Ezra 2 (Part 1) Bible Study (The Exiles Return) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Let's turn in our Bibles now to Ezra chapter two. Maybe you're already there, but if you're here visiting us, if you're here joining us in this journey for the first time, we are beginning Ezra chapter two. And before we start this new chapter, it's important to remember that the return of the exiles from Babylon will very much mirror their removal from the promised land. In that, their recovery and their restoration will not happen all at once. It will actually take place in three major waves.

The first cycle will be led by a man named Zerubbabel, who we will learn more about tonight. The second will be led by Ezra himself. And finally, we will see Nehemiah guiding a remnant back to the promised land. Unless we think that these cycles happen in close succession, in reality, they all took place around a hundred years, over a span of a century, close to century, at least. So these these didn't happen one after another.

There was actually gaps in between these movements. And in a moment, we're about to explore the very first steps of the first Jews who were in captivity for decades, now making their way back to what God had originally promised them. And the way the Holy Spirit is going to unfold this pivotal moment in the history of God's people is by recording and providing for us in remarkable detail the names of those who responded to the invitation given by Cyrus. Now, if we're honest, although the significance of this text is monumental, the content may not be the most exhilarating. Because if you look quickly, the last verse there, there might be a number, there should be a number in your Bible at least, we have the number 70.

70 verses of all virtually names with little commentary. And so at first, we might be struck with the thought, what value does this provide God's people, especially today? Well, clearly, it's meaningful. And not just because it's found in the scriptures, but because this very same registry is actually repeated in another part of the Bible. This very same genealogy is found in the Book of Nehemiah when he decided to update the population of the returnees and use this very same catalog as a resource.

So if you like taking notes of references, here's one to begin with, in the margin of your Bibles. Nehemiah seven five. Let me read it to you. This is what he says as he's about to introduce almost a copy paste of what we're about to study this evening. Nehemiah seven five reads, then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles and the officials and the people to be enrolled by genealogy.

And I found the book of the genealogy of those who came up at the first, And that's what the verse ends. So this verse shows us, one, what we already confirmed, that what we're about to look at is the first way. Right? Nehemiah says it himself. But I believe there are many reasons why this particular text would be valuable to the original readers.

Let me give you a few. Number one, this was God's way of honoring those who made the sacrifice of going back to a land that was devastated, brought to absolute ruin, and left behind their community, left behind their success, left behind their comfort zone with the priority of rebuilding God's house. Seventy years. Just imagine what your neighborhood would look like if it was unkept for seventy days. What about seventy months?

Seventy years. This is not an attractive endeavor. This would be extremely challenging. This would be something that would demand much faith and again sacrifice. And we could say right from the beginning, the fact that these names are mentioned is a way of God the Holy Spirit honoring those who took this bold action for His namesake.

Secondly, this would be a document that would grant confidence to the people of Israel about their covenantal relationship with God remaining intact. That despite their expulsion from the promised land, despite years of being separated from what God had granted them, this would reveal, no, no, no, we have our identity still. We have proof that we are still connected to Abraham. So this would reassure the people of God that God has not abandoned us. He's not erased us from history.

He still has a purpose for us. There's still hope. Finally, very close to the second point, this would also serve as a validation of the ancestry of the Jewish people for generations to come. For what purpose? Demonstrating that their return to the land was their inherited right.

This is your right, people of Judah. This is your invitation to somebody that already belongs to you. And so, we can look at this text as Christians and think, this is irrelevant to me, but to the Jews, even to this day, this is a historical landmark, providing so much promise and so much hope. But what about us? What does this text offer the Christian?

How does this apply to those who have pledged their allegiance to the Son of God under the new covenant? Well, this Bible study hopefully will prove average reader who comes to Ezra chapter two. And maybe you're like the average reader

who comes to Ezra chapter two. And you're like the average reader who comes to Ezra chapter two. And you're like the average reader who comes to

Ezra chapter two. And you're like the average reader who comes to Ezra chapter two. And you're like the average reader who

comes to Ezra chapter two. And you're like the average reader And, maybe you're like the average reader who comes to Ezra chapter two and immediately thinks, where do I even begin with interpretation or application? And, I want to offer some help. The first step is simple. It's to read through this catalog and to realize that this long list of names and cities and towns and numbers are actually grouped differently.

