Lessons From Ezra – Lesson 1
We recently finished Esther and Nehemiah but there is one more book that goes along with those two. We now are going to go back and finish the 3rd book to the story while the other 2 are still somewhat fresh in our minds.
The book is Ezra. Ezra will mention several of the same events and so we are not going to go verse by verse thru it. So it is not going to take us very long to go thru it. And if you have not yet done so, you should do Nehemiah first and then Esther and then come back to Ezra.
In Nehemiah we saw God fulfill the promises that God gave thru the prophet Jeremiah. And we saw a great revival start in Nehemiah chapter 8 when the people called for Ezra to read to them the Word of God.
The book of Ezra actually starts out before Ezra was around. The book starts by giving an account of how God started the work to fulfill the promises that He gave in Jeremiah. The king mentioned here is the father of the king in Esther who was the father of the king in Nehemiah.
Ezra 1:1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,
In Ezra we learn some things about how God works to get what He wants done accomplished.
Question. What is in this verse that God wanted accomplished? The fulfillment of the promises in Jeremiah.
Who’s Idea were those promises in Jeremiah? God’s Idea.
So this was God’s plan. It was His purpose. He gave the promises. He gave Jeremiah the instructions to give those promises. God works to fulfill His Word.
Here is fact number 1. God’s Work will always line up with God’s Word.
Jehovah Witnesses will say they are doing the work of God but what they do and teach does not line up with the Word of God. For one thing they say Jesus is not God and they say that their organization is infallible.
Mormons say Jesus was a man first and was brother to Lucifer. They also teach there are 3 levels of heaven and have their teenagers get baptized for their dead relatives to somehow help them in the afterlife get to a higher heaven.
The fact that God’s work will always line up with God’s word is lost on them. But they are not the only ones. We could be here a long time citing examples.
Just this week there was an outfit that calls themselves a church in Maine that take a drug during their services to help them connect to God. They say they are doing the work of God but they are not because what they are doing does not line up with God’s Word.
And it is not just the cults that have this problem. Churches that teach you can lose your salvation, or those that teach a false salvation that does not require a repentant heart.
Many people have done this thru the ages and many do it in our day, they will come up with their own idea of what should be done. They come up with their own plan and they will even have some kind of results.
Some can even build big buildings or get large crowds of people. They are doing something, and that something they call the work of God, but in reality it is not. Why? Because God’s Work will always line up with God’s Word.
Ezra 1:1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,
The first thing that was going to be needed for those promises to be fulfilled was for the temple to be rebuilt. So how does God start that process? Does God just speak and it was done? No. He could have. He created the entire universe that way. He just spoke and it was. Does God sent an angel to build it? No. He could have. A few times God sent an angel to do something like the time He sent one angel to wipe out an entire army. But that is very rare.
Usually the way God works to get His work done is the way you see in verse 1.
the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia
When the Lord wants something done in His work, He will stir up the heart of a person to do it. And as we will see, not just one person. God will stir up many people and each one will be stirred up to do their part.
Not everyone will be stirred up to do the exact same job. Different people will have different parts to do.
Cyrus was stirred up by God to start the process, to give the authority to rebuild the temple. Cyrus himself did not go and clean up the site or lay any timbers. His part was to make the decree. All parts are needed.
In verse 2 Cyrus gives acknowledgment that this was not his idea but that The Lord God was the one that charged him to build the temple at Jerusalem.
Ezra 1:2 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
The Lord is king, He has the right to charge people to do something. That is true.
It is also true that God does not make us robots. We are given a free will. Any person has a free will to decide to exercise faith or not. God in His foreknowledge put Cyrus in the position as king because God fore knew that when God would stir up his heart that Cyrus would chose to have faith and make the decree.
Watch how Cyrus makes this decree. Notice how many times you see free will mentioned.
Ezra 1:3 Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem.
Let him go. That is one. It is not make him go.
Ezra 1:4 And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.
Let the men of his place help. That is two. It is not make him help. Let them help with gold and goods and beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house. That is 3. Freewill offering. When we are talking about doing the Work of God it needs to be done out of a freewill. Out of the heart.
Some of you might be thinking but did not God make hard commands in the law. Yes. But that is the law. The law’s purpose was to show that we are sinners. The law is cold and hard and unforgiving.
What we are talking about is God’s Work. Specifically in Ezra God’s Work to fulfill His Promises. While the law is hard and full of must do’s.
God’s Work to fulfill His promises is not. The law condemns man. The law does not and cannot not fulfill God’s promises. The law cannot give grace or mercy. So when God wants His Work done to fulfill promises and give grace and mercy.
