Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther E-Book

Wallace P. Benn

• Herausgeber: Crossway
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Serie: Preaching the Word
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Beschreibung

A Verse-by-Verse Commentary on the Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther Packed with exciting Biblical history, the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther display God's faithfulness through trials, the promise of restoration, and the beauty of revival. This commentary provides deep insights to help pastors and teachers draw connections between Ezra and Nehemiah, both of whom display godly leadership and the power of prayer. Then readers will follow Esther to learn how God's providence reigns, even in a pagan world, and see how each of these Old Testament books points to the promise of our Savior Jesus Christ. Pastor and experienced Bible expositor Wallace P. Benn expertly discusses Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther verse by verse, and provides insightful observations, illustrations, and applications.

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“This series resonates with the priorities of the pulpit. No academic aloofness here, but down-to-earth, preacher-to-preacher meat for God’s people.”

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“The single best resource for faithful biblical exposition available today. A great boon for genuine reformation!”

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“There is a long history of informed, edifying biblical expositions that have been mightily used for God to shape and strengthen the church. These volumes admirably fit this tradition.”

D. A. Carson, Cofounder and Theologian-at-Large, The Gospel Coalition

“Throughout the Christian centuries, working pastors have been proving themselves to be the best of all Bible expositors. Kent Hughes stands in this great tradition, and his exciting expositions uphold it worthily.”

J. I. Packer, Late Board of Governors’ Professor of Theology, Regent College

“The Preaching the Word series is a fine set of commentaries for any pastor. It has a great balance between intellect and heart, covering both interpretation and application. You can’t go wrong with this set. It will improve your preaching.”

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“It is a pleasure to commend this series of homiletical commentaries. They fill an enormous vacuum that exists between the practical needs of the pastor/teacher and the critical exegetical depth of most commentaries.”

Walter C. Kaiser Jr., President Emeritus and Colman M. Mockler Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Old Testament, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther

Preaching the Word

Edited by R. Kent Hughes

Genesis | R. Kent Hughes

Exodus | Philip Graham Ryken

Leviticus | Kenneth A. Mathews

Numbers | Iain M. Duguid

Deuteronomy | Ajith Fernando

Joshua | David Jackman

Judges and Ruth | Barry G. Webb

1 Samuel | John Woodhouse

2 Samuel | John Woodhouse

1 Kings | John Woodhouse

Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther | Wallace P. Benn

Job | Christopher Ash

Psalms, vol. 1 | James Johnston

Proverbs | Raymond C. Ortlund Jr.

Ecclesiastes | Philip Graham Ryken

Song of Solomon | Douglas Sean O’Donnell

Isaiah | Raymond C. Ortlund Jr.

Jeremiah and Lamentations | R. Kent Hughes

Daniel | Rodney D. Stortz

Matthew | Douglas Sean O’Donnell

Mark | R. Kent Hughes

Luke | R. Kent Hughes

John | R. Kent Hughes

Acts | R. Kent Hughes

Romans | R. Kent Hughes

1 Corinthians | Stephen T. Um

2 Corinthians | R. Kent Hughes

Galatians | Todd Wilson

Ephesians | R. Kent Hughes

Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon | R. Kent Hughes

1–2 Thessalonians | James H. Grant Jr.

1–2 Timothy and Titus | R. Kent Hughes and Bryan Chapell

Hebrews | R. Kent Hughes

James | R. Kent Hughes

1–2 Peter and Jude | David R. Helm

1–3 John | David L. Allen

Revelation | James M. Hamilton Jr.

The Sermon on the Mount | R. Kent Hughes

Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther

RestoringtheChurch

Wallace P. Benn

R. Kent Hughes

Series Editor

Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther: Restoring the Church

Copyright © 2021 by Wallace P. Benn

Published by Crossway1300 Crescent StreetWheaton, Illinois 60187

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by USA copyright law. Crossway® is a registered trademark in the United States of America.

