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Ezra 3 (Part 2) Bible Study (Rebuilding the Temple) | 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 3, if you don't own a physical copy of the Word of
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God, please come see me after the Bible study.
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I have a gift for you. I really encourage people to
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have a physical copy of the Scriptures with them.
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And for whatever reason, if you don't possess one, again, please
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come see me immediately after the service.
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I want to help you with that. Ezra chapter 3 and put your
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finger there verse 8. Now when Cyrus king of Persia
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made his Kingdom wide announcement to the Jewish
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exiles about returning to the city of Jerusalem, he had one
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main purpose in doing so, to rebuild the House of the Lord.
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That is what his invitation centered on, going back to
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restore the House of worship. And in the latter portion of
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this chapter of Ezraim, we are actually going to witness the
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returnees beginning that very endeavor.
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Now, I say beginning because these exiles will only be able
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to lay the foundation of the temple before significant
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challenges arise and hinder their work.
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But that does not undermine the significance of this historical
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moment. You have to put yourselves in
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their shoes. For just over 70 years, this
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covenant people did not have their temple, the designated
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place divinely sanctioned by God Himself, where He promised to
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cover their sin, where He assured them that He would
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commune with man. And humanly speaking, you would
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think that it's nearly impossible for this privilege to
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be restored after all that they went through.
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But God made many promises, notably in Isaiah 44, verse 28,
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where He prophesied that the foundation of this temple would
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be laid again one day. And you and I are now going to
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witness the fulfillment of that very promise.
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This is a great achievement, one that is worthy of careful
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attention. And that is why we are going to
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consider at least three things about this exciting undertaking.
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3 things. The first thing that we will
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look at are the people in the work, the people involved in the
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work. Secondly, we will look at the
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praise for the work, how the people responded to the laying
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down of this foundation. And finally, we will consider
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the perspective of the work. So all starting with peace
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preachers like to do this kind of stuff by the way, the people
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in the work, the praise for the work, the perspective of the
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work. And if you are engaged until the
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end of the study, which I hope you always are, we will see how
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this very section of Ezra will connect to one of the most
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powerful and undeniable proofs that Jesus Christ of Nazareth is
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indeed the promised long-awaited Messiah.
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And not just Messiah, but Messiah who is God himself.
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I'm sure you're going to be amazed to see how this links to
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that incredible truth. It's going to reinforce your
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faith and who Christ is and claims to be.
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Lord, we ask you tonight again, Your word tells us that it is
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like a mirror. And so we pray that we would be
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honest in this study to see what You say of us, and that wherever
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there is a blemish, wherever there is anything that is not in
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alignment with Your will, we would repent and we would
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conform to Your desire. Lord, Your word also says that
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it is like water. So we pray that it would refresh
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us, that it would refresh our faith, our joy, our peace, our
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strength. But we also know that Your Word
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says that it is like fire. And so we pray that it would
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consume any hint of disobedience, any growing
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rebellion, anything that would hurt or grieve the Spirit of
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God, consume it through the fire of Your Word.
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And Lord, we also know that Your Word says that it is like a
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hammer. So even the most hardened heart,
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the most calloused heart, the one who is growing cold towards
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you, you would smash that heart and that you would melt it
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again, and it would be tender towards you and your will and
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Your word. We pray these things in Jesus
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name, Amen. Let's look at the people, the
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people in the work beginning in verse 8 down to verse 9.
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Now in the second year, after their coming to the House of God
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at Jerusalem in the second month, Zerubbabel, the son of
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Shiao Thiel, and Joshua the son of Jozadak, made a beginning,
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together with the rest of their kinsmen, the priests and the
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Levites, and all who had come to Jerusalem from the captivity.
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They appointed the Levites from 20 years old and upward to
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supervise the work of the House of the Lord.
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And Joshua with his sons and his brothers, and Cadmiel and his
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sons, the sons of Judah, together supervised the workmen
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in the House of God, along with the sons of Hennidad and the
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Levites, their sons and brothers.
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Question #1 Why did the people begin this project, which was
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supposed to be their primary purpose in returning, in the
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second month of the second year? That seems to be like a delay at
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first glance. Well, we get one answer from
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verse 7. Remember what it says in verse
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7? That with the funding that came
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from Cyrus, they hire the Cydonians and the Tyrians to
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come and to bring cedar from Lebanon by sea.
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That takes time, doesn't it? Yes.
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Apart from other planning and other purchases and other things
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and other preparations, it took time.
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It's not that they were hesitating.
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They just waited for all the material and all the men to
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arrive. But there is something else, I
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believe, beyond the obvious delay.
