June 9, 2024
From The Series: When God Rebuilds…
Part 19 Our Leaders Must Respect God
Ezra 7:11-28
Mountain View Evangelical Missionary
Church
Good morning again. The portion of Scripture that we will be
dealing with today contains an interesting letter; an official document. Last
week we read an abbreviated account of the arrival of Ezra to the city of
Jerusalem. We saw how the journey took four months of travel by foot from the
City of Babylon until he arrived in Jerusalem. Next week, we will look closer
at the details of that journey and those who Ezra brought with him.
We are going to jump right into the text this week. So please
open your Bibles or turn on your devices to the Book of Ezra and find chapter
seven and we will begin at verse 11.
READ EZRA
7:11-28
You will notice in the bulletin this week that I will attempt
to show four main points from this passage this week and we will look together
to try and find illustrations and ways to apply these lessons to our lives.
Let me start by describing in a little more detail what we
just read here. This is a copy of the letter, or at least it is a copy of the
text of the letter that Ezra was carrying with him on his journey from Babylon
to Jerusalem. But this document was much more than just a letter.
It was a letter of introduction from King Artaxerxes for Ezra
to use with anyone to whom Ezra chose to present. It was also a letter of
authorization, like a banknote that could be presented to any royal treasurer
in the Trans-Euphrates region allowing Ezra access to the royal funds. It was
also a letter from the King clearly outlining the Royal Mandate that had been
conferred on Ezra by King Artaxerxes. We will see the exact mandate or purpose of
Ezra travelling to Jerusalem in a bit, but for now, let’s zoom out a little and
take an overview look at the letter.
We can see in verse 11 that this is a separate and clear
paragraph meant to explain to the reader of the biblical record what they are
reading and to introduce the reader to the person and character of the man of whom
the letter speaks. The text explains that this is a letter King Artaxerxes had
given to Ezra, the traveller, the royal representative of the court of
Artaxerxes, who is a priest, a teacher of the Law and a man learned in matters concerning
the commands and decrees of the LORD for Isreal.
Pay attention to the word “LORD” in all caps there, and keep
in mind when we see that word, we are to think of the personal name of Yahweh, the
God of heaven and Earth. We read last week in the preceding verse, verse
10, that Ezra had devoted himself to the study of the Law of the Lord. If you
remember last week, I pointed out that the term “The Law” was more than a
single statute. For the Israelites, it was over 600 laws that are found in the
first five books of our Bible. The Books from Genesis to Deuteronomy are
collectively referred to as “The Law”.
But look more closely at verse ten, what else does it say?
Ezra dedicated himself to the observance of the Law as well. He did not just
study the Law, but he lived the Law in his life every day. Ezra was what we
would call an observant Jew. He obeyed the teaching of Scripture. Let me ask: How
do we measure up to this wonderful example of Ezra? I have to tell you,
that while preparing this message, I became acutely aware of areas where I am
falling short. How about you? Are you ever convicted by the reading or hearing
of God’s Word in your life? If you are, may I offer some advice? Don’t be too
quick to dismiss that feeling or to make excuses for your behaviour, to
rationalize your actions so that you can get out from under that conviction.
That feeling is from the Holy Spirit and it is God trying to communicate with
you, an area that He desires that you should work on. I know that we are told
by culture that all that we should do is pursue our own happiness and comfort.
Oftentimes, we take medication just to get out from under the
least bit of pain and discomfort in our lives. But, maybe that isn’t what God
wants most for us. I don’t mean to imply that God wants us to be in pain or to
suffer, but sometimes God uses discomfort to bring us back to a place of
obedience under Him and His teachings. Look at the whole period in the history
of the Israelites that we have been studying so far this year.
It can be accurately stated that Yahweh’s purpose for the
Babylonian exile was to punish the Jewish people for their disobedience and
ignorance of Yahweh’s warnings from His prophets. God took away their Promised
Land from them for 70 years in an attempt to bring them back to Him. We are
seeing here in the Book of Ezra that it is working and it will work for a while
until Christ arrives.
We learned last week that Christians are not bound to
the Law like the Israelites were. Our salvation is not bound to the observance
of the Law like it was for the Israelites. We are not bound to the Law
but it is still beneficial for us to observe much of the Law. We are
free to ignore the ceremonial laws surrounding food and clothing, but much of
the remainder of the law is beneficial as a guide on how to live a better life.
