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Ezra 10 (Part 3) Bible Study (Those Guilty of Intermarriage) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Book of Ezra Series) · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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And with the great anticipation now I invite you to turn with me
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to Ezra chapter 10 as we meet together in God's holy and
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precious word. Allow me to remind us tonight
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that in the short book of Ezra, Ezra the author, the historian,
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the theologian behind this account, places three large
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lists of names in it. We've already examined the 1st
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there's another one in chapter 8, and both of them have the
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same purpose. They describe to us the people
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and the families and those who represent certain towns who made
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the courageous decision to leave behind the comforts and the
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conveniences of Babylonia to go back and honor God in Jerusalem.
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But there is 1/3 list, as I mentioned, and this is what we
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are going to explore tonight. And unfortunately, this registry
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is not as honorable as the former to if you look here at
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verse 18 of chapter 10, there will be name after name after
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name until the very last verse of this entire book.
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It's how this book closes, and its purpose differs
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significantly from Ezra's first two directories.
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What you and I have before us in this list are the identities of
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those who have committed the great sin of interfaith
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marriage. That is plainly stated in the
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beginning of this census, and we're going to see that in a
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moment. But what may not be as clear is
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the purpose of this list. We understand why it's your what
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it's defining for us. But my question, and looking at
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this over and over again, is why did the Holy Spirit feel and
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sense and deem it necessary to publicly and permanently record
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the names who are guilty of this grievous offense?
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I understand the former lists. I understand inscribing the
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names in a book that would last forever in order to honor those
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who made the step of faith, of selfless sacrifice to worship
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God and to build His house to the glory of His name.
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But why also make known those who were involved in a national
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scandal? And I believe there are at least
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two reasons. The first one reminds us that
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this is one of many examples in Holy Scripture that testified to
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the transparency of Scripture, which lends weight to its
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authenticity and its accuracy. You know, there are there are
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people who claim that this book is a man made production.
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You probably heard it. You probably believe that at one
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point there are all these argumentations and thoughts
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behind that. But that argument is weakened by
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the fact that over and over again, the authors of these
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books reveal the failures and the shortcomings of those who
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belong to the community of faith in the one true God.
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Now, if if these authors of these religious texts had a
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personal agenda, then you would think that there would be much
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more embellishment and a lot less embarrassing accounts.
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But that's not what we find. Instead, we reminded, even in
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this study in the Word of God, that this book called the Bible
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is a remarkably objective and honest account of real people
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throughout redemptive history. But there's a second reason for
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this list at the end of Ezra, and it's much more practical.
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This list of names is a sobering reminder to us that sin, even
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when repented of, often carries unwanted consequences.
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And the consequence that is before us tonight is how willful
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disobedience can sometimes stain our names in the sight of men.
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The book of Proverbs speaks to this reality, among other
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passages, the reality of the importance of protecting our
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reputation. One verse that comes to mind is
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Proverbs 22 verse one where the author states a good name.
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A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches and
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favor is better than silver or gold.
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What a thought provoking statement.
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Here's the Holy Spirit is saying in that verse, if you have the
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choice between godly integrity and millions of dollars, choose
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the former. And while it is possible to have
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both, it is possible to have a good name with great riches.
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The reason why this contrast is presented to us is because all
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too often the pursuit of wealth comes at the expense of a good
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name because of things and temptations like greed and
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manipulation and pride, and the abandonment of godly ambition
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often accompanies that pursuit. And we can say much more about
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this. But the main reason why I bring
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it up is to emphasize how the Lord highly values our
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reputation of noble character and for exhibiting the fruit of
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the Holy Spirit. A good name is to be chosen
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rather than great riches. And when you and I are
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intentional about that, when we're not careless with our
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testimonies, when we don't just think that we can do whatever we
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want, say whatever we want, act however we want, and instead are
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protective over our names, then we secure for ourselves greater
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joy, deeper peace, more glory for God, and even greater
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opportunities for our lives. Then even, for example, those
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who may have great riches but lack a good name.
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Here's one example that comes to comes to mind.
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When you look at the list of qualifications for a pastor in
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the New Testament, you will never find anything close to the
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requirement for somebody to be wealthy.
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If that is in your Bible, you have the wrong translation.
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But you know what you do find of the qualifications for an elder
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being well thought of by outsiders?
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Unfortunately, with this list of names in Ezra chapter 10, they
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did not choose a good name. They chose their personal
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preference and a wife. They chose perhaps security.
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They chose perhaps to fulfill lust, and it polluted their
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names. These are valuable lessons, but
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this record contains even more for us to consider.
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And a helpful place to begin is by trying to establish the
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framework, the way Ezra organizes these names in this
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census. And so let's just get a bird's
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eye view of these verses. Look with me here in verse 18.
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He begins with who. Now they were found some of the
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sons of the priest who had married foreign women.
