Conformed or Transformed (Ezra-Nehemiah)

Back home and she did eventually and want to be involved in this making motorcycles process. We are still be launching very shortly. Julia coolest facilitating a class to do that make me laugh disciples course in and really what it is is taking our skills as Christians as mature Christians to love other people. Well and Lil Bit tools help us on the way. So helpful information of what to say when not to say and how did not make things worse. But really it's really cool Ministry and I encourage you to go and get started find me your password mad or do a foolish sure anyone else that you know as part of the team. State the last month or so. I've been working on going through the books of Ezra and Nehemiah with my youth group meeting at the more and more. I became engulfed in the drama of the story. It is it's one of those stories that if you would have been walking through and real-time as it happening back in the day. Is X of God is working behind the scenes and then you would end and go home. How's that work with God doing? One of the kid my password I grew up with did a series on Nehemiah and I also have no idea what he talked about or what the applications were anything about it other than the fact that I remember. This is a cool story. And so that's where I left it. I wanted to remember Nehemiah is a cool story. And so now as I am working for the Knight strategy guide with with the youth group and set a time for Nehemiah has a great talent except it's time to study Nehemiah says, okay. I've got covid-19 you to preach by the way from at his family could use some prayer to get to recovering buggy frame for him. But when that says, hey it's time for you to preach. That's a great. I want to share what we are doing with me and Maya and Ezra with the youth group. Me and Maya. Too much in my pass, which means you likely haven't heard me and Maya. All that much either answer. The question has to be asked. Why are we studying Nehemiah? Why do we care about it? If you go to Barnes & Noble or an Amazon and he searched for the books of Ezra Nehemiah, you likely to find books about leadership how to lead a building campaign or how to inspire the church to join you and whatever effort you had it at the leadership guide and that makes sense. Because if you go ahead and you look at the books of Ezra Nehemiah Ezra Nehemiah seem like really really great leaders. They inspire people to get the project done and things go well, but that's only if you assume that the Bible is the moral guide book that the Divine rule book. Basically you look at them. And yeah, there are great example of the great momentum to accomplish their test. I think we're sorry the wrong assumption that we have to understand scripture in his own terms. Biblical literature, it doesn't communicate just by getting simple answers or through moral examples is not does not a self-help book and instead it has people who are deeply flawed and their ambiguous and a lot of times what they try to do ends up falling apart and it's kind of like you and me if you think about it. And if you look at the book of Nehemiah that ends with the guy in the Mir beating up the Israelites pulling out their hair and cursing at them, like that's not a leadership guide that you would want to really model after. Not so far. Is he going back and forth between Ezra and Nehemiah and then Ezra - the Amelia and there's a reason for that. That's because these two books Ezra Nehemiah didn't separate until like the year 1448 ad until the 13th century until that point and certainly when Jesus was teaching it Ezra and Nehemiah was one scroll one story. And so to understand what's going on between the books of Ezra Nehemiah. You have to look at them in that way. One thing worth mentioning to is that there's so much material here. We could easily son 14 weeks and we're not going to do that. You want to spend 14 weeks come to you through I won't kick you out but we're going to fly over in the original Hebrew Bible that Jesus would have been treating in teaching. The order is a little bit different than the order that we have in our Bible today in an Ezra and Nehemiah it in your Old Testament. If you look in the table of content and Ezra Nehemiah house right after Samuel and kings and Chronicles in before the prophets put in the Torah and the verse Jesus would have read and thought it would notice. It's right there at the very end Daniel Ezra Nehemiah Chronicles. That's important. We'll come back to that later. Luke chapter 24 verses 44 and 45 record of Jesus teaching and it says this He said to them these are. My words I spoke to you while I was still with you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. Then he opened their minds understand the scripture. Notice the three divisions that Jesus as our written about him the law of Moses the prophet in the song them and those correlate with the three and the chart we have the Torah that the law of Moses the prophets and then the writing to the songs. And so what Jesus is saying is that the entire Old Testament is written about him. Snow doesn't mean that each page of each chapter of the Old Testament is explicitly referencing Jesus because it doesn't but if you think of it this way you think of like The Chronicles of Narnia Got7 books and each of the seven bucks a stand-alone. They're really good books. They have their own plots. They have their own characters. You can come out and do a whole analysis and each book, but you stepped back just a little bit. What's Hoisin together is that they all connect to aztlan all in some way even if he's not explicitly reference in each page it connect back to aztlan until he clears the greatest jewelry. He look at it as pointing towards him another way to think about it as if you think about the Avenger movies right now, there's currently 23 movies and then Sandy Saga with 11 more on their way and each movie if you look at them. The really good movies people like them. They have a good plot live that you can analyze them and talk about them. Remember them in the comic books about them. If you step back a little bit you realize that all part is one grand narrative in scripture does the exact same thing? And so if we were to say, hey we care about the Bible and specifically like Matthew Mark and Luke and John but we don't care so much about Ezra and Nehemiah and the Old Testament and then we're missing part of the Strand there doesn't remiss mean when it talks about Jesus 2nd Timothy 3:14 that we have Paul and he's encouraging Timothy and he says but as for you continue and what you have learned and firmly believed knowing who you learned it from and how from childhood even acquainted with the sacred writings, but you are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. What are the Sacred Scriptures well at this point in history? The gospels are still in oral form people are so is talking about you that they're not written down and Paul's writings for by no means written in any sort of collection. And so what are the sacred writings while the Old Testament the law and the prophets the writing and was he say the purpose of the Old Testament is to make us wise for salvation for the Jewish Messiah Jesus. We ought to care about the Old Testament we ought to care about even though unpopular and unmemorable book like Ezra Nehemiah. All right on this is historical narrative until there's some things we got to be aware of Israel was in a session that formed after The Exodus and they went ahead and had a civil war and I split in the northern kingdom and the southern Kingdom and then 722 BCE the northern kingdoms conquered by Assyria Syria, when they conquered they have this strategy and kind of sense. I guess they would go ahead and they've conquered and they would take some of the people who are living in the conquered land and they would kick them out and send them back to Assyria and then they would take some the syrians and they'd put them back in the homes where the people who are boobs that were and that's why I called the Exile and so you have that syrians in the northern kingdom the Jews in Exile in Assyria. And then in 586 BCE the southern Kingdom just conquered by the Babylonians just like this year and the Babylonians just like the syrians they went ahead and they took the Jews and stuff them into Exile is now we have both north thinking of Anna Southern Kingdom in Exile.

