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Ezra 6 (Part 2) Bible Study (The Temple Finished and Dedicated) | 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 6 and plant your eyes there at verse 13.
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  Since our start in our study of the book of Ezra, we have
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  virtually every week heard something similar.
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  We've heard about the reconstruction, the rebuilding
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  of what is known as the Second Temple in Jerusalem.
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  Everything from the initial excitement of the rebuilding to
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  the mixed feelings about the rebuilding, to the opposition to
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  the rebuilding and the revival toward the rebuilding.
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  But after we complete this chapter, we will no longer hear
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  about the reconstruction of the Temple for one simple reason.
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  We are going to realize that it is going to be completed.
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  That is essentially what the rest of Ezra chapter 6 is about,
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  the celebration of the completion of the House of God
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  that for many, many decades lay destitute and destroyed.
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  This is a monumental moment here.
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  But before we read about the rejoicing of this historic
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  achievement, we're going to learn and be reminded of what it
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  took for it to be realized. The verses that we're going to
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  open up with are essentially a summary of this massive
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  accomplishment. But within these verses we are
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  going to see some insights that are going to feed a central
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  truth the necessary for steadfastness in whatever God
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  has called us to do. And so let's do this as we come
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  now to this text. We're going to read the first 2
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  verses, beginning of verse 13 down to verse 14.
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  It says here. Then, according to the word sent
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  by Darius the king, Tatanai, the governor of the province beyond
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  the river Shethar, Bazani and their associates did with all
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  diligence what Darius the king had ordered.
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  And the elders of the Jews built and prospered through the
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  prophesying of Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son
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  of Edo. They finished their building by
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  decree of the God of Israel, by decree of Cyrus and Darius, and
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  Arctic Xerxes, king of Persia. Let's pause here for a moment.
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  Let's remind ourselves where we're at in this story.
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  There were certain governors during the Persian government
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  and empire that were ruling over the Judean province.
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  They saw these Jews who had returned from Babylon rebuilding
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  this great edifice and it concerned them.
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  So they sent message to Darius the king asking for
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  clarification if they have permission to do this.
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  Darius the king gives a letter promptly once he discovers the
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  historical precedence and the allowance for them to do this.
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  He tells Tatani and his associates, leave the Jews
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  alone, don't interrupt, don't interfere, don't get involved.
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  But additionally, he warns them and he says if anyone is to edit
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  my decree, they will be severely punished.
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  If anyone vandalizes this place of worship, they will be put to
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  death. And I call upon the God of
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  Israel to actually intervene. And So what we just read now is
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  the response of Tatani and the other governors to the letter
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  that they had received from Darius.
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  And here's what we discover. What's highlighted here is that
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  they did what Darius asked with what?
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  Look at the end there, verse 13, With all diligence.
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  With all diligence. Now that may not seem relevant,
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  but it is because whether Tatani and his associates wanted to or
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  not, they just became active participants in this project.
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  Go back to verse 8 of Ezra 6. This is just part of Darius's
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  letter to these men. In Ezra 6-8 it reads.
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  Moreover, I make a decree. This is Darius speaking
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  regarding what you shall do for these elders of the Jews for the
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  rebuilding of this House of God. The cost is to be paid to these
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  men in full and without delay from the royal revenue, the
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  tribute of the province from beyond the river.
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  So the very same men who reported on the Jews have not
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  been recruited to help the Jews. It's a remarkable turn of
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  events, but to our surprise, the attitude of Tetani and his
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  friends is actually praiseworthy, because there is
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  no hint whatsoever that they were reluctant to obey the
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  orders of Darius. In fact, it's the opposite.
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  They did so with all diligence. You know what that word
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  diligence means? With careful attention, with
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  effort, without reservation, with energy.
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  And that seems quite interesting, because the more I
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  meditated on this, the more inspiring it became.
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  Think about a couple things with me #1 as I just mentioned, these
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  men did not resist or question Darius's decree towards them,
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  did they? Not at all.
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  All Darius had to do was what? Give the word.
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  And they complied completely. They unreservedly submitted.
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  And what we find here is that though we don't know all their
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  motives, one thing is undeniable, that all it took was
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  Darius's word to get them moving.
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  All it took was one order, and they obeyed.
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  And for this demonstration of obedience to come from Gentiles
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  at this point in history who are serving a human king in this way
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  is a clear challenge to God's people then and now.
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  Should not your eagerness and mine match or even exceed that
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  of these men for our king, Our king, he's called a king of many
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  places in the Scriptures. Does he not deserve this exact
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  type of prompting and willingness and eagerness for
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  whatever he asks of us? If these men are willing to do
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  this for a human king named Darius, how much more us for our
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  King, Christ our Lord, our Master.
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  No hesitation, no arguments, no debate, all diligence the first
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  time. The secondly, notice how these
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  men obeyed Darius's order without any reward.
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  There is nothing promised to them.
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  All that letter shows is that Darius wanted something to be
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  done, and he warned them if they disobeyed, if they altered
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  anything that he had said. There is no indication that
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  there is any promise for promotion, any prize to be
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  granted, and yet, without anything in view, they still did
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  so with all diligence. Why?