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The second month is also the same month of the year when
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Solomon began building the First Temple, according to First Kings
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61. So it can be that this was an
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intentional kind of pursuit, that in the second month, they
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would do this as a way of almost hoping that what they're about
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to continue in would echo the Golden Age of Solomon's
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construction and what he was able to usher in through his
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leadership. But by the end of the study,
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we're going to discover that whatever they do here is going
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to fall very short of the standard that Solomon set when
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he led a similar project. Now, there's something else that
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stands out here. In verse 8 and verse 9, the word
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together is repeated. And so at the outset of this
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construction, there is still optimism.
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The people are excited. They're one mind, one heart.
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They're doing this together, They're doing this in unity.
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And we can draw many truths from that.
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But what I really want to focus on is how the Holy Spirit
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highlights the age of the Levites who supervise the work.
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Did you catch that? Look again in the last part of
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verse 8, the last sentence. They appointed the Levites from
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20 years old and upward to supervise the work of the House
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of the Lord. Why do I need to know how old
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they are? Well, we can say it's because
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they want to be obedient. Yes, that is one reason they are
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being obedient, because the law does spell out the minimum age
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of the Levites when entering into their office.
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And there's actually an interesting history of that that
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is worthy of exploration. Levi, he's the son of who?
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I'm talking about the original Levi.
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No, he's the son of Jacob, who's later called who?
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Israel. Now, let me ask you this.
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Levi had how many sons? How many sons did Levi have?
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I'm talking about the original Levi.
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Did he have one son? Did he have two sons?
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He had three sons. OK Does anybody know the names
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of the three sons? Good.
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Good. Somebody's got it.
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Say it. Gershon is one of them.
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Murari is the third. Who's the first?
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Starts with the letter K Kohath. Very good.
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Did you hear it? Kohath.
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Gershon Murari, welcome to Friday night Bible study in the
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Hebrew Scriptures. It's good we have to repeat
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these things to remember them. I want you now to turn to
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Numbers chapter 4. Because God had given
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instructions to the descendants of Levi when he formalized and
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made their ministry official. These are some of the initial
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instructions that the Lord gave to Levi, which was the tribe
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that was set apart to perform spiritual duties at the dwelling
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place of God. Look at Numbers chapter 4
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starting at verse one. Numbers 4 verse one.
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The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron saying take a census of
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the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi by their clans
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and their father's houses from 30 years old up to 50 years old.
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All who can come on duty to do the work in the tent of meeting.
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So Kohath, his first son, how old were his sons supposed to be
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before entering into the service of the 10th of meeting?
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Good. Scroll down now to verse 29 of
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Numbers 4. Excuse me, verse 21, Numbers
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421. The Lord spoke to Moses saying,
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Take his census of the sons of Gershon also by their father's
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houses and by their clans, from 30 years old up to 50 years old.
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You shall list them all who can come to the to do duty to do
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service in the tent of meeting Gershon his sons.
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How old? 30 very good.
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Now verse 29 of Numbers 4. As for the sons of Marari, you
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shall list them by their clans and their father's houses from
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30 years old up to 50 years old. You shall list them everyone who
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can come on duty to do the service of the Tent of Meeting.
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So it's clear, isn't it? We can see it.
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The original minimum age for all the Levites in the Tent of
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Meeting to serve was 30 years old.
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Now that seems interesting in light of what we read in Ezra,
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but it becomes even more puzzling as this develops.
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We don't even get to finish the book of Numbers before we
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encounter this in Numbers 8. Now look here in verse 23 and
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the Lord spoke to Moses saying this applies to the Levites from
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25 years old and upward. They shall come to do duty in
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the service of the 10th of meeting 30/25/20.
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Well, let's just deal with this for now, without any
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explanation. Just a few chapters after the
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initial and original command, we learn that the minimum age for
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the Levites drops by five years. Now notable Jews, rabbis, those
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who have written material for the Jewish people, unbelieving
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Jews, have suggested an attempt to reconcile this, that what we
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find here, Numbers 28 with the 25 year olds was a type of
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training apprenticeship, a way of entering in, not officially,
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but to become familiar and to become instructed with lighter
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responsibilities before they enter into the official office.
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That's described in Numbers Chapter 4.
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Now they wouldn't. They wouldn't explain it in that
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depth, but they would just kind of label it as well.
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This is just really a training phase from the age of 25 to 30
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before they actually walk into and they are officially serving
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as Levites and, and there is some truth to that.
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And we don't even have to go to rabbinic tradition to confirm
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it. All you have to do is compare
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Numbers Chapter 4 and Numbers Chapter 8.
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Look at the context and look at the wording to come to a very
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similar conclusion. In Numbers chapter 4, when the
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Lord said, look, the sons of Levi, they have to start at the
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age of 30. What's being emphasized there is
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the responsibility of setting up and tearing down the Tabernacle.
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Remember, this is long before the actual permanent temple.
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We're talking about the portable tent.
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And in numbers four, they were called to set up tear down.
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And not only that, but each of the sons of Levi were
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responsible for different articles of the Tabernacle and
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to bear it and to transport it to the next location.
