Deciding Whether or Not to Follow God
 

Deciding Whether or Not to Follow God

Ezra, pt. 2, Chapters 7-10


By Pastor Dan Kennedy

© April 17, 2016

www.pastorkennedy.com


Each individual has an opportunity to make a decision regarding his or her belief in God and His Son, Jesus Christ.  Some people today will choose to walk away from God; some will choose to follow Him.  Sometimes this decision is based on an event – a death, a sickness, a tragedy, a fight, a moral decision, or a simple choice.  What a paradox, there are times when extreme trials turn people from God, but similar or even more difficult trials draw people to God and confirm their love for Him.


The book of Ezra tells the story of those who had suffered intense pain and had lost everything, including their freedom:  some chose to follow God, yet others would not; some who had sinned against God, repented of their sin, but some did not.


In the time of Ezra, God used leadership to draw His people back to Himself; but we also see, that earlier in Israel’s history there were times during the Kings of Israel, that leadership profoundly destroyed Israel’s relationship with God.  This brought catastrophic destruction upon the people and condemned them to slavery.


Belief in God and seeking to follow His ways seem to always be somewhere in life’s dynamics:  blessing and testing if we choose to follow God, or trouble and destruction, if we choose to disobey and distain the Truth that we understand God has disclosed to us.  The rise and fall of nations can sometimes reflect this dynamic…especially if the people in those societies had at one time sought to uphold the principles attributed to Laws of God.


To Follow or Not To Follow God

The decision to follow God may seem rather unessential at the time…a “no brainer” for those on either side, depending on whether or not one wants to choose to “do their own thing” and reject what they can’t see anyway, or to believe in a Supernatural Creator God and His Salvation, for their own personal spiritual redemption.  On one hand an individual “has eyes to see” God; on the other hand another person has very little or no perception of God.


It seems every person, during his or her lifetime chooses between several choices.


1.    “I do not believe in God.”

There is no God.  Why believe in some figment of an imagination that really is not there.


Of course, there is always the annoying question that lurks in the back of everyone’s intellect of how this amazing, complicated, dynamic life, and the sustaining system of life ever came to be…while, “coming from nothing” just doesn’t seem to satisfy.  You are making a huge bet in not believing in God, when every known civilization in the history of the world records believing in and worshipping a deity. And every near-death experience today, that can be recalled, includes deity, etc., etc., etc.. !  So, if there is a god, you won’t be dead three seconds before the reality of God will profoundly change your mind.  Is your life just more convenient to not believe in God?


2.    “I believe that there is a god somewhere and if I am good enough, I will be OK.”

There, most likely, is “a man upstairs” somewhere.  I have no idea who or what it is – something had to create life.  All gods are the same anyway.  In the mean time, I’ll try to live my life being a nice person, helping others when I can.


Unfortunately, some gods exist who definitely condone and even command evil and deceptive ways, compared to a supreme God who is Good and also who is Just, Humble, Holy and a Provider of Salvation – how could all gods be the same?  The contrast is too significant.  There is good and there is evil in the physical and the spiritual world.


3.    “I believe in ‘me’ – it doesn’t matter if there is a god or not.”

It doesn’t matter if there is “a man upstairs”; I’m going to do my own thing.  “Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die.”  “Work hard, play hard, get to the top, and whoever has the most toys when they die, wins.”


Why do I still have more than a tinge of guilt, lack of purpose, and lack of real security and fulfillment, in my fun-filled, pleasure seeking life?  My “bucket list” is pretty full, but my satisfaction in life seems to always be looking for something more.


4.    “I believe in my religion, and the god(s) of my religion.”

I submit to a religion, a god(s) or spiritual entity (mostly, because I was born into a religious family, or have friends in the religion).


This religion requires me to obey its rules, or bad things will happen to me, but I have no idea if I will have done enough good things to be accepted when I die.


5.    “I believe in God, the Creator of all things, and in His Son, Jesus Christ.”


·      I believe in God, the Creator of heaven and earth and all life.


·      I believe God gave us the Bible to instruct and teach us in our relationship with Him.


·      I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s Son, who came to be our Messiah, our Savior from sin – to heal our broken relationship with God.


·      I believe Jesus died and rose again to conquer sin and death.


·      I believe that those who repent from their sin and trust Him as the Sacrifice for their sins will be born into God’s family and have eternal life.  


·      I believe that Jesus Christ will one day come again as King of kings and Lord of lords, to rule and reign in His Eternal Kingdom.


·      I believe by grace through faith in Christ’s provision that I am a Child of God.


There are realities that reinforce God’s Presence around us, and there are things that look like realities (virtual realities), which conform to our own desires of how we want God to fit into the way we want to live our life – outside of accountability to God.



