Ezra

1. The Grace and Faithfulness of God

-In many ways, you’re already very familiar with the background of Ezra, because it is mostly the same as the background for the book of Esther, which occurs in between Ezra 6 and 7.

-God brings the Israelites into the land that He promised them, but they chose to be unfaithful to Him

-So God, being faithful to His Word, send His judgment

-He first sends the Northern Kingdom of Israel into captivity by the hand of the Assyrians in 722 BC.

-Then, he brings Babylon to take captive the Southern Kingdom of Judah

-The first wave of deportations takes place around 605 BC, and then the final and decisive deportation takes place in 586 BC when starves out Jerusalem, breaks into the city, and wreaks havoc on the inhabitants

A. God’s Grace and Faithfulness in Impossible Circumstances

-The Babylonians leave with thousands of captives and the city in ruins, including the Temple being completely destroyed

-Shortly before these events took place, Jeremiah prophesied in Jeremiah 25:10-12

Jeremiah 25:10–12 NKJV

Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. ‘Then it will come to pass, when seventy years are completed, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity,’ says the Lord; ‘and I will make it a perpetual desolation.

Daniel too, recognized the time of this prophecy in Daniel 9:1-2

Daniel 9:1–2 NKJV

In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans—in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

Now, imagine if you had been one of those taken captive that violent and cruel day in Jerusalem

-you are being forced to drag your numb body down from Jerusalem and begin the long trek to Babylon

-The images burnt into your mind of your friends and loved ones being slaughtered in front of you

-You had been taught that the Temple was where God dwelt with His people and He had put His name there

-But the temple had been destroyed in front of you, it’s sacred items looted

-As you pause and stare through tear-stained eyes at the smoke rising up from Jerusalem, your home, you would wonder:

“How could it ever be that we’ll come back here in 70 years? How is that even possible?”

And yet that’s exactly what God had promised

And sure enough, after the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, years later, he has a grandson named Belshazzar

-And during his reign, Cyrus the Great leads the Medo-Persians to Babylon and walks into the city uncontested, taking it over and killing Belshazzar and in essence, taking over the world

And almost 70 years after the Babylonian deportation begins, we get this:

Ezra 1:1–4 NKJV

Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. Who is among you of all His people? May his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel (He is God), which is in Jerusalem. And whoever is left in any place where he dwells, let the men of his place help him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, besides the freewill offerings for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.

And so that’s why I’m entitling this section: “God’s grace and faithfulness in impossible circumstances”

And let’s just park here for just a second before we move on:

-Whenever God gives His Word, no matter how difficult the circumstances

-no matter how improbable or seemingly impossible it may be

-God will keep His Word

-God stakes His very reputation to every word He gives

-So much so that Jesus says that not one jot or tittle will pass away from God’s Word that will not be fulfilled

And so learn to rest in the faithful words of God, that He will always keep them no matter what

Now, the first half of this narrative, chapters 1-6 are concerned with the rebuilding of the Temple

-The Temple is referred to by name or by pronoun 82 times in this book

-And the rebuilding of the Temple will be a test case to show the faithfulness of God in helping His people get the Temple built

So how does God’s faithfulness and His grace in this play out?

-Jeremiah had also made another specific prophecy

-He had prophesied in Jeremiah 27 that when Judah returned from captivity, that God would bring the vessels of the Temple back with His people

Jeremiah 27:21–22 NKJV

yes, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that remain in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah and of Jerusalem: ‘They shall be carried to Babylon, and there they shall be until the day that I visit them,’ says the Lord. ‘Then I will bring them up and restore them to this place.’ ”

And right here in chapter 1 in verses 7-11, we see clearly that God sends these vessels back with His people

-He fulfills His promises because He is faithful to His promises to His people

When the people arrive back in Jerusalem, they begin to institute Yahweh worship once again

-They build an altar and offer sacrifices

-They keep the Feast of Tabernacles

-And they begin to offer the regular burnt offerings once again

-They then get to work on the Temple

Ezra 3:10–11 NKJV

When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord, according to the ordinance of David king of Israel. And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord: “For He is good, For His mercy endures forever toward Israel.” Then all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.

but look what happens:

Ezra 3:12 (NKJV)

But many of the priests and Levites and heads of the fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes.