And in this whole story it's referred to in in Jeremiah Jeremiah chapter 25 verse 11 and says because you have not obeyed my words the whole land shall become a raccoon and a waste and his Nation Shall Serve the king of Babylon for 70 years is so with me. Jeremiah prophesied because you not obey my words you're going to be an exile. That one's going to take over about Babylon taking over to is that when they took over they didn't like the city of Jerusalem for them to City of Jerusalem meant rebellious people. They had a different King that I cared about. And so when they came into Jerusalem, they destroyed the walls and they burnt the tempo down and did nothing and so now we have the Jews in Exile out of there is no Temple no way to do their sacrifices and it's a bad situation.

And the temple we have been trying to nail is really hard with the teenagers at a youth group that the temple the whole purpose of the temple is a represent God's presence among his people to be the place where the mercy seat on the Ark of the Covenant was when they can come and I tell him to their sin in Genesis chapter 3 the whole system of sacrifice became a thing because in Genesis 3 our relationship with God fell apart are sinking in the way and we're not able as people to be in community with God and so the sacrifice system was this temporary solution. It was supposed to allow us to go ahead and make art elements and sell swords and somewhat be in relationship with God. Now for the Jews, they removed my land in the temple of dawn. It's not a good situation. The last piece of history is that about 50 years later King Cyrus heat king Cyrus was the king of Assyria. And he overthrows Babylon Babylon and Assyria and Babylon combined together and formerly known as Persia so s were talking about it through scripture today is going to be king Cyrus of Persia on that. I belong together until he overthrows them. He becomes uncontrolled everything and then that's where the book of Ezra begin. That's what you need to know. That's why is he still with me? If you don't sound as I get in your Bible go ahead and turn towards it is kind of Need a list of the Old Testament go ahead use the table of contents. It's really hard to find. What we're going to find that Ezra and Nehemiah are they combine to tell three separate stories and each story goes and parallel to follow the same format and that's no accident. And and the format of a file is that there's a proclamation from a king and then they stopped position and then there's this weird strange anticlimax at the end. So as your chapter 1 verse 1 Begins the first Proclamation it says this. 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 for all the kingdom and also put it in writing and then here's what the proclamation says that 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 isn't Judah lovers among you of all his people made 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 was in Jerusalem each Survivor in whatever place you sojourns be assisted by men of his place with silver and gold and good with beef and decide the Free Will offering for the house of God. That is in Jerusalem. At the beginning of King Cyrus's Reign he it says that God stirred up his spirit.

