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Ezra 8 (Part 1) Bible Study (Genealogy / Ezra Sends for Levites) | 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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Ezra, Chapter 8. If you're already there, then
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you perhaps have recognized that what we have before us this
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evening is yet another genealogy.
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And you have been here long enough, I'm sure, to be
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convinced that even such records are worthy to be examined
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carefully, that they carry, yes, even lists of names, names that
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names that you might have trouble even pronouncing have
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value. And they hold instruction.
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And there's inspiration and wonderful connections for the
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diligent student. We've seen this in previous
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studies. But we have to ask this
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question. Why are we presented yet another
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registry in the short book? Known as the Book of Ezra.
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Well, if you were here last week in the past few studies, then
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you would remember that in Ezra Chapter 7, we were introduced to
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Ezra the man, and we learned that he is going to be set apart
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by God to lead this expedition of a second wave of Jews
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returning to their homeland. And so we've learned already
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about Ezra, at least enough about him to trust his character
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to understand that God is backing up this man's mission.
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But now Ezra by the Spirit wants to inform us about who's going
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with him. And that's what this list is
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about. We are going to see the
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different families, the different divisions.
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That will be joining him on this journey now.
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It has been approximately 80 years since the first major
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group of Jews made their way back to Jerusalem, and now we
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are about to encounter the second large group that will be
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joining the rest. But before we begin to look at
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this directory, I want us to remind ourselves of what Ezra
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said in his summary of this expedition in Ezra Chapter 7
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verse. 7 Let's look at it together.
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And there went up also to Jerusalem in the seventh year of
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Arctic Xerxes, the king, some of the people of Israel, and some
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of the priests and Levites, the singers and gatekeepers, and the
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temple servants. Let's pause and pray for a
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moment. Lord, just reading your word
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provokes us to reverence you and to seek you in humility.
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And so, Lord, at this time, as your church gathers around these
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truths, we pray that you would gift us with the grace of
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illumination and that even a text like this would be
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nourishing, enlightening and transformative to our own walk
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with you. So Lord, we pray that you would
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take this moment to glorify your name as we understand your voice
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at this time. In Jesus name we pray.
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Amen. So what we just read in that one
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verse again is a summary of what Ezra is about to explain in
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detail in this new chapter. But I want you to notice that in
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verse 7 of Ezra Chapter 7, he lets us know that it was only
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some some of the Exiles who went back with him to Jerusalem.
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And he emphasizes this, at least in the ESV.
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And we talked about this when we were in Ezra Chapter 7.
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But it's worth looking back at again.
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You would think that a man like Ezra, with the zeal, character,
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insight, and other wonderful virtues that he possessed, would
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be the means of inspiring most, if not all of the Exiles to join
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him, to partner with him, to unite with him, to return back
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to the city of God. But instead, we learned that
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it's only some. To me, that's staggering.
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Yet at the same time, it's it's helpful because as remarkable as
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Ezra was as a leader, as passionate as he was, as
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dedicated as he was, even a man like this could not rally
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everyone in his world to join him for the cause of the
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righteousness of God and the holiness of God and the
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restoration of the the name of God.
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And this is quite shocking at first, I think, but we have to
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remember that this in no way discredits his relationship with
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the Lord, in no way undermines his fidelity to the truth, does
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it? I mean, in that same chapter
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where we learned that only some joined him, we also see that he
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was exceptional in his walk with the Lord, that he loved the word
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of God, that he loved God, that he was a man who obeyed it
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before he taught it. And yet only some signed up for
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this cause to return back and to bring glory to God.
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And this is something for you and I to consider because we
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might be discouraged at times, maybe even overcome with doubt,
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because those who are in our circles, those who are around
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us, those who are in our worlds, don't seem to share the same
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drive or convictions or desires for God and his Kingdom, the
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gospel. And no matter what we do, no
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matter what we say, it doesn't seem like it doesn't work.
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It's not persuasive enough. It's not compelling enough.
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Is there something wrong with me?
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Is there something wrong with, with, with my knowledge?
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Is there something wrong with my, my gifting?
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And, and in moments like that, where you feel perhaps
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inadequate, insignificant, or even worse, unqualified,
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remember, Ezra, that even Ezra can only recruit some.
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And if you and I are not careful, we can spill most of
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our energy out of frustration toward those who aren't, instead
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of investing in those who are the people in our lives whom God
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has placed, who have an openness and an eagerness and a longing.
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Discipline yourself. By God's grace.
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Train yourself to draw towards those who are being drawn by the
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Lord, not towards those who are drawing away from Him or who are
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indifferent. Look at those who are willing to
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make an investment. Look at those who have kernels
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of growth or, or potential. Those are the ones that you are
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supposed to look to and help, as this man does.
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Now we're about to begin this directory, and it's a very, very
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simple breakdown. Ezra is a teacher, and we see
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that even in the way he puts this together, this list of
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names that we're about to look at has three sections or three
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divisions. He wants to show us #1 the
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priestly sector that is going to join him.
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And then right after he's going to describe the royal line.
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And finally, he is going to spell out the lay families that
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will also partner with them. And interestingly, when you come
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to that last part, the list of clans, there are actually a
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total of 1212. Now, they don't each represent
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the 12 tribes of Israel, but I believe even in this, there's a
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thematic kind of representation that we're almost again seeing
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this restoration of the tribes of Israel as they now make their
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way back to God's original purpose and plan for them.