And though you may have different people group these sections and these different categories, there's debate about what should be included, what should be excluded. Personally, I think that there are eight solid classifications. Eight solid classes, groups, distinctions of those who will make their way back to the promised land. And when you understand that, and you make that distinction, it makes all of this a lot more manageable. It's not as overwhelming.

And so tonight, we're not going to look at all eight. Originally, I thought we're going to complete this chapter in one sitting. But then, as I looked more carefully, I realized that there's too much, too much here for us to rush through. And so, we're actually only gonna go through three. We're gonna look at the first three, and I'm sure you'll see why we need to do that.

And so, let's begin here by reading the first group mentioned in Ezra two, one to two. Now, these were the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of those exiles from whom Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon had carried captive to Babylonia. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town. They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Sariah, Reoliah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mizpah, Bigvai, Reham, and Ba'anna. The number of the men of the people of Israel.

Will stop there. Can we pray and ask God's help? Lord, we pray that in a perhaps intimidating text like this, you would bring illumination in a way that would bring you so much glory, in a way that would captivate all our hearts to stand in awe of your word. So we need the help of the Holy Spirit to arrive there. And we have come in faith trusting that you will teach us, and that Lord, you will receive worship because of it.

We thank you in advance. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. If you're taking notes again, the first group that is underscored here are the leaders. First movement, this first wave of exiles returning to the land.

And as much as we would like to think that the Nehemiah and Mordecai that are mentioned in these verses are the same ones from the books that we are familiar of. Nehemiah and Esther, they are not. They come much later in the story, and you just have to remember that there are people, even in Biblical times, that had the same names. And every generation had popular names, and these might be some of them. So these are not the same characters.

What we are faced with instead are unfamiliar individuals, 11 of them to be exact. But when you look at Nehemiah's version, there is an added name bringing the total to 12. And it could be that the number 12, in terms of the leaders, is meant to symbolize the totality of God's people who are now being restored to the Lord and their covenantal relationship with Him. What is more obvious, however, is that the leader of the leaders is Zerubbabel. He's the first one mentioned.

And as we read through this story, we will learn that Zerubbabel was the appointed governor of the reestablished inhabitants of Jerusalem and Judah, and will play a key role in rebuilding the temple. But he's more than that. More text will show that Zerubbabel was not just a trusted leader, he was a descendant of David. He's actually from the royal line, which again, makes him the heir to the throne, but also the ancestor, one ancestor of the Lord Jesus Christ. Zerubbabel appears in another genealogy, the one that belongs to our Lord.

In Matthew one twelve to 13, his name is found there. Now, this is remarkable. This is this is where we need to pause and ponder because if you do, you will relish in the depth of God's faithfulness. Think about it. God did not just preserve his people over these seventy years in exile.

He did not just safeguard the articles of the temple. He actually protected the Davidic line. He did not abandon or forget his messianic plan. This is amazing. Against all odds, through so much decimation, devastation, After years and years and years of captivity, one of the first things we learn in this chapter is that God still has the promise he made to David in mind, and he wants us to see his faithfulness in it.

But the royal line is not the only thing that he preserved. There's also the priestly line. How do we know that? With a name that comes immediately after Zerubbabel, Jeshua. Is he not there?

Jeshua. Now Jeshua, if we look at Ezra three two, look at it quickly. Just flip over there for a moment. You realize what his role is among the leaders. It says here in Ezra three two.

Then arose Jeshua the son of Jozadak with his fellow priests and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel with his kinsmen, and they built the altar of the God of Israel to offer burnt offerings on it. He's a priest. He's a priest. But when you read texts like Haggai one one, for example, he's not just a priest, he's the high priest of this time. This is fascinating.