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  Here's the only answer I can come up with for the King's
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  pleasure. That's why.
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  Because he asked for it, he desired it, and that's the only
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  thing that they're working with. What a thought.
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  It's possible to surrender to someone else's will simply
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  because you want to please them. And that's what Tatani and his
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  associates are demonstrating for their king.
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  But let me ask you something. That King Darius ever humble
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  himself to receive persecution or dishonor from others?
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  Did King Darius ever set aside His Royal Majesty to serve his
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  subjects? Has King Darius ever entertained
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  the thought of laying down his life for his enemies?
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  Of course not. And yet he still received such
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  fierce loyalty from those within his Kingdom.
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  And yet we have a King who exceeds all rulers, All Saints,
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  all prophets, and his beauty and his humility and his sacrifice
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  and his great love. What more do Christians need in
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  their motivation to obey this King other than the fact that it
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  pleases him, that it blesses him?
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  What other stimulation do we need?
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  Is there anything greater than the thought and knowing that
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  what he asks of me after all that he has done for me is
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  enough? Knowing the the thought crossing
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  my mind that this simply blesses the heart of my King should be
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  enough for us to do whatever he asks of us.
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  And so I look at Tat and I and I look at his associates and I
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  realized that their diligence for Darius should never outshine
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  what you and I are supposed to do for our king.
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  Moreover, the reason why this diligence is highlighted is
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  because it contributes to the completion of the temple that
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  we're about to read about. But this is not the only thing
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  that's highlighted. There's another thing that's
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  underscored in verse 14. Look at it again with me and the
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  elders of the Jews built and prospered through the
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  prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of
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  ID do don't you love that phrase?
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  They they prospered through the prophesying.
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  Now this is where we have to be clear.
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  This is not telling us that the Jews at this time, we're simply
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  riding on the momentum of the initial word that Haggai and
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  Zechariah gave when he tried to, when they tried to wake them up
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  from their years of complacency. Remember, God raised these two
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  men up to approach the same crowd who for many years
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  neglected the temple. And he said, hey, come on,
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  you're focusing too much on yourself.
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  You're ignoring God's house. This is the reason why He
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  brought you back to this land. This is not a commentary about
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  how they have been energized from that word, though it could
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  have played a part. Instead, what's being explained
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  here is the success of this group of people through the
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  regular, consistent messages of Zechariah and Haggai.
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  In other words, the reason why they were able to prosper
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  spiritually was because they were continually exposed to the
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  Word of God. And this reveals many things
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  about us. Let me just highlight one of
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  them. I believe it shows just how
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  easily we as God's people can become discouraged or
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  distracted. It's possible.
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  It's possible for you sitting here right now as you're hearing
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  this. It's possible for anybody.
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  Think about it. The first time that the Jews
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  stopped the building of the Temple was because initially
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  there was pushback from their neighbors.
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  There was threats, there was persecution.
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  And so they paused, and they paused too long because they
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  became caught up with other affairs.
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  But what's happening at this point?
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  Is there any opposition towards their efforts?
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  No, the opposite. Not only are there no obstacles
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  at this point, but you even have grants from the government,
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  allowance from kings to let you do whatever you need to do with
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  greater effect and speed. And even with this incredible
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  opportunity set before them, we learned that the real reason why
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  they prospered was because they were receiving the Word of God
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  regularly. In other words, even with this
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  open door before them, they still needed to be exhorted.
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  They still need to be reminded. They still need to be motivated.
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  What does that tell you about you and me?
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  That this flesh is remarkable at finding ways to drain our
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  enthusiasm for God, even if everything in your life is
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  cooperating? That's what's happening here.
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  Darius gave them the green light.
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  And yet the Holy Spirit wants to bring to mind that the people of
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  God still needed the Word of God to redirect and keep them
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  aligned, keep them stable. And how much of this is a
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  temptation to us as Christians in America who have been granted
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  a level of liberty that this world has rarely known in all of
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  history? So then why is it that with so
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  much in our favor as the church, is it so common for many
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  Christians to be inconsistent? And their spiritual zeal and
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  their fervor and their commitment to whatever ministry
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  they signed up for week after week, month after month, year
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  after year? In no way is it God's will for
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  us to fluctuate in our faithfulness to to succumb to
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  whatever weakens our hands. But listen, He is incredibly
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  gracious. He knows that we have the
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  temptation to falter. He knows that we have the
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  tendency to quit even even if you're standing underneath a
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  shower of his blessing like they are.
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  Here you have the king of Assyria.
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  In this context, Darius was also the king of Persia, giving them
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  all that they want, and they still needed a supernatural
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  force to remain in the will of God, which is exactly the
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  answer. God is so gracious in knowing
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  our weaknesses that He supplies exactly what we need to know.
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  Sustainability. What is it?
