To Whom Shall We Listen
Notes
Transcript
Rebuilding
Rebuilding
God’s people have been in exile for 70 years and are now, through His sovereignty, able to go back to Jerusalem and begin to rebuild their lives there.
They began by building the alter of the Lord, the center of their worship of God. Placing Him at the center of their lives and the center of their rebuilding.
And then they start on the foundations of the Temple, where God dwells with them, but they encounter opposition as the begin to rebuild.
Chapter 4 begins somewhere around 538 BC and ends in 520 BC in the second year of King Darius’s reign in Persia.
Chapter 5 and 6 pick up where 4:24 left off.
1 Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. 2 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.
Haggai and Zechariah are prophets of God, literally the voice of God to His people.
1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
They had the Law (the first 5 books of the OT), but the prophets of God were the messengers of God to His people.
Ezra doesn’t go into details of the message the prophets brought so let’s look at Haggai 1.
We learn in Haggai 1 how the exile responded to the opposition in 4:5.
3 Then the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? 5 Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. 6 You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes. 7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. 8 Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord.
For 18 years the exiles have let the opposition they encountered in 4:5 keep them from working on the Temple.
Instead they have been more concerned with rebuilding their own houses and their own lives.
God send Haggai and Zechariah to the people to challenge them and encourage them to stand up, be strong, and get back to work.
4 Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. Work, for I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts, 5 according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not.
As we see in Ezra, the Words of Haggai and Zechariah move the exiles to action and they begin again to rebuild.
But as before, they face opposition almost immediately, but something is new this time.
3 At the same time Tattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and their associates came to them and spoke to them thus: “Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure?” 4 They also asked them this: “What are the names of the men who are building this building?” 5 But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them until the report should reach Darius and then an answer be returned by letter concerning it.
They are questioned, they are scrutinized, but “they did not stop them” because “the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews.” God was watching over them.
What had changed?
9 You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. 10 Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. 11 And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.”
For 18 years the Jews had been focused on creating their own security and comfort.
They had started off placing God at the center, but they had been distracted and had become complacent.
But God speaks to them through Haggai and...
12 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord. 13 Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord’s message, “I am with you, declares the Lord.” 14 And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God,
They “obeyed the voice of the Lord their God” and the “feared the Lord” rather than men.
As we keep reading Ezra 5 and 6
There is a letter written to Darius by a governor and his associates, seeking to figure out if these Jews had permission to build the temple.
There is a response from Darius in chapter 6 after the decree from Cyrus from 18 years ago had been found.
Darius not only gives them permission to build, but reasserts that the project should be funded by the state and not by the Jews.
Then, in 6:14-15 we are told that the temple is complete
14 And the elders of the Jews built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. They finished their building by decree of the God of Israel and by decree of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia; 15 and this house was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.
But don’t miss it, the prosperity and accomplishment of the Jews is not attributed to their ingenuity, hard work, religious zeal, or cunning.
14 And the elders of the Jews were successful in building through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they finished building according to the command of the God of Israel and the decree of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.
They were successful because God spoke and they listened.
The Power and Sufficiency of the Word of God
The Power and Sufficiency of the Word of God
There are several really powerful and helpful things we can glean from this passage, but one thing stands out above the rest.
We see on display the Power and Sufficiency of the Word of God in all of life.
1) The Word of God CONFRONTS in our DISTRACTION and COMPLACENCY.
1) The Word of God CONFRONTS in our DISTRACTION and COMPLACENCY.
16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
There are likely very few people in this room today or online that wouldn’t say they believe the bible is an important book, likely even the most important book ever written.
But most of us live our lives like it is insignificant at best.
Like it is just another book on the book shelf, that has no power, no real appeal beyond a nice ornament for a table.
One of the tactics of the Evil one is distraction.
He keeps us so focused on the things and circumstances around us that we can’t hear the words of God speaking to us and guiding us.
It has only gotten worse as we have so many opportunities and resources to get distracted with.
