Audio Access Available Above
“Praise And Perspective” • 10.14.18
• Calvary Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service
Intro.
- As we entered the book of Ezra, we
noted that it was a book built on prophecy.
- 150 years prior to the events of chapter 1,
Isaiah prophecied the very name of the man that would be the King of Persia,
who would set Israel free from her captivity.
- Cyrus the Great, around the time of the end
of Jeremiah's prophetic 70 year timeline, issued a proclamation for
those of the nation of Israel to rise up in order to return to Jerusalem.
- The King of Persia would call upon them to
rebuild the Temple and in doing so, rebuild a life that was centered in the
worship of Yahweh.
- Of the countless exiles that lived in Medo-Persia-Babylon,
nearly 50,000 men, women and children of Israeli descent, were moved by God to
return to the rubble and ruin of Jerusalem.
- At the end of chapter 2, and a 4
month, 900 mile trek through the desert, the people of God came to their
respective places to begin their life as an independent nation.
- As we continue our trek through this first
section, let us now look upon their praise. Verse 1.
Text
• Ezra
3:1,2 : "And when the seventh month had come, and the children of Israel
were in the cities, the people gathered together as one man to Jerusalem."
One can
only imagine what it must have been like to look upon the land of Israel for
these returning nationals. Some were old enough to have seen the city in it's
heyday. Some only knew of the stories.
- After taking some time to settle into their
home areas for a season, they are now drawn to the city of Jerusalem in the 7th
month of the year.
- We noted last week that there were hints that
this community was serious about their conformity to scriptural standards. This
is yet another hint.
- This gathering was not merely a matter of
coincidence. This was a massive show of obedience! Of the 7 feasts mentioned in
Leviticus 23, three of them required
mandatory attendance.
- Exodus
23:14-17 detail that the people were to bring their offerings during the
Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Harvest, or Pentecost, as well as the
Feast of Ingathering.
- The Feast of Ingathering or Trumpets took
place in the 7th month. And, as the Lord would have it, the 7th month is packed
with three massive feasts.
-
The Feast of Trumpets, Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement, as well as the Feast
of Tabernacles all occur within a few days of each other, the first, tenth and
fifteenth respectively.
-
It will have been a great outpouring of joy to have been the first people to
celebrate these feasts during that late September/October season.
-
Do you see how Ezra describes their collective heart? They gathered together as
"one man."
-
Virtually every translation repeats this, save the NLT, which says that they
gathered with "a unified purpose."
-
These pioneers, these men and women that were moved of the Lord to traverse the
desert, are completely embracing
the life that God has prescribed for them.
-
They were there with one heart, expecting to honor and worship the God that had
called them out of captivity and back into their relationship with Him. This
could not have been easy for them.
-
When the children of Israel were first called to enter the land and then
subsequently called to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, they had to be fearful
of their displaced enemies, the Canaanites.
-
God knew that fear was in their hearts and made them a promise that accompanied
His command: Nobody will covet your homes while you are gone! (Deuteronomy 34:24)
-
How much more was this fear in the hearts of the people of God as they returned
to Israel all these years later!? And, yet, they will not be governed by their
fears! How will they defeat them?
-
Together! Their hearts are sown together and while they are individuals, they
are moving as a single unit, determined together to obey the Lord and to follow
His command! Verse 2.
•
Ezra 3:2 : Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak
and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his
brethren, arose and built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt
offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God." : The priests and Zerubbabel's men might not have had a Temple
yet, but they put their hands to building the Lord's altar!
-
If you are Jewish man or woman, the only way that you can approach the God of
Israel is with the offerings that He prescribes on the altar that He describes.
-
This was their form of worship and the rich symbolism of sacrifice gave
structure to their beliefs about God and life.
-
Every offering spoke of something greater, signified a truth that communicated
loyalty to God. Take the burnt offering that they were seeking to offer as an
example.
-
When we studied Leviticus 4, we
learned that a "burnt offering" was to be a whole animal, laid upon
the altar as a symbol of the offerer's consecration of himself to God.