Chronology charts on pages 15–16 are taken from pages 634, 652, and 677 of the ESV® Global Study Bible™ (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2012 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Timelines on pages 18, 72, and 142 are taken from pages 629, 647, and 671 of the ESV® Global Study Bible™ (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2012 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Song lyrics quoted on pages 24, 29, 45, 52–53, 68–69, and 123–24: Adm. by CapitolCMGPublishing.com excl. UK & Europe, adm. at IntegrityRights.com.

Cover design: Jon McGrath, Simplicated Studio

Cover image: Adam Greene, illustrator

First printing 2021

Printed in the United States of America

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible. Public domain.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

All emphases in Scripture quotations have been added by the author.

Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4335-7349-1 ePub ISBN: 978-1-4335-7352-1 PDF ISBN: 978-1-4335-7350-7 Mobipocket ISBN: 978-1-4335-7351-4

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Benn, Wallace P., author. | Hughes, R. Kent, 1942- editor.

Title: Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther : restoring the church / Wallace P. Benn ; R. Kent Hughes, series editor.

Description: Wheaton, Illinois : Crossway, [2021] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020054789 (print) | LCCN 2020054790 (ebook) | ISBN 9781433573491 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781433573507 (pdf) | ISBN 9781433573514 (mobi) | ISBN 9781433573521 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Bible. Hagiographa—Criticism, interpretation, etc. | Bible. Ezra—Criticism, interpretation, etc. | Bible. Nehemiah—Criticism, interpretation, etc. | Bible. Esther—Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Classification: LCC BS1308 .B47 2021 (print) | LCC BS1308 (ebook) | DDC 222/.06—dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020054789

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020054790

Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

2021-08-03 04:24:59 PM

To Lindsay Jane Benn, my beloved wife of over forty years, without whose love, prayers, help, and encouragement this book would never have been finished.

And in memory of the late Rev. Dr. J. Alec Motyer, who taught me to love the Old Testament as well as the New and encouraged me to preach it as God’s Word written.

Restore us again, O God of our salvation,

and put away your indignation toward us!

Will you be angry with us forever?

Will you prolong your anger to all generations?

Will you not revive us again,

that your people may rejoice in you?

Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,

and grant us your salvation.

Psalm 85:4–7

Contents

A Word to Those Who Preach the Word

Preface

Timelines and Chronology

Ezra

Timeline

1 Our God Reigns—See God (1)

2 The Church Family Matters—See the Church (2)

3 First Things First—Returning to Worship (3)

4 Facing the Battle (4—6:12)

5 The Temple Finished and Dedicated (6:13–22)

6 “Lord, Please Do It Again” (7)

7 Believers Face Challenges (8)

8 The Danger of Dilution (9)

9 Holiness Matters (10)

Nehemiah

Timeline

10 A Good Heart for God and His Work (1)

11 Making the Most of the Opportunity! (2:1–10)

12 Sharing the Vision and Starting the Work (2:11–20)

13 The Family of God at Work (3:1–32)

14 Getting the Work Completed (4—7:4)

15 The Importance of Continuity (7: 5–73a)

16 Revival (7:73b—8:18)

17 Recounting the Goodness of God (9:1–37)

18 Renewing the Covenant (9:38—10:39)

19 Recreating Community (11)

20 A Joyful Celebration and a New Beginning (12)

21 Broken Promises (13)

Esther

Timeline

22 The Selection of Esther as Queen (1—2)

23 The Plot to Destroy the Jews (3—4)

24 The Reversal of “Fortune” Begins (5—7)

25 Deliverance for the Jews (8—9)

26 The Conclusion of Esther (10)

A Select Bibliography

Notes

Scripture Index

General Index

Index of Sermon Illustrations

A Word to Those Who Preach the Word

There are times when I am preaching that I have especially sensed the pleasure of God. I usually become aware of it through the unnatural silence. The ever-present coughing ceases, and the pews stop creaking, bringing an almost physical quiet to the sanctuary—through which my words sail like arrows. I experience a heightened eloquence, so that the cadence and volume of my voice intensify the truth I am preaching.

There is nothing quite like it—the Holy Spirit filling one’s sails, the sense of his pleasure, and the awareness that something is happening among one’s hearers. This experience is, of course, not unique, for thousands of preachers have similar experiences, even greater ones.

