Ezra

 

Ezra

 

A CHAPTER A DAY Wed. August 26 – Read Ezra 1 The ancient book (scroll) of Ezra included the book of Nehemiah as they both continue the books of ancient Israel’s history begun in 1 Kings. There is an odd transition here from the end of 2 Chronicles 36 in that the last three verses there are identical to the first two and a half verses in this book. The other odd piece of this book is that Ezra does not show up until chapter seven!

   We begin here with a name and a date – the year Cyrus became king of Persia 539 BCE. This causes me to wonder about significant dates in our lives. First, we may think of our birth year or the years of life changing events like becoming king. We might recall graduating class years or the year we were married or started a new business as we see those years marked on their signs. As I write this, I note that I have been a pastor since 1983. What all do you note for yourself?

   Here something significant happened as had been foreseen by the prophets Isaiah, and Jeremiah who is mentioned here. The theological belief is that it was the Lord who stirred up King Cyrus to degree that the house of the Lord in Jerusalem was to be rebuilt and that the exiled prisoners were to be set free after seventy years of captivity in Babylon. The king’s decree also calls on the other people of Babylon who were to aid them in this by offering them silver and gold and other freewill gifts. This causes me to think about some of the major mission projects that I have been involved in. As we prepared for the mission we asked for support from the church and community to help make it happen and the people responded generously. The same has happened to build additions onto various churches where I served. Likewise, I have made my own freewill donations to various national and international ministries and organizations that help people. When have you asked for and received such support or been a supporter of a significant cause?

   King Cyrus also takes out of the Babylonian storeroom all the treasures from Jerusalem that we sacked by the forces of King Nebuchadnezzar. If you did not catch it, I should point out that Cyrus was a Persian who defeated their enemy the Babylonians and I believe there may be more going on here that the theological undertone of his faith in the Lord causing him to do this. I believe there was a military strategy going on as in the notion of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” By taking these treasures from the Babylonians and giving them to the now freed prisoners of war to go back to the far western border of the territory and build a stronghold. Cyrus would have a defensive position from any intruders from Europe like the Romans and the Greeks. The various treasures are all numbered and then given to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. All these were taken with the exiles when they returned to Jerusalem. This reminds me of one year when the insurance company wanted to know what all the church had that was being insured. We spent weeks itemizing and counting things even to the number of plates and silverware in the kitchen! It amazed us to see what all we had. Today, I invite you to not go that far, but go and open every cupboard, drawer, and storage space and just look at all of the treasures you have stored up. You might even look to see if there are some you might give away as a freewill offering to organizations that resell such items to support community ministries!

 

A CHAPTER A DAY Thurs. August 27 – Read Ezra 2 This chapter reminds me of the book of Numbers which is a census or listing of the families that returned with Moses from Egypt. For those of you who read scriptures at church, be glad you do not have to read this chapter and try to pronounce all of the names! The first thing I notice is that these people are listed as those who came from the people who were exiled seventy years earlier. It may have been that there were a few young children who were exiled and now actually returning in their later years, but most were probably born as captives and returning to a home they never knew. Take some time today to reflect on where all you have lived. And do you anticipate future moves in your future?

   The second thing I notice is the variation in the sizes of the descendants of the various families. Some have a few thousand members, others less than a hundred. What do you see in your own family if you look at your father’s side and your mother’s side? There may be a few aunts and uncles but notice some have many grandchildren and others maybe have no children. There may be so many that you do not even know them all. Today, give thanks for your family and your part in the family. Notice a similarity with the family of God, not just your local congregation or denomination but the world-wide body of Christ’s church.

   The third thing I noticed that there were some that were not quite a part of the family as the priests are listed separately as well as the Levites and temple servants and Solomon’s servants. There were even some who could not prove they were descendants and where they attached to the family tree. They were excluded from the priesthood until a priest could consult the Urim and Thummim. These were the ancient “lots” that would be cast to determine the will of God by which ever way they turned up. Have you ever made a decision based on flipping a coin, spinning a bottle, drawing straws, or tossing dice?

