Sermon Tone Analysis

In last weeks introduction to the Books of Ezra, Esther and Nehemiah we looked at the 3 phases God set through Nebuchadnezzar of bringing the Nation of Judah into captivity.

We talked about how it was the disobedience of the Nation that brought them into captivity, how they had turned a deaf ear to the Prophet Jeremiah, among other prophets to their repeated warnings about the idolatry of the people and their refusal to keep the Sabath rests for the land.

We also discussed briefly about the 3 phases of restoration to the Land of Judah.

Lastly we looked and the Providential Hand of God and his naming Cyrus in the Book of Isaiah, 150 years before he was even born, and God’s very specific description of what Cyrus would do in defeating the Babylonian Empire 200 years before it took place.

Additionally, we looked at God’s providential Hand in preserving His Word by having it brought to Babylon as opposed to leaving it in Jerusalem to be destroyed by fire, He did the same for the utensils used in the Temple as a part of the worship that was set forth by God during the reign of Solomon.

What was clear in last Sunday’s message is that God is in control of all things and even uses pagan kings to accomplish His plans.

We closed with 2 important things we need to understand:

1. God’s Patience with us in incredible, but He only gives so many chances before He brings His swift judgement.

We need to keep short accounts of sin in our life and be quick to confess and repent.

And we need to:

2. Trust our life into the Providential Hand of God, He’s got this, we don’t!

This morning we will be looking at Ezra chapters 3 & 4. Next Slide

Ezra 3 page 494 in the pew Bibles

Next Slides

Getting Back to the Heart of Worship.

During Solomon’s 40 year reign as King over Israel, he was privileged to be the one to build the very first Temple to God, it was magnificent in every way and initially the worship that took place there was very special, but something happened over the ensuing years.

Somehow the true heart of worship was replaced with more of a ritualistic worship.

Oh, they still worshiped God, but not out of a heart of love and devotion to Him, but more from a sense of obligation.

You know we have those same tendencies.

We start out with the right intentions, but some how loose sight of the fact that the only worship God desires from us is worship that comes from a heart of love for Him and a sense of deep devotion to Him.

If this has happened to you, or if it’s starting to happen, these first few verses are very important and can hopefully get you back on track.

To begin with, let’s look at: Next Slides

A Significant Month.

When Ezra mentions the 7th month, he is not talking about their 7th month since returning to the land, we actually do not know for certain how long they have been back.

Possible a year or so.

The 1st thing they did upon returning to the land was to establish homes for their families.

Once that was done, they were then free to turn their attention to the rebuilding of the Temple.

The 7th month Ezra is referring to is a very special month on the Jewish calendar.

There are 7 Jewish Festivals celebrated annually by the Jews, 3 were celebrated during this month.

Next Slides (what follows are 4 slides, please introduce the next slide as I move from feast to feast, thanks)

3 Important Festivals.

The Feast of the Trumpets, The Day of Atonement, & The Feasts of the Booths.

The Feast of the Trumpets took place on the first day of this month and marked the Jewish New Year on their calendar, but the significance goes way beyond marking that first day.

This feast was a memorial feast that was established to remind them of the day they met Moses at the foot of Mount Sinai and the initial giving of the Ten Commandments.

When the Nation of Israel heard the blowing of the trumpets, they gathered at the foot of the mountain, which was completely covered in smoke and fire, the smoke and fire manifested the very presence of God among them and as a result they all trembled in His presence.

It was at that time that a covenant was established that could only be maintained if they remained obedient to God.

An area they had failed miserably, which led to their captivity.

Next Slide

The next Festival was the Day of Atonement.

This was a day of huge importance to the Jew.

It was a day of sacrifice where they prepared their hearts for the New Year, but it could only celebrated in the Temple, when a High Priest would make sacrifices for the sins of the people.

This was not something these returning exiles could celebrate at this time.

Next Slide

The Feast of the Booths.

This important feast celebrated the fact that God dwelt among them.

It is also called the Feast of Tabernacles and was a picture that God dwelt among them in a tent, a tabernacle.

It was first celebrated when they were in the wilderness with Moses heading from Egypt to the Promised Land.