So, you have, in the first names mentioned in this genealogy, a call to remembrance that God has now preserved the royal line and the priestly line. And as encouraging as this is, as much as this duo will do much for the restoration of the people of God and their walk with God. Right? Because what we're gonna find is that they are working side by side. Frequently, they're mentioned together.

They're almost inseparable in their partnership. They point to a coming leader. They point to one who will combine both offices, who will be both king and priest, and he will do something far greater what they were able to accomplish. He will bring the people of Israel to an everlasting covenant, to a superior way of worship, to an ultimate relationship and contract with God. And we know that the Hebrew Scriptures predict this in the person of Jesus Christ.

That leader arrived two thousand years ago. And we're living in the reality of the captain of our salvation who is still now, not just drawing the Jewish people, but all nations. And he's delivering them. And he's rebuilding them. And he is more importantly, regenerating them.

And he is creating a new people in preparation for his kingdom to come and to be established for all eternity. Who thought that we can find Christ in a text like this? But he's there. Zerubbabel and Jeshua. Yes, separately, but working together, pointing to one who will combine these things, the seed of David, and a priest after the order of Melchizedek, Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

But before we move on, we also have to observe something practical about these they show the importance of and this is something for us to consider even as Christians, as the church of Jesus Christ. I find it fascinating that when the Lord stirred the hearts of this remnant to return to Jerusalem, that move of the spirit led to structure and order, not chaos and confusion. When the Spirit of God was working in the hearts of the people, you didn't have these Jews saying every man for himself, every family for himself and independently make their way back home. Evidently, they rallied together and they put some structure. They appointed their leaders and they understood their own separate roles.

And here's the lesson for us. There are many ways, even unique ways, that a move of God, a work of God can begin. But in order for that work to last, it requires proper, biblically qualified leadership, among other things. You see, without Spirit appointed leadership, a genuine move of God becomes vulnerable to many dangers that can spoil or even snuff out that work. That's important in a day and age like today that is vehemently against the idea of authority.

But you find this principle throughout the Scriptures. The one that came to mind is what Paul instructed Titus in Titus one five. In Titus one five, Paul says, this is why I left you in Crete, that you may put what remained into order and appoint, what, elders in every town as I directed you. That was one of the priority things that Paul instructed Titus when he had left them back in this region. So you had evidently souls who were saved in Crete.

We don't have any record of that in Acts or other places in the New Testament, but clearly it happened. Souls were saved. And one of the first top things that needed to be done, almost with urgency, find leaders, find pastors, qualified, called by God, so they can supervise and they can supply the needs and they can shepherd these souls. This is amazing. God is a God of order.

God is a God who has given us a blueprint. A blueprint that has positions. A blueprint that calls for accountability. A blueprint that again calls for organization. Because again, God's spirit can do many things.

And he can do it in things, in ways that can't even be copied. But if that thing is going to last, it needs to have, among other things, qualified leadership. Be careful of those who downplay or ignore the necessity of a local church. Elders, accountability. God has commanded certain things to be in place in order for his work to be sustained through his people.

So those who promote and even teach, oh, we don't need this and we don't need that, I have me and my Bible. Well, read it carefully and see what it asks of you. And if you read it honestly and in humility, it's gonna lead you to a church. Identify prayerfully select leaders who will be held accountable for supervising your soul. They will stand before there is going to be a separate line on judgment day.

For poster. According to James three, those who teach God's word. And so leadership needs to stand in awe of God, and the people of God also need to stand in awe of God, and both realizing their need for one another. More can be said about that. But this is the first group, the leadership of this movement.

But we move on now to the second part of verse two to look at the second group of people. And you can write it and you can categorize it as the following, the men of Israel. The men of Israel, and you can put in parentheses, the families of Israel. Notice again the last part of verse two. The number of the men of the people of Israel.

What should stand out to you about that part of verse two? You would think that it would read, the people of Judah, or the people of Judah and Benjamin. Why? Because those were the tribes who were dislodged, who were removed by Nebuchadnezzar. But again, you have yet another clear indication that God is beginning a new work.

And he is wanting to encompass all his people. He wants to restore the unity of the nation, and he's using this kind of language. Israel. Israel's coming back. It just shows us God's longing for the unity of his people in every generation.