Why because it says that he wants to fulfill what the Prophet Jeremiah said. Basically what Cyrus says it hey, I want all you do is I'm going to go home. I want you to rebuild the Temple I want to pay for it. And I do keep reading it says that he ends up saying that all of that treasure that the Babylonians took on the temple and they destroyed it. We're going to return that put that back in the temple. It's best put things back. But deal go back home really don't pay for it. As ra one says that it did it because God stirred up the spirit of the king. God initiate a plan for Cyrus God behind it history tells us that Cyrus had ulterior motives. There's political reasons that he would want the Jews to have a very positive image of who he is, but God tells us that the reason is because God wanted the mouth of Jeremiah to be fulfilled biblical author. Is there a bit of Heather time they would write unleaded Maywood right in and have a ton of space and so they would make hyperlinks just like we do today. And so if I were to have an email, do I send you guys and in the email I'm telling you about this events for children Ministry. I might put a hyperlink in there. Where is blue and says according to our wild child policy... And I want you to click on that well child policy and read that well child housing. I want you to know what our expectations are and then go back to the email read the rest of the email that email assume that you know what the terms of that policy is and it's exactly the same thing. They would do here in the Old Testament. And so when there is no audience would have read So that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled at the giant hyperlink to go ahead and read Jeremiah and know what Jeremiah says before they continue teaching. Until what does Jeremiah say that have to do with King Cyrus and Jerusalem. Where is that part of it in Jeremiah 25, but Jeremiah 29 continues up. it says starting at verse 10 for the says the Lord when 70 years are completed for Babylon. I will visit you help us fill you up to you my promise and bring you back to the place for I know the plans that I have for you declares the Lord plans for welfare and not for evil to give you a future and a hope first 12 then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you two players the Lord and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and the places where I've driven you declares the Lord and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile. She guards people are given a promise from God the after the Exile in Babylon. He'll restores them. He'll be there. They will be as people in this forms part of what is known as the prophetic. Hope package the prophetic whole package of a list of things that the Jews would look forward to these are things that God promised them that he's going to do for them. That hasn't come yet until things like a Messianic King according to Isaiah 11 and Hosea 3 God's presence is going to be a new Temple in Ezekiel 40 and then Zacharia to and God kingdom over all the nation fulfillment of all the promises and ends at 12. So that abrahamic Covenant mainly that all people and be blessed by Abraham errors and that God would be reconciled with all people restoring the division from send back in Genesis 12 V prophetic. Hope package is something that people would really holding tight until they said I need this to come back as what they were praying for all the time God, and restore yourself to us will have us Have a heart be transformed for either does this whole idea of God cast that his cousin until love was about this prophetic. Hope package. And so azra begins with a reference to the whole package and sell the rest of Ezra Nehemiah should be a red wondering is this going to be the Fulfillment of that prophetic hold packages with that perspective and so we we read the story and what we're going to find out if you had could have been but no at the end of the story. We're still waiting for the Messiah to return and redeem and restore. You still with me?

Everyone obviously don't have the 14 weeks here to do is just just everything I'd want to do and see where he's going to do a quick flyover King Cyrus. You make the proclamation to all the kingdom for the people to return to Jerusalem. If they feel that says that Versailles houses that it's God who stirs the hearts of the people interested in it in Exile to return back and so it is like 40 mm. Some people that go back a whole lot less than what was a lot less people that were put into Exile but still a large chunk of people go back to Jerusalem and when they returned it says that they took a free-will offering and they got to work an in chapter three of those two guys that Joshua and zaruba bell and it tells us that they let it charge and they build an altar and what you doing Alters you make sacrifices and I told him and they returned to the liturgical calendar they started to do the things that made of the Jewish people did Jewish people

