Only A List Of Names?
Introduction
Be honest ! What do you do when you come up to a chapter in God’s Word like Ezra Chapter 2? Here you are reading methodically and systematically through the Word of God in your quiet time and you come to Ezra Chapter 2, so what do you do? Incidentally, I do trust that you read the Word of God methodically and systematically. Sometimes, I hear of believers who go in for the “lucky dip” method of reading the Scriptures. That is, they just open the Bible anywhere and take that as their daily reading. If you do that, you might be like the man that I heard about. He engaged in the luck dip method and one morning he was startled by these words,
“And he …. went and hanged himself.” (Matt 27:5) He was not satisfied with that message for his morning devotions so he opened the Scriptures at random for the second time. This time the text was “go and do thou likewise” (Lk 10:37). You can imagine that by time he was getting a little concerned. So he had a third go at “the lucky dip” method. This time he was even more startled, for do you know what his third reading was? “That thou doest do quickly” (Jn 13:27). Be careful about how you read the Word of God. But here you are reading methodically through the Bible and you come to this chapter, now what do you do? Do you skip over it and go on to Chapter 3? Give us John Chapter 1or John Chapter 14 or Romans Chapter 8 or the Pearl of Psalms – Psalm - but Ezra Chapter 2? Why this is only a list of names? Yet surely there are things here of vital importance for the Christian, otherwise the Holy Spirit would never have moved Ezra to write it. Paul reminds us that “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable ….,”(2 Tim 3:16). This list (Nehemiah 7:6-69) shows that the returning exiles were the legitimate descendants of the Jews who occupied Israel prior to their deportation to Babylon.
You see, the history of the Bible is redemptive history and such lists are meant to show that God has preserved the chosen people and the promised line of Messiah from generation to generation. Now do you recall the context? The Babylonian captivity has come to an end, and God stirs the heart of a heathen king to accomplish His purposes. In 538 BC God works in the heart of Cyrus the King of Persia who issues a decree giving the Jews permission to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple.
Now it’s interesting that just as the deportation to Babylon had taken place in three stages, so the return of Jews to their homeland took place in three stages.
1. In 538 BC the first remnant returns under Zerubbabel:
2. In 458 BC the second remnant returns under Ezra:
3. In 445BC the third remnant returns under Nehemiah:
You see, there were two Exodus’ in Israel’s history, the first Exodus was from Egyptian Captivity (Gen 15:13 ). The second Exodus was from Babylonian Captivity (Jer. 25:11-12). So here we see them going home to broken walls, burnt gates, a desolate temple to start all over again, and the amazing thing was that even after seventy years they were still together. You see, here were a people who were,
I. PRESERVED BY GOD
The gift of the land and the preservation of Israel as a distinct nation were tied in with God’s plan to send His Son, the Lord Jesus to be the Savior of the world. My …. Israel is a remarkable nation. Israel not Ulster, is God’s covenant people. And throughout the history of this tiny nation, an invisible hand has been upon her and it is the hand of God. Israel is the nation that will not go away. She is an indestructible people. (Jer 31:35-37) And here Judah in the exile was preserved by God. How? How were they kept together? Well, notice the means that God used. There was,
(a) FAITHFUL PREACHING:
You see, Ezekiel ministered during the exile. Do you know what his name means? “Strengthened by God,” which he was for the prophetic ministry that God had called him to exercise. (Ez 3:8-9) Ezekiel and his wife
(24:15-27) were among 10,000 Jews taken captive to Babylon in the year 597 BC. (2 Kings 24:11-18) For the first six years of his ministry he preached to the exiles, while Jerusalem was still standing. Later he had the difficult task of keeping before the generation born in captivity the national sins that led to the exile. It is worth remembering that the children of Ezekiel’s day were, generally speaking, those in later years who returned to Jerusalem at the end of the seventy year captivity, a restoration that Ezekiel speaks of in the latter part of his prophecy. (Chs 34-48) You see, faithful preaching preserves the people of God. You say, “Preaching, why preaching is a thing of the past, nowadays we don’t such a strong emphasis on preaching.” My …. in these wild, weird and wicked times the work of the preacher is being rethought, and revamped and re-examined. He’s been pushed from the platform in favour of celebrated experts and entertainers. In an effort to appeal to appeal to people’s interests, the church today emphasizes a great many, different programmes, methods and approaches.
