Who Is Jesus? John 1:1-5

 

GOSPEL OF JOHN BIBLE STUDY   

John was very clear on the reason for writing this book. It is found in 20:30-31:

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.                                                             

1:1-5

Who Jesus Is

The first 18 verses of the first chapter of John is often called “the Prologue”. A prologue comes at the beginning of a literary work and sets the stage by giving us background information that is important to the story.

For example, William Shakespeare wrote a play entitled “Romeo and Juliet”. He wrote a prologue, in the form of a sonnet, which explained that two families had an ancient grudge against each other and that two lovers would come together from those families and it would end in tragedy.

Similarly, John will tell us of many things Jesus did and said. But, before he does, he wants to tell us the background. He did not start at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, or of his family tree, as the other gospels did. John started at the very beginning to tell us who Jesus is.

So, John starts his gospel with the words “in the beginning was the Word”. John intended for his readers to recognize those words. He directed us to Genesis 1:1, which says “In the beginning, God…”. Those words told us that, before the universe existed, God existed. He is eternal, he has no beginning. 

John, then, is telling us that Jesus existed before the beginning of the universe. He is eternal. He has no beginning.

John then says Jesus, the Word, was with God. In the New Testament, the word “God” refers to the Father, the first person of the Trinity. An example is John 3:16, which says For God (the Father) so loved the world, he gave his only Son…”. 

In eternity, Jesus was with the Father. 

By saying Jesus was with God, the Father, he says Jesus is distinguishable from the Father. They are not the same person. This is the first part of the doctrine of the Trinity, which says there are three persons in the Godhead: Father, Son, and Spirit. This is the orthodox belief about God. The hymn “Holy Holy Holy” states it well: “God in three persons, blessed Trinity”. 

In contract to the orthodox view of the Trinity is the modalist view. The modalist view says God is one person who reveals himself in three different modes, or forms of activity, at different times. This is the view of the “Oneness” denominations. It is difficult to sustain when we see Jesus pray to the Father or say he was sent by the Father.

In addition to being distinct from the Father, the Greek word for “with” also implies an intimate relationship. Jesus had an intimate relationship with the Father. This relationship is often portrayed to us in the gospels as father and son.

John then tells us the Word was God. Jesus is deity. He is God. He is the second person of the Trinity. He is distinct from the Father but is God. This is important for the rest of this book, which will show us the actions of Jesus which show he is God and the words of Jesus that teach this truth. It is the lens through which we should read the rest of the book. D. A. Carson said “the deeds and words of Jesus are the deeds and words of God.”

In these verses, John referred to Jesus as the “Word”. There is much speculation as to why he did this. In the Old Testament, God’s word is connected to his power to create. Genesis 1 repeatedly states that God “said” and something was created. 

God’s word also refers to his revelation of himself to his people. The Old Testament often says the word of the Lord came to one of the prophets. 

Jesus embodies both of these definitions. He is the agent of creation, as shown here in John. He is also the ultimate revelation of God, as verse 18 tells us. So, it is appropriate that John calls him  the Word to convey these truths.

Verse 3 recapitulates Jesus’ role in creation. John states it positively and negatively for emphasis. All things were crated through him and without him nothing was created. Paul wrote something similar, saying all things were created by him and for him and he holds all things together. (Colossians 1:16-17)  

In fact, the Bible speaks of God creating the world repeatedly. Exodus 20:11 says “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth…”. Psalm 33:6 says “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made…”.

Hebrews 11:3 says “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that were visible”. In other words, God created the universe from nothing. Theologians like to use the Latin “ex nihilo”. And he created by his word. He created the universe though the Lord Jesus.

Next, John says in Jesus was life. (4) This again references the deity of Jesus, because it is God who is the source of life. The creation account in Genesis shows God creating plant life and animal life. But more importantly, he gave life to mankind. Genesis 2:7 says “then the Lord formed man of the dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” 

Jesus also had the power to give life. He said “For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself”. (John 5:26) Jesus demonstrated his power to give life when he raised Lazarus from the dead. And he will demonstrate his power to give eternal life at the resurrection, when he will call to those who are dead and they will live forever with him.