-
The person offering this was turning from sin and turning themselves entirely
over to the Lord! He was declaring his body to be dead to sinful ways but alive
to the Lord's ways!
-
These people were unified, consecrated and obedient. They offered according to
what was written in the Law of Moses! They are following obediently and exactly
what is prescribed for them.
-
Think about their mentality. They were back in God's land together. There is no
doubt that they have used some part of their 70 years to contemplate the reason
for their captive status.
-
It is certain that they came home not only with permission, but also on a
mission to live lives that conformed to the scripture! That would be their
success and the source of unity! Verse 3.
•
Ezra 3:3-5 : "Though fear had come upon them
because of the people of those countries, they set the altar on its bases; and
they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and evening
burnt offerings. They
also kept the Feast of Tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily
burnt offerings in the number required by ordinance for each day. Afterwards they offered the regular
burnt offering, and those for New Moons and for all the appointed feasts of the
Lord that were consecrated, and those
of everyone who willingly offered a freewill offering to the Lord. From the first day of the seventh
month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, although the foundation of the
temple of the Lord had not been laid." : Their
decision to return to Israel was natural, but it hadn't been easy. Their
decision to return to regular worship was also challenging.
-
These returning exiles had a legitimate reason to be concerned. They were
living out in the open without the benefit of a city wall or a massive security
force.
-
As it is today, the people that lived around the Jews were not necessarily
friendly. Their being out in the open, worshiping the God of the Land, left
more of a target on their backs!
-
They brought their offerings, though fear had come upon them! The word
"fear" is accurate, but I don't think it really communicates what
they felt.
-
The word is more often translated "terror" or "dread!" They
knew that their enemies were powerful and that they were exposed. They came
trembling!
-
In spite of how they were feeling, in the face of that circumstance, these
people opted to obey the Lord and set up His altar! Some might have believed
this to be enough.
-
"Look, we put up the altar. Isn't that a bold enough sign of our
faith?" No, for them, they set it up and then began offering their morning
and evening sacrifices upon it!
-
Consider that lesson for us: They began their day worshiping the Lord and they
concluded their day worshiping the Lord! "By morning or evening, we
belong wholly to you!"
-
How much more precious does God consider our worship when He sees that our
faith has had to prevail over our feelings?
-
When fellowship with God is more important to you than your own feelings to the
contrary, it is worthy in His sight of recording!
-
They revealed in this action that they held the fear of the Lord closer than
the fear of man!
-
They had to have decided that men could not have touched them if God was on
their side! They had to believe that God would take care of that which haunted
them. Let that be our heart!
-
I love the picture that we get through the rest of the section. They came out
as one man determined to worship the Lord in spite of their fear.
-
In spite of their fear, their regular worship calendar takes precedence and
priority. They are offering when they were told to and offering at times that
were not expected!
-
Ezra is telling us that that altar was busy! At last, we discover that they are
celebrating the feast of tabernacles! Do you understand what that entailed?
-
The people of God commemorated their inaugural stay in the wilderness by living
in booths out in the open wilderness. It was like a glorified camping trip,
like the one they just completed!
-
If there was fear when they were all gathered for their sacrifices, how much
more would that have been something to overcome by living in isolated booths in
the wilderness?
-
But that's what they did! Every act of worship built their faith! They didn't
wait for faith to overcome fear. They overcame fear by their faithful actions
of worship!
-
If we wait for feelings to enable our faithful actions, we will never be
faithful! A truly godly person subjugates their feelings by acting in faith!
-
With every New Moon and every feast, these people built an immunity from the
fears that could have haunted and controlled their lives and actions.
-
Their calendar revealed their faithful priority and their giving wasn't far
behind! Once fear was conquered, faith was allowed to bloom in their midst and
the were willing to buy in! Notice their fervor.
-
They weren't going to wait for the rebuilt Temple. Once they got into the habit
of worshiping, the Temple was virtually unnecessary! A true revival never
needs a fancy building!
-
This is quite an irony. In the last days of Judah, prior to the captivity, the
national heart was tied to the existence of the Temple.
-
It became a symbol of favor by itself, a good luck charm that was believed to
keep them from what the Prophet's proposed! "How can we be overthrown? We
have the Temple!"
