Sermon Tone Analysis

As we begin this morning, please turn in your copies of God’s Word to the Old Testament book of Leviticus.

If you are using the pew Bible, you will find it on page 89.

We will use some verses from Leviticus 25 and 26 as an introduction to this series.

As a pastor, March 15th, 2020, was up to that point in time the most painful as a pastor.

It was the first Sunday following the virtual shutdown of much of the Nation as a result of the new Corona virus, no known ad COVID-19.

There were so many unknowns, so as a result, our services were cancelled.

I remember Pan and I driving to church that morning to church pray.

There we were, alone in a sanctuary that was packed just 7 days earlier.

We prayed and wept, not knowing what the future held for any of us.

After almost 2 months off, we began to return to in person services.

That began a very difficult period for pastors, as well as other leaders of the church throughout most of the world.

As hard as we tried, we couldn’t please everyone.

There was a segment that wanted masks to be required for every person that came, and became angry if this requirement was not made.

There was another segment that was furious even at the request of wearing masks.

At the same time, we were at the very beginning of a very divisive presidential election.

The combination of these 2, plunged the church as whole, as well as individual congregations, into a very dark period from which we have yet to emerge.

For Grace Christian Fellowship, adding to this scenario was the departure of Pastor Kevin and Leslie last May.

The Elders and other leaders did a pretty good job of holding things together from the time they left until God brought Pam and me onto the scene, but this has still been a very difficult time, going all the way back to March 2020.

With these thoughts in mind, when it came time to settle on what direction to take Grace on Sunday morning’s during our time in God’s Word, the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah seemed perfect.

One of the most important challenges for a Pastor, is to choose which direction to head as a church on Sunday mornings.

The Books of Ezra & Nehemiah, take place with the Nation of Israel in the midst of a rebuilding phase.

Very similar to what we are in as well at this point in time.

Since the Book of Esther takes place right in the middle, historically, of Ezra, and also fits well with what many are dealing with right now, I decided to thrown it in at no extra charge!

Another thought came to mind this week as I was preparing.

Today is the last Sunday of 2021, and many people look at the approaching new year as an opportunity to make some changes, in some instances to start all over again in some areas of life.

I can think of no better place to make changes, or to start all over, so to speak, than in the area of our relationship to the God of the Universe.

These books are perfect for where we are right now! So, let’s begin.

These books were likely written around 400 BC and up until 300 BC they were not 2 books but 1, and to this day, in the Hebrew Scriptures they are still considered 1 book.

The author is widely believed to be Ezra, who was a Scribe, and was likely born when the Northern kingdom of Judah was being held captive in Babylon.

He is also widely believed to be the author of 1 & 2 Chronicles, in fact the last 2 verses of 2 Chronicle are almost identical to the first 2 verses of Ezra.

Now to fully understand these books, we need to go back in time roughly 5-600 years before the events recorded in these books took place.

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Back in Time

The Nation of Israel had just left Egypt, after being there for 430 years, most of which they were in slavery.

While they were still in the wilderness, Moses, God’s spokesman to the people, brought some very specific laws for Nation to follow.

We find one of those Laws in Leviticus 25:1-5

Leviticus 25:1-5 & 20-22 & 26:33-35

Would you please stand, in honor of the reading of God’s holy Word?

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May the Lord add His blessing to the reading of His Word, please be seated.

Now I would imagine that if we were getting ready to settle into the Promised Land, at hearing this command we would be wondering, “Ok, so If we are not to plant crops that 7th year, how are we to survive?”

As if anticipating the question, God tells Moses in verses 20-22: Next Slides

So the promise from God to the Nation was, “Just watch what I do in the 6th year, in the 6th year you are going to get 3 times the normal crop!”

So God is basically saying to them; “I’m going to prove Myself to you in the 6th year!”

But instead of rejoicing at God’s provision as the end of year 6 came, they got greedy and made plans for planting in the 7th year.

And they did this over and over again for the next 430 years.

Not one single time did they honor God with a Sabbath rest for the land.

Moses also made known to them what would happen if they didn’t obey God in Leviticus 26:33-35: Next Slides

This as well as their continual idolatry, is exactly what lead to their 70 years of captivity in Babylon.

Their captivity took place in 3 phases.

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3 Phases of Captivity for Judah.

As I was preparing for this weeks message, and was thinking through the 3 phases of captivity, a thought came to me.

Could God have been giving the Nation a chance to repent by having them taken into captivity in phases as opposed all at one time?

As you read through Scripture, it becomes clear that God is a God of second chances, and of course many times our chances go way beyond second chances.

However, another thing is also clear in Scripture, there also comes a time when God says “Enough is enough!” and no longer withholds His judgement.

When that time comes, His judgement comes swiftly.

We see it in Scripture, but we also see it in life.

In this instance, with the Nation Of Judah, I believe God gives them 2 clear chances before bringing a swift and powerful judgement upon them.

Actually, in some ways you could say he gave them 3 chances, because they had also witnessed the destruction of the Northern Kingdom of Israel as a result of their disobedient hearts.

Their captivity took place in 3 phases.

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Captivity Phase 1-Rulers and Nobles.

The first judgement came in 607 BC when God directed Nebuchadnezzer to specifically attack the leadership of the Nation.

It was during this phase that Daniel was taken.

While Daniel was a young man of God, the vast majority of those taken into captivity were evil.

Judah’s king, and those serving directly beneath him were evil men who had turned their backs on God, and in doing so, the Nation followed their lead.

As a result, God directed Nebuchadnezzar to remove them.

This needs to be an important lesson for us, both as a church family, but also as individual families.

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As a church, we want men and women in leadership that have a strong vibrant, growing relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

The same thing can be said for leaders in the family.

Dad’s, Mom’s, Grandparents; it is vitally important that we set an example of Godly leadership in the home, because those God has placed under us in the church and in the home follow our lead.

As a whole, the leaders in Judah were wicked and God removed them.

By the way, God left the prophet Jeremiah behind to warn those remaining in Judah of their need to turn to the Lord.

They turned a deaf ear to Jeremiah and as a result 8 years later Nebuchadnezzer returned.

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Captivity Phase 2-Craftsmen, Teachers & Spiritual Advisors.

Now Judah was without leadership and without economic vitality.

Again God left some prophets behind to warn them, you would have thought this would have served as a wake up call for the Nation, think again, instead we read in 2 Chronicles 36:16 Next Slides

2 Chronicles 36:16

The last thing you want to hear from God is that there is no remedy, but that is where Judah found themselves.

So God sent Nebuchadnezzer back one last time: Next Slides

Captivity Phase 3-All that Remained.

What followed was 70 years of captivity in the Babylonian empire, which is exactly what Jeremiah had prophesied to a nation that refused to listen to his repeated warning.

Just as their captivity took place in 3 phases, so did their freedom from captivity, we will look at these in more detail later, but here is the 3 phases and where we find them in Scripture.

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Restoration Phase 1-Return to Rebuild the Temple

This first phase took place in 537 BC and we see the details of this in Ezra chapters 1-6.

Ezra writes the first 6 chapters as a historian, because he was not born at the time.

Between chapters 6 & 7 there is about 100 years and it is during that 100 years that the Book of Esther takes place.

We will find more details about the story of Esther when we go through the Book of Esther later.

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Restoration Phase 2-Ezra Arrives to Lead and Teach the Law of God.

This phase takes place in 458 BC and we read about this Ezra chapters 7-10.

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Restoration Phase 3 -Nehemiah Returns to Rebuild the Walls of Jerusalem.

This phase takers place in 445 BC and is recorded in the book of Nehemiah.

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Ezra