Established in the Word

Will you join me in prayer?

Lord, even as we have just sung,

now we pray that you would speak to us

that through your word,

and in your word and by your word,

we would hear you speak to us.

Lord, that our eyes may be lifted up

to see the greatness of your glory,

that our hearts may be turned to treasure you

above all things,

that our wills may be moved to follow you

and obey you in all that you instruct us to,

Lord, that we might know the depth

and the riches of your love and grace in Christ more deeply,

and that we would truly worship you

in all that we do here,

and as we scatter this coming week.

Speak, O Lord, we pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

I've started cooking salmon this year.

If you've ever cooked salmon,

it's a wonderful food.

It's rich in protein and good for you.

It's also hard to cook.

It's really easy for it to be underdone

and still a little pink,

and I know some people kind of prefer that,

but I'm a little squeamish,

so I like my fish cooked,

and yet it's really easy to overcook it

and to make it really dry and pretty impalatable,

and so I'm sure that's not a word.

Unpalatable.

There we go.

Let's try that again.

Unpalatable.

So a couple of months ago,

I was wandering around Bed Bath & Beyond

because I had a free half hour in my life

and found on the discount rack

a instant read meat thermometer,

which I have never had before,

and it has revolutionized salmon cooking

because now I stick the little thing in

and I set the alarm to go off

when it hits 145 degrees,

and lo and behold,

we have had wonderful salmon ever since.

Now, obviously eating salmon

is not a very important thing in our life

in the big picture.

It is not a necessity,

but I wonder if in other more essential things

in our lives,

we similarly miss essential tools

that help us to do the things

that we want to do well.

It could be as something mechanical and physical

as we put gas in our car

so that when we're driving our kids to school,

we don't run out of gas

and fail to deliver them on time.

It might be much less material,

like trying to engage in a relationship

and yet forsake love as a part of it.

I wonder too if this is true

in our spiritual lives as well.

Whether we are in a desire to know God

conducting ourselves in a way

that actually takes advantage of

and utilizes the tools that God has given us

to know Him rightly.

The things that God has designed for us

so that we might flourish spiritually.

It is to this question this morning,

I believe,

that the book of Ezra speaks to.

We are in Ezra chapter 7.

Ezra 7 · chapter mention

If you're reading the Pew Bibles,

it's page 366.

And if you were visiting or just knew,

just remember,

Ezra is the book about God

returning His people to His promised land

and rebuilding them as His people.

What we've seen is that

after they were taken away by exile

and Jerusalem was destroyed

and the temple was destroyed,

50 years later,

God comes and He takes His people

and He begins to return them

in 538 B.C. onwards.

God moved in the hearts of Cyrus

and then Darius,

the kings of Persia,

to allow the people of God

to return to their land

and not only to return to their land

and to settle there,

but to reestablish the worship of God

in the temple of Jerusalem.

So they rebuild the altar,

they rebuild the temple,

they reinstate the worship of God

that He had instructed in the Old Testament,

finishing that project in 516 B.C.

as we see at the end of Ezra, chapter 6.

Ezra 6 · chapter mention

And this is what the first six chapters

of the book of Ezra is about.

And then as we get to chapter 7

and what comes afterwards,

we see a new movement

of God establishing His people,

less in the physical movement of people

and building of buildings

and more in the spiritual building

of His people in various ways.

So what is God up to in Ezra, chapter 7?

Ezra 7 · chapter mention

Well, let's go ahead and read it together

and then we'll consider what

He has to say to us this morning.

Now, after this,

in the reign of Artaxerxes,

king of Persia,

Ezra, the son of Saraiah,

son of Azariah,

son of Hilkiah,

son of Shalom,

son of Zadok,

son of Ahitob,

son of Amariah,

son of Azariah,

son of Marioth,

son of Zerahiah,

son of Uzzi,

son of Buki,

son of Abishwa,

son of Phinehas,

son of Eleazar,

son of Aaron,

the chief priest.

This Ezra went up from Babylonia.

He was a scribe,

skilled in the law of Moses

that the Lord,

the God of Israel,

had given,

and the king granted him

all that he asked

for the hand of the Lord his God

was on him.

And there went up also

to Jerusalem

in the seventh year

of Artaxerxes,

the king,

some of the people of Israel,

and some of the priests,

and Levites,

and the singers,

and gatekeepers,

and the temple servants,

and Ezra came to Jerusalem

in the fifth month,

which was in the seventh year

of the king.