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So this is really an overview. It's a simple format for us to
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understand, but now we're going to consider the details and
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we'll begin with verse one of Ezra 8.
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Let's look at it together now, Ezra writes.
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These are the heads of their father's houses.
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And this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from
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Babylonia in the reign of Arctic Xerxes, the king.
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So the first thing that Ezra wants to do is he prepares the
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reader of the leaders among these families who played a
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significant role in inspiring their relatives to take this
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step of faith. He calls them the heads of their
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father's houses. And right here we're supposed to
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understand that these individuals did something in
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order to stir up those who were under their care.
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And you even find this in Ezra's wording when he looks at these
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distinct families separately. So let's get a glimpse of it,
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especially for verses 4 down to verse 14.
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Look at Ezra 8, verse 4 for a moment, of the sons of Pahath,
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Moab, Elio, and I, the son of Zariah, and with him 200 men.
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Look at verse 5 of the sons of Zaktu Shekinah, the son of
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Jaziel, and with him 300 men. Look at verse six of the sons of
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Aidan Ebed, the son of Jonathan, and with him 50 men.
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And you find this wording repeated over and over until the
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end of the list. And I think there's something
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obvious taking place here. Ezra is emphasizing how these
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leaders LED their respective families and how their kindred
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and extended relatives followed them.
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And though we have here leaders of multiple families related by
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descent, right, these are not just nuclear households, but
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larger families represented by different heads and different
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lineages. It does say something about the
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importance of the head. Of the household.
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That theme is clear. That motif is obvious.
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And here's what's being taught here.
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I want to look at the men. I want to look at my brothers
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for a brief moment. By virtue of being the heads of
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our homes, you and I have been given the capacity and the
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responsibility by God himself to inspire, instruct, guide,
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discipline, and display what it means to live for Christ, what
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it means to prioritize His Kingdom, what it means to really
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worship the Lord. And there is true power in your
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influence, whether you realize it or not.
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And what we find with these men here is that they were able to
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persuade those who belong to them to leave Babylon and to
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join them into the journey that Ezra has laid out that Ezra's
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planning for. You have to think about this for
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a moment. All the clans mentioned here
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have been in Babylonia for decades.
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Most of them, if not all of them, have never seen Jerusalem
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with their own eyes. They've never seen the temple
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they've only heard of. It And yet because of the
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influence of the heads of these families, they were able to
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understand that worship is more important than comfort, that
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it's more valuable than safety, that it's more fulfilling the
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stability, prosperity, even familiarity.
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These men, I mean, look at it. It says over and over with him,
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with him, with him. It started with the head.
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It started with the men. And the fact that Ezra goes on
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to say this repeatedly demonstrates that if you and I
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want to see these values and these convictions instilled in
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the ones that we love, listen, it begins with you and me.
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I've met parents like this, especially men who sometimes
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come with desperation, asking for leadership in the church to
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do something, to move their children.
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And in many cases, those same people don't have a walk with
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God. You're the head of the house,
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not me. And what we see here is that you
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have men in their own families doing something wonderful and
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possible for all of us. And so I want to look at the
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dads in this place. I want to look at the future
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fathers of this house. It does your heart have more
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ambition to see your children go to heaven with you or to have a
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certain kind of job or to play certain kind of sport or to make
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a certain amount of money? Oh, I see men here who have
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Jerusalem set on their own hearts and more than just on
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their own hearts, wanted to be embedded in the hearts of those
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who are under their leadership and they are move themselves.
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And they were able because they understood what God has called
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them to do and to be, to move others.
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And I hope that each of us in here would be able to grow in
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that same kind of example, that we would be more concerned, more
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passionate about our spouses, about our children, especially.
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Those are where we are especially responsible for to go
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in the way of righteousness, to join us in eternal life, and to
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have no greater passion or pursuit than that.
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But more than just going to a destination, living for him now,
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loving him now, showing like what these men are showing, that
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there's nothing for us here in Babylonia, a picture of the
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world, nothing. There's more treasure in the
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world that God has prepared for us.
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And so we can never expect those around us, especially the men,
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to move in the direction that God has prepared for them if
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we're not making and showing them how to do it, as I
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mentioned earlier. Now as we look at verse 2, this
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registry is divided into 3 parts.
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And so he introduces us the heads of the Father's houses.
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But now he wants to speak about the priestly tribe to begin
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with. So look at verse 2 of it,
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chapter 8 of the sons of Phineas Gersham, of the sons of Ithamar
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Daniel, of the sons of David Hatush.
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So in that one verse you actually have the two first
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divisions, you have the priestly.
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Line and the royal line and the rest of this section will deal
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with the lay families. So this is really brief, is it
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not? And you would not know that Ezra
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is actually referring to the priestly line unless you knew
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who the sons of Aaron were, the direct sons of Aaron.
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So here's my question. You can answer if you know.
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How many sons did Aaron have? Good.
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What were their names? Say it one more time, Nadab and
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I buy who? Yes, three out of the four are
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right. No.
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Three out of the four are right. You got Nadab, you got to buy
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who, You got ith Amar, who's the 3rd?
