Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP190040A
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00:01 The Bible tells us, "In the beginning was the Word,
00:03 and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." 00:08 It says, "To receive 00:09 with meekness the implanted Word, 00:11 which is able to save your souls. 00:14 And to be diligent to present yourself 00:16 approved to God, 00:18 rightly dividing the Word of truth." 00:21 Join us now for the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:25 Our study today is Ezra and Nehemiah. 00:33 Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn, and we welcome you once again 00:35 to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:37 We're so excited because today we began 00:41 the fourth quarter of the Sabbath School quarterly, 00:44 and this is a study on Ezra and Nehemiah. 00:49 Lest you say, what's the big deal 00:51 about Ezra and Nehemiah? 00:53 Please stay tuned because this has 00:56 so much rich information for the church. 00:59 We encourage you 01:01 to get your own copy of this Bible study guide. 01:05 If you don't have it, 01:06 you can go to a Seventh-day Adventist Church 01:08 and ask them for a quarterly, 01:10 they'll be happy to supply that. 01:12 Even study with you if you'd like. 01:14 Or you can go to ABSG.Adventist.org 01:20 and download your own copy. 01:22 Well, let me introduce our panel. 01:25 I have to my left Pastor John Lomacang, 01:28 my pastor, my friend. 01:29 Good to be here. 01:31 Lovely to have you 01:32 and then my precious sister, Jill Morikone. 01:35 Thank you, privileged to be here. 01:36 We love having you on here. 01:38 Kenny Shelton, Pastor Kenny. 01:40 Yes. 01:41 We love you and your precious wife. 01:43 Good to be here. Thank you. 01:44 And then my dear friend, Mollie Sue, 01:46 and we're so glad Molly Steenson 01:48 that you're back with us this time. 01:49 It's good to be here. 01:51 Wonderful. 01:52 Well, I'm going to say 01:53 a short prayer and then we'll begin. 01:55 Heavenly Father, we come in the name of Jesus 01:58 and we thank You, Lord, 01:59 that You gave us Your Word so that we could know You. 02:03 We thank You that You did not leave us 02:04 as orphans here but You sent Your Holy Spirit Father, 02:09 that we may understand Your Word. 02:11 And, Father, we ask right now that this study 02:15 will open our eyes to new truths about You. 02:18 We just surrender to You 02:20 and ask for Your leading in Jesus' name. 02:23 Amen. Amen. 02:24 Well, let me just... 02:26 jumping into this because I want to give 02:29 kind of a historical background so that you can understand 02:32 Ezra and Nehemiah better. 02:34 Ezra begins where 2 Chronicles leaves off. 02:38 It just continues the narrative and the Book of Ezra 02:42 is about the rebuilding of the temple under Zerubbabel, 02:46 and then the restoration of worship 02:49 and the restoration of the Torah, 02:50 the law of God under Ezra, then we go into Nehemiah, 02:55 and Nehemiah is about 02:57 rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem. 03:00 And, you know, both of these books contain 03:03 some similar information. 03:05 And they both are actually kind of find... 03:10 You know what you find in Ezra, 03:11 you may find in Nehemiah and vice versa, 03:14 but they complete one another. 03:16 When you look at the composition, 03:18 there's personal memoirs, there's inventories, 03:22 letters, census records, 03:24 and the early Jews considered Ezra and Nehemiah 03:28 as a single book and they most, they thought most likely, 03:32 Ezra had written both because he was a scribe 03:35 and he had access to the decrees, 03:38 and the proclamations and inventory list etc. 03:42 Ezra and Nehemiah were written in both Hebrew and Aramaic, 03:48 which was the official language 03:50 of diplomacy during the Persian period. 03:53 But what's the purpose of this? 03:55 The message of Ezra and Nehemiah 03:58 is the continuation of God's covenant grace 04:02 at the fulfillment of Messianic prophecy. 04:04 So let's look at lesson one, 04:06 "Making Sense of History: Zerubbabel and Ezra." 04:12 It's interesting, 04:14 God used the Assyrians and the Babylonians 04:18 to deliver his promise judgment on his unfaithful people. 04:22 So we have the Assyrians deported 04:24 the 10 northern tribes, 04:26 scattered them all throughout the nations. 04:29 And then when Judah persisted in covenant unfaithfulness, 04:32 what happened? 04:34 Here comes the Babylonians, right? 04:36 And they just nearly depopulated Jerusalem. 04:39 So God chastened His people 04:42 with over 70 years of captivity in Babylon. 04:48 But there was this Persian king by the name of Cyrus. 04:51 And you know, it's interesting to me 04:53 we find in Isaiah 44 04:56 that before 150 years before Cyrus was born, 05:03 before his birth, 05:04 God prophesied that he was going to call Cyrus 05:08 to overthrow Babylon. 05:10 So God purpose to rebuild the Jerusalem and the temple 05:17 and He stirred in His people's heart 05:20 to participate in this so that 05:21 He could fulfill the prophecies of Jeremiah, 05:24 Isaiah, and Daniel. 05:26 That takes us to our memory text, Ezra 1:2. 05:30 The memory text says this, 05:32 "Thus says Cyrus King of Persia, 05:35 all the kingdoms of the earth 05:37 the Lord God of heaven has given me, 05:39 this is true and he's commanded me, 05:43 Cyrus, a pagan king, 05:46 to build him a house at Jerusalem, 05:48 which is in Judah. 05:51 So, Cyrus issued that decree about 538 BC 05:55 and he released God's people to return to their homeland 05:59 to fulfill God's promise. 06:02 And what this demonstrates is God's sovereignty, 06:05 even over pagan kings. 06:08 So there were three waves of deportation into Babylon. 06:14 Now there's gonna be three waves 06:16 of the return of the exiles. 06:18 The first was led by Zerubbabel and then after that first, 06:24 there's a 60-year gap in there. 06:26 And that's where Queen Esther 06:28 and the story of Artaxerxes is in that 60 year gap. 06:32 Then, the second wave of the return 06:35 of the exiles is by Ezra and then about, 06:39 I think, 12, 13 years later, the Nehemiah leads the third. 06:43 So these are three key men 06:46 that God used to fulfill His purpose 06:49 of rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem. 06:52 So Zerubbabel reconstructed the temple, 06:57 and he was the Governor of Judah 07:02 and when he led the people back, 07:04 there were about, I think was at 50,000 that went with him. 07:08 I found that, but boy, this was a long journey. 07:10 It was a 900 mile journey. 07:13 So the people who went were really committed. 07:17 Ezra, as I said, restored the worship and the law. 07:20 And so Ezra was a scribe and he was a priest. 07:26 And, you know, what he taught the people, 07:28 how important the word of the Lord is. 07:31 Then Nehemiah comes along, 07:33 and he was a contemporary of Ezra. 07:35 And what I love about Nehemiah is, boy, 07:38 he was a prayer warrior, wasn't he? 07:40 Yeah. 07:41 And so he is the cup bearer for King Artaxerxes. 07:46 And when he found out that the people in Jerusalem, 07:50 the temple is rebuilt, 07:51 but he found out that the gates have been burned down, 07:54 he was mourning because the people of God 07:57 were being disgraced, 07:59 the name of the Lord was being disgraced. 