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When you come to Numbers Chapter 8, we don't have that emphasis.
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In fact, if you look at the context carefully, you learn
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that there is a broader application being made that the
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Levites who are starting at 25, we're not to be engaged in that.
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What we find in Numbers 4 necessarily, because the Levites
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had other things to do, especially when the Tabernacle
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was situated. They would have to watch who
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comes in and who exits the Tabernacle.
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They'd have to make sure things were clean, or they have to
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evaluate if something is unclean and they had other smaller
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duties. And so here's how you can make
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sense of this, even if you know Hebrew.
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This helps because when you look at the Hebrew wording for
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service in comparison to the duty in both chapters, it's
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different words. Now you may not have access to
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the Hebrew, but just the context explains it.
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So here's how we can make sense of this.
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The 25 year olds were indeed supposed to be recruited at 25.
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They were called to deal with different matters in the
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Tabernacle, and once they turned 30, they were supposed to enter
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in in a more official way and deal with the holy things of the
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Tabernacle. Now that seems to solve this,
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but just when we thought that, we came to a solution with his
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dilemma. You keep reading your Old
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Testament, you're studying now about David and you realize that
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David has it on his heart to build a temple.
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And as he's making preparations for the temple, notice what is
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said in First Chronicles 23 verse 24.
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These were the sons of Levi by their fathers houses, the heads
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of fathers houses, as they were listed according to the number
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of the names of the individuals from 20 years old and upward who
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are to do the work for the service of the House of the
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Lord. So we just made sense of the 30
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year olds and the 25 year olds. And now we Fast forward to
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David's time and he goes, actually, I want to lower the
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age from 30 to 20. This time, however, we are given
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a reason, and this is divinely sanctioned.
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By the way. David is not just making up his
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own rules. He's not just adjusting the law
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of Moses. You read in this context that he
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is being led by God for the blueprint of the temple and all
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these other things that he's adding.
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What is the reason in the very next verse of First Chronicles
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23? Look at verse 25.
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For David said the Lord the God of Israel has given rest to his
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people, and he dwells in Jerusalem forever.
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And so the Levites no longer need to carry the Tabernacle or
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any of the things for its service.
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For by the last words of David, the sons of Levi were numbered
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from 20 years old and upward. So what's the explanation now
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that the Tabernacle is becoming the Temple, and the Temple is
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this permanent structure remaining in Jerusalem?
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The setting up and the tearing down and the carrying of the
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burdens of these articles are no longer required.
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And since the responsibilities have changed, let's now change
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the age. Let's bring it down to the age
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of 20. Let's adjust it.
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We went through all of that to at least draw 2 lessons.
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The first one is this. As we look at the ages of the
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Levites, we learned that God desires for you and I to offer
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up the best years of our lives to His service, the best years
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the prime of your life. It's totally possible for the
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Lord to recruit anybody at any point to do things for His name,
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even great things. But there is something special
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about a person who gives the Lord the peak of their strength,
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energy, agility, mental capacity.
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And that's what you find here. The Lord says I want you Levites
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to consecrate your 20s, your 30s, your 40s to me.
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And notice the retirement age is 50.
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But that doesn't mean that the Levites were never to engage in
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temple service. They were not promoted to
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supervising the younger ones. But what he wanted in terms of
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full time service was the best years of their lives.
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And speaking about Solomon in this study, that's exactly one
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of his final exhortations in the book where he speaks about the
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vanity of life. You know, when people want to
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try to encourage the young, the youth to be consecrated to
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Christ, they often quote Ecclesiastes 12 verse one,
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right? Remember your Creator when in
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the days of your youth, before what the days of evil come and
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the years draw near, which you will say, I have no pleasure in
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them, and they tend to stop it right there.
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Yes, remember you're created in the days of your youth.
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But he didn't stop the charge at that point, he does something
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else. From verse 2 down to verse 7 of
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Ecclesiastes 12, Solomon gives a very poetic and descriptive
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picture of aging and he provides many illustrations, but the main
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one is of a house falling apart. It's amazing.
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And there's there's debate about what part actually signifies
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what. But when you look at it, it's
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kind of plain before your eyes, then before you slouch over,
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before you don't find pleasure because of of your exposure to
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the things of this life and the burdens and the trials.
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All these things are given as a charge, as a as an exhortation
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for the young to give what they can before it becomes harder to
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serve God. And that's just the truth of the
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matter. This is something for you and I
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to consider because they're it's so encouraging.
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How many of those here are in that very bracket of time?
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How much are you truly investing in serving the Lord?
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Because look, the Bible is so honest.
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God is gracious, His arms are always open.
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Anybody can come to Him at any point, as I said earlier.
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But it also communicates that there are going to be undeniable
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challenges that come as you advance in years.
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This is the segment of your brief existence where you can
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develop your roots and establish habits.