   At the end of the people being counted are the singers both male and female are noted in the chorus. Perhaps it was the worship choir. They are listed right before the count of the animals. Then when they came to the house of the Lord in Jerusalem (the ruins) they make a freewill offering of the items they brought from Babylon to rebuild it. In various churches where I have pastored, we have done capital campaigns to raise funds to build something or to pay off the debt of building something. I see a similar thing happen here to get the project started. Beyond the gold and silver donated they also had one hundred priestly robes. Over the years I have had two – a black one and a white one for Christmas Eve and Easter. Now I have a new one with doctoral stripes on the sleeve for when I earn my degree in a couple more years. What special clothing or uniforms have you worn? In the final list of the groups of people notice the servants of Solomon are now replaced by the category of gatekeepers. As yet, there are no gates to keep but they are present and accounted for when the rebuilding is done and their security is needed.

 

A CHAPTER A DAY Fri. August 28 – Read Ezra 3 At some point after the first wave of immigrants return from Babylon, they gather together to rebuild the altar. There is a reference to the seventh month but not a clear indication if it was the seventh month after they returned or the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar. At some point they gather to rebuild the first thing and that is the altar in order to burn offerings on it according to the law of Moses. What is believed that there were no other altars for the ancient Israelites other than here in Jerusalem. For the last seventy years in captivity no sacrifices were made on the altar. Now that they were back in Jerusalem, the people felt a great need to sacrifice and worship God.

   There is a brief mention of the dread of the people of the lands. There will be more about this in the next chapter so I will comment on this then. Not only do they return to the old ritual of burning sacrifices, but they return to celebrating the Festivals of Booths. This was an ancient practice of setting up booths or tents to live in to remind the people of their time wandering in the wilderness before coming into the promised land. As they had experienced their own “wandering” away from the promised land this may now have a double meaning for these returnees that they were home but would remember their own captivity and journey home. Are there special annual events your church or community do to remember your past?

   Now that the altar was rebuilt the next building phase mentioned is laying out the foundation of the temple. Masons and carpenters are hired and since there was no Home Depot, they contracted with the loggers to bring cedar logs from Lebanon using the funding from King Cyrus. This happened in the second year after they arrived in the second month. The Levites had the role of overseeing the work. Other leaders and their families with the Levites had oversight of the workers. The priests in the vestments had a separate duty to sing and praise God with trumpets and cymbals according to the directions given by King David back in the good old days. All the people raised a shout and praised the Lord. When have you experienced anything like this? Maybe there was a groundbreaking ceremony or a ribbon cutting ceremony for a new building or addition to the church or in the community.

   But notice if you read closely, without explaining it, something totally different also happens. In the midst of the shouting and praising God there were some including priests, Levites, heads of family and the old people who remembered the old temple wept aloud. This does not seem to be tears of joy as it is contrasted to the joyful sounds of the others. There were some, I believe, who were brought to tears by the thought of trying to build a new temple where the old one stood. In new building projects that I have been involved in, there were many who celebrated, but there were also a few who were opposed and were grieved by the tearing down of the old in order to build the new. There are some long for the long ago with tears. For what do you weep today? Let your tears be your offering of sacrifice.

 

A CHAPTER A DAY Sat. August 29 – Read Ezra 4 There appears to be more behind this chapter than in it. It begins by noting there were adversaries to the returning Israelites who approached the leader Zerubbabel and others to ask if they can help with rebuilding the temple for, they had been worshiping the Israelite God since they were brought here. These do not sound like adversaries but neighbors who would like to help their newly returned neighbors. But they are rejected as the Israelite leaders proclaimed it was their sovereign right to rebuild it according to the decree of Cyrus. Then these people of the land discouraged the people of Judah, making them afraid to build and they even bribed officials to frustrate the building plans. Skipping ahead to verse seventeen we discover that these are the Samaritans.