Virtual Realities vs. Realities


Virtual Realities are becoming an entertainment phenomenon these days.  One can put on various types of headsets that can transform a barren room into a lush garden, foreboding medieval castle, or war-ravaged battlefield.  The graphics are so dynamic and stimulating you can almost believe that you are fighting dragons, demons or demigods of an alien race.  Yet all you hold in your hand is a harmless plastic weapon that digitally communicates your “death defying” movements.  And, all you are actually walking through is a dark maze of dull gray hallways in a cavernous arcade.  The headset on your eyes brings high definition, dazzling graphic displays into your mind and then you are transported to an alternative reality.  Welcome to virtual reality.


In some ways, virtual reality has been around along time.  It’s called stimulation of our imagination.  Stories told by the ancients, words written in books and magazines, radio, and then TV and movies have allowed our imagination to take us to amazing and sometime dark and forbidding places.


All creation in the universe and world around us, including our very living breathing life screams the reality of God’s Presence.  Yet, our spiritual enemy, Satan, has played in the realms of the human mind and emotions for eons.  There is no greater deception than when “virtual realities” of fantasies, infatuations, dreams, lusts, and/or emotional bewilderment causes disbelief in God’s existence.


Who is a fool?  The person who says in his or her heart, “There is no God.”  That person is a fool, and they most likely have been fooled by some form of “virtual realities” played in the arcade of their mind.  (Ps. 52:1)


1. Virtual Realities:  Problems when Disbelieving in God and/or trusting only in ourselves


·      The problem of the origin of life.

·      The problem of situational ethics.

·      The problem of unsustainable justice, resulting in no justice, tainted justice, unsatisfying justice, or vigilante vengeance and/or retribution.

·      The problem of the rejection of authority and accountability – toward anyone but ourselves.

·      The problem of guilt, depression, substance abuse, and attempted suicide.

·      The problem of forgiveness,

·      The problem of life after death.


2. Realities:  Believing in God


·      God created all things.

·      We as humans were created in God’s own Image…unique.

·      The dynamic earth, the phenomenal universe – macro and micro.

·      The basics of human ethics are established in the Ten Commandments.

·      The issues of Guilt, cleansing and forgiveness.

·      Justice is established through God’s Law and finalized in eternity.  There will be a final Judgment regarding all we have done:  good and bad.

·      Qualities of God evidenced in mankind: love, forgiveness and the Fruit of the Spirit, vs. evil.

·      There is life after death.


Virtual realities are a struggle, because we all have a carnal nature that desperately wants to assert itself – in the absence of God!


Natural Desires often triumph over Spiritual Desires


“The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak!” (Matt. 26:41)


Even though one may have a strong “spiritual” heritage, they may have considerable personal diversion from the principles of their faith because of the carnality of their flesh.


Take a historical sampling of the kings of Israel leading to Israel’s demise and destruction, and you will see how quickly the wickedness of the human heart can overcome even strong spiritual heritage.  Can that happen to us or to our families?  If we follow our carnal heart, it can.  Leadership can also lead us astray.


The Devastating Trail of Carnality through Negative Leadership in Israel… leading to Destruction

Old Testament Samplings of Wicked Kings: 1 Kings 15:25–16:34


Background: Jeroboam led a rebellion against Solomon’s son Rehoboam – because of Solomon’s sin (1 Kings 11:33) and the kingdom of Israel was divided (1 Kings 12).  In this now divided kingdom of Israel and Judah, in order to protect the new kingdom from capitulating back to Judah to worship God in the Temple at Jerusalem (Judah’s capital), Jeroboam created two primary places of false worship in his own kingdom away from Jerusalem.  These false places of worship, set up by Jeroboam (which also incorporated the depraved cult practices of the nations around them), became a great downfall and sin to the people of Israel as king after king in Israel led the people of Israel to worship at their false idolatrous shrines, imitating the worship of God at His Temple in Jerusalem.

Nadab, Jeroboam’s son, King of Israel 1 Kings 15:25-26

·      Reigned two years and did evil in the eyes of the LORD.

·      He walked in the ways of his father and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit (worshipping at more convenient shrines established to protect the northern divided kingdom, rather than at God’s Temple in Jerusalem).

Baasha King of Israel 1 Kings 15:27 – 16:7

·      Plotted against and killed King Nadab, son of Jeroboam.

·      As soon as he began to reign, he killed Jeroboam’s whole family because of the sins Jeroboam had committed and had caused Israel to commit, and because he provoked the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger.

·      There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their reigns.

·      Baasha became king of all Israel and he reigned twenty-four years.

·      He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, walking in the ways of Jeroboam and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit.

