00:26:15,760 --> 00:26:17,520 the next few verses. And this is where we're going to 421 00:26:17,520 --> 00:26:19,640 spend most of our time. Look at verse 15. 422 00:26:19,640 --> 00:26:23,280 Now, Ezra's still writing in the first person, and he mentions I 423 00:26:23,280 --> 00:26:25,440 gathered them, the people that we just learned about. 424 00:26:25,760 --> 00:26:28,240 I gathered them to the river that runs to Ahava. 425 00:26:28,720 --> 00:26:30,760 And there were, we camped 3 days. 426 00:26:30,960 --> 00:26:34,800 As I reviewed the people and the priests, I found there none of 427 00:26:34,800 --> 00:26:36,000 the sons of Levi. Uh. 428 00:26:37,200 --> 00:26:39,920 Oh. This is problematic. 429 00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:46,360 So they set up for the journey. They have the priests, they have 430 00:26:46,360 --> 00:26:51,720 the Davidic line, they have these lay families, and they're 431 00:26:51,720 --> 00:26:55,600 making their way and they take a break at this place. 432 00:26:56,000 --> 00:27:00,200 Called the Hava a canal. And Ezra, he's a good leader. 433 00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:03,480 He's doing all that he can to prepare the people and to 434 00:27:03,480 --> 00:27:05,800 organize everything so that when they get to Jerusalem, they hit 435 00:27:05,800 --> 00:27:07,680 the floor running, they're not going to waste any time. 436 00:27:08,200 --> 00:27:11,880 And he's doing inventory. And he realizes, OK, we have the 437 00:27:11,880 --> 00:27:14,440 priest. We have somebody who represents 438 00:27:14,440 --> 00:27:17,320 the royal seed. We have the people of Israel. 439 00:27:17,640 --> 00:27:24,040 But where are the Levites? None came, none followed. 440 00:27:25,080 --> 00:27:27,880 I mean, this is astonishing. Ezra himself as a priest. 441 00:27:27,880 --> 00:27:30,480 Now, we know that not all Levites are priests. 442 00:27:30,760 --> 00:27:33,960 There's a specific line who represents the priestly duty, 443 00:27:34,360 --> 00:27:36,960 but Levites were called to assist the priest. 444 00:27:37,200 --> 00:27:39,640 So you can understand why this is troubling for Ezra. 445 00:27:40,800 --> 00:27:44,640 And in case you don't understand the implications of this, you 446 00:27:44,640 --> 00:27:46,400 will only see it once you go to Nehemiah. 447 00:27:46,920 --> 00:27:49,720 Nehemiah is going to join Ezra later on, and they're going to 448 00:27:49,720 --> 00:27:53,120 work together to see revival in the land. 449 00:27:53,480 --> 00:27:56,600 And when Ezra is about to open God's Word and read it aloud, 450 00:27:57,640 --> 00:28:00,720 he's going to rely on some of the people to help him do just 451 00:28:00,720 --> 00:28:02,200 that. Can I show you what I mean? 452 00:28:02,440 --> 00:28:06,160 You have to go to Nehemiah chapter 8 to see it in Nehemiah 453 00:28:06,160 --> 00:28:08,520 chapter 8, verse 2, just to help us understand what's taking 454 00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:11,240 place here. Again, this is in the future. 455 00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:13,360 This is when Nehemiah is going to join Ezra. 456 00:28:14,360 --> 00:28:22,120 But notice what we read. And Nehemiah 8 verse 2 it reads, 457 00:28:22,120 --> 00:28:26,440 so Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly, both 458 00:28:26,440 --> 00:28:29,720 men and women and all who can understand what they heard on 459 00:28:29,720 --> 00:28:32,240 the first day of the 7th month. That's that's the context. 460 00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:36,440 But Scroll down to verse 7 of Nehemiah 8 and what do we read? 461 00:28:37,120 --> 00:28:43,480 Also Joshua, Bani Sharabaya, Jamin Akub, Shabbathi Hodaya 462 00:28:43,640 --> 00:28:48,760 Messiah, Kiltia, Azariah, Josabad, Hananan Pelaya, The 463 00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:54,680 Levites. Helped the people to understand 464 00:28:54,840 --> 00:28:58,400 the law while the people remain in their places. 465 00:29:00,280 --> 00:29:03,920 What was Ezra's main mission as he is going back to Jerusalem? 466 00:29:03,920 --> 00:29:09,400 To teach the people right to ensure you have not deviated 467 00:29:09,400 --> 00:29:11,600 from the truth all these years. And if they would, he would 468 00:29:11,600 --> 00:29:12,760 correct him using the word of God. 469 00:29:13,040 --> 00:29:16,360 But more than that, to build upon their faith and teach them 470 00:29:16,400 --> 00:29:19,240 the truths of Scripture. But he's going to need help. 471 00:29:20,200 --> 00:29:23,440 And who is he relying on? The Levites. 