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So he begins with the priest, but then he follows it with what
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we find in verse 23. So between 18 and 22 he names
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the priests. And verse 23, who we have of the
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Levites. Who are the Levites?
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They are the assistants to the priests.
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And then in verse 24, very brief, but we have two other
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categories of people. We have what of the singers and
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right after of the gatekeepers, and lastly, verse 25 all the way
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to the end of the book, we have and of Israel.
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These are the common folk who do not hold any position, any
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ministerial position, at least in Israel.
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And so how we're going to go about this final study is to see
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what we can learn from each of these groups.
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We've done this with previous lists and we'll start by reading
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Ezra 10/18 to 22, shall we? Now there were found some of the
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sons of the priests who had married foreign woman Messiah,
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Eliezer, Jereb and Gaddelaya, some of the sons of Joshua the
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son of Josidac and his brothers. They pledged themselves to put
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away their wives and their guilt offering was a ram of the flock
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for their guilt of the sons of Imur, Hananiah and Zebediah, of
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the sons of harem Messiah, Elijah, Shamaya, JAL and Uzziah,
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of the sons of Pascher, Elionai, Messiah, Ishmael, Nethanel,
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Josebad and Elisa. Let's pray.
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Father, help us, please Lord, with these verses.
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Make them come alive. Touch our hearts, move us, help
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us, Lord, to ultimately choose a good name because our names and
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our testimonies are attached to Christ's name.
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This is why, Lord, we want to take these truths seriously,
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because we are more concerned than anything else about
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reflecting and representing our Master well.
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May every truth, convicting, pressing, humbling be
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accompanied with encouragement and hope.
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In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
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We're considering the first group tonight, and it may be
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quite shocking to us to realize that among those who were
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supposed to be the leading examples and the source of
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guidance for the people and their holiness and their
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godliness and their worship, we're guilty themselves of the
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same crime. The priests, the priest married
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idolaters. The priest married Pagan woman.
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But it's even more staggering at that when you read carefully
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because the first four names mentioned in verse 18 are no
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ordinary priests. They are who some of the sons of
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Joshua the son of Josidak. Does anybody remember who Joshua
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the son of Josidak is? If you know, please answer.
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Yes, very good. He's mentioned earlier in the
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book of Ezra. We have studied him before.
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If you need a reference for Joshua that is very important,
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it's Haggai 11. Haggai was a prophet, alive and
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ministering the time of Joshua, who worked alongside Zerubbabel,
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who led the first wave of exiles 80 years before Ezra's time.
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And Haggai 11 tells us that Joshua, also known as Joshua,
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was the high priest at the time. Which tells us what, when we
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come to this section of Scripture, that it wasn't just
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the sons of priests who married for a woman, but the descendants
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of the high priest himself. This is staggering.
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This is sobering in many ways, but it's also very instructive.
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Is it possible for the the children and the grandchildren
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of a godly minister to walk in the opposite direction of their
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spiritual heritage? A lot of heads are nodding, yes,
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but we also have to remember that just because some may do so
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does not indicate always that it's because of the poor example
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of their guardians, of those who went before them.
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Joshua, also known as Joshua, was not a compromiser.
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Was he perfect? No, but he wasn't scandalous
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either. In fact, Joshua was one of the
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leaders who stood against the temptation and the invitation of
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those who approached the first wave of exiles who returned to
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Jerusalem that wanted to join them in building the House of
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God. He was one of the voices that
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said absolutely not. Do you remember this?
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Go to Ezra 4. Let's look at these few verses
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together to refresh our memories.
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Ezra 4 Remember, we're looking now, we're rewinding 80 years
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when Joshua the high priest, along with Zerubbel and other
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leaders were ready to build the House of God.
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But in that pursuit there was a great temptation in Ezra 4 verse
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one. Now when the adversaries of
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Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were
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building a temple to the Lord, the God of Israel, they
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approached Zerubbabel and the heads of the father's houses and
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said to them, let us build with you, for we worship your God as
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you do, and we've been sacrificing to him ever since
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the days of senior Haddon, king of Assyria, who brought us here.
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But Zerubabel, Joshua, and the rest of the heads of Father's
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houses in Israel said to them, You have nothing to do with us
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in building a house to our God, but we alone will build to the
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Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the King of Persia, has
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commanded us. Who would have imagined that the
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direct descendants of this man would walk in the exact opposite
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direction that he paid a great high price to make?
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Remember, this would unleash great persecution.
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So this man who stood on the integrity of God's Word, who
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fought for his consecration and who was persecuted because of
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it, after a few short decades had some of his own descendants
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squander that and partner with these idolaters and one of the
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worst ways possible by marrying their woman.
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It's shocking, but it's realistic.
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You know, I'm aware that there may be fathers here, there may
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be mothers here, maybe even older siblings perhaps.
