Ezra and Holiness

Here's what our small group will be working on next week. What does holiness look like in our lives? In the life of our congregations? 

Our text is Ezra chapters 9 & 10, this will conclude our time in Ezra.

This may be a tough passage for some of us to read. It is important to remember Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians Chapter 10, that the things that were written in the past were written to teach us spiritual truth in Jesus Christ.

It is also important not to romanticize “falling in love” nor to minimize the power and influence of sex. Yes, there is romance (I hope) in love, but there is also choice, and that choice determines where we channel our thoughts and hearts and bodies. Sadly, we live in a culture in which we are programmed to give in to our impulses and not deny ourselves, surely God will understand…won’t He?

Our heavenly Father wants us to know the beauty of sex in marriage, but if we should choose to disobey Him in our sexual expression, we can be sure that there will be consequences to our sin. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus takes the external act of sexual sin and moves it inward to our hearts – adultery is adultery whether you act it out or think it out. In the Ten Commands when God says, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife”, God is looking at our hearts.

In the Law of Moses (Deut. 7:1 – 4) God commanded Israel not to intermarry with the pagan nations because the result would be that Israel would stop following the Lord and He would then send judgment. This, of course, happened in the Wilderness, during the Exodus from Egypt to Canaan, and many times thereafter, including during Ezra’s time. (Numbers 25:1 – 18; Revelation 2:14, 20 – 23). Also remember that in our study of the Minor Prophets the image of adultery has been used again and again to portray the unfaithfulness of the people of God – remember when we explored Hosea?

Please look at 1 Kings 11:1 – 4; a sad commentary on what happens when we think we can ignore God's commandments regarding marital and sexual relations.

Of course, there is much more than sexuality going on here, we’re really looking at God’s command to be holy as He is holy; 1 Peter 1:13 – 16; Leviticus 11:44; 19:22. More than anything else, the idea of holiness, purity, and devotion to God (Romans 12:1-2) underlies our passage in Ezra.

How might the following Scriptures relate to our Ezra passage?

Which of the following speaks to you in a special way? Catches your attention?

Which of the following represents an area in which you have learned specific life-lessons?

Which of the following is an area in which you have been particularly challenged?

2 Corinthians 6:14 – 7:1

1 Thessalonians 4:1 – 8

Hebrews 12:4 – 17 (with a particular focus on verse 14).

Matthew 5:8

1 Peter 2:9 – 10

Ephesians 4:29; 5:1 – 5

Some thoughts:

 A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the prevalence of moral, ethical, and spiritual lawlessness in our society. In looking at Ezra and his relationship to the Persian Emperor, we saw (I hope) that in order to exercise authority that one needs to know what it is to submit to authority (Jesus and the centurion).

This week I hope we’ll ponder that we live in a society that not only rejects the idea of the holy, but that seems to be doing everything it can to destroy the very idea of holiness. Sadly we find this occurring in much of the professing church. The idea that our hearts and minds and bodies should be pure is foreign to our culture, including much of our church culture. It seems as if we are intent on robbing our children of innocence and ensuring that adults are captured in the quagmire of impurity.

If we are indeed people in a relationship with Jesus Christ, then we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit – He is the Holy Spirit. He is not the Anything Goes Spirit, nor is He the Sugar Daddy Spirit, but since God is Holy He is, the Holy Spirit. Consider that while God is also Love, and Light, that the primary designation the God adopts for the Third Person of the Trinity is the Holy Spirit – there must be a reason for that.

The spirits of Satan are unclean and impure spirits; demons, principalities and powers seeking to strip mankind of the image of God. What we look at matters, what we think about matters, the words we use matter, the actions of our bodies matter. If our eyes and ears allow impure images and words into our souls, into our hearts, into our minds…let us remember that if we are Christians, that the Holy Spirit lives within us; indeed, let us remember that the Father and Son live within us – and that we are introducing impurities into the very Temple of God. We are, if you will, desecrating the Temple and image of God when we drink the cup of the enemy.

So then, in the time of Ezra the work of the Temple of God, the rebuilding of the Temple and the City, the worship of God, could not continue until the issue of impure marriage was dealt with. As long as we are engaged in promiscuous relationships with the sin and filth of the world, the Church of the Living God cannot (in some measure which I don’t pretend to understand) be restored. As long as our local congregations are living lives indistinguishable from the world, there will be no lasting renewal into the image of Jesus Christ. This is about so much more than mixed-marriages or sexuality – this is about being holy as our Father is holy.

This is about the purity of our minds and hearts and souls…as well as our bodies. This is about money, this is about our time, this is about what our hearts treasure, this is about speaking the Word of Christ to others, this is about being faithful to Christ in the workplace, the civic organization, the neighborhood - this is about belonging to Jesus.

Ezra, Living Under Authority, and Lawlessness

Below is the handout I prepared for our men's small group for this week. We've been looking at Ezra in our reflections on the Minor Prophets since without understanding Ezra and Nehemiah (as well as significant elements of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel), we will lack the context to consider Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. 