For on the first day

of the first month,

he began to go up

from Babylonia,

and on the first day

of the fifth month,

he came to Jerusalem,

for the good hand

of his God

was on him.

For Ezra had set his heart

to study the law of the Lord,

and to do it,

and to teach his statutes

and rules in Israel.

And this is a copy

of the letter

that King Artaxerxes

gave to Ezra the priest,

the scribe,

a man learned

in matters

of the commandments

of the law,

Lord,

and his statutes

for Israel.

Artaxerxes,

king of kings,

to Ezra the priest,

the scribe,

the Lord of the God

of heaven,

peace.

And now,

I make a decree

that any one

of the people of Israel

or their priests

or Levites

in my kingdom

who freely offers

to go to Jerusalem

may go with you.

For you are sent

by the king

and his seven counselors

to make inquiries

about Judah

and Jerusalem

according to the law

of your God

which is in your hand,

and also to carry

the silver and gold

that the king

and his counselors

have freely offered

to the God of Israel

whose dwelling

is in Jerusalem

with all the silver

and gold

that you shall find

in the whole province

of Babylonia

and with freewill offerings

from the people

and the priests

vowed willingly

for the house

of their God

that is in Jerusalem.

With this money

then you shall

with all diligence

buy bulls,

rams,

and lambs

with their grain offerings

and their drink offerings

and you shall offer them

on the altar

of the house

of your God

that is in Jerusalem.

Whatever seems good

to you

and your brothers

to do

with the rest

of the silver

and gold

you may do

according to the will

of your God.

The vessels

that have been given you

for the service

of the house

of your God

you shall deliver

before the God

of Jerusalem

and whatever else

is required

for the house

of your God

which it falls

to you to provide

you may provide it

out of the king's treasury.

And I

Artaxerxes

the king

make a decree

to all the treasurers

in the province

beyond the river

whatever Ezra

the priest

the scribe

of the law

of the God

of heaven

requires of you

let it be done

with all diligence

up to a hundred

talents of silver

a hundred cores

of wheat

a hundred baths

of wine

a hundred baths

of oil

and salt

without prescribing

how much?