What has happened when this takes place? How do we account for this sense of his smile? The answer for me has come from the ancient rhetorical categories of logos, ethos, and pathos.

The first reason for his smile is the logos—in terms of preaching, God’s Word. This means that as we stand before God’s people to proclaim his Word, we have done our homework. We have exegeted the passage, mined the significance of its words in their context, and applied sound hermeneutical principles in interpreting the text so that we understand what its words meant to its hearers. And it means that we have labored long until we can express in a sentence what the theme of the text is—so that our outline springs from the text. Then our preparation will be such that as we preach, we will not be preaching our own thoughts about God’s Word, but God’s actual Word, his logos. This is fundamental to pleasing him in preaching.

The second element in knowing God’s smile in preaching is ethos—what you are as a person. There is a danger endemic to preaching, which is having your hands and heart cauterized by holy things. Phillips Brooks illustrated it by the analogy of a train conductor who comes to believe that he has been to the places he announces because of his long and loud heralding of them. And that is why Brooks insisted that preaching must be “the bringing of truth through personality.” Though we can never perfectly embody the truth we preach, we must be subject to it, long for it, and make it as much a part of our ethos as possible. As the Puritan William Ames said, “Next to the Scriptures, nothing makes a sermon more to pierce, than when it comes out of the inward affection of the heart without any affectation.” When a preacher’s ethos backs up his logos, there will be the pleasure of God.

Last, there is pathos—personal passion and conviction. David Hume, the Scottish philosopher and skeptic, was once challenged as he was seen going to hear George Whitefield preach: “I thought you do not believe in the gospel.” Hume replied, “I don’t, but he does.” Just so! When a preacher believes what he preaches, there will be passion. And this belief and requisite passion will know the smile of God.

The pleasure of God is a matter of logos (the Word), ethos (what you are), and pathos (your passion). As you preach the Word may you experience his smile—the Holy Spirit in your sails!

R. Kent Hughes

Preface

When my dear friend Kent Hughes originally asked me to write this preaching commentary, I had loved and benefited from preaching through Nehemiah many times. I had used it too in each new church situation I found myself in to set an agenda for the leadership team by examining where the “walls” of the particular work were built and where they were broken down and needed attention. Always, under God, Nehemiah helped and mobilized us to see what was encouraging and in particular what needed attention and how we could address this by catching a renewed vision for the glory of God and the extension of his kingdom.

I had neglected Ezra, however, and failed to see that really Ezra/Nehemiah is one book with the same heartbeat expressed in slightly different ways. Both are concerned with the restoration of the church in Jerusalem and Judea. Both are energized through prayer and belief in the steadfast promise-keeping nature of the God they worship. Both see that if God’s people are to be what God wants them to be, then the Word of God, and obedience to it, must be central for their life and health and for the effectiveness of their God-given mission to be a light to the world. Both men are godly leaders, with somewhat different temperaments, but with the same love and same purpose to see God’s name honored afresh as the church is restored according to the promise of God. The two complement one another—Ezra, the priest with a passion to teach and preach God’s Word, and Nehemiah, the lay leader whose God-given organizational skills and prayerfulness make spiritual reformation possible. I have since loved preaching through Ezra many times too.

What about the book of Esther, this unusual and brilliantly written dramatic book about “Where is God in a pagan world?” Was he still with his people in pagan Susa? As we shall see, he was with his people, working out his saving purposes for them. This is a wonderful book for believers living in a very secular world who sometimes wonder how they will cope and what God is up to. It is also a wonderful book to teach about the providence of God, a much-neglected doctrine among modern evangelical Christians. I have now preached through Esther many times with delight and profit.

The position canonically and historically of these books written after the exile is also of particular significance to us, as I believe the church in the West is going through a time of exile or judgment because of its manifest unfaithfulness to the gospel and the Word of God. Despite many encouragements, liberal teaching has eroded confidence in the Holy Scriptures, and we are not winning generally against the huge neo-pagan secular and materialistic tide. May God have mercy on us and restore, revive, and bless his people so that our nations may once again be shaken by the power of the gospel to change hearts and transform lives. These three books tell us the kind of people God raises up and uses in bringing reformation and revival and how he brings about the restoration of the church of their time. Lord, please do it again, and use us to be instruments in your hands!

