Zerubbabel

Transcript

they're Rubber Ball x mentioned in six books of the Bible x important guy he's in the genealogy of x Jesus that's where we've got to so far x and while he might not be the most x familiar person to us in the Bible he's x a real important man in Israel's history x and I and there's some really great x expectations in his uh life x um but I think in order to appreciate x them we really have to set the x historical context and do a little bit x of background work x so basically the the thing that matters x in the life of zerubbabel so much is the x temple x um you know I think it's important for x us to have a sense of how important that x Solomon's Temple was to Israel x throughout all of its history x it took seven years for Solomon to build x it about 450 years before zedekiah x the date's kind of uncertain but it took x seven years to build x and you remember when when David was uh x going to build the temple and God said x now you can't do it uh your your son who x will be a man of Peace can do it x and but David went to such elaborate x lengths to prepare for it it was his x desire that the temple should be x exceedingly magnificent x and so he made abundant provision for it x and so we think of the care with which x it was built and we we might cast our x minds back to the wonderful ceremony x where Solomon dedicated the simple x Temple to the to God x the temple was the center of their x worship and it was a thing of Pride and x of national identity for Israel x and that's true even in times when their x faith wasn't so strong or when their x behavior wasn't quite right you'll x recall that Jeremiah Was set to preach x in in the gate of the Temple uh during a x time when the nation was rather astray x but after repeated faithfulness x faithlessness and many warnings x God gave the southern Kingdom of Judah x over to the Babylonians x and in 587 BC the temple was destroyed x second second Kings chapter 25 x has a description x of what that was like x Second Kings 25 starting at verse 8 it x says x uh in the seventh day of the fifth month x the 19th year of King Nebuchadnezzar x that nebius zaridan came to Jerusalem he x burned the house of the Lord x they burned the house with fire they x broke down the walls around Jerusalem x They Carried Away all of the vessels of x bronze they broke things to pieces and x they took it away captivity x it was a day of great sadness in the x history of Israel x now it's important to remember in in x understanding this history that the x Northern Kingdom of Israel there was x that political division between North x and South x that the northern kingdom had been x overrun by the Assyrians x 140 years earlier x the Assyrians had a policy of relocating x their conquered peoples x and so the northern Jews were replaced x by a mix of people from many nations and x these became the future Samaritans x but after 70 years of the Babylonian x captivity x Cyrus the Persian came to power x ever running Babylon x Cyrus was known and is known x historically for his tolerance of x religious diversity x in fact we have here on the screen now a x picture of an amazing archaeological x finding the Cyrus cylinder x um in which he says that he returned the x gods to their places and of all the the x peoples that he had conquered and it x reminds us very strongly of what we read x in Israel chapter one verses one to x eight x where it says that in the first year of x Cyrus King of Persia to fulfill the word x of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah the x Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus King x of Persia and he sent a proclamation x throughout all his kingdom and put it in x writing x saying that everyone was to go up every x Survivor was to go up to Jerusalem to x and that he would Supply them with all x sorts of of goods x um that for the rebuilding of the Temple x so if you have your Bible open at Ezra x chapter one x verse 8. x you'll see that all of this provision x that Cyrus gave for the rebuilding of x the Temple x he counted it out to chess Bazar x the prince of Judah and Chef Badger is x almost certainly the baby sorry the x Persian name persever the man will be x considering tonight it's kind of like uh x yeah it was Daniel Delta shazar and his x friends uh Shadrach Meshach and Abednego x within names the Babylonian conquerors x had given to them x so what about zerubbable x well first of all we have this reference x to him in chapter one verse 8 and then x subsequently it'll be clear that shesh x Bazar is a name for zerubbabel he was a x prince of Judy he was of the princely x line x he's actually mentioned in first x Chronicles and which you might think was x before before this but it's it's at the x beginning of the the Chronicles history x of of Israel and Judah x um it goes right to the end and it takes x the line of David down through x zerubbabel x so he has a natural status as Prince of x Judah as being in the line of David of x the Royal Family x chapter 2 x describes him being sent by Cyrus on a x mission to restore the temple x and x it's a big operation that he leads 50 x 000 people x he takes back to the land after 70 years x of of captivity and in fact if you look x in Chapter 2 x um down towards the end x uh verse 69 x it says I'm reading for The New American x Standard it says they gave 