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And create a history with God that can have ripple effects for
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the years to come. Give your mind over to knowing
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the Word of God with the freedom that you still have with your
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schedule before it becomes more stuffy, as it naturally will.
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Do with it what you can to really serve the Lord.
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You'll have no regrets while you have strengthened your joints
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and in your muscles, and while you're still able to to actually
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endorse certain things. Lay it off the feet of the Lord.
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And that's what the Lord says here, I'm sure with the Levites.
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But there's a second thing to learn, that as much as the Lord
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is ready to recruit the young, this is so important.
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He still requires maturity. He still requires maturity.
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Did you notice that the different ages for the Levites
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corresponded to the level of responsibility assigned to them?
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So why did he make it 30 years old and Numbers 4?
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Because the responsibility was greater at the time.
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You're going to have to handle these holy articles, these holy
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furnishings. You're going to have to be
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careful with setting up the House of God, bringing it down
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carefully. Not especially the the sons of
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Kohath, not peeking into the things.
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You have to cover it with certain materials.
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So there was a demand for maturity and, and, and once the
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responsibilities change by David's time, OK, we can make it
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younger now. We can ask the younger guys to
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come in. And this is really something for
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those who are eager to serve God in their younger years.
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And I've met these young guys and gals where they're so
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frustrated because they feel as though they have the zeal, they
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have the availability, they have the energy, and yet things don't
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seem to be moving, doors don't seem to be opening.
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And here's where you have to remind yourself of the
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following. Be patient.
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Be patient. Because had the Lord not
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considered the maturity level of these different Levites, it
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could have done way more damage than good.
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And that's something for you and I to consider.
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And oftentimes, not always, but generally, maturity requires
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time and experience. If you and I have not developed
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the characteristics and the convictions that are necessary
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for longevity, you can not only harm yourself but harm others
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that you are called to serve. So this is what we see with the
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people in the work, at least some things.
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But we now transition to the praise for the work.
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Come back to Ezra 3 and look at verse 9 down to verse, excuse
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me, verse 10 down to verse 11. And when the builders laid the
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foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priest in their
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vestments came forward with trumpets, and the Levites, the
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sons of Asaph, with symbols to praise the Lord according to the
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directions of David king of Israel.
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And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to
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the Lord. For He is good, for His
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steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.
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And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praise
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the Lord, because the foundation of the House of the Lord was
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laid. Now there are many things that
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we can say about this exuberant response of the people, but the
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one thing that I want to point out is when they praised, when
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they praised, or why they praised.
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Look at the last part of verse 11 again.
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Because the foundation of the House of the Lord was laid, now
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you might expect such explosive acts of worship to be given at
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the completion of the temple. We're just at the beginning.
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This is just phase one. And yet they could not help but
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give to the Lord this honor and this recognition with their
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talent and with their voices. What does that teach us?
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It teaches us that you and I must develop the conviction that
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God is worthy of praise in the process as much as in the
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completion. That you and I must recognize
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God's doing, His grace, His provision, His protection at
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every step, not just at the arrival.
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And you find this pattern all over the Bible.
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You even see it at another laying of another foundation far
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greater in size and scale than what we find here.
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God spoke to Job directly at the end of that book.
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And one of the things that He asks of Job speaks to this very
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thing that we find here. Do you remember what He said
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about creation? Let me remind you, in Job 38
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verse 4, God says where were you when I laid the foundation of
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the earth? Tell me if you have
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understanding, who determined its measurements?
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Surely you know, or who stretched the line upon it, or
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what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone?
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The cornerstone was the very first stone that you would put
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down in any construction project.
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Look at verse 7, when the morning stars sang together and
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all the sons of God shouted for joy, one of the angels of
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heaven. Rejoice in song, in creation,
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the beginning, not at the end when God laid the foundation,
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when he placed the cornerstone. And so that just reinforces what
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we find here in Ezra, that heaven and earth testifies that
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God is worthy of our praise at every step, every step.
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I'm speaking to those who serve God and are often discouraged
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because you can't seem to see the fulfillment of your prayers,
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the realization of your dreams and your desires.
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That no matter how much you seek God, no matter how much you
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serve him, no matter how much you resist sin and compromise,
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no matter how much you're able to overcome a lesser quality of
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faith and a lesser quality of of serving the Lord.
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It doesn't seem to be happening the way I hoped that it would
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happen, or it doesn't seem to be coming as soon as I would like
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for it to come. Learn from this.
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Learn from this. OK, so here you are saying,
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Lord, I would love to be on that platform or in that position so
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that I can have a greater impact.
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Great. And he might grant that to you,
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but are you joyfully mindful of the opportunities that he's
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giving you now? Right now, Lord, I want more
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souls to invest and I want to disciple more people.
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Time is running out. OK, great.
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That's, that's a that's a great and worthy thing.