And this is refreshing to us after centuries of studying what? A divided kingdom. Northern tribes, the Southern Kingdom, but as the people are coming back now, the language is changing. It's going back to its original design. Now, within this long list, the names that you find here are actually organized into two subgroups.

And they're easy to remember. You have the recordings of those who are listed by family. The sons of, the sons of, the sons of, and you have those who are identified by their towns or their villages. The men of, the men of. Difference between the two.

And although we can attempt to spend our time looking at every single detail, I want to underscore at least one, one family, and one town. One family, and one town. And the first family is what I want us to look at. The top of the list of verse three. Let's look at verse three.

The sons of Paroche. 2172. So if you compare this family with the rest, they rank among the highest and the largest of families returning back to Jerusalem. That says something about the value system of this family. That says something about their shared faith in making this decision.

A lot of them have hundreds, and there are a few others that are up there with the thousands, but the sons of Parash are up there in terms of how many are going back from a single unit. And this should be encouraging to us, but it's also a warning. Do you know why it's a warning? This very same family reappears at the end of the book of Ezra, when the Holy Spirit, through Ezra, puts on record those who became guilty of the sin of interfaith marriage. That after years of returning and settling in the land, there were many of the exiles who committed the grievous sin.

One of the sins that actually led to their exile to begin with, by yoking themselves to idolaters. And I want you to see who first appears on the list among the men of Israel. I'm sure you can guess. But look at Ezra 10 verse 25. Ezra 10 verse 25.

And of Israel, of the sons of Peroz, Ramayah, Isiah, Malkia, Miele, Eliezer, Ashabaya, and Benaiah. What a sobering warning of how our spiritual senses can grow dull over time. The same men whose spirits were stirred by God to leave comfort and community for a wasteland to glorify the Lord, over time were stirred by intense lust. To partner in marriage with those who hate the God of Israel and the truth. And you and I, looking at this, learn a very valuable truth.

We cannot afford our devotion to Christ to ride on a single moment or series of events. We must nurture and guard our hearts daily, every day, every week, every month, year by year. They were stirred in Ezra chapter one. Surely, Ezra two proves it. They made their way back to Jerusalem.

Were their hearts still stirred in Ezra 10? Evidently, no. You can't you can't afford to rest your faithfulness upon some past experience. We are forgetful. We are easily distracted.

It requires a daily effort to seek the Lord, to plant your eyes on him, and to feed your soul with his word, and to fellowship in his presence. The sons of Pero show us that you can start well, but over time lose track, and even return to the very things that you you said you would never do again. What a sobering lesson. And this is what we learn from at least one family. Can you imagine what else we can learn if we look at more?

We won't. We're going to read now. And this is where it's going to demand your attention. We're going to make an attempt to read through all these names and stop at verse 23. Can we do that?

The first four. The sons, Shefateya, three seventy two. The sons of Ara, 775. The sons of Pahath Moab, namely the sons of Jeshua and Joab, 2,812. The sons of Elam, 1,254.

The sons of Zatuh, 945. The sons of Zechai, 760. The sons of Banai, six 142. The sons of Bibi, six 123. The sons of Azgad, one 222.

The sons of Adonikim, 666. The sons of Bigvai, 2,056. The sons of Aden, four 154. The sons of Adar, namely of Hezekiah, 98. The sons of Bizai, 323.

The sons of Jorah, a 112. The sons of Hashem, 223, the sons of Gebar, 95, the sons of Bethlehem, a 123, the men of Netophah, 56, the men of Anathoth, a 128. I was stopped in my tracks when I came to verse 23 and the same should be true of you. Does Anathoth sound familiar to anybody here? Any idea why this town is significant?

It is the hometown of Jeremiah the Prophet according to Jeremiah one one. And what's amazing about this hometown is it not only had a claim to fame, if you will, unfortunately, they developed a notorious reputation for persecuting Jeremiah. And so ugly and nasty was their treatment of the servant of God that the Lord addressed this specific town in the book of Jeremiah and gave a very harrowing promise. Jeremiah 11. Let's turn there and see what happens.

