Ezra (3)

Here is this week's exploration of Ezra that we're using in our men's group. Perhaps there is something here for you.

Keeping in mind that we’re doing an overview of Ezra, and that we’re not getting into a lot of details; and remembering that the purpose of this overview of Ezra and Nehemiah is to give us background to read the Minor Prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi – I’d like us to please read Ezra chapters 1 – 3.

In 1:5 we see that there were three primary groups of Jews who returned from Babylon – Persia to Judah; Judah, Benjamin, and the priests-Levites. These had primarily constituted the southern kingdom of Judah which was destroyed and mostly deported by Babylon. Remember that the northern kingdom of Israel had been destroyed by the Assyrian empire and its ten tribes deported and scattered long before Judah was conquered, so the people of the old Northern Kingdom are not really in this picture, we’re reading about the survivors of the Southern Kingdom.

Do not sweat the lists and numbers of people in Chapter 2. This is not to say that there aren’t treasures to be found in these verses, this is Sacred Scripture and all of these words are here for a reason, but we are looking to gain an overview and get a general idea of what was going on. If nothing else, Chapter 2 demonstrates that records were kept and that when records weren’t kept (see 2:59 & 62) that there were problems.

Note the names Zerubbabel and Jeshua in 2:2 – you’ll read them again, both in Ezra and elsewhere.

Note that people could trace the work of their ancestors back hundreds of years to King Solomon (2:55 – 58). Think of English last names like Smith, Cooper, Carpenter, etc.

In 3:2 we see Jeshua and Zerubbabel again. Take a look at Matthew 1:12 – 13. What family tree is Zerubbabel in?

Jeshua is the leader of the priests and Levites; Zerubbabel, of the tribe of Judah, is head of the civil government.

In 3:2 we see that Jeshua and Zerubbabel are going to follow the Word of God in their worship. How can we worship without knowing God’s Word?

In 3:3 we see that there is hostility surrounding the people of God and that “terror was upon them” (the people of Judah). Yet they were determined to worship in the midst of their enemies. Psalm 23:5.

Genesis 8:20; 12:7 – 8; 13:3-4, 18; 22:9; 26:25; 33:20; 35:1 – 7. What pattern of life do we see in these verses?

What does worship look like in our lives? Especially, what does it look like Monday – Saturday?

If we are married, what does it look like with our wives? What are the possibilities to improve our worship experience with our wives Monday – Saturday?

Are we building altars of worship wherever we go? At home? At work? In our neighborhoods? In our families? In our civic and service organizations? What does this look like? What might it look like? How can we build altars of worship? In our own lives? In the lives of others? (Let’s recall John 4:23-24).

This idea of worship is central to the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. In many ways the central question of life is, “Whom or what will I worship? What worship will I model for my family and others? What will be my reputation for worship?”

The concluding book of the OT, the Minor Prophet Malachi, focuses on worship

We all worship one central person or thing – that is our center of gravity, that is the big rock in our jar and we place all other rocks around it. Is it financial security? Is it the toys we have? Is it reputation and prestige? Is it sex, drugs, and rock and roll? Is it pleasure in one form or another? Is it sports? Is it family (yes, we can worship family)? Is it self?

When our feet hit the floor in the morning, what are we here for? (If we could review one another’s calendar and bank statement we’d likely find the answer).

Note that in 3:4 the Feast of Booths is celebrated, this is also known as the Feast of Tabernacles and the Feast of Ingathering. Leviticus 23:33 – 44; this is the best reference to read about the Feast of Booths – note why they are to erect booths. The people came out of Egypt under Moses, and in Ezra this first group is coming out of Babylon – Persia under Jeshua and Zerubbabel. (If you want to read other references they are: Exodus 23:16; Deut. 16:13 – 17; Numbers 29:12 – 40).

Considering Ezra 3:8 – 13; what is the picture of worship that we see in this instance?

It appears that there were two primary emotions in verses 12 – 13; the survivors of the 70-year captivity wept with loud voices. Was it because they had lived to see this day? Was it because they remembered the splendor of Solomon’s Temple and that they knew that the rebuilt Temple would not match the glory of Solomon’s Temple? I suppose it could be either/or, perhaps both at the same time. Then the people who had never seen Solomon’s Temple shouted and rejoiced, they did not have an awareness of the former glory of the Temple.

What is the foundation of our Temple? Of our local congregations? Of our lives?

Matthew 7:24 – 29; Ephesians 2:19 – 22; 1 Peter 2:4 – 8.