God does not use the law to do this. God works another way. Showing that way is a large part of what the book of Ezra is about.
God wants His work to be done from the heart out of a free will.
Ezra 1:5 Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, with all them whose spirit God had raised, to go up to build the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem.
That is number 4. Those men chose to rise up. It says with all them whose spirit God had raised. It does not say all those who God forced. God worked in their hearts and they chose to have faith and chose to go.
God sent the burden. God sent the call. God worked in the heart. And they chose to respond.
Ezra 1:6 And all they that were about them strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, and with beasts, and with precious things, beside all that was willingly offered.
There it is again. All that was willingly offered.
Ezra 1:7 Also Cyrus the king brought forth the vessels of the house of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem, and had put them in the house of his gods;
Ezra 1:8 Even those did Cyrus king of Persia bring forth by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and numbered them unto Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah.
This should be interesting. The vessels that were needed for all of the sacrifices were not destroyed. Nebuchadnezzar stored them in an improper place, but they were stored. Kept safe. God does plan ahead for His work. God does provide what is needed for His work. And He does it thru means. God uses people and circumstances. He used Nebuchadnezzar to save the vessels.
Ezra 1: 9 And this is the number of them: thirty chargers of gold, a thousand chargers of silver, nine and twenty knives,
Ezra 1:10 Thirty basons of gold, silver basons of a second sort four hundred and ten, and other vessels a thousand.
Ezra 1:11 All the vessels of gold and of silver were five thousand and four hundred. All these did Sheshbazzar bring up with them of the captivity that were brought up from Babylon unto Jerusalem.
Everything that was physically needed for the work of the temple was provided for by God thru working in circumstances of life to have what was needed saved and by God working in the hearts of men.
Ezra 2:1 Now these are the children of the province that went up out of the captivity, of those which had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away unto Babylon, and came again unto Jerusalem and Judah, every one unto his city;
Ezra 2:2 Which came with Zerubbabel: Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel:
We are not going to read this long list. In it you will find that every type of person that was needed is represented. God needed priests so you will see that priests were stirred up to go. God needed porters so you will see that some porters were stirred up to go. God needed singers and you will see that some singers also freely went.
And God needed some leaders, some heads of families and so we see that some of them were stirred up and voluntarily went.
Ezra 2:68 And some of the chief of the fathers, when they came to the house of the LORD which is at Jerusalem, offered freely for the house of God to set it up in his place:
Ezra 2:69 They gave after their ability unto the treasure of the work threescore and one thousand drams of gold, and five thousand pound of silver, and one hundred priests’ garments.
They gave after their ability. God never wants someone to be destitute because they give to His work. God loves a cheerful giver. They gave after their ability. So God had blessed them in advance. God gave them the ability before He stirred them up.
And they voluntarily gave what was needed. God does not make money grow on trees. He does not normally just have money just keep coming out of nowhere. He did that a few times. Once with the widow and the oil to feed the prophet. And one time with a widow and her kids and all the vessels.
That was an exception. The way God normally works is He works in a heart. The heart chooses to exercise faith, and God gives the ability.
And because both are true. God is working in hearts and in circumstances, and because men are responding out of a free will. Because of both of those, the work is provided for and moves forward.
Ezra 2:70 So the priests, and the Levites, and some of the people, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinims, dwelt in their cities, and all Israel in their cities.
So God does have a plan. He does want things done. And to do it He will work thru circumstances, like Nebuchadnezzar saving the vessels and circumstances like putting Cyrus on the throne because God knew Cyrus would respond correctly to being stirred up.
And God will work thru stirring up hearts of people from all walks of life. Both to give themselves to the work. Like the porters and the singers and the priests.
And others who have been given the ability are stirred up to provide the physical things needed for the work to go on.
God’s work is always done according to God’s Word. And God’s work will be done with God working thru circumstances and with God working in hearts. Stirring them up to action.
Phil 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Phil 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
After we are saved we are to work out our salvation. In other words, you are saved so live like it. Let your salvation, your changed nature, let it have its way. In your actions, in what you do.
And as you do that keep in mind what we have looked at today. God works in hearts to stir them up to do what He wants done.
So anytime we feel stirred up to do something for God and it lines up with His Word. Then we should take that serious and Let our loving Lord have His way.
When we are stirred up by God, He is actually giving us a wonderful opportunity to be used by Him. It is an opportunity to choose to exercise faith. It is an opportunity to do something to please our Savior.
When God stirs us up to some biblical action, we should never shrink from it.