Jeremiah 11 verse 21 Says, therefore, thus says the Lord concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life and say, do not prophesy in the name of the Lord or you will die by our hand. Can you imagine this? Men from your hometown, children that you grew up with on the streets playing, families that integrated with your own, are so sick and tired of your ministry, are so turned off by the word of the Lord through your mouth, that they threatened to actually kill you. Let's read on in verse 22. Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, behold, I will punish them.

The young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by famine, and none of them shall be left, for I will bring disaster upon the man of Anathoth, the year of their punishment. If you have never read the book of Ezra, or maybe you have, but decide to skip chapter two because you glanced at the list and thought, this isn't really important to me. And then, you come to this text, for example. You might arrive at the conclusion that when God spoke and promised to destroy the men of Anathoth, that he did so completely. This sounds like total annihilation at face value, does it not?

I will destroy you. None of them shall be left. But then you come to Ezra chapter two, and you read down that list, and you make a startling discovery. The men of Anathoth are still around? Number one.

And number two, they're actually going back to Jerusalem. What an important reminder never to skip any part of the Bible. And more than that, this genealogy teaches us that the Lord not only preserved the remnant of this condemned town, but stirred their hearts to come back home. Did he judge the the generation that harassed his servant Jeremiah? Yes, he did.

But he did not hold their sin against them forever. And when it came to this move of God in Babylonia, after Cyrus the king of Persia took over, God did not skip over the men of Anathoth. When he decided to woo his people back into his arms. You would think, if we had that kind of power in scanning through the exiles and finding the men of Anathoth, Oh, yeah. You were the ones who didn't believe my word through my prophet.

You were so despicable, so disrespectful, so persistent in your rebellion. How about you stay in Babylon? It's actually what you deserve. That's not what the Lord does. This moved this moved me so deeply that here these men with a very dark past, very dishonorable history, had their spirits moved by the hand of God.

It's time to go home. It's time to come back. It's time to go back to the promise that I even gave you. Who who thought that you can be moved by the grace of God in a list of names, but it's there. And what a refreshing thing for us who might even have many failures that every time you even think about it makes you cringe, makes you ashamed, makes you wanna hide.

Look at the men of Anathoth and look at the grace of God in this. He can restore anybody. And you look at these other names, and these other towns, and that's just reinforced over and over. It's amazing when you actually look at the accounts of these towns, and these families, and their histories, how much this chapter drips with mercy. This is the second group, the men of Israel.

And we just looked at one family and one town, and there's a lot left in there for you to discover on your own. Let's come to the last one for our study, where we will spend the most time. We read to verse 23. But let's come down here to verse 36. The priests, The sons of Jediah of the house of Jeshua, 973.

The sons of Immer, 1,052. The sons of Pashhur, 1,247. The sons of Harim, a 17. Verse 40. The Levites.

The sons of Jeshua and Cadmiel. And the sons of Hodaviah, 74. Now, it would be totally acceptable to separate the priests and the Levites in their own categories, but I chose to merge them under a single heading. So, here's the third group. The priests and the Levites.

Now, remember, every priest in the old covenant had to be a Levite. But not every Levite was a priest. Within the Levitical tribe, you had one family that was set apart to be the priestly line. Which family? The sons of who?

Aaron. Very good. So only the sons of Aaron were permitted to offer sacrifices, for example, and other functions within the house of God. So then, what about the Levites? What what what were they called to?

Well, they were ministers as well, but they were called by God to assist the priests. In fact, when you look at the book of Numbers, the Levites are called a gift to the sons of Aaron. They would, in many helpful and practical ways, help and assist the priests in doing what they were called to do, but they could not be priests in the same way. So, Levites were ministers in and around the temple, but they were never to be priests. Only the descendants of Aaron were permitted to do so.

And here's what we have to ask ourselves. When looking at this, there's a staggering observation. If you have only one family within the Levitical tribe that were called to be priests, wouldn't that mean then that the rest of the Levites would naturally outnumber the priests. When there be more Levites than sons of Aaron? Answer?

