Ezra 4-6: Wait....You Thought This Would Be Easy?!

Last Sunday we started looking at Ezra chapters 4-6, which is page 336 in the Pew Bibles, but if you would, also put a mark in Haggai 1, which is page 667 in the pew Bibles. In fact, go ahead and turn there now.

One of the keys things we looked at last week was the fact that “Our enemy, the devil, knows our every weakness and that is where he attacks first and most frequently.” In fact I gave you room in the sermon notes to list some of the weaknesses you have that the enemy is most apt to use in his attacks. Chances are that if you have thought through those weaknesses this past week, you have been able to pinpoint some of the enemies attacks. My prayer is that you will use that realization, that knowledge, to prepare for those attacks, to recognize them when they come so you can seek the Lords victory over the attacks of the enemy.

We talked about how frequently the enemies uses:

Wolves In Sheep’s Clothing

We also talked about:

The Dangers of the Enemies Subtle Attacks .

Also, you may remember from last week, verses 7-23 are a culmination of attacks that took place over the next 60-70 years and are likely placed here by Ezra to alert us that when the subtle attacks of the enemy don’t work, he intensifies his attacks. In chapter 4, he moved from the subtle attack to verbal discouragement and then to bribing of government officials. Which is a good lesson for us to consider, because he does the same with us. If he can’t get us to stop with the almost hidden subtle attacks, he doesn’t stop there, he intensifies his attacks, changes his tactics.

But in moving to verse 24, which historically would have taken place directly after verse 4, we see the work on the Temple stopped for the next 15 years, the enemies attack worked. In looking at the stoppage of the rebuilding effort, we were reminded that God has not called us to be inconspicuous, we are to be like a City on A Hill.

In Matthew 5:14 we read: Next Slide

Matthew 5:14 ESV

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

Matthew 5:14

Next Slide

God Sends A Wake-up Call.

Thankfully, the story doesn’t end with the 15 years the work on the Temple stopped, because after 15 years of ignoring the directives of God, we read in Ezra 5:1-2:

Next Slides

Ezra 5:1–2 ESV

1 Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. 2 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.

Ezra 5:1-2

So what changed their mind, what woke them up from their spiritual complacency?

God sent the 2 prophets to give the people a wakeup call.

Now for those of you that are younger, let me tell you what a wake up call is. Back before the days of cell phone alarms, when you stayed at a motel, rather than mess with the alarm clock in the room, you called the front desk and set a wake up call. Which meant that whatever time you set the wake up call, the front desk would call the in room phone at that time. I must admit, this was always an unpleasant experience! Who wants to be woken up by a telephone ringing, especially back then when you couldn’t set your favorite ring tone.

Well for the Nation of Judah, this was also an unpleasant experience, especially the wake-up call from Haggai. Let’s just say he would have never been a desired ringtone! As unpleasant as this wake-up call was, the Nation of Judah could also be encouraged by it, you see, God’s sending His prophets to warn His people, was a sign that although He was displeased with them, His favor was still upon them. Not since the days of Jeremiah, some 70-80 years earlier, had the voice of God via a prophet, been heard in Judah. Haggai’s message may have been unpleasant, but it also meant there was hope.

The first wakeup call is in Haggai 1:1-14. Would you please stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word? Next Slides

Haggai 1:1–14 NASB95

1 In the second year of Darius the king, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘This people says, “The time has not come, even the time for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt.” ’ ” 3 Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4 “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate?” 5 Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, “Consider your ways! 6 “You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.” 7 Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Consider your ways! 8 “Go up to the mountains, bring wood and rebuild the temple, that I may be pleased with it and be glorified,” says the Lord. 9 “You look for much, but behold, it comes to little; when you bring it home, I blow it away. Why?” declares the Lord of hosts, “Because of My house which lies desolate, while each of you runs to his own house. 10 “Therefore, because of you the sky has withheld its dew and the earth has withheld its produce. 11 “I called for a drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on what the ground produces, on men, on cattle, and on all the labor of your hands.” 12 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him. And the people showed reverence for the Lord. 13 Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke by the commission of the Lord to the people saying, “ ‘I am with you,’ declares the Lord.” 14 So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God,

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

Well the wakeup call from the prophets worked and the people once again began work on the Temple.

But let’s spend some time this morning looking at God’s wakeup call.