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And you may, you may be wondering and trying to come to
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terms with why it is that those closest to you, maybe you're
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even your own children or grandchildren, are rejecting and
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chasing after everything that you stood against according to
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God's Word that you taught them about, that you warned them
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about. And I know that some parents
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even wrestle with guilt. Did I have a part to play in the
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foolishness of my son and the brazen rebellion of my younger
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sibling? And if you do have that haunting
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thought, remember Joshua and let your conscience be free,
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especially if you are a man like him who has clearly walked with
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Christ. Not perfectly, yes, none of us
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are perfect, but clearly and consistently to the best of your
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ability, by the grace of God. This is one example among many
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that even the most exceptional examples of righteousness are
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not always imitated by those the closest to them.
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And they're not at fault for that because in the end,
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devotion to God is a personal choice.
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You can only do so much to influence.
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You can do only so much to point them in the right direction.
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But in the end, every single one of us will stand before God for
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our own lives. Now, thankfully, the same sons
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of the high priest, along with the other priests, repented.
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How do we know that? Because verse 19 it says that
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they pledged to put away these wives.
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And more than just promising, they made a humbling sacrifice.
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They offered a guilt offering to admit their sin and to seek
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atonement for it. Now here's what here's what
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intrigued me. This is the only time an
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offering according to the biblical code is mentioned in
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this list of names of those who have repented.
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That is not to say that others did not make an offering at the
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temple, but it's Ezra's way of highlighting the severity of the
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sin of the priest because of their leadership.
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Spiritual leadership are held to a higher standard because their
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decisions have a greater impact, for good or for worse.
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And so Ezra strategically emphasizes and highlights how
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they made a sacrifice because of the necessity for it by virtue
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of their position and their influence.
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Now here's what's very moving to us.
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There are total names, total number of names here mentioned.
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If we count them, that lead to 1717 priests.
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And out of the 17 names, three of them share the same one.
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It's the first one mentioned in verse 18.
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Messiah. It shows up again in verse 21,
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shows up again in verse 22. Why do I under score this?
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Because you find this name repeated more than once in the
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book of Nehemiah among another list of priests.
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Now Nehemiah comes unto the scene 13 years after Ezra, and
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where when you see how this, this name Messiah shows up in
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Nehemiah, it should flood your heart with encouragement because
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of what they're doing. So turn with me to Nehemiah
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chapter 12. Notice what happens here.
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Nehemiah in this chapter is organizing the dedication of the
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wall. Remember, his purpose was to
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rebuild the security of the city of Jerusalem through the
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erection of these physical walls.
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And here's the dedication service.
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And like any good dedication service, you're going to have
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some singing and you're going to have some choirs.
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So there was choirs even back then.
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Look at verse 40 of Nehemiah 12. So both choirs of those who gave
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thanks stood in the House of God.
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And I and half of the officials with me and the priest Eliakim,
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Messiah, many a men, Mikaya, Elionai, Zachariah and Hananiah
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with trumpets and Messiah, there's another one of them.
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And Shamaya, Eliezer, Uzi, Johanannan, Melchiah, Elam and
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Ezra. And the singer sang with Jezriah
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as their leader. And they offered great
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sacrifices that day and rejoiced.
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They offered great sacrifices on that day and rejoiced.
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Now, we can't say conclusively that the maicides of Nehemiah 12
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are the same ones who sinned and repented back in Ezra 10.
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But if they are, and it's very possible that they are, then
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what we have before us is yet another reminder of something
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that we have seen over and over in our studies in the Old
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Testament, that God is a God of restoration.
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Here's these men who sinned so grossly, who have stained their
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names and have brought disgrace to their community, and yet, as
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severe as the sin was, it did not cut off hope.
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It did not delete forever God's future plans and desires for
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them. The same priests, these are just
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three of them that show up clearly in the next book, are
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actually now not offering a guilt offering for their sin,
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but are offering sacrifices to serve the nation and to glorify
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God. God is rich in mercy.
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God is incredibly kind, yes. So this list is not an honorable
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one, but it it didn't mean that God did not restore them.
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So let your heart be at rest that even though we may have
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tarnished our testimony, that does not mean that God cannot do
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something with our lives. In fact, all he asks of you is
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what these men did, genuinely repent, because genuine
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repentance is the key to a mercy so strong that it can restore
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you in ways that you never knew would be possible and surely in
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ways that we don't deserve. So this is what we see with the
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priests. But let's move on now to the
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Levites. Ezra 10 in verse 23 of the
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Levites, Joseph Bad, Shemia, Kalaya, that is Kalita, Pythia,
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Judah, Eliezer, and that's it. Now the brief mention of the
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Levites here brings to mind their peculiar history in the
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book of Ezra. Again, they show up in Ezra
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chapter 2 when the first returnees came back from
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Babylonia into the holy city. The number of them around 74
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Levites and then with the second sense is in Ezra chapter 8.
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No Levites come initially, at least until Ezra organizes a
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focus effort to recruit the Levites and then about 38 of
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them join. And when you look at this from a
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bird's eye view, when you consider these lists and
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totality, you get the sense that the testimony of the Levites is
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that there is very little interest in them to actually
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walk in the fullness of their calling by going back to the
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House of God and serving God the way they were called to.