Yes. And in fact, when you look at other genealogies in the Bible, and the priests are accounted for in comparison to the Levites, the Levites always, always, always outnumber the sons of Aaron. Did you see the numbers that we just read? Look at it again. Compare the numbers of verse 36 down to verse 39 with what we find in verse 40.

Look at it again. The sons of Jediah, in verse 36, of the house of Jeshua, 973, the sons of Immer, 1,052, the sons of Pashhur, 1,247, the sons of Harim, 1,017. These are the priests. These are the sons of Aaron. And And then you come to verse 40, and what do you discover?

The Levites, the sons of Jeshua and Cadmiel, and the sons of Hodivia, 74. That's strange. That doesn't seem right. Now, someone is saying, well, hold on. Look at what we find next in verse 41.

The singers, the sons of Asaph, a 128. The sons of the gatekeepers. Scroll down. In all, a 139. Well, singers and gatekeepers were what?

They were also Levites. Okay, but even if you combine them, they are still far fewer in number than the sons of Aaron. Now, in case one might think, maybe we're reading too much into the small inclusion of the Levites. I want to actually let you know that it was a concern to another person, not a commentator, not a modern day theologian, to Ezra. Who was the one who led the first wave back to Jerusalem?

What's his name? Very good. Who is the second leader of the second wave? Ezra. Very good.

Look what Ezra does in Ezra eight. Ezra eight verse one, just to confirm that this is his own genealogy of the men and the families that he led back to the promised land. Ezra eight verse one. Genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylonia in the reign of Artaxerxes, the king. So this is his own genealogy now of the people that he led back.

Now, scroll down to verse 15 of Ezra eight. Ezra writes in verse 15, I gather them to the river that runs Sahaba, and there we camped three days. As I reviewed the people and the priests, I found there none of the sons of Levi. Then I sent for Eleazar, Ariel, Shemaiah, El Nathan, Jerab, El Nathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, leading men, and for Joirib and El Nathan, who were men of insight, and sent them to Edo, the leading man at the place of Casaphia, telling them what to say to Edo and his brothers and the temple servants at the place Casaphia, namely to send us ministers for the house of our God. So Ezra on his journey back stops.

He pauses. He reviews the registry, and he realizes we don't have any Levites. And so what does he do? He begins a recruitment campaign, and he sends trusted men to go back to Babylonia under a new ruler at this point, and he says, hey, find as many Levites as you can and call them to their original purpose, and that is to serve God and his people. This is shocking.

Chapter two in the first wave, you have 74 Levites, and then when the second cycle begins, that number goes down to what? Zero. And this is the question that I had. How is it that the very people who are set apart from all the other tribes to have unique access to the house of God and the elements of the place of worship, and being in close proximity to the presence of the Lord? How is it that such a privileged group were so reluctant to return to their inheritance?

And people speculate, people guess, and I believe there's one answer that makes the most sense. What did Jeremiah instruct the people when they were in exile? In Jeremiah 29, he gave him many instructions and one of them we reviewed last week. Build homes. Plant gardens.

Eat of the fruit of the land. Have families. You're gonna be there a while. Pray for the welfare of the city, because in their welfare, you will have welfare. Now, you can imagine how difficult it would be after almost two generations of investments to suddenly uproot yourself, pack your bags and walk away from it all, to go back to what?

A destroyed city with virtually no resources, surrounded by vicious enemies, how much harder would it be for a Levite who could never own land in Israel? God was their inheritance. Remember, they did not have the right to own real estate. That's how they were differentiated from all their siblings. I'm your inheritance, God says.

You live by faith. I'll call the other ones to take care of you. So they only lived in cities within the tribes of the promised land. And here now, they come to a brand new country, and they're actually granted homes They can actually just walk in their slippers and go to the backyard and pick their own fruits and vegetables and they can even temptation that has kept many throughout history from obeying the call of God into full time ministry. Held back by money, held back by worldly pursuits, held back by pressures even from their own family.

