Ezra 8 (Part 1) Bible Study (Genealogy / Ezra Sends for Levites) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Ezra chapter eight. If you're already there then you perhaps have recognized that what we have before us this evening is yet another genealogy. And you have been here long enough, I'm sure to be convinced that even such records are worthy to be examined carefully, that they carry. Yes, even list of names, names that names that you might have trouble even pronouncing have value and they hold instruction and there's inspiration and wonderful connections for the diligent student. We have seen this in previous studies.

But we have to ask this question, why are we presented yet another registry in the short book known as the book of Ezra? Well, if you were here last week in the past few studies, then you would remember that in Ezra chapter seven, we were introduced to Ezra the man and we learned that he is going to be set apart by God to lead this expedition of a second wave of Jews returning to their homeland. And so we've learned already about Ezra, at least enough about him to trust his character, to understand that God is backing up this man's mission. But now Ezra, by the spirit, wants to inform us about who's going with him. And that's what this list is about.

We are going to see the different families, the different divisions that will be joining him on this journey. Now it has been approximately eighty years since the first major group of Jews made their way back to Jerusalem. And now we are about to encounter the second large group that will be joining the rest. But before we begin to look at this directory, I want us to remind ourselves of what Ezra said in his summary of this expedition in Ezra chapter seven verse seven. Let's look at it together.

And there went up also to Jerusalem in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king, some of the people of Israel and some of the priests and Levites, the singers and gatekeepers and the temple servants. Let's pause and pray for a moment. Lord, just reading your word provokes us to reverence you and to seek you in humility. And so Lord, at this time as your church gathers around these truths, we pray that you would gift us with the grace of illumination And that even a text like this would be nourishing, enlightening, and transformative to our own walk with you. So Lord, we pray that you would take this moment to glorify your name as we understand your voice at this time.

In Jesus' name we pray, amen. So what we just read in that one verse again is a summary of what Ezra is about to explain in detail in this new chapter. But I want you to notice that in verse seven of Ezra chapter seven, he lets us know that it was only some. Some of the exiles who went back with him to Jerusalem. And he emphasizes this, at least in the ESV.

And we talked about this when we were in Ezra chapter seven but it's worth looking back at again. You would think that a man like Ezra with the zeal, character, insight and other wonderful virtues that he possessed would be the means of inspiring most, if not all of the exiles to join him, to partner with him, to unite with him, to return back to the city of God. But instead, we learn that it's only some. To me that's staggering yet at the same time it's it's helpful because as remarkable as Ezra was as a leader, as passionate as he was, as dedicated as he was, even a man like this could not rally everyone in his world to join him for the cause of the righteousness of God and the holiness of God and the restoration of the the name of God. And this is quite shocking at first, I think.

But we have to remember that this in no way discredits his relationship with the Lord. It no way undermines his fidelity to the truth, does it? I mean, in that same chapter where we learned that only some joined him, we also see that he was exceptional in his walk with the Lord, that he loved the word of God, that he loved God, that he was a man who obeyed it before he taught it. And yet, only some signed up for this cause to return back and to bring glory to God. And this is something for you and I to consider because we might be discouraged at times, maybe even overcome with doubt because those who are in our circles, those who are around us, those who are in our worlds don't seem to share the same drive or convictions or desires for God and his kingdom, the gospel.

And no matter what we do, no matter what we say, it doesn't seem like it doesn't work. It's not persuasive enough. It's not compelling enough. Is there something wrong with me? Is Is there something wrong with with with my knowledge?

Is there something wrong with my my gifting? And and in moments like that where you feel perhaps inadequate, insignificant or even worse, unqualified, remember Ezra. That even Ezra can only recruit some. And if you and I are not careful, we can spill most of our energy out of frustration toward those who aren't instead of investing in those who are. The people in our lives whom God has placed, who have an openness and an eagerness and a longing.

Discipline yourself by God's grace. Train yourself to draw towards those who are being drawn by the Lord. Not towards those who are drawing away from him or who are indifferent. Look at those who are willing to make an investment. Look at those who have kernels of growth or or potential.

Those are the ones that you are supposed to look to and help as this man does. Now, we're about to begin this directory and it's a very very simple breakdown. Ezra is a teacher and we see that even in the way he puts this together. This list of names that we're about to look at has three sections or three divisions. He wants to show us number one, the priestly sector that is going to join him.