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  The regular hearing and receiving of God's Word, that is
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  what's highlighted and explaining the reason for their
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  spiritual prosperity. You and I have no chance of
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  remaining steadfast if we distance ourselves from this
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  book, if we remove ourselves from a place like this that
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  faithfully points us to what God has said and is saying still
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  through His Word. And we actually have insight
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  here about what it was that was said on a continual basis to
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  keep this people energized. Because Haggai and Zechariah
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  have books with their names on it in our Bibles, and we won't
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  go into it. But if you read their content,
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  you'll learn that what they said to the same audience included
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  encouragement, included warning, included promises, included
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  faithful and wonderful hopeful insight into the future.
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  All these things combined is what helped this people navigate
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  each day. I mean, think about, here's one
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  that many of us know. What does it do to you to hear
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  something like Zechariah 46, the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel?
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  Not by might, nor by power, but by my what Spirit says the Lord
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  that'll move you. And so you get an idea of what
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  it was that these two prophets conveyed to flow fresh fuel into
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  their hearts, to remain anchored.
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  And that is why it is one of Satan's favorite strategies to
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  drive you away from engaging with this book, to lure you from
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  coming to a church that exalts God's Word, explains God's Word,
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  exhorts people through God's Word.
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  He understands that if he can cut you off from this, he cuts
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  off your life source. And it's just a matter of time
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  before you shrivel up and you give yourself to something
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  futile and fury even sinful. You will never be able, never be
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  able to point someone to me who claims to be a consistent
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  Christian and doesn't have a consistent and humble engagement
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  and relationship with the written Word of God.
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  You won't be able to find one impossible.
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  And that principle is so obvious here.
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  It was through the prophesying of the prophets of the word of
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  the Lord through them that help these remnant prosper
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  spiritually. So let's go on now.
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  We read these first 2 verses of this section, but let's continue
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  in verse 15. And this house was finished on
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  the third day of the month of Adar, in the sixth year of the
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  reign of Darius the king. So the end of verse 14, we
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  realized that they finished the building.
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  This is a remarkable thing. This is a huge milestone.
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  And so important was it that in verse 15, Ezra gives us the date
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  of its completion. Do we remember when, however,
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  the work of the temple resumed after it was ignored for so
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  long? Does anybody remember when?
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  If you don't, Oh good, who said it?
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  Say it out loud. What year of Darius's reign?
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  The second. If you need confirmation, look
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  at Ezra 424 for a moment. Ezra 424 Then the work on the
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  House of God that is in Jerusalem stopped, and it ceased
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  until the second year of the reign of Darius, king of Persia.
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  So the work began again in the second year of Darius the king,
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  and it was completed in the sixth year.
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  So how long did it take him to rebuild the temple?
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  Four years, Four years? Even with all the diligence that
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  they offered, even with the really miraculous support from
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  the Persian government, it still took this group of people four
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  years to resurrect this structure.
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  But I actually want to argue that it took longer than that.
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  When you zoom out, it actually took much more time because
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  we're only counting from when the work of the temple resumed
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  again to its completion. But we're not considering the
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  time that passed from the people laying the foundation of the
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  temple and them getting distracted until they started
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  again. So we learned that when these
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  Jews came back from Babylon to Jerusalem, they almost
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  immediately laid the foundation of this house.
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  Then persecution emerged. They were intimidated, they got
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  scared. They use it as an excuse, and
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  they start focusing on their own houses.
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  From that time of laying the foundation to the second year of
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  Darius where they began the house again, working on the
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  House again, many beliefs, 16 years had passed.
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  So when we consider that whole timeline, how many years did it
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  really take to rebuild the temple?
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  The simple math, there's no trick question. 20 years, 20 to
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  21 years for the single building to be rebuilt.
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  Last night I just sat back and I thought to myself, in that same
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  amount of time they could have rebuilt five of these temples.
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  But instead, because of what? Idleness and worldly ambition.
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  They built one. I praise God that this part of
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  Ezra's story, really all of Ezra's story, is one of grace
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  and God's faithfulness and his mercy, undeniably.
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  But here I want to highlight that it offers a sobering
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  warning about the value of time and how if we're not careful,
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  even as God's children, we can forfeit a lot of it easily,
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  especially in this age. For some who are listening, as
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  you look back at years, you may have to admit that you barely,
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  barely invested anything in building your relationship with
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  God. No.
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  No reading plan, little time and prayer.
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  No investment in any kind of ministry.
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  Be careful because I don't want it to be said of anybody,
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  including for myself, that we lived our days in such a way
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  that years passed by and it can hit us where we wonder and think
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  to ourselves, where could I have been in the Lord if I did not
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  burn my time on useless things? That's totally possible.
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  Time is the most precious gift in many ways because you can't
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  get it back. You know this very well.
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  And it could be also that there's some sitting here who've
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  come to that painful realization and you can't seem to shake off
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  the guilt. But I want to comfort you that
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  it does no good for you to reflect on on years wasted,
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  whether that be because you were living outside of Christ or
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  because even in Christ you named his name, but you squandered
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  many of your years. It does no good.
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  Instead, if you are reminded of that, use that as as motivation
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  to guard the days ahead. We don't know how many God, how
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  many years God is going to give us or days or months or weeks.
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  We have no clue. But if you are among those who
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  feel, I wish I got saved earlier.