61 000 gold x Draculas and uh according to my sources x this was about 30 million dollars x that he was given for this big operation x that he was to conduct x so chapter three x chapter three of Ezra is really where we x we pick up the story of zerubbabel x we find in verse 2 that Joshua the son x of jesidek and his brothers the priests x and zerubbabel the son of shiatiel and x his brothers arose and built the altar x of the god of Israel to offer burnt x offerings on it as written in the law of x Moses x so the altar was rebuilt x offerings could be made x verse 4 tells us x they celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles x this was a feast that was specifically x it was specifically actually commanded x that it be celebrated joyously Leviticus x 23 verse 40 says you shall rejoice x and at this time when they're back after x the 70 years of captivity it was no x doubt a time of rejoicing x verse 5 tells us that the continual x birth offerings were reinstated the x daily offerings of the Lambs the new x moons and all those sorts of things x but there were problems x says in verse 3 x that x they were terrified because of the x peoples of the Lambs x as it turns out the fear they had for x the peoples of the Lambs were with good x reason and will x talk about this more a little bit later x but this is an important feature of x what's going on x but just to give a little bit of x background x you realize that the northern captivity x was almost 200 years ago and the x Assyrians had brought in a lot of new x people into the land they've been there x for 200 years it looks like the United x States x timeline and they were very well settled x in and they weren't very enthusiastic x about the Jews coming back as we'll see x later on x so x the building the the altar is rebuilt x and they start to rebuilding the temple x in verses 8 to 12. x and it's it's interesting when the they x lay the foundation of the temple in x verse 10 x . it's interesting the reaction you get x in verses 12 and 13. x it says yet many of the priests and x Levites and heads of fathers households x the old men who had seen the first x temple x wept with a loud voice when the x foundation of this house was laid before x their eyes x while many shouted aloud for joy so that x the people could not distinguish the x sound of the shout of Joy from the sound x of the Weeping of the people for the x people shouted with a loud Shout x and the shout Was Heard far away x the weeping's not really explained here x there's a hint x that the Weeping was among those who had x seen the first temple x and we'll say more about this later on x all right coming quickly on our review x of the history leading up to the works x of of zoruba book let's come now to x chapter four of Ezra x if you read in verse one x that enemies x of Judah and Benjamin x heard that the people that exiled were x building a temple x and they come to us irouble in verse two x and they say let us build with you for x we like you seek your God so the x question might occur to us who were x these enemies we get the explanation x here in verse two says we like you seek x your God we have been sacrificing to him x since the days of essar Haddon king of x Assyria who brought us up here x it's a rubber boy Joshua and the rest of x the house heads of Father's households x of Israel said to them you have nothing x in common with us and building a house x to our God x but we ourselves will together build to x the Lord God of Israel as king Cyrus the x King of Persia has commanded us x now I've heard people suggest right it x sounds like as if the the rubble's being x kind of ungracious here you know hear x these folks come they say they worship x the same God they want to help out you x know why not let them help out but be a x little bit uh welcoming to them x well we'll find out from their x subsequent Behavior x that they really were x trying to undermine and that this wasn't x a genuine offer x but there's also a reason for suspicion x because of the background of of the x these these folks okay x if you look at second Kings chapter 17 x verses 24 to 41 explain about how the x Assyrians brought these people to Israel x and how they x had sort of a mixed up worship of the x god of Israel they get there and they x start having trouble with lions x and they say oh it must be the god of x the land they're superstitious they say x I must be the god of the lands heaven x doesn't like us x so they say well what will we do well I x know we'll go and get one of the priests x from the northern kingdom that we kicked x out and he can come and tell us about x the gods of the Lambs and we can we can x make offerings then and get over this x lying problem x um x well when you recall what the northern x kingdom was like and how apostate it was x they weren't going to get very good x instruction about the God of Israel x um so they came back x and they had a sort of mixed up worship x it says in Second Kings 17 and including x this section x um x verse 41. it says so while these nations x fear the lord they also serve their x Idols their children likewise and their x grandchildren as their fathers did so x they do to this day so these folks you x can't really say that they were x worshiping the god of Israel it was a x corrupt worship at best x and it seems that zerubbabel