   To get the back story, go back to 2 Kings 17:24-28. After Israel had been defeated by the Assyrians in 722BCE and were exiled to the area of the Medes (vs.4) then the Assyrians brought people from the area around Babylon and placed them in Samaria where they began to worship God, or as they understood the god of that particular area in a worldview of each land having its own particular god. So now in this story nearly two hundred years later, these people are seen as adversaries who are occupying some of the Israelites “promised land.” We will see more of this as we read more of this book, and we know that by the time of Jesus the Samaritans are hated by the Jews. And I believe you can see remnants of it today after Jews again returned to the promised land after the atrocities of the Nazis after WWII and ancient conflicts have been reignited.

   As this story continues, I sense the author is like an investigative reporter. There is a reference to a letter being sent to King Ahasuerus and then somehow copies of official letters going between the Samaritans and his successor King Artaxerxes are obtained and included in this chapter. This chapter may be out of place as the timeline is wrong as these two kings followed after King Darius whose letters we will read in the next two chapters affirming the rebuilding of the Temple. This part of the story may simply be here to show how long the process to build the temple took so long.

   The thing I find fascinating is the description of ancient Jerusalem in verse twelve as a rebellious and wicked city. From the days of King David when it was built it was seen as a glorious and powerful city. But here it is seen quite differently by these adversaries. This gives us an opportunity to pause and reflect on ourselves and our adversaries. Are we only able to see our side with 20-20 vision or do we have 180-degree vision to enable us to see ourselves as others see us from their perspective. The world might be very different today if the returning exiles saw themselves and the Samaritans this way. Our world might be very different if all of us can learn to see this way!

 

A CHAPTER A DAY Mon. August 31 – Read Ezra 5 Here we are introduced to two of the “lesser prophets” Haggai and Zechariah. These are the prophets whose books were short and rolled together in the scroll that ends the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament. (We will read them next to compare the words of the prophets to the words of the historian here.) With the words of the prophets affirming the rebuilding of the temple, the work is begun.

   Word of the rebuilding reaches the governor of the area who comes to question the authority of those who are doing the reconstruction. This is a good question. I hear it being asked of Jesus about what authority gave him the ability to preach and heal. And he replied by asking by what authority did John the Baptist do what he did? I remember it in the verbiage of the old marriage ceremony, “by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife.” By what authority do we do what God calls us to do? The Author of Life gives us not only life but the authority to fully be who we are as servants of God. Claim the authority.

   Once again, we read a copy of the official correspondence sent to King Darius telling about the building of the temple and the questioning of those in charge. They had asked for the names of those in charge of the building project, presumably to include in the letter. But it seems that they got no names but instead a description of them as “servants of God.” The theology of the Israelites is included in the letter describing the defeat and destruction by King Nebuchadnezzar was not due to military superiority but due to their God who was angry with the people and so they were thus delivered to the king for their punishment. It was this theology of God punishing the people for their sins that was behind the building of the temple so that sacrifices could be made to appease the God whom they feared as an atonement for their sins. Hopefully, through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus our theology has developed into one where we worship God out of love, not fear. But that was not the way it was way back then.

   In their letter to King Darius, they lay out all they discerned from those who were building the temple and asked that a search for documentation be made, and a decree be made about this building project. This would take considerable time. The letter was hand delivered and travel took time. There was no internet searching and so many scrolls had to be unrolled and read to find the documentation. The king maybe had to consider what to do and to reply back to them. In the meantime, they needed to sit tight and wait as this chapter ends. Today, what all are you waiting for? How long might you wait? We may sit in a waiting room to see the doctor for a half hour or wait a few weeks for our tax return. We wait nine months for a baby to be born, or several years until we can retire. What all are you waiting for today? And what do you do while you are waiting? Here it seems that the construction went on while they waited. Do something productive today while you wait with me for King Darius’ reply in tomorrow’s chapter!