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But what about the people that He has allowed you to encounter?
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What about them? Are you thankful?
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And this is what we see here, a common thing among God's
27:51
servants, that they lose sight of the progress of the very
27:59
thing that He's doing right under your nose, of the thing
28:01
that He's allowed right there before your eyes.
28:04
So there is a danger looking back.
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We're going to find that out in the next section.
28:08
But there's also a danger of looking too far ahead, that you
28:11
miss what God is doing here. And I think that this is a
28:13
timely word for this very church.
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It's a reminder for us that as we are anticipating the next
28:19
chapter to this ministry story, not to become blind to the very
28:26
foundation that He has been laying over these past four
28:29
years, to really rejoice week after week, year after year, as
28:37
new ministries start, as other ministries are strengthening.
28:41
Do we have big desires? Sure do.
28:45
Do we have a trajectory in mind? Maybe.
28:48
But don't become so fixated that you lose sight of the glory of
28:54
the moment. Enjoy it.
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Give God glory for it. And this is what we learn from
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the praise for the work. But now we finally come to the
29:05
perspective of the work. This is really interesting.
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You could say that this is the first time, as we're about to
29:13
read verse 12 down to verse 13, that this is the first time in
29:15
the book of Ezra where we find dissonance among this remnant
29:21
who up to this point were united in mind, united and ambition,
29:26
united in zeal. Let's read it in verse 12.
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But many of the priests and Levites and heads of Father's
29:35
houses, old man who had seen the 1st house, wept with a loud
29:42
voice when they saw the foundation of this house being
29:46
laid. Though many shouted aloud for
29:49
joy, so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the
29:52
joyful shout from the sound of the people's weeping.
29:56
For the people shouted with a great shout, and the sound was
30:00
heard far away. Unexpectedly there's weeping,
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and it's coming from one distinct group within this
30:13
company, old men who had seen the 1st House.
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So evidently you have people among the remnant who even after
30:25
70 years of exile, were still alive when they beheld Solomon's
30:31
temple. And they've now arrived to this
30:35
historical pivotal moment. The foundation is laid.
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And the younger generation who weren't really exposed to the
30:42
former temple, they're like, this is amazing.
30:45
We're going to rebuild the temple.
30:48
We're going to re establish our worship.
30:51
And they're shouting and they're embracing.
30:54
And then in that, there is a mingling of sounds where the
30:58
older men are actually weeping out loud.
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Why? Because they could not help but
31:07
compare the glory of the former temple with the modest progress
31:11
of this one, and it broke their hearts.
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And this single observation carries wonderful instruction
31:22
for us. Notice what they sang in verse
31:28
11. What did they sing all together
31:31
for? He is good.
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For His steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.
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That is a glorious and appropriate truth to scribe to
31:39
the Lord and to proclaim, because this group have been
31:42
what? Forgiven, restored, and in real
31:47
time they are rebuilding their relationship with God.
31:51
So yes, His steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.
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But Please remember this truth. God's love is so strong, so
32:06
available, that He is willing to erase any sin, and He is willing
32:12
to always reconcile with us. But that does not promise the
32:20
erasing of the consequences of our sins.
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These people are restored to God, but they're still weeping
32:31
at the loss caused by their own iniquity.
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They could not help but be reminded of all that had been
32:43
forsaken, all that they had been surrendered, even as they found
32:47
themselves here standing before God's faithfulness, God moving
32:53
nations and kings to bring them back to himself, that still
32:58
could not deal with the sorrow that their sin brought to their
33:03
lives. And I want to share this as a
33:07
warning because love warns, do not entertain any kind of sin
33:13
with a dangerous mindset that God will forgive you.
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Don't premeditate your disobedience because there's a
33:23
lot of reasons why that kind of thinking is wrong.
33:26
And one of them is that it never takes into account how, yes, God
33:31
is merciful, but you can lose things in this life that you
33:34
will never recover. Not many preachers will tell you
33:38
that. And I'll say this because they
33:40
don't love their people. There's some sins, there are
33:45
some decisions that can rob you in this life for the rest of
33:52
your life. That's how much sin hates you.
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Why don't you hate sin with greater intensity?
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Why don't I hate it when I realize just how damaging it can
34:04
be, just how much it can ruin me?
34:09
And so there are times, though, even I am restored unto the
34:12
Lord, that consequences carry over and those consequences are
34:16
not signs that God is displeased with me or that he will always
34:21
keep me at arm's length. No, that's not the case at all.
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The context suggests otherwise. It's just the reality of sin.
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And the most important thing in our lives, even if we sin, is
34:30
that we are restored to the Lord.
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But there are some things, there are some painful ramifications
34:37
that are not so easily healed. You see that even with I brought
34:42
this up many times, but we see that even with the plagues in
34:45
Egypt, some of the plagues when Pharaoh have heartedly asked to
34:49
be forgiven or asked for Moses to intercede were immediately
34:54
removed. Others linger.