Now, word begins to spread that the Jews are back and are rebuilding their Temple

-And this is when the opposition really starts

B. God’s Grace and Faithfulness in the face of overwhelming opposition

Look at what happens next:

Ezra 4:1–2 NKJV

Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the descendants of the captivity were building the temple of the Lord God of Israel, they came to Zerubbabel and the heads of the fathers’ houses, and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do; and we have sacrificed to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.”

At first, the enemies of the Jews try to get in on what’s going on in Jerusalem, probably in an attempt to have control and power

Look how the Jews respond:

Ezra 4:3–5 NKJV

But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel said to them, “You may do nothing with us to build a house for our God; but we alone will build to the Lord God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.” Then the people of the land tried to discourage the people of Judah. They troubled them in building, and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

The rest of chapter 4, Ezra goes on to recount another incident that happened later on, during the reign of Artaxerxes, when some adversaries slandered them and was able to get the construction on the wall of the city stopped until Nehemiah came along around 10 years after Ezra

So, is God still going to be faithful, even in the face of opposition?

-I mean, the people of here are just a weak, small, fledgling vassal state, trying to reestablish their homes and piece their lives back together in the land that God had exiled them from, and then graciously allowed them to return to

-And now, they’re up against other vassal states who don’t like them, who are more powerful, more influential, and who are out to cause them harm

-And while we may not be in the exact same situation, nonetheless, don’t we face similar overwhelming odds as Christians?

-Doesn’t it often seem like we’re a powerless, small group of people that get tossed to and fro in the waves of nations and politics in the sea of a God-hating world?

Is God gracious and faithful, even in the face of overwhelming opposition?

-Well, the Jews become discouraged and complacent in the face of opposition, and give up on building the Temple for about 10 years.

But look at what happens next:

Ezra 5:1–2 NKJV

Then the prophet Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophets, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. So Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak rose up and began to build the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and the prophets of God were with them, helping them.

God in His faithfulness sends the people prophets who both rebuke and encourage them, prompting them to resume the construction of the Temple

Haggai 1:8 NKJV

Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified,” says the Lord.

And so they obey

Word quickly spreads that the Jews are building the Temple again, and the opposition quickly comes to wreak havoc

Ezra 5:3–5 NKJV

At the same time Tattenai the governor of the region beyond the River and Shethar-Boznai and their companions came to them and spoke thus to them: “Who has commanded you to build this temple and finish this wall?” Then, accordingly, we told them the names of the men who were constructing this building. But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, so that they could not make them cease till a report could go to Darius. Then a written answer was returned concerning this matter.

-Notice God’s faithful providence and protection for His people as they do His work

So, Tattenia sends a letter to Darius to see what he thinks about all of this:

-He lets Darius know that the Temple is being rebuilt. He says the Jews claim that Cyrus had decreed them to during his reign

-He basically asks Darius if that is true and if Darius is ok with the Jews rebuilding their Temple

-In chapter 6, Darius orders a search of the royal archives to see if there ever had been such an order given to the Jews

-And low and behold, in the archives of Babylon, what do they find?

-They find the decree of Cyrus to the Jews commissioning them to rebuild their Temple

So here’s the reply of Darius to Tattenai and any others in the area of Jerusalem

He tells them that they are to leave the Jews alone in their building efforts

-As a matter of fact, if the Jews need anything, Tattenai and his buddies are to supply any materials that may been need for the construction of the Templ

Darius ends with this:

Ezra 6:11–12 NKJV

Also I issue a decree that whoever alters this edict, let a timber be pulled from his house and erected, and let him be hanged on it; and let his house be made a refuse heap because of this. And may the God who causes His name to dwell there destroy any king or people who put their hand to alter it, or to destroy this house of God which is in Jerusalem. I Darius issue a decree; let it be done diligently.