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And, and, and the reasons for that is because of, I'm sure,
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the enticing environment that they became accustomed to in
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Babylonia. We've discussed this many times
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before. So we should applaud those who
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did go. While many of them stayed back,
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we can safely say thousands of them remained in a foreign land.
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So we celebrate them, yes. At the same time we come to this
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final list and we get a very telling insight of a handful of
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them who did come back. And it is this.
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Some of the Levites who made the right steps to return to
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Jerusalem still struggled with an attraction to the world.
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So yes, they left a foreign land, they left a foreign
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people, they abandoned the attractions and the conveniences
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of a foreign place. But their hearts, at least those
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who are listed here, we're not completely consecrated.
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How do we know that? Because they turned their backs
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on Babylon, but they still ended up marrying foreign women.
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This is very, very important for us to consider because what it
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shows us is that as important as physical relocation is, right
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walking away from bad places and bad environments and bad
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atmospheres, as important as that is, as important as
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partnering and participating in a faithful fellowship and even
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serving in a certain ministry, as important as all of that is,
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it is not enough to transform us.
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None of that can provide the inner renewal that can only come
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by way of God's miraculous power in the human heart.
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Practically speaking, these Levites made all the right
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choices, but evidently their hearts needed work.
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And there are so many examples of this throughout the Bible,
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and I want to bring to mind one from the New Testament.
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Have you heard the name Dimas? Dimas is notorious for
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abandoning the Apostle Paul in his greatest time of need.
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He deserted Paul when he was imprisoned for the last time
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before he would be ultimately executed.
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But Dimas doesn't only appear in Paul's final letter.
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He appears a total of three times in a New Testament.
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Did you know that? And when you look at the two
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other instances of Demas being mentioned in Scripture, it only
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makes his abandonment that much more frightening.
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It's only three. Can we look at it?
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Let's go to find Lehman. This is a prison epistle.
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It's a personal one. Paul writes to his friend And
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when he gives them his final greetings, he mentions somebody
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and finally in verse 23, no chapters, verse 23 Epiphras, my
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fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus sends greetings to you and so do
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Mark Aristocratus Dimas and Luke, my fellow workers.
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There's Dimas and he's mentioned as to a fellow worker.
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He's, he's listed with Luke. Mark, you study Paul's life.
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He didn't recruit just anybody into his ministry team.
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He was very, very, very selective.
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Dimas must have shown some kind of resolve, some kind of
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faithfulness, some kind of seriousness.
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And he stuck around for a bit, I'm sure, because look at
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Colossians now, another prison epistle.
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And look what happens in chapter 4, verse 14 of Colossians,
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Colossians 4, verse 14. Luke, the beloved physician
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greets you, as does Dimas. He's there again.
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And the final time, as you know, is in Second Timothy 410.
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Now as you turn there, many people make the mistake of
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claiming that the reason why Dimas turned his back on Paul
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and ultimately on Christ and the cause of Christ and the gospel
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of Jesus Christ is because of the intense persecution.
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Paul was willing to pay for it. Dimas wasn't.
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But that's not what Paul brings to the forefront.
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Why did Dimas walk away? He tells us clearly in verse 10
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of chapter 4. Look at Second Timothy 410.
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For Dimas in love with this present world, not for fear, but
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because he had a different love. For Dimas in love with this
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present world has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.
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Demons had a heart problem. Now think about this.
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What a privilege to serve alongside the great apostle
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Paul. What kind of miracles did you
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witness? What kind of example did you
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have with you virtually 24/7? More than Paul.
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Who are your comrades? Who are your associates?
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Luke, the physician, Mark, other sold out believers, and yet with
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with all of this fellowship, all of this opportunity, even this
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accountability, because Dimas's heart, namely his affections
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were not fixed and nurtured regularly for the Lord.
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When the right opportunity arose, he took it because he was
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in love with this world. This is a heart problem.
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It's more than circumstance. It's more than environment.
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It's going to, it's going to require much more than all of
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that to transform us and to keep us where God wants us to be.
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In fact, there's a contrast with Dimas's love.
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Paul mentions another love 2 verses early.
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Look at Second Timothy 48. Henceforth there is laid up for
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me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
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judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but
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also to all who have loved his appearing.
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So in this verse, Paul highlights a love that keeps you
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faithful until the end. But the object of his love is
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Christ, His appearing, not just His commands, not just His
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instructions, not just His promises Himself.
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Paul mentions a love that keeps you going until the end, and
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then he mentions another love in verse 10 that will weaken your
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faithfulness and draw you away from the one that you claim to
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love. How do we respond to this truth?
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You know how I respond to it. Lord, help my heart, help my
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heart. And the question you may have is
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can God do anything with my heart?
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Is the responsibility solely on me?
