God’s People Identified
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Intro
Intro
Ezra 2:1-70 presents four qualities of the identity of God’s people 1) they are restored by God (v. 1), 2) They are known by God (v. 2-58), 3) they are defined by God (v. 59-63), 4) they are made to worship God (v. 64-70).
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Read Text
Now these are the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of the exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had taken away into exile to Babylon, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his city.
These came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah.
The number of the men of the people of Israel:
The whole assembly together was 42,360, besides their male and female servants, of whom there were 7,337, and they had 200 male and female singers. Their horses were 736, their mules were 245, their camels were 435, and their donkeys were 6,720.
Some of the heads of families, when they came to the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem, made freewill offerings for the house of God, to erect it on its site. According to their ability they gave to the treasury of the work 61,000 darics of gold, 5,000 minas of silver, and 100 priests’ garments.
Now the priests, the Levites, some of the people, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants lived in their towns, and all the rest of Israel in their towns.
Pray
Pray
Quality 1: They are restored by God (v. 1)
Quality 1: They are restored by God (v. 1)
The first quality we find of the people of God is that they are those who are restored by God
Specifically, I am wanting us to see that in and through God, these people have been given new identities
These people, the one’s who are being brought back to the land
They have been given names that describe their relationship to God.
What the people are called shows the world who they are and the state of their souls to the Lord
To explain what I mean, we need to look all the way back in Genesis, to see where the name Israel comes from
And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
Jacob, the grandson of Abraham and father of the twelve tribes, receives this name while returning to the land after years away. He wrestles with God, and although Jacob “prevails,” the story makes abundantly clear who actually possesses the power. God cripples Jacob with a touch, and Jacob leaves blessed only because God chooses to bless him.
And God gives him a new name: Israel—“he strives with God.”
From that point forward, God's people carry a name that describes their relationship with Him. They may strive with God, but their lives and blessings remain entirely in His hands.
It is a terrifying and humbling name to have!
The identity of Israel as a people is that they are forever at the mercy of God
There is no better identity to have than that! But it is also terrifying to know that God is the One who holds your life
How does this relate to our text today?
Because when the people were dragged into exile, that became their primary identity
We see this in Ezra 1:11
Sheshbazzar brought them all up with the exiles who went up from Babylon to Jerusalem.
The cast aways
The rejects
The one’s who lost everything
When Nebuchadnezzar put them in chains and dragged them from the land, they were identified with what they had lost
The name God had given them was overshadowed by another name: exile. They became known primarily as those who had their blessings stripped from them.
Exile itself was now the defining mark of this people.
The people of God living in a foreign land was a reminder to everyone that God had judged them
Those who were known as symbols of God’s mercy, had for 70 years instead been known as symbols of His judgement, but here at last they are again restored to being symbols of His mercy.
Now these were the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of those exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried captive to Babylonia. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town.
For seventy years, one of the words that defined this people was exiles. They were still Israel. God had not forgotten His covenant. But Israel was in exile. They were the people driven from their towns, removed from the land, living under the judgment of God.
And Ezra 2 opens with that old identity still hanging over them: “the captivity of those exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar...had carried captive to Babylonia.”
But notice what happens. These aren't merely the exiles anymore. These are the people coming up out of the captivity of the exiles.
And then get all the way down to verse 70...
Now the priests, the Levites, some of the people, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants lived in their towns, and all the rest of Israel in their towns.
“All the rest of Israel in their towns.”
Do you see what has happened?
The chapter begins with captivity and exile in Babylon.
The chapter ends with Israel in their towns.
Blink and you’ll miss it!
But this name change is startling!
They aren’t exiles anymore!
They are Israel! And they are settling in THEIR towns!
They are those who rest in the hands of God’s mercy again!
God has restored His people.
We need to notice this friends.
We can’t skip over this fact even though it is subtle in the text
Because this is what God always does
God takes us from our exile and changes our identity
Before Christ you were only known by your sin
You were a liar, a thief, a murderer, a -insert your sin-
But when Christ died for us, His blood truly cleansed us and has fundamentally changed our identity
So that friends, if you are a Christian, you are no longer known by your sins
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
There is no such thing as a gay Christian, as a murderous Christian, as an adulterous Christian
In Christ there are only those who have been covered in the righteousness of Christ, so that when the Father looks upon you, He does not see the guilt of the sin that once condemned you, but the perfect righteousness of His beloved Son counted as yours and draped over your shoulders so that you chine with the splendor of the Son
You may struggle and wrestle with sin.