472 00:29:24,040 --> 00:29:27,840 So as Ezra is reading out loud, the scriptures, the Ezra, the 473 00:29:27,840 --> 00:29:30,240 the Levites are there in these different pockets of people, and 474 00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:33,080 they're helping them understand and explain what's being read 475 00:29:33,080 --> 00:29:35,320 aloud. But how are you going to do that 476 00:29:35,320 --> 00:29:39,160 at 0 signed up. So you see the issue at hand. 477 00:29:40,240 --> 00:29:41,920 You see why he's troubled by this. 478 00:29:42,520 --> 00:29:45,240 And this is, I actually was meditating on this on my way 479 00:29:45,240 --> 00:29:47,520 here. This reveals something about 480 00:29:47,520 --> 00:29:52,800 Ezra's character, something so wonderful and worthy of 481 00:29:52,800 --> 00:29:56,320 imitation. This man is an amazing teacher 482 00:29:56,320 --> 00:29:59,040 and one of the. Ways that we know that he was a 483 00:29:59,040 --> 00:30:03,160 true teacher is that he wanted to see more teachers raised up. 484 00:30:05,440 --> 00:30:09,400 That's a true teacher. You know what you find with some 485 00:30:09,400 --> 00:30:11,840 teachers? They're intimidated by other 486 00:30:11,840 --> 00:30:13,440 teachers. Yeah. 487 00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:16,000 Yeah. Some people see ministry as a 488 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:18,720 competition. You know what Ezra could have 489 00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:20,520 said? I've been studying all these 490 00:30:20,520 --> 00:30:24,240 years. God has clearly sovereignly 491 00:30:24,240 --> 00:30:26,600 worked on my behalf. I mean, he moved the king to 492 00:30:26,600 --> 00:30:29,680 give me support. I I think I'm the guy. 493 00:30:31,480 --> 00:30:35,920 Yeah. So, I mean, they'll listen to 494 00:30:35,920 --> 00:30:37,600 me. I can rally these people 495 00:30:37,600 --> 00:30:40,360 together. No such thing. 496 00:30:41,080 --> 00:30:44,520 He's itching to see more. He wants to see other leaders 497 00:30:44,520 --> 00:30:47,240 raised up. He sees this as a large harvest 498 00:30:47,240 --> 00:30:49,680 and he sees these other teachers as partners. 499 00:30:51,280 --> 00:30:56,080 Oh dear brother and sister, if you look at fellow Christians 500 00:30:56,080 --> 00:31:01,400 who have similar gifts as you as competition, kill that thing 501 00:31:02,560 --> 00:31:06,600 quickly. That will destroy you and that 502 00:31:06,600 --> 00:31:12,200 will destroy any possibility of God using you the way He uses 503 00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:17,440 His people as members of 1 body. Here you are. 504 00:31:17,440 --> 00:31:19,840 Here I am thinking we're the whole body. 505 00:31:20,560 --> 00:31:23,320 No, you ain't. Neither am I. 506 00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:27,880 We need each other, even those who have the same abilities as 507 00:31:27,880 --> 00:31:32,400 us, and Ezra recognizes that. So he says go and rally other 508 00:31:32,400 --> 00:31:34,800 teachers. I'm not doing this by myself. 509 00:31:35,440 --> 00:31:37,880 There are too many people out there to think that we're the 510 00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:41,240 only church in the world. We need more churches. 511 00:31:41,240 --> 00:31:45,120 Yes, we need more pastors. We need more Sunday school 512 00:31:45,120 --> 00:31:46,720 teachers. We need more evangelists. 513 00:31:46,840 --> 00:31:49,640 We need more disciple makers, more and more and more. 514 00:31:49,760 --> 00:31:52,520 And when we see God raising them up, we should rejoice. 515 00:31:53,120 --> 00:31:57,240 Listen, if you find yourself not rejoicing and more angry and 516 00:31:57,240 --> 00:32:00,760 envious and jealous and comparing all these things, 517 00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:02,720 you're not doing this for Christ's glory. 518 00:32:02,720 --> 00:32:07,040 You're doing it for your own. It's as simple as that. 519 00:32:07,400 --> 00:32:09,000 And I say that straightforwardly. 520 00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:11,800 I say that so directly so that you would find it and I would 521 00:32:11,800 --> 00:32:14,280 find it within myself to not entertain such a thing in our 522 00:32:14,280 --> 00:32:17,920 hearts, but to take it before God's presence until he crushes 523 00:32:17,920 --> 00:32:20,680 it with His power. I don't want this in my heart, 524 00:32:20,680 --> 00:32:22,160 Lord. I want to be able to look at a 525 00:32:22,160 --> 00:32:26,160 fellow believer and applaud them when you promote them, to 526 00:32:26,160 --> 00:32:29,680 rejoice when God, you're using them to bless others. 