Our obedience to the Law is rooted in appreciation for the security we enjoy in
our salvation. A salvation that is rooted in the completed work of Jesus
Christ. Not in our obedience to a set of rules and sacrifices that we are to
make in an attempt to appease God.
We are to obey in an attempt to please God. Do you
understand the difference between pleasing and appeasing?
To appease is an attempt to satisfy the wrath of an offended
God in the sense of making payment to meet the required penalty and to offset
the injustice He feels over sin. Our goal as Christians is to please God
through our acts of obedience, from a sense of gratitude for that which
Christ has already secured for us.
For those of us who are saved, for those who have accepted
the completed work of Jesus Christ to atone for our sins with the Father, we
have a mission that is set apart from the works of the world. Ephesians 2:10
says it this way in the ESV,
“10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” We obey because we are His workmanship. We were created by Jesus. He
knit us together in our mother’s womb. Then, He re-created us or regenerated us,
when He replaced our heart of stone with a heart of flesh when He saved us. It
is because of this regeneration that we desire to obey.
James puts it this way in his short epistle. James 1:22 says, “22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so
deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” The ESV puts it in a way that has
a little more sting to it, “22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only,
deceiving yourselves.” In other words, if we simply read or listen to
God’s Word and if we do not put those words into action in our lives, we are
deceiving ourselves. Deceiving, how? Perhaps, we are not Christians after all.
Perhaps, we have not experienced true salvation, but we have only experienced a
salvation of our design.
Just as we can easily create an idol, a God of our making by not
listening to scripture when it tells us who Jesus Christ truly is, we can also
create a salvation of our own making by not living a changed life. I can not
tell you who is truly saved and who is not. The only way I know to tell or not
is to read Galatians Chapter Five and compare the list of the fruit of the
spirit and see if there is evidence of fruit in your life or not.
This is why, I really can’t take seriously people who claim to be
Christians but refuse to attend church regularly and be part of a fellowship. I
don’t understand people who are unwilling to find some way to use the gifts
that God has given them in some manner of service to their King. Everyone has a
gift of some sort. Not one person is given a pass on kingdom work. Or, people
who claim to be Christians but continue to gossip, or sow discontentment among
others, or who lose their tempers and are angry with others over minor issues.
Ephesians 4:31-32 wraps up these thoughts nicely, “31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and
anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be
kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ
God forgave you.” We are to forgive others just as Christ forgave
us. Let me tell you folks… if you are not forgiving others, it just might
be because you have not actually received the forgiveness from Christ that you
may be claiming. If you are not kind to others, maybe you don’t have the proper
relationship with Jesus that you claim.
If this evidence is not in your life, then come and talk with me
and let’s discuss this and figure it out together. You know, our walk with
Christ is not meant to be a solitary walk with Jesus. We are to have others in
our relationship with Jesus involved in our lives. This is called discipleship
and unfortunately this is an area where the North American Church has been
sadly lacking in the recent past. Many, many churches have lost the art of disciple-making.
Many people are so unfamiliar with this process, that when they
experience it for the first time, they reject it and walk away. That is not how
the Bible tells us we are to live as Christians. We are to do life in community
with each other. Encouraging, challenging, and yes, even correcting one
another, but always in gentleness and love. Love for each other, and love for
the Saviour.
Now, if this stings you a little bit, don’t get mad at me. That is the
prompting of the Holy Spirit you are experiencing. I’m not telling you
how to live your life, Scripture is! I am well aware that I am no expert
on how to live life. The first half of my life, when I lived apart from God I
made a total mess of it. There are some consequences of my early life that I
may never recover from. Decisions have consequences and some of those
consequences may never be remedied.
I am not the judge here. I am just the messenger. I am the bearer of
Good News. I know of a God who is so awesome and loves you so much, that He is
willing to accept you just as you are when you come to Him. He is waiting, He
is calling you, He is drawing you to Himself.
You do not have to clean up your life first. He will wash you clean. You
do not have to make amends first to all those you have sinned. He will forgive
you right now. Once cleansed, you will want to live a life of
obedience and gratitude.
Once forgiven, you will be so full of His love that you will
desire to go to those you have hurt in the past, and make amends. When you
receive His forgiveness for your sins, you can’t help but want to love and forgive
others for their wrongdoings to you.