They they started doing the sacrifices again and they started to restore the systems that the tour I told them they ought to be doing if they were to be God's people they started this trajectory that they were going to return back to being a sudden people separate from rest of the world year later. They went ahead and started to rebuild the Temple and then once they rebuild it they started with the foundation and then when the foundation was finished they pause and they had this dedication service, dedication is V is recorded in chapter 3 it says and when the builders lay the foundation of the Temple of the Lord the priests and their in their vestment can for with trumpets and a levite the sons of ASAP with symbols to praise the Lord according to the direction of David king of Israel and they saying responsibly praising and giving thanks to the Lord for he is good for his steadfast love endures forever towards Israel. then all the people shouted great shouts, when I praise the Lord because his foundation of the house of the Lord was laid verse 12 But many of the priests and the Levites in the heads of the father's house is old man who seen the first house wet with a loud voice on a solid foundation of this house being laid. How many shout aloud for Joy so that the people cannot distinguish the sound of Joyful shout soon the sound of people's weeping do people Shout at the grapes out in the sound is heard far away. imagine a scene History being made the temple is being rebuilt. It looks like things are going to start turning around for the Jews and the focus of their praise is God's steadfast love is tested this faithful loving-kindness that endures forever towards Israel. So they shout and they had a big party and they had so loud that people far away could hear them. But some of the seniors only older people of the community they could remember just what the old Temple was remember it wasn't all that long. Do they remember dealer Temple and they were grieved because their memory of what you want Temple is like see when the first temple was dedicated. They had a pause and stop the dedication service because God Spirit came into the temple on overwhelmed everyone. It was too much for them to keep doing their thing. And the fact that this little little dedication was nothing like the first one, I mean rebuilding was good, but the fact that we even need to Temple means that something between me and God is not right you still going to be doing a lot of killing me still got even sacrifices. We still have to try to figure out our sin problem.

Is he gone? It says that the enemies of Judah and Benjamin of Israel heard that the Israelites were back in town and that they're rebuilding and so on Ezra chapter 4 says that they approached the doorbell and I had to the father's house has my side of them. Let us build with you for we worship you were God as you do. And we've been sacrificing to him ever since the days of at the Hardin Sr. Hayden the king of Assyria who brought us here, but ziebell and Joshua and the rest of the head to the father's house has and Israel said to them you have nothing to do with us building a house to our God. We will build it alone to the Lord the god of Israel as king Cyrus. The King of Persia has commanded us to do. The people that wanted to help they were people that were put there in exchange for the Jews in the whole Exile transactions thing. And when they came they were probably CVS and so they adopted the god of Yahweh as one of their many gods and so he's with him probably see us who recognized Yahweh Hazard. Andrew Belle on Joshua. They sent them away probably out of fear that they're going to contaminate the Jews with their polytheism because that's historically what the Jews are really good at. Miss choice that represent result in opposition, but it says that they went ahead and they're upset and so they threaten the builders so they'd be afraid to build and then they cause policies with the Persian officials in the policies caused them to slow down the building process and it said hey you need to stop this project and so they came and stopped. It ain't so. About 15 years passes with an extra five thousand that the Contemporary prophet haggai and Zechariah. You can read them in the Old Testament talks about this very thing. It says that they challenge has rebelled and Joshua and basically what is prophets say is hey, Your house that you building for your family. That's beautiful that you doing a good job. But what the heck God house is still in Ruins. What are you doing? And so they fixed it. And so does Rebound Joshua to get back to work after 15 years of taking a break until they get back to work and the local Persians who stopped the process of what are you doing? I thought we solve that's not building this anymore. Who are you? What are your names? I want to write a letter to the king. And so it says that God has favored on the juice is handed on them until he allows them to continue building during the process of an investigation and they write a letter The King and I imagine it takes a lot of time to head back and forth with him. But in the meantime, they're allowed to keep building. Cancel the Stephen King Derry. I think he looks it up and he finds in the records that the reason that they were building those back to King Cyrus. I don't sell keeping the project halted area sells local officials. Stay away from Jerusalem. Let them be let them build and he's in fact pay them pay them. Whatever it cost to get the project done. Let it the temple be built because once they build it guess what they're going to be praying for me and my family and my Dynasty and that's only good for me. So get the temple built. Because they think they finish it time goes on to have this dedication service for Yahweh and they celebrate Passover and things looked to be going really well. I remember that we're covering three parallel stories and they go together at following the same pattern for the first one. It starts with the King by God make the proclamation go home build the temple. Only he faces opposition because the enemies of Judah come and say they want to help and then they cause issues now that's opposition is strange because the whole thing should have been interpreted through this prophetic. Hope package idea right idea that provide her packages that all people were going to come to God all people be involved in this dedication to who God is going to be in that Abraham's family is going to bless all people that shouldn't have been excluding people from joining in the in the process.