Whatever is decreed

by the God

of heaven

let it be done

in full

for the house

of the God

of heaven

lest his wrath

be against

the realm

of the king

and his sons

we also notify you

that it shall not

be lawful

to impose

tribute

custom

or toll

on any one

of the priests

the Levites

the singers

or the doorkeepers

the temple servants

or other servants

of this house

of God

and you

Ezra

according to the wisdom

of your God

that is in your hand

appoint magistrates

and judges

who may judge

all the people

in the province

beyond the river

all such as know

the laws of your God

and those who do not

know them

you shall teach

whoever will not

obey the law

of your God

and the law

of the king

let judgment

be strictly

executed upon him

whether for death

or for banishment

for confiscation

of his goods

or for imprisonment

blessed be the God

the Lord

the God

of our fathers

who put such a thing

as this

into the heart

of the king

to beautify

the house

of the Lord

that is in Jerusalem

and who extended

to me

his steadfast love

before the king

and his counselors

and before all

the king's mighty officers

I took courage

for the hand

of the Lord

my God

was on me

and I gathered

leading men

from Israel

to go up

with me

friends

this morning

what I want us

to see

is that

as God

is rebuilding

his people

he establishes

them

by giving them

his word

we're going to look

at how in this

passage

God is raising

up Ezra

to be the instrument

through which

his word

is reestablished

in the people

of God

as they are

reestablishing

themselves

in the promised

land

and then we will

think about

how it is

that God

does that

as well

today

in the church

so let's first

look at how

God raises

up

and establishes

his people

through Ezra

bringing the word

the scriptures

to his people

as you see

in this verse

we are now

50-60 years

after the end

of chapter 6

Artaxerxes

is a later

king of Persia

and we have

now moved

almost a whole

generation

and in this

new movement

this new

historical movement

God moves

the heart

of the king

to respond

to what seems

to be a request

from Ezra

that Ezra

might return

and bring

the word

of God

to his people

and what you see

in the first

five verses

is a bit

of his

CV

who is Ezra

well most importantly

he is the descendant

of Aaron

you remember

Aaron

the partner

with Moses

when God

in the Exodus

brought his people

out of Egypt

and established them

it was Aaron

and his sons

who were the priests

who were in charge

of the worship of God

in the tabernacle

and then later

his descendants

in the temple

this was the descendant

and the lineage

of the people

who were meant

to keep the word

of God

and to teach

the word of God

and to follow through

with the worship

of God

according to the word

of God

in the temple

and so

Ezra is established

as one who has

the lineage

and the pedigree

to take up

this role

but even more

than that

you see that

the writer here

is repeating

to us

over and over

and over again

what is the

most important

thing about Ezra

it is that he is

a man

of the scriptures

that he knows

the law of Moses

it is almost

like a tagline

in this

in this passage

if you look at

look at verse 6

he was a scribe

skilled in the law

of Moses

verse 10

he set his heart

to study

the law

of the Lord

verse 12

to Ezra

the priest

the scribe

of the law

of the God

of heaven

and so on

and so forth

verse 14

and verse 21

and verse 23

in verse 25

and verse 26

over and over

and over again

this is who

Ezra is

he is the man

of God's law

and he is bringing

it to his people

and when you look

back at verse 10

look with me

at verse 10

because it's not

just that he had

a passing familiarity

or that he happened

to carry around

a book with him

but when verse 10

Ezra had set his heart

to do three things

he studied the law

he immersed himself

in it

he dove into it

so that he knew it

inside out

he probably memorized it

and meditated upon it

he studied God's law

the second thing

that he did

is to do it

he didn't simply

read the book

as a place

to gain information

but he said

this book

is the rule

of my life

this book

is God's instruction

on how I ought

to live my life

and so I will do

all that it says

and then thirdly

to teach

to teach his statutes

and rules

that he wants

to not only know it

and to do it

to be a man

who sits under

God's word

as he knows it

but to be one

who then overflows

with God's word

that others around him

might know

that his fellow

brother and sister

Jews

the people of God

would know

what God's word says

and this is what we see

for Ezra

God's word

was not an accessory

but it was a necessity

for his life

it was the title

that the king gave him

one who knew

God's law

now

we need to stop

and think

why was this

so important

wouldn't this

have been normal

well in fact

we know

that it was not

though God

had given his law

in many ways

and when you think

back to the covenant

that God made

with his people

and Moses

if you will obey

my commandments

and follow my laws

you will be my God

and I will be your people

yet we know

if you read

the story of Israel

that is

as the kingdom

was created

how quickly

the kings

of the northern kingdom

turned away

and the southern kingdom

following after

turned away

from the law

of God

and the instructions

that God had given them

how often

they went

their own way

how often

they neglected

