Ezra 7-8

In the story of Ezra and its surroundings, we see God holds the reigns of the world’s mightiest empires , using them to do his bidding. Cyrus had ordered that the temple be rebuilt and paid for by the coffers of the Persian empire. Darius releases the funds and sends Ezra on his way. Nehemiah was sent by Artexerxes to rebuild the temple walls. Xerxes was culled from extinguishing the Hebrews by Queen Esther, and Mordecai was raised to become one of the king’s advisors.

This is how God works, and as students of the Bible, it should be no surprise to us that God uses odd means to accomplish His will. Joseph was a captive in Egypt and then made an advisor. Moses was the adopted son of Pharaoh’s daughter.

But what exactly are we looking at in the book of Ezra. We could call it a rebuilding, and that would be accurate to a point, but the bigger story of Ezra is reformation.

1) So, how did they get here, anyway? — Jeremiah Survey

Jeremiah 2:1–13 (ESV) — 1 The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord, “I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. 3 Israel was holy to the Lord, the firstfruits of his harvest. All who ate of it incurred guilt; disaster came upon them, declares the Lord.” 4 Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the clans of the house of Israel. 5 Thus says the Lord: “What wrong did your fathers find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthlessness, and became worthless? 6 They did not say, ‘Where is the Lord who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us in the wilderness, in a land of deserts and pits, in a land of drought and deep darkness, in a land that none passes through, where no man dwells?’ 7 And I brought you into a plentiful land to enjoy its fruits and its good things. But when you came in, you defiled my land and made my heritage an abomination. 8 The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those who handle the law did not know me; the shepherds transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal and went after things that do not profit. 9 “Therefore I still contend with you, declares the Lord, and with your children’s children I will contend. 10 For cross to the coasts of Cyprus and see, or send to Kedar and examine with care; see if there has been such a thing. 11 Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. 12 Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord, 13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.

Jeremiah 10:1–25 (ESV) — 1 Hear the word that the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2 Thus says the Lord: “Learn not the way of the nations, nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens because the nations are dismayed at them, 3 for the customs of the peoples are vanity. A tree from the forest is cut down and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman. 4 They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move. 5 Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried, for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good.” 6 There is none like you, O Lord; you are great, and your name is great in might. 7 Who would not fear you, O King of the nations? For this is your due; for among all the wise ones of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like you. 8 They are both stupid and foolish; the instruction of idols is but wood! 9 Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz. They are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith; their clothing is violet and purple; they are all the work of skilled men. 10 But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation. 11 Thus shall you say to them: “The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.” 12 It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens. 13 When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses. 14 Every man is stupid and without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his images are false, and there is no breath in them. 15 They are worthless, a work of delusion; at the time of their punishment they shall perish. 16 Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob, for he is the one who formed all things, and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance; the Lord of hosts is his name. 17 Gather up your bundle from the ground, O you who dwell under siege! 18 For thus says the Lord: “Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land at this time, and I will bring distress on them, that they may feel it.” 19 Woe is me because of my hurt! My wound is grievous. But I said, “Truly this is an affliction, and I must bear it.” 20 My tent is destroyed, and all my cords are broken; my children have gone from me, and they are not; there is no one to spread my tent again and to set up my curtains. 21 For the shepherds are stupid and do not inquire of the Lord; therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered. 22 A voice, a rumor! Behold, it comes!— a great commotion out of the north country to make the cities of Judah a desolation, a lair of jackals. 23 I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps. 24 Correct me, O Lord, but in justice; not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing. 25 Pour out your wrath on the nations that know you not, and on the peoples that call not on your name, for they have devoured Jacob; they have devoured him and consumed him, and have laid waste his habitation.

They didn’t know God. They didn’t love God.

They had a temple and religion but they thirsted for more —

Is our God held up as sufficient? Do we speak about Him as if He is lovely?

The great command ini Deuteronomy 6, which is the mission of our school, is to teach the law of God to the next generation. But does that generation look at the dead religion of its elders and want nothing to do with it? This generation was looking at its adults and they were teaching them idolatry, and

Do we keep any keys lying around the house to the cellar of our sins? We can keep no reserves.

Burn the ships — this is where we stay

What does God do with a people like this?

Jeremiah 31:31–34 (ESV) — 31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

2) The Right Qualifications -- Ezra 7:10

Ezra 7:1–10 (ESV) — 1 Now after this, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, 2 son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, 3 son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, 4 son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, 5 son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the chief priest— 6 this Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses that the Lord, the God of Israel, had given, and the king granted him all that he asked, for the hand of the Lord his God was on him. 7 And there went up also to Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king, some of the people of Israel, and some of the priests and Levites, the singers and gatekeepers, and the temple servants. 8 And Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. 9 For on the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylonia, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, for the good hand of his God was on him. 10 For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel.