This life is the light of men and women. John will use the contrast of  light and dark several times in his gospel. Here light means the knowledge of God and his standards of holiness. Jesus came to a world that was dark. Verse 5 says “the light shines in the darkness”.

Again, there is an allusion to the creation story. When God created the heavens and the earth, “darkness was over the face of the deep”. (Genesis 1:2) But, when God said “let there be light”, there was light. (Genesis 1:3). And the darkness did not overcome the light.

The same is true with the spiritual aspect to this.  

The Jews, who should have been light bearers, had lost their way. Some had adopted the ways of the Greeks and Romans. Some got lost in the making and keeping of hundreds of rules. 

The pagan world was lost in spiritual darkness, worshipping idols and becoming bound to superstition. Romans 1 describes the terrible condition of those who live in darkness.  

But there was always a remnant that had the light. And now Jesus has come to bring the light of knowledge of God and eternal life and he will not be overcome. 

John portrayed that same truth to us in the book of Revelation. At the end, Jesus defeats all of his enemies. From then on, all believers live in his light and there is no darkness. There is no more night. In fact, the Lord will be the light of the new creation. 

EZRA 10 - REVIVAL IN ISRAEL

 

Ezra 10

10:1 

A Crowd Joins Ezra

In chapter 9, we saw Ezra learned that many men, including their leaders, had married foreign, pagan, women in contradiction of God’s command not to do so. Ezra dramatically grieved this sin, tearing his clothes and sitting in silent mourning. He prayed, acknowledging to God the sin and ingratitude of Israel. 

All day long, Ezra laid on the ground in front of the Temple, weeping and confessing the sin of Israel. Again, note that Ezra had not sinned. But, he grieved over the sins of others, especially in light of God’s goodness to them in allowing them to return to Israel from Persia.

As Ezra grieved, people began to come to him and join him. They wept bitterly. Soon it was a “very great assembly” of men, women, and children. As they saw their leader mourn over sin in the congregation, they too became convicted of sin and join his mourning and grieving.

10:2-4

One Sees Hope

As the people grieved, one man stood up and urged Ezra to action. His name was Shecaniah. His grandfather, Elam, was one of the original exiles to return to Israel. (2:7) He acknowledged the sin of Israel in intermarriage. But, he also believed there was hope for Israel. Ezra, on the other hand, seemed to believe all might be lost, that they were likely to suffer severe judgment from God. 

Maybe Shecaniah remembered the words God spoke to Solomon at the dedication of the Temple:

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Shecaniah also proposed a solution. The people should make a covenant with God to put away the foreign wives in accordance with the law and under the counsel of Ezra. In other words, now that we have confessed, let us move forward in obedience. That is repentance, turning from sin to God.

Shecaniah also encouraged Ezra. He told him to get up because this was his task to do. Ezra was a priest and the spiritual leader of Israel at this point. But he was not alone, the very great assembly of people were with him, so he should be strong and get it done. 

This was good counsel on the part of Shecaniah. The people had to do more than feel sorry for the nation’s sin. The sin had to be removed. Repentance means turning away from sin and to God.

10:5-8

Ezra Steps Up

Ezra food Shecaniah’s advice. He got up from his grieving and gathered the leading priests and levites and other Jews and had them take an oath to rid Israel of the foreign wives.

Ezra then went back to mourning. He spent the night with a friend, but fasted. However, the priests and levites continued the work, keeping their oath They issued a proclamation throughout Judea that all of the returned exiles must assemble in Jerusalem in three days. If they did not, they would have their property confiscated and be banned from the congregation. In effect, they would be excommunicated. 

This may seem heavy handed in today’s culture. But it actually fits the requirements of the covenant well. God had told Israel that turning away from the covenant, disobeying God’s law, would ultimately lead to God thrusting the Jews out of the land, just as he thrust Adam and Eve from the Garden. Therefore, those who refused to come into obedience in this matter would be thrust from the land to protect the holiness of the nation and its land. It was similar to the requirement during the Exodus to take any unclean thing or person outside the camp. 

10:9-17

The Great Assembly

All of the men did assemble in front of the Temple within three days.  The trembled because of their recognition of the seriousness of the national sin. 

They also trembled because the stood out in the rain and cold. This is one of the verses that make me love the truthfulness of the Bible. The writer could have said only that they trembled because of their conviction of sin. But, instead, he was honest to say the trembling was increased by the physician discomfort. 