 

A CHAPTER A DAY Tues. September 1 – Read Ezra 6 Here we read that King Darius received the letter from the governor of the area including Jerusalem about looking for a decree from King Cyrus ordering the rebuilding of the temple. This reminds me of the story of the wisemen coming to Jerusalem seeking the newborn king and Herod calling the scribes to search through the sacred scrolls. Think back to the times you have made such a search. Maybe it has been looking for a document in your personal papers. I can remember going to the library before computers and looking in the card files for the location of a book! Maybe you have had to search through your computer files to look for something. I affirm the words of Jesus about knocking, asking, and seeking. As that search was successful in this story may your searches eventually reveal an answer for you.

   The original decree of King Cyrus was found and again here it is quoted by the investigative reporter. It even includes the dimensions of the temple as being a cube of sixty cubits in each direction. (A cubit was the length from fingertip to elbow or roughly eighteen inches so the dimensions would have been ninety feet.) The cost for construction was to come from the royal treasury (no separation of church and state) and the gold and silver vessels that were looted when Jerusalem and the temple were sacked were to be returned for their ritual use in the rebuilt temple.

   Then King Darius adds his own decree that the governor is not to hinder the construction but actually assist with it with further financial support for the project as well as the daily offerings to be used during the rebuilding. It is noted that the temple was built and the people prospered by three things: the prophesying of Haggai and Zecharia, the command of God, and the decrees of kings Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes. As you accomplish things do you realize that you do not do them alone? You may not have prophets and kings on your side, but you do have people praying for you or encouraging you and God who strengthens you and guides you. Today reflect on all who are on your side in all you do and give thanks.

   The people celebrate the dedication of the temple when it is finally built and set up the priests and Levites to reestablish the sacrifices and worship of the Lord. And the first big celebration that they have after the dedication is the Passover remembering how the Lord through Moses freed the people from the Egyptians and led the people out of Egypt and to the promised land. After seventy years as captives in exile, they gather for a great feast and celebration that they are free once more. What all do you celebrate these days? For what do you gather? It might be birthdays or anniversaries, certain holidays or milestones, Fridays as in TGIF, or even every morning when you wake up to God’s gift of another day. Whenever you can, celebrate life with God and with others.

 

A CHAPTER A DAY Wed. September 2 – Read Ezra 7 Here in the seventh chapter after the reign of Kings Cyrus and Darius, Artaxerxes is King and Ezra the scribe finally shows up for the last four chapters in this book named for him. It states that he was skilled in the law of Moses (which were really the laws of the Lord who had given them to Moses.) There is a time reference for Ezra and various priests and temple personnel leaving Persia and going to Jerusalem. It is in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes or 458 BCE. This was 58 years after the Temple was rebuilt and dedicated. This seems to be the second wave of migration of the Israelites. Notice that the actually journey took four months. It was a major undertaking and was taken one step at a time. What have been the significant journeys in your life? Where did you go and why? What did you learn from your experience?

   Here again we have an official letter from the king, this time it is given to Ezra to be hand delivered to the leaders and treasurers in the province Beyond the River giving him the ability to ask for whatever he needs to worship the Lord. What official papers or documents do you or have you had? Maybe a letter of reference for a school application or job. Maybe a transcript of your grades or a discharge paper from the military service. Maybe a library card or a checkout receipt from Walmart. Ezra left Babylon with his marching orders in hand. Remember where all your papers helped you to go.

   There is a purpose written in this decree in verse fourteen. Ezra is to inquire about the faith practices in Judah and Jerusalem according to the law of God of which we were told earlier that Ezra is a scribe. A second purpose is to take gold and silver and buy the needed sacrifices to worship God at the temple, and if more is needed it shall be provided by the leaders and treasurers in the province. On top of that, there are to be no tariffs, tributes or tolls assessed to the returning Israelites. Lastly, Ezra is to set up a judicial system for Judah and Jerusalem according to the law of the Lord.