08:01 So he petition the king 08:04 and he goes off 13 years later after Ezra, 08:07 here shows up Nehemiah 08:09 to rebuild the wall 08:11 because it couldn't be a city without the wall. 08:14 And what's amazing is even though 08:16 they had so much opposition, 08:18 in 52 days they rebuilt that wall. 08:20 Oh, my, my. 08:22 So Ezra and Nehemiah record people's interest 08:28 in renewing the covenant with God. 08:32 And here's what I love, 08:34 although they had been unfaithful to God's covenant, 08:39 and He sent them into captivity for 70 years 08:42 because they totally neglected His teaching. 08:45 God remained faithful to His covenant. 08:48 Amen, that's right. Amen. 08:50 When they returned to Jerusalem, 08:53 this is like, when the second Exodus, 08:57 it's like when God's people came out of Egypt, 09:00 so here they come back 09:02 and that remnant that came back, 09:04 they had to make a very hard choice 09:07 because they had a relatively comfortable life in Babylon. 09:11 And now they went back 09:13 because it was more important to them 09:15 to be in right relationship with the Lord. 09:18 So the interesting thing about Ezra and Nehemiah 09:21 is that all these efforts played a key role in the life 09:26 and the ministry of Jesus Christ. 09:28 So let's look very quickly at Sunday, 09:31 the first return of the exiles. 09:34 I'm not gonna have time to read these scriptures, 09:36 so I'm just gonna give you a scripture list. 09:38 Jeremiah 25:11 talks about 09:43 how God's people will serve the King of Babylon 70 years. 09:47 Jeremiah 29:10-13, 09:51 the Lord says, "After 70 years are completed at Babylon, 09:55 I will visit you and perform my good word toward you 09:59 and cause you to return to this place." 10:02 And then, of course, verse 11 is my favorite, 10:04 "For I know the thoughts 10:06 that I have toward you says the Lord, 10:08 thoughts of peace, not of evil, 10:10 to give you a future and a hope. 10:12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, 10:15 and I will listen to you 10:17 and you will seek Me and find me 10:18 when you search for me with your whole heart." 10:22 So here's God's saying 70 years. 10:25 Now we come to Daniel 9:1-3. 10:30 And what is happening here, 10:32 Daniel has been studying the writings 10:35 of Jeremiah and Daniel realizes 10:39 that the 70 years are nearly up. 10:42 He says, "I understood by the number of the year 10:45 specified by the word of the Lord, 10:47 through Jeremiah the prophet 10:49 that he would accomplish 70 years 10:51 and that is in desolation of Jerusalem." 10:55 So he realizes, "Hey, this time is nearly up." 10:59 So there's a new Persian empire 11:01 that has been risen to power and Daniel mourns, 11:05 and he turns toward God and he says, 11:08 he's calling on the Lord for the sake of your name 11:11 he's saying, "Lord, it's time for You to return Your people. 11:15 So we see in Daniel 9:7, 11:20 actually I'll just give you these references Daniel 9, 11:23 let's look at 16-19 11:26 is what I would recommend that you read. 11:28 But he is saying to the Lord here, 11:31 "Oh, for your namesake, Lord, 11:33 O God for the Lord's sake shine your face 11:37 on the sanctuary." 11:39 So God answers his prayer, how? 11:41 He sends the Angel Gabriel with a message of hope, 11:46 and we find in Daniel 9:24-27, 11:50 that message of hope is that God watches over everything, 11:54 the future has been planned, 11:56 He's gonna send a deliverer to die for the people 12:00 to atone for their sins, bring righteousness 12:03 and fulfill the sacrificial system, 12:06 how wonderful. 12:07 So the sovereign hand of God moved 12:11 according to His appointed time. 12:13 And in His steadfast faithfulness, 12:16 the 70 year prophecy comes to an end, 12:18 God stirred King Cyrus 12:20 to command the release of the captives. 12:24 And Ezra 1 records King Cyrus proclamation. 12:30 And then, we see that not only did Cyrus let them go, 12:36 but he makes sure 12:37 that they leave with lots of gifts. 12:40 It's just kind of like when they left Egypt. 12:42 In the end, they took all of these wonderful things. 12:45 So the first group to return to Israel 12:47 was about 50,000 led by Zerubbabel. 12:51 And then that 60 year gap with Queen Esther, 12:56 and by the way Zerubbabel is Ezra 1-6, 13:00 but then Ezra 7-10 13:03 is the second wave of the return. 13:07 How's that? Yes. 13:09 Bit of review. 13:10 Wow, so you're pitching it to me? 13:12 Yeah, I'm pitching it to you. 13:14 Thank you, Shelley, for laying the foundation. 13:16 And those of you that are watching 13:17 or listening to the program, 13:19 you'll find that this part of the lesson, 13:21 laying the foundation is so vitally important 13:24 to understanding what comes afterwards. 13:26 Thank you for covering some of the history, 13:28 the chronological kings, 13:29 which kind of lightens my burden 13:31 and having to reiterate that. 13:33 But if you go to Monday's lesson, 13:34 which is entitled, 13:36 "The Overview of Kings and Events." 13:38 What I'm going to do 13:39 is not focus so much on the kings. 13:41 But if I look at verses 1 through 7, 13:44 what's amazing about this, Jill, and all of our panelists, 13:47 my wife and I are reading the Bible together. 13:49 We just finished 2 Chronicles, now we're in Ezra. 13:52 And Nehemiah is one of my favorite books, 13:54 so it's like revisiting an old friend. 13:56 But Ezra and Nehemiah, 13:58 there was a time that you mentioned this, 14:01 Shelley, in Jewish literature, 14:03 there was a belief that 2 Chronicles, 14:06 Ezra and Nehemiah were one book, 14:08 but and even in Latin, in the Latin Bible, 14:12 Ezra is called 1 Ezra, and then second, 14:14 and Nehemiah is called 2 Ezra, 14:16 because they run so fluidly together. 14:19 Even in the Septuagint, you find that they, 14:22 it's hard to separate these books 14:23 because they cover so much of the same events. 14:26 And you'll find as we study this, 14:28 thank you for putting the kings together, 14:29 and the leaders, but verses 1 through 7. 14:32 Now I want to bring on to the scene, 14:33 some very interesting... 14:35 That's Ezra 4? 14:36 Ezra 4:1-7. 14:38 I'm going to read that very quickly 14:39 and break it down in the time I have left. 14:43 Thank you for the kings, 14:44 but let's now look at one of the first events 14:46 that are very significant to the building. 14:48 "Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard 14:51 that the descendants of the captivity 14:53 were building the temple of the Lord God of Israel, 14:55 they came to Zerubbabel 14:57 and the heads of the fathers' houses, 14:59 and said to them, 'Let us build with you, 15:02 for we seek your God as you do, 15:04 and we have sacrificed to Him 15:05 since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, 15:11 who brought us here.' 15:13 But Zerubbabel and Jeshua 15:15 and the rest of the heads of the fathers' houses 15:17 of Israel said to them, 'You may do nothing 15:19 with us to build a house for our God, 15:22 but we alone will build to the Lord God of Israel, 15:27 as King Cyrus the king of Persia 15:30 has commanded us.' 15:31 Then the people of the land tried to discourage 15:34 the people of Judah. 15:35 They troubled them in building, 15:37 and hired counselors against them to frustrate 15:39 their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, 15:42 even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. 