Study the Word

Guest (Male): Illustrating a very important truth, here's Pastor Thom Keller.

Thom Keller: If you were taking a train through Europe and you passed through a country and you saw a gas station and on the marquee it said the gas is $500 a gallon, $7,000 to fill your gas tank, as you're viewing it from a train, would you be upset? Well, you'd take note of it. You'd be shocked by it. But you wouldn't be upset. You wouldn't stop and kick and rail and scream and moan. Why? It's not your home. You know if we just took this a little more seriously in our own lives, this is not our home.

Guest (Male): We're just passing through and the train we're on is bound for glory. What a difference that makes in the life of the Christian. For heaven's not merely a destination, it's a motivation. Thanks for tuning our way. This is Study the Word with Thom Keller, a ministry of Calvary Chapel Lebanon.

We'll meet you in the book of Ezra and we'll see an Old Testament picture of an important New Testament truth. We have an eye on chapter two; it contains the historical account of the priests and the Levites returning to Jerusalem from Babylon. It's telling and will help us evaluate our motivations.

Thom Keller: Why did they return? Remember that in Babylon, the priests had to provide for their own families. They had to get a job, they had to work, they had to buy food, they had to maintain a house and housing. That's not how it was in Israel.

In Israel, the priests were to be cared for by the tithes of the other 11 tribes. They didn't provide for their families; the rest of the nation did. Hebrews 7:5 says this even in the New Testament. Most think Paul wrote Hebrews. Now, the law of Moses required that the priests, who are descendants of Levi, must collect a tithe from the rest of the people of Israel who are also descendants of Abraham.

So there it is. Back in Israel, they were to be cared for by the people. In Babylon, a different picture. So why did so many priests come back? They wanted to get back into that good thing. In Israel, their needs would be provided and it's worth noting in verses 40 to 42, it says these are the Levites then who returned from the exile.

It gives a number of Levites, but there are only 341 Levites. Now put this into perspective: there were over 4,000 priests that returned. They are a small group of the Levites. I mean, there are a lot of descendants of Levi beyond the priests. And yet, only 341 Levites returned beyond the priests.

Said another way, the total tribe of Levi that would have returned would have been about 4,500. 4,200 of those were priests. Only 341 were from all the other families besides the family of Aaron. Why were there so few Levites that returned? Because there would have been so many more than just the priestly line.

The reason is because it would appear that during the exile, the descendants of Aaron, the priests, were able to gain control of the priesthood and they made the Levites their servants. This is very significant as we look at the New Testament in Jesus's day. This is what Rollins, a commentator, says.

He said, "Jealousy of the priests must have grown up during the captivity. The priestly conclave had also succeeded in reducing the importance and significance of the Levites and their office. And by the time of Christ, the high priest and his hierarchy—remember Caiaphas in the New Testament—the high priest and his hierarchy had seized complete control over the whole nation. And shortly after the crucifixion of Christ, these would rebel against Rome in their vain attempt to make their control total once again."

He says right here in Ezra, we detect the very root of the priestly conspiracy that led to the final ruin of Israel. Isn't that interesting? It's this return where they're going to seize their power, where they're going to take their role. They see this as an opportune moment to take control of the nation of Israel. That's one of the reasons so many returned.

The idea is that even in the exile, it began. And when Cyrus said you can return, this is our chance. No king, there will be no one over us. And that went on for 400 years and by the time Christ came along, those men in those positions were of incredible power.

Now, the role of the Levites, these smaller servants they've been reduced to, they're musicians. 1 Chronicles 25, we have some verses here. It says David and the army commanders then appointed men from the family of Asaph to proclaim God's messages to the accompaniment of lyres, harps, and cymbals. And then it gives a name of their names. So they're to do that.

So we have the musicians. The second ones, it says these are the divisions of the gatekeepers. These are all tribes of Levi. So the first category of Levites were singers and musicians. The second group were gatekeepers. Musicians, gatekeepers. And the third, they worked in 1 Chronicles 26:20. It says this: "Other Levites were in charge of the treasuries of the house of God and the treasuries of the gifts dedicated to the Lord."

So take that entire tribe of Levi, back out those descendants of Aaron, all those remaining were musicians, gatekeepers, and in charge of the treasury. Now, the reason that's significant is that if you go to Numbers 35:2, we find this out. The gatekeepers, the Levites, only worked two weeks a year. That's it. They worked two weeks a year and there were 400 assigned every two-week period.

