The Homecoming (Ezra 1:1-11)
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
So this morning we begin our series in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, and as we saw last Sunday, we will be focusing throughout on the concepts of Reformation and Revival.
So we will look at Chapter 1 this morning, if you will join me in verse 1.
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: “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever 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 rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem. And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.” Then rose up the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem. And all who were about them aided them with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, with beasts, and with costly wares, besides all that was freely offered. Cyrus the king also brought out the vessels of the house of the Lord that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the house of his gods. Cyrus king of Persia brought these out in the charge of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. And this was the number of them: 30 basins of gold, 1,000 basins of silver, 29 censers, 30 bowls of gold, 410 bowls of silver, and 1,000 other vessels; all the vessels of gold and of silver were 5,400. All these did Sheshbazzar bring up, when the exiles were brought up from Babylonia to Jerusalem.
This is the Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God!
Let’s Pray
So as we saw last week, the book of Ezra begins with a homecoming. The people of Israel have been in Exile for about 70 years, and there was always a promise that they would come home.
“For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
And indeed we see from the first words of this Chapter that God is fulfilling that promise.
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...
What we find in this chapter is that God will be glorified by the stories he writes, which are sometimes reenactments of the stories he has already told.
1. Promises Kept
2. A People Prospered
3. Property Restored
I. Promises Kept
I. Promises Kept
As we saw earlier, from Jeremiah 29, the return of the exiles to Jerusalem was a prophecy fulfilled. Not only from Jeremiah, but also from Isaiah, who names Cyrus, the King of Persia some 200 years before Cyrus is born.
[The LORD] who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfill all my purpose’; saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’ and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’ ”
This text is so puzzling to liberal scholars who don’t believe in prophecy that they simply have to dismiss it and say “This part must have been written later, by a second author.
But no. This is God, keeping his promises. And returning his people back to their homeland. Most of those who returned would have been born in exile, and those who were not would have been very old. They had been keeping faith with Yahweh as best they could. Commentators note that what faith remained would have had to have been kept alive in family structures and small group settings. But it had been kept alive. The majority of those going back would have been returning to a promised land they had only heard about in stories from Mom and Dad, and perhaps grandparents.
And we read that
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: “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
Now first things first, some of you might be wondering “What do you mean king of Persia?” I thought they were in Babylon. And yes, they were. The Persians conquered the Babylonians. So this is new boss, same as the old boss, but not really, though.
In fact, this one is totally different. He sends them home and wounds like he’s doing it in praise of Yahweh. And this one is a head-scratcher. Because there’s nothing in Cyrus’s reign to indicate that he actually obeyed the first commandment and worshipped the God of Israel. What this likely is, is language meant to give praise to the God of the Jews in hopes that he’ll get kindness and blessing from that God, too. Because he goes on to say
Whoever 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 rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem.
So Cyrus does not think that Yahweh is the Lord of all the earth. But that he is a god who has had some say in his reign and rule and prosperity.
But for our purposes this is what you need to understand. Ezra is framing this up in a very particular way, in the light of the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah because he wants you to see what’s happening here as a Second Exodus. In fact, Isaiah is rather explicit about it.
Go out from Babylon, flee from Chaldea, declare this with a shout of joy, proclaim it, send it out to the end of the earth; say, “The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob!” They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts; he made water flow for them from the rock; he split the rock and the water gushed out...
This is all Exodus and wilderness language. God is bringing about a second Exodus. His people are re-enacting an old story. The same story they were to keep preaching to each other at Passover. God keeps his promises and writers better stories that we can imagine. And sometimes those stories are re-enactments of tales we already know.
II. A People Prospered
II. A People Prospered
And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.” Then rose up the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem. And all who were about them aided them with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, with beasts, and with costly wares, besides all that was freely offered.
This should sound familiar to you. We have a King releasing the captives. We have a second Exodus. And we have God’s people...plundering the Egyptians, I mean, the Persians.
Do you remember that moment from the Exodus? If you’re doing Ligonier’s Bible in a Year Reading Plan, you read through this relatively recently...
The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.
And you’re meant to see a parallel between that moment and this one.
Now, most likely, the people giving the majority of the silver and gold were fellow Jews who were choosing to remain in Babylon. Which is an interesting aspect of the story. The people who stay are not condemned, but they aren’t praised either. Many of them had probably never known any other life than this, and even as they resisted God’s call home, they were still contributing to it.
But as with the First Exodus, Israel is also receiving offerings of gold and silver from her captors. These contributions were likely from the Persians as well. And notice that they are giving freely. Not under compulsion or fear or terror as did the Egyptians. So don’t miss this: Gentiles are helping to build the house of the Lord. This is one of the many moments in Ezra that I am going to call “New Covenant hints.” Ezra is preparing the way for a new era when Jew and Gentile will freely give to God’s work together, under one banner.
Now what I have alluded to so far, but want to explicitly say now is that this is a story of God’s deliverance, God is doing a new thing. And yet, in some ways, it looks like a repeat of the old thing.
And this is a big reason why God gives us stories in the Bible. Not only to inspire us, but to teach us how God likes to work. Because he tends to repeat himself. Both his words and his patterns.