acts wisely x in saying you know we really can't have x you involved in in this worship thanks x but no thanks x if we had any doubt about the motives of x these people x um x when you see what happens next in Ezra 4 x starting at verse 4. x verse 4 says they discourage the people x of Israel and frightened them from x building x verse 5 says that they hired counselors x against them to frustrate them x and then finally in verses six and x following they send letters to King x artist Xerxes the Persian king saying if x you let this happen you're going to have x serious problems this is against x national interests to have these Jews x back in the land x so x what happens x well you get down to the end of chapter x four x the end of the letter that these x troublemakers write they say verse 21 x issue a decree to make these men stop x work that this city may not be rebuilt x until a decree is issued by me x so verse 23 as soon as the copy of King x arth Xerxes document was read x they went and hasted Jerusalem to the x Jews and stopped them by Force of Arms x so work on the house of God in Jerusalem x ceased and it was stopped until the x second year of Darius King of Persia x all right now that's all background x for tonight's Class A lot of background x but basic story the temple was so x important it had been destroyed Israel x been captive for 70 years now they're x back there's they're getting started x and the work is stopped by hostile x opposition x so we come to Ezra chapter five x Ezra chapter 5 x um x let's read verses one and two x when the prophets x had the eye of the prophet and Zechariah x the son of IDU prophesied to say the x Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem in x the name of the god of Israel who is x over them x then zerubbabel the son of shiatil and x jeshua the son of Joseph arose and began x to rebuild the house of God was is at x Jerusalem and the prophets of God were x with them supported them x interesting we're not told anything x about what haggai said we're not told x anything about what Zechariah said only x that they prophesied x and they got things going again x and the really neat thing is that we x actually have the the Prophecies of x Heidi and Zechariah that we can refer to x in a couple minutes and we'll get to see x what it was that they said that got the x work going again how they inspired uh x zerubbabel and Joshua the high priest x but right away x verses four and five it says we told x them accordingly what the names of the x men who were reconstructing this x building but the eyes of their God was x on the Elders of the Jews and they did x not stop them until a report could come x to Darius so they so the work gets x started again x and uh I love that expression in Ezra 5 x verse 5 that the eye of their God was on x them x it's it's an interesting expression to x follow x through uh the the Psalms for instance x Psalm 32 verse 8 says I will counsel you x with my eye upon you x um Psalm 33 x Verse 18 God says x the eye of the Lord is on those that x fear Him x and then Psalm 34 verse 15 the eyes of x the Lord are toward the righteous and x his ears are open to their cry x so the eye of the Lord x is on the people x haggai and Zechariah Inspire this man x zerubbabel in the line of the Kings and x Joshua the high priest and they get the x work going again x it's not entirely clear how long it had x stopped but it was a matter of years it x was at least two or three years and x probably as many as 20 years x well once again x the adversaries x aren't happy about this they don't like x the Jews back there x and so chapter 5 continues with another x letter writing campaign x and this time it's to a new king a x successive King and x um they reiterate how dangerous it's x going to be if you let the these Jews do x their work x but this time there's a happy ending and x it's found in chapter six this time they x find that x um x that Cyrus had ordered this work to be x done and this time the response in x chapter 6 verse 7 is leave this work on x the house of God alone let the governor x of the Jews and the Elders of the Jews x rebuild this house of God on its site x verses 8 to 10 of chapter six x their promised money and animals for x sacrifice x and now verses 11 to 12 says that x anybody who opposes the work x well they're going there's they're they x they're going to die for it so it's a x happy ending x all this happened x because of the words of haggai and x Zechariah and if we only had the book of x Ezra to refer to we wouldn't know what x these words were x but having the Prophecies of haggai and x Zechariah x we find the stirring words of those x prophets that motivated zerubbable the x lead is people in the work x so let's come over to haggai verse x chapter one x haggai chapter one x in the second year of Darius the king x on the first day of the sixth month the x word of the Lord came by the prophet x haggai to zerubbabel and to Joshua x thus says the Lord of hosts x this people says x time's not come x even the time for the house of the Lord x to be rebuilt x it's a reasonable conclusion that people x would come to x went by to argue based on all of the x opposition x it was by x Armed Force that the work was stopped at x first x and so the people could rightly reason x well maybe it's not time x maybe maybe that'll come