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If you don't know the answer, you got to turn to Exodus 28.
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Good Eliezer, but we're going to read it anyway.
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Exodus 28, I want us to look at verse one.
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Very good guesses. Nonetheless.
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You got most of them. But This is why we have Bible
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study to remind ourselves of these things.
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Exodus 28 verse one reads. Then bring near to you Aaron,
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your brother, and his sons, with him from among the people of
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Israel, to serve me as priests. Aaron and Aaron, sons Nadab and
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Abayu, Eliezer and Ithmar. Now here's my next question.
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Did something happen to two out of these four sons shortly after
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we learn about them? Yes.
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Who are the ones that were disciplined by God?
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Very good. Nadab and Abayu.
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The count of their deaths are found in Leviticus chapter 10.
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So very early, even before the people entered into the Promised
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Land, two branches from the priestly line were cut
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permanently, and now you have two mainstreams, you have
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Eliezer and you have Ithmar. Now we come to Ezra chapter 8,
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and we learn as Ezra is mentioning the priestly division
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that joined him of Ithmar, but he mentions Phineas.
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You would think that he would mention who Eliezer.
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Right now, Phineas is the son of Eliezer.
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He's the grandson of Aaron. But why does Ezra place Phineas
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here instead of Eliezer? Any idea?
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Do you understand the question? Hopefully.
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Was Phineas famous for anything? Absolutely.
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We have to remember that he was known for his zealous defense of
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God's law and His honor in Numbers chapter 25, that when
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the men of Israel in the wilderness were persuaded and
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allured by the Midianite woman to have sexual relations with
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them, and more than that to worship their gods, it was
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Phineas who took it upon himself.
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To stand up and to face a specific leader among the people
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of Israel who was flaunting his relationship with a Midianite
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woman and to put them both to death.
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And because of that, he stopped a plague that broke out against
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the camp. And Phineas courage and his zeal
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for the righteousness and the holiness of God was so commended
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by God that God rewards Phineas and his descendants something
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spectacular. If you want to know it, you have
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to turn to Numbers chapter 25 and look here at verse 10 with
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me in Numbers chapter 25, verse 10.
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And the Lord said to Moses, Phineas the son of Eliezer, son
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of Aaron, the priest, has turned back my wrath from the people of
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Israel, and that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so
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that I did not consume the people of Israel in my jealousy.
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Therefore say, Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace, and it
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shall be to him and to his descendants after him, the
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covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was
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jealous for his God and made atonement for the people of
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Israel. So this is this is very simple.
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Because of Phineas faithfulness, God pledged that his progeny
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would serve as priest permanently.
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This is a covenant that's being established by God with this
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man. And so significant was it that
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Phineas became a defining ancestor.
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Remember those words? A defining ancestor in his
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specific priestly branch. So God makes a promise with him
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and his descendants. And here you are.
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You're reading in the Book of Numbers, and you're faithfully
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going book by book. And you come and you stumble
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upon Ezra chapter 8. And what do you read?
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Oh, that after all the centuries and after a very dark history,
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God has still kept his promise to Phineas.
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One of his descendants, 1 is still alive.
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And two is still going to function as a priest.
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Do you know what you're supposed to take from this, this one
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little verse here in Ezra 8 verse 2, God is faithful.
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And that is highlighted and emphasized and amplified even
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more by the fact that in the same verse that we learned that
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Phineas descendant is alive and well, you have the royal line
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still intact, right, of the sons of David Hatush.
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So not just God is faithful, that's true.
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But God is precisely faithful. God is completely faithful.
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If he made a promise to Phineas, he's going to keep it.
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When he made it to David, he's keeping it.
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Any of God's promises, all of God's promises, no matter when
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he made the promises, can be counted.
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On. We can believe Him and trust Him
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no matter how, when, where? Here it is, here it is.
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Even here. Tucked in this genealogy, we see
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a glistening truth about God's reliability.
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How concrete he is, how steadfast he is.
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And it's no less true in the new covenant.
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So whether the promises are to Phineas, to David or any promise
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that we find in Christ, you can trust those promises because you
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can trust the promise, Sir, this is what we find and it's a
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wonderful thing to understand. And we also going to see
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something. I think there's a reason why
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Phineas has mentioned twice already in relation to to Ezra,
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because I think I believe, and many have made this observation
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as well, that that Ezra is almost a type of Phineas in his
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own way. Because the last two chapters of
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of this very text we're going to read that Ezra when he returns
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to Jerusalem, he's going to discover that after 80 years of
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the people returning back to Jerusalem.
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One of the main crimes that they have committed yet again is
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interfaith marriage, inappropriate relationships,
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clear defiance against God's rules and laws for house people
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were to to continue to see the righteous seed.
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And so like Phineas who came and did something about the
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Midianites polluting. The people of God, Ezra himself
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is going to follow on those same steps and do what he can to stop
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the pollution in his own way. It's amazing how these things
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are found throughout our Bibles. The continue the continuation of
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the Scriptures is a wonderful thing to observe, but now we
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come to the largest part of this section.
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The lay families that Ezra mentions, and we'll read it from
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verse 4 down through verse 14, but we're going to return to
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verse 13. We're not going to look at every
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detail here. We have no time for that, but we
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will consider at least one of these clans and meditate a
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little bit longer on them. Let's look at it now in verse
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four. Of the sons of Pahath.