You must wrestle with your sin!
But that sin, whatever sin you wrestle with now, it no longer defines you
For Scripture tells us 2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
Quality 2: They are known by God (v. 2-58)
Quality 2: They are known by God (v. 2-58)
If you’ve been looking ahead in the chapter, you probably saw this next section let out a silent sigh of frustration
What could more exciting to preach on than a really really long list of names?!?!?!
Every Monday, I write out the passage that I will be preaching… by hand.
On Monday, I sat there in my office and wrote out this entire chapter by hand. Don’t believe me? Here it is (show the notes you have written)
If I could do that, then you can pay attention until I get to the touching part of this passage
I’m going to read a few verses, not all of them, but enough to get the big picture
They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah.
The number of the men of the people of Israel: the sons of Parosh, 2,172. The sons of Shephatiah, 372. The sons of Arah, 775. The sons of Pahath-moab, namely the sons of Jeshua and Joab, 2,812.
The sons of Azmaveth, 42.
The sons of Senaah, 3,630.
The priests: the sons of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, 973. The sons of Immer, 1,052. The sons of Pashhur, 1,247. The sons of Harim, 1,017.
In these verses, we find the member roles of the return
This list is not random
It is an official official record of the returned people of God
These are the recipients of the promises of God
God specifically stirred up the hearts 128 sons of Asaph. He specifically stirred up the hearts of 454 sons of Adin. he specifically stirred up the hearts of 42 sons of Azmaveth.
You may read this list of names and think to yourself “I don’t care about these random people.”
And that’s the point!
You may not care about these random people. But God did. God loved them.
Every name here is evidence that God cares about the seemingly insignificant person.
And that should comfort you.
We don’t need to prove our significance!
You do not need to prove your significance to God. Your standing among His people isn't secured by your job, your reputation, your wealth, your accomplishments, or whether anyone remembers your name. If you belong to Christ, the sovereign God has set His love upon you and called you His own.
Your value comes from the God who says, “This one is precious in My sight.”
Why Does God choose us?
It is simply because He has chosen to. There is no qualifying marker that determines if God will love you. Simply that if you belong to Him, it is because He has chosen to love you out of His good pleasure
“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
Oh the love and mercy of God that He has loved His people and chosen them for Himself simply because He loves them!
What a blessing that there are “random” names in Scripture!
Don’t rush past these names. Each one represents a real person whom God knew, loved, preserved, and brought home. If Ezra were written about us, you and I would be the random names somebody else is tempted to skip.
The fact that God cares about the little random person should comfort your soul and genuinely bring a few tears to your eyes!
There’s something else that I want us to see in this list though before we move onto the next point.
It is that God is working through ordinary, everyday people to accomplish His plans
God is sovereign. He sits enthroned above all things.
And while He can anything wants, the way that He has ordained for His glory to be made known and for His plans and promises to be fulfilled, is through ordinary people living their ordinary lives
Let’s look at one clear name that demonstrates this.
Zerubbabel.
Jerusalem has been destroyed. The throne of David has been empty for seventy years. But Zerubbabel is a descendant of David
And the new Testament authors place his name in the genealogy of Jesus Christ.
The kingdom had fallen. The temple was in rubble. But God had not forgotten His promise to David.
And Zerubbabel is only one name among thousands.
Friends, the history God’s people is full of “silent saints”
Saints, holy ones set apart by God, whose names are never recorded
The history of God’s people is filled with the ordinary people, living ordinary lives, yet used by God for His extraordinary plans and purposes.
Most of God's work throughout history has been accomplished through people whose names you and I will never know.
We know Zerubbabel.
But who were the 42 sons of Azmaveth?
God knows.
Who were the 128 singers descended from Asaph?
God knows.
Who were the 392 temple servants and descendants of Solomon's servants?
God knows.
We don't know their names.
But He does.
And those ordinary saints includes you!
When we read these lists of people, we should identify ourselves with those brave ancestors of our faith who were stirred by God to be obedient to Him in their ordinary lives
To those anonymous and random man and women who would leave the lives they had known and the comforts of Babylon in order for God to be worshipped.
The fact that God remembered what these people did so many thousands of years ago, should encourage us that He will remember our obedience today.
For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.
It is likely that no one will ever write a biography about you.
Maybe your name won’t be remembered by anyone outside of your family.