later on but x now we should put ourselves on other x things x verse 3. x then the word of the Lord came by haggai x the prophet saying x is it time for you yourselves x to dwell in your paneled houses while x this house lies desolate x now therefore thus says the Lord of x hosts consider your ways x you sound much but Harvest little you x eat but there's not enough to be x satisfied you drink but there's not x enough to become drug you put on x clothing but no one is warm enough and x he who earns earns wages to put into a x purse with holes thus sends the Lord of x hosts x consider your ways x that powerful words consider your ways x set your heart on your ways x it is literally x think about our own x lives and our own priorities x are we concerned with our houses x rather than the house of God x with our interests rather than the x interests of God x what matters most x where do we put our time and our x Energies x do we make excuses saying it's not the x right time x we might say this about preaching we x might say people don't want to hear x and it's true that many don't x but I think there's still folks out x there who do want to hear and I think if x we're earnestly seeking x we're told if we ask for anything x according to God's will x he will grant our wishes and there x certainly can't be anything more that's x his will x than that his truths be spread to x willing ears x so let's consider our ways and say is it x time for us to be building our house or x is it time for us to be building the x house of God x now it's really neat x that in haggai chapter 1 x we have more details on what happened in x Ezra x um first of all it says in verse 12 x then zerubbable the son of shiatio and x Joshua the son of Jason dick the high x priest but all the remnant of the people x obeyed the voice of the Lord their God x they got to work x that's the first response verse 12. x then verse 13 then haggai the messenger x of the Lord spoke by the commission of x the Lord to the people saying I Am with x You declares the Lord so x they obey and God encourages x and God doesn't only encourage them x verse 13 but verse 14 look at this so x the Lord stirred up the spirit of his x rubble and the spirit of Joshua and the x spirit of all the remnants of the people x and they came and worked x I love that sequence x God makes the appeal to our conscience x telling us to consider our ways x and if we then say that's right I've got x to do the right thing here x we obey then God adds this encouragement x he stirs up our spirit and adds his x Blessing x to the things we set our hands to x now haggai chapter 2 is neat because it x explains a little bit about that bit x where they were building the new altar x and some of the people were weeping x haggai chapter 2. x on the first 21st and the second month x the word of the Lord came by haggai the x prophet saying speak now does a rubber x bull the son of shiatio governor of x Judah to Joshua to the remnant of the x people x saying who is left among you who saw x this Temple in its former glory x and how do you see it now x does it seem x not seem to you like nothing in x comparison x this explains why there were some who x were weeping x you know x they remembered the glory of Solomon's x Temple it was exceeding magnificent x and uh x what they were doing seemed like it was x insignificant x sometimes I think we feel the same way x is that our work is so puny and x insignificant x but look at how God encourages haggai 2 x verse 4. it now take courage is a rubble x declares the Lord take courage also x Joshua x for I and work for I Am with You x declares the Lord of hosts x all right x let's press on all right one more thing x I want to say about the hag idea before x we did x um notice in in verse 20 at the end of x the chapter x it says the word of the Lord came a x second time to haggai x saying speak to the rubble governor of x Judah saying I'm going to shake the x heavens and the Earth x I will overthrow the Thrones of Kingdoms x and destroy the powers of the kingdoms x of the Nations and I will ever throw the x Chariots and their Riders and the horses x and their Riders will go down Everyone x by the sword of another x on that day declares the Lord of thirsts x I will take you zerubbabel son of Shield x my servant declares the Lord and I will x make you like a Signet ring for I have x chosen you x now x a reference to a second ring might not x mean a whole lot to us x but x the Signet ring was was really a crucial x means of identifying oneself in ancient x times you remember when I remember when x old Ahab came home all Sullen and x displeased because he couldn't get an x abbots Vineyard x and uh x his wife uh Jezebel she says aren't you x the king of Israel she writes some x letters and she seals them with his x Signet ring x you remember when Tamar x had to take a pledge x from Judah one of the things she took x was his Signet ring it was something x treasured and God says that that's the x way x is a rubble would be x and he's speaking of a future day we're x going to meet zerubbabel God willing in x the Kingdom age and he's going to be x treasured by God for the work that he x did x all right so we've seen a little bit of x haggai's message that was spoken in this x time of trouble in the time of x rebuilding x let's come over and out of the prophecy