the word of God

and trusted

in their own thoughts

and their own ideas

about

what it would mean

to be God's people

and it got so bad

that when we get

to the end

of 2nd Chronicles

which is near the end

of the history

of the kingdom

Josiah

is raised up

as a king

who loves God

and wants to know him

and during his reign

the priest

found

the word of God

as if it had been

something that had been

left in some

back storage room

and nobody knew

where it was

and nobody had been

reading it

and no one

knew what it said

for seemingly

generations

and he brings it

back to the people

and he reads it

to the people

and it leads them

to repentance

and a moment

of renewal

and yet it does not

last

such that

just two chapters

later in 2nd Chronicles

36

the writer says this

all the officers

of the priests

and the people

likewise

were exceedingly

unfaithful

following the

abominations

of the nations

and they polluted

the house of the Lord

that he had made

holy in Jerusalem

and the prophet

Jeremiah

proclaiming

to the people

at the same time

about the reason

for their judgment

said this

in Jeremiah 7

23

but this command

I gave them

obey my voice

and I will be

your God

and you shall

be my people

and walk in the way

that I command you

that it may be

well with you

but they did not

obey

or incline

their ear

but walked

in their own

counsels

and the stubbornness

of their evil hearts

and went backwards

and not forwards

from the day

that your fathers

came out of the land

of Egypt

to this day

I have persistently

sent all my servants

the prophets

to them

day after day

yet they did not

listen to me

or incline

their ear

but stiffened

their neck

they did worse

than their fathers

you see

as God was

reestablishing

this people

he was trying

to heal

trying to repair

something

that had been broken

not just in the exile

but long

before the exile

happened

that God's people

had forsaken

his word

and his instructions

and had

in their pride

in their arrogance

in their stiff neckness

in their independence

they had said

we want to do this

our way

not God's way

and in fact

this was one of the

major reasons

why the exodus

happened

and the judgment

came

because the people

would not turn

back to the Lord

and listen

to his word

and so

as God

is bringing

his people

back from the exodus

as he is

rebuilding

his people

in the promised land

as he is fulfilling

the promises

that the people

may have thought

were gone forever

God is saying

and I am going

to establish

my people

by putting

my word

in the center

of who you are

and how you live

friends

I wonder

if we recognize

some of those

characteristics

of Israel

in our own hearts

how often

do we

wonder

if God

is really right

in what he says

how often

do we think

I know how

to handle

this situation

I don't need

God's word

to tell me

how to do

this

how often

do we simply

get so busy

with the very

mundane tasks

of our everyday

lives

that we forget

God's word

one day

two days

maybe a week

it turns into

a month

whether it's

benign neglect

or hard-hearted

unwillingness

to hear

what God

has to say

to us

when we want

to do

our own

thing

how much

we are like

Israel

in this way

how often

we forsake

God's word

and yet

the good news

is that

just like

Israel

God is

pursuing

us

to call

us

to himself

it's remarkable

when you look

through this

chapter 7

that the other

theme besides

the establishment

of God's word

is that

God

has done

this

God

moved

in the heart

of Artaxerxes

God's hand

was on

Ezra

God

provided

all the

things

necessary

for them

to return

the decree

of the king

the supplies

for the worship

in the temple

the freedom

from taxation

in the land

beyond the river

which is basically

Jerusalem

and the promised

land again

that God

provided

all of these

things

so that

they could

go and dwell

in the land

and be provided

for

so that

they could

focus

on

knowing

God

in his

word

just as

God's

hand

worked

through

Nebuchadnezzar

to take

them into

exile

just as

God's

hand

had worked

through

Cyrus

and

Darius

to return

them to

the land

now God

was raising

up

through

Artaxerxes

Ezra

to establish

the word

among

the people

God

raised up

a man

who would

bring this

to the people

in a special

way

and through

him

God was

saying to

his people

if you

are to

be my

people

you must

have

my word

and you

must make

it central

to who

you are

and I

will move

the heart

of kings

and kingdoms

so that

you

will

have

my

word

so we

see

this is

the next

building

block

just as

through

Zerubbabel

and

Yeshua

God

established

the people

back in

the land

they settled

they built

the altar

in the

temple

now God

through

Ezra

is establishing

the word

of God

the law

in the

people

and what

we will

see

in the

coming

chapters

is God

is going

to keep

working

on other

aspects

of the

people

of God

their

dependence

on him

in prayer

and in

fasting

we will

see

their

purification

of the

people

at the

end of

the

book

of Ezra

as he

addresses

some of

the ways

that they

have

wandered

from

his

law

this

is what

we will

see

for the

rest

of the

book

of Ezra

as God

in these

building

blocks

continuing

to

reestablish

his

people

to be

the people

that God

had called

them

to be

but we

see

however

that this

is not

just

an

isolated

incident

in the

storyline

of the

scriptures