And I’ve noticed a lot of the time, especially in Evangelicalism we twist ourselves up into knots asking “Are these stories meant to teach us lessons or point to Jesus?” And the answer is yes.
They point to Jesus, and also, to use Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 10:11, these things are written down as examples for us.
So does David and Goliath point to Jesus? Yes, of course it does. God takes down the giants of sin and death and his victory through Christ becomes our victory though we never lifted a stone. Does it also teach us about how God delights to slay giants and rescue his people from seeming certain defeat? Yes, of course it does.
Is Noah and the Ark about Jesus? Of course it is. It’s about Jesus and Baptism and Covenant. Does it also teach us about God’s judgement on the wicked and preservation of a remnant in evil days? Yes, of course it does.
Does the Exodus teach us about Jesus? You mean the Passover Lamb who rescues his sons and their households from death by his own blood? Yes, of course. Is it also a story about how God rescues his captive people and answers their cry for deliverance? Ask Andrew Brunson. Of course it does.
III. Property Restored
III. Property Restored
Cyrus the king also brought out the vessels of the house of the Lord that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the house of his gods. Cyrus king of Persia brought these out in the charge of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah.
The Chapter closes out by telling us about some pots and pans. What? The vessels of the old temple. That were taken out of the temple, and brought to Babylon. Cyrus makes sure that those things get restored. And we even have (in verses 9 thru 11) a catalog
And this was the number of them: 30 basins of gold, 1,000 basins of silver, 29 censers,
All of it amounting to 5,400 items. That’s a lot.
But what is this here for? To quote theologian Derek Thomas, “Does this true faith of Israel and the Christian Church really come down to what sounds like a kitchen inventory?”
And the answer is Yes.
These were not just pots and pans. They were things set apart for holy use in the temple worship services. And they were part of Isaiah’s prophecy
Depart, depart, go out from there; touch no unclean thing; go out from the midst of her; purify yourselves, you who bear the vessels of the Lord. For you shall not go out in haste, and you shall not go in flight, for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
These were more than pots and pans, they were the symbols of God’s covenantal dealings with his people. Symbols that had been desecrated in years past? Do you remember the moment in Daniel 5? Right before the hand of God writes the judgement on the wall? What are they doing? Grabbing the vessels of the temple and using them to worship other gods.
But the victory of God’s enemies is always temporary. It may last for a generation. But it’s always temporary. These vessels are about to be restored to their proper place. And it’s quite the inventory, right? As we said, 5,400 items in total. That had to be a heavy load to haul back to Jerusalem.
And can’t you picture these former exiles going home. And no doubt a selection of those Levites were in charge of the luggage and all that inventory. And can you not imagine them saying to each other “If God cares this much for the pots and pans of his house, how much more so for his people?”
Now not every item was returned. There’s no mention of the ark of the Covenant for example. There are basically two schools of thought on what happened to the ark. One school says it was destroyed during the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem. And another school says that after Indian Jones saw it, it was taken away by top men and stored in a government facility.
Why no mention of the ark? Probably because Ezra is a book of New Covenant Hints, and God is preparing his people for a day when they would be the temple, and when his law would be written not on tablets of stone in a box, but on their hearts of flesh.
The city to which they are returning is a wreck and a ruin. There are no jobs. But there’s lots of work. They have to trust the Lord for provision.
Conclusion
Conclusion
God Keeps His Promises. He promises to restore his people back to their homeland, and he does. It’s not a promise that comes without trial. Great trial and trouble lies ahead for them. But God does keep his promises. The story doesn’t go how they are expecting. But it is still God keeping his promises.
Nobody expected to leave carrying such blessing with them. But God keeps his promises. Nobody expected the second exodus to have as much trouble as it did (least of all Ezra and Nehemiah). But it did. God keeps his promises, and he writes stories we don’t expect.
Nobody expected a cross, a resurrection, and a commission that would result in a third Exodus, going out from Jerusalem into the whole world to build a Jerusalem that would cover every nation.
But that’s what God did, that’s what he is doing, and that’s what He will do.
So what is the story God is writing for you today?
Does it have conflict in it? Does it have disappointment and hurt? God writes stories where you have to learn how to forgive, from the heart, and then laugh about it in time to come. God writes better stories than the ones we want to write about how we retreat into self righteous bitterness.
So what is that conflict for?
Forgiveness, probably. God is writing a better story than you can, and he’s at work for your good and his glory. Ask for help, if you need it. From God and from others.
What is this trouble with my kids for?
Patience, probably. And maybe opportunities for repentance, at least ask that and pursue it. But trust in God. He’s writing a story here. Do all the good you can with the time and resources and wisdom you have, and trust him. And ask for help if you need it. From God and from others.
What’s this affliction in my life for? This heartache? This pain? This illness?
Patience and trust, probably. God is writing a better story than you can. He’s at work for your good and his glory. That doesn’t mean it won’t hurt. I’m not saying God’s promises mean you won’t suffer, I’m saying they will change how you suffer. They must. They will deliver you from pity parties and enable you to sing and hope and pray and trust. And ask for help if you need it. From God and from others.
God will always keep his promises. And he writes better stories than we can. So what is the story you are in? What sort of character are you being called to be?
He’s always writing the story, and he’s always keeping every promise.
In the name of Jesus, Amen.
