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No one said it would be easy… (4 things)
- 1st – Arriving in the Land… vs. 1-6
- 1st – A journey of 7 months… vs. 1
- The journey to Jerusalem took a total of 7 months – and they arrived in the 7th month…
- That means that they left Babylon in the 1st month (Nisan) – the month of the Passover…
- Passover – 14th day of Nisan – commemorates the 10th plague of Egypt – the death angel…
- When God saved His people from slavery by the blood of the lamb – Exodus 11:4-5
- It looked forward to Jesus Christ – the Lamb of God – John 1:29 / Revelation 13:8
- The Jew would have arrived just about the time of the feast of trumpets…
- Rosh Hashanah – Feast of Trumpets – 1st of Tishri (7th month)…
- Head of the New Year – blowing of the Shofar – ‘Trumpet call’ for God’s people…
- It is thought to prophetically point to the rapture of the church – I Thessalonians 4:16-17
- And they were able to celebrate the feast of Tabernacles when they arrived!
- Sukkoth – Tabernacles -15th-22nd of Tishri…
- A weeklong feast to commemorate the 40-year wilderness wandering of Israel…
- Booths were constructed as reminders – of the temporary housing used in the Exodus…
- Fulfilled in the 7 year marriage supper of the Lamb – Revelation 19:9
- So the Jews left at Passover – when the Lamb freed them from the bondage of the world…
- Took a 7 month trip to the Promised Land – 7 is the number of perfection…
- Only to arrive at the feast of trumpets – as God brought them home…
- Where they were able to celebrate with God at the Feast of Tabernacles!
- What a picture! When we are born again – the Spirit of God wakes us up…
- We begin a journey – and in God’s perfect time we arrive at the Promised Land…
- When the trump of God sounds – Jesus brings us to heaven – He brings us home…
- So that we can celebrate with Jesus in Heaven – at the marriages supper of the Lamb!
- The journey to Jerusalem took a total of 7 months – and they arrived in the 7th month…
- 2nd – Building the Altar… vs. 2-6
- Upon arriving – Joshua (Jeshua) the High Priest / and Zerubbabel grandson of Jehoiachin…
- Immediately got to work rebuilding the Altar so they could offer sacrifices…
- They offered the morning and evening / new moon / and regular burnt offerings….
- Because for 70 years there had been to way to make atonement for sin!
- Which makes you wonder – how did people deal with sin while they were in captivity…
- Although the Bible does not say – we do have a modern example to give us a hint…
- When Rome destroyed the 2nd Temple in 70 AD…
- The Jews again had the problem of having no place to offer sacrifices for sin…
- So they created a tradition – a works based solution for sin – for their Atonement…
- God writes a man’s fate for the coming year into the ‘Book of Life’ on Rosh Hashanah…
- But He waits until Yom Kippur to ‘seal’ the verdict – good or bad…
- During the ‘Days of Awe’ – the 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur…
- A Jew tries to do good works and seek forgiveness for wrongs they have done…
- At the end of Yom Kippur – ‘you’ can consider ‘yourself’ absolved by God
- People still have this mentality today – as if God weights our life in a balance…
- So longs as we do more good things / then bad things – we are a good person!
- That might help to ease our conscience – but it does nothing to take away sin!
- Good works cannot take away sin – we cannot earn our way to heaven…
- God will judge the sin of all men – White Throne Judgment – Revelation 20:11
- We ARE judged according to our works – written in ‘The Books’…
- Not to see if we are a good or bad person – but to show us we are bad…
- And unless our name is written in THE ‘Book of Life’ – we are bound for the Lake of Fire…
- The only way to get our name in the book – faith in the finished work of Jesus!
- Whether it was OT saints looking forward to the cross – or us looking back!
- Upon arriving – Joshua (Jeshua) the High Priest / and Zerubbabel grandson of Jehoiachin…
- 1st – A journey of 7 months… vs. 1
- 2nd – Laying the foundation… vs. 7-13
- 1st – Getting to work… vs. 7-9
- The men of Judah hired the people of Tyre and Sidon to bring cedar logs…
- The Cedars of Lebanon were famous for their huge size – and durability…
- They could grow to be over 120’ tall – and could be up to 10’ think!
- A hard wood – they were perfect for constructing large buildings!