527 00:32:32,840 --> 00:32:36,200 Ezra is unsettled by the fact that he's the only one. 528 00:32:37,760 --> 00:32:40,280 And So what does he do? He comes up with a recruitment 529 00:32:40,280 --> 00:32:41,600 campaign. Let's read the rest of it in 530 00:32:41,600 --> 00:32:46,240 verse 16. Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, 531 00:32:46,560 --> 00:32:53,040 Shamaya, El Nathan, Jereb El Nathan, Nathan, Zechariah and 532 00:32:53,040 --> 00:32:56,480 Meshulam leading men. And for Joy Rib and El Nathan, 533 00:32:56,960 --> 00:32:59,080 who are men of insight, you can tell that El Nathan was a 534 00:32:59,080 --> 00:33:03,880 popular name at the time. And sent them to ID Do, the 535 00:33:03,880 --> 00:33:08,600 leading man at the place Kaspia, telling them what to say to ID 536 00:33:08,600 --> 00:33:12,080 Do and his brothers and the temple servants at the place 537 00:33:12,320 --> 00:33:16,680 Kaspia, namely to send us ministers for the House of our 538 00:33:16,680 --> 00:33:19,800 God. By the good hand of our God on 539 00:33:19,800 --> 00:33:22,360 us they brought us a man of discretion. 540 00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:26,800 Of the sons of Mali, the son of Levi son of Israel, namely, 541 00:33:26,920 --> 00:33:31,680 Sharabaya with his sons and kinsmen. 18 Also Hashabaya, with 542 00:33:31,680 --> 00:33:35,360 them Jeshia of the sons of Murari and his kinsmen and their 543 00:33:35,360 --> 00:33:39,400 sons, 20 besides 220 of the temple servants whom David and 544 00:33:39,400 --> 00:33:41,480 his officials had set apart to attend. 545 00:33:41,600 --> 00:33:45,080 The Levites, these were all mentioned by name, so I 546 00:33:45,080 --> 00:33:46,360 understand what's taking place here. 547 00:33:47,520 --> 00:33:51,480 Ezra, as they've encamped at the River Ahava, says we're not 548 00:33:51,480 --> 00:33:57,120 moving forward unless. We do a last ditch effort to go 549 00:33:57,120 --> 00:34:00,720 back. And to ask for ministers to join 550 00:34:00,720 --> 00:34:04,920 us. And I want to give you at least 551 00:34:05,160 --> 00:34:09,639 just very brief points by way of observation of the very same 552 00:34:09,639 --> 00:34:12,239 verse as we just read how these things relate to us. 553 00:34:12,239 --> 00:34:16,199 So just pay attention as much as you can to these things because 554 00:34:16,199 --> 00:34:18,719 they're so, so valuable. The first. 555 00:34:18,719 --> 00:34:21,320 Thing I want to consider consider is that there is a 556 00:34:21,320 --> 00:34:24,560 danger of our God word interest declining. 557 00:34:27,040 --> 00:34:31,199 Remember, this is not the first large genealogy in the book of 558 00:34:31,199 --> 00:34:33,639 Ezra. We studied Ezra chapter 2, which 559 00:34:33,639 --> 00:34:35,040 is even larger than what we read here. 560 00:34:35,600 --> 00:34:39,400 And in Ezra chapter 2, the first wave of exiles, we learn how 561 00:34:39,400 --> 00:34:42,520 many Levites joined Zerubbabel. Then does anybody remember the 562 00:34:42,520 --> 00:34:43,600 number? I'm just curious. 563 00:34:45,560 --> 00:34:47,600 OK, that's a very specific detail. 564 00:34:47,600 --> 00:34:49,239 So it's OK if you don't remember. 565 00:34:49,239 --> 00:34:51,199 But if you want to remind yourself, look at verse 40 of 566 00:34:51,199 --> 00:34:54,560 Ezra 2. This was 80 years prior. 567 00:34:55,679 --> 00:35:00,640 And notice the amount of Levites that joined the first cycle of 568 00:35:01,400 --> 00:35:05,320 refugees. The Levites, the sons of Jeshua 569 00:35:05,320 --> 00:35:12,880 and Cadmiel are the sons of Hodavaya. 74 Does 74 sound like 570 00:35:12,880 --> 00:35:15,920 a lot? It's not, especially when you 571 00:35:15,920 --> 00:35:19,480 consider the other numbers. In fact, in Ezra chapter 2 you 572 00:35:19,480 --> 00:35:23,640 have upwards of 50,000 people returning and out of the 50,000 573 00:35:23,640 --> 00:35:29,320 you only have 74 Levites. What's more crushing now is when 574 00:35:29,320 --> 00:35:31,720 we come to Ezra chapter 8, how many Levites joined the second 575 00:35:31,720 --> 00:35:38,080 wave? 0 Does anybody remember what was 576 00:35:38,080 --> 00:35:39,960 the draw? Perhaps the appeal to temptation 577 00:35:39,960 --> 00:35:44,080 for Levites to remain in Babylon instead of going back land. 578 00:35:44,760 --> 00:35:47,920 They they couldn't own land in Israel and now here they are in 579 00:35:47,920 --> 00:35:50,560 Babylon, and Jeremiah tells them early on in their exile, buy 580 00:35:50,560 --> 00:35:52,280 land. Buy homes. 