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  I wish I wasn't so foolish with the resources that were at my
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  disposal. I should have listened to my mom
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  and dad, to my older brother. I should have paid attention to
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  those sermons all those years. Now I'm getting older, I'm
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  getting more frail. Now I have more responsibility.
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  All the all the free time I had as a single man, Just listen.
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  When those things haunt you, recycle it and then use it to
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  say with whatever time I have left, I will live maximally for
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  God and listen for anybody, no matter where you are in light of
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  this, for anybody who chooses to from this moment on, live for
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  the will of God. Joy is promised for you joy
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  today and joy tomorrow. In fact, that's what we we find
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  next. Let's read now from verse 16
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  down to verse 18. And the people of Israel, the
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  priest and the Levites and the rest of the return exiles
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  celebrated the dedication of this House of God with joy, with
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  joy. Highlight those two words with
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  joy they offered at the dedication of this House of God.
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  100 bulls, 200 Rams, 400 lambs, and a sin offering for all
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  Israel, 12 male goats according to the number of the tribes of
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  Israel. And they set the priests and
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  their divisions and the Levites and their divisions for the
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  service of God at Jerusalem, as it is written in the book of
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  Moses. So the house is now done, and
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  they're putting it to use. But before they do anything,
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  they're almost putting together a grand opening.
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  But it's more sacred than that. They want to consecrate this
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  house to God's glory, and so they they put together some of
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  their resources and they offered at the dedication.
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  If you put all those animals together and their numbers,
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  you're talking about 700. If you include the sin offering
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  that 712 beasts of different kinds.
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  That detail may seem irrelevant or insignificant to you, but it
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  carries meaning when you do one thing.
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  Remember that this was not the only dedication that took place
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  in Israel's history towards and for the House of God.
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  This is the second temple. Before the 2nd temple, there was
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  Solomon's Temple. Was there a dedication service
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  for Solomon's Temple? Yes.
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  Do you remember how many beasts were offered then?
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  A lot. Can I remind you how much?
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  Turn to 1st Kings chapter 8 and look at verse 62.
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  First Kings chapter 8 verse 62. Then the king and all Israel
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  with him offered sacrifice before the Lord.
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  Solomon offered as peace offerings to the Lord 22,000
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  oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people
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  of Israel dedicated the House of the Lord.
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  So when it came to the celebration of the first temple,
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  you're talking about 142,000 animals.
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  Quite the difference, isn't it? In fact, 1 might be tempted to
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  think by comparison, the dedication of the second temple
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  feels a little embarrassing, maybe worthless. 712 in
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  comparison to 142,000. A very great difference in terms
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  of the size of the offering. But I want to convey to you that
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  there is something similar that these two generations shared.
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  One word, one word. It's a very simple word, Joy,
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  joy. There is joy in Solomon's day.
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  Scroll down to verse 66 at First Kings 8.
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  What is said on the 8th day? He sent the people away and they
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  blessed the king and went to their homes, joyful and glad of
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  heart for all the goodness that the Lord had shown to David his
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  servant and to Israel his people.
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  Now go back to Ezra 6, Ezra 6 verse 16 says, and the people of
• 27:11
  Israel, the priests and the Levites and the rest of the
• 27:13
  return exiles celebrated the dedication of this House of God
• 27:18
  with joy. So both experienced joy.
• 27:21
  In fact, look what the Holy Spirit does in Ezra 616.
• 27:25
  He's so specific. It says here that they
• 27:27
  celebrated the dedication of this house, this house, as if to
• 27:32
  emphasize from the human standpoint that what seems to be
• 27:36
  inferior, the inferiority of this house and the far less
• 27:41
  impressive dedication of this house did not determine their
• 27:46
  joy. It didn't.
• 27:50
  So how was it that with only 712, you're talking about a
• 27:54
  meager offering? Was this crowd able to genuinely
• 28:01
  rejoice in this moment? You know the answers in the same
• 28:05
  chapter and it's glorious. Look at the last verse of Ezra
• 28:09
  6. You heard this last week if you
• 28:12
  were here. Ezra 622 And they kept the feast
• 28:16
  of Unleavened bread 7 days with joy.
• 28:18
  There it is again. For the Lord had made them
• 28:20
  joyful. For the Lord had made them
• 28:23
  joyful. And I turned the heart of the
• 28:25
  king of Assyria to them so that he aided them in the work of the
• 28:28
  House of God, the God of Israel. That's the answer.
• 28:35
  God made them joyful. And there are a couple of things
• 28:39
  we can learn from this that will change your life radically if
• 28:43
  you actually choose to believe it #1 God can make us joyful
• 28:53
  whether you have little or much. No matter what you possess, it
• 28:58
  is possible to actually be happy, to know genuine
• 29:04
  contentment. You know this could have been
• 29:06
  another occasion for this generation of return exiles to
• 29:09
  weep like they did when they laid the foundation of the
• 29:12
  temple. You remember that some rejoice
• 29:14
  when they laid the foundation and other wept.