And then right after, he's going to describe the royal line and finally he is going to spell out the lay families that will also partner with them. And interestingly, when you come to that last part, the list of clans, there are actually a total of 12. 12. Now, they don't each represent the 12 tribes of Israel, but I believe even in this there's a thematic kind of representation that we're almost again seeing this restoration of the tribes of Israel as they now make their way back to God's original purpose and plan for them. So this is really an overview.

It's a simple format for us to understand, but now we're going to consider the details. And we'll begin with verse one of Ezra eight. Let's look at it together now. Ezra writes, these are the heads of their father's houses and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylonia in the reign of Artaxerxes the king. So the first thing that Ezra wants to do is he prepares the reader of the leaders among these families who played a significant role in inspiring their relatives to take this step of faith.

He calls them the heads of their father's houses. And right here, we're supposed to understand that these individuals did something in order to stir up those who were under their care. And you even find this in Ezra's wording when he looks at these distinct families separately. So So let's get a glimpse of it especially for verses four down to verse 14. Look at Ezra eight verse four for a moment.

Of the sons of Pahathmoab, Elioni the son of Zariha and with him 200 men. Look at verse five. Of the sons of Zaptu, Shechaniah the son of Jahaziel and with him 300 men. Look at verse six. Of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan and with him 50 men.

And you find this wording repeated over and over until the end of the list. And I think there's something obvious taking place here. Ezra is emphasizing how these leaders led their respective families and how their kindred and extended relatives followed them. And though we have here leaders of multiple families related by descent. Right?

These are not just nuclear households, but larger families represented by different heads and different, lineages, it does say something about the importance of the head of the household. That theme is clear. That motif is obvious. And here's what's being taught here. I want to look at the men.

I want to look at my brothers for a brief moment. By virtue of being the heads of our homes, you and I have been given the capacity and the responsibility by God himself to inspire, instruct, guide, discipline and display what it means to live for Christ, what it means to prioritize his kingdom, what it means to really worship the Lord. And there is true power in your influence whether you realize it or not. And what we find with these men here is that they were able to persuade those who belong to them to leave Babylon and to join them into the journey that Ezra has laid out, that Ezra is planning for. You have to think about this for a moment.

All the clans mentioned here have been in Babylonia for decades. Most of them, if not all of them, have never seen Jerusalem with their own eyes. They've never seen the temple. They've only heard of it. And yet, because of the influence of the heads of these families, they were able to understand that worship is more important than comfort.

That it's more valuable than safety. That it's more fulfilling the stability, prosperity, even familiarity. These men I mean look at it. It says over and over with him with him with him. It started with the head.

It started with the men. And the fact that Ezra goes on to say this repeatedly demonstrates that if you and I wanna see these values and these convictions instilled in the ones that we love, listen it begins with you and me. I've met parents like this, especially men who sometimes come with desperation asking for leadership in the church to do something to move their children. And in many cases, those same people don't have a walk with God. You're the head of the house, not me.

And what we see here is that you have men in their own families doing something wonderful and possible for all of us. And so I wanna look at the dads in this place. I wanna look at the future fathers of this house. Does your heart have more ambition to see your children go to heaven with you or to have a certain kind of job or to play a certain kind of sport or to make a certain amount of money? Oh, I see men here who have Jerusalem set on their own hearts and more than just on their own hearts, wanted to be embedded in the hearts of those who are under their leadership.

And they are moved themselves and they were able because they understood what God has called them to do and to be to move others. And I hope that each of us in here would be able to grow in that same kind of example. That we would be more concerned, more passionate about our spouses, about our children especially, those are who we are especially responsible for. To go in the way of righteousness. To join us in eternal life.

And to have no greater passion or pursuit than that. But more than just going to a destination, living for him now. Loving him now. Showing like what these men are showing that there's nothing for us here in Babylonia, a picture of the world. Nothing.

There's more treasure in the world that God has prepared for us. And so we can never expect those around us, especially the men, to move in the direction that God has prepared for them if they're we're not making and showing them how to do it. As I mentioned earlier now, as we look at verse two, this registry is divided into three parts and so he introduces us the heads of the father's houses, but now he wants to speak about the priestly tribe to begin with. So look at verse two of chapter eight. Of the sons of Phineas, Gershom of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel of the sons of David, Hattush.