-
Jeremiah told them not to have such confidence, but to amend their ways!"Don't
trust in these lying words, saying "The Temple, the Temple, the
Temple!" (Jeremiah 7:4)
-
In Ezra's time, we see the exact reversal! These people are saying, "The
Worship, the Worship, the Worship" before the temple was rebuilt! Their worship
was all they needed. Verse 7.
•
Ezra 3:7 : "They also gave money to the masons
and the carpenters, and food, drink, and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre to
bring cedar logs from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, according to the permission
which they had from Cyrus king of Persia." :
Their giving hearts were not exhausted with their offerings. They also made
provision for the costs related to the Temple's construction.
-
When God moves upon a people, there is a renewed heart for the sacred, but
there is just as much consideration for the secular!
-
Priests, Levites and Nethinim must be supported for their worship to be
properly facilitated, but you wouldn't want them to be your construction
workers!
-
They might need to facilitate, but they aren't any good at facilities! There are
workers for that!
-
Aside from the local economy among the construction workers, there was also the
regional economy with the people of Tyre and Sidon, who had been suppliers of
wood from Solomon's days!
-
This ancient trade agreement would be resurrected, as Israel would provide food,
drink and oil in exchange for their northern neighbor's cedar logs.
-
These would come down the Mediteranean coast and be offloaded in Joppa. All
this was done with the consent of Cyrus! Verse 8.
•
Ezra 3:8,9 : "Now in the second month of the
second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, Zerubbabel the
son of Shealtiel, Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brethren the
priests and the Levites, and all those who had come out of the captivity to
Jerusalem, began work and appointed the Levites from twenty years old and above
to oversee the work of the house of the Lord. Then Jeshua with his sons and
brothers, Kadmiel with his sons, and the sons of Judah, arose as one to oversee
those working on the house of God: the sons of Henadad with their sons and
their brethren the Levites." : The work
began. What took them so long? Ostensibly, one could say that logging in the
ancient world takes time.
-
You might also chalk this up to the clearing of the ruins and the development
of architectural plans. Even when God's Spirit is moving among His people,
there is the need for civic engineering!
-
The labor has been planned and now the workers are organized, beginning with
the men that will supervise the work. Notice that the age of the Levites is
mentioned. They were to be 20 and older.
-
When the Levites were given responsibility over the Tabernacle, they were to be
25 and older. (Numbers 8:24) With
smaller numbers now, younger men are pressed into earlier service.
-
I'm fairly certain that these 20 somethings were far more sturdy than what we
see today. These were young men who had seen the effects of captivity. They are
ready for work!
-
God makes sure that their names are registered. Jeshua and Kadmiel's families
served as supervisors. Henedad's sons came alongside for support. Verse 10.
•
Ezra 3:10,11 : "When the builders laid the
foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests stood in
their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals,
to praise the Lord, according to the ordinance of David king of Israel.
And they
sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord: 'For He is good, for His mercy endures forever toward
Israel.' Then all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the
foundation of the house of the Lord was laid." : This
must have been a tremendous moment. Can you imagine what it must have been like
to be there?
-
They have been surrounded by ruins and rising from the ashes, you see the most
important structure of the people of Israel, albeit, just the foundation!
-
When the final stake was placed into the ground and the foundation was
established, the celebration began. The Priests came out in full regalia,
complete with trumpets.
-
The Levites dusted off the cymbals to praise the Lord, the way that David had
commanded them to when the people brought the ark of the covenant into the
Tabernacle. (I Chronicles 16)
-
If you will recall at that time, David offered sacrifices every 7 steps. In his
day, he invented new instruments to praise the Lord with and his tunes were
used for the occasion!
-
These pioneers were entering into the same festivity, singing responsively. The
language indicates that they sang according to a course. It might even be that
they sang in the round!
-
They kept praising and thanking the Lord. That is what worship is all about! We
are responding to His character, offering Him praise and thanksgiving for His
goodness towards us!
-
They kept repeating this chorus: "For He is good, for His mercy endures
forever toward Israel!" It seems that they might have been singing Psalm 136 or Chris Tomlin's
"Forever!"