• 29:17
  Why did they weep? Because the older generation
• 29:19
  remembered Solomon's temple and so they couldn't help but
• 29:23
  compare and think, this is it. This is what we've been restored
• 29:27
  to. But supposing that that older
• 29:33
  generation is still alive because it could have been that
• 29:35
  they died, so there's a little bit less weeping because they're
• 29:39
  no longer alive. That's possible, but let's just
• 29:42
  suppose that they're still alive.
• 29:45
  God worked in their hearts in such a way that they can
• 29:49
  recognize the good of the moment and give God glory and
• 29:55
  experience a wave of genuine joy.
• 30:00
  It's a work of God despite their lack.
• 30:05
  And in this case, the people experience something unique and
• 30:08
  they discerned it, right? We read it in the verse.
• 30:10
  They discerned that God moved in the heart of Darius for their
• 30:15
  favor, and he aided them to build this house.
• 30:18
  That's a different testimony than Solomon, isn't it?
• 30:21
  In Solomon's case, God just prospered him and his
• 30:24
  administration and and the nation at that time to enable
• 30:27
  them to build the temple at such a grand scale.
• 30:30
  It's two different testimonies, but it says the same thing, that
• 30:33
  God is still at work and they understood that God is still at
• 30:38
  work doesn't look the same, but it doesn't dismiss the fact that
• 30:42
  he is moving in our midst and we can rejoice because of that.
• 30:49
  If your joy is in what you have or what you don't have, I
• 30:51
  promise you a very fickle and flimsy contentment.
• 30:58
  It won't last because possessions and materials come
• 31:00
  and go. But if your joy is in God, if
• 31:05
  your joy is in Christ, who's always working no matter what
• 31:10
  you own, you will know happiness that will endure all
• 31:13
  circumstances. And that's why Israel's past
• 31:18
  success did not cloud their contentment here.
• 31:22
  There's no comparison here like they did earlier, because it was
• 31:27
  God who worked in their hearts. And the source of the joy was
• 31:30
  what God was doing, the fingerprints that they were able
• 31:33
  to recognize, ha ha, they were able to rejoice.
• 31:38
  There's another thing to consider.
• 31:41
  True joy isn't found in what you have, but in what you do with
• 31:44
  what you have. You can't separate the theme of
• 31:50
  joy with Solomon and an Ezra's story with the reality of
• 31:57
  sacrifice and the worship of God.
• 32:00
  Joy is found in those contexts. They rejoice in First Kings 8.
• 32:06
  Why? Because they were able to
• 32:07
  recognize the goodness of the Lord to David and his
• 32:09
  descendants here. They recognize the goodness of
• 32:12
  the Lord because He was moving the hearts of leaders of nations
• 32:17
  on their behalf. But also they've come to
• 32:21
  sacrifice and they've come to worship God, and they are living
• 32:27
  at a point where they are prioritizing God's house.
• 32:32
  See, knowing joy is not just recognizing that God is a
• 32:36
  fountain of all your blessings. That's true.
• 32:38
  If you really want to unlock it in your heart, you have to be
• 32:42
  willing to come to a place of responding to that truth with
• 32:45
  unreserved worship. So when you make the Kingdom of
• 32:52
  God your priority, when you make Christ's pleasure your desire,
• 32:54
  when your devotion to Him is all that you really want, that will
• 32:59
  position you to receive and experience God's joy no matter
• 33:03
  what your possessions look like. It will put everything in its
• 33:06
  proper perspective. And that's what we find here.
• 33:13
  We're going to worship God. We're going to sacrifice what we
• 33:17
  can give Him. We've prioritized His house.
• 33:20
  And that's why you see this repeated truth.
• 33:22
  Joy, joy, joy, joy. And that's why perhaps some of
• 33:25
  you are miserable, because you've stuffed theological
• 33:32
  statements and truths and doctrinal ideas in your head,
• 33:35
  but you've never responded to it.
• 33:39
  And other things take precedence in your life.
• 33:41
  Other things have greater priority.
• 33:43
  Other things are demanding your devotion, and so you don't
• 33:48
  understand the numbness and you perhaps look at other Christians
• 33:50
  and you criticize them because you, you, you think this is a
• 33:53
  little bit too ecstatic. This is a little bit too much.
• 33:57
  But what you find in these two instances when we compare it
• 34:00
  with Solomon and Ezra, that the the experience of joy is within
• 34:05
  the realm of sacrifice and worship and living for God's
• 34:11
  house, God's name, God's glory. That was true for the churches
• 34:18
  in Macedonia. Have you ever heard of them?
• 34:19
  Do you remember how Paul described the churches in
• 34:23
  Macedonia when he praised them for their financial partnership
• 34:27
  when he was raising funds from the different churches to help
• 34:30
  the poor Saints in Jerusalem? This will blow your mind.
• 34:34
  Go to 2nd Corinthians chapter 8, Second Corinthians chapter 8 and
• 34:42
  look at verse one with me. 2nd Corinthians 8 verse one Paul
• 34:52
  says to the Corinthians, We want you to know brothers, about the
• 34:56
  grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia.
• 35:00
  For in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of
• 35:04
  joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed and a wealth of
• 35:12
  generosity on their part. How do those two descriptions
• 35:17
  fit in the same statement? Abundance of joy right next to
• 35:24
  what? Extreme?