And as we are distracted, we become more and more complacent about the things of God.
“Prone to Wander, Lord I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love.” is the famous and powerfully revealing words of “Come Thou Fount”
We get more and more distant from the Word of God to the point that His Words loses, or, for some, may have never had, the appeal it ought.
Jesus uses the word “Abide” in John 15 as He is speaking of Himself being the vine and we are the branches.
Those branches that stay connected to the vine will continue to thrive, but the ones that break loose will wither.
We think of our walk with Christ more life a chore or a hobby rather than a necessity.
Taking out the trash or going hunting are both things that are not necessary to the sustaining of life.
As much as you might not want to admit it, but you don’t have to hunt in order to live (Walmart takes care of that).
But we do have to eat, we do have to sleep, and we do have to drink water.
If we don’t do those things we will die.
That is what Jesus means, that if we get too far from Him we will dry up.
When we stay close to Jesus as we are reading, meditating, listening, and discussing, we are literally feeding on the Word.
And we are also giving the Spirit fuel to speak to us when we are in need or when we are wandering.
How hungry are you?
How hungry are you?
Have you ever thought about how hungry you are for the Word of God?
How are you giving God an opportunity to speak to you?
2) The Word of God STRENGTHENS and EQUIPS us to ENDURE in all things.
2) The Word of God STRENGTHENS and EQUIPS us to ENDURE in all things.
105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
11 And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
7 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; 8 the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; 9 the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. 11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
Have you ever gone to the back of your bible, or searched the bible app for a particular word, looking for answers to a question or help with a problem and then found there wasn’t a verse about it.
There are a lot of words in the Bible, but there are many, many words that you will not find in it.
I think at times we think we are dealing with problems, concerns, and issues that the bible just doesn't speak to or can't speak to.
I am anxious, depressed, hurt, angry, bitter...what's the bible have to say to that?
my husband won't open up to me, my wife won't have sex with me, my kids won't listen to me.
I am unhappy with my job, dissatisfied with my marriage, concerned about money, stressed about school, the bible can’t help me with those problems.
But the word speak to ALL these things and is sufficient for ALL these and so many more.
In Psalm 19:7-9 David makes 6 statements about the Word that speak to the fact that the Word of God is a perfect, flawless, and sufficient guide in all aspects of life.
“David always went to God because he understood God’s sovereignty and his own depravity. He knew that his all-sufficient Savior alone had the answers to his needs and the power to apply those answers. And he knew that those answers were to be found in the truth about God revealed in His Word, which is itself perfectly sufficient. The sufficient God revealed Himself in His sufficient Word.”
John MacArthur
It isn’t that there aren’t other reliable and helpful resources for us to go to for guidance and care, it is just that we are prone to go to those other places long before we find our way to the one source that outshines all others.
Who are you listening to?
Who are you listening to?
Are you giving God a chance to speak?
3) The Word of God PROSPERS us as we LISTEN and OBEY.
3) The Word of God PROSPERS us as we LISTEN and OBEY.
There are undertones of Psalm 1 in this chapter
1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
The word “prosper” is in both Ezra 6 and Psalm 1.
We may read these verses and hear my message today and think “if I read the bible more than God is going to give me good things.”
There is this idea that we earn favor with God by doing certain tasks and then He tallies all the good things and divvies out blessings.
But that is not the message here, or anywhere else in the Bible.
There is no promise of an easy, comfortable life because we give a nod to God a few times a week.
The prosperity spoken of in these verses is rooted in open ears to the direction of God and Spirit-empowered obedience in following those directions.
A tree planted by the water is a tree that has determined that it’s strength and vitality is dependent on being as close to that water source as possible.
Our prosperity is the fruit of joy that wells up from a heart that is satisfied in God.
To prosper means to grow and produce fruit and see change, it means that our desire for the Lord and to follow His ways prospers as we find joy in Jesus.
Whose direction are you following?
Whose direction are you following?