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AUGUST 9
Ezra 8:21-9:15
Ezra 8:21-36
This section is pretty straightforward. What things do you see here?
There was real danger traveling in those times, but then it wasn’t the James
gang, it was more like Ali Baba. The worry was heightened by the value of what
they were carrying. They literally had tons of stuff.
Vs. 21-23 Notice that the fasting wasn't just for the trip. It also had
to do with the heightened sense of danger and putting God on the line to
protect them. Fasting is very specific to what a person is seeking from God,
and it involves humbling oneself. Being proud in fasting sort of cancels itself
out. Isn't it interesting what Ezra told Artaxerxes in v. 22? That message of
accountability before God is a part of the gospel. Ezra wanted to fully trust
the Lord as a testimony to Artaxerxes. When Nehemiah came, albeit on a
different kind of mission, he took soldiers. He knew he would need the muscle
and Persian presence in Jerusalem to rebuild the wall. Ezra's mission was about
honoring God and showing He was sufficient.
Vs. 24-30 This would have been a huge caravan with big wagons carrying
tons of stuff. It is interesting that Ezra divided the gold and vessels among
the 12 families of priests. They counted it out before they left, and they
counted it again when they arrived. I guess Ezra's motto was, "In God we
trust, all others get counted twice."
Vs. 31-34 According to Ezra 7:9, the trip took four months. You
couldn't travel straight west because of the desert, so you had to follow what
they called the "fertile crescent;" that is, you went north and west
along the rivers and then headed south into Israel. It is interesting that they
rested for three days before getting down to business. I imagine that those who
walked were tired, but in great shape.
Vs. 35-36 This had to have been a very special and solemn experience
for many of the returnees. It was the first time in their lives they were in
Israel. This would have been true of Ezra. Their sacrifice mirrors their
devotion and thanks to the Lord.
V. 36 Then they handed over the official papers to the Persian
governors. These papers would have contained the letter from Artaxerxes with
the commands that provided materials, money and food. Also, Ezra was given a
lot of power.
Ezra 9
Vs. 1-2 It sort of makes you wonder why, if the officials knew there
was a problem, they didn’t take care of it themselves. The message of 1 and 2
Chronicles showed that godly leaders organized and led the people in worship.
After Zerubbabel and Joshua were gone, the next generation hadn't continued to
focus on remaining devoted to God. But now Ezra came on the scene. Not only did
he have the authority of God and the willingness to go to the wall over this
issue, but he also had the authority of the Persian king behind him. If the
chief men had not agreed, Ezra could have appealed to the king and forced the
Jewish leaders to comply.
Regarding this intermarriage, it is good to note that Israelite men
could marry outside of Israel; but those women had to give themselves to
worship Yahweh only, like Ruth did. When you see all the foreign women who
"ruled" Solomon, you realize that they only added Yahweh to their list of "gods to worship." They
continued to worship pagan gods. Verse 1 indicates that these women were still
worshiping the gods of their countries. It doesn't say that the men had
worshipped with them, but the next generation certainly would have been lost.
Vs. 3-5 You have to go back to Moses and Aaron to understand this
reaction. Sin isn't just personal; it affects the entire group. For Ezra, this
was like watching a child walk out in front of a car. His reaction to this sin
wasn’t extreme; it was a proper reaction to this breach of faith, particularly
knowing that the people had just returned from exile because of these kinds of
sins. In a way, in our cultures our reaction to sin might be extreme in its indifference
and tolerance. Sin is very serious. Anyway, Ezra might look like a nut-case,
but I think he had a good estimation of the problem and its consequences.
Vs. 6-15 What a great talk with the Lord. What speaks to you in this
prayer? This was a totally legitimate use of "OMG." Verses 8-9 show
that Ezra had a humble, honest understanding of their situation.
V. 15 What is amazing is that this admission wasn't just Ezra's heart,
but many of the people were sensing the same thing. That was a miracle.
The book of Ezra
concludes tomorrow and this situation seems to be the main event in Ezra's
life. God used him for this crisis in the life of Israel. We always think that
success in ministry is a constantly rising peak before us. What if God's
"use" for us is just one event? This idea seems to be at odds with
the expectations we and others put on us, but whose expectations are we to live
by? The Lord is the one we follow. If we are pleasing Him every day in the
harvest, who cares what we or others think? You notice in Acts that we never
hear anymore of most of the other apostles Jesus chose, like Thomas, Matthew,
Phillip, Andrew, Simon the Zealot, James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus who was apparently the son of James the
son of Alphaeus. How come we don't hear of these guys? Is it because they were
failures? Not at all. God makes His choice in how we are used based on His
purpose, not ours. We won't hear much more about Ezra. He is in the book of
Nehemiah, and he was probably the guy God used to prepare the people to follow
Nehemiah, but there are no more big events. Living for Christ, striving to
reach the lost and make disciples, has to be our only expectation in the
harvest; and really, our expectations have to be so simple and complete that
they are only about Jesus.