There have been many since the days of the prophets who have reluctantly answered the call of God or even though they answered it, disqualified themselves because they they went after things that God said was not yours. And so, this shows us the temptation of the world for the one who's been genuinely summoned by the Lord to serve him in the capacity of vocational, full time service to Him. But it's not limited to that. It is true for those who have received the nudge from the Holy Spirit, and providential confirmation to pursue something like full time ministry. But, it's it's also a call for those who are so invested and consumed by the world that they don't have any room in their lives to serve Christ.

And, I find it so amazing that this illustration of a haunting temptation that looms over so many, even perhaps some who are listening to me now, does not just stay in the Old Testament. It shows up in so many different illustrations and even one that looks similar to this in the New Testament. When I when I found this because of God's providence and what we heard last Sunday. Do you remember who we spoke about for those who were here for the baptism? And you remember what we learned about Barnabas, one of the first insights about him, in fact, the introduction to him in our Bibles.

Let me remind you. And maybe for those who have never seen this or weren't with us last Sunday in Acts four, Barnabas was what? A Levite. And what does Barnabas do as a Levite? Acts four thirty six, when the church was experiencing revival, and out of the abundance of people's hearts were giving to the poor and the needy, Acts four thirty six reads, thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas, which means son of encouragement, a Levite, native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles feet.

Do you see how understanding the Old Testament helps you interpret the new If you didn't know the Levites or how they were called by God and what was permitted and what was prohibited, you can just read by this and just think, okay, yeah, Barnabas was a kind man. He was clearly a Jew. No, no, he wasn't he was more than a Jew. He was a Levi. What's a Levi doing selling land?

You shouldn't be owning land. God didn't allow you to own land. So we have we only have two answers here. One, like many of God's commands over time, seriously. Or two, because we learned he was a native of Cyprus.

His land was there. So you can imagine how hard it was for a man like Barnabas as he witnessed and saw a genuine move of God with the essential message that the Messiah has come, is now wanting to be prompted by God to give up land. And he does so, so willingly, so joyfully, that it was a means of encouragement to others. Yes, he came from a heritage that could not experience this. The safety and the comfort, I can pass this down to my children, that didn't matter to Barnabas.

He saw the cause of Christ and the message of Christ worth everything he had. And when he had opportunity to give in his own way, and this is not a call for us to just sell everything, that's that's not the message, it's to give yourself over completely. He did so. Look how Barnabas is so much more different than the Levites in Ezra chapter two. 74 down to zero.

With such a wide open door to go back and to actually be one of the pioneers of rebuilding the house of God and ministering to the people of God from the presence of God, and they thought my cucumber field is better than that. You think that's silly. Okay. There are people like like the Levites today who are slaving over the silliest of things. And then you meet Barnabas, and he reminds us, I'm sure even of what we find here in Ezra, that there is something far greater than a temple, far greater than land, far greater than borders and walls, far greater than regions and mountain tops and land flowing with milk and honey.

Christ. Christ. Where's our excuse with someone so much greater than whatever they had under the old covenant? How can there even be hesitation in any person's heart or mind to do whatever Christ asks of them? Don't we not have a greater promise?

Do we not have a greater King? Do we not have a greater covenant? Imitate this man and beware falling to the trap of the Levites in Ezra chapter two. Is there anything you're holding back tonight? Is God calling you to something and it's been weeks, it's been months, and you hesitate to answer because you're afraid what he might ask of you.

You know, those Levites who stayed back, can you imagine what they missed out on? The prophecies that would be shared to the prophets in that restored place, the privilege of being able to, though they didn't know, have their names written in God's word for all to see. It may seem like a sacrifice now, but when you really think about it, it's a privilege always. It's always an honor, no matter what the Lord asks of us. I mean, you're here for how long?

On average, seventy two years. Give every part of who you are to Him. Just every day, Lord, it's yours. Every day, pray something like this, Lord, whatever you ask of me, I will gladly give it. Now, encouragingly, some of those Levites that Ezra invited did join them.