15:46 In the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, 15:50 they wrote an accusation 15:51 against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. 15:54 In the days of Artaxerxes also, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabel, 15:59 and the rest of their companions 16:00 wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia, 16:03 and the letter was written in Aramaic script, 16:06 and translated into the Aramaic language.' 16:09 " That's a mouthful. 16:10 You did well. 16:12 Now, praise the Lord for all those names. 16:13 Thank you that we call people John and Kenny nowadays 16:16 as it would really, 16:17 but these names have all meanings to them. 16:19 For example, Ezra mean, God helps. 16:23 And so significance there. 16:24 But what I want to point out in this, 16:26 because what I learned in studying about the kings, 16:29 and all the leaders in Ezra and Nehemiah, 16:32 there was one project, 16:34 the Lord wanted to rebuild and restore His city, 16:37 the wall, the economy, the everything about worship, 16:42 and we'll talk about this later on, 16:43 the wall, the economy, the temple, 16:45 the worship, everything. 16:46 And anytime you participate in any building project, 16:50 they'll always be opposition. 16:52 But I want to point out, 16:53 let's look at the very first one. 16:54 So in these seven verses, we find a number of warnings. 16:58 Jill, here comes the list. 16:59 Oh, yay! 17:01 The first one is the warning against unity with unbelievers. 17:06 Verse 2-3, "They came to Zerubbabel and says, 17:09 'Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do, 17:12 and we have sacrificed to Him 17:13 since the days of Esarhaddon of Assyria." 17:16 But here's what they said in verse 3, 17:18 "You may do nothing with us to build a house for our God, 17:23 but we alone will build to the Lord God of Israel. 17:26 So what's happening here 17:28 is the Lord is showing immediately, 17:29 even though they acknowledge God 17:32 when you study this story further, 17:34 and this is going to come out later, 17:35 even though they said we'd like to help you, 17:38 they continued worshipping their own gods. 17:40 Yeah. 17:41 They continue to honoring their own gods. 17:43 Now what God was in essence saying here, 17:45 "How could anybody help build a temple to the true God 17:48 when they refused 17:49 to stop worshiping the false gods. 17:52 So everything we do, hinges on our view of God. 17:56 And so today, the lesson there is, 17:58 we have to be careful in unifying ourselves 18:01 with those that may say, 18:03 "Hey, we will love the Lord just like you do." 18:05 But it doesn't, that's not the single piece 18:07 upon which unity is based. 18:10 Because today in Christendom, 18:11 there's a push for unity when the division is, 18:13 we don't believe how you believe. 18:15 And what is being said 18:16 since ancient times unless we are in one accord. 18:20 In one place, we cannot truly be unified 18:23 to do anything to the true God. 18:25 That's the first lesson. 18:27 Second one, Ezra 4:1-5. 18:30 The opposition seeks to stir up 18:32 discouragement among the people. 18:34 So what they did, they tried to get other kings 18:36 to oppose Zerubbabel 18:38 since when they made the appeal to build. 18:41 They said, "No, we're not gonna let you build." 18:43 So they decided to bring in discouragement. 18:45 My brothers and sisters, discouragement will come. 18:49 But when God gives you a purpose, 18:50 push beyond the discouragement. 18:53 Look at how they created discouragement. 18:55 False accusations during Ahasuerus reign, 18:58 that's verse 6. 18:59 False accusations during the reign of Artaxerxes, 19:02 verse 7. 19:04 They wrote an accusation in verse 6, 19:06 against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. 19:09 And here's what the accusation was trying, 19:10 they were trying to say, remember how they used to be, 19:14 and this is something we have to be very careful of, 19:16 when the Lord bring someone through something. 19:18 And they are, they repent, and they are revived, 19:22 and they are now moving in the right direction. 19:25 We have to be very careful with highlighting 19:27 who they were, we must look at who they are now. 19:31 And that's what the accusation was, 19:33 he says, "Remember, these folk, 19:34 those are the ones that used to be rebellious," 19:36 but they repented. 19:39 God's caused them to break 19:42 in their in their captivity. 19:46 And they saw the error of their ways. 19:48 But now they are reformed, 19:50 they repent, they want to come back 19:51 and do what God had told them to do. 19:53 But the opposition says, 19:54 remember how terrible they used to be. 19:57 So don't trust them now, 19:58 they tried to bring an opposition. 20:00 The other one is the third point. 20:03 They tried to misrepresent the work. 20:05 That's Ezra 4:12. 20:07 "Let it be known to the king that the Jews 20:08 who came up from you have come to us at Jerusalem, 20:13 and are building the rebellious and evil city, 20:16 and are finishing its walls and repairing the foundations." 20:19 Instead of calling at God... 20:21 Now, this shows you that they had no allegiance 20:22 to the true God 20:24 because they call His city rebellious and evil. 20:26 How could you help me build a city 20:28 that you refer to as rebellious and evil? 20:30 Your intentions were clearly unmasked 20:32 in your reference to God's city. 20:34 So they tried to skew the project. 20:36 This is not the good city, this is rebellious. 20:38 The other one, they pointed to the economic loss. 20:41 Look at verse 13. 20:43 "Let it be known to the king 20:45 that if this city is built the walls, 20:48 and the walls are complete, they will not pay taxes." 20:52 So they're saying, 20:53 "If you allow this project to go forward, 20:55 there would be such economic loss." 20:57 They're trying to give every reason 20:59 for the project to be resisted. 21:02 And the other one, 21:03 they decided to be creating fear in the leadership. 21:06 That says, "We inform the king," 21:08 this is verse 16, 21:10 "that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are completed, 21:13 the result will be that you will have no dominion 21:16 beyond the river." 21:17 All the opposition. 21:18 So what we're seeing here 21:20 at the very beginning panel is this. 21:22 God is trying to restore, 21:23 and here's the key we have to remember. 21:25 There will be tribulation 21:27 whenever you participate in God's work. 21:29 What I found in the example, Jill, was this. 21:31 In spite of all that was said about 21:34 what God had called them to do, they continued. 21:36 And you'll find out later on in the Book of Nehemiah, 21:39 it was their mindset. 21:41 They had a mind to work, we'll talk about that later on. 21:43 It was their mindset, they focused on the work. 21:46 And finally, the end result was, 21:49 and I know you're going to cover this in more detail, 21:51 because I know we are kind of overlapping 21:52 each other in some degree. 21:56 The work was forced into cessation. 21:59 Finally one of the king said, "Stop the work." 22:01 And it was stopped until Darius came 22:04 and restarted the work. 22:05 And you find that in verse 23 and 24, 22:08 "Now when the copy of King Artaxerxes' 22:11 letter was read before," 22:13 and the names are there, "Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, 22:16 and their companions, 22:18 they went up in haste to Jerusalem against the Jews, 22:20 and by force of arms made them cease. 