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Moab Eliyonai, the son of Zeriah, and with him 200 men.
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Of the sons of Zatu and with him, or excuse me, the son of
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Zatu. Shakani, the son of Jehaziel,
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and with him 300 men. Of the sons of Aidan Ebed, the
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son of Jonathan, and with him 50 men.
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Of the sons of Elam, Joshiah the son of Athalia, and with him 70
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men. Of the sons of Shabethiah,
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Zebatiah the son of Michael, and with him 80 men.
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Of the sons of Joab Obadiah, the son of Jehiel, and with him 218
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men are the sons of Bani, Sheila Myth, the son of Josephiah, and
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with him 160. Men are the sons of Babai.
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Zechariah, the sons of Babai, and with him 28.
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Men are the sons of Algad, Johanna and the son of Hakkatan,
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and with him 110. Men are the sons of Adonikum,
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those who came later, their names being Eli, Fellat,
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Jaywell, Shamaya, and with him sixty.
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Men are the sons of Big VI, Uthai and Zakor, and with them
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70. Men.
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It seems quite repetitive, but something stood out to me in
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verse 13. I'm not sure if you saw it.
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The sons of Adonakam, those who came later, those who came
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later. I'm curious to know if anybody
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here holds a King James, our new King James.
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You might notice something different with that wording.
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If you hold those translations, it would read of the last sons
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of Adonakam. Is that true?
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Of the last sons of Adoniken, which would imply that after
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this wave of refugees going back to Jerusalem among those of
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Adoniken, you have no more of their descendants left in
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Babylonia. The last of the last of them are
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returning now in this wave, which is a wonderful thought.
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All of them left Babylon to go back to the Promised Land.
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If you have the NESB, which is another faithful translation,
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however, you will see something else.
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It would read and have the sons of Adonicam, The Last Ones, The
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Last Ones which would be more of a chronological remark on Ezra's
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part, indicating that this particular family was the last
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to enlist for the journey. And I.
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Believe the ESV is seeking to capture that same thought.
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The sons of Adoniken were among those who enrolled later.
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And you say why the difference? It has to do with manuscripts.
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And we've talked about that at different points.
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I won't spend too much time on that now.
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But let's go with what the ESP says, how it renders it.
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These specific sons, for whatever reason, delayed to
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respond to the initial invitation that Ezra makes.
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And join them later. Is there any explanation for why
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they hesitated? No.
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Is there anything given to us to give us some kind of clue?
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Not necessarily. But it's a wonderful
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illustration of of the grace of God.
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It really is the grace of God toward those who for various
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reasons, do not sign up for the things of God sooner.
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How many parables did Jesus give that allude to that truth?
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A people who come the last second.
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A people who respond the last moment, A people who slip in
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while the door still has a crack in it, a little slit, A
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foothold. How many examples do we see of
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that? Especially the thief on the
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cross, right? All these things are repeated.
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And we even find it in the Old Testament that those who are
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mentioned, who have come later are still enlisted, they're
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still recognized. And though the Bible, and no
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place ever recommends it, even warns more than anything else
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about us delaying. Our response to what God has
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called us through #1 for salvation and #2 to live from
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wholeheartedly. Should you have delayed?
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Should you have wasted your years, your youth, your
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resources, your opportunities? If you still have breath in your
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lungs, you might have come later, but God will still accept
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you. He was still bring you in.
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He will still accept who you are as long as you have humbled
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yourself and realized who He is. So this is the list.
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These are just some of the things that we can learn, but
26:08
the list is not over necessarily.
26:10
Ezra gives us this summary, but he's going to learn something in
26:15
the next few verses. And this is where we're going to
26:17
spend most of our time. Look at verse 15.
26:19
Now, Ezra's still writing in the first person, and he mentions I
26:23
gathered them, the people that we just learned about.
26:25
I gathered them to the river that runs to Ahava.
26:28
And there were, we camped 3 days.
26:30
As I reviewed the people and the priests, I found there none of
26:34
the sons of Levi. Uh.
26:37
Oh. This is problematic.
26:41
So they set up for the journey. They have the priests, they have
26:46
the Davidic line, they have these lay families, and they're
26:51
making their way and they take a break at this place.
26:56
Called the Hava a canal. And Ezra, he's a good leader.
27:00
He's doing all that he can to prepare the people and to
27:03
organize everything so that when they get to Jerusalem, they hit
27:05
the floor running, they're not going to waste any time.
27:08
And he's doing inventory. And he realizes, OK, we have the
27:11
priest. We have somebody who represents
27:14
the royal seed. We have the people of Israel.
27:17
But where are the Levites? None came, none followed.
27:25
I mean, this is astonishing. Ezra himself as a priest.
27:27
Now, we know that not all Levites are priests.
27:30
There's a specific line who represents the priestly duty,
27:34
but Levites were called to assist the priest.
27:37
So you can understand why this is troubling for Ezra.
27:40
And in case you don't understand the implications of this, you
27:44
will only see it once you go to Nehemiah.
27:46
Nehemiah is going to join Ezra later on, and they're going to
27:49
work together to see revival in the land.