x of Zechariah x and here's another passage about that x was a rubber ball x um and in Zechariah Chapter 4. x the prophecy of Zechariah that we have x just like haggai begins with an appeal x to the people to get to work that's x chapters one and two of Zechariah x Chapter 3 of Zechariah after this appeal x to the people is an appeal specifically x to Joshua the high priest x and then Zach Zechariah 4 x isn't it is is written for survival x zerubbable x it's a name that was like banana you x don't know when to stop saying it x um x Zach RAV4 is specifically for Zachariah x so in this divisions of of Zechariah x there's an angel who is sort of the x moderator of zechariah's Visions we read x in chapter 4 verse 1 that this Angel who x was speaking with Zachariah x returned and Rouse me as a man who has x awakened from his sleep x he says to him what do you see x and he said x that he says to him I see and behold x lampstand all of gold with its bowl on x the top of it x seven laps on it with seven spouts x belonging to each of the laps which on x are on the top of it also two olive x trees by it one on the right side of the x bowl and the other on its left side x so more or less like we have in the x picture on your screens now x that's the vision verses one to three x verses 6 to 10 explain the vision x because in verse 4 Zechariah says what's x this about the angel says don't you know x what this is about in verse five he said x no I don't know what it's about x he says this is the word of the Lord x choose a rubbable saying x not by might x nor by power x but by my spirit x says the Lord of hosts x what are you oh great Mountain x before zerubbable you will become a x plane and he will bring forth the top x stone with shouts of Grace Grace to it x also the word of the Lord came to me x saying the hands of zerobo have laid the x foundation of this house and his hands x will finish it x then you will know that the Lord of x hosts have sent me to you x for who has despised the day of small x things x these seven will be glad when they see x the Plumb line in the hand of zerubbable x these are the eyes of the Lord which x Reigns to and fro throughout the land x the message is zerubbabel x it seems like a day of small things x the temple You're Building doesn't seem x as glorious x as it was in the olden days x and you seem x powerless you have you're having to x build with one hand in your sword and x your other hand x but it's not by your strength not by x your power but by God's spirit that the x work will be accomplished and it's going x to be accomplished you've laid the x foundation you'll finish it you'll carry x out the stop the top Stone the the x Capstone for the wall and the foundation x of the house x I think the Angel's words here are plain x enough x but what's the meaning x the lampstand was powered by oil pour it x into it and it was God's strength that x was provided x Zechariah still doesn't entirely x understand and he asks another question x in verse 11 he says what are these two x olive trees on the right of the lamp x stand and on its left x and I answered the second time and said x to him what are the two Olive branches x which are beside the two golden pipes x which emptied the golden oil from x themselves x and he answered me saying do you not x know what these are and I said no my x Lord x then he said these are the two anointed x ones the two sons of oil x who are standing by the lord of the x whole Earth x I believe this refers to as a rebel and x Joshua x these two leaders x anointed by God and so sons of oil were x providing of his Spirit to the nation x pouring from themselves into the x lampstand that was the power of God that x they brought to the operation that was x going to see it to its end x all right then what lessons can we take x away from the life is horrible x it's best summarized by a series of four x quotations from haggai and Zechariah x first of all x it's time for us to examine our x priorities and to put God first x it's time for you to yourselves to dwell x in your paneled house while this house x lies desolate now therefore thus says x the Lord of hosts consider your ways x let's put God first x and when we do so x God will add his Blessing we saw this in x haggai 1 verses 12 to 14 that they x obeyed the voice of the Lord x showed reverence for him x and then God says I will be with you I x will stir up your spirits x what's more it all doesn't depend on us x if we think that our work and service of x the Lord that that we're just too x community and and too insignificant x it's not by might x nor by power x by God's spirit that the work is done so x is the Lord of hosts x all we have to do is to be willing x to be to be looking for opportunities x whether it's in preaching whether it's x in caring for the Ecclesia x if we're looking for opportunities x God will bless and strengthen x our work x and our puniness doesn't matter God will x bring the work to fruition x whoever despise the day of small things x shall rejoice so I guess I find this x very reassuring you know sometimes x um x ecclesial life we we can x we can look around and say oh the things x wherever x that we had more of this or that x um x and we we might give up let's not do x that we'll we'll have a day of rejoicing x and all we can do is to x carry on x Faithfully doing our part