So in that one verse, you actually have the two first divisions. You have the priestly line and the royal line and the rest of this section will deal with the lay families. So this is really brief, is it not? And you would not know that Ezra is actually referring to the priestly line unless you knew who the sons of Aaron were, The direct sons of Aaron. So here's my question, you can answer if you know.

How many sons did Aaron have? Good. What were their names? Say it one more time, Nadab and Abihu, yes. Three out of the four are right.

No. Three out of the four are right. You got Nadab, you got Abihu, you got Ithamar, who's the third? If you don't know the answer, you got to turn to Exodus 28. Good.

Eliezer, but we're gonna read it anyway. Exodus 28. I want us to look at verse one. Very good guesses nonetheless. You got most of them, but this is why we have bible study, to remind ourselves of these things.

Exodus 28 verse one reads, then bring near to you Aaron your brother and his sons with him from among the people of Israel to serve me as priest Aaron and Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. Now here's my next question. Did something happen to two out of these four sons? Shortly after we learn about them? Yes.

Who are the ones that were disciplined by God? Very good. Nadab and Abihu. The account of their deaths are found in Leviticus chapter 10. So very early, even before the people enter to the promised land, two branches from the priestly line were cut permanently.

And now you have two main streams, you have Eleazar and you have Ithamar. Now we come to Ezra chapter eight and we learn as Ezra is mentioning the priestly division that joined him of Ithamar, but he mentions Phineas. You would think that he would mention who? Eleazar. Right?

Now Phineas is the son of Eleazar. He's the grandson of Aaron. But why does Ezra place Phineas here instead of Eleazar? Any idea? Do you understand the question?

Hopefully. Was Phineas famous for anything? Absolutely. We have to remember that he was known for his zealous defense of God's law and his honor in Numbers chapter 25. That when the men of Israel in the wilderness were persuaded and allured by the Midianite woman to have sexual relations with them and more than that to worship their gods, it was Phineas who took it upon himself to stand up and to face a specific leader among the people of Israel who was flaunting his relationship with a Midianite woman and to put them both to death.

And because of that, he stopped a plague that broke out against the camp. And Phineas' courage and his zeal for the righteousness and the holiness of God was so commended by God that God rewards Phineas and his descendants something spectacular. If you wanna know it, you have to turn to numbers chapter 25 and look here at verse 10 with me. In numbers chapter 25 verse 10. And the Lord said to Moses, Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the people of Israel and that he was jealous with my jealousy among them so that I did not consume the people of Israel in my jealousy.

Therefore say, behold, I give to him my covenant of peace, and it shall be to him and to his descendants after him the covenant of a perpetual priesthood. Because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the people of Israel. So this is this is very simple. Because of Phineas's faithfulness, God pledged that his progeny would serve as priest permanently. This is a covenant that's being established by God with this man.

And so significant was it that Phineas became a defining ancestor. Remember those words, a defining ancestor in his specific priestly branch. So God makes a promise with him and his descendants and here you are, you're reading in the book of Numbers and you're faithfully going book by book and you come and you stumble upon Ezra chapter eight and what do you read? Oh, that after all the centuries and after a very dark history, God has still kept this promise to Phineas. One of his descendants, one is still alive and two is still going to function as a priest.

Do you know what you're supposed to take from this? This one little verse here in Ezra eight verse two, God is faithful. And that is highlighted and emphasized and amplified even more by the fact that in the same verse that we learned that Phineas' descendant is alive and well, you have the royal line still intact. Right? Of the sons of David, Hattush.

So not just God is faithful, that's true, but God is precisely faithful. God is completely faithful. If he made a promise to Phineas, he's gonna keep it. When he made it to David, he's keeping it. Any of God's promises, all of God's promises, no matter when he made the promises can be counted on.

We can believe him and trust him no matter how, when, where. Here it is. Here it is even here. Tucked in this genealogy, we see a glistening truth about God's reliability. How concrete he is.

How steadfast he is. And it's no less true in the new covenant. So whether the promises are to Phineas, to David, or any promise that we find in Christ, you can trust those promises because you can trust the promiser. This is what we find here and it's a wonderful thing to understand. And we also gonna see something.