   At the end of the chapter we finally hear from Ezra who blesses God for stirring the king’s heart to do this. He affirms God’s steadfast love that encouraged him to undertake this journey and go and do God’s will in bringing the legal system of Moses back to the people of Judah. There are two things here. For what things do you bless God for today? And how do you see yourself fulfilling God’s will by doing what you believe God is calling you to do?

 

A CHAPTER A DAY Thurs. September 3 – Read Ezra 8 Like in chapter two where we read the names of the leaders of the first families who returned to Jerusalem from exile, here we have the names of the leaders and families returning in this wave. Though these seem to be fewer in number as none of the families have thousands of members, it is still a significant amount of people. Have you ever traveled with a large group of people? Maybe you were on a school trip or deployed in a military campaign. As I read this story, I think of when America expanded west and stories of the wagon trains heading out on the Oregon Trail.

   Here Ezra gathers them together as they prepare to embark and discovers that there no Levites among them. So, he sends and asks that some come along and they join up with the caravan. Before they leave they fast and pray for God’s protection. Ezra does not want to ask the king for a military escort, fearing the king will wonder about the power of God to protect them on their quest. The gold and silver treasures are weighed out and given to the priests to guard and carry to the temple. Then they leave and not much is said about the journey only that the hand of God was with them and delivered them from the hand of the enemy and ambushes along the way. Arter all the verses about the counting of the people and the treasures there is no daily log or much of a description of the actual journey. We get a postcard sized note like, “Having a wonderful trip, wish you were here.”

   When they do finally arrive in Jerusalem they wait for some unnamed reason for four days before they hand over the treasures they brought with them. Then everyone, the people who had come from captivity earlier perhaps and these returning exiles offer burnt offerings to the God of Israel. These too are all counted out. There are twelve bulls for all twelve tribes of Israel and so many rams, lambs, and goats. It seems along with the Levites, Ezra bought along some accountants. They also hand-delivered the letter from King Artaxerxes to the governors and leaders of the province. With this they had accomplished their quest. But Ezra has more to do that we will read about in the final two chapters.

   Though they had worshiped and prayed to God before they left, there is no mention of doing that when they arrived though that may have been what they did during the first three days in Jerusalem. What do you do when you accomplish a major quest? We celebrate some of those milestones (named for those stones that marked the miles on the journey) We celebrate graduations, retirements, new homes, etc. But we can also celebrate each day and each step. We do not need to wait until Friday to TGIF we can thank God for the accomplishment of each day. What milestones are you thankful for today?

 

A CHAPTER A DAY Fri. September 4 – Read Ezra 9 Once Ezra settles in “the officials” come to inform him of a dire concern they have. The people of Israel have intermarried with the people of the other nations which they believe is wrong. When Ezra hears this, he tears his garments and pulls hair from his head and beard. This was a way to show his agony or grief. How do you react in upsetting situations? Some people yell or throw things. Sometimes people riot or get into fights, others get quiet and cry or frown. What do you tend to do? Intermarriage is here noted as faithlessness. There were stories of this in the Old Testament. The epitome might be King Ahab marrying Queen Jezebel who was a worshiper of Baal. They were opposed by the prophet Elijah who called the people to worship God and defeated and killed the Baal priests in 1 Kings 18. (On the flip side, I would also lift up the story of the foreign woman Ruth who faithfully takes care of her mother-in-law Naomi and later marries Boaz and becomes the great grandmother of King David.)

   After his original reaction Ezra sits appalled until the evening sacrifice when he gets up and falls on his knees and prays to God. He pours out his shame and embarrassment. In his prayer he acknowledges that this is not new and that this faithlessness led to the defeat of the Israelites and their being handed over (by God) to their enemy as prisoners of war to their utter shame. This is a prayer of confession not just for an individual or an individual act, but for a people. What are the situations today for which you might come before God and offer such a prayer of confession or lamentation? It may be for the ways we have mistreated God’s creation, or harmful things we have done to other nations. It may be for the things we have not done to love our neighbors or help those who are sick or hungry.