Once you have received forgiveness from the Saviour, you will desire
to receive forgiveness from others you have hurt. Once you have been reconciled
to God, you will want to be reconciled to everyone who you can be reconciled to.
When His love pours into your life, you can’t help but pour that love into the
lives of others.
Have you ever noticed how new believers are on fire for Jesus? Once they
experience first-hand how fantastic God’s Grace is, they want everyone to
experience it. Have you noticed this lack of enthusiasm in the Old Testament?
The Israelites didn’t come back from the Temple where they had just made their
sacrifice all excited for their neighbours to go and perform their sacrifices.
That difference in the heart attitude illustrates the difference between
those bound by the Law and those freed by Grace. Do you know someone who is
still trying to appease God? Why not share with them the joy and freedom found
in the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Or, at the very least, invite them to church
where they will hear the life-changing message of Jesus Christ.
Look back with me at today’s passage and let’s see if we can
discover together what else God’s Word has to speak to us today. So, we see
from the opening couple of verses here, that the Holy Spirit is setting a tone
of great reverence for God. The character of Ezra has been established and in
that character, we see that Ezra had a reverence for God and His Law. A
reverence so strong that Ezra not only devoted himself to the study and
observance of the Law, he was also a respected teacher of the Law as well.
As a result of this reverence, Ezra exhibited a profound
respect for the Law of God as well. This respect and reverence for the Law will
cause some major friction for some of God’s people in the coming days. Lord
willing, we will see this friction and what that cost will be in five and six
weeks from now.
Ezra was not the only one who was exhibiting these
characteristics toward God. Artaxerxes and his court were also exhibiting these
same traits towards Yahweh. This letter, which was written in Aramaic by the
way, as was all official correspondence of the empire, shows the respect that
Artaxerxes had towards the Law of the God of heaven. This is a testament to the
influence that Ezra must have had on the court of Artaxerxes. Ezra could not
have garnered this much clout from the king without first gaining his respect.
So Ezra was sent by the king to ensure that those who had returned to
Jerusalem were observing the proper worship of Yahweh. Look at verse 14 which
says, “14 You are sent by the king and his seven advisers to
inquire about Judah and Jerusalem with regard to the Law of your God, which is
in your hand.” It wasn’t just Jerusalem that Artaxerxes was concerned about. It
was the entire province of Judah that was on his mind. The king wanted to make
sure that the people were abiding by the Law of Moses in their worship.
The Israelites in the royal court must have been explaining
how they were under God’s judgment and wrath. This may have had an impact on
Artaxerxes himself because look at what he says later in his letter in verse 23
of the text, “23 Whatever the God of heaven has prescribed, let it be
done with diligence for the temple of the God of heaven. Why should his wrath
fall on the realm of the king and of his sons?”
This is evidence of the reverence of the power of the wrath of Yahweh if
not outright fear, and Artaxerxes was wanting to make sure that none of that
wrath was going to come his way.
Artaxerxes shows a sincere regard for the proper worship of Yahweh. A
great deal of the letter is committed to making sure that the priests had all
that was needed for the correct and reverent worship to take place. Artaxerxes and
his seven advisors made offerings of silver and gold for the worship of Yahweh.
Look at verse 15, “Offerings… freely given to the God
of Israel”.
Ezra was told to collect whatever was needed from the royal Treasurys along
the way, up to the limits contained in the letter. This was a type of seed
money, if you will until the population was such in the land again that they
could support the worship of Yahweh on their own. Artaxerxes even gave all
those who worked in the House of God a tax-exempt status in recognition of
their efforts on behalf of Yahweh.
Imagine what a difference could be made in our society today if the
government put money into church planting instead of safe injection sites. They
would, of course, have no input into the running of these efforts, but imagine
what we could do for the kingdom with some of the financial resources that
could be available. Imagine how much more efficiently social care programs
could be run if they were administered by the church rather than the
bureaucracy of government. Now all of this presupposes two things: One, we were
living in a society which was still positive towards the church and the gospel;
and Two, that the church was still allowed to operate independently from the
oversight of the government. Imagine what could happen if our leaders respected
God and His teaching. Our leaders must respect God!
Jump down to verses 25 and 26 and let’s examine what they are saying.
Verse 25 reads, “25 And you, Ezra, in
accordance with the wisdom of your God, which you possess, appoint magistrates
and judges to administer justice to all the people of Trans-Euphrates—all who
know the laws of your God. And you are to teach any who do not know them. 26 Whoever
does not obey the law of your God and the law of the king must surely be
punished by death, banishment, confiscation of property, or imprisonment.”