Ezra stood before the people to speak. He accused them of breaking faith with God in marrying foreign women, causing guilt to come upon the nation.  He called them to confession to God of their sin. And, finally, he called them to repentance by submitting to God’s will and separating themselves from the people of the land by removing their foreign wives. 

The men of the assembly agreed with Ezra. But they pointed out that they could not stand there in the rain for as long as this would take. So, they suggested that their officials take charge and have all of the men in their cities who had foreign wives to appear and take care of this until God’s wrath be turned away from them (14)

Again the Bible is honest. The writer stated that a few men opposed this. (15) Some were not willing to repent and obey God.

And so this was done. It took three months to get to all of the men who had married foreign women. 

10:18-44

Naming Names

There is no cover up here, or even glossing over the issue. The writer named the men who had sinned in this matter, including the priests and levites.

In verses 18-22, the writer names the priests who married foreign women, starting with the family of the high priest. In verses 23-24, the sinning Levites are named. The rest of the list are laymen who sinned. 

This is a sort of revival. It involved turning away from sin to obedience to God’s law. It meant obedience to the covenant. They hoped that their repentance would mean God would continue his covenantal relationship with them, blessing them and protecting them.

Take Aways

A Godly man, especially a leader, who recognizes sin, grieves, confesses, and repents on behalf of the congregation can lead the congregation to repentance and revival.

The process of repentance is recognition of sin, grief over the sin as an affront to God, confession of sin, and repentance, or turning away from sin. 

Confession and repentance are necessary for conversion, but also for living the Christian life in sanctification. (1 John 1:8-9) Martin Luther said in his first thesis, “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said “Repent,” he intended that the entire life of believers should be repentance.”

 

Even a leader sometimes needs encouragement and advice. Sometimes the burden is heavy.

 

EZRA 9 - SIN IN THE CONGREGATION

 

Ezra 9

The Report

9:1-2

After the second wave of exiles returned to Israel and offered their sacrifices, some officials came to Ezra. This is a first person account from Ezra. According to Ezra 10:9, this was about four months after Ezra and the second wave of exiles returned to Israel. 

The officials reported that some Israelites had intermarried with the pagan women in the area. This included some of the priests and Levites. The officials put it in terms of separating themselves from the peoples of the lands, and listed some of them. The leaders of the people were the ones most guilty of this (chief men and officials).

Malachi, who is believed to have appeared as a prophet during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah also condemned intermarriage with pagans. There is also an implication that Israelite men may have divorced their Israelite wives to marry pagan women. (Malachi 2:10-14)

The laws against intermarriage with pagan peoples was part of the covenant. For example, in Exodus 34:11-16, God told the Israelites he would drive out the different peoples that lived in Canaan so the Israelites could dwell there. He forbade them from making a covenant with those people, ordered them to tear down the altars and pillars, and to marry with them. 

This prohibition is religious more than racial. The Lord clearly wanted them to remove all temptation to worship other gods, or idols. This is stated again in Deuteronomy 7:1-5. God said pagan wives would turn the Israelite sons to idolatry. We read about that very thing happening to Solomon. He married many pagan women and built altars for their religion and participated in their rituals. And they turned his heart away from God. (1 Kings 11)

God called the Israelites out of the nations to be holy and to be consecrated to him. They were not to live as the other nations lived. If they lived holy lives in obedience to the covenant, God would bless them. If they did not, he would drive them from the land.

So, being called out of the world into a relationship with God requires separation from the world’s values and commitment to the values of God. The values of God express his holiness and he called them to be holy. 

God gave the Israelites many laws that demonstrated this, from the way they dressed, to the way they ate, and to the way they married. 

Similarly, God calls us out of the world to live for him. The New Testament repeats the requirement for us to be holy as God is holy. Paul continues the Old Testament thought of separation by writing “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has slight with darkness? What accord has Christ with Bell? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbelievers? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are are the temple of the living God…” (2 Corinthians 6:14-16) 

Since the Israelites had just returned from being driven out of the land, you would think they would be extra sensitive to these issues. But they were not.

