1 Grow as a person, a disciple and a leader: notes for personal use and study groups
2 Dear all, I am so excited about our new series The Growth Course. Over the next 15 months we will continue with our detailed and applied Bible teaching while having a tight focus on the spiritual and personal growth of our community. This season we re beginning in the book of Ezra which will resonate tightly with what we are being called to do at St Albans, as well as help us grow as individuals. As you can see from the 7 points of our vision (right) this series and this adventure into St Albans hits every single one of those vision aims. I expect you ll be wanting to come to the Home Teaching day on 10 May and please do access the tuesday night seminars (dates on the back), or the focused 4:30pm. Please get involved and grow with me during this amazing season together. Every blessing, Richard
The Book of Ezra: Some background 3 The three books of Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther, which cover about 100 years, form the closing section of the Old Testament. They tell the story of the Jews return from Babylon, or the rebuilding of the temple and of Jerusalem, and of the reestablishment of the Jews national life in their homeland. The last three Old Testament prophets - Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi - lived and worked in the same period. Q: What was the exile : A: There were two exiles... In the first one the 10 tribes known as Israel are taken by the Assyrians in 721 BC. This second one was of the 2 remaining tribes Judah and Benjamin. They were simply known as Judah [hence Jew ]. This exile was to Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar, but it happened in three phases from 606BC to 586BC. Q: Why the three phases of the exile? A: It was part strategy and part obstinate rebellion by the Jews. Nebuchadnezzar had a plan to simply subdue the Jews by removing their ruling class (the court). Hence young Daniel and his friends were deported in 606BC. When this failed to subdue the people he took the artisans and craftsmen including the prophet Ezekiel in 597BC, and finally the rest where taken or massacred after a bloody seige in 586BC.
Q: Where was God in all this? A: The bible answer is that he was in control... If you read the story in 2 Chronicles, God warns the wayward Israelites again and again to return to him. His judgement on them eventually comes in the form of Nebuchadnezzar, but Nebuchadnezzar himself ends up being judged for his harsh rule and not realising that it was the LORD God who gave him his supreme position. Through Ezekiel God tells the Jews in Babylon to settle down there and work for the good of the city, but he had also promised through Jeremiah that after 70 years they could go home... For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you... Q: What happens after 70 years? A: Daniel starts to pray... and the people are allowed home... God raised up a new emporer called Cyrus (as prophesied by Isaiah 44/45 perhaps 200 years before). In 537BC he decrees that the Jews can go home to rebuild the temple worship and the city. In return they have to pray to the LORD God for him. Q: What do they do after this second exodus back to the promised land? A: Tragically many are happy where they are in prosperous Babylon But Zerubbabel is appointed governor of Judah by Cyrus, and has with him about 50,000 people (including up to 11,000 from the dispersed 10 tribes of Israel). Zerubbabel is the grandson of King Jehoiachin. It takes them until 515BC to complete the temple rebuild. The prophet Haggai shows that God gets particularly upset at the slowness of the rebuild of the temple, while the people build their own houses and lives. Q: Why is it called the book of Ezra? A: Ezra came back in the next return from Babylon 60 years later (458BC) Ezra was a priest who went to teach the people the law of God, beautify the temple and restore the temple worship service. He was also a scribe who recorded much of the history of Israel - probably including the books of 1/2 Chronicles and Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther. He is said to have started the system of synangogue worship and to have been the president of the first ever Great Synagogue founded by Nehemiah. The Great Synagogue was a 4
5 group of 120 leaders who oversaw Jewish life until 275BC - and brought together the canonical books of the Old Testament. Q: Where does Nehemiah fit in? A: He came back in the third return from exile 444BC to restore the still broken walls of Jerusalem. By now the Jews had been back for 100 years and made little progress beyond rebuilding the temple and a relatively insignificant temple at that... every time they made progress their more powerful neighbours would intimidate them into stopping them or use politics to block their progress. But Esther is still Queen of Persia at this point and the Jews would have had great favour with King Artaxerces. When plans come together... Ezra 1 Introduction: What s the hardest leadership situation you have found yourself in? How did it work out? Read 2 Chronicles 36:5-21 What had gone wrong in Judah? Who does God give his people over to? How are things looking for Jerusalem and the Jewish people? If you were a prophet speaking at that time what do you think God might have been calling you to say? Jeremiah was the weeping prophet in Jerusalem who knew God was bringing judgement and exile... yet in Jer 25:11-12 and Jer 19:10-14 he prophesies a much brighter future 70 years down the line.. Read Daniel 4:28-37 In chapter 4 Nebuchadnezzar has had an unsettling dream from God. Daniel interprets it for him. What happens to the Babylonian despot Nebuchadnezzar to fulfill that dream in Daniel 4:31-33? In the following chapter God then removes Nebuchadnezzar s grandson/ successor from the throne with some impressive writing on the wall. What did the writing mean (Daniel 5:25-26?)