But these books only partially fulfill their promise. As three books among the very last books of the Old Testament, the promises of God await the coming of great David’s greater Son, the Son of God and the Savior of the world. It is only in him that all the promises of God find their “Yes” (2 Corinthians 1:20). But these books do speak of Jesus, show us our need of him, and encourage us to come to him, remain faithful to him, and rejoice in all the blessings we receive in him. These books are part of God’s Word written for our learning, and we neglect them to our great loss.

My grateful thanks to Dr. R. Kent Hughes and all at Crossway for their kindness and patience and for giving me the privilege to write this commentary in the Preaching the Word series.

Wallace P. Benn

Easter 2021

Timelines and Chronology

Ezra

The Timeline of Ezra

Taken from page 629 of the ESV® Global Study Bible™ (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2012 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

1

Our God Reigns—See God

Ezra 1

Why study Ezra? Because it is a neglected part of God’s Word written, and no part of the Holy Scriptures should be neglected. Bruce Waltke talks about it in his excellent Old Testament Theology as “a story the church needs to hear but rarely does.”1 It is the story of a second exodus as God’s people return from seventy years of captivity in Persia, and after a period of judgment it is a story of grace, forgiveness, and restoration. It is a story of new beginnings and a period of church reviving.

In a powerful and beautiful passage, Ezra (9:6–9) describes what has been going on. He confesses the sin of the professing church of his day (the people of Judah, the Jews), which has been the cause of the terrible events of 586 b.c. when Jerusalem and its temple were destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar and the last portion of the people were taken into exile. But now in grace and mercy, and in fulfillment of his promise, God is reviving, restoring, and bringing the people home. It is a time of “a little reviving in our slavery” when God has shown his steadfast love for his people and his willingness “to grant us some reviving to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us protection in Judea and Jerusalem” (9:8–9). Ezra describes a time of church revival and restoration after a period of difficulty and judgment.

Back in the 1980s, J. I. Packer suggested that the church in the West was going through a period of judgment for its manifold disobedience and unfaithfulness to God’s Word. I trust you come from a church situation that is encouraging, seeing growth, and knowing God’s blessing, but it is certainly true that despite many encouraging signs the church in the Western world (unlike the church elsewhere) is not winning overall against the huge secular, unbelieving, materialistic tide it is facing. I remember a bishop from Africa telling me in 1998 that more people were becoming Christians in his diocese than were being born! That’s hugely encouraging, and we in the West need to realize how well the church is doing in the Two-Thirds World, often even in the face of extreme difficulty and persecution. We need that reviving too! The old mainstream Protestant denominations are riven with disagreement between those who want to be faithful to the Scriptures and those who simply wish to be in tune with the values of our time whatever the cost. We need God to revive and restore us, bringing us back to joy in the gospel of grace and the abiding truths of the Bible as the crucial answer to our deepest needs before God. On a more personal note, which one of us reading this text is as obedient to God’s Word as we should be or takes with wisdom and courage all the opportunities God gives us to live and witness for him? We need reviving too, so that in a fresh way we may be the people God wants us to be. So Ezra is deeply relevant.

The books of Ezra and Nehemiah were originally one, and they need to be read, studied, and ideally preached together. They cover three returns of God’s people to the land. The first and main one in 538 b.c. included the building of the second temple (Solomon’s temple being the first, destroyed in 586 b.c.), which was finished in 516 b.c. (see Ezra 1—6). The second return was in 458 b.c. with Ezra himself leading a group (see Ezra 7—10). The third return to Jerusalem was in 445 b.c. under the leadership of Nehemiah. This period covered the reign of four Persian kings (Cyrus, Darius, Xerxes, and Artaxerxes) and covers approximately the last 100 years or so of Old Testament history (see the earlier chart). It was a period of God’s blessing and faithfulness despite continuing sin among the people, but a time that looked forward to what God would do to bless and restore his people with the coming of the messianic king, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ezra shows us how God goes about blessing and reviving his people. If we are to know his reviving touch, we should ask God to do the same fundamental things among us as he did among his people then. What is the first step in God reviving his people? It is to renew their vision of his sovereign power and covenant faithfulness.