Ezra Reacts

9:3-5

Since Ezra was dedicated to God and zealous for the teaching and observance of the law, he was horrified to learn of this situation. He reacted by tearing his garment, pulling his hair out, and sitting “appalled”. These are expressions of grief. Others, who were faithful to the law, joined him and they sat in grief until the time of the evening sacrifice. Those who had not sinned were grieved over the sins of others and the affront to God who had graciously returned the to their own land. 

That reaction sounds extreme, doesn’t it? But God said “this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word”. (Isaiah 66:2)

Ezra Prays

9:6-15

After Ezra’s time of grieving, he turned to God in prayer. He knelt in humility and began to confess the sin of these Israelites. Notice that Ezra did not sin, but he treats the sin of some as a sin of the nation, of the whole people of God. He saw confession and forgiveness as their greatest need.

Ezra first told God he was ashamed even to face him because their sins were so great. He reached back to the past, saying their iniquities were so great that God gave them over the captivity and shame. (7) He was especially ashamed because had just given them his favor, returning them to Israel, reviving them to rebuild the temple,  and protecting them from their enemies. (8-10)

Ezra recited the Old Testament law and the reason for the prohibition. This was known, but they did it anyway, despite the favor God had shown them. Ezra said that God would be just to consume them completely because they stood before him in sin. 

What I admire about Ezra is his degree of conviction of the sin of his people. He offers no excuses or explanations. He said “we are before you in our guilt, for none can stand before you because of this”. (15)

Ever since the serpent said “did God actually say” in Genesis 3, people have tried to minimize and excuse sin. It is going on today as some want to say that what God called sin is not really a sin. Some also try to make God one dimensional, with that dimension being love, while refusing to acknowledge that he is also holy and just. 

Let’s be plain: it is an ungodly heart that makes light of sin. The cost of forgiveness is the blood of Jesus, the Son of God. Nothing else could do it. Grace may be free to us, but it came at great cost. And the cost was great because our sin is great. And God takes it seriously. You cannot appreciate grace and forgiveness unless you understand the seriousness. 

Ezra casts himself and Israel completely on the mercy of God. At this point, he is so convicted on the people’s sin, he cannot even ask for forgiveness yet. 

In so many places in the world, the church as adapted to its culture as opposed to God’s law. Ezra saw this and led the nation into repentance and rededication to holiness, as we will see in the next chapter. 

His message, God’s message, is the same for the church today. We must adhere to the word of God in complete faithfulness, repent of our sins, and dedicate ourselves to holy lives lived in obedience to the word of God. 

EZRA 8: THE SECOND WAVE

 

Roll Call

8:1-14

Ezra gives us a detailed census of those who gathered to go to Jerusalem. You can again see that genealogy is important to the Jews. “Son” here means descendant, not a direct father son connection. Two men of the priestly line came, one of the line of Phineas, who was Gershom, and one of the line of Ithamar. Since Ezra was also of the line of Phineas, he and Gershom were related.

There is one descendant of David named Hattush. He is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 3:17-24, which lists men in the line of David, including Zerubbabel. He, therefore, would be a relative of Zerubbabel, who led the first group of exiles to Jerusalem 80 years before. He was Zerubbabel’s great great grand-son. So, God continued to preserve the line of David as he promised, so that the Messiah and Greater King would come from David’s line. 

Some of the men were labeled “leading men”. (16) They must have been leaders in the Jewish community in Persia. There were also “men of insight”, which probably means they were experts in the law. 

Interestingly, there are 12 identifiable families in this list, just as there were 12 tribes\families of Israel who made the first exodus. All but one of these had family members listed in the first group that went to Jerusalem under Cyrus’ decree. So, the first journey divided some families who are now reunited in later generations. 

8:15-20

Gathering the Levites

Chapter 8 and 9 are written in the first person (“I”). This section must be from Ezra’s personal record of the events. 

The group assembled at the river and Ezra reviewed who was there and who was not. He discovered that no Levites had come. That was not acceptable to him, because he needed them to serve in the temple and to help teach the law. 

So, Ezra sent for them, asking them to send ministers to the temple.    He sent leading men and men of insight, who were likely teachers of the law. Ezra must have thought these influential people could persuade the Levites to come. 