29:08
Do I got to maneuver and make things happen?
29:11
Do I got to hype myself up every.
29:12
How does this whole thing work for my heart's love to be on
29:15
Christ with no rival. So I I opened the service in
29:21
second Corinthians day because that's where I found myself this
29:23
morning. And there were so many verses.
29:25
I didn't know which one to choose.
29:25
And I thought, you know what, let me tuck this one into the
29:27
study. Paul speaks about his friend
29:32
Titus, who also served in the ministry, and he says something
29:35
about what happened to his heart that that so energized me this
29:40
morning. It became my prayer all day in
29:44
2nd Corinthians 816. Listen to what Paul says.
29:49
But thanks be to God who put into the heart of Titus the same
29:54
earnest care I have for you. Isn't that blow your mind saying
30:00
what about it? God put it in the heart of Titus
30:05
to have the same concern and care and compassion for the
30:08
Corinthians as Paul did. God can put it in your heart.
30:16
God can put in your heart a love for him, a love for God's
30:20
people. I mean, if there is anybody who
30:22
is really, really difficult to love, it was the Corinthians.
30:28
You really need God to put a love in your heart for the
30:30
Corinthians, but He did it. He can do it in your heart and
30:34
mine too. Amazingly, like the priests in
30:42
Ezra 10, some of the names of the Levites reappear.
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Nehemiah, but in a more redemptive light.
30:53
Nehemiah 95. Nehemiah 1010.
30:56
Nehemiah 11/16. They are found serving alongside
31:00
Nehemiah by doing their part to advance God's purposes in a
31:04
meaningful way. The Levites.
31:07
So again, it amplifies the truth of God's mercy.
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God's restorative grace was not reserved for the priest.
31:15
It was also made available to the assistance of the priests.
31:21
So they repented in Ezra, attendees, Levites, and God did
31:25
a work in their hearts, so much so that they were reinstated in
31:31
service to the Lord. And that's good news for each of
31:36
us tonight, because you may come to this church regularly, but
31:45
recently your heart is not here. In fact, you're actually scared
31:51
about it. You may even serve here.
31:57
But because of an honesty on your part, you can admit
32:03
perhaps, that you are growing more and more infatuated with
32:07
the world and you don't know what to do.
32:11
Because the tide is pulling you and you find yourself emptier
32:15
and emptier and emptier as you go through the motions.
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I want to give you a message of hope today.
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God can change that. He can change that radically.
32:28
It comes back to what these Levites did, who did all the
32:32
right things. They left Babylonia, they
32:35
sacrificed so much to help restore the activity and the
32:39
service and the worship in the House of God.
32:41
But some of them, their hearts evidently were not totally to
32:44
the Lord. All we have to do is admit the
32:48
coldness of our heart and ask God to change it.
32:52
And He is willing to do that. This is what we learn from the
32:55
Levites. Let's come to verse 24 now of
32:58
Ezra 10. Two groups of people in one
33:03
verse of the singers, Elijah, Ship of the gatekeepers, Shalom,
33:08
Tellem, and Uri. Instead of focusing directly on
33:16
the singers and the gatekeepers, I want to note that up to this
33:19
point, Ezra is drawing attention to the same categories of people
33:25
that he recorded in Ezra chapter 2.
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So in Ezra chapter 2, that's the first list of names that we
33:33
encounter in this book. And we know what happens in Ezra
33:36
2, right? He begins by mentioning the
33:38
leaders who oversaw this expedition.
33:40
And then he goes on to mention the men of Israel from different
33:43
households and hometowns. And then after mentioning that
33:46
long list of refugees, he goes on to describe the the priests,
33:51
the Levites, the singers, and the sons of the gatekeepers.
33:56
But Ezra doesn't mention one group that is in Ezra 2IN Ezra
34:01
10. Does anybody know who I'm
34:04
referring to? We spent quite a bit of time
34:07
diving into who this particular group were.
34:13
The temple servants, remember? We spent time looking into the
34:17
potential history of the Temple servants.
34:19
Why were they so intriguing? Because evidence seems to
34:23
indicate that the Temple servants were not of Jewish
34:26
descent. They were more likely
34:30
Gibeonites, a group of people that Joshua failed to destroy
34:34
upon entering into the Promised Land and instead made a covenant
34:37
with. And because of that covenant,
34:40
they were forever vowed and bound to serving in the House of
34:48
God with the most menial of tasks, and they became the
34:54
official group known as the temple servants who operated
34:58
this way generationally. Ezra actually hints to this.
35:03
Look at chapter 8 verse 20. In Ezra 820, he mentions the
35:09
temple servants in his second census and notice what he says
35:11
about them. Besides 220 of the temple
35:15
servants whom David and his officials had set apart to
35:18
attend the Levites, these were all mentioned by name.
35:23
So you notice the hierarchy here in the ministry positions within
35:26
the temple, you have the priests.