22:23 Thus the work of the house of God 22:24 which is at Jerusalem ceased, 22:26 and it was discontinued until the second year 22:29 of the reign of Darius king of Persia." 22:30 So they forced it into cessation. 22:32 But here's the reason why they did so. 22:35 God's thoughts and the thoughts of those 22:37 who oppose the work were completely different. 22:40 But here was the key. 22:41 Those who had put their mind to do God's work 22:44 kept their thoughts in harmony with God's thoughts. 22:47 And eventually you'll find in the study of the lesson, 22:50 God honored their determination. 22:53 So here's the point, 22:54 inspiration will get you started. 22:56 Determination will keep you going. 22:58 The inspiration is beautiful. 23:00 It'll just get you started. 23:01 But in opposition, you have to have more than inspiration. 23:04 You have to have determination and dedication 23:06 and that's what they had. 23:08 Excellent. 23:09 Thank you, John, that was great insight. 23:11 I am so excited about this study. 23:14 And we want you to stay tuned, 23:16 we're going to take a quick break, 23:17 but we'll be right back. 23:24 Ever wish you could watch a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel 23:27 again, or share it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? 23:30 Well, you can by visiting 23:33 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com. 23:36 A clean design makes it easy 23:38 to find the program you're looking for. 23:40 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 23:44 so you can follow along. 23:45 Sharing is easy. 23:47 Just click share 23:48 and choose your favorite social media. 23:50 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 23:56 Well, we're ready for Tuesday study 23:58 and, Jill Morikone, you have that one. 24:01 Thank you so much, Shelley and Pastor John, 24:03 what a wonderful foundation. 24:05 And I was taking notes with the points 24:07 as you were talking there, Pastor. 24:08 I love this study. 24:10 I love the study of the Word of God. 24:11 No matter what the quarterly 24:13 is about, I'm always blessed by it. 24:15 But this quarter in particular, I'm excited about 24:18 because Ezra and Nehemiah is all about godly leadership, 24:22 and godly leadership moving forward 24:24 in the midst of opposition. 24:27 And whether at home, you might be saying, 24:30 but I'm not a leader, 24:31 but we all have influence on someone else, 24:35 whether it's in your home, whether it's in your church, 24:38 whether it's your neighbors, or work or community, 24:41 we all have some measure of influence. 24:43 So that means these books are for all of us. 24:46 So I have Ezra Chapter 7. 24:49 Turn over a couple of chapters here, 24:51 Pastor John was in Ezra 4. 24:53 Ezra Chapter 7 and we're going to look 24:54 at some of Ezra Chapter 8 as well. 24:57 This is the second return of the exiles 25:00 as Shelley already talked about. 25:01 Fifty thousand went back 25:04 from Babylon to Jerusalem under Zerubbabel. 25:08 This is years before. 25:09 Now Ezra comes on the scene. 25:12 He is a skilled scribe, 25:14 and we're going to take a look at Ezra here. 25:18 Ezra, this is under Artaxerxes. 25:20 The seventh year of Artaxerxes is when Ezra returned, 25:23 and we'll see the number of people 25:25 that went back with him as well. 25:27 So who was Ezra? 25:29 Let's look at Ezra 7:6. 25:32 This Ezra came up from Babylon, and he was a skilled scribe, 25:37 in the law of Moses, 25:38 which the Lord God of Israel had given. 25:40 The king granted him all his request, 25:43 according to the hand of the Lord his God upon him." 25:47 Now, if you look in the original language 25:49 for skill described, for skilled it means quick, 25:53 prompt and ready. 25:56 I like to think that Ezra was known 25:57 for having a quick mind, Pastor John. 25:59 He was one of those people who knew the law of God, 26:03 and he had a quick and an intelligent mind, 26:06 and God can use that. 26:08 We also know that he was of the line of Aaron, 26:12 he was a priest as well. 26:14 He was a priestly scribe, you could say. 26:17 Let's look Ezra 7:1-5, 26:20 I am not going to attempt to read all those names. 26:23 But when it begins, it says, "After these things, 26:25 in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, 26:28 Ezra the son of Seraiah," and then it goes back, 26:31 the son of, the son of, the son of. 26:33 We won't read all those. 26:34 Jump over to verse 5, "The son of Abishua, 26:39 the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, 26:41 the son of Aaron the chief priest." 26:44 So 17 generations back from Ezra, 26:47 it takes us all the way back to Aaron. 26:50 Ezra was a Levitical priest. 26:53 There were several well-known of course, 26:55 Aaron, Eli, Ezra, Zachariah, 26:58 those are the ones that come to mind initially, 27:01 who would be well-known Levitical priests. 27:03 So we won't get into Pastor Kenny's portion, 27:06 which is the next portion with the letter that he gave, 27:11 the letter of Artaxerxes was given to Ezra. 27:14 I just want to look at the last verse 27:15 and then we'll jump into Chapter 8. 27:17 So the last verse of Chapter 7 is verse 28. 27:21 "So I was encouraged," Ezra was encouraged, 27:24 "as the hand of the Lord my God was upon me, 27:28 and I gathered leading men of Israel to go up with me." 27:32 So who went with Ezra? 27:35 If we look at 8:1-14, 27:40 you see there are 12 heads of families mentioned. 27:44 I like to think of this as it were the second Exodus. 27:47 Remember when Moses 27:49 brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, 27:51 into the land of promise. 27:53 There were 12 tribes of Israel, 27:55 and here we see 12 heads of families represented 28:00 in this exodus as it were coming out 28:04 of the land of Babylon, 28:05 going back to Judah and to Jerusalem. 28:09 They were some priestly returnees, 28:11 you see that in verse 2. 28:13 It says, "Of the sons of Phinehas, 28:15 Gershom, of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel." 28:19 Now Phinehas was Aaron's grandson, 28:21 so here is another priest. 28:23 And Ithamar was the son of Aaron, 28:26 so this is some of Aaron's descendants, 28:29 they were priests in the line, 28:31 who had chosen to return with Ezra. 28:34 There was also loyalty, 28:36 it says, "Of the sons of David..." 28:38 I'm' sorry. What verse? 28:39 I'm sorry, I'm in verse 2, Ezra 8:2, 28:42 the second half of verse 2, 28:43 "Of the sons of David, Hattush." 28:46 And then there were, you could say lay people, 28:48 regular people who went. 28:50 Now we won't read the list of all the names. 28:52 But it says with so and so 28:54 who is the head of the household, 28:55 there was 218 males 28:57 or with this person there was 60 or 110. 29:02 So it lists the people. 29:03 If you count them all, there's just about 1500 men. 29:07 Then we get to the point where Ezra looks 29:10 and says, "Where is the Levites." 29:12 And so then they made a special call for the Levites 29:15 and the temple servants which I know we'll study later. 29:19 And they all come together as well. 29:22 So we're looking may be 1700 people 29:24 with women and children. 