Ezra 1 follows directly from the previous book (2 Chronicles 36:22–23) and tells us that God’s Word can be trusted because God keeps his promises. The decree of Cyrus is the direct result of the fullfillment of prophecies that were stated long before. See the remarkable mention of Cyrus by name in Isaiah 44:28:

who says of Cyrus, “He is my shepherd,

and he shall fulfill all my purpose”;

saying of Jerusalem, “She shall be built,”

and of the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.”

Josephus, the Jewish historian, speculated that Cyrus—when shown this prophecy or when reading it himself—was then prompted by it to take action. Be that as it may, Ezra says it was really God who stirred him to issue this decree (1:1).

Note also the specific prophecy mentioned by Ezra that is being fulfilled—Jeremiah 29:10–14:

For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

This was now happening, said Ezra. (See also Jeremiah 25:11; 31:7–8; 33:9; Zechariah 4:10.)

Redeeming and Restoring His People

God keeps his covenant promises to his people, and his word of promise can be trusted now as then. Ezra was telling the story of God’s redeeming and restoring his people to praise his name and bear witness to him in the world of his day.

The book of Ezra is a story of God’s grace and mercy that displays his steadfast love for his people as he refuses to give up on them.

Working through Human History to Achieve His Purpose

If you were a Judean slave in Persia, the superpower of the day, you might have wondered how on earth you would ever get back to Jerusalem. Perhaps there would be a coup and you could escape. Unlikely, given Cyrus’s power. Maybe someone would poison the king and in the ensuing chaos you could slip away. That was not the way God did it at all. Instead in a peaceful way he “stirred up the spirit of Cyrus” (1:1) to issue the decree recorded in verses 2–4.

This is remarkable in many ways, and the way it is phrased in Ezra 1 shows a clear respect for “the God of heaven.” This was a smart political move on Cyrus’s part, and though of particular benefit to the people of Judea in exile, we know from The Cyrus Cylinder (a renowned document in the British Museum) that such a decree was extended to many other ethnic and religious groups as well. In the vast empire that Cyrus had conquered and sought to control, there were many ethnic groups that had been exiled and displaced. Sending them back on a mission to restore their places of worship would hopefully create a thankful and loyal population throughout his empire. Cyrus was, it seems, a polytheist (note the phrase “may his God be with him,” v. 3) and a worshiper of Marduk. The decree as recorded by Ezra was in a form amenable to the Jewish exiles, but unknown to Cyrus, it was all for their benefit under the sovereign hand of their God.

There is a key lesson to be learned here. In our unstable world of superpowers and wars and rumors of wars, it is not Joe Biden or Vladimir Putin or anyone else who is in control—it is God. His purposes to save, bless, and keep a people for his glory cannot and will not be thwarted. Our God reigns, and he works throughout history and even uses unbelievers to achieve his purposes. If he can use Cyrus, he can use anybody. He rules and overrules the course of human history for his ends. How tremendously encouraging it must have been to a humanly insignificant and captive people to know that their destiny was in safe hands and that God had the power to keep his promises and accomplish all his plans for the good and blessing of his people. In the Western world today, when Christians are often marginalized and seem powerless to stop the neo-pagan tide, how encouraging it is to know that our God still reigns and works out his purposes. My old college principal, mentor, and friend J. Alec Motyer used to say, “The sovereignty of God is the pillow on which I lay my head at night.” That has been my and my family’s joyful experience for many years now.