• 35:26
  Not just poverty, extreme poverty.
• 35:29
  Now, poverty in America in 2026 looks different than poverty and
• 35:34
  antiquity. And we're not talking even about
• 35:37
  the poor. He's talking about extreme
• 35:39
  poverty. And yet somehow the Macedonian
• 35:44
  believers tapped into not even just not just joy, abundant joy.
• 35:52
  It reinforces the truth that we're learning in Ezra, does it
• 35:54
  not? That your joy is not in what you
• 35:59
  have, it's in God himself. And your joy can heighten and
• 36:05
  mature on what you do with what you have and in this context,
• 36:12
  with the little that they have. They wanted to somehow play a
• 36:15
  part in the relief of the Saints in Jerusalem.
• 36:20
  You're saying, what's the secret?
• 36:22
  How do I get to this point? Because brother, if I'm honest,
• 36:26
  I'm a wreck. I'm numb.
• 36:29
  I'm going through the motions. Let me offer a potential insight
• 36:35
  to the reason why you can't figure out your own misery.
• 36:40
  Do you know why the Macedonian believers were able to do what
• 36:43
  they're doing here? Do you know why they were able
• 36:44
  to know the spring of joy to the point that it almost just LED
• 36:49
  them to this, to this decision to sacrifice in this way?
• 36:53
  Look at verse 5, Second Corinthians 8, verse 5.
• 36:56
  Paul's still talking about them and he says and this not as we
• 36:59
  expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and
• 37:06
  then by the will of God to us. The reason why these believers
• 37:10
  were the way that they were, the reason why they knew this
• 37:13
  abundant joy is because they made a decision.
• 37:15
  I'm going to give myself first to the Lord.
• 37:21
  He calls the shots of my life. I submit to him but my own
• 37:26
  desires. But when you really taste of
• 37:30
  this joy, your desires become His desires, and you live in
• 37:36
  this genuine, awesome growth of joy as the days go by.
• 37:44
  That doesn't mean that joy isn't challenge.
• 37:46
  It doesn't mean that sometimes you ask, like what the psalmist
• 37:49
  said, why are you cast down, O my soul?
• 37:51
  But you will have a reference point in your soul where you
• 37:54
  know what it's like to know God's joy, and you won't settle
• 37:57
  for anything else. Let's look at the last parts of
• 38:03
  Ezra 6, verse 19, down to verse 22.
• 38:13
  On the 14th day of the first month, the return exiles kept
• 38:17
  the Passover for the priests and the Levites had purified
• 38:21
  themselves together. All of them were clean.
• 38:24
  Oh, I'd love to say so much about that.
• 38:26
  All of them were clean. So they slaughtered the Passover
• 38:30
  lamb for all the return exiles, for their fellow priests and for
• 38:33
  themselves. It was eaten by the people of
• 38:36
  Israel who had returned from exile, and also by everyone who
• 38:39
  had joined them and separated himself from the uncleanness of
• 38:44
  the peoples of the land to worship the Lord, the God of
• 38:46
  Israel. So apparently you had Gentiles
• 38:49
  along this journey who realized that the God of Israel is the
• 38:52
  true God, and they yoked themselves to the true God by
• 38:55
  faith. These are proselytes.
• 38:56
  These are converts. I'm not going to comment on that
• 39:00
  too much either. Let's look at verse 22.
• 39:04
  And they kept the Feast of Unleavened bread 7 days with
• 39:09
  joy, for the Lord had made them joyful and had turned the heart
• 39:12
  of the king of Assyria to them, so that he aided them in the
• 39:15
  work of the House of God, the God of Israel.
• 39:19
  So many things can be said here, as I already mentioned, but I
• 39:23
  want to just focus on one simple thing, one observation from
• 39:26
  these last verses. Three out of the four verses we
• 39:32
  just read include this identity about the people of Israel, the
• 39:39
  people of Judah. The Holy Spirit labels them as
• 39:42
  the returned exiles 3 times in 4 verses, the return exile.
• 39:47
  Some other translations say the descendants of captivity or the
• 39:50
  children of captivity. Here's my question.
• 39:53
  Why I emphasize that here. Aren't we far enough into the
• 39:59
  story of Ezra to know that we are reading about the captives
• 40:02
  who had returned from Babylon to Jerusalem?
• 40:04
  Why do I need to hear it over and over in this closing
• 40:07
  section? It's the return exiles.
• 40:09
  It's the return exiles is the return exiles.
• 40:11
  I know it's the return exiles. Here's what I believe the answer
• 40:16
  is. There's something about the
• 40:22
  enjoyment and the celebration of the Passover and the unleavened
• 40:26
  bread. That connects with the truth of
• 40:32
  the return exiles. In other words, the people of
• 40:35
  Israel have not experienced these holy feast in the fullest
• 40:40
  sense like what we're seeing here since the days before their
• 40:44
  exile. This is huge.
• 40:48
  This is massive, and the Holy Spirit wants us to know that it
• 40:55
  was the return exiles who enjoyed it.