27:53
And when Ezra is about to open God's Word and read it aloud,
27:57
he's going to rely on some of the people to help him do just
28:00
that. Can I show you what I mean?
28:02
You have to go to Nehemiah chapter 8 to see it in Nehemiah
28:06
chapter 8, verse 2, just to help us understand what's taking
28:08
place here. Again, this is in the future.
28:11
This is when Nehemiah is going to join Ezra.
28:14
But notice what we read. And Nehemiah 8 verse 2 it reads,
28:22
so Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly, both
28:26
men and women and all who can understand what they heard on
28:29
the first day of the 7th month. That's that's the context.
28:33
But Scroll down to verse 7 of Nehemiah 8 and what do we read?
28:37
Also Joshua, Bani Sharabaya, Jamin Akub, Shabbathi Hodaya
28:43
Messiah, Kiltia, Azariah, Josabad, Hananan Pelaya, The
28:48
Levites. Helped the people to understand
28:54
the law while the people remain in their places.
29:00
What was Ezra's main mission as he is going back to Jerusalem?
29:03
To teach the people right to ensure you have not deviated
29:09
from the truth all these years. And if they would, he would
29:11
correct him using the word of God.
29:13
But more than that, to build upon their faith and teach them
29:16
the truths of Scripture. But he's going to need help.
29:20
And who is he relying on? The Levites.
29:24
So as Ezra is reading out loud, the scriptures, the Ezra, the
29:27
the Levites are there in these different pockets of people, and
29:30
they're helping them understand and explain what's being read
29:33
aloud. But how are you going to do that
29:35
at 0 signed up. So you see the issue at hand.
29:40
You see why he's troubled by this.
29:42
And this is, I actually was meditating on this on my way
29:45
here. This reveals something about
29:47
Ezra's character, something so wonderful and worthy of
29:52
imitation. This man is an amazing teacher
29:56
and one of the. Ways that we know that he was a
29:59
true teacher is that he wanted to see more teachers raised up.
30:05
That's a true teacher. You know what you find with some
30:09
teachers? They're intimidated by other
30:11
teachers. Yeah.
30:14
Yeah. Some people see ministry as a
30:16
competition. You know what Ezra could have
30:18
said? I've been studying all these
30:20
years. God has clearly sovereignly
30:24
worked on my behalf. I mean, he moved the king to
30:26
give me support. I I think I'm the guy.
30:31
Yeah. So, I mean, they'll listen to
30:35
me. I can rally these people
30:37
together. No such thing.
30:41
He's itching to see more. He wants to see other leaders
30:44
raised up. He sees this as a large harvest
30:47
and he sees these other teachers as partners.
30:51
Oh dear brother and sister, if you look at fellow Christians
30:56
who have similar gifts as you as competition, kill that thing
31:02
quickly. That will destroy you and that
31:06
will destroy any possibility of God using you the way He uses
31:12
His people as members of 1 body. Here you are.
31:17
Here I am thinking we're the whole body.
31:20
No, you ain't. Neither am I.
31:24
We need each other, even those who have the same abilities as
31:27
us, and Ezra recognizes that. So he says go and rally other
31:32
teachers. I'm not doing this by myself.
31:35
There are too many people out there to think that we're the
31:37
only church in the world. We need more churches.
31:41
Yes, we need more pastors. We need more Sunday school
31:45
teachers. We need more evangelists.
31:46
We need more disciple makers, more and more and more.
31:49
And when we see God raising them up, we should rejoice.
31:53
Listen, if you find yourself not rejoicing and more angry and
31:57
envious and jealous and comparing all these things,
32:01
you're not doing this for Christ's glory.
32:02
You're doing it for your own. It's as simple as that.
32:07
And I say that straightforwardly.
32:09
I say that so directly so that you would find it and I would
32:11
find it within myself to not entertain such a thing in our
32:14
hearts, but to take it before God's presence until he crushes
32:17
it with His power. I don't want this in my heart,
32:20
Lord. I want to be able to look at a
32:22
fellow believer and applaud them when you promote them, to
32:26
rejoice when God, you're using them to bless others.
32:32
Ezra is unsettled by the fact that he's the only one.
32:37
And So what does he do? He comes up with a recruitment
32:40
campaign. Let's read the rest of it in
32:41
verse 16. Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel,
32:46
Shamaya, El Nathan, Jereb El Nathan, Nathan, Zechariah and
32:53
Meshulam leading men. And for Joy Rib and El Nathan,
32:56
who are men of insight, you can tell that El Nathan was a
32:59
popular name at the time. And sent them to ID Do, the
33:03
leading man at the place Kaspia, telling them what to say to ID
33:08
Do and his brothers and the temple servants at the place
33:12
Kaspia, namely to send us ministers for the House of our
33:16
God. By the good hand of our God on
33:19
us they brought us a man of discretion.
33:22
Of the sons of Mali, the son of Levi son of Israel, namely,
33:26
Sharabaya with his sons and kinsmen. 18 Also Hashabaya, with
33:31
them Jeshia of the sons of Murari and his kinsmen and their
33:35
sons, 20 besides 220 of the temple servants whom David and
33:39
his officials had set apart to attend.
33:41
The Levites, these were all mentioned by name, so I
33:45
understand what's taking place here.