Every week in the temple, there were 400 gatekeepers, 400 singers and musicians, and 400 men to be in charge of the treasury. And they took two-week turns, then took off, and that was it. Can you imagine 400 musicians in the temple? But that was their role. And the Levites were not given any land. That's significant.

Numbers 35:2, Moses speaking, "Command the people of Israel to give to the Levites from their property certain towns to live in along with the surrounding pastureland." And then in Joshua 14:4, as they go into the land, Joshua says that the descendants of Joseph had become two separate tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim, and the Levites were given no land at all, only towns to live in with surrounding pasturelands for their livestock and possessions.

And the reason was because God said to the Levites, "I am your inheritance. You don't need to inherit land; I am your inheritance." So he provided cities for them, but no land. They didn't need land because they were provided food by the other 11 tribes. They didn't have to farm; they were given no land. That's going to be significant. There is no land given to the tribe of Levi because they did not need land, but that's how the allotment took place.

Moving on to Ezra 2:43, it says this: "The descendants of the following temple servants returned from the exile." Then it lists some of the temple servants. Now, in the King James, it calls these Nethinim. And the question is: who are the Nethinim? Well, there are two ideas, these temple servants. The first is that they were the Gibeonites.

If you remember in Joshua 9, when Joshua crossed into the promised land across the Jordan, God said to destroy all the people that lived nearby. The Gibeonites heard about it and they tried to save their skins, so they showed up—they were very nearby—and they showed up with old saddlebags, old wineskins, moldy bread, and said, "Oh, we're from very far away. We know when we left, this bread was hot and fresh and our wineskins were new. We're so far away. Look at all of our stuff; it's old."

And it says that Joshua and the elders were convinced and they made a vow not to hurt them. And then the truth came out. But because they made a vow, they would not break it. They were upset at the Gibeonites for tricking them, but they would not break their vow not to hurt them. And the Bible says that from that point forward, they were made wood choppers and water carriers. That's what the Gibeonites did, wood choppers and water carriers.

So these Nethinim, the idea is that it could have been descendants of the Gibeonites who were still water carriers and wood choppers. Or some say they were descendants of Solomon's servants. Solomon had a huge kingdom and some believe that these were actually some slaves that converted to Judaism and were still listed as the descendants of Solomon's servants. As an example, in the names that are given there in the Hebrew, the one word means "gazelle keeper," the other name means "the scribe." So there were some practical positions there, 392 in total.

Then verse 59 says this: "Another group returned to Jerusalem at the time from the towns of Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Kerub, Addan, and Immer." Then it lists some towns. Then it says verse 62: "But they had lost their genealogical records, so they were not allowed to serve as priests." And up in verse 59, it says, "However, they could not prove that they or their families were descendants of Israel."

So there's this whole group of people here that are coming back, but they can't prove that they're Israelites. Now, that was a very big deal for these 652 people. And do you know why? Because when God divided up the land, when Moses divided up the land among the 11 tribes that remained—Levites got no land—the 11 got divided. It was divided on the basis of your family origin that you could prove you were from one of these 11 tribes.

If you could not prove you were from the 11 tribes, you got no land. No land. You had no source of income, you had no ability to farm. You got no land. So it was a very big deal. If you think this is just about bragging rights—"I'm from this tribe, I'm from that tribe, where are you? I don't know, I can't find my records"—it's more practical than that. They would be given no land.

But then it says it goes on in verse 61. It says three families of priests—and it lists them—also returned. Verse 62: "But they had also lost their genealogical records and they were not allowed to serve as priests. The governor would not even let them eat the priests' share of food." Zerubbabel was the governor. Zerubbabel would not even let them eat the priests' share of food from the sacrifices until there was a priest who could consult the Lord about the matter by means of sacred lots.

So first of all, it says that these priests also lost their records and they were not allowed to eat of the food that was allocated for the priests, which we said earlier, the 11 tribes would have fed them, until it says they could consult—here it says sacred lots. Your Bible may say Urim and Thummim. I looked this up and the way this is actually pronounced is Ur and Tome. It means lights and perfection.

The high priest had this ephod around his chest, had the 12 stones, each stone a different color representing a different tribe. And behind that, there was a pouch. And the Urim and the Thummim or the Ur and Tome were kept inside of there. Now, nobody knows exactly how they worked. Records don't—no one really knows. If you find something that says this is how it is, no one really knows.

But the meaning is lights and perfection. And so the idea was that a little parchment with God's name, the Tetragrammaton, this Y-H-V-H or J-H-V-H, was written on the Tetragrammaton, slipped under that pouch. And when that parchment was slipped under the pouch, these stones would glow. They'd begin to glow. And out of that, they would transmit messages to the high priest.