Notice that there is a clear demarcation between the roles and offices
of the church, and the roles and offices of the government. Notice which one is
given priority and authorization over which. The wisdom of God is recognized
first, and the observance of the Laws of God is given priority over the observance
of the laws of the King. There are serious consequences listed for the
disobedience of either set, but God is placed above the King.
With the launch of the Reformation, Martin Luther was the first to
advocate that the church and the government should be separated. John Calvin
and the Anabaptists also picked up on this theme many of whom look back to
Augustine and his two Books “The City of Man” and “The City of God” as
inspirations for this theme. However, these early proponents set up a Two Kingdom
ideology where the residents of the kingdom of God were not to interact with
the residents of the kingdom of man.
Up to that point in history, the ruling class ruled by divine
appointment and thus they felt that they were not accountable to anyone except
God. Unfortunately, the vast majority of these rulers seldom listened to God,
so many ruled as tyrants and despots. The Two Kingdom theology often resulted
in religious communities becoming cloistered and separated, not just from the
leaders but also from the working classes that lived beneath the rulers. There
was little emphasis placed on evangelism or attempting to speak God’s truth to
those in power.
In North America where did the idea of separation of church
and state come from?
What does this popular phrase, “the separation
of church and state” mean? The earliest mention of it in North America comes
from Roger Williams, a Puritan minister who founded a new form of
government based on this idea. Williams referenced ‘a high wall’ between church
and state to keep the ‘wilderness’ of governments out of the affairs of
religion. Essentially, he wanted to stop the chaos and immorality of government
from invading the purity of a person’s conscience and their freedom to find
their own truth or salvation.
Williams had a valiant idea, to keep the
autonomy of the church out from under the control of the ruling class. In
Europe, it was primarily understood that the religion of the monarch or the
ruling class was the religion of the peasants. As the King or Queen went, so
went the people. This was why the turmoil in England during the reign of King
Henry the Eighth and Queen Mary the First, caused such chaos as the official
religion of England swung back and forth between Protestantism and Roman
Catholicism, back to Protestantism depending on who was monarch at the time.
There was much persecution among the faithful carried out by both sides as the
people attempted to remain true to their faith. This pattern of religious
observance by the peasant class was largely the norm with few exceptions such
as Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes as told in the Bible.
Even with this separation of powers being
understood, the rulers are still subject to God’s Laws and they are required to
rule their people in accordance with God’s Laws or they face bringing judgment
and wrath upon themselves. I think that this is why our country is in such a
state of turmoil at the present. Our leaders have all but abandoned the
teachings of Jesus.
Between abortion and Medical Assistance in
Dying, we have developed a culture of death in this country. I was reading
about two very sad cases involving Government Assisted Suicide. That is what it
should be called instead of MAID, which is a lot more innocent sounding than
Government Assisted Suicide. Both cases were out of Quebec and they are a
damning condemnation of the Quebec health-care system in my opinion. The first
involved an elderly man who was in assisted living and he requested suicide
because he could no longer contend with the massive bedsores that had developed
because of the lack of care he was receiving in the government-run facility.
The staff were failing to turn and treat his bedsores and they developed into
such large ulcers that his bones were exposed, so he requested suicide.
The other case involved a woman in her thirties
who had been battling the chronic effects of Lyme disease and had failed to
even have it properly diagnosed by the Quebec healthcare system, so she opted
for suicide instead of receiving treatment for Lyme disease which can be
successfully treated when it is properly diagnosed. A life lived apart from God
is seemingly hopeless. This is why I am so encouraging and insistent on sharing
the Gospel. We have the hope of Jesus, the church has the hope that the world
needs, we just have to have the courage to share it with them.
Look at the end of verse 25. We even see an element of teaching that is to be presented to those who
do not know the Laws of God. “And you are to teach any
who do not know them”. We had another young adult bible study this week. We are at the point
in the Gospel of Mark where end-times events are being discussed and taught.
So, I posed this question to the group, “If you knew that Jesus was returning
in two weeks, and you were the only one who knew that information, would you
live your life differently? If so, how?” We decided that some of us would be
sure to share the Gospel with some friends and family members that we had not
yet told about Jesus Christ. The world may have more than two weeks left, but we
don’t know who in our circle has more or less than two weeks left. People are
dying by the thousands every day around the world, some, even in our own
community. What’s holding you back from sharing the hope that this world so
desperately needs?