So instead they isolate it's not a strange anti-climax to what we think God is doing through this rebuilding of the Temple. Let me get the Story number 2 and it starts in Ezra chapter 7. And Ezra 7 finally introduced the guy named Ezra and Ezra. Is it is this huge Bible nerd he can send the priest of the line of Aaron. He described you spilled in the law of Moses and has a reputation for is working in Persia in Babylonia and twice it tells us that Ezra has God's hand protecting him working through him using him. God is totally involved in Ezra's life the Ezra set his heart on studying the law of the Lord obeying it and teaching the statutes the rest of Israel. Little King artaxerxes. He he summons Ezra the priest and says, hey, I got a job for you. I want you to go to Jerusalem take anyone with you that wants to go take my money take my gold take my silver bring it to Jerusalem with you. Once you get there. I want you to buy I want you to buy bulls and Rams and lambs and green and Y and all the fixings that you need for burnt offerings.

And then he tells all the treasures in the area. Hey, I want you to give Ezra anything. He asked for within reason make sure he's not in any does not have any need. And so so far so good. Go to Jerusalem. Take your people with you take my money works. If you're God, what's the mission Ezra chapter 25 verse chapter 7 verse 25 records it says and you as well. According to the worship for the wisdom of your dad that in your hand Point magistrates and judges who may judge all the people in The Provident beyond the river so they called Ruth for Israel. All such as know the laws of your God and those who do not know a dummy show teach and whoever does not obey the law of your God and the law of the king. Let judgment be strictly executed on him by letter for death or banishment or application of his Goods or for imprisonment.

What does Mission given by King artaxerxes? The teach the Torah established law point leaders judges people can evaluate and apply the law to there surfing circumstances. The following the structure of the first story great. Everything was good, but then what's next opposition? So as to get to Jerusalem, and then he finds a problem. Chapter 9 verse one that says after these things have been done. Officials approached man said the people of Israel and the priest and the levite Slipknot separate themselves when the people of the land with her Abominations from the Canaanites Hittites in the parasite from jebusites an Amorite the moabites and Egyptians in the amorites. Play taking some of the daughters to be wise for themselves and for their son's until the holy race has mix itself with the people of the land. And in this facelessness the hand of the officials and the chief men have been foremost. I heard this and I tore my garment and my cloak and I pulled my hair for my head and my beard and I sat appalled.

Marriages like this with not Israelites. They weren't banned in the Torah. I mean the Patriarchs were known for marrying foreigners Abraham married Hagar and Joseph to Assonet than Moses is zipporah. But the danger here was religious syncretism accepting worldly religions multiple gods do the marriage and family and alliances and such marriages were forbidden until Ezra. He was tasked with a blind a lot. His job was to bring the Torah and apply to the situation. And so was he do he studies the Bible makes sense except she doesn't see the exact situation that you has in the Bible. And what does he do get flies Crema nuda, she has to interpret scripture and apply it to his situation is what we're dealing with you and Ezra chapter 9 is him a flying the situation to the Bible and he makes a decision

Chapter 10 there's this this advisor of as writing it comes to guys bring it says hey, I've got a solution for us. Yes, we've screwed up but we can fix this. Let's just send all the WiseWay the pic all the children out. Let's pretend it never happened. Let's just do a mass divorce like it out and then we'll be okay. Really?

Does in Ezra the priest it up instead of the new broken safe and marriage and married foreign women and so increase the guilt of Israel. Now that mate a confession to the Lord the dog your father's and do his will separate yourselves and the people to land and from the foreign wives then all the assembly answer with a loud voice it is so we must do at UFC. Pinterest asked you was go to Jerusalem teach and enforce the law of Moses and started out great. Everything seemed to be going well, but it ended with mass divorce. Is that really what God wanted to send the women and children too? Malachi chapter 2 refers to the situation a contemporary right written by the same time. In this situation. It says that God hates divorce is the solution and then in the New Testament, it refers to a situation at the Christian might find himself in that similar mainly being married to a nonbeliever and explicitly forbids divorce as a solution in that situation. And so was Ezra's decision, right? Probably not but it wasn't that interpretation of the Bible in that day. He's trying to bring people to obedient to bring people to love in the Torah and following it and then that's where Ezra ends. Story number 2 ends as read chapter 10 and then turning the page in the end Maya chapter 1 starts the third story. You take up right away this time. We got a guy named Nehemiah Nehemiah. He is a cupbearer for the Persian king artaxerxes, which means he's the guy that taste the stuff and make sure it's not poisoned which means he's got a very close relationship with the King and if you had a close relationship with the King, that means you can pull some strings when he needs you right now.