This story is about how God provides for the rebuilding of the temple and the relatively small band who take this immense treasure 900 miles through the desert, but very little is actually said about all that. More emphasis is places on who Ezra is and what types of things Ezra is doing on His way to Jerusalem. That is to say, our focus is not on merely the act of rebuilding, but the culture of reformation.

Ezra was a man who was resolute to study the Law, and to do it.

Ezra really can be seen as a kind of second Moses, responsible for bringing, and in his case restoring, the word of God to the people.

And there is an infinite distance between those who merely know the word and those who do it.

Everyone wants to go to heaven, but no one wants to do the dishes. That is, we all want to do great things for God, but we are tasked with hundreds of little tasks of faithfulness everyday which are neglected and left undone.

Like Peter, we say we will be faithful, but when the slightest provocation comes we do not take up our cross and do the work.

This is incredibly pressing for FBCT. We have the adoption of a statement of faith coming up and one of the first clauses is our commitment to God’s word. What if we find that structures of leadership within the congregation that go against our tradition? What if the word proclaims things that are out of step with our current culture? What if the word grants forgiveness to those whom our world will not forgive? Will we follow the word?

Ezra was the right man because he was obedient.

Like Peter when he walked on the water, if we keep our eyes on Christ and abide in his word, we will stand, but if we look elsewhere for guidance, to culture, or to best business practices, or to our tradition, then we will lose the light of the word and sink into the sea of lukewarm uselessness.

Jesus says, if you love me you will obey my commandments. (Jn. 14:15)

Text Survey:

Jeremiah 35:14–15 (ESV) — I have spoken to you persistently, but you have not listened to me. 15 I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them persistently, saying, ‘Turn now every one of you from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to you and your fathers.’ But you did not incline your ear or listen to me.

Mark 7:6 (ESV) — 6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “ ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;

Ezekiel 33:30–32 (ESV) — 30 “As for you, son of man, your people who talk together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, say to one another, each to his brother, ‘Come, and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.’ 31 And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain. 32 And behold, you are to them like one who sings lustful songs with a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument, for they hear what you say, but they will not do it.

Matthew 13:18–23 (ESV) — 18 “Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

James 1:23–25 (ESV) — 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

Jeremiah 17:5–18 (ESV) — 5 Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. 6 He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. 7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. 8 He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” 9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? 10 “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” 11 Like the partridge that gathers a brood that she did not hatch, so is he who gets riches but not by justice; in the midst of his days they will leave him, and at his end he will be a fool. 12 A glorious throne set on high from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary. 13 O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you shall be put to shame; those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water. 14 Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise. 15 Behold, they say to me, “Where is the word of the Lord? Let it come!” 16 I have not run away from being your shepherd, nor have I desired the day of sickness. You know what came out of my lips; it was before your face. 17 Be not a terror to me; you are my refuge in the day of disaster. 18 Let those be put to shame who persecute me, but let me not be put to shame; let them be dismayed, but let me not be dismayed; bring upon them the day of disaster; destroy them with double destruction!

Maybe we feel like a Peter, someone who has had great ambitions but denied the practice of obedience. May his story encourage you that the Lord is merciful.

1 John 2:1–2 (ESV) — 1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

3) Lean Not On Your Own Understanding — 8:21-36 (Honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me)

Ezra 8:21–23 (ESV) — 21 Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. 22 For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, “The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.” 23 So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.

Ezra had talked a big game to Darius about who God was, but when the time came to take a band of women and children across the desert with a ludicrous amount of gold, he had a choice to make. And what was the choice that he made?

Instead of padding his travels with the insurance of the king’s guard, he fasted and trusted the Lord.

Do we take out insurance just in case God doesn’t come through?

As a church, do we lean in all of our ways on Christ and trust not on our understanding?

Do we calculate that if we obey God we might come into some danger (or let’s be honest, merely awkwardness) and so decide to compromise?

Matthew 15:8 (ESV) — 8 “ ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;

Conclusion:

The temple was destroyed again.

Jesus reminds us that it isn’t at the temple that we are to find life and truth, but it is in Him, the living water. And where do we get this living water? We come to Him.

And we abide in Him through His word.

Have you considered a reading plan?

Do we, like Jesus, say that our food is the very words of God?

Do you find God distant or boring?

Has your faith grown stale?

Is our church a lively beacon of hope to our children and to our neighbors? Are we obedient to Christ or mostly ourselves?

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