-There’s a hoky old preacher story, kind of similar in that sense to what Mark Vowels shared on Sunday

-There were 2 neighbors that lived next door to each other

-One was a born-again Christian and the other was an atheist

-Every morning, the first thing the Christian would do is walk outside onto his porch and loudly praise the Lord for His blessings every morning

-He would praise the Lord for creating the beautiful sunrise, or the weather, or other things like that

-And this would really drive his atheist friend crazy, hearing this Christian assign praise to God for things that the atheist believed came from chance, or evolution, or Mother Nature

-So one night, the atheist goes and buys a bunch of groceries that he knows his Christian neighbor needs, and puts them all on the Christian’s porch that evening

-So when the Christian wakes up the next morning, he goes out onto the porch and sees all of these groceries and loudly proclaims, “God, thank you for all these groceries which you have supplied for me!”

-His atheist friend was hiding in the bushes to observe, and when the Christian shouts this, he comes out of the bushes all worked up and says, “You fool! God didn’t give you those groceries, I bought them for you! You thought those came from God, but they actually came from me!”

-To which the Christian loudly proclaims, “God, thank you for these groceries which you have supplied for me! . . . and thank you for making the devil pay for them!”

-Not only does God supply for the rebuilding of the Temple, but he makes the enemies of the Jews fund the work!

-You see, even when we as Christians face overwhelming opposition

-When it seems that every new law and legislation that gets passed

-When it seems that every new cultural norm seems to oppose us

-God is still faithful and gracious to His people

-He does not abandon us

-He is even in control over the things that go on in politics and culture

I don’t know about you, but I’ve had the beautiful song that Emily sang on Sunday ringing in my heart and mind all week:

What God ordains is always good: this truth remains unshaken. Though sorrow, need, or death be mine, I shall not be forsaken. I fear no harm, for with his arm he will embrace and shield me; so to my God I yield me.

And God’s faithfulness and His grace remain, whether we deserve it or not

-Israel certainly didn’t!

-They were exiled for their unfaithfulness

-But God is always faithful

So the Temple gets completed, and God’s people rejoice!

2. The Unfaithfulness of God’s People

At this point, the narrative jumps ahead over 50 years

-The events of Esther have just taken place about 15 years prior

-We now meet a man named Ezra, who authors this book

Here’s what we learn about Ezra:

Ezra 7:6 NKJV

this Ezra came up from Babylon; and he was a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given. The king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the Lord his God upon him.

and

Ezra 7:10 NKJV

For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.

-This man is a priest and a scribe, and he is someone who knows the Word of God deeply

-King Artaxerxes commissions Ezra to go back to Jerusalem with any other Jews who wish to go with him back to Jerusalem

-He commands Ezra to take some some gold and silver, as well as some animals for sacrifice, back to the Temple in Jerusalem and offer sacrifices and prayers for him

-He also instructs Ezra to go and teach the Law of the God to the Jews and even gives Ezra permission to enact judgment on those who will not obey God’s Law

Ezra responds with this:

Ezra 7:27–28 NKJV

Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers, who has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem, and has extended mercy to me before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty princes. So I was encouraged, as the hand of the Lord my God was upon me; and I gathered leading men of Israel to go up with me.

Ezra and his fellow pilgrims pray and ask for God’s mercy on their travels, and God grants them safety

-However, shortly upon arrival in Jerusalem, Ezra learns of devastating sins committed on the part of the people

Ezra 9:1–2 NKJV

When these things were done, the leaders came to me, saying, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, with respect to the abominations of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy seed is mixed with the peoples of those lands. Indeed, the hand of the leaders and rulers has been foremost in this trespass.”

Look how Ezra responds:

Ezra 9:3–4 NKJV

So when I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my robe, and plucked out some of the hair of my head and beard, and sat down astonished. Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel assembled to me, because of the transgression of those who had been carried away captive, and I sat astonished until the evening sacrifice.

Why is Ezra so devastated?

-Why is this such a big deal?