Energizing, Stirring Up, and Motivating His People to Do His Will (for Their Joy)

The renewed vision of God’s grace and power was the key ingredient in stirring up the people to passionately obey God and trust his promises. The same God that stirred Cyrus stirred the peoples’ hearts too. God was at work motivating and energizing them to get up and go (1:5), and it seems that the leaders took the initiative in this. The motivation to obey the Lord, trust his promises, and take the opportunity provided by Cyrus’s amazing decree in God’s good providence is the precursor to blessing. Obedience is always the way to God’s blessing, and it is God’s blessing that brings joy.

Providentially Providing for His People in Unexpected Ways

Cyrus suggested that the people of God who stayed behind should support those who were going with needful gifts given generously (1:4, 6). Many commentators suggest, I think rightly, that this included helpful gifts from pagan neighbors as well as believers. This amazing activity shows God behind the event and mirrors what happened in the first exodus (see Exodus 12:35–36).

Even more extraordinary than this, Cyrus commanded that all the vessels taken in plunder by Nebuchadnezzar should be returned (Ezra 1:7). This amounted to a large number of pots and pans, including 5,400 vessels of gold and silver (1:11). There were no statues or idols of any kind since they were forbidden in temple worship. The treasurer in charge of the handover gave them all to the safekeeping of Sheshbazzar, “the prince of Judah,” of the royal line of David (1:8), a key figure at this point.

God was showing extreme restorative generosity to his people, who would set out laden with gifts and returned treasure. Anyone who knows the stories of battles by various countries to get the British Museum to return treasures taken in conquest during the days of the British Empire will not fail to be amazed at this provision. The people were setting off on a difficult journey, but they were encouraged by God’s gracious providence and provision for them. They must have had a song in their hearts as well as being excited and probably also somewhat nervous about what lay ahead of them. The God who keeps his promises would not fail them now!

New Testament Perspective

It is important that we see the significance of these truths for us as worked out in the New Testament. All these things were written for our learning, and often Old Testament stories reveal truth further displayed and developed in the New Testament.

In Paul’s magnificent vision of all that we as believers have in the risen Christ because of his substitutionary death and bodily resurrection and ascension, he prays that Christians may see:

. . . what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:19–23)

Notice the phrase describing Christ “as head over all things to [or perhaps more helpfully, “for”] the church.” Christ’s sovereign authority and power is for the benefit of the church, and he exercises his authority to save, keep, bless, and bring to glory his redeemed people. God’s providential care and sovereignty are exercised through history for the glory of his name and the benefit of his people. So Paul can elsewhere say that “for those who love God all things work together for good” (Romans 8:28). Our God reigns, and he reigns in grace and love, working out his purposes for us if we belong to him.

When we have felt stirred to serve our Lord and seek to do his will, it is not our own strength that has so moved us. God has enabled us to so respond; so we should give him the praise. Listen again to Paul:

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12–13)

We need to respond to and obey God with all our hearts, but it is God who enables us to do that. As in the days of Ezra, so it is now.

Though the nations rage,

Kingdoms rise and fall,

There is still one King

Reigning over all.

So I will not fear for this truth remains:

That my God is the Ancient of Days.

None above Him, none before Him,

All of time in His hands.

For His throne it shall remain and ever stand.

All the power, all the glory,

I will trust in His name;

For my God is the Ancient of Days.

—Jonny Robinson, Rich Thompson, Michael Ray Farren, and Jesse Reeves1

1 Extract taken from the song “Ancient of Days” by Jonny Robinson, Rich Thompson, Michael Farren, and Jesse Reeves. Copyright © 2018 CityAlight Music/Integrity’s Alleluia! Music/Farren Love & War (Adm. by CapitolCMGPublishing.com excl. UK & Europe, adm. at IntegrityRights.com)/BECWorship/WriterwrongMusic (Admin by Song Solutions); and © 2018 BEC WORSHIP (ASCAP / Writerwrong Music (ASCAP) (Administered by Music Services) CityAlight Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing (Integrity Music, David C Cook)) / Farren Love & War Publishing (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing (Integrity Music, David C Cook)) / Integrity’s Alleluia! Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing (Integrity Music, David C Cook).

2

The Church Family Matters—See the Church

Ezra 2

Who am I? Where do I belong? These questions are of considerable importance in knowing our identity and our place in the scheme of things.

