"That We Might Humble Ourselves Before Our God" -- Ezra 8:15-23

The Eighth in a Series of Sermons on Ezra-Nehemiah

Erza–a man skilled in the law of Moses and a priest who descended from Aaron–was commissioned by the Persian king Artaxerxes to take a second group of Jewish exiles to Jerusalem.  This was to be an official fact finding mission for the king.  The others returning to Jerusalem with Ezra had not left Babylon with the earlier group of Jewish exiles several generations earlier for reasons unknown to us.  The journey was a difficult one–four month’s duration and nine hundred miles.  Chapter 8 of the Book of Ezra recounts Ezra’s journey from Babylon to Jerusalem to fulfill the mission assigned to him by the Persian king, and which fulfilled YHWH’s purposes for his people.  But from a theological perspective, the scene described by Ezra throughout this chapter is that of a second Exodus, a theme which surfaced earlier, in chapters 1-3 of this same book.  Apparently, as Israel’s prophets foretold of Jewish exiles returning to the land of Canaan, successive generations of Jews living in exile in Babylon sense the call to return home to Israel.  Those Jews going with Ezra are depicted as an “ideal Israel” in miniature, making the long and difficult journey through the desert to join their brothers and sisters who, several generations prior, had already made the same journey to that land in Canaan promised to them by YHWH.

We are continuing our series on the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, and we are taking up Ezra’s account of a second group of Jews returning from their exile in Babylon to Jerusalem in 458 BC.  Some sixty years have passed since the end of chapter 6, and the opening of chapter 7, which recounts Ezra’s appearance on the scene the same year.  In the first six chapters of Ezra, we saw that upon their return to the Jerusalem area the first group of returning exiles began the task of rebuilding the altar and conducting sacrifices according to the law of Moses.  Despite the efforts of their pagan neighbors–the people of the land–who made a sustained effort to keep the Jews from rebuilding, Jews finally completed rebuilding the temple 516 BC.  The Jews were back in their land, they were one nation, but remained under the control of the Persian empire.  While the second temple stands in continuity with the temple built by Solomon, things were not the same.  The focus of Ezra chapters 7-10 shifts away from Israel’s past glories, toward the hope of the messianic age.

This shift can be seen in Ezra 7, as Ezra’ account of the Jews returning home to Jerusalem in 538 BC, and completing their temple (in 516), fades into the background in light of the need for reformation and renewal within Israel.  Despite returning to their land and rebuilding their temple, the Jews once again face the perpetual struggle they have faced since first entering the promised land in the days of Joshua and the conquest, about seven hundred years earlier.  How do the people keep their covenant with YHWH, when so many of them find themselves drawn to the paganism all around them?  Although the people have been back in the land for several genrations, by the time of Ezra, a number of the Jews have intermarried with pagan Gentiles, and many are starting to adopt pagan ways of thinking and doing.  Now that the leaders of the first generation of exiles have died off (Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Haggai, and Zechariah), God raises up Ezra and Nehemiah, who play important roles in Israel’s immediate future.

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Better to Use "Die?" Or "Pass Away?"

Anyone who knows me well, is probably all too aware of my dislike of the common phrase, "passed away."  My long-time White Horse Inn colleague, Dr. Rod Rosenbladt, has been correcting me of this habit long enough that his words of wisdom finally took root, and now I am as adamant about giving up the term as he is.

Our producer, Shane Rosenthal, recently passed along this reminder of how our culture cannot deal with death, and why "passed away," completely evades the real issue--that death is brutal, ugly, and stems from the curse.

The word "death" is a strong and solid word that does not blush or flinch, calling life's terminus by its first name, without apology. But most people euphemize death with the softer phrase "passed away". To pass away suggests a gentle and painless transition from one state to another, like chilled water passing imperceptibly into ice. Thereby words conceal from thoughts the horrors of violent accidents and the wracking agonies of terminal illness, as if everyone, instead of only a lucky few, died peacefully in his sleep. And where we peacefully pass is "away", a nebulous word that does not suggest a termination, but neither specifies a destination. It is a kind of leaving off, a gesture of open-endedness, an ellipsis at sentence's end. It is, accordingly, the perfect word for the skeptical yet sentimental modern mind, which cannot accept annihilation, nor easily believe in immortality. "Passed away" allows vague hope without dogma, as if to say, "He has gone somewhere else, please don't ask for details."

Shane found this on Brian Jay Stanley's blog, aphorisms and paradoxes

This Week at Christ Reformed Church (October 17-23)

Sunday Morning, October 23.  As we continue our series on Philippians, we come to Paul's exhortation to Christians, "Rejoice!"  Our text is Philippians 4:2-9.  Our worship service begins at 10:30 a.m.

Note:  Our New Members class is on-going @ 9:00 a.m.  You are welcome to join us.

Sunday Afternoon:  As we work our way through the Heidelberg Catechism, we come to Lord's Day 18 and a discussion of Christ's ascension into heaven (Lord's Day 18, Q & A 46-49).  Our catechism service begins @ 1:15 p.m.

Wednesday Night Bible Study, October 19:   We are continuing our discussion of Paul's "Man of Sin" in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12.  Our study begins at 7:30.

Academy, Friday,  October 21:  We are studying Mike Horton's theology text, The Christian Faith:  A Theology for Pilgrims on the Way.  We'll pick up where we left off last time with chapter 10 (p. 331) and the doctrine of creation.  The discussion/lecture begins at 7:30 p.m.

For more information on Christ Reformed Church you can always find us here (Christ Reformed Info), or on Facebook (Christ Reformed on Facebook).

"The Church Under the Cross" -- Psalm 123

Here's the audio from this morning's sermon from Rev. Brad Lenzner on Psalm 123.

