THE GOOD HAND OF GOD WORKING THROUGH RELIGIOUS AUTHORITY WHO ANSWER THE CALL-Part 2

Devotional 5

(EZRA 1:5-2:70)

5 Then the heads of fathers' households of Judah and Benjamin and the priests and the Levites arose, even everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up and rebuild the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem. 6 All those about them encouraged them with articles of silver, with gold, with goods, with cattle and with valuables, aside from all that was given as a freewill offering. 7 Also King Cyrus brought out the articles of the house of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and put in the house of his gods; 8 and Cyrus, king of Persia, had them brought out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and he counted them out to Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah. 9 Now this was their number: 30 gold dishes, 1,000 silver dishes, 29 duplicates; 10 30 gold bowls, 410 silver bowls of a second kind and 1,000 other articles. 11 All the articles of gold and silver numbered 5,400. Sheshbazzar brought them all up with the exiles who went up from Babylon to Jerusalem.

Have you ever heard the old saying, “Too many chiefs and not enough Indians” or “Too many chefs in the kitchen but not enough cooks”? These old American colloquial’s normally mean that too many people view themselves as the boss and not enough people see themselves as workers. However sometimes there can be a benefit to having more than one person involved in working through an issue. This leads to another colloquial, “Two brains are better than one.”

One time an issue came up at a church I was attending. A recommendation had been made which I did not feel comfortable about, but stayed prayerful and silent regarding the proposal. Mary and I prayed about it while discussing the ramifications of the suggestion. Weeks went by while the offer continued to be made and pitched to us as a good thing. Finally, I said something about the one issue which bothered me. While it was not ignored it was moved to the side. Two more weeks past, I did my research, consulted God through His word, received conformation and went to the individual who had made the suggestion. . I opened the scriptures up and gently explained my discomfort as well as what I found in my research about the desired action. When I did he looked at me and tears appeared in his eyes. He said, “This confirms what I was thinking, we should not move forward with this idea.” In this situation calling on God and His authority helped protect His glory in that church.

I am constantly hearing about how we do not need religious authority in our churches today. That the individual is the one who should be able to discern what God’s will is in a situation. I hear how pastors and staff should not interfere when a family is at the boiling point of divorce or if a spouse has gone in the direction of moral failure or if people aren’t coming to church. This is both ridiculous and biblically unsound. God wants there to be some form of authority and organization when it comes to worshiping Him in every area of our lives, including church. This is brought out very clearly in this passage were it is noted that “…the priests and the Levites arose…” meaning they joined this small band of people answering the call of God to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. Chapter 2:36-39 give the names of the heads of the fathers households regarding the priests and 2:40-63 give the names of the heads of the Levites.

Both parties are extremely important during and after the rebuilding of the Temple. According to scripture the priest were considered the guardian of the holy place (Numbers 18:5); where to preside over the various sacrifices (Numbers 28-29); sprinkle the blood from the sacrifice on the alter (Leviticus 3:2); pour the drink offerings (Exodus 37:16); consult the Urim and Thummim regarding the will of God in a situation (Numbers 27:21); be consulted regarding possible leprosy (Leviticus 12:30-46; Deuteronomy 24:8); judge the people (Deuteronomy 17:8-9); and teach the law to the people (Leviticus 10:11). While this is a long list of things they were to do, it is by no means an exhaustive list. For a far greater understanding of the role of the priests it would be best for you to read the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. According to 1^st Chronicles 24 King David set 24 families over the priesthood. By the time the writer of Ezra records the heads of the households of priests in 2:26-39 there are only four families mentioned. This shows us two things: First, how disastrous the Babylonian campaign was against Judah in regards to the loss of life and; second, the people were more concerned with the daily wealth of this world and were unwilling to leave what they were doing for the sake of the call of God.

The next group listed was the Levites. Their list was quiet larger from the priest. The reason is because the priestly line came from the Levites according to Leviticus 2:40-42. The Levites were a special tribe from the very beginning: First, they were custodians of the sanctuary of God in both the Tabernacle and Temple (Numbers 1:15; 18:22-24); second they were appointed to be in charge of the worship services (Numbers 8:19; 18:2-6); third, they were did not possess any land because God was to be their inheritance, to own land or have huge sums of money would disqualify them from service (Numbers 18:20; 26:62; Deuteronomy 10:9; 18:1-2); last they were elders over six cities known as “cities of refuge” where they made judgment over criminal cases (Joshua 21). While this list is not a comprehensive one it does show the extent of involvement the Levites had within the other tribes of Israel.

There are several things to notice about the Levities themselves which are mentioned in the chapter 2:40-58 passage. Notice several things about them which would co-inside with the list above. Singers are mentioned in verse 41. Here we see that they were to lead the people in worship. Gatekeepers are referred to in verse 42. We can see here the guardianship of the temple grounds. Gatekeepers were very important for three reasons: first, they literally guarded the gates to make sure that only those who were allowed to get into particular areas of the Temple got in; second, they helped direct people who needed assistance; third, they kept order. If there were any questionable activities occurring on the Temple grounds they would investigate and move the activity outside the Temple or even arrest those involved. Verse 43 lists “temple servants” and in verse 58 it mentions “the sons of Solomon’s servants” among the Levites. The term “temple servants” means devoted or dedicated ones. Many scholars believe that both of these groups were Gentiles who over the years, mainly during the years of King Solomon, gave themselves to the worship of Yahweh. They also believe that this group had a lot to do with administrative affairs, took care of the mundane task of everyday work in the Temple, handled all of the secular affairs of the Temple upkeep, and watched over the treasury of the Temple.

So how does this all apply? Paul wrote in 1^st Corinthians 12:14, “For the body is not one member, but many.” In verse 25 he states that there is to “be no division in the body” yet in verse 27 he declares, “Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.” The point which Paul is making and Ezra is illustrating is that there are many people which are gifted in different areas. This is not to be done for individual glory, but for corporate worship in glorifying God. There are similarities between what was going on in the days of Ezra and how things should be today in our churches. First, the priests were the key teachers. This translates to us today that there are some among us who are gifted in teaching. Those of us who teach are to be involved in discipleship and helping other mature in Christ to the point that they willingly share the gospel with those who they come in contact. There were the Levites who had in their ranks gatekeepers. These bastion guards of old are nothing more than what we call ushers and greeters today. The primary goal is to guard the glory of God within the churches by keeping order, help direct people where they need to go, and greet people as they enter the time of worship. There were singers. Today we have song leaders, musicians and choirs. They had the devoted ones or “temple servants,” we have people who have the gift of administration. The application is all over the board, the key is involvement. Many people in the churches feel that they have nothing to contribute, but according to Scripture that just simply is not true. The only person who does not have anything to contribute is the person who does not know Jesus Christ as their Savior. Those who have not come to the cross of Christ and believed in His resurrection have nothing to contribute. They must first repent of their sin and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ alone for salvation. Other than that, if you are in Christ and Christ is in you then the Holy Spirit has gifted you for the glory of God and the work of the kingdom through His local church.

Let me know your thoughts.

God Bless,

Steven

Next time Ezra 1:5-11, SEEING THE GOOD HAND OF GOD AT WORK THROUGH OPEN HEARTS

Unless otherwise noted all verses quoted are from the New American Standard Version