Later, after living in the Promised Land, during this one week celebration, they would leave the comfort of their homes and dwell in tents.

This feast took place at the close of the harvest and was a time of remembering how God provided for them during the 40 years wandering in the wilderness, as well as giving God the credit for the harvest that was drawing to a close.

“It could be tempting for the Israelites to sit in their houses after a great harvest and say, “Look at what we did and how we have profited.”

Living in booths for a week reminded them that their success in Canaan was wholly on account of the Lord’s grace.

He had brought them to the good land and could just as easily take them out of it.

(Which He had in fact done with their Babylonian captivity.)

A tangible reminder of His provision in the wilderness during Sukkot showed the Israelites they must always trust Him alone for their supply.”

(https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/feast-booths)

Each of these feasts looked forward to the coming Messiah and were ultimately fulfilled in Jesus.

While Jews still celebrate these Festivals, they do so because they do not believe Jesus was the Messiah.

Now let’s look at their worship.

The first thing we see is that there was: Next Slides

Unity In Worship.

In verse 1 of chapter 3 we read: “and the children of Israel were in the towns, the people gathered as one man to Jerusalem.”

Upon their return to Judah, they had established homes in the surrounding towns and villages, most likely wherever their families had come from before they were taken into captivity.

Evidently there was a point in time, perhaps as they made the 900 mile journey from Babylon back to Judah, where they determined to return specifically to Jerusalem and the Temple mount at the start of the very important 7th month.

I would imagine that they had discussed the sin of their forefathers leading up to their captivity and determined that they would meet and worship with unity of mind and purpose.

We go on to read in verse 2: Next Slide

Keep in mind they haven’t even started the construction of the Temple yet, but they understood what their forefathers had forgotten, that: Next Slide

True worship does not need a Temple, it can take place anywhere and starts in the heart.

They found uncut stones from the area, and built an altar where they could, once again, offer sacrifices to the Lord that had led them out of captivity and back to their homeland.

As we read verse 3, I want you to notice part of the purpose for building this altar: Next Slide

Did you pick up the purpose?

“for fear was on them because of the peoples of the land”.

The next thing we see is that “they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, burnt offerings morning and evening”.

Now I want you to think this through for a moment.

Here they are afraid of the people that moved into the land during their captivity and what do they do?

They go to the highest point in the entire area, and begin to offer burnt sacrifices in both the morning and the evening.

Now if you are living in fear, wouldn’t it be smart to remain as inconspicuous as possible.

Yet here they are at the highest point in the area offering burnt offering in the morning and evening of each day.

Talk about sticking out like a sore thumb!

But here is the important lesson they had learned as a result of their discussion of the failings of their forefathers; Next Slides

Their only hope for victory came from hearts devoted to worship of God.

Please don’t miss this lesson.

So many of us have huge struggles with fear and anxiety, and our tendency is to look for solutions through counseling, through medications, through alcohol, through our friendships, even through our church....now don’t get me wrong here, not all of these are bad things and can provide some help against fear and anxiety, but: Next Slides

Ultimately, Victory over Fear and Anxiety Come from Hearts Completely Dependent Upon God.

This group of people understood that ultimately their victory in the land would not come from remaining inconspicuous, from hiding and quietly worshipping, but from as one person worshipping the God of the Universe.

He would be their protector!

He would be their strength!

He would be their sustenance!

He was Jehovah Jireh, the LORD their Provider!

He was Jehovah Shalom, the LORD their Peace!

He was Jehovah Sabaoth, the LORD a host of fighting Angels!

We have looked at Unity in Worship, now let’s go to verse 5: Next Slide

Next Slides

Worship in Giving.

We see in verse 5 that they all made “a freewill offering to the Lord.”

No one pushed them into giving, this too came from a heart of love and complete devotion to the God Who had done so much for them.

The God Who would ultimately be their Victory.

Our giving should be just like theirs, coming from a heart of love and complete devotion to God, and done so with a heart of joy that we would be permitted to be used of God in this way.

Now that they have built an altar and reinstated the sacrifices to God, now that they have given with joyful hearts, they move into the next important task: Next Slides

Setting the Foundation for the Temple

Read verses 8-11