Small group activities, worship services were music and drama get top bill. Musical evenings and gospel concerts, seminars on everything from how to have a good marriage on to how run your finances. Now not all of these things may be harmful, some in their proper place may even be helpful. But what has been sacrificed in the flurry of activities is preaching. But the book still says, “How shall they hear without a preacher?” (Rom 10:14) What kind of preaching do we need? We need the same kind we always needed. We have a new kind of preacher in some quarters today who dilutes and waters down the Word but the Bible says “it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful.” (1 Cor 4:2)
(b) FAMILY TIES:
You see, these genealogies had been kept to provide proof that those returning were in fact the descendants of the original Jews who had gone into exile. This generation to generation linkage was important as identifying the Jews as God’s covenant people, and especially important to the Messiahship of Christ, as the genealogies of Matthew and Luke make clear. You see, behind all of this was the strong emphasis on Jewish family life, which is as important today as it was then. Do you see what God was doing? He was using Jewish family life to hold the Jews together. God was using the warmth of family life to preserve His people.
Do you recall what God’s law said? “Honour thy father and mother that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” (Ex 20:12) Do you remember Moses charging God’s people to bring the Word of God to their children? “And thou shalt teach diligently unto thy children, and shall talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down and when thou risest up.” (Deut 6:7) What an awesome responsibility before God it is to be a parent. Being a parent is not just a biological matter, its not enough to meet physical needs. Being a parent is not just a emotional matter, its not sufficient to only meet their emotional needs.
My …. being a parent is a spiritual matter, you have to meet spiritual needs. The University of Chicago did a survey of its graduate students asking them where they received their clearest teachings or impressions on religion and morality. The majority of those students answered they picked up their concepts of religion and morality from the mealtime conversations of their families. My …. do you realize that your number one responsibility is to lead those boys and girls of yours to accept the Savior? Noah was “a preacher of righteousness.” He preached for 120 years, and the people mocked him and said, “Crazy old Noah, building a boast, never has rained.” Yet one day when the rains of judgment began to fall, the Bible records that Noah and his wife, his sons and their wives all entered into the ark of safety. No, person is a failure who can lead his family into the ark of safety. Tell me, are you passing on the Word of God to your children? Is our faith being preserved by this means? (a) (b)
(c) FEARLESS MEN:
Daniel and his three friends were teenagers in the year 605 BC when Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem and began his conquest of Judah. What difficult days they were for these young men. There was a challenge to their Walk: as the king sought to conform them to the ways of Babylon. There was a challenge to their Witness: as the wise men of Babylon were unable to tell the king his dream and were delivered unto death. There was a challenge to their Worship: as Nebuchadnezzar demanded that all should bow in worship to his golden image and Darius liked the idea that no-one could pray to any God only to him. In (Ch 3) Daniel’s three friends were standing when everyone else was kneeling, in (Ch 6)Daniel was kneeling when everyone else was standing.
What was the principle that governed their lives? Just this, “Them that honour me I will honour, saith the Lord.” (1 Sam 2:30)Young folk, as you embark on life, can I encourage you? Honour the Lord, obey the Lord, serve the Lord, live for the Lord, glorify the Lord. Daniel went down to Babylon as a teenager and he lived to about 86 years of age, and he ended his life, the way he began, honouring the Lord. Can you imagine the tower of strength and star of hope he brought to the captives during those and difficult days of the exile. They must have thought. “Well, dear old Daniel is still with us. You can imagine it can’t you?” Fearless men, who had an impact on the rank and file of God’s people. (1)
II. PRECIOUS TO GOD
Dr. Ironside says, “Most of the names are for us only names but God has not forgotten one of the persons once called by these names on earth.” Think of the pains the children of Israel took to keep a strict record of their families while in captivity, and here God uses his servant Ezra under the inspiration of the Spirit of God to pen their names. Is that not an indication that our God is concerned with us as individuals? You see,
(a) Their IDENTITY Made Them Precious to God:
They belonged to Him. The Israelites were a covenant people with an important God-given task to fulfill on earth and they couldn’t allow themselves to be corrupted. Indeed we read of some here who were unsure of their family roots (2:59-63) and thus they were barred from partaking. Do you know something? These same people down in Babylon felt that the Lord had forgotten them.