I think there's a reason why Phineas has mentioned twice already in relation to to Ezra because I think, I believe, and many have made this observation as well that that Ezra is almost a type of Phineas in his own way. Because in the last two chapters of of this very text, we're gonna read that Ezra when he returns to Jerusalem, he's gonna discover that after eighty years of the people returning back to Jerusalem, one of the main crimes that they have committed yet again is interfaith marriage. Inappropriate relationships. Clear defiance against God's rules and laws for how his people were to to continue to see the righteous seed. And so like Phineas who came and did something about the Midianites polluting the people of God, Ezra himself is gonna follow in those same steps and do what he can to stop the pollution in his own way.

It's amazing how these things are found throughout our Bibles. The the continuation of the scriptures is a wonderful thing to observe. But now we come to the largest part of this section, the lay families that Ezra mentions. And we'll read it from verse four down through verse 14, but we're gonna return to verse 13. We're not gonna look at every detail here.

We have no time for that, but we will consider at least one of these clans and meditate a little bit longer on them. Let's look at it now in verse four. Of the sons of Pahathmoab, Elioni the son of Zeriah and with him 200 men, of the sons of Zatu and with him or excuse me, the son of Zatu Shekani the son of Jahaziel and with him 300 men, Of the sons of Adin, Ebed, the son of Jonathan and with him 50 men. Of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah and with him 70 men. Of the sons of Shephathiah, Zebedai the son of Michael and with him 80 men.

Of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jeiel, and with him 218 men. Of the sons of Bani, Shelomith. The son of Josaphaiah, and with him a 160 men. Of the sons of Bibi, Zechariah. The sons of Babai, and with him 28 men.

Of the sons of Agad, Johanan, the son of Hakatan, and with him a 110 men. Of the sons of Adonakim. Those who came later, their names being Eliphalath, Jehuel, Shemaiah, and with him 60 men, are the sons of Bigvai, Uthai, and Zachor and with them 70 men. It seems quite repetitive but something stood out to me in verse 13. I'm not sure if you saw it.

The sons of Adonakam, those who came later. Those who came later. I'm curious to know if anybody here holds a King James or a New King James. You might notice something different with that wording. If you hold those translations, it would read of the last sons of Adonai come.

Is that true? Of the last sons of Adonai come, which would imply that after this wave of refugees going back to Jerusalem, among those of Adonai Kim, you have no more of their descendants left in Babylonia. The last of the last of them are returning now in this wave, which is a wonderful thought. All of them left Babylon to go back to the promised land. If you have the NASB, which is another faithful translation, however, you will see something else.

It would read, and of the sons of Adonai come, the last ones. The last ones, which would be more of a chronological remark on Ezra's part indicating that this particular family was the last to enlist for the journey. And I believe the ESV is seeking to capture that same thought. The sons of Adonai come were among those who enrolled later. And you say, why the difference?

It has to do with manuscripts. And we've talked about that at different points. I won't spend too much time on that now. But let's go with what the ESV says, how it renders it. These specific sons, for whatever reason, delayed to respond to the initial invitation that Ezra makes and join them later.

Is there any explanation for why they hesitated? No. Is there anything given to us to give us some kind of clue? Not necessarily. But it's a wonderful illustration of the grace of God.

It really is. The grace of God toward those who for various reasons do not sign up for the things of God sooner. How many parables did Jesus give that allude to that truth? A people who come the last second, a people who respond the last moment, a people who slip in while the door still has a crack in it, a little slit, a foothold. How many examples do we see of that?

Especially the thief on the cross. Right? All these things are repeated and we even find it in the old testament that those who are mentioned who have come later are still enlisted. They're still recognized. And though the bible in no place ever recommends, it even warns more than anything else about us delaying our response to what God has called us to do.

Number one, for salvation. And number two, to live from wholeheartedly, should you have delayed? Should you have wasted your years, your youth, your resources, your opportunities? If you still have breath in your lungs, you might have come later but God will still accept you. He will still bring you in.

He will still accept who you are as long as you have humbled yourself and realized who he is. So this is the list. These are just some of the things that we can learn but the list is not over necessarily. Ezra gives us this summary but he's gonna learn something in the next few verses and this is where we're gonna spend most of our time. Look at verse 15 now.