And some did come. Ezra credits God for this, saying the good hand of our God was on us. (18) One in particular was valuable, for Ezra called him a “man of discretion”. (18)

This group is much smaller than the first group to leave Persia, maybe ten percent of that group.

 

8:21-23

Fasting

Once everyone arrived at the river, Ezra proclaimed a fast with prayer. This shows you he was a respected man having the authority to call for a fast and to be obeyed. The purpose of this fast was to humble themselves before God and ask him to give them a safe journey. He believed God could protect them from robbers on the road. 

Ezra added that he did not feel that he could ask the king for soldiers to protect them since he told the king the and of God was on them. God listened to their prayers and granted them a safe journey. 

8:24-34

Priests to Care For The Offerings

A great amount of wealth was being brought with the exiles to Jerusalem. Four months of being close to silver and gold can offer much temptation. To protect against this, Ezra gave the silver and gold to the priests to carry. He reminded them that they, as priests were holy. They were set aside for the work of the Lord. (28)

Ezra also told them the vessels were holy, to be used in worship in the temple. And the offerings were also holy because they were dedicated to the Lord. For a holy person to misuse or steal holy objects would be a great travesty, akin to Uzzah touching the Ark and dying. (2 Samuel 6:7) Further, according to the law, only priests and Levites could handle the instruments of worship in the temple. 

As an added layer of protection, Ezra told them the silver and gold would be weighed by the priests and levites at the temple, so they were accountable to have the right amount. And, indeed, when the came to Jerusalem, after three day, the presented the gold and silver and it was weighed and recorded.

8:35-36

Sacrifices Offered

Also at that time, the newly arrived exiles offered many burnt offerings, including one bull for each tribe of Israel. A sin offering of one goat for each tribe was also made. This is done even though only two tribes are present at this time. Symbolically, 12 represents the complete nation of Israel, for whom the bull is offered in sacrifice to atone for sins. 

Lastly, the king’s decree to support the Temple was delivered to the appropriate government officials. They obeyed the decree and aided the Jews and the beautification of the the Temple.

The business of the journey was complete. 

Takeaways

It was necessary to bring these Jews back to Judah to help repopulate their land.

It was necessary to bring Levites and temple servants back to maintain the temple and worship correctly.

It was necessary to bring Ezra to re-establish obedience to the law.

God did all these things to get his people back into living in a covenant relationship with him.

God gives us all we need to worship him and live according to his will; and he expects us to do it. 

EZRA 7 - INTRODUCING EZRA

 

EZRA 7

The events of chapter 7 begin 57 years after the events of chapter 6. So, the temple has been completed for 57 years and the Jews have had that much time to worship the Lord as they are required to  by the covenant, but are not doing so. 

7:1-6

Introducing Ezra

These verses introduce Ezra to us. The lengthy description of his ancestry is meant to show us he is an important person who is qualified for the task at hand. It is likely that he was wholly unknown in Jerusalem, having lived in Persia his whole life. It is likely he began his ministry in Persia after the first group of exiles left for Judah. He may not have even been born when they left. 

To qualify as a priest, Ezra would have to prove his lineage was of the priestly line. We see that Ezra is a direct descendant of Aaron,  the first high priest, whose line descends for the most part through the first born sons. (5) Eleazar was actually the third son of Aaron by birth, but the first surviving son. The first two sons by birth, Nadab and Abihu, were killed by the Lord for offering unauthorized fire and incense before the Lord. (Leviticus 10:1-3) 

Eleazar and his younger brother, Ithamar, replaced Nadab and Abihu and served as priests under their father, Aaron the High Priest. Eleazar became high priest after Aaron’s death, and the office was passed down his line through the first born sons until the death of Uzzi. (4)

For some reason, the office of high priest at that time switched to the line of Ithamar. This began with Eli, who is famous for raising Samuel the prophet and judge, and continued until Abiathar, who conspired with others to keep Solomon from taking the throne. 

Solomon removed Abiathar and restored the high priestly office to the line of Eleazar, appointing Zadok as high priest. Ezra descends from Zadok after a few generations and so is a descendant of Aaron through the qualified line. It is quite a pedigree. It shows he was important. That is why this lengthy description of Ezra’s lineage is given to the Jews in Jerusalem and to us.