Elah King of Israel 1 Kings 16:8-10

·      Elah, son of Baasha, reigned two years.

·      Zimri, one of Elah’s officials who commanded half his chariots, plotted against Elah and struck him down while he was getting drunk in the home of the man in charge of his palace.

·      Zimri succeeded Elah as king.

Zimri King of Israel 1 Kings 16:11-20

·      As soon as Zimri began to reign he killed off Baasha’s whole family. He did not spare a single male, whether relative or friend, because of all the sins Baasha and his son Elah had committed and had caused Israel to commit, so that they provoked the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger by their worthless idols.

·      Zimri reigned seven days.

·      When the Israelites in the camp heard that Zimri had plotted against the king and murdered him, they proclaimed Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that very day there in the camp.

·      Omri and all the Israelites with him laid siege to the city from which Zimri was ruling.

·      When Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the citadel of the royal palace and set the palace on fire around him. So he died, because of the sins he had committed, doing evil in the eyes of the Lord and walking in the ways of Jeroboam and in the sin he had committed and had caused Israel to commit.

Omri King of Israel 1 Kings 16:21-28

·      The people of Israel were split into two factions; half supported Tibni son of Ginath for king, and the other half supported Omri.

·      Omri’s followers proved stronger than those of Tibni son of Ginath. So Tibni died and Omri became king.

·      Omri reigned twelve years.

·      Omri moved the capital city to Samaria, which he had built.

·      Omri did evil in the eyes of the Lord and sinned more than all those before him.

·      Omri died, was buried in Samaria, and his son, Ahab, became king.

Ahab Becomes King of Israel 1 Kings 16:29-33

·      Ahab reigned over Israel twenty-two years.

·      Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him.

·      He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him.

·      He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria.

·      Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than did all the kings of Israel before him.

What is going to happen to Israel after all these evil kings and their leading Israel to sin…and even more evil kings to come?  Devastation and Destruction.  (Thankfully there were some good kings scattered in-between but the wickedness of the evil kings eventually destroyed the kingdom.)

Yes, destruction would come, but there would also eventually be repentance and restoration!  That is where Ezra (and the book of Ezra) fit in.


Ezra 7–10

Ezra Goes to Jerusalem from Babylon - Ezra 7:1-10

Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a teacher well versed in the Law of Moses, which the Lord, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted him everything he asked, for the hand of the Lord his God was on him.  Some of the Israelites, including priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers and temple servants, also came up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.

The gracious hand of his God was on him, for Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.


King Artaxerxes’ Letter Authorizing Ezra’s Return and Expenditures       

- Ezra 7:11-26

This is a copy of the letter King Artaxerxes had given to Ezra the priest and teacher, a man learned in matters concerning the commands and decrees of the Lord for Israel. (Please read the content of King Artzxerxes in your Bible, Ezra 7:12-26.)

Ezra Gives Praise to God for God’s Favor with the King and God’s Hand of Blessing

- Ezra 7:27-28

Praise be to the Lord, the God of our fathers, who has put it into the king’s heart to bring honor to the house of the Lord in Jerusalem in this way and who has extended his good favor to me before the king and his advisers and all the king’s powerful officials. Because the hand of the Lord my God was on me, I took courage and gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me.


List of the Family Leaders Returning With Ezra – Ezra 8:1-14

The family heads and those registered with them who came up with Ezra from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes were listed next: 1,496 men.

Extensive Travel Preparations and Prayer for God’s Protection                       Ezra 8:15-31

·      They assembled them at the Ahava canal and camped there three days.


·      Upon checking, no Levites, who could serve in the temple were found.


·      Leaders and men of learning were sent to the leader in Casiphia to appeal for attendants who could serve in the Temple.


·      Because the gracious hand of our God was on us, they brought us 250 capable men.  All were registered by name.


·      Ezra proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions.


·      They did not want to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, “The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him.”  So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.


·      Twelve of the leading priests, and ten of their brothers weighed out the offering of silver and gold and the articles that the king, his advisers, his officials and all Israel present there had donated for the house of our God.


o   650 talents of silver, silver articles weighing 100 talents

o   100 talents of gold,

o   20 bowls of gold valued at 1,000 darics (a ¼ oz. coin of the day),

o   Two fine articles of polished bronze, as precious as gold.


·      Ezra told them, “You as well as these articles are consecrated to the Lord. The silver and gold are a freewill offering to the Lord, the God of your fathers.  Guard them carefully until you weigh them out in the chambers of the house of the Lord in Jerusalem before the leading priests and the Levites and the family heads of Israel.”


·      Then the priests and Levites received the silver and gold and sacred articles that had been weighed out to be taken to the house of our God in Jerusalem.


·      On the twelfth day of the first month the group set out from the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on them, and He protected them from enemies and bandits along the way.