• 40:59
  Think about it this way. The book of Ezra opens with a
• 41:03
  decree. Cyrus, who was the king of
• 41:04
  Persia at that time, extended an invitation to the Jews in
• 41:09
  Babylon. You can go back home if you
• 41:11
  want. Now, did he extend that
• 41:13
  invitation to all of the Jews or some of the Jews?
• 41:19
  All of them? All of them.
• 41:22
  Did all of them go? No, some of them.
• 41:26
  And we've discussed in the past perhaps some of the reasons why
• 41:30
  many of these Jews decide to stay back in Babylon.
• 41:35
  But now we come to this point in Ezra's story, and here's the
• 41:40
  question we have to ask. Who are the ones who are
• 41:44
  experiencing the Holy Feasts and in the proper way?
• 41:49
  Who are the ones who are now relishing in the presence of God
• 41:54
  in the House of God once again? Who are the ones who are being
• 41:59
  renewed in their understanding of the revelation of God's mercy
• 42:03
  and might in His temple? Who are the ones, the ones who
• 42:06
  decided to pay a price to go back?
• 42:11
  Those are the ones. This is why, in part, this
• 42:15
  repetition is made to emphasize this reality that the ones who
• 42:21
  chose to go back were the ones who relished in this revival and
• 42:25
  entered into a new level in the relationship with the living
• 42:28
  God. Here's what that means for you
• 42:33
  and I. There are certain spiritual
• 42:36
  advantages and there are certain experiences that can only come
• 42:41
  to those who are willing to walk away from what God asked them to
• 42:46
  walk away from to truly know them.
• 42:52
  Sometimes the things that we have to separate ourselves from
• 42:55
  are sinful. Other times they're just
• 42:57
  temporal. They're shallow, they're
• 43:00
  foolish, they're vain, they're pointless.
• 43:05
  But whatever the nature of our hindrances may be, one thing is
• 43:10
  for certain, sacrifice of various kinds is often the path
• 43:15
  to spiritual reward. The returned exiles were the
• 43:21
  ones who got to taste the miracle before them.
• 43:27
  But they first had to make a very difficult decision to walk
• 43:33
  away from familiarity, to walk away potentially from family and
• 43:37
  friends, a new way of life, to go back to a land of
• 43:45
  destitution, to a lot of hard work, to to enemies that are
• 43:48
  ready to devour you at your most vulnerable point.
• 43:53
  But because they understood that life is ultimately about the
• 43:56
  glory of God, they took that step of faith and now they are
• 44:02
  enjoying something that others are not.
• 44:08
  So here I am reading this, studying this, ruminating over
• 44:12
  it, and I'm thinking to myself, there's got to be so many other
• 44:15
  examples of this principle, even in the New Testament.
• 44:21
  And for whatever reason, the one example, and potentially because
• 44:25
  it deals with an individual, and perhaps because I preached about
• 44:28
  a many, many, many years ago, even before Maranatha Bible
• 44:32
  Church existed, I thought maybe this is a good way to illustrate
• 44:37
  it in a personal way. Have you ever considered how the
• 44:42
  Bible introduces us to the person, the character, the
• 44:46
  minister named Timothy? Go to Acts 16.
• 44:52
  Here's where we'll land because I just want to solidify this
• 44:57
  truth in our hearts. The sacrifice of various kinds
• 45:01
  is often the path to spiritual reward.
• 45:03
  Acts 16. This is where we're introduced
• 45:05
  to Timothy and Acts 16 verse one.
• 45:15
  Paul came also to Deer Bee and to Lystra.
• 45:20
  A disciple was there named Timothy, the son of a Jewish
• 45:22
  woman who was a believer, but his father was Greek.
• 45:26
  He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium.
• 45:31
  Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him.
• 45:35
  Pause there. What an honor, this remarkable
• 45:41
  man of God by the name of Paul, who was once a terrorist who
• 45:45
  terrorized the church, who is now the leading apostle in many
• 45:51
  ways, comes into town to check on the the Saints.
• 45:56
  And he, he discovers about this man named Timothy, a young man,
• 46:00
  and all the brethren, all the believers there speak well of
• 46:03
  him. Now we know Timothy's a young
• 46:05
  man even when Paul writes to him after he becomes a pastor.
• 46:09
  So if he was young when he was a pastor of the Church of Ephesus,
• 46:11
  how young was he here? It's really a reminder for young
• 46:16
  people to to not wait to take your faith seriously.
• 46:21
  Don't delay in your seriousness because Timothy didn't all of a
• 46:26
  sudden become genuine in his faith.
• 46:29
  He always was to the point when Paul walked into town, the
• 46:32
  believer says you got to meet this young man, this exceptional
• 46:35
  St. named Timothy. Paul meets him.
• 46:38
  I wonder what the conversation was like.
• 46:40
  But it was enough for this man, and Paul was picky with who he
• 46:45
  worked with. You know that, right?
• 46:47
  I want you to come with me. I want you to be a partner in my
• 46:52
  missionary endeavors. The thrill.
• 46:57
  But it came at a price. Look at verse 3 again.