“But Zion said, the Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.” (Is 49:14) My …. is that exactly how you feel this ….? Do you feel that because that trial has crossed your pathway that God does not care? Do you believe that because your prayers are not answered that the Lord is uninterested? Do you suppose that because you’ve been by passed for some promotion that God has forgotten you? Do you not realise that at the very time you’re saying “My Lord has forgotten me,” at that moment God is saying, “Behold I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands.” (Is 49:16)
My name from the palms of His hands
Eternity will not erase
Impressed on His heart it remains
In marks of indelible grace
Yes I to the end shall endure
As sure as the earnest is given
More happy but not more secure
The glorified saints in heaven
Do you recall what the Lord Jesus to His disciples? “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.”
(Matt 10:29-31) Do you know something? You might not be important in the eyes of the world, but you’re precious in the eyes of God. God regards you as one of His jewels. (Mal 3:17) Do you ever hear parents saying?
“She’s a little jewel, she’s a treasure.” What do they mean? They mean that little one is very precious and deeply loved. Do you realize that’s how God looks on you this ….? You’re very precious and deeply loved. (a)
(b) Their FIDELITY Made them Precious to God:
The total numbered who returned to Jerusalem seemed very small yet they constitute the “remnant,” who in every age are faithful to God. Ezra himself in his most moving prayer speaks of the graciousness of God in permitting a remnant to return to their homeland. He prays
“And now for a little space grace hath been showed from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place ….,” (9:8) My …. does this doctrine of the remnant not run right through all of the Scriptures? Do you recall the Lord’s words to the church at Laodicea? “Behold I stand at the door and knock if any man hear my voice and open the door ….,”
(Rev 3:20)Just one person God says. You see, God starts with small things. The remnant, we call them the faithful few on fire. Ezra lists them for us. The leaders
(2:2 Neh 7:7) The priests (2:36) The Levites (2:40) The singers (2:41) The children of the porters (2:42) The Nethinims, hewers of wood and drawers of water.
(Joshua 9:27)The children of Solomon’ servants.
(2:55)All with a contribution to make.
As Harry Ironside says, “how highly God values all that is done from devotion of heart to Himself and for the glory of His name.” Could it be that you are experiencing loneliness in being one of God’s remnant? Maybe in the place you work, in the home, in the college, in the university, does your stand for truth make you feel isolated? Can I remind you, that the Lord has others who are faithful to Him, and they are found in shops, firms, colleges, the modern equivalent of 7,000 who have not bowed the knew to out modern Baals and the false gods of our day. These are the remnant who one day will receive the crown of life for their faithfulness. (1) (2)
III. PARTICIPATING WITH GOD
My ….is it not a privilege and honor to be co-workers with the Lord? Paul speaks about “being workers together with Him.” (2 Cor 6:1) I want to suggest to you that these Jews participated with the Lord,
(a) IN THEIR GOING:
Do you remember the challenge of Cyrus? “Who is there among you of all his people? Let him go up to Jerusalem.” (1:3) Here were a people who had turned their backs on Babylon and set their faces toward Jerusalem. But why so few? I mean 50,000 was a tiny number to go up to Jerusalem, in comparison with those who had gone down to Babylon. Why so few? Well, think of the situation in Israel today. In 1948, the modern state of Israel was established and immediately Jews began to return from all parts of the world where they had been scattered for nearly two thousand years. But even so, the population of modern Israel is about 4 million, whereas the number of Jews living in other countries is about 17 million. Some are returning but many living in the U.S.A. and the U. K. have become comfortable and they have no wish to exchange that for the hardships and dangers of war torn Israel. Was it not the same in Ezra’s day? They had settled down in Babylon, they had created a new lifestyle for themselves, they had become prosperous over the years. (Jer 29:4-7) I mean who wanted to take a dangerous journey to a city in ruins, and a temple that no longer existed. The cost was to great, in modern language, they did not want to knocked out of their comfort zone. Do you know something? Many believers today are not so much at ease in Zion, as they are content in Zion.