581 00:35:54,360 --> 00:35:56,840 Raise up farms, have your businesses have families. 582 00:35:57,200 --> 00:35:59,120 And so the Levites are doing this to do this like, whoa, 583 00:35:59,120 --> 00:36:01,440 we've never had this before. This is amazing. 584 00:36:02,560 --> 00:36:04,800 But unfortunately to them it was more amazing than serving God's 585 00:36:04,800 --> 00:36:08,640 will for their lives. And so at this point, after 586 00:36:08,640 --> 00:36:14,120 decades, 0 want to go back. And though this applies to a 587 00:36:14,240 --> 00:36:17,320 group of people, there is a principle here for us 588 00:36:17,320 --> 00:36:22,760 individually that as the years go by, you and I have to ensure 589 00:36:22,760 --> 00:36:25,280 by God's grace and by the instructions that he has granted 590 00:36:25,280 --> 00:36:29,720 to us, to not allow ourselves to become distracted, to not allow 591 00:36:29,720 --> 00:36:31,680 ourselves to come to the point where we are indifferent to the 592 00:36:31,680 --> 00:36:35,520 work of God. And this is even possible for 593 00:36:35,520 --> 00:36:38,520 those who who once had discretion, who those who have a 594 00:36:38,520 --> 00:36:41,960 gift in this, even such people can lose sight of what matters 595 00:36:41,960 --> 00:36:45,200 most. Do you know how we know that in 596 00:36:45,200 --> 00:36:47,400 the list that we just read here, in the names that we read here 597 00:36:47,400 --> 00:36:49,920 of the Levites who returned? Look at verse 18, who's 598 00:36:49,920 --> 00:36:52,440 mentioned among them in Ezra 8/18. 599 00:36:52,440 --> 00:36:55,520 It reads then by the good hand of our God upon us, they brought 600 00:36:55,520 --> 00:36:58,760 us a man of understanding of the sons of Mali, the sons of Levi, 601 00:36:58,760 --> 00:37:02,400 the son of Israel, namely Sharabaya with his sons and 602 00:37:02,400 --> 00:37:06,200 brothers, 18 men. Here's my question. 603 00:37:06,200 --> 00:37:10,200 When I learned about this man whom they praised joining them 604 00:37:10,200 --> 00:37:13,280 after Ezra sent for more ministers, why didn't you join 605 00:37:13,280 --> 00:37:17,680 them to begin with? Why you? 606 00:37:17,680 --> 00:37:21,440 You surely knew about it. It took a little bit more 607 00:37:21,440 --> 00:37:23,680 persuasion. It took a presentation of select 608 00:37:23,680 --> 00:37:26,400 men that Ezra sent for you to finally say, let's go. 609 00:37:27,840 --> 00:37:31,360 So again, we don't have the reasons here, but it does spell 610 00:37:31,360 --> 00:37:36,120 out something for us that even men of such quality, men of such 611 00:37:36,120 --> 00:37:44,440 insight dependability, can let Babylon allure them to keep them 612 00:37:45,320 --> 00:37:49,400 and to hold them back. And all these different verses 613 00:37:49,400 --> 00:37:54,080 that are coming to mind as I was meditating on this tonight, One 614 00:37:54,080 --> 00:37:57,760 of my favorite verses on this, not because I enjoy reading it 615 00:37:57,760 --> 00:38:01,720 or explaining, but because I think it's just so packed with 616 00:38:01,720 --> 00:38:07,240 insight, is Solomon. Do you remember what it says in 617 00:38:07,240 --> 00:38:10,000 the chapter that describes Solomon's fall and 1st Kings 11 618 00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:11,360 verse four? Let me read it to you. 619 00:38:11,360 --> 00:38:12,800 You don't have to turn to just pay attention. 620 00:38:13,040 --> 00:38:19,000 Every word here is a punch. It says for when Solomon was 621 00:38:19,000 --> 00:38:22,880 old. His wives turned away his heart 622 00:38:22,880 --> 00:38:26,400 after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord 623 00:38:26,400 --> 00:38:29,120 his God, as was the heart of David his father. 624 00:38:31,600 --> 00:38:33,720 When did woman influence Solomon When he was young? 625 00:38:34,440 --> 00:38:40,320 And he was old. And three times in this one 626 00:38:40,320 --> 00:38:44,520 verse, the word heart appears because that's where things go 627 00:38:44,520 --> 00:38:46,280 wrong. That's where they begin, at 628 00:38:46,280 --> 00:38:50,760 least the heart. When he was old, he did not 629 00:38:50,840 --> 00:38:54,320 watch his heart. He did not guard his heart, his 630 00:38:54,320 --> 00:39:00,720 affections, his passions. And when he was old, that's when 631 00:39:00,720 --> 00:39:04,640 he crashed and burned. 