1 Corinthians 5
This is another of those great chapters. Sometimes you hear some great
truth or point of Scripture mixed into a message and years later you try to
remember where it was. You know it’s in the Bible, but you don’t know where to
start looking. As you read these chapters in 1 Corinthians, you will find a lot
of these truths hidden within the pages in their original context. Here, we not
only have teaching on church discipline, but some great teaching and
understanding about the Lord.
In chapter 5 you need to think of the dynamics involved here. This
church was largely Jewish, meaning that most of the people had lived under the
laws and traditions of Judaism and Pharisaism. When they came to Christ, many
of them discarded this cultural background in an extreme way. This church was
also very open to different cultures. They were located in a large cosmopolitan
city. The temptation would be that without the restraints of Judaism, they
would flow into the freedom of their surrounding culture. Finally, as in any
group of people, it is hard to stand firm in the middle of differing opinions. Like
Ezra, Paul was a trusted authority who could say a strong word on these issues.
Vs. 1-2 The “infraction” was that a man was having a sexual relationship
with his stepmother. Notice it doesn’t say “his father’s widow.” Apparently the
father was alive and still married to her. What was amazing here is that the
church not only didn’t know how to deal with the situation, they were proud of
their inaction and apparently they were proud, actually boastful, of their
high-minded reasoning for their indecision. Paul wasn’t so tolerant. This kind
of relationship was forbidden in the law. They were free from the law because
of Christ, but their moral reasoning was definitely getting messed up. And
remember, these were believers.
Vs. 3-5 This is Paul’s clearest explanation of “delivering” someone to
Satan. The best way to understand the destruction of the flesh and the spirit
being saved is an example like the prodigal son. His “flesh was destroyed,” in
that he suffered as a result of his sin and being away from his father's
influence and protection. Suffering like this brought him to his right mind and
he was saved. As we’ve seen before, the word “saved” has a broad range of
meaning. This isn’t saved as in salvation, but saved in terms of seeing truth
and escaping the influence of Satan and the damage from sin.
Vs. 6-8 Since these people were Jews, Paul used the illustration of
leaven, which was a big deal for them, especially around the time of the
Passover. Notice that the reason to cleanse out the sin is because Christ has
died for our sins and we’ve been saved. Paul says that every day ought to be a
festival of joy and gratitude. There isn’t a good reason to tolerate sin if
your heart is full of gratefulness to God for His salvation.
Vs. 9-13 So, if the point wasn’t clear enough, Paul explained something
he wrote to them in that lost Corinthian letter. What do you think of this? The
list in v. 10 seems very easy to understand, except that we don't seem to see
idolatry, greed or robbing anymore. Paul is saying that if these things are
part of a person's lifestyle, they are not believing. Jesus has to make a
change or He is not there. As believers, we shouldn't play around with things
that identify those whom God will judge.
We cannot leave the world, but we can strongly encourage people to walk
with Christ. We don't need to be pharisaical in the church, but obvious sin
needs to be dealt with. John also mentioned something like this in 2 John
1:7-11. It isn’t the sin outside the church that is of greatest danger to us;
it is what we tolerate in the church in the name of brotherhood and tolerance
that can hurt us.
This might not be the “fun” stuff of discipleship, and I’m sure this
wasn’t the high point of ministry for Paul either. However, if we are going to
glorify the Father by bearing much fruit in the harvest and so proving to be
disciples of Jesus, we have to address sin, whether it is actions or attitudes,
in the church. Isn’t it interesting that we would have this chapter in
Corinthians and the reading in Ezra on the same day?
Psalm 31:1-8
There was an old Blood, Sweat and Tears song that had this line, “I’ve
been down so long, the bottom looks like up.” David had a lot of days like
that. Imagine being on the run like “The Fugitive” (a TV show in the States)
for 10 years, except Israel was much smaller. David did a lot of crying out,
and over and over again the Lord assured him with small “salvations” and reminders
that He was watching and helping. The “big” deliverance didn’t come for a
while, but in v. 7 David slowly gained total confidence. And did you notice the
line that Jesus quotes when He’s on the cross? It was the last thing He said.