Nehemiah is a Jew and he knows that Jerusalem was destroyed and you know, the people are going back in that things aren't really great. But you asked his buddy. Hey, what's going on in Jerusalem? What's the status? He finds out that the walls are destroyed the gates are burnt in that they're not being rebuilt. And so me and my he fast anymore than over the walls being destroyed and because he's a cut bear and he was working. So close to the king the king behave you are not. Okay, what's wrong with you? Why are you so sad? And so the king he happens to be in the right mood to ask the question to receive that. Hey yet. Jerusalem is in shambles. And then he goes Its the head and says, I want to help Loose Ends Nehemiah to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls and just like the first two stories. He sends a lot of money and people with him. It's only imagine make the Jerusalem. He is now the situation and there's some wisdom and that he evaluates the plant he we can make a plan he figures out exactly what he's got to do and then he tells people to plan and the people there they hear the plan is that yes, it sounds like a good thing. You're going to be our leader will follow you. Let's do this. Accepts remember the pattern of the first two stories things look good King helps out, but then there's opposition. There's a two guys sanballat and tobiah and they did not like me and Maya in fact, they jeered and they despise him and they accused him of rebellion against the king because of a high building the walls of Jerusalem your for Define Jerusalem in front of Syria. You look like you're going to be Traders. It's a what is Nehemiah do he he has this Braveheart? Speech? Because $10 and to buy they're on their way to fight. They going to try to stop terrorism being rebuilt is awesome Braveheart speech and he encourages the builders to put a sword in one hand and build of the other and Against All Odds, they end up finishing the story the finishing the Wall go home read Nehemiah the great story. We don't have time for all of it. But it says in the Amaya chapter 6 verse 16 the after the wall is completed.

All the enemies heard that was completed all the nations around we're afraid and they fell greatly in their own esteem because they perceive that the work has been accomplished with the help of their God. Our God has a reputation of being strong and powerful and taking care of his people in that makes people afraid. We don't know him.

Looking back at the wall. It's a strange emphasis because member that the prophetic code package if you look at the prophets and and what it talks about what you got going to be doing. We have a druze when it doesn't have any walls where people can come in and worship God instead Nehemiah does hey we need to do it tomorrow is not exactly what we would expect is the vision that God has and then I might have seemed to have a different Visions. What's going to go on? After the walls are completed Nehemiah becomes the governor of Jerusalem as right becomes the priest and the Scribe or like the lawyer that decision maker though. Whatever you want to call it as he gathers the people in the town square and they go ahead and they read the Bible together. 4 hours of says that they sit down and read the Bible and has a reading the Bible that that's the priest they teach the Bible as well and specifically they focused on the observance of the Sabbath. They celebrate the Sweet Corn Festival remembering the Exodus Exodus is celebrating God's Deliverance out of Egypt and now they've been delivered out of Assyria and Babylon. So kind of personnel and until they do this and each day to start in the Bible and then chapter 9 tell that they come together and they all are totally committed to asking God for forgiveness for the sins they confess publicly the sins of their ancestors and they are totally dedicated to worshipping God in fact they all sign this document that says we are on board were sitting. And and so you could read and in description is there's a list of names of people and their families who are saying the piece of paper saying that we want to worship God above anything else we're reaffirming our covenant with God

and this is where we wish Ezra Nehemiah would end of the story right that they made it they did what they said to do as Randy and my eyes Ruby Belle Joshua that they're remarkable leaders and we can write books and model after that we can use them as a guide for how to accomplish the goals that we have It's kind of like. The last week I was watching the Colorado Avalanche play the Minnesota Wild in the hockey world right now. The wild developed a rival Regan the Avalanche and covid-19 from complicated. So it keeps game is basically it feels like a playoff game that's on this game last week that the Avalanche they pulled off the win and the commentators at the end of the game or like well, he was messy but we pulled it off. I'll take it this kind of the feeling that I get when I read Ezra Nehemiah. It was messy. There's a lot of opposition. There's probably some questionable decisions that were made by the end. We made it the temples built. The people are back. They're worshipping God. We're celebrating the festival like we are celebrating. Except that's not the end. There's another strange anticlimax in the story and we should not be surprised by that entire story leading up to that sets us up for expecting there to be you as strange ending. So again, it says the people were hearing from the book of the Moses and they heard that the law and as they were starting them the book of Moses the law of the Torah the all of the rules and regulations for how tall is there is this law that says no ammonites and moabites were supposed to enter the Assembly of God. No amorites ammonite Rimowa bites now that they were banned because of their history with Sodom and Gomorrah in the whole story line there. But anyways, like they are so don't let them join the assembly until what do the Jews do. They said all these people any foreign doesn't go away. We don't want you here. Kind of harsh reaction. That's only call legalism. We take God's law and then we make it extremely at our own rules to it. And what's happening is that they're beginning to re compromise the community of God that they just work to rebuild.