80 years go by. 632 00:39:04,640 --> 00:39:08,840 You went from 74 Levites, which is pretty sad to begin with, to 633 00:39:08,840 --> 00:39:13,560 0. Oh sure, there's there's some 634 00:39:13,560 --> 00:39:15,520 kind of stir that's going to take place as we read. 635 00:39:16,160 --> 00:39:19,360 But I look at a man like Cherubai and I say, why didn't 636 00:39:19,360 --> 00:39:24,680 you join them at the start? Praise God for His grace, but 637 00:39:24,680 --> 00:39:28,880 I'm asking for his grace to not allow me to waste a second of my 638 00:39:28,880 --> 00:39:32,200 life. So there's a danger. 639 00:39:32,200 --> 00:39:35,760 Of our God word interest declining. 640 00:39:35,760 --> 00:39:38,880 But there's a second thought to consider and is this God uses 641 00:39:38,880 --> 00:39:46,680 men to stir men for God. God uses men to stir men for 642 00:39:46,680 --> 00:39:49,800 God. What was Ezra's plan to recruit 643 00:39:49,800 --> 00:39:52,240 more Levites? Look again at verse 16. 644 00:39:53,080 --> 00:39:57,760 Then I sent and he lists a, a, a few names here of men, but look 645 00:39:57,760 --> 00:39:59,520 at how they're described at the last part. 646 00:39:59,560 --> 00:40:01,720 Who are men of insight, men of understandings, other 647 00:40:01,720 --> 00:40:03,120 translations say who are teachers? 648 00:40:04,920 --> 00:40:09,600 And it was through the ministry of these men, these emissaries, 649 00:40:09,600 --> 00:40:12,960 these representatives that you had Levi's say. 650 00:40:13,160 --> 00:40:14,520 All right, you're right, we're going to join you. 651 00:40:17,120 --> 00:40:20,600 Don't discount how God uses people to move your heart and 652 00:40:20,600 --> 00:40:23,120 mind. I'm not even speaking about unto 653 00:40:23,120 --> 00:40:24,160 salvation. That's obvious. 654 00:40:24,160 --> 00:40:26,600 He has his ambassadors, He has his preachers, He has his 655 00:40:26,600 --> 00:40:28,880 faithful disciples. I'm I'm speaking about those 656 00:40:28,880 --> 00:40:31,480 like the Levites who are connected to the things of God 657 00:40:31,480 --> 00:40:35,920 to begin with. So one of the things that you 658 00:40:35,920 --> 00:40:38,400 would have to understand is that the Lord will often use other 659 00:40:38,400 --> 00:40:40,800 people to get our hearts moving for the things of the Lord. 660 00:40:41,760 --> 00:40:45,440 And we should recognize that. Can God move independently? 661 00:40:45,440 --> 00:40:47,640 Can he by his Holy Spirit stir your soul? 662 00:40:47,640 --> 00:40:49,720 Absolutely. But I find something with Ezra 663 00:40:49,720 --> 00:40:53,760 that he uses flesh and blood. He uses flesh and blood. 664 00:40:55,440 --> 00:40:56,720 And so you shouldn't feel guilty. 665 00:40:56,720 --> 00:41:01,160 Some people do that. They find themselves often 666 00:41:01,160 --> 00:41:04,920 stirred when they hear a sermon being preached or when they have 667 00:41:05,080 --> 00:41:07,160 a phone call with a dear friend, a dear St. 668 00:41:07,360 --> 00:41:08,440 Why do you feel guilty about that? 669 00:41:08,800 --> 00:41:12,200 You think that's less spiritual, that's less of God than if some 670 00:41:12,200 --> 00:41:14,920 supernatural thing happened to you personally? 671 00:41:15,760 --> 00:41:17,120 No. These are instruments in God's 672 00:41:17,120 --> 00:41:19,840 hands. And so if you find yourself 673 00:41:19,840 --> 00:41:24,120 moved and stirred through people, that's no less God than 674 00:41:24,120 --> 00:41:26,920 anything else. Which brings me to 1/3 675 00:41:26,920 --> 00:41:28,480 observation in this section of Scripture. 676 00:41:28,840 --> 00:41:31,240 You and I must recognize God's provision when leaders are 677 00:41:31,240 --> 00:41:34,080 raised up. When leaders are raised up, 678 00:41:35,080 --> 00:41:37,880 don't ever disconnect that from God's grace. 679 00:41:38,600 --> 00:41:41,640 What do I mean by that? Look at verse 18 again and Ezra 680 00:41:41,640 --> 00:41:46,080 8 verse 18. Then by the good hand of our God 681 00:41:46,080 --> 00:41:48,840 upon us, they brought us a man of understanding. 682 00:41:50,760 --> 00:41:55,280 So in Ezra's understanding, this man that was recruited is a 683 00:41:55,280 --> 00:42:00,280 direct provision from God himself and that. 684 00:42:00,280 --> 00:42:03,240 Truth is reverberating throughout the New Testament. 685 00:42:03,800 --> 00:42:07,560 Ephesians 4 He gave us. Apostles and prophets, teachers, 686 00:42:07,960 --> 00:42:09,800 pastors, shepherds. He gave us. 687 00:42:10,680 --> 00:42:13,480 Luke, chapter 10. The harvest is plentiful. 