Let’s spend a few minutes to look at some keys in the wakeup call in Haggai 1. The first key to look at is the Name God chooses to use. Next Slides

Jehovah Sabaoth- The LORD of Hosts. Vs. 2

The Name the LORD of hosts, includes with it that He is the LORD of a whole host of fighting angels. The best Biblical account I know of to give you a better understanding of the significance of this name, is what takes place in 2 Kings 18 & 19. At this point in the history of the Nation of Judah, Hezekiah was the king in Judah. Hezekiah was a godly and upright king. Well in chapter 18, we find Hezekiah in Jerusalem. The Assyrian King Sennacherib had brought a huge army of 184,000 and gone throughout Judah conquering the walled cities on the way to Jerusalem. Once he arrived in Jerusalem, which was tightly locked up at the time, his spokesmen began to taunt Hezekiah’s men. The taunts included words that belittled and blasphemed the God of Israel. Perhaps another time I will tell the whole story, because it is absolutely breathtaking the way God moved. But in the end, Hezekiah, filled with fear, goes before the Lord in prayer, pleading for God to save them. God answered his prayer, and that night He sent, not a host of angels, but one single solitary angel, and when that one single solitary angel was finished on that one single solitary night, the entire army of 184,000 was dead.

So, when God calls Himself the LORD of hosts in verse 2, He is delivering a message to those that had ceased the rebuilding of the temple for 15 years. They may have stopped because they feared the inhabitants of the land, but God was letting them know that they had no reason to fear, He was the LORD of hosts. This Name was a reminder that whatever their need, all the resources of heaven and earth are at His command.

That is key for us as well, because if you’ve put your faith and trust in Jesus, He is to you, the LORD of hosts. Thus for the believer, there can never be any cause to fear or hesitate when backed by God’s promise.

The next key we see in these verses is: Next Slides

They Turned Their Backs on the Directives of God. Vs. 2

After God Names Himself in verse 2, we read; “These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.” They had determined that because they were facing difficult circumstances, God’s directives must have changed. God then sends 2 prophets to assure them that the only thing that had changed, was their trust in Him and obedience of Him.

Don’t we frequently do the same thing? I guess I can’t speak for you, but my tendency, far too frequently, is to turn a deaf ear to the directives of God when I am faced with the difficulties of life. Instead of trusting in Him and obediently doing all He has called me to do, I search the horizon for an easier route, until He sends a different version of a giant fish, like in the days of Jonah, to put me back on the sometimes painful path of obedience.

Yes, there are times that obedience can be painful, but in light of eternity, those times of temporary painful obedience, lead to rewards that last for all of eternity.

Next we see the evidence of their disobedience, followed by the consequences of their disobedience. First: Next Slides

The Evidence of their disobedience. Vs. 4

On top of their collective ignoring of the command of God to rebuild the Temple, in verse 4 we read: “Is it time for you to dwell in paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?”

The normal building material In Judah was stone, the paneling Haggai is referring to had to be imported and was a sign of a luxurious lifestyle. Fear of the inhabitants of the land led them to complacent lifestyles, and while the threat ended in their complacency, so dod God’s blessing on them. We see this in verse 6 where Haggai lays out: Next Slides

The Consequences of their disobedience. Vs. 6, 9, 10 & 11

Haggai lays out 5 consequences: Next Slides

Poor crops. Vs. 6, 9, 10 & 11

Constant hunger. Vs. 6, 10 & 11

Unquenchable thirst. Vs. 6, 10 & 11

Inadequate clothing. Vs. 6

Out of control inflation. Vs. 6 & 9

Haggai moves from the consequences of their disobedience to a: Next Slides

Challenge to build on the right foundation. Vs. 7 & 8

For 15 years they ignored the foundation they had obediently laid for the temple of God, to pursue only their own selfish interests. Haggai pointed out that God had withdrawn His Hand of blessing on them, and he goes on to warn them that things would get even worse, should they choose to ignore his warning.

By the way, I want to make sure we don’t miss something very key here from verse 13. When we read that the Lord said, “I am with you”, we need to understand that this had been the case every moment since they had returned. God did not abandon them when the attacks started. Had they continued to rebuild the Temple, as God had commanded them, He would have continued to give them victory. They quit without giving God a chance to prove Himself. Part of the proof of that is the fact that we do not see any new edict from the King at this time, there is no indication that the threats from their adversaries ended, they simply listened to the prophets of God and began the work again.

We have seen the prophesy of Haggai, let’s take a moment and look at what Zechariah had to say, just turn a few pages to Zechariah 4:4-7.