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This Week's White Horse Inn (Updated Website)

Comforting Those Who Grieve

Have you ever been at a loss for words at a funeral or visitation line? What kinds of things should we say in order to comfort those who have recently lost a close family member? How long should we allow people to grieve? Perhaps the most important subject that we need to think about around such times is how we talk about heaven and eternal issues. On this program Michael Horton discusses these questions and more with Nancy Guthrie, author of a brand new book titled What Grieving People Wish You Knew.

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This Week at Christ Reformed Church (October 10-16)

Sunday Morning, October 16.  Rev. Brad Lenzner will be preaching.  Our worship service begins @ 10:30 a.m.

Note:  Our New Members class is on-going @ 9:00 a.m.  You are welcome to join us.

Sunday Afternoon:  Rev. Lenzner will be conducting our catechism service, which begins @ 1:15 p.m.

Wednesday Night Bible Study, October 12:   No Bible Study this week.

Academy, Friday,  October 14:  No Academy this week

For more information on Christ Reformed Church you can always find us here (Christ Reformed Info), or on Facebook (Christ Reformed on Facebook).

"Our Citizenship Is In Heaven" -- Philippians 3:12-4:1

Here's the audio from this morning's sermon

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"The Hand of the LORD My God Was on Me" -- Ezra 7:1-10

The Seventh in a Series of Sermons on Ezra-Nehemiah

Enter Ezra–the key figure in the next four chapters of the book which bears his name.  The year is 458 B.C.  The second temple was completed some sixty years previously, and sacrifices were being offered since that time according to the law of Moses.  A priest in the genealogical line of Aaron, and also described as a skilled “scribe,” Ezra is among the first of a long line of Jewish biblical scholars who are devoted students of God’s law–men who later came to be known as “scribes” during the days of Jesus, four hundred years later.  Some have described Ezra as the “secretary of state for Jewish affairs,” since Ezra was commissioned by the Persian king Artaxerxes to leave Babylon, travel to Jerusalem, and report back to the king about the current state of affairs regarding the Jews and their progress in rebuilding their capital city and its defenses (walls).  Upon his arrival in Jerusalem, Ezra began a series of reforms including a renewed devotion to the law of God, renewed focus upon prayer and fasting, as well as insisting that the Israelites end the practice of intermarrying with the pagans around them.  With his arrival in Jerusalem, the scene in the Book of Ezra shifts from its focus upon the temple to a focus upon the law of God as the people of God return to the pattern so well established throughout Israel’s history–times of revival (in this case the Jews returning to the land and the rebuilding of the temple), followed by times of unbelief and apostasy, as many Jews seek to make peace with their pagan neighbors, many more intermarry with them, and some even adopt their pagan practices.

We are the midst of a series on the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, and this morning we come to Ezra 7.  In the previous chapters, we have considered the author’s account of that period of Israel’s history in which the Jews are back in their land, living as one people, with a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem, and facing many of the trials and tribulations which the people of God have struggled from the time they first entered Canaan back in the days of the conquest.  How do the people of God maintain their faith in YHWH and their loyalty to him, when the pagans all around them seek to entice them away from worshiping and serving the true and living God?  As a man who can trace his ancestry back to Aaron (Israel’s first high priest), Ezra is well qualified for his role as a reformer of sorts, seeking to renew his people’s love for YHWH and their commitment to his covenant–specifically, the law of Moses.  Israel many be back in the land of Canaan, but they live under Persian control, and the leadership of the nation naturally passes from the first generation of post-exile leaders, Zerubbabel and Jeshau (Joshua), to an increased role for the high priest, who now leads the people in both religious and political matters.

Since the days when Israel first returned to the land because of the decree of Cyrus in 538 BC, a whole series of Persians kings have come and gone.  Cyrus’ successor Darius (who was featured prominently in earlier chapters of Ezra) died in 486 BC.  Darius was replaced by his son Xerxes, who ruled over the vast Persian empire from 485 until his death in 465 at the hand of one of his own bodyguards.  Xerxes’ son, Artaxerxes–who is king in the days of Ezra–ruled until he died 424 BC.  Given the upheaval and intrigue within the Persian royal dynasty, it is important for Ezra to remind us six times in chapters 7-8 that “the hand of God” orchestrated all of these things for the benefit and preservation of his people.  The Persian kings come and go, but God’s providential purposes remain the same.

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This Week at Christ Reformed Church (October 3-9)

Sunday Morning, October 9.  We are continuing our series on Philippians.  This Lord's Day we will take up Paul's discussion of our heavenly citizenship (Philippians 3:12-4:1).  Our worship service begins at 10:30 a.m.

Note:  Our New Members class is on-going @ 9:00 a.m.  You are welcome to join us.

Sunday Afternoon:  We have come to Lord's Day 17 in our study of the Heidelberg Catechism.  We will be discussing our Lord's bodily resurrection from the dead. Our catechism service begins @ 1:15 p.m.

Wednesday Night Bible Study, October 5:   We have returned to our study of 2 Thessalonians, and begin our discussion of Paul's "Man of Sin" in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12.  Our study begins at 7:30.

Academy, Friday,  October 7:  We are continuing our study of Mike Horton's theology text, The Christian Faith:  A Theology for Pilgrims on the Way.  We'll pick up where we left off last time with chapter 10 (p. 326) and the doctrine of creation.  The discussion/lecture begins at 7:30 p.m.

For more information on Christ Reformed Church you can always find us here (Christ Reformed Info), or on Facebook (Christ Reformed on Facebook).

"Found in Him" -- Philippians 3:1-11

Here's the audio from this morning's sermon.

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