35:29
Then you had the Levites who were assigned to assist the
35:31
priest, but with the Levites, you had the temple servants who
35:34
served them. Here's my question.
35:42
The temple servants, they appear in Ezra chapter 2.
35:47
They show up in Ezra chapter 8, the second list.
35:52
Why are they not found in Ezra chapter 10?
35:55
Because after the gatekeepers, we're going to go to the men of
35:58
Israel. So you skip over a category that
36:01
we've become familiar with. Some will say perhaps, well, it
36:09
wasn't necessary for Ezra to include them in this list
36:13
because of their origins. They were Gentiles, and what's
36:20
concerning to Ezra is those who are descendants of the holy race
36:24
they excluded from that. Sure, they have an oath with the
36:28
people of God to God Himself, but would it really matter as
36:31
much for them to marry outsiders?
36:33
If that's the case, then their omission from this list would
36:39
mean that Ezra did not hold them responsible to the same
36:41
covenantal framework that the Levites and the priests and
36:45
other Israelites were held accountable to, right?
36:51
The the Gibeonites, the temple servants, they didn't have any
36:55
tribal inheritance. They were not representing
36:59
Israel in the same genealogical way.
37:02
So it's not important really what they do in this regard.
37:09
So I'm wrestling with this because the easy thing to do is
37:13
say that just move on. But I realized something about
37:18
the temple servants, they show up again, Nehemiah, and they
37:22
show up at a very critical point in Israel's history that says
37:26
something about them and how they relate to the people of
37:30
Israel, ultimately to the law of God, which helps us understand
37:35
perhaps why they are not mentioned in Ezra chapter 10.
37:40
We're getting a workout here. Yes, Nehemiah in chapter 10,
37:47
this is when they make a renewed covenant with God.
37:50
Nehemiah with the other spiritual leaders want to
37:54
solidify their commitment to the God of Israel.
37:57
So there's this whole ceremony. Notice who shows up to the
38:02
ceremony and not just show up. I'll just read it.
38:05
Nehemiah 10, verse 28, The rest of the people, the priest, the
38:10
Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, we've seen all these
38:14
people before. Who else?
38:17
The temple servants, the temple servants, and all who have
38:21
separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the law
38:25
of God. Their wives, their sons, their
38:28
daughters, all who have knowledge and understanding,
38:31
join with their brothers, their nobles, and enter into a curse
38:35
and an oath to walk in God's law that was given by Moses the
38:38
servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of
38:41
the Lord, our Lord and His rules and His statutes.
38:46
We will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land or
38:49
take their daughters for our sons.
38:55
I understand the priest doing this.
38:56
I understand the Levites, I understand the singers and the
38:58
gatekeepers, the temple servants submitting themselves to the law
39:07
of God, including the prohibition of having their
39:11
descendants marry foreign woman or men.
39:17
And they are welcome to do so. Saying that's that's a good
39:23
observation, but why does it matter?
39:25
Because they're not of Jewish lineage.
39:29
They don't share the same blood necessarily.
39:33
And yet, when you rewind and come back to Ezra chapter 10
39:37
with what we just read in Nehemiah chapter 10, then the
39:42
most logical conclusion of why they are not included in this
39:45
indictment is because they were not guilty.
39:50
They took God's law seriously for themselves.
39:54
And why this is so amazing to me is because they have proven to
39:58
be more steadfast and committed to God's demands than the Jews,
40:05
who are the direct inheritors of the law and God's commands.
40:14
Moreover, think about their position and their function.
40:20
The deal was between Joshua and them.
40:22
You make a covenant with us. We can't kill you anymore.
40:25
But that doesn't mean that you just get to do whatever you
40:27
want. You will forever and ever and
40:29
ever become servants in the House of God.
40:32
And Joshua 927 tells us exactly what their day-to-day look like.
40:36
They were cutters of wood and drawers of water.
40:39
It's not very glamorous, the priest.
40:44
Very elaborate, very attractive. The Levites, Same thing, temple
40:49
servants. But who in Ezra 10 has shown to
40:55
break God's heart? It wasn't a temple servants, it
40:58
was the priest. It was the Levites and humanly
41:03
speaking, the lowest of the low in terms of work.
41:10
Those who had no public platform, those who did not have
41:13
prominence, those who did The Dirty work.
41:18
We're not guilty. You know, pleasing God is not
41:21
dependent upon your position. Bringing glory to God is not
41:25
dependent on who knows you or the accolades that you
41:29
accumulate for yourself. It's very simple to please God.
41:32
Just do what He says, live for Him, no matter what Providence
41:38
has put before you, no matter what limitations you feel are on
41:45
you. The temple servants outshined
41:50
the priests and the Levites because God is not impressed by
41:55
all these things. He simply wants faithfulness and
41:58
it came from the most unlikely group of people.
42:03
I was already impressed with the temple servants because when
42:06
they were removed from Jerusalem to go to Babylonia, that's a
42:09
clean slate. You can say we're free.