-
This is a crowd of nearly 50,000 people! Imagine this rousing noise that came
from their assembly, signaling the completion of the foundation.
-
If this is how they celebrated the foundation being laid, how would they
respond when the Temple took it's place in the skyline?
-
In spite of what was observed, let's understand that not everyone felt the
same. Verse 12.
•
Ezra 3:12,13 : "But many of the priests and Levites
and heads of the fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first temple, wept
with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their
eyes. Yet many shouted aloud for joy, so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of
joy from the noise of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a
loud shout, and the sound was heard afar off." : This is an interesting way for the Spirit of God to complete this
chapter. He brings our eyes down to comprehend the dynamics on the ground.
-
The older Priests, Levites and Patriarchs had an interesting response to the
Temple's foundation ceremony. Each had this in common: They were old men who
had seen the first Temple.
-
They had lived through the catastrophe of Judah's slide into apostasy and it
had happened, as it were, on their watch.
-
They remembered the splendor of those old days, when the Temple was standing in
all it's glory and now, that they foundation was laid, they wept with a loud
voice together.
-
The tense of the verb seems to indicate an uncontrollable weeping that
continued unabated.
-
What was the cause for this response? Ezra doesn't explain, though it wouldn't
be hard to understand this being a moment of extreme regret.
-
Here they are as older men and their lives are spent. They had the first temple
and the presence of God and the sacrifices, and their nation squandered it in
captivity.
-
Now, how long would they live to see the days of revival before them? On the
other hand, they may have looked upon this rather humble structure and been sad
at the comparison!
-
Even with the resource of this community and the King of Persia, how could this
Temple ever compare with the magnificence of Solomon's Temple!?
-
We know that this will be an attitude that God addresses in Haggai 2:3. Whatever the reason for
their outburst, a few things ring out as true.
-
First, despite their pain and sadness, they remained in the number of people
that came to worship. They didn't allow their pain to sideline them. They
brought their pain with them!
-
When they saw each other, they didn't insult one another or correct each other
when their emotions "weren't fitting." They wept together in the presence
of the Lord!
-
This leads me to my second point: Their worship was honest! It took into
account that which had been lost. Their regrets were not forgotten. Their
trauma was not set aside.
-
They were real people, with real sadness, coming to a real God in hopes of
really being healed! I pray that we will never miss that point.
-
Worship, praise, the priority of putting ourselves before the God that we
serve, is the one place where we will find our healing. It can't be found in a
bottle or in hiding away!
-
Notice a third point: They are worshipping while weeping and at the same time,
there are those that are worshipping while they rejoice!
-
There were as many as wept aloud as there were who shouted for joy! They both
belong!
-
We aren't told who these people were, whether they were young or old, but this
was their disposition.
-
This was a time of celebration, of new beginnings, of realizing the truth of
all that had been told to them during their time of captivity!
-
When all was combined together, it formed one cohesive noise unto the Lord!
Listen to the NLT's translation of verse 13.
•
Ezra 3:13 (NLT) : "The joyful shouting and weeping mingled together in a loud noise
that could be heard far in the distance." : The
world heard one noise from that gathering. Only God could see the difference in
individual hearts!
-
This is such a beautiful picture. Your attendance at church is increasingly an
act of faith. As we age and as this world grows colder toward the Lord, it will
cost more as well.
-
Don't ever think that God doesn't see the individual hearts that have gathered.
Don't ever believe that He isn't capable of distinguishing between the noise!
-
There are some here who are rejoicing that they have made it another week and
there are some here who are weeping, wondering how they will make it through
this one!
-
There are some celebrating new life and some who are weeping at the loss of an
old one. God sees the difference. For our part, let's be sensitive to this
dynamic.
-
When Paul the Apostle told the Romans that they were to act as the body of
Christ, he told them do so rejoicing with the rejoicing and weeping with the
mournful! (Romans 12:15)
-
Both will be present when the body comes together to worship and the combined
noise brings great glory and honor to God!
Conclusion
- Let's pray!
No comments:
Post a Comment