Not only was Ezra qualified by his lineage, he was qualified by his dedication. He was a scribe, one who studied and taught Scripture. He was skilled in the law of Moses. (6) This refers to the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament. (This statement also refutes claims that Moses did not write these books and that they were not written until after the exile.) 

Ezra must have been serving in some important priestly position in Persia, for Araxerxes refers to him as “Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven”. (12)

Finally, Ezra could claim authority from the Persian king, just as Zerubabbel and Jeshua had in the first migration from Persia. He had a letter from the king to prove it. 

And, on top of all that, he had the favor of King Artaxerxes. (6) He may have been a government official and known by the king. He evidently asked the king for permission and funds to go to Jerusalem and the king gave him all he asked. (6) So, this Ezra left Persia, here called Babylonia, and went to Jerusalem.

7:7-10

Ezra’s Companions 

Ezra’s journey took place in the seventh year of the reign of Artaxerxes, so it 458 B.C., 80 years after the first exiles returned in 538 B.C., the first year of the reign of Cyrus. This tells us the Ezra was born and raised in Persia. Yet, he was devout. Verse 10 tells us he had set his heart to study the law, to obey it, and to teach it.

A group of people came with Ezra. There were some priests and Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants. They would be men who could prove their lineage entitled them to these offices. 

The journey took four months. They would travel north along the Euphrates River until they were north of the Arabian Desert, then traveled west to Damascus and south down to Jerusalem. The path was similar to the one Abraham took from Ur to Canaan. The journey took Ezra four months. That must have been good time because the writer says he made it in four months because the hand of the Lord was on him. 

7:11-26

The King’s Letter

The King gave Ezra a letter of authority to take with him. He decreed that any Jew who wanted to go with Ezra could do so. In addition, he provided silver and gold for the offerings to God, the God of Israel. Ezra could use it to buy animals, grain, drinks, and salt to offer on the altar. The king authorized Ezra to spend any money left over as he saw fit, within the will of God. (18) 

The king evidently found additional vessels from the Temple, or had fashioned new ones, and sent them with Ezra also. (19)

This was a generous endowment from the king, but he did not stop there. He also decreed that any of the treasurers of the Province Beyond the River, where Jerusalem was located, to give Ezra whatever he needed, up to some limits he set. (22) And even further, the king exempted all those that had any service to the Temple from taxes. (24)

As a final point, the king commanded Ezra to appoint judges who also knew the law, or whom Ezra could teach, to judge the people of Judah according to the law of God and the law of the king of Persian. Ezra was also authorized to enforce the law and inflict punishment on those who disobeyed.

Why did Artaxerxes do all this? First of all, because the Lord put it on his heart to give favor to Ezra. Daniel 4:35 says God does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth and none can stay his hand. 

Second, the king sought stability in the region. History tells us that Egypt has been in revolt against Persia. Artaxerxes would have been wise to establish buffer provinces that were stable and law abiding and that would not join the revolt. 

Third, the king was hedging his religious bets. He was not a Jew, but likely believed there were many gods who ruled over specific territories. He wanted to appease God so that his wrath would not fall on the king and his sons.

7:27-29

Ezra’s Postscript 

After recording the contents of the king’s letter, Ezra added his own comments. He blessed the Lord who put it into the king’s heart to beautify the Temple. It is an interesting contrast to the book of Esther, which never explicitly mentions God. Ezra gives full credit to God. 

Ezra gave further credit to God, who in steadfast love, give Ezra favor with the king and his counselors. Because Ezra felt God’s hand on him, he too courage and put his hand to the task.

Takeaways

   

The book of Ezra shows God firmly in control of people and events. Even the mighty king of Persian does the will of the Lord.

The Lord works to fulfill his promise to return the exiles to Jerusalem and restart the national worship of God. This is also his furthering the work of bringing the Messiah and his salvation at a later time. 

As the book of Ezra casts the return from Persia in the light of the original exodus, so it portrays Ezra as a new Moses. He will give the law to Israel in that he will teach it and bring obedience to it. He also appointed judges just as Moses did to assist in governing Israel.    

God works through different people at different times and situations. Esther was a beautiful young woman who, initially, was not very concerned with her people or her religion. But God placed her in a position to preserve his people and equipped her to do so. Ezra was zealous for his religion, devoted to God’s word in learning and obedience. God used him to revive his people.