If you were to ask a Jew (someone who came from Judea originally) in Ezra’s time what their identity was, they would say, “I belong to the people of God. That is who I am. The great and true God YHWH has chosen a people for his own possession and glory to bring his light to the world, and I belong to that people. This God has entered into a covenant relationship with us, and we belong to him, though our sin has caused our exile.”

Ezra 2 is all about the identity of the people of God—who they really were and what defined them. There can be no blurred edges, as we shall see; no uncertainties about belonging or not, because for these people, all their future hopes were wrapped up in their identity. More than anything else, their identity depended on their relationship with God.

King David beautifully wrote and sang of his experience with God. In the challenging circumstances of being a shepherd boy caring for his sheep in lonely and difficult circumstances, he had proved the reality of God as the shepherd who cared for, protected, and provided for him. The returning exiles in Ezra 2 were experiencing the same grace-filled commitment and care of their shepherd God as the Lord clearly supervised, enabled, protected, and provided for them as they returned to a devastated country with a job to do.

The Good Shepherd Delivers, Restores, and Leads Home

God was delivering them out of the captivity that their sin and disobedience had caused them (2:1). They were coming home, and it was the grace of God that was accomplishing this. Against all human odds, God had turned the heart of the king to enable them to go home, encourage the support of the community in their doing so, and provide for them on that long and hazardous journey, probably taking about four months. God had also stirred the people’s hearts to respond to God’s initiative and take up the challenge of the journey and the challenges they would face when they got there (1:1, 5).

Notice that they returned under the leadership of “the heads of the fathers’ houses” (1:5) that expanded to twelve men (2:2; 1:8 adds Sheshbazzar, making him the twelfth). The twelve leaders represent the twelve tribes of the ancient people of God. Israel was once again being reconstituted, restored to what it once was. God had kept his promise, had not given up on them, and was taking them home once again.

The Good Shepherd Knows His Sheep by Name

Have you ever wondered why all the lists in the Bible are there, giving so many names otherwise long forgotten and so difficult to read aloud in church? If you belong to God by grace and faith, you may never be famous or make it into a secular world history of significant people, but you will not be forgotten by God or be anything other than significant in his sight. So how good it is to see this list of names; in New Testament terms, if we are disciples of Christ, how good it is to know that our names are written in “the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:27).

The Good Shepherd Cares about His Sheep (and Their Lambs)

The list is especially important here in the reconstitution of the people of God. It tells us who they were and how many they were. It defines and sets boundaries. The list also shows that families matter to God (“sons of” is repeated throughout the chapter). Passing on the faith in our families matters to God also. Many years earlier, God had promised Abraham that his offspring would be as innumerable as the stars and that one of his offspring would bring blessing to all the nations of the world (Genesis 15:5). Humanly speaking, that depended on Abraham’s descendants keeping their faith and identity. It was from the people of Abraham that one day the Messiah would come (Matthew 1:1–2). So the people of God keeping their identity as recorded here and passing on their faith was of great importance to the purposes of God in their entirety and to the fulfillment of his promises, which they knew would not fail.

It is not surprising that the God who invented marriage for one man and one woman as the context for sexual activity and the multiplication of the human race loves to work in families that seek to honor him. Passing on our faith to our children is of crucial importance in every generation. Parents have a unique and special responsibility in this.

The Good Shepherd Calls His Sheep to Holiness of Life

No uncertainty about belonging could be allowed (2:59). Clarity was needed as to whether a person belonged or not. There could be no fence-sitting! No priest, if there was uncertainty because of intermarriage outside of God’s people, could operate until guidance was sought (2:61–63). How this guidance exactly worked at the time remains something of a mystery to us. God’s people were to be a holy people set apart for himself and seeking to follow his Word and rule as his redeemed people. There could no compromise about that clarity of desire and commitment.

The Good Shepherd Knows His Sheep Need Good Leaders to Lead Them in Worship

We see this particularly in 2:2–68. Notice the large numbers of priests and temple servants despite relatively few Levites. They make up approximately one tenth of the total number. This is significant. The people knew they were going back to rebuild the temple and restore worship, and that priority commitment was reflected in these numbers. They would need the help of the priests, temple servants, and Levites.