I'm sharing this particular week's material because of its subject matter. In today's society, in our culture, and indeed in the world, we are witnessing lawlessness in myriad forms. From government, to entertainment, to sports, to education, to the professing church; in morality, ethics, "spirituality" and "religion" - lawlessness appears to be prevailing. I use the word "appears" because that is what it is, an appearance - for as Daniel Chapter 2 and Psalm 2 demonstrate, the Living God and His Son are forever prevailing and are, in fact, allowing mankind to turn upon itself (Romans Chapter 1) and imbibe the darkness it desires. 

We have lost sight of what godly leadership looks like, and we are drinking from the cup of lawlessness as it is passed around in our culture - we are constructing our own Tower of Babel - we are drunk with the self-centeredness of lawlessness - not only without, but often within the professing church. 

Well, there just may be something here for you to reflect on.

In Ezra 7:1 – 10 what do we learn about Ezra? Is there anything significant about his family tree? What do we see about his heart, his desire, his passion?

Based on the limited information contained in these chapters, how might you characterize Ezra’s relationship with the King? How did God work through this relationship?

Please consider the following passages: Proverbs 16:10 – 15; 20:2, 8, 26 – 28; 22:11; 24:21; 25:5 – 6; 29:4, 14; 31:1 – 9.

Matthew 20:20 – 28.

What do we learn about leadership and authority in these passages?

How should we exercise authority?

How should we respond to authority?

How can we teach others about authority?

What have we learned about authority in our own lives – both in terms of using it and in terms responding to it?  Please give some examples of when you “didn’t get it” and when you did “get it”. In other words, when did you not use authority responsibly? When have you not responded to authority in a responsible manner? How has your understanding of authority matured over the course of your life?

Ezra was under the king’s authority, and the king found Ezra trustworthy to place in authority.

While there are many “go-to” places in the Gospels that speak of authority, three passages that speak strongly to me are Matthew 20:20 – 28; John 13:1 – 17, and Matthew 8:1 – 13.

I have used Matthew 8:1 – 13 in previous handouts, and I have used it in teaching and preaching for decades, and when I use it I ask the question, “What did the centurion see in Jesus that caused him to place his faith in Jesus?”

Without fail, 100% of the time people respond, “He saw that Jesus had authority, that Jesus was in authority.”

However, the Gospel accounts of Jesus and the centurion are consistent in that the centurion did not view Jesus as being in a position of authority, but rather as being under authority. The centurion understood the nature of authority because he was a military man who, I think, thought deeply about his responsibilities. He knew that all of his authority was derived from the chain-of-command that went right up to the Roman Emperor – the centurion was not a loose cannon doing whatever he wanted however he wanted.

Jesus was, of course, living in submission to His Father, (yes, yes, the Trinity and the Incarnation are mysteries, at least to me), John 5:19, 30; 6:38; 8:28; 12:49; 14:10.  

I use the centurion passage to teach about authority and also to show how easy it is to read the Bible but not read the Bible, to miss the point of a passage because we assume we know what we’re reading and so we superimpose our own images and thoughts on a passage. If we don’t submit to the Biblical text we’ll not “see” the Biblical text.

In my marketplace career I was keen to remember, and speak and act, as a man under authority; the authority of Jesus Christ, the authority of the firm I worked for, and the authority of my clients to whom I had a fiduciary duty. Even when I had my own very small operation in Maryland, because I had an agency relationship with my clients, I needed to be mindful of the authority and duty of those relationships.

In essence, I could never speak and act on my own authority, my authority was always derived; from Jesus Christ, from my firm, and from my clients. This, for the Christian, should simply be the way we live – we ought never to speak and act on our own authority – for outside of Jesus Christ we have none, we have been bought with a price, the blood of the Lamb (1 Corinthians 6:19 – 20).

I could give you many examples of pain I have caused when I have acted on my own authority, which is to say that I know what I’m talking about. I could also give many examples of managers who have worked for me who have grown when they have submitted to authority, when they have learned to be servant- leaders. I could also give many examples of managers who have worked for me and who never “got it” – they used their positions first for their own benefit and didn’t really care how they treated their employees or our clients and customers – they didn’t know how to submit to authority. This latter group did not tend to remain employed – they either couldn’t stand the accountability and left of their own accord or I had to free them up for hopefully a better future elsewhere.

I could also give many examples in the church world of people, including pastors, choir directors, praise team leaders, Sunday-school superintendents, deacons, elders, denominational officials, seminary leaders…you name it…who are in “authority” but don’t “get it” to the detriment of others. But thankfully there are also many examples on the positive side. But, of course, we see this in any group of people, PTAs, service organizations, sports organizations…it is the fallen nature of man outside of Jesus Christ.

All the more reason for us to learn to live under authority so that we might use the authority given to us in Christ to be a blessing to others.

The work of Satan is characterized by lawlessness and rebellion. Our society, indeed our world, is being swept away by lawlessness. We are rebelling against God’s moral law, against common decency, against God’s special revelation in Jesus Christ and His Word, against pretty much all authority. The human authorities we do have are also engaged in rebellion (Psalm 2) and are legalizing the repudiation of the image of God and His Law and codifying sin and demonic images of humanity – resulting in hideous confusion and a moral and spiritual meltdown which, like a nuclear-plant meltdown, is spreading toxicity into our environment.