Maybe in a hundred years from now, no one on earth will know that you ever existed.
But our God knows.
He knows every act of obedience.
He knows every quiet sacrifice.
He knows every prayer no one else heard.
He knows every act of service no one noticed.
Friends, you do not need to be known by the world.
Because God knows you by name.
Quality 3: They are defined by God (v. 59-63)
Quality 3: They are defined by God (v. 59-63)
That long long list of names comes to a bumpy conclusion in verses 59-63
Because here we get another list of names, these ones with big question marks by them
The following were those who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer, though they could not prove their fathers’ houses or their descent, whether they belonged to Israel:
Also, of the sons of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, and the sons of Barzillai (who had taken a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by their name). These sought their registration among those enrolled in the genealogies, but they were not found there, and so they were excluded from the priesthood as unclean.
These aren’t merely names with clerical errors. Their inability to establish their genealogy raises a serious question: do they actually belong among the restored people of Israel? Are they part of the covenant? And for the priestly families, the stakes are even higher.
In our modern sensibilities, we might want to ask the question “Why not just let them in?”
It’s because God has set clear lines around His people
God is the One who determines who is allowed in and who is not
That decision, is not ultimately one that men are able to make
God is the One who defines who His are
And at this time, He has determined that they be those who come from the line of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Now I should say, there was a way for outsiders to enter into the covenant community
Being descended from Jacob wasn't an absolute barrier against a foreigner ever joining Israel. But God Himself established the terms by which someone belonged to His covenant people.
Maybe, just maybe, we can give some land to these unknown laymen. That can’t be too bad, right? I mean the land is mostly empty anyways…
If it were only the laymen, then maybe… but there were also priests in the camp of question-marks
These priests had to be from the line of Aaron
It’s not like being a pastor today
The priests had to be not only of the tribe of Levi, but in the line of Aaron
And they had to be perfectly ceremonially clean
These men were to stand in between the people and God
They are the ones who would present the offerings and sacrifices of the people to God
These priests were to make atonement for the sins of the people
This is a heavy task. One that only very specific men can carry
And to make the matter even more important, before the exile the failings of the priests had been one of the issues that led them to be removed from the land.
Listen to the charge God brought against the priests through Ezekiel:
Her priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.
Before the exile, the priests had failed to guard the holiness of God
They had failed in their primary job and because of that had led Israel into deeper and deeper sin
God wasn't going to restore His people to the land by simply ignoring the very standards they had violated before.
They needed to be more than simply “good enough”
If they were going to be restored from exile, they HAD to get this right!
I hope you can appreciate that this is no small matter.
This issue is central to return to the land, because the focus is on the specific people that God has chosen to restore
Are these His people, or are they invaders?
Because of the immensity of this matter, the governor steps in and makes a decision
The governor told them that they were not to partake of the most holy food, until there should be a priest to consult Urim and Thummim.
The governor tells them to wait until the matter can be settled through the Urim and Thummim, the God-appointed means by which the priest could inquire of the Lord.
We don't need to know exactly how they worked to understand Ezra's point.
The people would not make for themselves a decision that belonged to God.
God would determine who belonged in His priesthood.
Grace had brought the people to the land. Grace had restored them. Grace did not then make obedience optional.
Why does this matter?
It matters because it is important to be clear about who is in the covenant community of God, and who is not
Christians rightly desire unity. But sometimes that good desire leads people to recognize anyone who claims the name “Christian” without asking whether their faith conforms to what God has actually revealed.
But we do not define Christianity. God does.
We simply act on and live by what He has said
Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.
And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,
What do these verses mean? It means that there are some who claim to be Christians, who want to be brought in among the Christians, but who by their teaching, by the conduct of their lives, demonstrate that they do not know Christ.
Friends, it is not loving to affirm someone in their dillusion about the state of their souls!
If there is someone who does not abide by the teachings of Christ. If they live in unrepentant sin. If they deny the truth of the Word.
Then the most loving thing you can do is actually to call them to repentance!
To call out their sin!
Not to just try to be nice because you don’t want to hurt their feelings!
What would you rather do, hurt their feelings a bit by being lovingly honest with them, or stay silent and let them prance into hell?
But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.
My friends, there are many who bear the name of Christ but teach a different Gospel
Some of them are the nicest people you will ever meet. But they teach lies
They teach that you can find salvation outside of Jesus
They teach that Jesus was simply a good man, and not God
They teach that God is not trinity.