Ezra is still writing in the first person and he mentions, I gathered them, the people that we just learned about, I gathered them to the river that runs to Ahava and there were we camped three days. As I reviewed the people and the priests, I found there none of the sons of Levi. Uh-oh. This is problematic. So they set up for the journey.

They have the priests. They have the Davidic line. They have these lay families and they're making their way. And they take a break at this place called Ahava, a canal. And Ezra, he's a good leader.

He's doing all that he can to prepare the people and to organize everything so that when they get to Jerusalem, they hit the floor running. They're not gonna waste any time. And he's doing inventory and he realizes, okay, we have the priest, we have somebody who represents the royal seed, we have the people of Israel, but where are the Levites? None came. None followed?

I mean, this is astonishing. Ezra himself is a priest. Now we know that not all Levites are priests. There's a specific line who represents the priestly duty but Levites were called to assist the priest. So you can understand why this is troubling for Ezra.

And in case you don't understand the implications of this, you will only see it once you get in Nehemiah. Nehemiah is gonna join Ezra later on and they're gonna work together to see revival in the land. And when Ezra is about to open God's word and read it aloud, he's gonna rely on some of the people to help him do just that. Can I show you what I mean? You have to go to Nehemiah chapter eight to see it.

In Nehemiah chapter eight verse two, just to help us understand what's taking place here. Again, this is in the future. This is when Nehemiah is gonna join Ezra, but notice what we read. In Nehemiah eight verse two, it reads, so Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard on the first day of the seventh month. That's the that's the context.

But scroll down to verse seven of Nehemiah eight and what do we read? Also, Jeshua, Bani, Sharabiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbathai, Hodiah, Mahesiah, Kiltia, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Palaiya, the Levites, helped the people to understand the law while the people remain in their places. What was Ezra's main mission as he is going back to Jerusalem? To teach the people. Right?

To ensure you have not deviated from the truth all these years. And if they would, he would correct them using the word of God. But more than that, to build upon their faith and teach them the truths of scripture, but he's gonna need help. And who is he relying on? The Levites.

So as Ezra is reading out loud the scriptures, the Ezra the the Levites are there in these different pockets of people and they're helping them understand and explain what's being read aloud. But how are you gonna do that? I have zero sign up. So you see the issue at hand. You see why he's troubled by this.

And this is I actually was meditating on this on my way here. This reveals something about Ezra's character. Something so wonderful and worthy of invitation. This man is an amazing teacher and one of the ways that we know that he was a true teacher is that he wanted to see more teachers raised up. That's a true teacher.

You know what you find with some teachers? They're intimidated by other teachers. Yeah? Yeah. Some people see ministry as a competition.

You know what Ezra could have said? I've been studying all these years. God has clearly sovereignly worked on my behalf. I mean, he moved the king to give me support. I I think I'm the guy.

Yeah? So I mean, they'll listen to me. I can rally these people together. No such thing. He's itching to see more.

He wants to see other leaders raised up. He sees us as a large harvest and he sees these other teachers as partners. Oh dear brother and sister, if you look at fellow Christians who have similar gifts as you as competition, kill that thing quickly. That will destroy you and that will destroy any possibility of God using you the way he uses his people as members of one body. Here you are, here I am thinking, we're the whole body.

No, you ain't. Neither am I. We need each other even those who have the same abilities as us. And Ezra recognizes that. So he says, go and rally other teachers.

I'm not doing this by myself. There are too many people out there to think that we're the only church in the world. We need more churches. Yes? We need more pastors.

We need more Sunday school teachers. We need more evangelists. We need more disciple makers. More and more and more. And when we see God raising them up, we should rejoice.

Listen, if you find yourself not rejoicing and more angry and envious and jealous and comparing all these things, you're not doing this for Christ's glory, you're doing it for your own. It's as simple as that. And I say that straightforwardly. I said it so directly so that you would find it and I would find it within myself to not entertain such a thing in our hearts, but to take it before God's presence until he crushes it with his power. I don't want this in my heart, Lord.

I wanna be able to look at a fellow believer and applaud them when you promote them, to rejoice when, God, you're using them to bless others. Ezra is unsettled by the fact that he's the only one. And so what does he do? He comes up with a recruitment campaign. Let's read the rest of it in verse 16.

Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, El Nathan, Jerub, El Nathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, leading men, and for Joarib and El Nathan, who are men of insight. You can tell that El Nathan was a popular name at the time. And sent them to Iddo, the leading man at the place Casvia, telling them what to say to Iddo and his brothers and the temple servants at the place Caspia, namely to send us ministers for the house of our God. And by the good hand of our God on us, they brought us a man of discretion of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, son of Israel, namely Sherebiah with his sons and kinsmen 18. Also Hashabiah and with them Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari and his kinsmen and their sons 20, besides 220 of the temple servants whom David and his officials had set apart to attend the Levites, these were all mentioned by name.

So I understand what's taking place here. Ezra, as they've encamped at the River Ahava, says we're not moving forward unless we do a last ditch effort to go back and to ask for ministers to join us. And I wanna give you at least just very brief points by way of observation of the very same verses we just read, how these things relate to us. So so just pay attention as much as you can to these things because they're so so valuable. The first thing I want us to consider consider is that there is a danger of our God word interest declining.

Remember, this is not the first large genealogy in the book of Ezra. We studied Ezra chapter two which is even larger than what we read here. And in Ezra chapter two, the first wave of exiles, we learn how many Levites joined Zerubbabel then. Does anybody remember the number? I'm just curious.

Okay. That's a very specific detail so it's okay if you don't remember but if you wanna remind yourself, look at verse 40 of Ezra two. This was eighty years prior and notice the amount of Levites that joined the first cycle of refugees. The Levites, the sons of Jeshua and Kadmiel are the sons of Hodaviah, 74. Does 74 sound like a lot?

It's not. Especially when you consider the other numbers. In fact, in Ezra chapter two, you have upwards of 50,000 people returning. And out of the 50,000, you only have 74 Levites. What's more crushing now is when we come to Ezra chapter eight, how many Levites joined the second wave?

Zero. Does anybody remember what was the draw, perhaps the appeal, the temptation for Levites to remain in Babylon instead of going back? Land. They they couldn't own land in Israel. And now here they are in Babylon and Jeremiah tells them early on in their exile, buy land, buy homes, raise up farms, have your businesses, have families.

And so the Levites are doing this, they're doing this like, woah, we've never had this before. This is amazing. But unfortunately to them it was more amazing than serving God's will for their lives. And so at this point after decades, zero wanna go back. And though this applies to a group of people, there is a principle here for us individually.

That as the years go by, you and I have to ensure by God's grace and by the instructions that he has granted to us to not allow ourselves to become distracted, to not allow ourselves to come to the point where we are indifferent to the work of God. And this is even possible for those who who once had discretion, who those who have a giftedness, even such people can lose sight of what matters most. Do you know how we know that? In the list that we just read here, in the names that we read here of the Levites who returned, look at verse 18 who's mentioned among them. In Ezra eight eighteen, it reads, then by the good hand of our God upon us, they brought us a man of understanding of the sons of Mali, the sons of Levi, the son of Israel, namely Sherebiah with his sons and brothers, 18 men.

Here's my question when I learned about this man whom they praised joining them after Ezra sent for more ministers. Why didn't you join them to begin with? Why? You you surely knew about it. It took a little bit more persuasion.

It took a presentation of select men that Ezra sent for you to finally say, let's go. So again, we don't have the reasons here but it does spell out something for us that even men of such quality, men of such insight, dependability can let Babylon allure them, to keep them, and to hold them back. And all these different verses start coming to mind as I was meditating on this tonight. One of my favorite verses on this, not because I enjoy reading it or explaining but because I think it's just so packed with insight is Solomon. Do you remember what it says in the chapter that describes Solomon's fall in first Kings 11 verse four?

Let me read it to you. You don't have to turn it. Just pay attention. Every word here is a punch. It says, for when Solomon was old, his wives turned away his heart after other gods and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God as was the heart of David his father.

When did woman influence Solomon when he was young? When he was old. And three times in this one verse, the word heart appears because that's where things go wrong. That's where they begin at least. The heart.

When he was old, he did not watch his heart. He did not guard his heart, his affections, his passions. And then when he was old, that's when he crashed and burned. Eighty years go by, you went from 74 Levites, which is pretty sad to begin with, to zero? Oh, sure.