Vs. 1-2 This desperateness was what God used to train David. Some
people would have just become bitter. I notice too that this sounds a bit like
Paul. In the first chapter of Philippians, Paul talks about his assurance that
God would not let him be put to shame.
Vs. 3-5 David was still in danger, but the Lord had become David's only
hope and salvation. Note v. 5. Did you ever think that Jesus' final words were
a quotation of Scripture? I never did.
V. 6 This seems like a verse that transitions between both parts of the
psalm. How could anyone put their hope in a thing, when there was a living God
who heard, who made promises, and who could be trusted?
Vs. 7-8 Here again is what David learned as God allowed his heart to be
tested. David learned God's steadfast, loyal love. David perceived that God was
hearing his heart as evidenced by the number of times, and by the unique ways,
God had rescued him.
Proverbs 21:1-2
I usually understand “king” as “the spiritual person in Christ.” These
verses seem to be saying that even in our decisions, God is sovereignly
directing us. The spiritual follower of Christ would welcome that. Thankfully,
even though we think we are right, God weighs our hearts. The Spirit intercedes
for us and He directs us.
Please Read
the Following Disclaimer
I'm writing the Reading Notes to and
for those who are following a One Year Bible and are interested in growing
deeper as a disciple, following Jesus in the harvest. My hope is to see the
growth of a discipleship culture in the church, that is, groups of 3-4
disciples, meeting weekly, encouraging each other to follow Christ and work to
reach out and make disciples, who make disciples. The Bible itself is the most
universal and important discipleship manual we have and it is the key to our
growth and service in Christ. Nothing keeps us more focused on why we are here,
or what we are to be doing, or whom we are to be following. My comments are
only meant to provide some explanation of the events or to show the flow of
God's plan of redemption. My comments are in no way exhaustive, but are
designed to keep us, as disciples, focused on Christ and our role in His
harvest. My hope is that the people in these groups will grow in Christ and be
willing, after a year, to find 3 others to meet with and encourage in their
growth as disciples, making disciples in the harvest.
If you would like a more descriptive
commentary that is still readable and concise, I'd recommend the Bible Knowledge Commentary (BKC).
I read the BKC in doing background for the Reading Notes and refer to it quite
often. I also make reference to maps or charts in the BKC, though I will only
note where those resources can be found. Often you can do a search for these
and find them in Google books. Buying both volumes of the Bible Knowledge
Commentary would be a good idea.
I am not endorsing any particular
One Year Bible translation; in fact, I read something you probably don't, Die
Revidierte Lutherbibel, 1984. Unless noted, all Scripture quotes are from the
ESV Bible.
Anyone reading along with us is
welcome to do so and is encouraged to take their own notes and make their own
observations. If the comments made do not agree with your particular tradition
or understanding, that's OK. Nothing I've written is meant to criticize any
point of view, but only to express the truth of what God has written to us, as
I understand it. Often there is a breadth of opinion on certain events, both
historical and prophetic. Many of my views come from my church background,
theological training and my personal study.
I'm
doing this with discipleship in mind, meaning, I'm writing out thoughts that
will keep discipleship and our growth as disciples applied to what we are
reading. Remember, the real focus of the Reading Notes is to be a
supplement, a disciple’s commentary, giving motivation and insight so that we
will keep following our Lord in the harvest, reaching the lost and making
disciples, who make disciples. Being in
the Word every day, sitting at Jesus’ feet, learning directly from Him, is the
essential essence of being and making disciples.
May the Lord bless you as you follow Him in the
harvest, reaching the lost and making disciples, who make disciples. Dan
If you would like documents
containing an entire month of the Reading Notes, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes.
If you would like a full
presentation of discipleship read Simply
Disciples*Making Disciples.
Or if you are struggling with
insomnia and would like a long boring dissertation on disciple making, these
can both be found on https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes.
Reading Notes ©, Dan Kachikis
2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018
The One Year Bible © by
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton Illinois 60189
The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version® (ESV®) Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of
Good News Publishers.
All charts/graphics/outlines
from the Bible Knowledge Commentary are used with the permission of David C.
Cook.
© 1983, 2001 John F Walvoord and Roy B Zuck.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary is published by David C Cook.
All rights reserved. Publisher permission
required to reproduce.
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