Title Let's Restore (Ezra 3:1-7)
Contents
Datum No 1114 / June 3, 2001
Title Let's recover. / Scripture Ezra 3:1-7 / Object Sunday Evening Worship (common) /
Space Daebok Church
*** Introduction
If I had to describe the Christian life of faith in a short way, it could be said to be the 'way of recovery'. Because faith is about returning to the way it was when God first created it. That is why the process of receiving Jesus Christ as Savior, repenting and being born again and reaching the kingdom of God is called sanctification. This path of restoration is based on God's faithful promises.
It is said that William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania in the United States, was very friendly with Native Americans. It was because of their favor and kindness towards the Indians. One day, the Indians joked that they would give him every area he passed through on foot in one day.
As they say, William Penn started walking as soon as the sun rose on the horizon and walked late into the night. At the end of his journey, he came to the Indians and asked for the land. The Indians were astonished to learn that William had taken his words seriously and acted on them. But since they are always keepers of their promises, he gave them all the land he passed through. This is what makes Philadelphia a part of what it is today. William Penn took vast lands by simply doing what the Indians said.
God's faithfulness cannot be compared to the Native Americans. God is the One who keeps the covenant, and He does not break even a single word.
- Deuteronomy 7:9, “Therefore, you must know! But the LORD your God is God, the faithful God. He keeps his covenant and shows mercy to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.” Matthew 7:11, “If you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven seek him. Will you not give me something good?”
A faithful God also gives grace to those who serve Him with a sincere heart. This fact is clearly shown in the text.
In the text, “Yeshua”, a descendant of Zadok, appears. He was a descendant of Zadok and was the son of Jozadak. Zadok formed the only high priestly family in Israel after Solomon. Because of his faithfulness, God blessed his descendants. This family continued uninterrupted until the fall of the kingdom of Judah, the Babylonian captivity, and the return to the mainland. What is the secret to these families receiving God's special grace?
1. Zadok's descendants believed in God's promises.
At that time, the Israelites were in captivity in Babylon for 70 years. Babylon, which had been strong in the Near East, also disappeared into history because of the power of the new Persian Empire. Cyrus of Persia opened the way for the Israelites to return.
However, there were not many on the way home. Most people chose to live in the same place they lived in Babylon. Perhaps it was because it was more comfortable to settle down in a place that had already been established than to return to the country where everything was messed up.
Under these circumstances, Yeshua returned to his home country with his brother priests and Jewish leaders. The return of the Jews to captivity took place three times, and Yeshua, along with the governor Zerubbabel, served as the leader and leader of the first return from captivity. There were 42,360 primary returnees (2:64). They wanted a life in the promised land of Canaan, even if it was desolate, rather than a temporary peace in the sinful Gentile land.
The same is true for today's saints. We must choose life in Jesus Christ over the joys of the world. Even if it is lowly and desolate. Why? Because it is the way to the true life. David confesses this fact in Psalm 84:10. “One day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere; it is better to be a gatekeeper of my God than to dwell in the tents of the wicked.”
The Israelites did not trust God. For them, it didn't matter if they were idols or God, and they had an absurd belief that they would follow what was in their eyes and what was comfortable with them. Such faith does not receive the grace of God.
God's promises do not come to us in a different world right before our eyes. If that were the case, almost everyone who ever existed would have become God's people. The way to receive God's grace is to believe in the Lord's promises and put them into practice, even if the things in front of you seem impossible at all. The text also testifies to that fact. Even though it was the road of hardship, the Israelites who returned to their home country relying on God's promises were blessed with a stump called the “remnant.”
2. Zadok's descendants obeyed God's law.
When the priests descended from Zadok, including Yeshua, returned to the mainland, the first task was to rebuild the ruined altar of God.
Returning after 70 years, the city of Jerusalem was in complete ruins. The walls were crumbling, and the temple had no stone upon it. To rebuild this wasteland, there was not one or two things that had to be done. But the priests knew what to do first.
For Christians, priorities in life are very important. In Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness! And all these things will be added to you.” And in 1 Corinthians 10:31, he explicitly commanded priority, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
The first thing the Puritans who came to America to escape persecution from the Anglican Church, the official religion of England, did was to build a church. Next we built a school, and finally we built our own houses. God gave grace to them who knew their priority in life.
Yeshua and the priests built an altar as it was written in the Law. And according to God's ordinances, we kept the feasts and restored the sacrifices. Here's something we need to think about.
It is the attitude of the saints in doing the work of God. Can't we just build an altar and offer sacrifices? I don't know what to say. But not when it comes to doing and worshiping the living God. All things toward God must be done only according to the will of God. Look at the next verse.
- Matthew 7:21, “Tell me, Lord! Lord! Matthew 12:50, “Whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven will be my brother and sister and mother.” 1 John 5:14, “This is the boldness we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”
Yeshua and the priests followed the ordinances of the law to build an altar, keep the Feast of Tabernacles, offer burnt offerings, and restore regular burnt offerings. Although the temple has not yet been rebuilt, they did their best to restore worship.
Among the many elements of worship, the most important is the attitude of the worshiper. This is what God emphasized to Israel.
- Isaiah 29:13, "This people draws near to me with their mouth, and honors me with their lips, says the Lord, but their heart is far from me; and they fear me only as they have been taught by the commandments of men." Jesus quoted this from Matthew 15:7-9. “You hypocrites, Isaiah prophesied well about you. Said, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' Isaiah 1:11-12, "of what profit is your countless sacrifices to me, says the LORD? I have been filled with the burnt offering of rams and with the fat of fattened animals; I delight in the blood of bulls, lambs, and goats. No. You are coming to show me, who has required it of you? You are only treading on my yard."
God's groaning clearly shows the condition of the worshipers at that time. However, those who returned were not impatient and faithful to God's will despite the adverse conditions. In this way, Zadok's family was able to enjoy God's grace abundantly because of Zadok's faithfulness and the faithfulness of his descendants.
Our lives today are like this.
1) We must believe and follow God's promises. Even if the things of the world seem more splendid right now and the road ahead of me is difficult.
2) All life must have priority in God.
3) We must obey God's word and do it, but we must follow God's will.
In the name of the Lord, I bless you that you will enjoy the grace of God from generation to generation as your daily life is like this.