   Ezra, as was told before was a scribe or scholar of the laws of Moses, and here shares his conviction that the people have disobeyed a law given to the people to enter the promise land and kill or drive out all of the people who had lived there. Just as Joshua led the people into the promised land from slavery in Egypt by displacing the other people who lived there, now God is guiding him to call the remnant of the people to do something similar to those who have intermarried into the family. I find this and the next chapter to be challenging and I am opposed to the zealousness that is played out then and now. For me, Ezra is like the unenlightened Saul who was blinded by the light and call of Christ to change his life and his name to not persecute the Christians as a scholar of the law, but to become one of them and spread the Good News to those whom he had hated. What do you take away from this chapter?

 

A CHAPTER A DAY Sat. September 5 – Read Ezra 10 Here we conclude the story of Ezra (though in the ancient Hebrew Bible the next book Nehemiah was a part of the book of Ezra.) The chapter begins with Ezra praying and weeping in anguish and the people gather around him and weep as well. This reminds me of Romans 12:15(NRSVUE) Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. The weeping here is not joy in the people’s return to Jerusalem but perhaps the culmination of tears for the previous generations that had been taken away as prisoners and those who suffered as captive slaves. Ezra laments over what he sees as the root cause of all of that calamity – that the Israelites have intermarried with other people. What is it that has caused you to weep and those around you to weep like this? It may have been the devastating result of a natural disaster, war, an act of terrorism, a school shooting, the destruction and pollution of God’s creation, etc. Take time to reflect and to weep.

   The book of Ezra has two follow-up questions to the grief and lament. Why, and What can we do about it. This was answered in the last chapter by Ezra, and here is reaffirmed by a man named Shecaniah. They have broken faith with God by marrying foreign women and this can be remedied by sending them away. To me this sounds like parliamentary procedure as one man makes a motion and Ezra calls for a vote and they all swear to it (though later we will see they did not all agree.) Then a proclamation is sent out to all Judah and Jerusalem that all the returned exiles should assemble. I note that the remnant who had not been exiled are excluded from this gathering. Due to the size of the territory and most people travelling by foot they are given three days to gather and a warning that not showing up is punishable by being expelled from the club and forfeiting all property.

   The particular day is mentioned, and the people gather and tremble because of the matter at hand and also the heavy rain. And though they affirm doing what Ezra is calling them to do they ask for a process by which to do it rather than doing it right then and there standing in the rain. Many times, making the resolution and taking the vote is the easy part, making it happen is the harder part. I found it interesting that in verse fifteen a couple dissenters are named though nothing is said about any consequences. Were they expelled, or did they self-deport or simply agree to disagree and went along with the ruling of the majority? What has been your experience of those times of challenging decisions?

   Within ten days the process is developed and people designated to ascertain who all has married foreign women. That census is taken over the next two months with a final result given and of the thousands who returned less than a hundred are named. (For those of you who read scripture during worship, aren’t you glad you were never given this chapter? As a pastor I am glad that I never had to preach on it!) And here the chapter and the book of Ezra as we know it ends with their wives (who are not named) and their children being sent away. It reads straight forward, but life is messier than that. It seems like all the men sent their wives away. Some may have been glad to do it and get rid of them, but surely others, who loved their wives, must have been reluctant and grieved, and some I suspect voted with their feet and chose to leave with their wives and children.

   I believe this separation lived on and continued to the time of Christ when the Jews separated themselves from the Samaritans and others. It led to contentions in the early church when Peter responded to a vision of a sheet of animals coming down from heaven and God calling them all clean leading him to go to the Roman legionnaire Cornelius’ house, and Paul going to convert the Gentiles. Today I weep for the separations that still happen in our communities and around the world as some see divisions of us and them.