- The men would cut the trees – build them into rafts – and float them to Israel…
- Then from Joppa they would bring them to Jerusalem for the Temple
- This was the same arrangement Solomon had made to build the 1st Temple – I Kings 5:11
- When missionaries went to the Philippines 100 years ago they celebrated Thanksgiving…
- As a result even though it is not a holiday there – churches there still celebrate it today!
- The power of example is amazing – people tend to follow – good or bad…
- We need to be careful what example we are passing onto our family / friends…
- We need to be just are careful what example we allow others to have on our lives!
- In the 2nd month of the 2nd year of their arrival – or 13 months after they came to Jerusalem…
- Zerubbabel – the grandson of the King / and Joshua the High Priest…
- Began to lay the foundation of the new Temple in Jerusalem!
- I love that the list begins with the ‘leadership’ – then everyone else…
- In I Corinthians 4:1 – even the Apostle Paul calls himself a ‘Servant of Christ’…
- A slave who worked a Roman ship – under the deck – hard working – driving an oar…
- No one would ever see and ‘under rower’ – it was a humbling position – no prestige…
- Paul’s point is he was no one special – he was called by God to serve!
- Sad to say the church has lost sight of that today – ‘Pastor’ has become a title…
- Rather than working hard for God – it describes one who tells others what to do
- What a great example – when leaders are not there to be served – but to serve!
- The men of Judah hired the people of Tyre and Sidon to bring cedar logs…
- 2nd – Singing and weeping… vs. 10-13
- As the foundation was laid – the Priests and Levites began to praise the Lord…
- Perhaps singing Psalms 136 – a responsive Psalm…
- Where the part of the Psalm is read describing the goodness of God…
- And the people respond after each description with – ‘His Mercy endures forever!’
- But in the midst of the worship and praise – the older men began to weep…
- For those who had never seen Jerusalem – the Temple of Solomon – this was a great day…
- But for those who had seen the splendor of the 1st Temple – this was a sad sight…
- Not only was the magnitude of the 1st Temple lost – the gold / silver / bronze…
- But this Temple lacked the most important things of all – the Ark of the Covenant…
- Lost to history – some say buried under the Temple / Ethiopia / or taken to heaven!
- But these men missed out on what God was doing – because of their expectations…
- They were looking back – rather than looking forward to what God wanted to do!
- God made a promise – the 2nd Temple would be greater than Solomon’s!
- Haggai 2:9 – “‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the LORD of hosts.”
- Not because it would be grander with more gold or silver – though it would…
- Herod would add onto the Temple and turn it into one of the wonders of the world…
- But this Temple would be great – because one day Jesus would be there!
- Often we miss God’s work in our lives – we are caught up in the past…
- Or because cause we are looking for something else – assuming what God will do…
- Rather than coming to God with expectations – we need to come with an open heart!
- As the foundation was laid – the Priests and Levites began to praise the Lord…
- 1st – Getting to work… vs. 7-9
We become like Zerubbabel – learning it is not by might – it is about the Spirit of God!
3RD – Trouble in the Land… vs. 1-5
1st – The offer of the Samaritans… vs. 1-3
The advisories (enemies) of Judah and Benjamin heard about the Temple …
After King Solomon – Israel divided into two nations – Northern and Southern…
The Northern Kingdom became know as Samaria – named after its capitol city…
It was conquered by King Sennacherib of Assyria in 722 B.C – II Kings 17:23
The Assyrians took the Israelites and scattered them to other conquered countries…
Then took captives from other countries and placed them in Israel…
But Assyria allowed some of the Israelites to return to teach the people about God…
This mixed people/religion – became the ‘Samaritans’ of the New Testament!
The Samaritans came to Zerubbabel and offered to help…
Since they ‘sought God as the Jews did’ – sacrificing to Him since the time of Assyria…
But the Samaritans were a compromised faith – a mixture of different beliefs…
Because of that Zerubbabel wisely refused to let them help – let their influence in!
History shows the church flourished under persecution in the first 3 centuries…
It was when the church became the accepted religion that things went wrong…
Though the numbers grew – those who truly believed in Jesus declined…
Because as a ‘little’ mud can quickly contaminate – make all the water unclean…
A little sin can quickly spread out and infect a whole family or church!
Satan found that the best way to beat the church – was to join it!