this is

not

simply

how

God

was

restoring

what

was

broken

in

Israel

at

that

time

but we

see

that

God

is

always

establishing

his

people

through

the

scriptures

through

his

word

and

specifically

now

for us

in the

church

age

today

this

is

still

what

God

is

doing

among

us

think

with

me

about

the

sweep

of

what

we

see

in

the

rest

of

the

Bible

about

the

word

we

see

that

the

church

was

foretold

to

be

to

to

be

to

be

a

place

where

God

would

dwell

among

his

people

in

the

law

within

them

and

I

will

write

it

on

their

hearts

and

I

will

be

their

God

and

they

shall

be

my

people

and

then

as

Jesus

comes

on

the

scene

and

as

he

enters

into

his

ministry

and

is

sent

out

into

the

wilderness

and

is

tempted

by

the

tempter

he

turns

and

the

first

thing

that

he

says

to

them

to

him

in

response

to

the

temptation

to

do

things

outside

of

God's

plan

is

this

man

shall

not

live

by

bread

alone

but

by

every

word

that

comes

from

the

mouth

of

God

Jesus

as

he

enters

into

his

ministry

is

establishing

this

is

what

it

means

first

of

all

he's

quoting

from

Deuteronomy

8

he's

using

the

Old

Testament

scriptures

to

combat

this

temptation

to

forsake

God's

ways

but

then

the

very

thing

that

he

quotes

is

to

say

we

cannot

live

apart

from

God's

word

just

as

bread

is

necessary

to

sustain

our

physical

bodies

so

it

is

that

the

word

of

God

the

scriptures

are

necessary

for

us

spiritually

to

flourish

and

to

live

we

see

this

as

God

establishes

the

church

in

Acts

2

42

when

the

new

believers

after

Jesus

resurrection

gathered

what did

they do

they devoted

themselves

to the

apostles

teaching

as a

central

practice

of what

they're

doing

and

then

you

see

as

Paul's

giving

instruction

to

Timothy

in

1st

and 2nd

Timothy

passing

along

to

the

next

generation

of

leaders

what

does

it

mean

to

be

God's

people

he

says

devote

yourselves

to

the

public

reading

of

scripture

to

exhortation

and to

teaching

in

1st

Timothy

4

13

of

course

in

2nd

Timothy

3

15

and

16

he

reminds

Timothy

how

from

childhood

you

have

been

acquainted

with

the

sacred

writings

which

are

able

to

make

you

wise

for

salvation

through

faith

in

Christ

Jesus

all

scripture

is

breathed

out

by

God

and

profitable

for

teaching

for

reproof

for

correction

and

for

training

in

righteousness

and

friends

we see

this

throughout

not only

the rest

of the

scriptures

but

then

the rest

of

church

history

up to

this

day

that

where

the

word

of

God

is

established

the

church

of

God

flourishes

and

the

people

of

God

remain

faithful

and

we've

seen

the

church

wander

away

again

and

again

and

God

call

her

back

again

and

again

to

the

scriptures

and

when

this

is

the

centerpiece

of

how

we

know

God

then

the

people

of

God

flourish

and

are

the

people

that

God

designed

us

to

be

when

the

word

of

God

is

proclaimed

and

preached

and

studied

and

shared

and

obeyed

when

it

is

treasured

and

honored

and

passed

along

from

generation

to

generation

this

is

when

God's

people

flourish

so the

question for

us

what will

we do

with it

will we

continue to

try to

cook our

salmon

without a

meat

thermometer

will we

continue to

try to

know God

and ignore

his word

to us

we

continue to

try to

find our

way

spiritually

and yet

ignore

the very

thing that

God has

given us

his

revelation

to us

do we

believe

with

desperate

need

that God's

word is

essential

to

our

lives

or do

we

see it

as

simply

accessory

you know

I recall

sitting with

a woman

who was

facing a

terminal

illness

as we

were talking

about her

life and

how she

was doing

it was

remarkable

her joy

her happiness

her contentment

and you

know one

of the

things she

said is

I've been

in a lot

of pain

recently

I'm glad

I studied

God's

word before

because I

can't do

it now

I can't

focus

I can't

concentrate

but it

was so

clear that

God's

word had

been so

established

in her

heart

that as

she faced

what is

for all

of us

one of

the hardest

things in

life

God's

word

established

her

it's a

remarkable

thing

so the

question for

us is

will we

be

those who

follow in

the pattern

of Ezra

will we

be women

and men

who study

the word

of God

who do

the word

of God

and who

teach

the word

of God

now

you may

be sitting

there

saying

yes

but I

don't

know

where

to

start

let me

give you

some

help

first

of all

get a

Bible

sorry

it's

really

basic

get

one

of

these

find

it

pull

it

down

off

of

your

bookshelf

pull

it

out

of

the

closet

wherever

you

have

one

make

sure

you

have

one

if

you

don't

have

one

take

the

one

from

the

pew

in

front

of

you

it

is

our

joy

for

you

to

have

it

make

sure

you

have

one

and

I

know

for

some

of

you

that

you

read

this

on

your

digital

paraphernalia

of

whatever

sort

and

that's

okay

but I

will

still

implore

you

get

a

physical

copy

of

the

Bible

and

have

it

available

in

your

life

put

it

on

your

bedside

table

put

it

on

your

breakfast

table

put

it

in a

place

where

you

will

see

it

and

be

reminded

of

it

and

then

start

reading

it

read

it

every

day

if

you

don't

know

how

to