33:47
Ezra, as they've encamped at the River Ahava, says we're not
33:51
moving forward unless. We do a last ditch effort to go
33:57
back. And to ask for ministers to join
34:00
us. And I want to give you at least
34:05
just very brief points by way of observation of the very same
34:09
verse as we just read how these things relate to us.
34:12
So just pay attention as much as you can to these things because
34:16
they're so, so valuable. The first.
34:18
Thing I want to consider consider is that there is a
34:21
danger of our God word interest declining.
34:27
Remember, this is not the first large genealogy in the book of
34:31
Ezra. We studied Ezra chapter 2, which
34:33
is even larger than what we read here.
34:35
And in Ezra chapter 2, the first wave of exiles, we learn how
34:39
many Levites joined Zerubbabel. Then does anybody remember the
34:42
number? I'm just curious.
34:45
OK, that's a very specific detail.
34:47
So it's OK if you don't remember.
34:49
But if you want to remind yourself, look at verse 40 of
34:51
Ezra 2. This was 80 years prior.
34:55
And notice the amount of Levites that joined the first cycle of
35:01
refugees. The Levites, the sons of Jeshua
35:05
and Cadmiel are the sons of Hodavaya. 74 Does 74 sound like
35:12
a lot? It's not, especially when you
35:15
consider the other numbers. In fact, in Ezra chapter 2 you
35:19
have upwards of 50,000 people returning and out of the 50,000
35:23
you only have 74 Levites. What's more crushing now is when
35:29
we come to Ezra chapter 8, how many Levites joined the second
35:31
wave? 0 Does anybody remember what was
35:38
the draw? Perhaps the appeal to temptation
35:39
for Levites to remain in Babylon instead of going back land.
35:44
They they couldn't own land in Israel and now here they are in
35:47
Babylon, and Jeremiah tells them early on in their exile, buy
35:50
land. Buy homes.
35:54
Raise up farms, have your businesses have families.
35:57
And so the Levites are doing this to do this like, whoa,
35:59
we've never had this before. This is amazing.
36:02
But unfortunately to them it was more amazing than serving God's
36:04
will for their lives. And so at this point, after
36:08
decades, 0 want to go back. And though this applies to a
36:14
group of people, there is a principle here for us
36:17
individually that as the years go by, you and I have to ensure
36:22
by God's grace and by the instructions that he has granted
36:25
to us, to not allow ourselves to become distracted, to not allow
36:29
ourselves to come to the point where we are indifferent to the
36:31
work of God. And this is even possible for
36:35
those who who once had discretion, who those who have a
36:38
gift in this, even such people can lose sight of what matters
36:41
most. Do you know how we know that in
36:45
the list that we just read here, in the names that we read here
36:47
of the Levites who returned? Look at verse 18, who's
36:49
mentioned among them in Ezra 8/18.
36:52
It reads then by the good hand of our God upon us, they brought
36:55
us a man of understanding of the sons of Mali, the sons of Levi,
36:58
the son of Israel, namely Sharabaya with his sons and
37:02
brothers, 18 men. Here's my question.
37:06
When I learned about this man whom they praised joining them
37:10
after Ezra sent for more ministers, why didn't you join
37:13
them to begin with? Why you?
37:17
You surely knew about it. It took a little bit more
37:21
persuasion. It took a presentation of select
37:23
men that Ezra sent for you to finally say, let's go.
37:27
So again, we don't have the reasons here, but it does spell
37:31
out something for us that even men of such quality, men of such
37:36
insight dependability, can let Babylon allure them to keep them
37:45
and to hold them back. And all these different verses
37:49
that are coming to mind as I was meditating on this tonight, One
37:54
of my favorite verses on this, not because I enjoy reading it
37:57
or explaining, but because I think it's just so packed with
38:01
insight, is Solomon. Do you remember what it says in
38:07
the chapter that describes Solomon's fall and 1st Kings 11
38:10
verse four? Let me read it to you.
38:11
You don't have to turn to just pay attention.
38:13
Every word here is a punch. It says for when Solomon was
38:19
old. His wives turned away his heart
38:22
after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord
38:26
his God, as was the heart of David his father.
38:31
When did woman influence Solomon When he was young?
38:34
And he was old. And three times in this one
38:40
verse, the word heart appears because that's where things go
38:44
wrong. That's where they begin, at
38:46
least the heart. When he was old, he did not
38:50
watch his heart. He did not guard his heart, his
38:54
affections, his passions. And when he was old, that's when
39:00
he crashed and burned. 80 years go by.
39:04
You went from 74 Levites, which is pretty sad to begin with, to
39:08
0. Oh sure, there's there's some
39:13
kind of stir that's going to take place as we read.
39:16
But I look at a man like Cherubai and I say, why didn't
39:19
you join them at the start? Praise God for His grace, but
39:24
I'm asking for his grace to not allow me to waste a second of my
39:28
life. So there's a danger.
39:32
Of our God word interest declining.
39:35
But there's a second thought to consider and is this God uses
39:38
men to stir men for God. God uses men to stir men for
39:46
God. What was Ezra's plan to recruit
39:49
more Levites? Look again at verse 16.
39:53
Then I sent and he lists a, a, a few names here of men, but look
39:57
at how they're described at the last part.
39:59
Who are men of insight, men of understandings, other
40:01
translations say who are teachers?