This lawlessness is, I think, often as present in our churches as it is in general society. We don’t know the Bible, we don’t obey the Bible, we explain away the Bible’s clear moral and ethical teaching, we make excuse after excuse for our collective and individual disobedience and sin, we are ashamed of holiness, we are often ashamed of Christ and go with the flow around us.

Chesterton wrote, “A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it.”  Are we alive or are we, and our congregations, dead?

Will we, will I, will you…live under the authority of Jesus Christ…no matter what?

Love,

Bob

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.

The Restoration - Ezra (2)

Here is my follow-up to the previous post on Ezra 1:1 - 4 and Ephesians Chapter 2; sent to my men's group:

Good evening brothers,

As you know (I hope), I don't usually expect either group to get through all the material in terms of discussion, but I do want to circle back in this email on the last question I asked in the handout, the one about Ephesians Chapter 2. How might Ephesians Chapter 2 related to Ezra 1:1 - 4? 

While we'll see the linkage throughout Ezra, Nehemiah, and especially Haggai, I want to make the point now:

Ephesians 2 begins with a focus on our individual salvation, but it ends with a picture of us as the Temple of God, as the corporate dwelling place of God, as the habitation of God.

Ezra begins with Cyrus releasing people from captivity to explicitly return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple. 

We are saved as individuals to become part of the Body of Christ, the Church, the Temple. 

The Jews were released from captivity to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. 

As we will see, when the Jews returned to Jerusalem they became preoccupied with building their own houses (Haggai begins with this problem). Yes, they did face opposition, but they (and we) can expect opposition; but whether they had opposition or not, they became self-focused.

While Christians in the West may assemble for Sunday mornings, do we really live in community? Or is church not much different from a civic or service organization? Do we put God's Living Temple first, do we put the Great Commission first; or do we put our own agendas first? 

If we will ponder these things I think we may find the parallels between Ezra and the Church striking. God didn't draw us to Christ to do our own thing or have our "best life now" or any of the other self-centered teachings in cotton-candy Christianity that keep us from the Cross of Christ. 

Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi ought to be a challenge to our "me first" attitude as Christians who live in the most prosperous land on earth.

The Restoration - Ezra (1)

The group of men I meet with on Tuesday mornings is nearing the end of its exploration of the Minor Prophets and Daniel. Below is the material I sent out last week for this morning's time together. There may be something here for you. If you do nothing else, consider the last question I ask - the one about Ephesians Chapter 2.

Blessings,

Bob

We have three Minor Prophets left in our series; Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. However, because there is a break of more than 70 years between Zephaniah and Haggai, and because the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon and the deportation of much of Judah occurred at the beginning of this 70-year period, we need to capture the historical context of Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi – otherwise we won’t appreciate what God is doing through these three prophets.

As a reminder, when we explored Daniel we saw that Daniel is the one prophet who spans this 70-year period; he was deported by the Babylonians (Daniel 1:1 – 7) at the beginning of the 70 years and he lived at least to the beginning of the end of the 70 years (Daniel 9:1 – 2). While Daniel is not technically considered a Minor Prophet, we began our study with him because of his historical position in the line of Biblical prophets, especially because he lived during the 70-year captivity.

For the next few weeks we’re going to look at the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther. These three books close out the Biblical “history” section of the Sacred Text, which we can think of as beginning with Joshua, coming as Joshua does after the Pentateuch or Torah, the Five Books of Moses (which of course also contain history, but also covenants and the Mosaic Law).

Haggai and Zechariah both appear in Ezra, and we can’t really read one book without reading the other two books. Nehemiah builds on Ezra, and Esther is a nice exclamation point on the sovereignty of God during this time of transition for Judah.

While the entire Old Testament speaks of Christ and His Body, the Church, His Bride; I have long felt that Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi unveil critical paradigms for the Church. Sadly most Christians are unaware of the story of the 70-year captivity and the restoration of the Temple and Jerusalem, a restoration that was not without spiritual struggle and conflict. More than once I have desired that a congregation “see” the message of Haggai so that we would leave our self-centered narcissistic ways and deny ourselves and go “all-in” for Christ and the Cross. I am certain that I have not always been faithful to God’s message through Haggai, but that is my desire. But before we get to Haggai we’ll need to begin with Ezra.

Our passage for next week is Ezra 1:1 -4.

Compare Isaiah 44:24 – 45:7; Jeremiah 25:1 – 14; 29:10 – 14; Daniel 9:1 – 19 with Ezra 1:1 – 4.

How are these passages related to each other? What do you see? What do we learn about God?

What is the express purpose of Cyrus’s decree?

Why was Cyrus releasing the people of Judah from their captivity?

Why does God, through Christ, release us from our captivity to sin and death? (Compare 1 Thessalonians 1:9 – 10; 1 Peter 2:9 – 10; Romans 12:1 – 2)

Ephesians Chapter 2 – can you see the dual dimensions of the “individual and corporate” in Ephesians Chapter 2? How might this relate to Ezra 1:1 – 4?)