34:55
Do you remember the frogs? The frogs didn't just evaporate,
35:00
they stayed. And it says there an exodus that
35:03
the land stank, and there's some things that we do that leaves a
35:10
stench even though we are restored to God.
35:15
Remember that I'm saying this not to discourage you, but to
35:18
encourage you in your fight against sin.
35:21
The next time temptation comes knocking at your door, you would
35:24
realize you're more dangerous than you're making yourself out
35:30
to be, and that you would fight it with this truth.
35:35
But there's another thing to learn.
35:38
Another lesson emerges here, and it is how different generations
35:42
in a community of faith can perceive God's work differently.
35:51
And in this case, here you have the older generation that was so
35:56
attached to past glories that they could not even discern
36:00
God's work today. And that's really possible for
36:05
anybody who's long, who's walk with God long enough to have
36:09
experienced his power to experience testimonies, to
36:13
experience ministries and how God used certain ministries,
36:16
certain local churches that you're so fixated on that you're
36:22
so living in the past that you can't even register the new
36:27
thing that God is doing. And that's dangerous.
36:30
That's actually very unwise. You have to be able to come to
36:35
the realization that living so much in yesterday, even what God
36:41
has done yesterday, can cripple your faith for tomorrow.
36:48
It's actually a form of unbelief to constantly ruminate over all
36:54
what the Lord has done. Oh, what God has done.
36:57
Oh, what He's done at that point of history.
36:58
Oh, what He's done in that church I once was a part of.
37:00
Oh what He's done with those group of friends that I have.
37:02
When you think like that, you are denying the possibility that
37:08
God can do greater things in the days ahead.
37:13
Many people are like this and it's not just for older
37:16
generation. It could be those who are just
37:18
experienced in their walk with the Lord.
37:19
And if you struggle with this, I want to encourage you to bring
37:21
it before God. Ecclesiastes says it is not wise
37:25
to say why were the former days greater.
37:30
That's not wise because you're bringing harm to your own faith
37:35
among other things. No matter what you and I have
37:38
experienced before, you have to always expect greater things to
37:41
come. And so sorrow over the past has
37:46
become so ingrained with this older generation that it
37:49
actually lasted longer than the celebration here.
37:52
Do you see this? Maybe you don't see it.
37:55
You'll only see it when you read on in the Old Testament.
37:59
So severe was this pain and so ingrained was this reminiscing
38:09
of the the glories of the past, that God finally had to speak to
38:12
one of his prophets and say, I need you to send a message to
38:16
that generation. Does anybody know which prophet
38:20
it was? Good.
38:22
Hey Guy, let's go to Hey Guy in chapter 2.
38:28
And keep in mind that this prophetic message came sometime
38:31
after the foundation of the temple was laid, not at the
38:33
moment the people were weeping. So time goes on and God speaks
38:38
to Haggai in chapter 2 verse one down to verse 5, and he gives
38:43
them a series of encouragements that apply to us.
38:47
And here's the most exciting part that actually points to
38:50
Christ. Look at Haggai 2 verse one in
38:55
the 7th month. On the 21st day of the month,
38:58
the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet.
39:02
Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shaltiel, governor of Judah,
39:06
and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak the high priest, and
39:09
to all the remnant of the people, and say, who is left
39:13
among you who saw this house in its former glory?
39:18
How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your
39:22
eyes yet? Now be strong, O Zerubbabel
39:26
declares the Lord. Be strong, O Joshua the son of
39:28
Jehozadak the high priest, be strong.
39:31
All you people of the land declares the Lord work.
39:35
I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts, according to the
39:38
covenant that I had made with you when you came out of Egypt.
39:42
My spirit remains in your midst. Fear not.
39:47
What a word. Again, we learned here in the
39:52
beginning that he, he came, the prophet came in the seventh
39:54
month. Why is that significant?
39:58
Well, if you look more carefully, it's actually taking
40:00
place at the end of. The feasts of all the feasts,
40:04
this is the final feasts. But more than that, the 7th
40:09
month is the same month of the year when Solomon not built the
40:15
temple but dedicated it. That's in First Kings 8 verse 2.
40:20
And it could be now that you have this people who are even
40:23
mindful of the history of the temple.
40:26
It was this time of the year when King Solomon dedicated that
40:32
much more glorious temple. Then Haggai shows up.
40:37
Hey all, you who are left, who saw the former glory of this
40:41
house, what do you think about it now?
40:44
It's nothing. And he doesn't, he doesn't make
40:49
a case of how this building is far more glorious, more
40:55
splendid, adorned and dazzled. He doesn't do that, but he does
41:01
teach him something about what makes something truly glorious.
41:03
He goes, God's presence is with you.
41:08
The significance of this place is not the structure, it's not
41:11
the architecture, It's it's God's presence.