29:26 There's probably 5,000 to 6,000 people they predict, 29:29 that returned with Ezra. 29:31 Now Shelley already referenced it's 900 miles. 29:34 It's a four month journey. 29:37 It took them four months crossing a hostile desert 29:41 with no added protection. 29:44 Remember Ezra went before the Lord 29:47 and prayed and fasted and said, 29:50 "God, would You protect us on this journey, 29:52 on this trip?" 29:54 So we're going to get to five qualities, 29:56 Pastor John, of leadership as demonstrated by Ezra. 30:00 Before we do that, 30:01 I just wanna look at his personal preparation. 30:04 He was obviously called of God 30:05 to leave the people back in his second return. 30:08 We know already we talked about his quick mind, 30:11 his intelligence, his training, 30:14 as a scribe he obviously had training. 30:17 Ezra 7:6, "He was called a skilled scribe 30:20 in the law of Moses." 30:21 He obviously knew God's Word, he spent time in prayer. 30:26 Ezra 8:23, 30:28 "So we fasted and entreated our God for this 30:31 and He answered our prayer." 30:32 He prayed for help. 30:34 He prayed for forgiveness of sins. 30:38 Another chapter over. 30:39 Ezra 9, "He says my God, I'm too ashamed." 30:43 This is Ezra 9:6, 30:44 "And humiliated to lift up my face to you, 30:47 O God, for our iniquities. 30:50 Have risen higher than our heads 30:52 and our guilt has grown to the heavens." 30:53 So he spent time in prayer for help, 30:55 for forgiveness of sins and for direction. 30:59 Ezra 8:21, "He proclaimed to fast there by the river 31:02 and they humbled themselves before God asking God 31:06 to give them a clear way, through the wilderness, 31:09 through the desert." 31:11 So let's look at those five leadership qualities 31:14 in the little time I have remaining. 31:16 First, Ezra set the example in attitude and humility. 31:22 As true leaders lead by example. 31:26 Ezra 8:21-23, 31:28 talked about the fast at the river of Ahava, 31:31 that they would humble their hearts before God 31:33 and seek Him the right way for them 31:36 and the little ones and all their possessions, 31:38 and then at very end he says, 31:40 "So we fasted and entreated our God for this 31:42 and He answered our prayer." 31:45 Ezra didn't just say, "Now you all need to pray 31:48 and you all need to do this." 31:49 He led by example 31:51 and he himself got involved in the prayer, 31:54 in the fasting. 31:56 True leaders lead by example. 31:57 Number two, Ezra assigned responsibility. 32:01 True leaders learn to delegate. 32:05 Ezra 8, we won't read it, but verses 24-30, 32:09 there was tons of gold and silver 32:12 that they were bringing back 32:14 from Babylon, back to Jerusalem. 32:17 In today's currency it would be worth millions of dollars 32:20 and Ezra has had a portion, 32:22 a certain portion of gold and silver 32:24 to each family to each group. 32:26 And it was weighed and measured 32:28 and then it was supposed to be weighed and measured 32:30 when they got back to Jerusalem. 32:32 So true leaders learn to delegate. 32:34 Number three, Ezra provided motivation. 32:38 Ezra 8:28 and I said to them, "You are holy to the Lord, 32:43 the articles are holy also and the silver and the gold 32:45 are a freewill offering 32:47 to the Lord God of your fathers." 32:49 He reminded them who they were and why they did, 32:54 what they did. 32:56 True leaders provide motivation. 32:59 Number four, Ezra maintained unity. 33:03 Ezra 8:31," We departed from the river of Ahava 33:06 on the twelfth day of the first month 33:08 to go to Jerusalem, 33:09 and the hand of our God was upon us, 33:12 and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy 33:14 and from ambush along the road and we came to Jerusalem." 33:18 True leaders unite and mobilize for mission. 33:22 And finally, number five, Ezra accepted responsibility. 33:27 True leaders identify with the people that they lead. 33:31 You'll see this over and over, Ezra 9, Ezra 10, 33:34 when he's praying before God, 33:37 he identifies with the sins of the people, 33:39 he comes alongside the people. 33:42 So true leaders lead by example, 33:45 they learn to delegate, 33:47 they remind the team of who they are 33:49 and why they do, what they do. 33:51 They unite and mobilize for mission 33:54 and identify with the people that they lead. 33:57 Amen. 33:59 Praise the Lord. Lot covered there. 34:00 Yeah. I like those points. 34:02 Praise God for that. 34:04 I was excited about Ezra and Nehemiah, 34:07 because they're men that we can all look to, 34:10 we can learn from, 34:12 see how God used them and how God can also use us. 34:15 I'm gonna be looking at Artaxerxes decree 34:18 and, you know, we have to look at these things 34:22 in terms of people sat down, people began to talk, 34:25 but then at the bottom line there's gonna be things 34:28 that they gonna have to write it down. 34:30 You know, the kings gonna have to know 34:31 what's going on with his people, 34:33 with those in captivity. 34:34 And so, just we look at the decree here, 34:37 I say first of all is, what would be the decree? 34:39 What would it be? 34:41 And right here it's an official order, isn't it? 34:44 And the decree is an official order 34:46 or it's this decision of the government, 34:49 anything settled or unchanged. 34:52 So we wanted to be, to be all lined out. 34:55 Everyone have a function, everyone have a job to do, 34:58 this is what I'm going to do, this is what you need to do. 35:01 And the decree was there, 35:03 and put forward to order to decide 35:05 and to certainly to appoint. 35:07 We're gonna be dealing with Ezra, 35:09 you have your Bible, Ezra Chapter 7, 35:10 we won't read all the verses 11-28. 35:13 I know in future lesson, we're gonna be looking, 35:15 when you're looking at the 2300 day prophecy 35:18 and the thing, and you try to cover in 10 minutes, 35:20 it being impossibility. 35:21 So everybody needs to praise. 35:23 We look at these things 35:24 as each one's throwing things in, 35:25 we pray that you're paying attention, 35:27 writing them down 35:28 because there's so much information, 35:29 sometimes we thinking not much information. 35:31 When you really begin to look, 35:32 there' a lot of, lot of information here. 35:34 The decree, it actually was made here, 35:37 the components and ingredients consisted 35:40 are the very most important things 35:43 especially the instruction pertaining to Israel. 35:47 You mentioned, someone mentioned that Ezra 35:49 was a descendent of Aaron, we know that. 35:52 A priest, a scholar, 35:54 I like to say a smart brain, quick-wit. 35:58 And I think you have to be in ministry 36:00 and in work for cause of Christ. 36:01 I believe that there's times 36:03 you have to make quick snap decisions, 36:05 and you're praying that you've been, 36:07 as I said prayed up and you got the Holy Spirit 36:09 leading and guiding you make those decisions. 36:11 Because sometimes if you do not that opportunity 36:13 will be lost and you can never go back to there. 36:15 So God would gave us that what we need. 36:17 Ezra as we find in here is a man of God. 36:20 We're just beginning this lesson 36:22 so it's gonna go on and on how these men 36:23 really love Jesus with all their heart. 36:26 And as they love Jesus, they elevated the law of God 36:30 and they elevated about being obedient. 