40:04
And it was through the ministry of these men, these emissaries,
40:09
these representatives that you had Levi's say.
40:13
All right, you're right, we're going to join you.
40:17
Don't discount how God uses people to move your heart and
40:20
mind. I'm not even speaking about unto
40:23
salvation. That's obvious.
40:24
He has his ambassadors, He has his preachers, He has his
40:26
faithful disciples. I'm I'm speaking about those
40:28
like the Levites who are connected to the things of God
40:31
to begin with. So one of the things that you
40:35
would have to understand is that the Lord will often use other
40:38
people to get our hearts moving for the things of the Lord.
40:41
And we should recognize that. Can God move independently?
40:45
Can he by his Holy Spirit stir your soul?
40:47
Absolutely. But I find something with Ezra
40:49
that he uses flesh and blood. He uses flesh and blood.
40:55
And so you shouldn't feel guilty.
40:56
Some people do that. They find themselves often
41:01
stirred when they hear a sermon being preached or when they have
41:05
a phone call with a dear friend, a dear St.
41:07
Why do you feel guilty about that?
41:08
You think that's less spiritual, that's less of God than if some
41:12
supernatural thing happened to you personally?
41:15
No. These are instruments in God's
41:17
hands. And so if you find yourself
41:19
moved and stirred through people, that's no less God than
41:24
anything else. Which brings me to 1/3
41:26
observation in this section of Scripture.
41:28
You and I must recognize God's provision when leaders are
41:31
raised up. When leaders are raised up,
41:35
don't ever disconnect that from God's grace.
41:38
What do I mean by that? Look at verse 18 again and Ezra
41:41
8 verse 18. Then by the good hand of our God
41:46
upon us, they brought us a man of understanding.
41:50
So in Ezra's understanding, this man that was recruited is a
41:55
direct provision from God himself and that.
42:00
Truth is reverberating throughout the New Testament.
42:03
Ephesians 4 He gave us. Apostles and prophets, teachers,
42:07
pastors, shepherds. He gave us.
42:10
Luke, chapter 10. The harvest is plentiful.
42:13
Therefore pray to the Lord of the harvest that He may send out
42:17
laborers. God is the one who sends out
42:19
laborers. So when we understand that
42:23
there's somebody who inspires us to love God, that's God's gift.
42:30
That doesn't make that person more special or more significant
42:32
than anybody else, but it is an extension of God's mercy and His
42:36
love toward us. And it also teaches us that if
42:39
we are in any position or place where we are lacking that kind
42:42
of leadership or influence, we should seek God for it.
42:46
We should ask God to extend his hand and to move and to equip
42:51
and to furnish and to beckon those who can fill those voids.
42:58
If we really saw one another, not just leaders one another, as
43:01
God's extension of grace, we would be much more merciful
43:04
towards one another, much more appreciative, given much more
43:10
reason to worship God. Ezra here is praising God at the
43:14
sight of other men who love God and will help others love God.
43:21
Lastly, and this one interested me a lot, is that even in this
43:27
section of scripture? We have a preview of Gentiles
43:30
valuing and inheritance, not directly their own.
43:36
What do I mean by that? There is a disproportionate
43:39
response among two groups of people that Ezra calls out for.
43:45
Look again at the last verse that we read in verse 20.
43:50
He mentioned this, the Levites. And then he goes on to say,
43:52
besides 220 of the temple servants whom David and his
43:57
officials had set apart to attend the Levites, these were
44:02
all mentioned by name. If you again have a different
44:07
translation, it might read instead of temple servants,
44:10
Nephanam. Nephanam.
44:14
Why do some translations have a name while others have a kind of
44:18
a phrase? Here the temple servants,
44:21
because some translations decided to use transliteration
44:25
of the Hebrew and others like the ESV wanted to provide more
44:29
of a description of the function of this group of people.
44:33
And we studied the same group back in Ezra chapter 2.
44:36
So you have the priest who are descendants of Aaron, the from
44:40
the tribe of Levi. But not every Levite was a
44:42
priest, only if you were a son of Aaron.
44:44
So the other Levites had a supportive role and they
44:47
assisted the priests in doing what God's called them to do.
44:51
But we learned back early in the book of Ezra that there was
44:54
another tear. You have these temple servants
44:57
or the Nithanam who assisted the Levites.
45:00
Do you see this? But more than that, we concluded
45:04
that this group of people were not of Israeli origin.
45:09
They were not Levites, right? In fact, when we did a little
45:12
digging, they were gentiles. They're from the Gibeonites from
45:16
Joshua Chapter 9. And we put the pieces together
45:19
to see how that's true. But what's the point here?
45:24
That if these temple servants are indeed Gentiles.
45:29
Why are there more of them interested going back to the
45:31
temple to serve than the Levites themselves?
45:35
How many Levites total responded to Ezra's call?
45:39
Do the math here. The end of verse 18 we read that
45:42
there are what, 18? And the last part of verse 19,
45:45
we read that there are 20. So you have 38 Levites in
45:48
comparison to 220 Gibeonites. That's shocking, and I think it
45:59
says something about what you and I find in the New Testament
46:02
over and over. Let me say it this way.