God gave both Esther and Ezra favor in the eyes of those in power around them in order to accomplish the work he have them to do. 

God is still in control, he still uses women and men of all types to accomplish his work, and he will equip them to do it. You can step out in faith to do God’s will knowing he will do these things for you.

FINISHING THE WORK - EZRA 5&6

 

5:1-2

The Work Resumes

Chapter 4, verses 6 through 23, are a digression, telling us about the opposition of the locals to the exiles over many decades. 

Chapter 4, verse 24, actually picks up the narrative that ended in 4:5, which told us the locals interfered with the building of the temple throughout the reign of Cyrus into the second year of the reign of Darius.  That year, according to chapter 5, verse 1, and Haggai 1:1, the Lord sent two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, to speak to the Jews. 

Haggai 1 tells us about this in more detail. The word of the Lord was that it was not right for the Jews to build nice houses for themselves while the house of the Lord lay in ruins. Because they had not built the temple, the Lord had withheld blessing from them. They were not prospering. And the Lord intended to impose a drought on them. Drought is devastating to an agricultural economy. No crops can be grown without water. 

Specifically, Haggai addressed Zerubbabel the governor and Jeshua the high priest. He told them to go get wood  in the hills and bring it down to build the temple. The Lord said he would take pleasure in it and he would be glorified. (Haggai 1: 7)

Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the exiles obeyed God and resumed the work on the 24th day of the sixth month (September) of the second year of Darius’ reign, which was 520 B.C. (Haggai 1:15) This was 16 years after the foundations were laid as recorded in Ezra 3:10.

Ezra 5:2 tells us the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, were with them and supported them. We see from the book of Haggai that the  record of his ministry covers only four months, August 29 through December 18 of 520 B.C. He preached four sermons urging the people to rebuild the temple and to obey God.

Zechariah was more of a seer, a visionary. He related visions given by the Lord what showed a greater purpose for the temple, that it was a sign pointing to a greater purpose, the coming of Jesus. He said there would be a fountain opened that bring cleansing of sin. (Zechariah 13:1)

Many centuries later, in the mid-1700s, William Cowper wrote a hymn based on this thought, originally entitled “Peace for the Fountain Opened”, but later called “There Is A Fountain”. The first stanza says:

There is a fountain filled with blood

drawn from Emmanuel’s veins

and sinners plunged beneath that flood

lose all their guilty stains.

The preaching of these to prophets, in the power of the Lord, galvanized the Jews to renew their efforts to rebuild the temple and resist the temptation to quit working for the Lord.

5:3-5

Opposition Arises

As soon as the Lord’s work was taken up, opposition appeared again. The Persian governor of the province and his associates came and challenged the exiles. These appear to be different people than the first adversaries of the Jews. They asked them who gave them permission to finish the building of the temple. They knew the king had ordered it stopped until he said it could continue. 

The governor also used a common tactic of oppression: he asked for the names of those working on the walls. That has an intimidating effect. It says “we know who you are and we know where to find you”. This time, however, the opposition did not stop them from working while they sent a letter to the king. The letter will also tell us more of the response of the Jews to the challenge.

5:6-17

The Letter to the King

As before, the governor wrote a letter to the king, Darius this time, telling him what was going on, that the Jews has resumed building the temple. They recounted their challenge to the the authority of the Jews to rebuild. 

They also recounted the response of the elder of the Jews. They told Tattenai, the governor, their history concerning the temple, how it was build by a great king, but destroyed when God was angry with them and allowed them to be taken into captivity.

They also told that Cyrus the king made a decree that the house should be rebuild and that the sacred objects would be returned to the Jews. It appears that Tattenai was unaware of these facts and asked the king to have a search made in the royal archives for the decrees of Cyrus and for instructions of what to do.

There is one thing, though that really stands out in the response of the Jews to Tattenai. The first thing they said was “we are the servants of the God of heaven and earth”. (5:11) They had caught a vision from the prophets of the great God they served, one who was not a local deity, but who ruled all of the earth, including Persia. So, they were not doing a small task, they were the instruments used by the God of the universe to accomplish this part of his will and purpose. 