-The you see, the theme of this book is the incredible grace and mercy and faithfulness of God towards His people

-This is what we’ve been looking at the entire first half of this account

-And in light of that, it makes the unfaithfulness of His people all the more stunning

-Despite all that God had done for them, they still were struggling with the same old sins that they had struggled with before the Exile

-And Ezra, maybe more than anyone else, really understood this

-As an expert in God’s Word, he had a firm grasp on all the grace and mercy that God had bestowed on the Jews, ever since Abraham

-And he certainly understood the long history of covenant unfaithfulness that had led to the Exile of God’s people

Let’s read his beautiful prayer as we seek to bring all of this to a close:

Ezra 9:5–15 NKJV

At the evening sacrifice I arose from my fasting; and having torn my garment and my robe, I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God. And I said: “O my God, I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens. Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been very guilty, and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to humiliation, as it is this day. And now for a little while grace has been shown from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage. For we were slaves. Yet our God did not forsake us in our bondage; but He extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to revive us, to repair the house of our God, to rebuild its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem. And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken Your commandments, which You commanded by Your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land which you are entering to possess is an unclean land, with the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations which have filled it from one end to another with their impurity. Now therefore, do not give your daughters as wives for their sons, nor take their daughters to your sons; and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land, and leave it as an inheritance to your children forever.’ And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, since You our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such deliverance as this, should we again break Your commandments, and join in marriage with the people committing these abominations? Would You not be angry with us until You had consumed us, so that there would be no remnant or survivor? O Lord God of Israel, You are righteous, for we are left as a remnant, as it is this day. Here we are before You, in our guilt, though no one can stand before You because of this!”

And here we see the 2 strands of Ezra, weaved skillfully together here in this prayer:

-the gracious faithfulness of Almighty God

-And the covenant unfaithfulness of His wayward people

-And in chapter 10, the people repent, and they begin to dissolve the pagan marriages and offer sacrifices for their sins

-But the book really closes on this kind of solemn tone

-The Exile is over, the 70 years are passed

-But it’s the same old problem:

The Jews can’t keep the covenant

-The problem is not with the Law

-As Paul says, Romans 7:12

Romans 7:12 NKJV

Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.

-The problem is with the people

-they’re sinful

And it’s not coincidence that Ezra-Nehemiah make up the last narrative portion of the OT and both end with the failure of the Jews once again to keep the Covenant

-Even after the Exile, it’s the same old problem

-And if your Ezra or Nehemiah, or someone reading these accounts, you’re thinking:

“We need something New”

“We need a New Covenant, because we can’t keep this one.”

Application

So what does this mean for us?

We can rejoice in the incredible faithfulness of God

-Even despite all of our failures, He remains faithful to His people

-If you are in Christ, you are forever His child

-you are adopted into His family

-And your standing with Him is not based in anyway on your performance

-If God was still faithful to Israel, even after hundreds of years of idolatry, the Exile, bringing them back into the land, and them still being unfaithful

-If God was still faithful to them, He’ll continue to be faithful to you

-Rest in that

-Your performance does not change God’s disposition towards you as His child

2. Let the narrative story-arch of the OT (and def the narrative of Ezra) shape the way you read your NT

-As you turn the page from Malachi 4 to Matthew 1, remember the story of the OT

-Remember the incredible grace and faithfulness of God over and over again

-And remember the inability of God’s people to keep His Law

-Let the yearning and the desiring for New Covenant impact you as you read your NT

-Let the words Matthew 1:1

Matthew 1:1 NKJV

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:

Fill you with wonder

-Christ is the answer to all of the problems the OT poses

-He is the culmination of God’s plan of redemption

-Let that lead you to worship God for His faithfulness

-Let that lead you to thankfulness for Christ’s saving work in your own life

-Despite all of our sin, Christ died for us

-He Intercedes for us

-In our biggest moments of weakness and failure and unfaithfulness, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous, who is the propitiation for our sins

Let that lead you to a great love and worship and thankfulness for Jesus Christ, and His faithfulness to us