Zechariah’s message was different, while Haggai opened their eyes to the consequences of their disobedience,

Next Slides

Zechariah reminds them of the Promises of God to the Obedient.

In Zechariah 4:4-7 we read: Next Slides

Zechariah 4:4–7 NASB95

4 Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me saying, “What are these, my lord?” 5 So the angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” 6 Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts. 7 ‘What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” ’ ”

Reading through the book of Zechariah, we see that the Nation of Judah was:

Outnumbered

No walls (the walls of Jerusalem would not be built until several decades in the future when Nehemiah returned to the land)

No army or weapons

More importantly, Zechariah opened their eyes to that which they did have at their disposal:

Jehovah Sabaoth.

Now, let me see how well you all are listening. What does thee Name Jehovah Sabaoth mean and how is it defined?

(It means the LORD of hosts, and it’s definition reminds the child of God that there can never be any cause to fear or hesitate when what we are doing is a part of the will of God and is therefore backed by the promises of God.)

Going back to Ezra 5, we find out that the warnings from the 2 prophets worked and the people returned to the rebuilding of the Temple.

In Ezra 5:1-2 we read:

Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. 2 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.

By the way, I don’t want you to miss the last phrase of Ezra 5:2. What do we see in that last phrase? “and the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.” This is an important truth that we should both look for as well as imitate. You see:

Godly Leaders Are Servant Leaders.

Having the 2 prophets, Haggai and Zechariah right next to them, working alongside them, encouraging them, supporting them, had to be a huge source of encouragement to Zerubabbel, Jeshua and the rest of the returning exiles. I am wondering if this wasn’t one of the ways God used to let them know that He was with them. You get the impression that the 2 prophets God sent didn’t just deliver the message, they also developed calluses. They didn’t just shout from on high, they worked shoulder to shoulder.

Gary Ingrid, in his book A Call to Excellence, gave a wonderful illustration on biblical servanthood from the life of the evangelist Dwight L. Moody. He wrote:

A large group of European pastors came to one of D. L. Moody’s Northfield Bible Conferences in Massachusetts in the late 1800s. Following the European custom of the time, each guest put his shoes outside his room to be cleaned by the hall servants overnight. But of course this was America and there were no hall servants.

Walking the dormitory halls that night, Moody saw the shoes and determined not to embarrass his brothers. He mentioned the need to some ministerial students who were there, but was met with only silence or pious excuses. Moody returned to the dorm, gathered up the shoes, and, alone in his room, one of the world’s most famous evangelist's at the time, began to clean and polish the shoes. Only the unexpected arrival of a friend in the midst of the work revealed the secret.

When the foreign visitors opened their doors the next morning, their shoes were shined. They never knew by whom. Moody told no one, but his friend told a few people, and during the rest of the conference, different men volunteered to shine the shoes in secret. Perhaps the episode is a vital insight into why God used D. L. Moody as He did. He was a man with a servant’s heart and that was the basis of his true greatness.

But of course Moody was only following both the commands and the example of the Lord Jesus Christ, the One whom he served. (taken from: https://discover.hubpages.com/religion-philosophy/Dusty-Feet-The-Heart-of-a-Servant)

Each of the Gospels paints a different portrait Of Jesus.

Matthew paints the portrait of the Sovereign King of all kings.

Luke paints the portrait of the Savior of all who come to Him, Jew and Gentile alike.

John paints the portrait of the great I Am, the living and perfect divine Son of God, the creator who gave us the breath of life.

All these are magnificent in beauty, but equally magnificent and powerful is the portrait painted in the Gospel of Mark. The Gospel oof Mark paints the portrait of the suffering servant. The theme verse of the Gospel of Mark is Mark 10:45 where we read:

Mark 10:45 NASB95

45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

This is exactly what we see in the lives of Haggai and Zechariah, and exactly what we saw in the example of DL Moody. These men were servant leaders who were used mightily of God.

So, as we close our time this morning, what are the applications for us?

God’s Hand of discipline on our lives is evidence of His love for us. We can take joy in His wake-up calls!

When God calls us to do something, we can rest assured that His calls are backed by His Hand, by the Hand of Jehovah Sabaoth.

To ignore the directives of God brings with it God withdrawing His Hand of blessing on our life.

Obedience to God brings with it the promises of God.

Godly leaders are servant leaders.

Let’s close our time this morning in prayer.

Benediction: Philippians 2:5-11

Philippians 2:5–11 NASB95

5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.