Arrival and Accountability in Jerusalem, Thanksgiving Sacrifices and the King’s Orders Relayed – Ezra 8: 32-36


·      They arrived in Jerusalem, and rested three days.


·      On the fourth day, in the Temple, they weighed out the silver and gold and the sacred articles into the hands of the priests in charge.


·      Everything was accounted for by number and weight, and the entire weight was recorded at that time.


·      Exiles who had returned from captivity sacrificed burnt offerings to the God of Israel, a burnt offering to the Lord:


o   Twelve bulls for all Israel,

o   Ninety-six rams,

o   Seventy-seven male lambs and, as a sin offering,

o   Twelve male goats.


·      They also delivered the king’s orders to the royal satraps and to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, who then gave assistance to the people and to the house of God.

The Problem of Intermarriage and Detestable Practices Recognized               – Ezra 9:1-2

·      The sad report of intermarriage with foreign wives, with their detestable practices was given to Ezra.  This was not only true of the people of Israel, but this also included the priests and Levites.


·      This involved heathen nations like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians and Amorites.


·      The leaders and officials had led the way in this unfaithfulness.


Ezra’s Prayer of Distress and Disgrace over Israel’s Sin of Intermingling with the World – Ezra 9:3-15


·      When Ezra heard this, he tore his tunic and cloak, pulled his hair and beard and sat down appalled.


·      Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathered around Ezra because of this unfaithfulness of the exiles. And I sat there appalled until the evening sacrifice.


·      At the evening sacrifice, Ezra rose from his self-abasement, with his tunic and cloak torn, and fell on his knees with his hands spread out to the Lord his God and prayed (please read Ezra 9:6-15 in your Bibles)



The People’s Confession of Sin and Ezra’s Confrontation and Call for Repentance – Ezra 10:1-15

·      While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God, a large crowd of Israelites—men, women and children—gathered around him. They too wept bitterly.


·      Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, one of the descendants of Elam, said to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the peoples around us. But in spite of this, there is still hope for Israel.


Now let us make a covenant before our God to send away all these women and their children, in accordance with the counsel of my lord and of those who fear the commands of our God. Let it be done according to the Law.  Rise up; this matter is in your hands. We will support you, so take courage and do it.”


·      Then Ezra rose up and put the leading priests and Levites and all Israel under oath to do what had been suggested.  And they took the oath.  Then Ezra withdrew from before the house of God and went to the room of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. While he was there, he ate no food and drank no water, because he continued to mourn over the unfaithfulness of the exiles.


·      A proclamation was then issued throughout Judah and Jerusalem for all the exiles to assemble in Jerusalem.  Anyone who failed to appear within three days would forfeit all his property, in accordance with the decision of the officials and elders, and would himself be expelled from the assembly of the exiles.


·      Within the three days, all the men of Judah and Benjamin had gathered in Jerusalem. And on the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the people were sitting in the square before the house of God, greatly distressed by the occasion and because of the rain.  Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful; you have married foreign women, adding to Israel’s guilt.  Now make confession to the Lord, the God of your fathers, and do his will. Separate yourselves from the peoples around you and from your foreign wives.”


·      The whole assembly responded with a loud voice: “You are right! We must do as you say.  But there are many people here and it is the rainy season; so we cannot stand outside. Besides, this matter cannot be taken care of in a day or two, because we have sinned greatly in this thing.  Let our officials act for the whole assembly. Then let everyone in our towns who has married a foreign woman come at a set time, along with the elders and judges of each town, until the fierce anger of our God in this matter is turned away from us.”


·      Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah, supported by Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite, opposed this.


Ezra and Selected Leaders Investigate the Specific Cases of Intermarriages – Ezra 10:16-17


·      So the exiles did as was proposed.


·      Ezra the priest selected men who were family heads, one from each family division, and all of them designated by name.


·      On the first day of the tenth month they sat down to investigate the cases,  and by the first day of the first month they finished dealing with all the men who had married foreign women.


One hundred eleven family heads were listed by name, of those Guilty of Intermarriage, from the Priests, the Levites, the Singers, the Gatekeepers, and the Families of those in Israel – Ezra 10:18-44


Some questions it may be wise for us to consider:

§  How are you choosing to believe in God?  What do your actions reveal?

§  Are we choosing to do what we know would be pleasing before God, or are we simply doing what we want to do?

§  How are we leading our family and encouraging our friends?

§  How temporary is this life…and everything we have?

§  What “record” (as we have seen with Ezra) are we leaving for our life? (Matt. 12:33-37)

§  What is the greatest hope we have in the future?

§  How do eternity and our relationship with God factor into our lives and the decisions we make right now in our circles of influence?