Let’s go back to verse 25 for the remainder of
our time and see what exactly Ezra was commissioned by the king to carry out.
Verse 25 contains the instructions, “appoint magistrates and judges to administer justice
to all the people of Trans-Euphrates—all who know the laws of your God.”
What
did magistrates, governors, satraps, etc . do exactly? Xenophon wrote a book in ancient times, which
was part fiction and part biography of Cyrus the Great titled “Cyropaedia”. This
book gives us insight as to the duty of a representative of the king who would
travel the kingdom holding the magistrates to account in their duties and offer
assistance to them.
Xenophon of Athens was a
Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age
of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Greek mercenary
armies of the Achaemenid Empire, the Ten Thousand, that marched on and came
close to capturing Babylon in 401 BC. Xenophone writes in his book the following
observation, “We have noticed also that this regulation is still in force,
whether it was instituted by Cyrus, as they affirm, or not: year by year a man
makes the circuit of the provinces with an army, to help any satrap that may
need help, to humble anyone that may be growing rebellious, and to adjust
matters if anyone is careless about seeing the taxes paid or protecting the
inhabitants, or to see that the land is kept under cultivation, or if anyone is
neglectful of anything else that he has been ordered to attend to; but if he
cannot set it right, it is his business to report it to the king, and he, when
he hears of it, takes measures in regard to the offender. And those of whom the
report often goes out that “the king’s son is coming,” or “the king’s brother”
or “the king’s eye,” these belong to the circuit commissioners; though
sometimes they do not put in an appearance at all, for each of them turns back,
wherever he may be, when the king commands.” [1]
The duty of the
magistrates was to administer their regions in such a manner that the people
would not become rebellious, they would pay the taxes and tribute due the king,
and they would be as productive as possible with the agricultural lands that they
had been given. In short, they were to keep the peace and govern wisely.
Judges at this time were
both similar and different from today’s judges. They also had a very similar
role as the magistrates. There may have been a greater emphasis on judicial
matters than the magistrates had. Both groups would have been considered part
of the noble class and ruling elites. The one thing that judges were not, were
priests or other religious leaders. Judges had no religious duties in their
roles. This is why claiming that the example of Deborah as a judge is an Old
Testament example of Women Pastors is a category error. Deborah held no
religious role, nor did she perform any religious duties while she was a judge.
This is a bad example of that argument.
CONCLUSION
We have spoken a lot about reverence this morning. We have
spoken about showing God the proper reverence in our lives and we saw Ezra as
an example to follow.
Stephen Charnocke was a Puritan clergyman who lived in the late
1600s. He wrote the following account and I have updated some of the language
where needed. “How should we reverence that God that has a throne encompassed
with such glorious creatures as angels, whose faces we are not able to
behold? How should we fear the Lord of Hosts, that has so many armies at His
command in the heavens above, and in the earth below, whom He can dispose to
the exact obedience of His will! How should men be afraid to interfere with or
obstruct any of His actions, to sit judge on their Judge, and
call Him to an account at their bar? How should such an
earthworm, as mean an animal as man, be not afraid to speak irreverently
of so great a King! Not to fear Him, not to reverence Him, is to
pull His throne from under Him, and make Him of a lower authority
than ourselves.”
If we love Him, we will not try to rob Jesus of any of His
glory that is due to Him from all of Creation by trying to make Him any less
than He truly is.
Have a blessed week.
Pastor
Paul’s Points:
1) Our Leaders should have great Reverence
for God.
2) Our Leaders should have profound Respect
for the Law of God.
3) Our Leaders should have sincere
Regard for the worship of God.
4) In
our Leaders we should see a hearty Recognition of a person's character.
Questions
to meditate on this week:
1. Do I have a “Great Reverence” for God?
2. How can I
exhibit “Profound Respect” for the Law of God?
3. Do I have
a “Sincere Regard” for my worship of God?
4. Am I
concerned about how my character is seen by others?
[1]
Xenophon, Xenophon in Seven
Volumes, 5 and 6, trans. Walter Miller (Medford, MA: Harvard
University Press, Cambridge, MA; William Heinemann, Ltd., London., 1914).
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