42:11
We never have to cut wood again. We don't have to wash anything.
42:18
Let's just start fresh here in Babylonia.
42:20
But when Cyrus made the call, so many of them said, let's go
42:24
back. We made a promise to the God of
42:27
Israel. And that covenant goes deeper
42:31
than this. We come now to Ezra 10.
42:32
We realize that they were not found guilty, though the others
42:35
were. It's amazing how you can be
42:40
moved by such details in the Word of God.
42:44
Let's come to the final group of people.
42:46
We are going to attempt to read these names together because
42:50
every part of God's word matters.
42:54
Verse 25 and of Israel, the sons of Perosh, Ramaya, Zia, Malkaja,
43:04
Mejamin, Eliezer, Hashabaya and Binaya of the sons of Elam,
43:10
Matanaya, Zechariah, JEL, Abdi, Jeremoth and Elijah of the sons
43:16
of Zatu, Elionai, Elisha, Matanaya, Jeremoth, Zabad and
43:22
Aziza of the sons of Babai were Johananan, Hananiah, Zabaya.
43:27
Athlea of the sons of Bani were Mushalam, Malukh, Adaya, Jashub,
43:32
Sheal and Jeremiah of the sons of Pahad, Moab, Adna, Khalal,
43:37
Binaya, Mehsaya, Matanaya, Bazelal, Binuyai and Manasa of
43:42
the sons of Harem, Eliezer, Ishiya, Malchiya, Shamaya,
43:47
Shimmyon, Benjamin, Maluk and Jeremiah of the sons of Hashem,
43:51
Matanaya, Matata, Zabid, Eliphelid, Jeremiah, Manasa and
43:57
Shamaya of the sons of Bani. Mehdi, amram Uel, Binaya,
44:02
Bedaya, Heluai, Vinaya, Miramoth, Eliyashev, Matanaya,
44:06
Matanaya, Jayasu of the sons of Binuai, Shamaya, Shalamaya,
44:11
Nathan, Adiya, Makhna, Dabai, Shashi, Shirai, Azarel,
44:16
Shilamaya, Sheremaya, Shalom, Amariah and Joseph of the sons
44:20
of Nebo GL, Mithya, Zabad, Zebanai, Jedai, Joel and Binaya.
44:26
All these had married foreign woman and some of the women had
44:30
even born children. So how do we approach this final
44:36
section of names listed without attempting to examine every
44:40
family brought to our attention? I think one way we can do so
44:46
effectively in a way that edifies us is to consider the
44:49
first family that is at the top of the list, which seems to
44:53
indicate that they are of great prominence.
44:56
And we can infer this because the same family shows up in Ezra
45:00
chapter 2 at the top of the list.
45:02
So clearly they are important. Who am I Speaking of?
45:06
Verse 25 and of Israel of the sons Pirosh.
45:14
Ezra 2 verse 3 reads The Sons of Pirosh 2172.
45:27
They are highlighted among the largest clans who chose to leave
45:32
Babylon. Nearly 2200 members of their own
45:36
clan. That speaks to the faith of this
45:42
family. That speaks to the convictions
45:44
that they shared as one unit for for all of them to make this
45:48
choice. We are going to turn our backs
45:51
on Babylon and go back and rebuild the ruins.
45:55
This is impressive. You can imagine then, how
46:01
shocking it would be, especially for the original readers to
46:05
discover this about the family Parash.
46:06
I'm sure they knew of their history to some degree, only to
46:11
realize that they are mentioned first among those who are guilty
46:16
of this great sin. The same family that inspired
46:22
and showed how God's Spirit can stir the hearts of members of
46:27
one household, one clan, also show up in a place of being
46:34
among those who put the nation at an existential risk.
46:39
What? What are we supposed to do with
46:41
this connection? Here's a lesson.
46:44
None of us are spiritually untouchable.
46:48
None of us. We must never become
46:51
overconfident because of our moral history, past testimonies,
47:00
or present stability even. Instead, you and I have to
47:05
remain vigilant always and depend on God day by day by day.
47:12
I've had people ask me, brother, I'm scared.
47:13
I don't know who I'm going to be a year from now.
47:15
I don't know if I'm going to be faithful to Christ five years
47:16
from now, and my answer remains the same.
47:19
Just take it day by day. Stop worrying about who you'll
47:22
be decades from now, and just worry who you are tomorrow
47:25
morning. His burden is light.
47:29
His yoke is easy. Don't add weight to it.
47:35
So the sons of Prash remind us that though we may think we
47:40
stand, take heed lest we fall. That's not to promote hysteria
47:48
or paranoia, but just this awesome awareness that I need
47:53
thee, Oh, I need thee. Not just day by day, not just
47:58
hour by hour, but moment by moment, I need thee.
48:05
Did you notice how the book ends?
48:08
Look at the last first. All these had married foreign
48:12
women, and some of the women had even born children.
48:16
Full stop. Book is done.