We can disagree about baptism and still be brothers.
We can disagree about spiritual gifts and still be brothers.
We can disagree about church government and still be brothers.
But we cannot worship different gods and pretend we're united.
We cannot preach different gospels and pretend we're united.
We cannot have different Christs and pretend we're united.
Friends, I am not against Christian unity. I am commanded by God to pursue Christian unity! I can have genuine fellowship with many Presbyterians, many charismatics, many Lutherans, many fluffy non-denominationals, and many others with whom I have real disagreements. We don't have to agree about everything in order to recognize one another as brothers and sisters.
But Christian unity has boundaries because Christianity itself has a definition—and God, not us, wrote the definition.
The Mormon church does not proclaim the biblical God or the biblical gospel. We cannot recognize Mormonism as Christianity.
Jehovah's Witnesses deny the deity of Christ and the Trinity. We cannot recognize their religion as Christianity.
Friends, it is better to lovingly call a person to repentance than it is to sit with them in the dillusion.
Think again about those priests in Ezra 2.
Wouldn't it have been kinder just to let them serve?
Wouldn't it have been more inclusive?
They traveled all the way from Babylon! They claim to be sons of Aaron! Why embarrass them? Why exclude them?
Because Israel didn't have the authority to make them priests.
God did.
And friends, neither do we have the authority to make someone a Christian.
We don't write the definition.
God does.
Quality 4: They are made to worship God (v. 64-70)
Quality 4: They are made to worship God (v. 64-70)
Now I promise I will make this last point quick.
But the people when they come back to the land, we see a few things worth noting
First is the number of the people.
The whole assembly together was 42,360, besides their male and female servants, of whom there were 7,337, and they had 200 male and female singers. Their horses were 736, their mules were 245, their camels were 435, and their donkeys were 6,720.
42, 360
Do you realize how small of a group that is?
This isn’t supposed to be returning to a midsized suburb
This returning an entire country
42,000 people would be a huge group if it came in here today. But think about this in light of the history of the people
The book of Numbers records Israel during their 40 years in the wilderness under Moses
It starts with a census of those at the start of the wandering, and it ends with a second census toward the end of their wandering
As the people take their census preparing to go into the land this is the number
This was the list of the people of Israel, 601,730.
Now I want to remind you, this only counted fighting age men. So the actual number of all the men, women, and children was likely closer to 2 million!
600,000 fighting age men, protecting and leading the many other women, children, and elderly, came into the land at the start!
And in the generations that followed, they had children, and their children had children, generation after generation, until Israel filled the land.
Judah and Israel were as many as the sand by the sea. They ate and drank and were happy.
So that when the exile occurred, the number of the dead and exiled was unfathomable…
And now, when they return to the land again…
They don’t have 2 million…
They don’t have 600,000
They don’t even have 50,000…
There’s hardly anyone
But these are the people God has chosen
Often God works through the small, through the laughably insignificant
It is in the seeming weakness of the people that God's glory will shine brightest.
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
I’m not sure Isreal boasted in their weaknesses, but they certainly didn’t let that hinder them from being faithful
As soon as they came into the land, the people began to do what they were called to do: to worship God
They began to give to the temple
Some of the heads of families, when they came to the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem, made freewill offerings for the house of God, to erect it on its site. According to their ability they gave to the treasury of the work 61,000 darics of gold, 5,000 minas of silver, and 100 priests’ garments.
This is when we get to see if the discipline of God had been effective
Will these people be obedient and worship Him?
The answer now, is yes
As they return to the land, the first thing that they do is begin to give to the house of the Lord.
It seems, this people has listened to God and obeyed
Friends, my point here is remarkably simply
Like Isreal, we have been made to worship God
We may not have the resources that we would want. Or the numbers.
Notice how Ezra describes their giving: “according to their ability.”
They didn't have what Solomon had.
They didn't have what David had.
They didn't have the population Israel once had.
But they worshiped according to what God had given them.
Friends, God doesn't call you to worship Him with what you wish you had. He calls you to worship Him with what He has actually given you.
Conclusion
Conclusion
How do we know who God’s people are? What sets someone as being part of His people?
Ezra shows us four very simple qualities, not just of Israel, but a of all of God’s people at all times
That God’s people are redeemed and restored by God
That they are known by God
That they are defined by God
And that ultimately, they are those who worship God
It’s all about God
Even when looking at ourselves and who we are, it’s about God
We can only know who we are rightly as we look at God