36:32 They won't worry too much about what the human code was. 36:36 What man was going to do, 36:37 but what God had asked them to do 36:39 or may be challenged them to do 36:41 because they could make a decision 36:43 were they wanted to go through this or not. 36:45 But you know, it's wonderful to know that God is leading, 36:48 guiding and directing 36:49 and this is not just in Ezra and Nehemiah's time. 36:51 I wanna us to look at the opportunity we have here, 36:54 these are things that's going on today 36:56 in the cause of Christ 36:58 and it's looking at those of you 36:59 who are leading out, those of you 37:01 who are in ministries and so on, 37:02 pastoring church. 37:03 These are things that you're faced with everyday 37:05 that will help us if we just look at 37:07 and listen to these things and go through this lesson. 37:09 You know, Ezra made a good impression on the king, 37:12 we do know that. 37:13 And I think it's so valuable to us 37:15 that we make a good impression 37:17 as we can on those round about us. 37:20 Because again you talked about unity 37:22 and working together 37:23 it's very, very important that we do that. 37:25 And bottom line, he was given of whatever was needed, 37:28 I like this in that decree. 37:30 Whatever was needed to restore 37:32 and to built the city to beautify it, 37:34 to bring it back as the house of God, 37:37 because people were little upset 37:39 because the house of God 37:40 had been deteriorated then you know, broken down, 37:44 battered, and bruised and need to be restored. 37:48 And that's Ezra 7:27, also there in 27, 37:52 Ezra also was quick to give, 37:54 I like this part regards to how well 37:57 or how ministries are going and helping. 37:59 Never ever, just, you know, never just take it for granted, 38:03 stop and give God the praise. 38:06 Amen. 38:07 Always give God the praise, quit elevating, 38:08 you know, I'd say quit elevating man. 38:10 What is man? 38:11 He's clay, he's nothing. 38:13 We all have sinned and come short, he's dirt. 38:14 God use us, 38:16 and so God's the one that need to be elevated 38:18 and these men of God we find in here. 38:21 When they were doing what they should be doing, 38:23 they were elevating God, it says there in verse 27, 38:26 "He blessed the God of our fathers, 38:28 who has put such a thing in the king's heart." 38:30 Amen. 38:31 So knowing that the Holy Spirit was intervening 38:34 and as they were praying about it, touching the king. 38:37 Because we realize here that the king here 38:38 was not converted at this time. 38:41 You could not really call him a Christian, 38:43 he was trying to appease another God. 38:47 That's right. See. 38:48 And so, and again they appease God by giving what? 38:50 Gifts and things to them 38:52 and trying to make everybody happy. 38:54 So the king made it easy for Israel 38:56 to restore their homeland. 38:59 So it had to be God in charge. 39:01 Amen. 39:02 Because you mentioned there, it's gonna get more and more 39:04 as we're going in here in depth of how much opposition 39:07 and how the opposition came, 39:09 and always in the cause of Christ 39:11 when you move forward. 39:12 Because the enemy is when you, God tells you to push forward, 39:14 the enemy will fight you tooth 39:16 and nail every inch of the ground. 39:18 So you're talking about, 39:20 here we need to be persuaded by the grace of God. 39:22 Know that God has called us to do a certain work 39:24 and then depend upon God to fight our battles for us. 39:27 And I found out, I just need to show up 39:30 and then God can certainly do the rest. 39:33 So we're to find the king here 39:35 as Miss Shelley said doing what. 39:36 I wanna give them everything that they need to go ahead 39:38 to rebuilt their homeland. 39:40 And so he set the people free, I love this, 39:43 every person that could make the journey 39:46 was given the freedom to do it, 39:48 if they wanted to make the journey. 39:50 And you think how many would not want to, 39:52 it seems like, but they had a pretty nice 39:55 where they were at too 39:56 and to start all over and lot of things, 39:58 I'm sure went through their mind. 39:59 But, king said go ahead, 40:01 everyone you take, make the trip. 40:03 And they began to make the trip 40:05 and I think it was March of 457 like you mentioned trip 40:09 would last about 4 months and so on. 40:11 I mean that's quite a... 40:13 We think about that today, 40:14 when we think about driving two-three hours, 40:16 we say, "It's just too far." 40:17 But think about on foot to travel for in this mess 40:20 that they were in for over four months. 40:21 And they arrive sometime, 40:23 I think they talk about in July 457. 40:26 Those are big dates and we'll look 40:28 at that more and more as we get into our study. 40:30 They would describe Ezra's scribe of the laws 40:32 being mentioned here, the God of the heaven. 40:34 Probably, I'm looking at my study 40:37 that Ezra was probably 40:38 the most influential Jew of his time there. 40:42 Ezra 7:12, you can look at that in Babylon 40:45 and his decree, 40:47 it is interesting to know Ezra is called a priest. 40:50 And so that just kinda something going on, 40:52 they had the pagan priest, all right. 40:54 Then they had also the God's priest, 40:56 but they used different words in Aramaic and in the Hebrew. 41:01 One that would signify God's men 41:03 and the other word signify a pagan priest. 41:06 I thought it's very interesting, 41:07 it boiled down to it seems that the one 41:10 who was making out this decree was writing it up. 41:12 You know, you find very few and let us be true 41:14 that may be the king wrote out the decree himself. 41:18 He always has his counsels, he had his helpers, 41:20 he had the people would do it for him and he would sign it. 41:23 It seems though that may be there was a Jew 41:25 that was in high position in the king service, 41:29 that wrote out this decree 41:31 with all the good things in mind 41:33 that needed to have 41:34 and so in there because of the wording 41:36 and the way that he pronounced his words. 41:38 It was kinda just an interesting thought, 41:40 you know, that true priest of God. 41:41 The king commissioned Ezra to notice this to ensure 41:44 proper observance of the law of God 41:47 as well as the law of the land. 41:49 That was, I thought was awesome, 41:51 when the king says here... 41:52 But yeah, there could be some issues there too. 41:55 Because he said you must observe the laws. 41:58 Listen everybody, nowadays we're living 42:00 in the laws of the land, things as going on. 42:03 But also you're going to have to observe the law... 42:06 I wanna you to observe the law of your God. 42:08 So in order to do that, 42:10 is it possible there could be conflict. 42:13 Could there be? 42:14 We know there will be, there always has been conflict, 42:17 you know, there comes a time and then we have 42:18 to certainly choose God, don't we? 42:20 When you're making a decision right now. 42:22 So if the king said set up a judicial system 42:25 and they set it up. 42:27 Decree gave Ezra the right to use money 42:29 that you talked about here. 42:30 I think of one time it's like, wow, 42:32 was it three tons of silver? 42:34 There's a lot. 42:35 There's a lot of it there, you know, 600 barrels, 42:37 you know, of corn and so on and wine and oil. 42:41 Gave him everything that they needed to go 42:43 to do the job that was the repair work 42:46 and the temple rebuilt and built the wall, 42:48 I thought was very, very good. 42:50 He gave them religious freedom. 