688 00:42:13,600 --> 00:42:16,920 Therefore pray to the Lord of the harvest that He may send out 689 00:42:17,040 --> 00:42:19,320 laborers. God is the one who sends out 690 00:42:19,320 --> 00:42:23,320 laborers. So when we understand that 691 00:42:23,440 --> 00:42:28,840 there's somebody who inspires us to love God, that's God's gift. 692 00:42:30,520 --> 00:42:32,880 That doesn't make that person more special or more significant 693 00:42:32,880 --> 00:42:36,360 than anybody else, but it is an extension of God's mercy and His 694 00:42:36,360 --> 00:42:39,240 love toward us. And it also teaches us that if 695 00:42:39,240 --> 00:42:42,880 we are in any position or place where we are lacking that kind 696 00:42:42,880 --> 00:42:45,920 of leadership or influence, we should seek God for it. 697 00:42:46,480 --> 00:42:51,080 We should ask God to extend his hand and to move and to equip 698 00:42:51,200 --> 00:42:55,040 and to furnish and to beckon those who can fill those voids. 699 00:42:58,160 --> 00:43:01,760 If we really saw one another, not just leaders one another, as 700 00:43:01,760 --> 00:43:04,800 God's extension of grace, we would be much more merciful 701 00:43:04,800 --> 00:43:10,160 towards one another, much more appreciative, given much more 702 00:43:10,160 --> 00:43:14,120 reason to worship God. Ezra here is praising God at the 703 00:43:14,120 --> 00:43:18,600 sight of other men who love God and will help others love God. 704 00:43:21,920 --> 00:43:27,040 Lastly, and this one interested me a lot, is that even in this 705 00:43:27,040 --> 00:43:30,320 section of scripture? We have a preview of Gentiles 706 00:43:30,320 --> 00:43:33,680 valuing and inheritance, not directly their own. 707 00:43:36,160 --> 00:43:39,560 What do I mean by that? There is a disproportionate 708 00:43:39,560 --> 00:43:44,280 response among two groups of people that Ezra calls out for. 709 00:43:45,840 --> 00:43:48,080 Look again at the last verse that we read in verse 20. 710 00:43:50,080 --> 00:43:52,520 He mentioned this, the Levites. And then he goes on to say, 711 00:43:52,880 --> 00:43:57,880 besides 220 of the temple servants whom David and his 712 00:43:57,880 --> 00:44:02,440 officials had set apart to attend the Levites, these were 713 00:44:02,440 --> 00:44:07,400 all mentioned by name. If you again have a different 714 00:44:07,400 --> 00:44:09,640 translation, it might read instead of temple servants, 715 00:44:10,520 --> 00:44:13,320 Nephanam. Nephanam. 716 00:44:14,240 --> 00:44:18,040 Why do some translations have a name while others have a kind of 717 00:44:18,040 --> 00:44:20,800 a phrase? Here the temple servants, 718 00:44:21,200 --> 00:44:24,800 because some translations decided to use transliteration 719 00:44:25,000 --> 00:44:29,760 of the Hebrew and others like the ESV wanted to provide more 720 00:44:29,760 --> 00:44:32,440 of a description of the function of this group of people. 721 00:44:33,560 --> 00:44:36,240 And we studied the same group back in Ezra chapter 2. 722 00:44:36,560 --> 00:44:40,040 So you have the priest who are descendants of Aaron, the from 723 00:44:40,040 --> 00:44:42,640 the tribe of Levi. But not every Levite was a 724 00:44:42,640 --> 00:44:44,560 priest, only if you were a son of Aaron. 725 00:44:44,840 --> 00:44:47,760 So the other Levites had a supportive role and they 726 00:44:47,760 --> 00:44:50,960 assisted the priests in doing what God's called them to do. 727 00:44:51,360 --> 00:44:54,000 But we learned back early in the book of Ezra that there was 728 00:44:54,000 --> 00:44:57,120 another tear. You have these temple servants 729 00:44:57,120 --> 00:45:00,040 or the Nithanam who assisted the Levites. 730 00:45:00,400 --> 00:45:04,480 Do you see this? But more than that, we concluded 731 00:45:04,480 --> 00:45:08,320 that this group of people were not of Israeli origin. 732 00:45:09,160 --> 00:45:12,720 They were not Levites, right? In fact, when we did a little 733 00:45:12,720 --> 00:45:16,640 digging, they were gentiles. They're from the Gibeonites from 734 00:45:16,640 --> 00:45:19,360 Joshua Chapter 9. And we put the pieces together 735 00:45:19,360 --> 00:45:23,480 to see how that's true. But what's the point here? 736 00:45:24,440 --> 00:45:27,880 That if these temple servants are indeed Gentiles. 737 00:45:29,120 --> 00:45:31,400 Why are there more of them interested going back to the 738 00:45:31,400 --> 00:45:34,400 temple to serve than the Levites themselves? 