Also note how some of the other leaders were great examples in showing that worship is the expression of a surrendered life—they gave generously, beyond a tithe (or tenth) (2:68). We all need good examples to lead us in the right direction, and leaders have a particular responsibility to take that seriously.

It is important to note that the overall number of returnees was not huge, approximately 50,000 people. Various estimates of what might have been expected differ, but a realistic and relatively conservative number would probably have been double that amount. Some were perhaps too old and sick to travel. Others had put their roots down in Babylonia and were just too comfortable to move or were not prepared for the spiritual challenge of the journey and the difficult and dangerous task of resettling Judea. “A similar choice repeatedly confronts us as Christians [cf. Hebrews 11:8–27], and may form a test between nominal and real believers. God does not always call us to security.”1

There was work to be done. There were promises yet to be fulfilled. They needed to settle the land, build the temple, and be obedient to God’s ways, which are always the best ways in the long run. To fulfill their calling, they needed one another’s support, encouragement, and help and to look to God in each new opportunity and challenge.

New Testament Perspective

First Corinthians 3:16–17 reminds us that in new covenant times, Christians gathering together are the Church of Jesus Christ, the new temple: “God’s temple is holy, and you [plural] are that temple.” Collectively as the Body of Christ, we are set apart for our Savior’s glory, to love and serve him who has loved us so.

First Corinthians 6:19–20 reminds us that individually, if we have invited Jesus to be our Savior and Lord, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and are therefore God’s temple: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”

Both these truths are very important and need to be held together. We have been saved by grace individually, but then were brought into God’s family, the Church. Now we need one another’s help and encouragement to live for our Savior and bring glory to him.

Ephesians is the great New Testament book about the doctrine of the Church. Three great pictures of the Church are given us there:

The bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:23–25)—we are loved and are called to respond with love.The body of Christ (Ephesians 1:22–23; 3:6; 4:4, 12, 15–16; 5:23, 30)—a wonderful picture of our Savior’s ownership of us and his intimacy with us and a call to each one of us as part of that Body, gifted and enabled by the Spirit, to play our part in serving Christ and one another (see 1 Corinthians 12—14).The building (temple) of Christ (Ephesians 2:20–21)—in which Christ is the cornerstone and we are being built together to bring glory to God. This is a call for the Church to grow as the number of the redeemed increases until that great day when our Savior returns. In the meantime we are not to neglect gathering together to encourage, support, and challenge each other to persevere in running the race of faith, looking always to Jesus (Hebrews 10:22–25; 12:1–2).

We need to see the Church afresh and its importance in the purposes of God. We need to play our part in this glorious household/family of God (Ephesians 2:19) to which we are privileged to belong because of the blood of our Savior who died for us as our sin-bearer to restore our relationship with God and enable us to be his children.

We also need to remember that our essential identity comes not from our ethnicity, class, education, possessions, or sexuality but from being in Christ, united to him, and part of God’s wonderful family, the Church of Jesus Christ, that unites people from every race, background, and culture.

In Christ alone my hope is found,

He is my light, my strength, my song;

This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.

What heights of love, what depths of peace,

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!

My Comforter, my All in All,

Here in the love of Christ I stand.

—Keith Getty and Stuart Townend1

1 Extract taken from the song “In Christ Alone” by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend. Copyright © 2001 Thankyou Music (Adm. by CapitolCMGPublishing.com excl. UK & Europe, adm. at IntegrityRights.com).

3

First Things First—Returning to Worship

Ezra 3

In the county in England where I live, Northamptonshire, there are many little villages built of attractive cream-colored stone. The outstanding building in these villages is the local church, of which there are many fine examples. While it is true that some may have been built for unworthy reasons—perhaps because the local squire wanted to sponsor a better building than another nearby village or town—nonetheless the most important building in all these villages is the church. That says something about the priorities of these village inhabitants in the past. They knew their need of God and their dependence on him to survive and thrive; so the best buildings they built were churches.