(Amos 6:1) My …. are we too comfortable in our faith, enjoying a laid back kind of Christianity? Does our commitment to Jesus Christ make any real demands upon us involving personal cost and sacrifice?
Does it even make demands when it comes to giving of our time, our energy, our money in the Lord’s work? What about that other kind of cost in things like prayer for the ministry of the Word, and for the souls of those who are lost? A missionary who was watching the construction of a beautiful temple asked and Indian lady,
“How much will it cost?” “It is for the gods,” she answered, “we do not ask what it will cost.” My …. are you holding back your life because you are afraid of what it might cost? (a)
(b) IN THEIR GIVING:
Do you see what they did when they assembled on the site of the ruined temple? Look if you will at (2:68) Although the temple was in ruins, that house still existed in the mind of God and in the hearts of His people. They loved that spot and it was there they gave to the work of the Lord. Nehemiah (7:70-72) tells us the tribal leaders and Zerubbabel the governor gave generously, and the common people followed their good example. My …. everything in God’s work rises and falls with leadership.
That’s why God demands dedicated men to challenge His people and lead the way. Now did you notice how they gave to the work of the Lord? Well, they gave,
1. WILLINGLY:
The Bible says they “offered freely.” (2:68) They did not require a sermon on stewardship to cajole them into parting with their money. My …. our love for Christ can be measured by how much time and money we gave to Him.
2. THOUGHTFULLY:
The Bible says, “after their ability.” (2:69) The rich according to his riches and the poor according to his poverty. Paul puts it this way, “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him.” (1 Cor 16:1)Do you plan your giving in a systematic, thoughtful way in relation to the wages you earn?
3. CHEERFULLY:
I mean, the Lord was their vision and in the light of that vision everything else paled into insignificance. The Bible says, “For God loveth a cheerful giver.” (2 Cor 9:7) My …. I wonder do these Old Testament saints put us to shame in relation to our giving? Do you realise that giving to the Lord’s work is not a fringe activity but a spiritual obligation? Surely if we acknowledge Christ as Saviour and Lord, then His Lordship extends to every part of our lives, including our giving. Yet many a Christian’s wallet or purse is unconverted. My …. is this you? Sure, you are saved, but your pockets are sown up. Listen, the Lord Jesus your Saviour, observed what people were giving (Mk 12:41-44)and He still does. (a) (b)
(c) IN THEIR GOALS:
Look if you will at the closing verse (2:70) They dispersed to their own towns and villages and started rebuilding their homes and their lives. But that was only after they had made provision for the temple. So their goal was this, God first, and only then did they give attention to their own personal concerns. For so many, including Christians put other things first. Fashion, food, finance, fitness, the family, and the future. Nice to have all these things but everything in its proper order, for our God is “a jealous God,” (Ex 20:5) and will not come second to any one or any thing. And as long as we downgrade Him in our hearts we shall never fulfill our true potential as His children.
Only a List of Names? Yes, but this faithful remnant speaks to us today and tells us that we are Preserved by God, Precious to God, and Participating with God. This is the Lord’s List, but did you know the Bible has another list. We are told about that list in (Rev Ch 21) It says,
“And there shall no wise enter into it (heaven)anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” (Rev 21:27) Your name is not written in life? Have you repented of your sins? Have your received Christ as your personal Savior?