42:52 So in the 457 we'll look at that I'm sure 42:54 later on the two main points is there 42:57 in Daniel 9:24-25-26-27, 43:00 as you read all those down till there 43:02 that we need to realize 43:03 is to restore and to build Jerusalem. 43:06 This is very important where I see a lot of people 43:08 seem like get a little confused, 43:10 you know, in their theology today 43:12 because they want to take out that one week in the middle, 43:15 you know, and put it at the end of the prophecy. 43:17 And certainly we do not want to do that. 43:20 You know, history reveals that from the time that decree 43:23 in 457 BC, I thought this was interesting. 43:26 When that decree was finally, 43:28 everybody began to work together. 43:29 See, there were problems and issue. 43:31 That's why I said there's gonna be some problems 43:32 when you're building the wall and so on, 43:34 because we realized that there was problems 43:36 there with Egypt and the Persians. 43:38 But after they signed this decree 43:41 to let God's people have 43:42 what they needed to restore and to rebuild, 43:45 there was a time of peace. 43:48 It was kind of settled and time of peace, 43:50 where God's people could do what they needed to do. 43:53 Because God set that piece up 43:55 because they needed that, you see. 43:56 That's true. Yeah, they needed that. 43:58 So and Artaxerxes, at least we realize, 44:01 I believe that God used him. 44:02 God used Artaxerxes in a marvelous way. 44:05 God can use you, He can use me, 44:06 He can use anybody He wants to use 44:08 for His honor and for His glory. 44:10 And He will do it and He will bring it to pass. 44:13 Amen and amen. 44:14 Thank you, Pastor Kenny. 44:15 Well, I have got Thursday, 44:17 and Thursday looks at the importance of education. 44:20 Now, do we all agree that education is important? 44:25 I can just speak for myself. 44:27 I wish that my mind was like a computer. 44:30 Don't you all? 44:32 I have educated myself in so many things 44:34 that are so totally unimportant. 44:37 If I could just go in and delete the bad stuff, 44:40 wouldn't that just be amazing? 44:44 But I wish I had been like Ezra, when I was young. 44:50 I've got us in Ezra and we're in Chapter 7. 44:54 And I'm going to repeat a verse of scripture 44:57 that we've already read a few times. 44:59 Ezra 7:6, " This Ezra came up from Babylon, 45:05 and he was a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses." 45:09 Now let me ask you, 45:10 how did he become a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses? 45:14 Did it just drop on him? 45:16 No. 45:17 Honey, he had studied. 45:18 Studying is called educating yourself. 45:22 He had educated himself in the Law of Moses, 45:25 which the Lord God of Israel had given. 45:29 The king granted him all his request, 45:32 according the hand of the Lord upon him. 45:35 Now, Ezra 7:10, "For Ezra had..." 45:40 And here are the things, oh, that I wished I had done 45:44 when I was young. 45:45 "Prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord." 45:50 Now, let me make this relevant. 45:53 I think all of our lessons need to be relevant to us 45:56 right here today. 45:57 What can we take from this, Jill? 45:59 That's something Jill, what can we take out of this? 46:01 So I am going to liken Pastor Lomacang 46:04 to Ezra here for just a moment. 46:06 So Pastor Lomacang has prepared his heart 46:10 to study the Word of God. 46:12 Pastor Lomacang, have you prepared your heart 46:14 to study the Word of God? 46:15 By God's grace. 46:18 And not just to study it, 46:21 but to do it, not just to study it, 46:24 and to do it, but to go one step further, 46:27 to teach statutes and ordinances. 46:30 And this was Ezra, it says to the nation of Israel, 46:34 to all the children of Israel, so he made a decision 46:38 just as at some point, 46:40 each one of us make the decision. 46:42 I'm using Pastor Lomacang as an example 46:45 because we've all seen him 46:47 stand before the people on 3ABN and pour out the Word of God, 46:52 sitting here on this Sabbath School panel 46:54 and let that Word of God 46:56 that he has educated himself on, 47:00 as has each one of you done if that, 47:03 that word would come forward, okay. 47:05 Ezra had wholehearted, what kind of hearted? 47:10 Wholehearted devotion and his decision to practice 47:15 and teach the Word of God prepared him for something, 47:19 prepared him for greater ministry, 47:22 Ezra made a decision, by an act of Ezra's own will, 47:29 by act of Pastor Lomacang's own will, he made a choice. 47:33 By an act of Shelley's own will, 47:35 she has made a choice to give herself 47:38 to the study of the Word of God. 47:41 As rabbi an act of on his own will made a choice. 47:44 That's a decision. 47:47 We're all every one of us sitting on this panel 47:50 and every one of you that are listening. 47:52 They are right now 47:55 in the condition or the situation 47:58 we're in as a result of decisions and choices 48:03 we've made in our past. 48:06 By an act of our will we made decisions, 48:09 and they are what has designed our future. 48:13 The Bible literally states that Ezra devoted him, 48:18 devoted himself to studying and doing 48:22 and teaching the law of God, 48:24 that is the Word of God. 48:27 If you aren't happy, 48:29 let me just speak to you for a moment. 48:31 If you aren't happy with yourself, 48:34 make a decision to change. 48:38 Choose a better way. 48:41 And as an act of your will, you make a choice. 48:46 And so we... 48:48 How many of you have ever had made up 48:51 by an act of your will you have chosen 48:54 to make a better choice, you're gonna do it. 48:57 As soon as you get home, you're gonna do it. 49:00 As soon as it's summer, 49:04 you're gonna do it as so you make the choice, 49:07 but you put it off. 49:08 And I want you to just tell you this. 49:11 Change doesn't change 49:12 just because you decide to change. 49:15 Change doesn't change until you change. 49:18 And if you don't step change directions, 49:21 you're going to wind up where you're headed. 49:23 Now, I know I've said this before. 49:26 But if you want to make a change, 49:29 you have to take that a step further 49:31 and actually make the change. 49:33 Okay. 49:37 What was Ezra doing 49:39 when he was studying, and doing, and teaching. 49:43 What was Ezra doing? 49:45 He was educating himself. 49:48 Ezra made a decision to be educated or to be 49:52 in the Word of God to educate himself 49:55 in the word of God. 49:56 Now, I want to talk about ignorance for a moment. 50:00 Ignorance, okay, there, 50:02 you know, there is nothing wrong 50:04 with being ignorant, do you all of you know that. 50:06 Nothing wrong with being ignorant 50:07 if you're willing to be educated 50:09 out of that ignorance. 50:11 Ignorance is just a lack of knowledge. 50:13 So you can be educated out of any area 50:16 that you're ignorant in. 50:17 And I'm going to just use myself in this example. 50:20 I couldn't bake a loaf of bread if I tried. 50:24 I've never baked a loaf of bread. 