This is origin of the animosity between Jews and Samaritans…
The Samaritans wanted to help rebuild the Temple – but were not allowed
The Samaritans went on to oppose the rebuilding of Jerusalem – Nehemiah 4:22
There after there was a constant tension and distrust between the two nations!
2nd – Stirring up trouble… vs. 4-5
Scorned – the Samaritans made it their goal to frustrate the work of building the Temple…
They did all they could to discourage the Jews – putting obstacles in their way…
You can almost imagine the ‘press’ of their day talking about how evil the Jews were!
They hired ‘counselors’ – we would say attorneys – to frustrate them…
It was successful enough to delay the work for almost 16 years!
As I read this I could not help but think of the current lawsuits against the Barn…
When we purchased the facility the wineries said they did not mind having a church…
But they did not want a Calvary Chapel – they get too big (because we teach the Word)…
And since day one they have been working to frustrate / put obstacles in our way…
Hiring attorneys who play underhanded legal games to keep us from building…
And there is some success – they have kept us from building for almost 7 years!
4th – The letter to the King… vs. 6-24
1st – The Samaritans wrote letters – with accusations against the Jews… vs. 6-16
To Ahasuerus – thought to be Cambyses the son of Cyrus – 530-522 BC
Also to his successor Artaxerxes – thought to be False Smerdis the Magian – 522 BC
The letter was from the representatives of 9 nations – transplanted by the King of Assyria…
The letter was written in Aramaic / Chaldean – the language of Babylon…
At this point in the book – from Ezra 4:8-6:18 – the language changes to Aramaic
The letter refers to the people of Israel as Jews…
This is a term that came about around the time of the captivity in Babylon…
It comes from the name Judah – as they were the primary tribe to remain intact
The letter made 4 accusations against the Jews:
1st – The Jews were rebellious and evil – that was a personal attack…
2nd – The Jews were rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem – that was a lie…
3rd – The Jews would not pay tribute if they continued – this was an assumption…
The world hates Jesus because he convicts the world of sin and righteousness…
John 3:19-20 – “This is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil…”
Like a light shining in the darkness – Jesus reveals sin…
Because men LOVE sin they hate the light that reveals their sinfulness…
We have Jesus in us – so because they hate Jesus – they also hate the light of Jesus in us!
Therefore do not be surprised when the personal attacks come – John 15:18
When people lie about you – assume the worst to make you look bad!
When people make fun of you – attack you with cutting words – because of Jesus…
When you are told you are narrow / bigoted / extreme – because you stand for truth!
4th – If the King searched the records he would find out how rebellious the Jews were…
We are all sinners – and it is not hard to find proof of our mistakes in the past…
And when we share Jesus with others – they are quick to remind us of them all!
What they miss is that all that we were is gone – Psalms 103:12
We are no longer defined by our past/mistakes – instead by Jesus who is in us!
II Corinthians 5:17 – “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
2nd – Cease and desist… vs. 17-24
Artaxerxes / Smerdis – sent his reply – he checked the archives…
Indeed Jerusalem was a rebellious city – it had revolted against Babylon 3 times…
Not only that it had once been a great city – under the reigns of David and Solomon…
So the command was given for all work on the Temple to stop!
As soon as the Samaritans heard this – they rushed up to Jerusalem…
They came armed and forced all work on the Temple to stop…
And nothing more was done until the 2nd year of King Darius – 2 years later!
The Jews were VERY discouraged – they thought evil had won…
But God was allowing it – to test the hearts of the men of Israel!
In this darkest hour God sent the prophet Zechariah…
Zechariah 4:6-10 – “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit…’”
We often get the impression there are ‘special’ people whom God chooses to use…
But there are only ordinary people – who believe in God – making them ‘special’!
We are all just clay pots – II Corinthians 4:7 – the question is what is inside of us…
Are we full of ourselves – trusting in our abilities – no blessed…
Or are we full of Jesus – believing in God – having faith (trust) in His Word!
We become extraordinary through the trials of life – II Corinthians 4:8-10…
We are pressed (squished like a grape) – but we are not crushed…
We are confused (have doubts) – but we are in despair (without hope)…
We are persecuted (made fun of) – but we are not forgotten (God is on our side)…
We are struck down (temporarily defeated) – but we are not destroyed (God is not done)…
The more we learn to trust in God – the more blessed our lives will become!
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