We all need to refocus at times. When we work or serve and it seems mundane, we need a reminder that we serve the God of the universe and he has chosen us to further his purpose for the world and the establishment of his kingdom.

6:1-5

Finding the Decree

Darius read the letter and decreed that a search be made for the decree. The researchers found a scroll in a citadel that recorded the decree. The decree did in fact state the the temple should be rebuilt, gave measurements and listed materials to be used, with the cost paid from the royal treasury, along with return of the sacred vessels.

God provided lavishly for his people from the treasury of Persia. He did this in the first exodus, causing the Egyptians to give the Israelites whatever they wanted, resulting in their plundering or despoiling the Egyptians. 

6:6-12

The Decree of Darius

Having found the decree of Cyrus, Darius proceeded to issue a decree reinforcing it. He ordered Tatteni and his associates to stay away from the temple site and to refrain from impeding the work on the temple. He further ordered the cost to be paid from the royal revenue, meaning the taxes and tribute collected in the province and normally sent to the king.

Darius went even further, ordering that the governor give the Jews anything the priests required to make sacrifices to God. Darius, as Cyrus had done, also solicited the prayers of the priests for himself and his sons. 

Darius also added a curse for disobedience. Anyone who opposed the work would be impaled and his house turned into a dunghill, and any king or people  who opposed the Jews be overthrown. 

Lastly, Darius ordered that it be done with diligence. There was to be no delay in obedience to his decree. 

6:13-18

The Work Is Finished, the Temple Dedicated

The Governor, having received the decree of King Darius, obeyed and did all the king ordered. With this help, the elders prospered in their work and finished the temple in the sixth year of Darius, on the third day of the month of Adar (515 B.C.).

It, therefore, took four and a half years to finish the temple after building resumed, 20 years from when the building first started, and about 70 years from the destruction of Solomon’s temple. 

The Jews celebrated the completion of the temple with extravagant worship. They sacrificed over 700 animals for the sin offering of all Israel. They set up divisions of the priests and Levites to serve in the temple as the Law had provided (the Book of Moses). 

6:19-22

Observing Passover

A month later, in the first month of the Jewish calendar year, the exiles observed Passover for the first time in 70 years. Passover refers to an event and the memorial of it. 

The first Passover, the event, occurred before the final plague the Lord imposed on Egypt, the killing of the first born. You can read about it in Exodus 12. The Jews were told to slaughter a lamb without blemish at twilight, then take the blood and put it on the frame of the door of their houses, the two doorposts and the lintel. The angel of death would see the blood and passover the house without killing the firstborn. 

The lamb was to be roasted on a fire and eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. This was about haste. They were to be dressed and ready to leave Egypt when the Lord told them to. 

The Lord required the Jews to observe the day as a memorial and keep it as a feast. It went on for seven days with holy assemblies at the beginning and end. They could not eat bread with leaven. 

For this first Passover in 70 years, the priests and levites purified themselves, then slaughtered the Passover Lamb. It would be eaten by the exiles and those who had remained in Judah, but not joined into the pagan worship of the Gentiles who were resettled into the area. They went on to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days. 

This celebration of Passover was especially meaningful because they not only remembered the First Exodus, out of Egypt, but their recent Second Exodus out of Babylon\Persia. 

These things were all done with joy because of what the Lord had done to bring them home and to restore the temple, the sign that the Lord was with them.

Any time of building or rebuilding in the work of the Lord will be resisted by the devil. Our church is in a time of rebuilding. We are not rebuilding structures that were destroyed, but rebuilding in the sense of revitalizing the congregation and growing by reaching others for Christ. 

We have experienced a form of opposition in the pandemic. But, we have forged ahead where we could and continue to move forward. I pray that you will work with your church to keep building and rebuilding for the kingdom of God. And I pray that you will not let this time drag you into apathy, but, rather, that you will seek spiritual growth and renewal.

I hope you will attend your church if you are well. And I hope you will pray for the Church to move forward for the glory of God. 

 

God the refiner

 “I’m often mystified....I don’t understand why it is that as I endeavor to live for God...everything seems to be falling apart. Sometimes I struggle...’Why are You allowing this to happen?’...It’s good for us to remember that God is not an arsonist; He’s a refiner.” (Ron Dunn)