There's there's some kind of stir that's gonna take place as we read, But I look at a man like Cherubai and I say, why didn't you join them at the start? Praise God for his grace. But I'm asking for his grace to not allow me to waste a second of my life. So there's a danger of our God word interest declining. But there's a second thought to consider and it is this, God uses men to stir men for God.

God uses men to stir men for God. What was Ezra's plan to recruit more Levites? Look again at verse 16. Then I sent, and he list a a a a few names here of men, but look at how they're described at the last part, who were men of insight, men of understandings. Other translations say who were teachers.

And it was through the ministry of these men, these emissaries, these representatives that you had Levites say, alright, you're right. We're gonna join you. Don't discount how God uses people to move your heart and mind. And I'm not even speaking about unto salvation. That's obvious.

He has his ambassadors. He has his preachers. He has his faithful disciples. I'm I'm speaking about those like the Levites who are connected to the things of God to begin with. So one of the things that you would have to understand is that the Lord will often use other people to get our hearts moving for the things of the Lord.

And we should recognize that. Can God move independently? Can he by his Holy Spirit stir your soul? Absolutely. But I find something with Ezra that he uses flesh and blood.

He uses flesh and blood. And so you shouldn't feel guilty, some people do, that they find themselves often stirred when they hear a sermon being preached or when they have a phone call with a dear friend, a dear saint. Why do you feel guilty about that? You think that's less spiritual? That's less of God than if some supernatural thing happened to you personally?

No. These are instruments in God's hands. And so if you find yourself moved and stirred through people, that's no less God than anything else. Which brings me to a third observation in this section of scripture. You and I must recognize God's provision when leaders are raised up.

When leaders are raised up. Don't ever disconnect that from God's grace. What What do I mean by that? Look at verse 18 again. In Ezra eight verse 18, then by the good hand of our God upon us, they brought us a man of understanding.

So in Ezra's understanding, this man that was recruited is a direct provision from God himself. And that truth is reverberating throughout the New Testament. Ephesians four, he gave us apostles and prophets, teachers, pastors, shepherds, he gave us. Luke chapter 10, the harvest is plentiful. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest that he may send out laborers.

God is the one who sends out laborers. So when we understand that there's somebody who inspires us to love God, that's God's gift. That doesn't make that person more special or more significant than anybody else but it is an extension of God's mercy and his love toward us. And it also teaches us that if we are in any position or place where we are lacking that kind of leadership or influence, we should seek God for it. We should ask God to extend his hand and to move and to equip and to furnish and to beckon those who can fill those voids.

If we really saw one another, not just leaders, one another as God's extension of grace, we would be much more merciful towards one another, much more appreciative, given much more reason to worship God. Ezra here is praising God at the sight of other men who love God and will help others love God. Lastly, and this one interested me a lot, is that even in this section of scripture, we have a preview of gentiles valuing an inheritance, not directly their own. What do I mean by that? There is a disproportionate response among two groups of people that Ezra calls out for.

Look again at the last verse that we read in verse 20. He mentioned the the Levites and then he goes on to say, besides 220 of the temple servants whom David and his officials had set apart to attend the Levites. These were all mentioned by name. If you again have a different translation, it might read instead of temple servants, Nethinim. Nethinim.

Why do some translations have a name while others have a kind of a phrase here, the temple servants? Because some translations decided to use transliteration of the Hebrew And others like the ESV wanted to provide more of a description of the function of this group of people. And we study the same group back in Ezra chapter two. So you have the priests who are descendants of Aaron. They're from the tribe of Levi, but not every Levite was a priest.

Only if you were a son of Aaron. So the other Levites had a supportive role and they assisted the priests in doing what God's called them to do. But we learned back early in the book of Ezra that there is another tier. You have these temple servants or the Nithinim who assisted the Levites. Do you see this?

But more than that, we concluded that this group of people were not of Israeli origin. They were not Levites. Right? In fact, when we did a little digging, they were gentiles. They're from the Gibeonites from Joshua chapter nine and we put the pieces together to see how that's true.

But what's the point here? That if these temple servants are indeed Gentiles, why are there more of them interested going back to the temple to serve than the Levites themselves? How many Levites total responded to Ezra's call? Do the math here. The end of verse 18, we read that there are what?