50:26 I will never bake a loaf of bread, 50:28 as long as there are good people in our church 50:31 that make the best, love supporting it. 50:33 So I'm ignorant in that area. 50:35 Now, how could I change being ignorant in that area? 50:39 Kenny, I could get one of those recipes 50:41 and try to follow it. 50:42 You know, I could be educated out of fad. 50:45 So, if you are ignorant in an area, 50:50 don't let that concern you, 50:52 make a decision to educate yourself out of it. 50:55 I dare say in this study of Ezra and Nehemiah, 50:59 I've read both books. 51:01 I thought they were great books. 51:03 But do you know when I got down 51:04 and was studying these books, they are amazing. 51:08 They have just come alive. 51:09 Why? 51:11 Because I set myself to study to be 51:13 educated out of my ignorance. 51:16 Now here is what Sister White says about Ezra 51:20 in Prophets and Kings. 51:21 "He was born of the sons of Aaron, 51:24 Ezra has been given priestly training 51:27 and addition to this, he had acquired a familiarity 51:30 with the writings of the musicians, 51:32 the astrologers, 51:34 and the wise men of Medo-Persia realm." 51:36 Now that was worldly education. 51:39 She goes on to say, "But he was not satisfied 51:42 with his spiritual condition. 51:45 He longed to be in full harmony with God. 51:49 He longed for wisdom to carry out the divine will. 51:53 And so he prepared his heart to seek this wall of God. 51:58 And to do it, not just to seek it, 52:02 but then to go one step further to do it. 52:05 This led him to apply to apply himself diligently 52:08 to a study of the history of God's people 52:11 as recorded in the writings of Prophets and Kings. 52:14 He searched the historical and prophetic 52:16 books of the Bible to learn 52:18 why the Lord had permitted Jerusalem to be destroyed, 52:22 and his people carried away captive to a heathen land. 52:26 Now what did he give himself to study to? 52:28 He wanted to go to the root of the problem, 52:31 not just superficial, he went to the root of the problem. 52:34 Now what was the root of the problem? 52:37 The root of the problem was that God's people 52:40 had given themselves to idolatry, 52:43 they had apostatized, 52:44 they had disregarded the things of God. 52:48 So that was the root of the problem 52:50 that led them into the condition 52:51 they were in right now. 52:53 And he was dealing with people 52:55 that had been in captivity for how long? 52:58 For 70 years. 53:00 So had these people that had, the majority, 53:03 so many of them were born in captivity, 53:06 they had not been educated in the things of God. 53:10 Ezra set about not only to learn the Word of God, 53:14 and to know the Word of God, 53:16 but he set about to go to the root of the problem, 53:19 which was to educate the people out of their ignorance, 53:24 to teach them the Word of God. 53:27 As we study this pure Word and learn of the plans 53:31 that God has for him, his faithfulness, and goodness 53:36 will dispel the ignorance that's in us. 53:38 Is that amazing? 53:40 And this is what we found, it happened. 53:42 As Ezra opened up the Word of God, 53:45 as he had the word written and distributed 53:51 into the hands of the people, 53:53 they, their hearts were changed, 53:55 and they had a heart to serve God. 53:58 Why? 53:59 Because they were educated. 54:01 Remember, you can overcome your ignorance so easily, 54:04 and it's about education. 54:06 That's good. Amen. 54:07 Thank you, Mollie. Thank you, everyone. 54:09 We have just a couple of moments left. 54:11 I'd like to give you each 54:13 a few seconds to recap your day. 54:16 Well, when we go back to Monday, 54:18 which is about the overview of kings in events, 54:21 I can conclude that whenever the Lord calls us to a project, 54:27 it's important that we abandon our thought of the project 54:30 and embrace His thought of the project. 54:33 The example is in Isaiah 55:8-9, 54:36 my thoughts are not your thoughts, 54:38 nor are my ways, nor are your ways my ways, 54:43 says the Lord for us, 54:44 the heavens are higher than the earth. 54:46 So are my ways higher than your ways, 54:49 and my thoughts than your thoughts. 54:51 Abandon your thoughts, in preference to His thoughts, 54:56 and your ways will always be higher. 54:58 Amen. 55:00 I want to quote the verse you quoted Mollie, 55:02 Ezra 7:10, "For Ezra had prepared his heart, 55:06 to seek the law of the Lord and to do it, 55:09 and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel." 55:12 And I think, at home, no matter what God has called you to do, 55:16 prepare your heart to seek the Lord, 55:19 and not just to seek Him, 55:21 but to walk in obedience to what He's calling you to do. 55:24 Amen. Amen. 55:26 You know, I thought through this lesson right here 55:28 that God calls people to carry some special burdens. 55:33 And then we need to make sure by the grace of God 55:35 that we fulfill that which God has called us to do, 55:39 you know, be like Ezra and Nehemiah 55:40 that we're learning from this quarter, 55:42 it's going to just absolutely be awesome. 55:44 Because the Lord knows we need to reform, 55:47 we need to reform probably all would say, 55:49 we need reform in our life. 55:50 We'd like to have reform in the church, 55:51 we'd like to have it. 55:53 But you know where does it start? 55:54 It starts with me, it starts with you. 55:56 So why not today, set that reform, let's fight, 55:59 let's start be positive, let's be, you know, true, 56:02 let's come to God and say, 56:03 listen, this needs to take place, 56:04 needs to take place now, and today's the day 56:06 that we need to do it. 56:08 And you know, I'm thinking about 56:09 anyone in our society today, 56:13 do we see our whole society crumbling around us. 56:16 If you don't have a knowledge of the Word of God, 56:18 then you think there is no hope. 56:20 But if you're educated in the things of God, 56:22 if you have a knowledge of God's Word, 56:25 and what's in store for us, 56:27 if we made a choice to study as Ezra did, 56:31 to educate ourselves, 56:33 then you know what we're going to find in God's work, 56:35 we've got a future and hope, no matter how bad it gets, hey, 56:39 if you're connected to God, if you've made Jesus Christ, 56:43 the Lord of your life, you've got a future and a hope. 56:46 Amen. That's right. 56:47 You know, this is, what I'm sitting here thinking, 56:49 and I hope I can make sense of this 56:52 is that we have three godly men here 56:55 that we see 56:56 in Ezra Chapters 1-6, Zerubbabel, 56:59 then we have Ezra and then Nehemiah. 57:03 And all of them were concerned about God's temple. 57:07 You know, the Bible says 57:09 that you are the temple of the Lord. 57:11 We are the temple of the Lord. 57:13 And I think that as we go through this, 57:15 we're going to find things that we can apply to our self 57:20 to help rebuild the temple in us. 57:22 All of us need to be mending. 57:24 And then you think about the wall that, 57:27 that they built around Jerusalem 57:29 to keep out the bad influences. 57:31 That's something else that every word of the Lord 57:36 has been given to us 57:38 by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, 57:41 and certainly can be applied to your life. 57:44 So we encourage you 57:45 to get your Sabbath School quarterly. 57:47 Join us next time, 57:49 we will be studying lesson two, Nehemiah. 57:52 And we're so glad that you take this time 57:56 to be in the Word with us. 57:58 It's certainly fun for us 58:00 to break from our normal duties and dig in, 58:03 and we invite you to join us next time. |
Revised 2024-08-27