But what a sad sight to see here at the outset of chapter two that so few, so few did. We'll stop here before we continue in the other categories and give thanks to the Lord for how he spoke to us tonight. Well, we do thank you that even through verses like this, there's gold and silver and precious stones. Lord, it is my prayer that every person here would be inspired, that every part of the Bible speaks. And Lord, help us remember that it takes the whole Bible to make a whole Christian.

Your word interprets itself. And, Lord, may we always remember that you've designed your word to be cross referenced. Your Word interprets itself. So by your grace, may we mature even with things like names and cities. And more than that, help us see Christ, the foreshadowings, the promises.

We want it all. We want it all. Lord, we pray for our leaders, that they would be strong, they would be holy, they would be God fearing, that you would raise up more leaders so that when your Spirit moves, when revivals break out, when mass evangelism takes place, that work could be sustained because there are right leaders ready to serve God's people. We pray, Lord, as we saw with these families and these towns, that we would not be like the sons of Parashu, in the beginning, were so zealous and committed, but over time became cold and indifferent and even dangerous in their decision making. Same time, we think of the men of Anathoth, who are undeserving of experiencing the move of the Holy Spirit in their hearts, but were recipients of it.

We see the hint of your mercy even in that. And we pray for those who are broken and wounded listening to this study, that they would also sense your spirit stirring in their hearts. And Lord, we look at the priests and the Levites, and we see your wonderful grace in preserving the royal and the priestly line. But, oh Lord, these Levites, what discouragement is this? Lord, if there's anything of this world that's holding us back from giving our all to you and being a part of building your house, show us how foolish and how feeble these things are that we may be constantly ready to run-in the direction of your call for our lives.

For some, that might be a full time ministry. For others, it may just be a place in the church where they can fill a gap and they can serve the purposes of God within the local assembly. Lord, we are eager to see the other groups and what you have to teach us. Until then, may these truths marinate in our hearts change us for your glory. In your name we pray.

Amen. Let's stand and worship the Lord. Give him thanks. Let's give him let's give him thanks for genealogies. We thank you for those numbers.

We thank you that your wisdom is woven in between

You

You know, over the years, I have, heard people who would dare to handle a text like that. And I've been more discouraged than encouraged of how that was done. And one of the reasons for that is because the impression that was given as it was being expounded was this is almost like silly. Like, let's just do this to get it over with because it's there and it's God's word. Let's just try our best here.

So frivolous. Even borderline irreverent. But I'll be honest, if you came to me in the first few years of my walk with the Lord and said, you know, you can actually worship God in this genealogy, through this genealogy. That would probably hard be hard for me to believe at first. But I'll tell you something.

So early in the study of Ezra, especially in this chapter, because of the nature of the framework of this text and what I was discovering as I was reading on, there's things that were even left out. I worshiped. I worshiped God in my study. I found myself at a new level of worship. Lord, this is incredible.

I'm I'm just God's voice was vibrating through those names and those numbers. And I thought one of my main prayers for this study was I want every person there to feel the same way. Frustrated and don't, don't beat yourself up if you're like, Anatol, Anatol, come on, man. I would have read right by that. I would have probably I don't know what I would have done with Anatol.

To hear, but to be equipped. Not just to learn, but to be built up. And over time, you will develop the lens as we endeavor to do this together to see gold in every part of God's word. Amen? We do worship you, Lord.

Amen? We do worship you, Lord. We're we actually almost tremble, Lord, in your presence with a text like this to see just your wisdom and your brilliance and your glory behind every aspect in detail. We come before you in lowliness, but also with excitement thinking this is truly your word. Oh, we pray that that would be our realization every morning when we wake wake up.

I have to hear him speak. I can't wait to what is he gonna say to me in Leviticus? What is he gonna say to me in Zephaniah? What is he gonna say to me in Philemon? Lord, give us the eyes to see and the ears to hear.

This can only come from the Holy Spirit. Open our understanding so that we can fellowship with you in your word. Thank you for this part of this chapter. Bring us back again should you tarry so that we can enjoy more of it. In Jesus' name.

Amen. Amen.