46:05
Actually, there is a greater Ezra, Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
46:12
and there was a time that we look back on where he came into
46:16
the world to call His own to His Kingdom, to build it, to
46:21
experience the fulfillment of promises, of restoration, of
46:25
hope. And what you find instead is
46:29
that very few of His own actually accepted the
46:32
invitation, whereas those who are the most unlikely showed
46:36
more passion and more interest and more investment, namely the
46:39
Gentiles. In fact, you see this so
46:44
prevalent in the book of Acts where the apostles of Christ go
46:48
out and they they prioritize synagogues and they try to reach
46:52
the Jews and they're met with more rejection than anything
46:55
else. And yet whenever the gospel
46:56
truth spills over to the streets of the Gentiles, overwhelming
46:59
response, overwhelming response, they rejoiced.
47:03
When the Gentiles heard this in Acts 1348, they began rejoicing
47:06
and glorifying the word. They were glorifying the word of
47:10
the Lord. And as many as were appointed to
47:12
eternal life believed, you see that repeated over and over
47:15
again, and you find previews of it in the Old Testament.
47:19
More Gentiles accepting what God wants, even though they are not
47:24
the priority. They're not the privileged
47:28
nation, at least at this point. They are on the fringes.
47:31
Not that God never had the Gentiles in mind, but in this
47:33
dispensation they were not the direct object of invitation.
47:43
And this is something for us to consider.
47:46
So when we look at these shoes. We have so much to grasp, so
47:50
much to digest, but I'd love for us to end it here because
47:53
there's so much left to uncover in this chapter.
47:56
And what I want us to look at is the truth that we just heard,
48:00
that there is a greater Ezra calling.
48:05
And like Ezra of old, one who exceeds him in knowledge and
48:11
character and faithfulness, calls people today.
48:14
And unfortunately, only some respond.
48:19
And I wonder tonight if there is some here who are rejecting.
48:26
And if you really asked yourself why you can't come up with a
48:29
good answer. I want to actually call
48:35
somebody, maybe more than one person.
48:39
Maybe you've ignored most of this Bible study, and that's OK,
48:43
But if you're going to hear anything, hear my voice.
48:45
Now. Why do you deny Christ?
48:50
Why are you stiff arming him over and over again?
48:53
How many invitations do you need?
48:56
What about Christianity that turns you off so much?
48:58
Let's just be straight. Let's talk like that.
49:00
Yeah. What about it makes you recoil?
49:06
What about it makes you want to run in the other direction?
49:11
Is it the love of God and sending His own Son to die for
49:13
your sins? Is that what makes you cringe?
49:17
Is it God's purity? Is it His Holiness?
49:21
Is it the promise of eternal life?
49:23
Is it the power for Him to break every bondage of sin?
49:30
Is it for Him to give you exactly why you were created?
49:33
Hope and fellowship with Him, not just now, but for eternal.
49:37
What about it causes you to reject it?
49:44
Have you made-up your mind that there is more to offer in this
49:48
world? There's more to offer.
49:49
If you're the master of your fate, if you're the captain of
49:51
your soul, have you actually determined that you're a better?
49:55
God for yourself than God himself.
50:01
If that's the case, then so be it.
50:05
He will not override your will. You'll be responsible for that
50:09
choice. But I would ask you to
50:12
reconsider. I would ask you to look into the
50:18
personal love of Jesus Christ for you and actually examine
50:23
what He offers you carefully. Don't just go by your feelings.
50:30
Don't just go by what you heard. Can I tell you how I came to
50:33
Christ? I did my own homework.
50:36
I grew up in a Christian home, and my parents did a wonderful
50:39
job raising us in the faith. But we still had a choice.
50:43
And when I went out into the world and ventured out Into
50:46
Darkness, I came to a crossroads.
50:49
And I had to ask myself this question.
50:51
Why am I not living the way God calls me to live?
50:54
Why? Why am I living a hypocritical
50:56
lifestyle and trying to justify it?
50:59
And so I looked into Christianity for myself.
51:04
If eternal life is really at stake, then I better have a good
51:07
reason to deny it. And guess what?
51:14
I could not find a valid reason to deny this Christ.
51:17
In fact, I found overwhelming reason to bow my knee and to
51:21
crown Him as Lord and Savior. And that's possible.
51:25
For you and. Depending on who you are today,
51:29
you could be like one of the heads of the Father's houses
51:32
that we just read about, where you will have generational
51:36
impact. And today, yes, you may have
51:42
eternal life, but that may be the inheritance of your children
51:46
as well, and their children and their children.
51:50
Children. Lord, we thank you for this
51:54
Bible study. With all these names that you've
52:07
mentioned, help us remember that you know us each by name, and
52:17
you even know the names of those who don't know you.
52:19
And we pray that you would use our efforts, often times meager
52:29
and weak, to do miracles in people's lives so that you would
52:34
receive maximum glory. And so, Lord, with all that was
52:42
said, help us apply what needs to be applied, and with every
52:47
other truth, help us stored in our hearts so that they may
52:50
resurface when necessary and when needed.
52:53
But for now, Lord, we want to pause and thank you and worship
52:55
you for how you've spoken to us in a passage that might be
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intimidating or unattractive. Yet again you have convinced us
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that Your word is gold, every part of it.
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We give you glory for that in Jesus name, Amen.
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Let's stand and worship the Lord together.