739 00:45:35,840 --> 00:45:38,560 How many Levites total responded to Ezra's call? 740 00:45:39,360 --> 00:45:42,360 Do the math here. The end of verse 18 we read that 741 00:45:42,360 --> 00:45:45,720 there are what, 18? And the last part of verse 19, 742 00:45:45,720 --> 00:45:48,960 we read that there are 20. So you have 38 Levites in 743 00:45:48,960 --> 00:45:59,280 comparison to 220 Gibeonites. That's shocking, and I think it 744 00:45:59,280 --> 00:46:02,040 says something about what you and I find in the New Testament 745 00:46:02,040 --> 00:46:05,160 over and over. Let me say it this way. 746 00:46:05,160 --> 00:46:10,560 Actually, there is a greater Ezra, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, 747 00:46:12,680 --> 00:46:16,040 and there was a time that we look back on where he came into 748 00:46:16,040 --> 00:46:21,560 the world to call His own to His Kingdom, to build it, to 749 00:46:21,560 --> 00:46:25,760 experience the fulfillment of promises, of restoration, of 750 00:46:25,760 --> 00:46:29,200 hope. And what you find instead is 751 00:46:29,200 --> 00:46:32,160 that very few of His own actually accepted the 752 00:46:32,160 --> 00:46:36,000 invitation, whereas those who are the most unlikely showed 753 00:46:36,000 --> 00:46:39,960 more passion and more interest and more investment, namely the 754 00:46:39,960 --> 00:46:44,080 Gentiles. In fact, you see this so 755 00:46:44,080 --> 00:46:48,520 prevalent in the book of Acts where the apostles of Christ go 756 00:46:48,520 --> 00:46:52,560 out and they they prioritize synagogues and they try to reach 757 00:46:52,560 --> 00:46:55,040 the Jews and they're met with more rejection than anything 758 00:46:55,040 --> 00:46:56,680 else. And yet whenever the gospel 759 00:46:56,680 --> 00:46:59,960 truth spills over to the streets of the Gentiles, overwhelming 760 00:46:59,960 --> 00:47:03,440 response, overwhelming response, they rejoiced. 761 00:47:03,560 --> 00:47:06,840 When the Gentiles heard this in Acts 1348, they began rejoicing 762 00:47:06,840 --> 00:47:10,720 and glorifying the word. They were glorifying the word of 763 00:47:10,720 --> 00:47:12,440 the Lord. And as many as were appointed to 764 00:47:12,440 --> 00:47:15,200 eternal life believed, you see that repeated over and over 765 00:47:15,200 --> 00:47:18,240 again, and you find previews of it in the Old Testament. 766 00:47:19,640 --> 00:47:24,240 More Gentiles accepting what God wants, even though they are not 767 00:47:24,240 --> 00:47:28,360 the priority. They're not the privileged 768 00:47:28,360 --> 00:47:31,640 nation, at least at this point. They are on the fringes. 769 00:47:31,640 --> 00:47:33,800 Not that God never had the Gentiles in mind, but in this 770 00:47:33,800 --> 00:47:39,920 dispensation they were not the direct object of invitation. 771 00:47:43,040 --> 00:47:44,680 And this is something for us to consider. 772 00:47:46,360 --> 00:47:50,240 So when we look at these shoes. We have so much to grasp, so 773 00:47:50,240 --> 00:47:53,200 much to digest, but I'd love for us to end it here because 774 00:47:53,200 --> 00:47:55,240 there's so much left to uncover in this chapter. 775 00:47:56,000 --> 00:47:59,200 And what I want us to look at is the truth that we just heard, 776 00:48:00,080 --> 00:48:02,080 that there is a greater Ezra calling. 777 00:48:05,840 --> 00:48:11,280 And like Ezra of old, one who exceeds him in knowledge and 778 00:48:11,280 --> 00:48:14,680 character and faithfulness, calls people today. 779 00:48:14,840 --> 00:48:16,840 And unfortunately, only some respond. 780 00:48:19,080 --> 00:48:24,600 And I wonder tonight if there is some here who are rejecting. 781 00:48:26,720 --> 00:48:29,600 And if you really asked yourself why you can't come up with a 782 00:48:29,600 --> 00:48:35,200 good answer. I want to actually call 783 00:48:35,640 --> 00:48:38,360 somebody, maybe more than one person. 784 00:48:39,240 --> 00:48:42,280 Maybe you've ignored most of this Bible study, and that's OK, 785 00:48:43,560 --> 00:48:45,440 But if you're going to hear anything, hear my voice. 786 00:48:45,440 --> 00:48:47,360 Now. Why do you deny Christ? 787 00:48:50,120 --> 00:48:52,680 Why are you stiff arming him over and over again? 788 00:48:53,240 --> 00:48:54,640 How many invitations do you need? 789 00:48:56,520 --> 00:48:58,800 What about Christianity that turns you off so much? 790 00:48:58,800 --> 00:49:00,360 Let's just be straight. Let's talk like that. 791 00:49:00,360 --> 00:49:06,240 Yeah. What about it makes you recoil? 792 00:49:06,240 --> 00:49:09,040 What about it makes you want to run in the other direction? 793 00:49:11,520 --> 00:49:13,520 Is it the love of God and sending His own Son to die for 794 00:49:13,520 --> 00:49:16,160 your sins? Is that what makes you cringe? 