41:13
And I'm here to tell you that although the building itself is
41:16
inferior, the Spirit of God is in your midst.
41:20
Isn't that what counts the most? Isn't that what's most
41:23
important? But the promise and the
41:28
encouragement doesn't end there. Look what he says in verse 6.
41:33
For thus says the Lord of hosts. Yet once more, in a little while
41:37
I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry
41:43
land, and I will shake all nations, so that the treasures
41:47
of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with
41:50
glory, says the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine and the gold
41:55
is mine, declares the Lord of Hosts.
41:58
The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the
42:01
former, says the Lord of hosts, and in this place I will give
42:06
peace, declares the Lord of Hosts.
42:09
Brothers and sisters, this is the time to lean in and pay
42:11
attention. If you have enough to this
42:12
point, do you understand the implications of this promise in
42:17
this prophecy? The latter glory of this house
42:23
will be greater than the former. Now, here's in a very a very
42:29
critical part of this prophecy. Over and over he emphasizes this
42:36
house, this house. What house are we talking about?
42:39
Well, Solomon built the first Temple.
42:41
We're dealing with the second Temple.
42:43
He's discussing about the glory of the second Temple.
42:47
Now, how have rabbis tried to explain this?
42:52
There are two main explanations on their part.
42:56
Number one, they think, OK, the glory of the Second Temple is
43:02
greater than the first because it endured longer than
43:05
Solomon's. Because you got to remember the
43:07
second Temple went all the way up to when 70 ADI mean.
43:11
This is the same temple that Jesus walked into eventually.
43:16
This is the same temple that Herod would later adopt and
43:19
beautify and expand. Which brings me to the second
43:22
explanation among rabbis that it's not necessarily the
43:25
duration of the temple, but how gorgeous it was in terms of
43:29
material, in terms of his expansion and renovations, that
43:34
Herod made this temple far greater than even Solomon's.
43:40
But there are a few problems with this.
43:43
How does that actually justify it being greater in glory than
43:49
the glory of God that manifested in the first Temple?
43:55
Do you remember what happened at the dedication of the first
43:58
Temple? Let me remind you, in First
44:00
Kings 8:10 to 11:00, you don't have to turn there.
44:02
Just listen in First Kings 810 And when the priest came out of
44:07
the holy place, a cloud filled the House of the Lord, so that
44:10
the priest could not stand to minister because of the cloud,
44:13
for the glory of the Lord filled the House of the Lord.
44:18
God's manifest presence was so potent in the very Temple
44:24
Solomon's that the priest could not even enter into it to
44:28
minister. They have to stay outside.
44:32
Are you telling me that the duration of the second Temple,
44:37
or the gold and the carvings and the expansion in terms of size
44:42
that Herod brought to this temple is better than this
44:45
glory? Because if you bring this point
44:50
up to your Jewish friends who are studied, they will say
44:55
there's nothing more to this than the silver and the gold and
44:59
the treasures that would be brought to the temple.
45:01
Because remember, what does he say there in Haggai too?
45:04
That the silver is mine. And verse A, the gold is mine,
45:06
declares the Lord of hosts. He's speaking about physical
45:09
glory. And here's how you need to
45:11
respond. You would be hard pressed to
45:14
find the phrase filled with glory and limit that to physical
45:21
appearance when you look at kings.
45:25
When you look especially in Ezekiel, that phrase filled with
45:29
glory speaks primarily about God's manifest presence in the
45:35
House of God. And it's no accident that Haggai
45:39
is using similar language to the glory of God filling the temple
45:42
of First Kings. 8 It's this temple.
45:50
Why is that so important? Because some would even explain
45:53
it this way. Even believers.
45:55
OK, yes, this is speaking about a heavenly glory, divine
45:58
presence, manifest power. So it has to speak about the
46:03
millennial Kingdom. It has to speak about the
46:05
millennial temple. Now why would they have to say
46:07
that? Because if this is the second
46:10
temple, then you have to find in this bracket of time where there
46:14
is a greater glory than Solomon's.
46:16
So between the rebuilding of the temple here in Ezra and 70AD,
46:22
where is this greater glory? And if you can't identify it,
46:27
then you have failed prophecy. You have failed prophecy.
46:31
That's a big problem. But it's not a problem to the
46:35
Christian because we have determined that there is
46:40
something greater than a cloud appearing in the first temple on
46:44
a single day, and that is the glory of God taking on flesh,
46:51
and that glory not just visiting the temple one day, but on many
46:57
days. He cleansed the temple, He
47:01
purified it, He did miracles in its courts.
47:08
He entered in, He engaged with people, He taught.
47:15
The only way this prophecy in Haggai makes sense is if you
47:19
understand God in Christ being the greater glory than the cloud
47:25
that entered in the temple and 1st Kings.