48:21
So it's a summary. But more than a summary, it's a
48:24
strategic way Ezra chooses to end his account.
48:28
And if we're honest, it seems a little abrupt, doesn't it?
48:33
It's not as polished as we would expect.
48:37
It's not accidental. He didn't run out of parchment.
48:43
He's led by the Holy Spirit and he deliberately mentions,
48:52
briefly but deliberately, the consequence at least a
48:58
significant one of these men's choices by bringing to surface
49:02
the fact that some of these women had children.
49:07
And then he puts a veil over this reality so quickly.
49:15
He doesn't give us too many details because the ambiguity
49:21
itself is intentional. It's meant to cause the reader
49:27
to ask and wonder. Oh, wait, wait, wait.
49:31
What? What now?
49:33
Hold on, there's children involved in this.
49:37
Where are they going to go? What's going to happen to these
49:42
families? How are they going to be
49:44
provided for? What's the emotional toll of
49:47
this reform? And So what Ezra does by the
49:51
Spirit ending, the way he ends, as he invites us into the
49:54
tension of this whole scenario and he lets us sit there.
50:03
He doesn't want us to gloss over it.
50:06
He doesn't put makeup on the whole situation to try to clean
50:09
it up. He provides silence for us to
50:17
have to deal with something that we often don't think about when
50:21
it comes to our sinful choices, The ramifications of it being
50:28
much more painful than we had planned, impacting factors that
50:34
we never hoped or thought or desired.
50:42
And some of the women even born children, period.
50:50
So yes, there there is repentance in this final section
50:54
of this book and that provides a note of hope.
51:00
But Ezra, the great teacher that he is, is honest and he wants to
51:08
let the reader know repentance does not always erase the
51:14
painful and lasting consequences of sin and this abrupt ending
51:24
also the Ezra and Nehemiah are two separate books prepares us
51:30
for the next major account that is connected to Ezra's story.
51:34
You know, sometimes when it comes to texts like what we had
51:38
before, us preachers feel the need to try to change the tone
51:42
of it so that we can end on a more happy thought.
51:52
We have to honor the way the Holy Spirit penned His Word.
51:58
And what we find here is that Ezra wants us to wrestle and not
52:06
just look at these names and these people, but then to look
52:08
at our own lives and ask Lord to to help us prevent walking or
52:15
making decisions that might create tension that we can avoid
52:20
if we just trust him and take him at his word.
52:25
So I invite you to do that with me as we end our study in the
52:28
book of Ezra. Let's take a few moments to sit
52:33
here, reflect, and ask the Lord to help us before we sing
52:39
another song. Bow your hearts with me.
53:38
When we think about all the the studies in this book, the amount
53:48
of times we have witnessed your Providence and your power over
53:51
kings and governments and officials, and we also encounter
54:01
how despite your goodness and your steadfastness, we blow it.
54:11
And we're reminded of that again at the end of this book.
54:19
Thank you, Lord, that with the priest, the Levites, and even
54:23
some of the men of Israel, they show up again in Nehemiah and
54:29
they are serving and they are standing with leaders and they
54:32
are helping the people of God. Thank You that you can rewrite
54:35
our stories even though we have tarnished our names.
54:41
But Lord, we also thank you for the honesty of Your word when it
54:45
comes to our choices. And we think about these
54:50
families that were torn apart, even though these marriages were
54:53
illegitimate to begin with, the children involved, and what
54:58
those conversations must have been like and what those tears
55:02
and the cries look like and sounded like and reminds us of
55:11
the brokenness that we often bring into our own lives.
55:16
Help us, Lord, be agents of good and holiness and love and faith.
55:24
Thank you that you're willing to forgive us.
55:26
But Lord, we're praying for more than forgiveness.
55:28
We want strength. We need power.
55:35
You have not given us these studies in your word just to
55:39
learn, but to be prepared. And so prepare us.
55:46
Prepare us to face temptation. Lead us not into it, but should
55:51
it come. Lord, give us the wisdom that
55:53
we've accumulated over these past few weeks in this book to
55:56
fight it well. Help us choose a good name more
56:00
than great riches. Help us choose that that we will
56:06
maintain and hold on to our integrity and our holiness and
56:11
our trustworthiness, because ultimately we bear your name.
56:16
And that is more important to us than anything else.
56:20
More important to us than money, more important to us than woman,
56:23
more important to us than men, more important to us than having
56:27
children. Living according to Your Word is
56:32
more important to us than any of that.
56:34
Remind us of that when it becomes hard to believe it.
56:38
Thank you Father, for guiding us so patiently, so insightfully in
56:45
Ezra. Bring us again to Your Word
56:49
wherever you take us next, with a great illumination and
56:52
inspiration. In Jesus name we pray.
56:55
Amen. Another book down, a long way to
57:02
go, but for now, let's celebrate progress and thank God for this
57:09
chapter, for this church. Let's stand and worship the
57:13
Lord.