795 00:49:17,720 --> 00:49:20,080 Is it God's purity? Is it His Holiness? 796 00:49:21,200 --> 00:49:22,720 Is it the promise of eternal life? 797 00:49:23,680 --> 00:49:26,960 Is it the power for Him to break every bondage of sin? 798 00:49:30,200 --> 00:49:33,840 Is it for Him to give you exactly why you were created? 799 00:49:33,880 --> 00:49:37,360 Hope and fellowship with Him, not just now, but for eternal. 800 00:49:37,440 --> 00:49:40,720 What about it causes you to reject it? 801 00:49:44,720 --> 00:49:48,440 Have you made-up your mind that there is more to offer in this 802 00:49:48,440 --> 00:49:49,560 world? There's more to offer. 803 00:49:49,560 --> 00:49:51,840 If you're the master of your fate, if you're the captain of 804 00:49:51,840 --> 00:49:55,240 your soul, have you actually determined that you're a better? 805 00:49:55,240 --> 00:49:57,320 God for yourself than God himself. 806 00:50:01,080 --> 00:50:02,440 If that's the case, then so be it. 807 00:50:05,280 --> 00:50:09,560 He will not override your will. You'll be responsible for that 808 00:50:09,560 --> 00:50:12,480 choice. But I would ask you to 809 00:50:12,480 --> 00:50:18,240 reconsider. I would ask you to look into the 810 00:50:18,840 --> 00:50:23,920 personal love of Jesus Christ for you and actually examine 811 00:50:23,920 --> 00:50:29,080 what He offers you carefully. Don't just go by your feelings. 812 00:50:30,600 --> 00:50:33,080 Don't just go by what you heard. Can I tell you how I came to 813 00:50:33,080 --> 00:50:35,520 Christ? I did my own homework. 814 00:50:36,800 --> 00:50:39,440 I grew up in a Christian home, and my parents did a wonderful 815 00:50:39,440 --> 00:50:43,240 job raising us in the faith. But we still had a choice. 816 00:50:43,240 --> 00:50:46,120 And when I went out into the world and ventured out Into 817 00:50:46,120 --> 00:50:49,680 Darkness, I came to a crossroads. 818 00:50:49,680 --> 00:50:51,280 And I had to ask myself this question. 819 00:50:51,280 --> 00:50:54,600 Why am I not living the way God calls me to live? 820 00:50:54,600 --> 00:50:56,760 Why? Why am I living a hypocritical 821 00:50:56,760 --> 00:50:58,240 lifestyle and trying to justify it? 822 00:50:59,720 --> 00:51:02,000 And so I looked into Christianity for myself. 823 00:51:04,960 --> 00:51:07,360 If eternal life is really at stake, then I better have a good 824 00:51:07,360 --> 00:51:11,800 reason to deny it. And guess what? 825 00:51:14,600 --> 00:51:16,920 I could not find a valid reason to deny this Christ. 826 00:51:17,440 --> 00:51:21,440 In fact, I found overwhelming reason to bow my knee and to 827 00:51:21,440 --> 00:51:25,880 crown Him as Lord and Savior. And that's possible. 828 00:51:25,880 --> 00:51:28,760 For you and. Depending on who you are today, 829 00:51:29,480 --> 00:51:32,040 you could be like one of the heads of the Father's houses 830 00:51:32,880 --> 00:51:36,280 that we just read about, where you will have generational 831 00:51:36,280 --> 00:51:42,320 impact. And today, yes, you may have 832 00:51:42,320 --> 00:51:46,120 eternal life, but that may be the inheritance of your children 833 00:51:46,120 --> 00:51:50,080 as well, and their children and their children. 834 00:51:50,080 --> 00:51:54,560 Children. Lord, we thank you for this 835 00:51:54,560 --> 00:52:07,480 Bible study. With all these names that you've 836 00:52:07,480 --> 00:52:17,410 mentioned, help us remember that you know us each by name, and 837 00:52:17,410 --> 00:52:19,050 you even know the names of those who don't know you. 838 00:52:19,050 --> 00:52:28,490 And we pray that you would use our efforts, often times meager 839 00:52:29,450 --> 00:52:34,610 and weak, to do miracles in people's lives so that you would 840 00:52:34,610 --> 00:52:42,800 receive maximum glory. And so, Lord, with all that was 841 00:52:42,800 --> 00:52:47,320 said, help us apply what needs to be applied, and with every 842 00:52:47,320 --> 00:52:50,320 other truth, help us stored in our hearts so that they may 843 00:52:50,320 --> 00:52:52,840 resurface when necessary and when needed. 844 00:52:53,640 --> 00:52:55,800 But for now, Lord, we want to pause and thank you and worship 845 00:52:55,800 --> 00:52:59,600 you for how you've spoken to us in a passage that might be 846 00:52:59,600 --> 00:53:04,720 intimidating or unattractive. Yet again you have convinced us 847 00:53:04,720 --> 00:53:07,680 that Your word is gold, every part of it. 848 00:53:10,240 --> 00:53:12,720 We give you glory for that in Jesus name, Amen. 849 00:53:13,760 --> 00:53:15,120 Let's stand and worship the Lord together.