47:29
This prophecy is fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ, and
47:34
it's one of the most undeniable pieces of evidence that Christ
47:39
of Nazareth is the Messiah. Why?
47:42
Because he said that the latter glory of this temple would
47:45
exceed the first. So where does that fit?
47:50
In fact, if you look at rabbinic literature who have commented on
47:54
the Second Temple, they would say that there are actually many
47:58
things that were missing in the Second Temple in comparison to
48:01
the first. So they talked about how the
48:03
divine presence wasn't in the Temple, how the ark was not in
48:06
the Temple, how what they call the Shekinah, glory Shekinah, by
48:10
the way, is not. That's a Hebrew thing.
48:12
That's a Jewish terminology. So even rabbis in their own
48:18
writing say there are many things missing in the Second
48:21
Temple. So they're trying to understand
48:25
this prophecy, and most of them just say it's about the actual
48:30
structure that opens up more problems and solutions.
48:35
But for us as Christians, this is Christ, this is Christ.
48:40
He came into that second temple and he came as glory, the glory
48:46
of God, the perfect radiance of God.
48:50
And they denied him. They missed it.
48:54
There's so many things that we can say at this point.
48:55
We can compare to Malachi 3. We can look at the peace that
48:59
Christ he did bring because it talks about how He's going to
49:03
bring peace to this place, the peace that they denied.
49:06
Remember when he wept over Jerusalem?
49:08
Oh, if you only knew the the times of peace that I've come to
49:13
bring. But I want to give you this
49:17
final thought of the conclusion of this study.
49:21
Why were the Israelites exiled? Well, because of their
49:26
disobedience. They committed bloodshed,
49:31
immorality, idolatry. They kept going.
49:34
They kept going. They kept going.
49:37
All right, enough is enough. You are going to be taken out of
49:40
the land. For how long?
49:43
70 years. I'm going to give you 70 years
49:45
before you you can return. The temple was destroyed.
49:49
Solomon's temple was destroyed, and they would be able to
49:52
rebuild it after seven years. The second temple was destroyed
49:59
in 70 AD. For what?
50:02
Crime, a far greater crime, denying the Messiah.
50:12
I want you to think about this. When they committed idolatry at
50:16
this time, they were expelled for 70 years.
50:20
When they denied Messiah, it took 1900 years before the
50:26
people of Israel went back to their land.
50:31
Nearly 1900 years later did this dispersed people finally come
50:37
back to their homeland. I believe even in that you have
50:41
an indication of just how severe their sin of denying Messiah
50:46
was. They pushed away the glory.
50:50
They missed the prophecy. But remember, the steadfast love
50:57
of the Lord endures forever toward Israel.
51:01
And even after the denial of Messiah, God made promises to
51:06
this people, and he promised that he would restore them and
51:10
that he would regenerate them, and that he would one day rule
51:13
over them as they would welcome and acknowledge them as their
51:16
Savior and as their King. They would see that He is indeed
51:19
the Son of David, the one that we read about, the one that
51:21
we've denied, the one that we've killed.
51:24
And Christ will embrace them, and he will show to the world
51:26
once again just how faithful he is.
51:29
That's our King. Never forget Haggai chapter 2 in
51:33
your defense of why Christ is Messiah.
51:35
He is the greater glory that came during the Second Temple
51:39
period. What's your explanation?
51:41
We have the greatest one because He's the truth.
51:44
Amen. Lord, we thank you for the
51:45
study. We give you glory and thanks.
51:50
My prayer, Lord, with my brothers and sisters.
51:52
Is that what we've studied? Tonight?
51:53
We just whet our appetite and that we would again rediscover
51:58
just how deep this word is, just how supernatural the authorship
52:02
is. And Lord, with all the things
52:04
that were shared and all the the thoughts and the insights that
52:07
were provided, may the ultimate end be our devotion to you being
52:11
greater and our love to you being more sincere.
52:16
So though we rejoice now knowing that we are in the truth, that
52:19
we in our faith have the backing of the Scriptures from Genesis
52:22
to Revelation, that over and over again you confirm to us
52:27
that Christ is indeed the Savior of the world and the soon coming
52:31
King. May you equip us not just for
52:34
knowledge sake, but to win others to the truth.
52:37
Help us Lord, to grow and to serve you with the best years of
52:41
our lives. Time is short, O God.
52:44
So we do pray for that urgency to be more real, but we also
52:47
pray for the patience and believe in your timing, for your
52:50
promotion in our lives and the open doors in our lives.
52:54
Lord, help us not dwell so much on the past, even on things that
52:57
are good, but be like Paul, forgetting what lies behind,
53:01
forgetting what's there and keeping focus on what's ahead.
53:06
Lord, we love you and we trust you.
53:07
We sing to you now in joy. In Jesus name we pray, Amen and
53:11
Amen. Let's stand and let's worship
53:13
the living Christ.