k the strange decision that they made and then it says that Nehemiah he goes back to work in Persia. He wasn't like on the total. Sabbatical forever from his job as he goes back to work and then he comes back to Jerusalem and he looks around anything that sees that things are a mess. The Temple of that they built was being used as a sweet for people who are should never been inside of the temple people literally like moved in and made it like a fancy home for themselves without the temple. Apparently there's a reference to the temple and rebuild project a building it they don't really matter all that much and they began to disgrace the temple. And then Nehemiah kept looking around and you thought that the Levites the priests who are supposed to be serving God in the temple were supposed to be taken care of with all of the the offerings that we can put it in the storeroom or people moved into they weren't being taken care of and so they had to go find other jobs in the temple wasn't being taken care of anymore. Nehemiah keep looking around and sees that there's people who are working on the Sabbath and there I was working a little bit but they're working a ton.

An n and he keeps looking in on the Sabbath that the people of the land they come in a set of this awesome Open Air Market on the walls of Jerusalem with Nelly at the walls at that Nehemiah built. We get the temple that has rebelled Bell and we have a tour of the Ezra taught all being thrown out. But the whole story why not we've been working to reestablish at the end of the book is thrown out and is no longer something that is revered or cared about

Then it doesn't end there any of my I keep looking around and he sees that the Jews they married Ashley lights and ammonites and moabites. The Very people that we're not supposed to be part of the temple and what kind of like don't let them be part of it that the family They married them and then their children, they didn't even bother to speak Hebrew that is at the identity of God's holy people was completely compromised at this point and solterra or Nehemiah chapter 13.

First 25 it says it so I confronted them and I curse them like beat some of them and I pulled out their hair and made them take a note in the name of God saying he's from not give your daughters or Sons to take their dogs for your son for yourself and ends with just a little prayer to God say remember me. Oh my God for good. What went wrong? Clearly the story of Ezra and Nehemiah. It's not this story of Deliverance of the prophetic hold package that people thought it was going to be

I mean at beginning of could have been yeas got acted throughout it that the hand of God has recorded throughout as well as read Nehemiah. They're doing everything I could have Godly and wise leaders they did their best. But yeah, it ended with a failure a real app stack of an enteral abandonment and the Israelites often or LED to captivity because of it. The book could have ended at the end when the proclamation the Covenant renewal and everything looks great. But has rebelled Ezra Nehemiah the reforms they are very successful for temporary change, but it didn't change the heart and Jeremiah and the Minor Prophets what they say is that it's a change of heart is what is real really needs of God's people need is a new part. The combine the message of Ezra Nehemiah is that true transformation requires more than a duty fulfillingness' but a renewal of the heart that is resting and God Covenant Covenant faithfulness.

Transformation requires more than two people holding us but new love heart at rest in God's covenant faithfulness. They did everything right they put forward their desire to honor God before anything else. They operate understand they prioritize our finances they change their ways but in the end they went right back to Covenant failure. Even though adultery a pig a nation's historically let them in captivity. They still abandoned their holy status and they joined with the world. They took the world Valley is in the world's priorities, and they said this will do you want So what are you going to do with this Ezra Nehemiah? Clearly it is not a guide for leadership or tips to inspire campaign for a new church building the book intentionally shows us that even when we had a great plan and God's working things off and still go wrong. Remember what Paul told Timothy the purpose of the Old Testament was?

To make us wise about the kind of Salvation that we need and receive it through the Jewish Messiah that Christ Jesus. This whole line of thought regarding the role of the temple. We don't have a temple today and I don't really have an alter either and that's certainly not making sacrifices because Jesus was the final sacrificial lamb. He said Paul teaches us that we're supposed to live our lives as a Living Sacrifice Romans chapter 12.