These were used throughout the Old Testament. You'll find many times David consulted the Ur and Tome, Moses consulted the Ur and Tome. It's used throughout. The words "Ur and Tome" in the Hebrew begin with the first letter and the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. And so, beginning and end. Some think one went left, one went right. Some think one stone would glow and the other one would not. Yes, no. The yes would glow, the other one was not.

Josephus, who lived much closer to the time, the Jewish historian who lived during the time of Jesus, he said that the answers from the Ur and Tome involved questions being asked by great rays of light shining out of certain jewels in the breastplate, with each of the 12 jewels taken to represent different letters of the alphabet, and the sequence of lighting would then spell out the answer.

Josephus in Antiquities of the Jews says this: "It was by the nature of a button on the high priest's shoulder that one of these stones would shine out bright rays darting out and being seen by those even most remote." So we don't know exactly what it looked like, but they would consult it for answers.

In the Old Testament, it's talked about if there was ever a murder and you couldn't determine who murdered the person, you were to consult the high priest, he would consult the Ur and Tome and from that they would determine who the murderer was. So it was a very practical court of final appeals as far as determining. Don't you wish we had that? Wouldn't that be handy to have?

Then going on to verse 64, it says this: "So the total number of people returning was 7,300 servants, 200 singers." Just we'll make this point: they took 736 horses, 245 mules, 435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys. It would appear that these people did pretty well in their 70 years in captivity. I mean, they have 7,000 slaves among them.

They have—let me put this in a modern vernacular: 736 horses means 736 Lexuses, 245 mules are 245 tractors, 435 camels are 435 Jeeps, 6,720 donkeys are 6,720 Ford pickup trucks. So out of the 42,000 that returned, they had quite a few vehicles among them. We'll look at the money that they came back with; this is interesting.

In verse 68, it says, "When they arrived at the temple of the Lord, some family leaders gave generously toward the rebuilding of God's temple. And each leader gave as much as he could. A total of their gifts came to 61,000 gold coins and 6,250 pounds of silver and 100 robes for priests." Now, the word that's used here is a daric. This is the currency that they used at this day, 500 BC. And it translates into 1,100 pounds of gold.

Now, I've said this before; I always find this interesting. One cubic foot of gold—one foot by one foot by one foot—weighs 1,188 pounds. So you'd be overweight on a half-ton pickup truck carrying a one-foot by one-foot by one-foot cube of gold. That's how heavy this stuff is. But at today's prices of $1,771 an ounce, this was $31 million of gold that they had. $31 million and another bunch of more money in silver.

And although it sounds like a lot of money, if you divide it out among 42,000, it's only $800 per person. So it's a lot, but it's not—what is interesting is Zerubbabel gave a good bit more. The governor, if you can put Nehemiah 7, we find here that he gave extensively. "Altogether the whole assembly was 42,360."

And verse 70 it says, "And some of the heads of the fathers' houses gave to the work. The governor, Zerubbabel, gave to the treasury 1,000 gold darics, 50 basins, 500." And this—the 1,000 darics are 19 pounds in gold, translated to today's values. He gave $538,000. Now, I think that's interesting after 70 years in the exile. He has accumulated $538,000.

The people were prosperous in Babylon. In fact, Josephus, the Jewish historian says, "When Cyrus said this to the Israelites that they could go back, the rulers of the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin with the Levites and priests, they went in haste to Jerusalem, yet did many of them stay in Babylon as they were not willing to leave their possessions."

So when you read this, if you think that the Jews said, "Hallelujah! We can go back home," and there was just this mad dash to get there, they were tenant farmers, they were industrious, they were hardworking, they prospered, and many did not want to go because they did not want to leave their possessions back there.

Now, how does this apply to us? You know at the end of every Old Testament passage, we should ask ourselves this question: how does this verse point to Jesus? That's one of the first tests anytime you read an Old Testament passage because the whole purpose of the Old Testament is to point to Jesus. Here's how it points to Jesus.

If you can put Jesus in the synagogue. In Ezra 1 it says that Cyrus had been given all the kingdoms of the earth and was appointed to build God a temple in Jerusalem. Jesus was given all the kingdoms of the earth by God and was appointed to rebuild a temple, but not a temple made with human hands.

Jesus said, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up again." Jesus was referring to his own body. Jesus was and is the final temple. Jesus is now the place where we go for atonement because that place of sacrifice is no longer needed. Jesus's sacrifice, his death and resurrection, his death on the cross, was the final sacrifice once and for all.