• 47:00
  Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him and he took him and
• 47:03
  circumcised him because of the Jews who are in those places,
• 47:10
  for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
• 47:14
  Many, many people will come to this text to debate.
• 47:19
  I've heard it, I've read about it.
• 47:21
  What's the debate about? Was Paul right in circumcising
• 47:23
  Timothy, the Paul go against his convictions?
• 47:30
  Or is Paul being strategic? There's the clashes, and there's
• 47:34
  the blog post and there's the commentaries.
• 47:36
  That's fine. I think it's an important
• 47:37
  conversation to have. But you want, you know what?
• 47:40
  I've never stumbled upon somebody coming to this text to
• 47:43
  speak about Timothy. This is the first time Timothy's
• 47:48
  mentioned in the Bible. What does this say about this
• 47:51
  young man? He says something about the
• 47:56
  price he was willing to pay to follow the call of God.
• 48:03
  You can debate if Paul was writing this or not, but just
• 48:07
  focus in and look at it from Timothy's perspective.
• 48:11
  He was not 8 days old when he was circumcised in this part of
• 48:14
  the story, you know that, right? He was a young man, very
• 48:18
  conscious, very aware, but very willing.
• 48:26
  And what I thought to myself was what if Timothy had denied such
• 48:30
  a thing? What if he had rejected it?
• 48:31
  What if he thought this is a no thank you?
• 48:33
  I appreciate the invitation, but I think I'll just go on with my
• 48:40
  life the way it always has been. He would have missed out on the
• 48:46
  adventure of a lifetime. You get the impression from the
• 48:52
  Bible that Timothy had a stronger relationship with his
• 48:56
  mom and his grandmother. The implication is that his
• 49:03
  father, yes, was a Gentile, but also an unbelieving Gentile.
• 49:08
  So how how present was Timothy's dad in his life?
• 49:10
  We don't know. But you know, because of this
• 49:15
  moment in his life, he gained a spiritual father.
• 49:20
  And more than that, Paul entrusted him with one of the
• 49:24
  most thriving churches in the region.
• 49:28
  Timothy became the teaching elder in Ephesus.
• 49:35
  And what about all the other adventures in the stories of
• 49:37
  these trips and the miracles that he beheld and the
• 49:39
  conference that he saw? I bring all this up to say that
• 49:44
  it all hinged upon a personal sacrifice.
• 49:50
  Difficult decision to walk away from comfort in a very real way.
• 50:06
  And yet there are many people professing Christians who are
• 50:13
  not willing to walk away from some things.
• 50:18
  You will not know the fullness of God's will until you fully
• 50:21
  give yourself over to Him. How much time has passed in your
• 50:26
  life where you consciously know that you're holding something
• 50:31
  back? Let it change for 2026.
• 50:40
  I've yet to be convinced that somebody has more joy, more
• 50:43
  peace, more excitement in their life living for themselves and
• 50:46
  living for God. You know, somebody show me
• 50:49
  after, show me after. And don't show me an Instagram
• 50:55
  profile or a TikTok account. Some of those people are the
• 51:00
  most miserable of them all. Always need to live for people's
• 51:03
  applause and recognition. Somebody, somebody who's rock
• 51:08
  solid content, immovable, and doesn't have a relationship with
• 51:18
  the living God because they have surrendered everything.
• 51:24
  I can go and show you example after example after example of
• 51:28
  how the Bible presents this constant theme.
• 51:33
  A sacrifice is the path for spiritual reward.
• 51:37
  In Timothy's case, I mean, his life was never the same.
• 51:40
  In the case of these returned exiles, they had to make a
• 51:42
  decision many, many years ago. We will go back and they got to
• 51:47
  stand in the courts of the Second Temple, while some, for
• 51:52
  selfish reasons, stayed back in Babylon.
• 51:54
  Why? Because they had a business that
• 51:58
  they started or because they had a new home.
• 52:03
  And some Levites surely wanted to stay back because they got
• 52:07
  land. And when you went back to
• 52:08
  Israel, you have to give up your land.
• 52:09
  You have to live by faith. But what do we find at the end
• 52:13
  of Ezra 6? Joy, joy, joy, joy, joy for the
• 52:18
  return to exiles. Lord, we thank you for this
• 52:22
  Bible study. How amazing it is to even look
• 52:30
  at a corner of your word that is so historical, so specific, so
• 52:37
  obscure, and yet it can be so packed with power.
• 52:53
  We confess gladly that we believe this is the Word of God.
• 52:58
  It's so sharp. You never fail to show us just
• 53:03
  how precise the sword of the Spirit is.
• 53:12
  Lord. Many things were said and we
• 53:18
  pray that the same way. The prophesying of Haggai and
• 53:21
  Zechariah kept the people focused and energized.
• 53:27
  May this Bible study and the ones to come provide that same
• 53:32
  grace. Help us believe that this book
• 53:39
  in our hands is our lifeline. Lord, we pause to rejoice, to
• 53:47
  give you thanks for how you've spoken to us.
• 53:49
  Be glorified in all things in Jesus name, Amen.
• 53:59
  Why don't we stand and let's worship God?