18. And the last part of verse 19, we read that there are 20. So you have 38 Levites in comparison to 220 Gibeonites. That's shocking. And I think it says something about what you and I find in the New Testament over and over.

Let me say it this way actually. There is a greater Ezra, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. And there was a time that we look back on where he came into the world to call his own to his kingdom, to build it, to experience a fulfillment of promises, of restoration, of hope. And what you find instead is that very few of his own actually accepted the invitation, whereas those who are the most unlikely showed more passion and more interest and more investment, namely the Gentiles. In fact, you see this so prevalent in the book of Acts where the apostles of Christ go out and they they prioritize synagogues and they try to reach the Jews and they're met with more rejection than anything else.

And yet, whenever the gospel truth spills over to the streets of the Gentiles, overwhelming response. Overwhelming response. They rejoiced when the Gentiles heard this in Acts thirteen forty eight. They began rejoicing and glorifying the word. They were glorifying the word of the Lord and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.

You see that repeated over and over again and you find previews of it in the Old Testament. More Gentiles accepting what God wants even though they are not the priority. They're not the privileged nation at least at this point. They are on the fringes. Not that God never had the Gentiles in mind but in this dispensation, they were not the direct object of invitation.

And this is something for us to consider. So when we look at these truths, we have so much to grasp, so much to digest, but I'd love for us to end it here because there's so much left to uncover in this chapter. And what I want us to look at is the truth that we just heard, that there is a greater Ezra calling. And like Ezra of old, one who exceeds him in knowledge and character and faithfulness calls people today and unfortunately only some respond. And I wonder tonight if there's some here who are rejecting.

And if you really ask yourself why you can't come up with a good answer. I wanna actually call somebody, maybe more than one person. Maybe you've ignored most of this bible study and that's okay. But if you're gonna hear anything, hear my voice now. Why do you deny Christ?

Why are you stiff arming him over and over again? How many invitations do you need? What about Christianity that turns you off so much? Let's just be straight. Let's talk like that.

Yeah? What about it makes you recoil? What about it makes you want to run-in the other direction? Is it the love of God and sending his own son to die for your sins? Is that what makes you cringe?

Is it God's purity? Is it his holiness? Is it the promise of eternal life? Is it the power for him to break every bondage of sin? Is it for him to give you exactly why you're created, hope and fellowship with him not just now but for eternal what about it causes you to reject it?

Have you made up your mind that there is more to offer in this world, there's more to offer if you're the master of your faith, if you're the captain of your soul? Have you actually determined that you're a better god for yourself than God himself? If that's the case then so be it. He will not override your will. You'll be responsible for that choice.

But I would ask you to reconsider. I would ask you to look into the personal love of Jesus Christ for you and actually examine what he offers you carefully. Don't just go by your feelings. Don't just go by what what you heard. Can I tell you how I came to Christ?

I did my own homework. I grew up in a Christian home and my parents did a wonderful job raising us in the faith, but we still had a choice. And when I went out into the world and ventured out into darkness, I came to a crossroads and I had to ask myself this question, why am I not living the way God calls me to live? Why why am I living a hypocritical lifestyle and trying to justify it? And so I looked into Christianity for myself.

If eternal life is really at stake, then I better have a good reason to deny it. And guess what? I could not find a valid reason to deny this Christ. In fact, I found overwhelming reason to bow my knee and to crown him as lord and savior. And that's possible for you.

And depending on who you are today, you could be like one of the heads of the father's houses that we just read about where you will have generational impact. And today, yes, you may have eternal life, but that may be the inheritance of your children as well and their children and their children's children. Lord, we thank you for this bible study. With all these names that you've mentioned, help us remember that you know us each by name. And you even know the names of those who don't know you.

And we pray that you would use our efforts, oftentimes meager and weak, to do miracles in people's lives so that you would receive maximum glory. And so, Lord, with all that was said, help us apply what needs to be applied. And with every other truth, help us store it in our hearts so that they may resurface when necessary and when needed. But for now, Lord, we wanna pause and thank you and worship you for how you've spoken to us in a passage that might be intimidating or unattractive. Yet again, you have convinced us that your word is gold, every part of it.

And we give you glory for that in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's stand and worship the Lord together.