Secondly is the question, how does this apply to me? Is Babylon your home or is heaven your home? Is Babylon your home or is heaven your home? Statistically, 50 percent of you are upset that President Obama won the election. Statistically, 50 percent of you are delighted that Governor Romney lost.

But here's why you should temper your anger or glee: this is not our home. This is not our home. We're just passing through. Jesus is the king of the kingdom that we belong to. Aren't you glad? Aren't you glad no one can vote him out of office? Praise God. We're just passing through, so why be upset?

Listen, if you were taking a train through Europe and you passed through a country and you saw a gas station and on the marquee it said the gas is $500 a gallon, $7,000 to fill your gas tank, as you're viewing it from a train, would you be upset? Well, you'd take note of it. You'd be shocked by it. But you wouldn't be upset. You wouldn't stop and kick and rail and scream and moan. Why? It's not your home.

You know if we just took this a little more seriously in our own lives, this is not our home. You're not home yet. Passing through, a vapor. It's going to happen so fast. You think a passport looks like the stamps that you get? Your real passport: paid in full on that day when you get home.

And the last point is this: God keeps his promises. God said that in 70 years they'd return; they returned. God said 200 years before Cyrus was born that Cyrus would be the king that would deliver them. It happened. There are 2,500 prophecies in the Bible; 2,000 have already been fulfilled. And he will keep his promises to you. How does it apply to you? God had said these things will happen.

Just listen as I read these. These are his promises to you: "I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. No one can snatch them out of my hand." That's for you. "All the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will in no means cast out." That's you.

John 6: "And this is the will of my Father who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have everlasting life and I will raise him up on the last day." That's for you. John 14: "Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house there are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself so that where I am you may be also."

Those are promises that are going to come true for you. That's your home, that's where you're going. As we close, I'm going to give an invitation. If you want to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, if you just feel God calling you to do that, please come forward. If you want to rededicate your life to the Lord, we ask you to come.

If you want to live for heaven, if you're being encumbered by the junk in this life and this world and say, "You know what? I don't want to live for this world. I want to live for heaven. I want that to be where my heart is," would you come, please? Again, just respond as the Holy Spirit leads.

Guest (Male): God promises and keeps his promises. As you just heard Pastor Thom Keller invites you to respond to God's promises to you. To come to him is another way of saying believe in him. Thom will return momentarily to lead you in a prayer to do just that, right here on Study the Word. We've been in the book of Ezra.

You can hear this study again by going to ccleb.com. Visit ccleb.com and have a look under resources, and there you'll find our teaching archives. Or call and request a CD copy at 717-507-7862. That's 717-507-7862. And this month, we're pleased to offer you an excellent book by Andrew Murray called *The Blessings of Obedience*.

Obedience isn't a popular word these days. We live in a world where people fight for their will and way and consider rules an inconvenience. But obedience to God is much more than just following rules. It's a matter of the heart and a true blessing. Andrew Murray has an eye on God's love behind his commands and the grace the Lord offers us that makes it all possible to obey.

We'll send this to you with our thanks for a gift of any amount to Study the Word. And please remember your contribution makes it all possible for us to present Study the Word on this station. Call 717-507-7862. Or you can write to Study the Word, 740 Willow Street, Lebanon, Pennsylvania, 17046.

And you're always invited to join us for a worship service here at Calvary Chapel Lebanon. Turn to ccleb.com for our service times, church news, directions, and more info. And please introduce yourself to Pastor Thom after the service. He'd love that. And download our free Android app when you get a chance; search Calvary Chapel Lebanon in the Google Play Store. To lead us in prayer once again, here's Thom.

Thom Keller: Father, we are so grateful, Lord, that this is not our home. And when things crowd in on us, when problems crush us, when we look at things around the world, Lord, this isn't home. We are so grateful for that, Lord. Thank you, Jesus, for saving us. And if you're someone that's not in that relationship yet, boy, you can do that this morning. Pray this prayer in your heart; God can hear your heart.

Father God, I acknowledge that I've sinned. I've blown it and I'm sorry. And I ask you to forgive me for those sins. And I do receive Jesus as my Lord and Savior to save me from the penalty of my sins, the penalty I deserve to pay. Thank you for saving me. Now help me, Jesus, to live a life that would honor you. And for the rest of us, Lord, help us to live for heaven, to remember that that is our home. We pray in Christ's name.

Guest (Male): We'll pick up where we left off in Ezra next time on Study the Word with Pastor Thom Keller. And until then, keep studying the word.