6 What impression do we get about God s power over history from these two stories? Read 2 Chronicles 36:22-23 Who does God now raise up to accomplish God s promise of hope to Jeremiah? Note how this also fulfills the promises in Isaiah 41:2 and Isaiah 45:1-4,13? What do we learn about this King from those passages? According to Isaiah 45:4 why has God brought Cyrus to prominence? What does this teach us of about God s hand in history? Look at Ezra 1:1-11 What do you notice about the final words of Ezra and the opening words of 2 Chronicles? Jeremiah was the weeping prophet in Jerusalem who knew God was bringing judgement and exile... yet in Jer 25:11-12 and Jer 19:10-14 he prophesies a much brighter future 70 years down the line... How does Cyrus help the reconstruction? (vv.2-4;7-8) What does God do to persuade some to go back according to v.5? What do those Jews who are not going back do to help? (v.6) When you know your mind... Ezra 2:68-3:13 Introduction: Have you ever stepped out in faith to accomplish something others said could not be done? Ddi you think you were doing God s will? What did it feel like to take that adventure? How did you get on? Read Ezra 2:68-70 What do the people do when they return home? Who takes the lead in giving? What is the giving for? What do they then stop to do? Read Ezra 3: 1-9 The events in this passage takes place three months later... why do you think they delayed until then? (cf Leviticus 23:23-43) What do they build first? Why?
Extra info: 61,000 darics = 500kg Gold today costs c. 24,700/kg Gold worth: 12,350,000 5000 minas = 2.8 metric tonnes silver today is worth 19/gram Silver worth: 53,200,000 [1 mina = 5 years wages]. How were the builders feeling during the rebuilding? (v3). What do you think motivated them to keep going? In chapter 2 we have freewill giving whereby money is given to build the temple - a tangible result. But here in chapter 3 we additionally have burnt offering giving where you get nothing back at all - it goes up in smoke! Why do you think God asks his people for sacrifices where they get nothing back? How would you relate that to our #backtolife campaign at the moment? What is the effect on the older people when they realise that the plans for the rebuild is not as impressive as the old temple used to be? What two things is God praised for in v.11?... use these to inspire you to a time of worship as a group. 7 When obstacles mount - Ezra 4: 1-5 Introduction: In your experience what is more likely to catch you out in your Christian life - a head on challenge to what you believe / stand for or a more subtle invitation to compromise? Read 4:1-5 How are the people described in v. 1 who come to the Jewish leader Zerubbabel and offer help? Extra info: After the first exile of the 10 tribes in 721BC [see notes p.3] the Assyrians repopulated the area with people from Syria. What do they offer to do? Looking at the extra info box (right) what can we surmise about their motivations in this? Who else do they come to besides Zerubbabel? Why might that make Zerubbabel s leadership challenge here harder? You can read about it in 2 Kings 17:24-40. They brought their pagan worship into the promised land and, despite intervention from God and the King of Assyria as well they never become worshippers of the LORD God.
8 Having discerned that it was wrong to have help from these people who responds to them? How important do you think it would have been to have a united decision on this matter at this point? What do the enemies then do? (vv 4-5) Skip ahead to Ezra 4: 24. When does the work start again? If you look at the timeline of the Kings of Persia you can see that Ezra 4:6-23 is referring to actions these enemies around them do much later in the time of Xerces and then Artaxerces... why do you think Ezra links their actions into this one passage here? Date King of Persia 559-530 Cyrus the Great 530-522 Cambyses II 522-486 Darius I the Great 486-465 Xerces (Ahasuerus) 465-424 Artaxerces 423-404 Darius II When obstacles mount part b - Ezra 4: 6-23 Introduction: In the previous section some enemies of the Jews seem to pretend to want to help them in order to later undermine them. The Jews say no to the help to rebuild the temple. The temple took from 536 BC until 516 BC to be rebuilt (As we can see in 4:24 work was obstructed and even halted by the opposition until Darius established his rule and encourages and even helps them to complete it - urged on by the prophets Haggai and Zechariah). In this passage we see that the opposition that began with opposing the rebuilding of the temple is still there many years later during the time of rebuilding the city and rebuilding the walls. What strategy do the opponents use in Cyrus the Great s time when the Jews have the emperor on their side? (4:4-5) What strategy do they use when there is a change of ruler? (4:6) If you know the story of the book of Esther how does God preserve the Jewish people during the reign of King Xerxes? What strategy do they use when that King is out of the way? 4:6-16? What points do they make in the letter to turn the King against the Jews? Does it work? vv 17-23
9 However if you skip ahead we find out more about the rule of Artaxerces later. He is the man who 1) in his 7th year in charge sends Ezra back to Jerusalem with royal provision and protection. and then 2) in his 20th year sends Nehemiah back to restore the broken walls... How does Ezra talk about this in 7:27-28? How about Nehemiah in Neh 2:20? What does this say about the LORD God s ability to shape rulers and nations? In your life / work has there been a consistent source of trouble for you over many years? When we face opposition how might we draw inspiration from the sovereignty ( in-chargeness ) of God through history and this story of Ezra and Artaxerces? What would have happened if the Jews had just given up entirely in the face of opposition? What should you take away from today s study? A biblical pattern of what God does: You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. Genesis 50:20 [from the story of Joseph] And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 When the eyes of God are watching - Ezra 5/6 Introduction: So after a brief jump forward [in 4:6-23] to see how the Jews will keep facing opposition and problems over the next decades we re back on the rebuilding of the temple. The work on the temple that began in 536 has now been delayed by some time due to the opposition. But the political landscape is about to change... Enter the prophets and enter King Darius. Darius the Great: Note this is not the same Darius as in Daniel Chapter 6 [lions den]. Daniel 6 is in the time of King Cyrus and the Darius referred to there as King is either the name Cyrus took for himself when ruling in Babylon or the name of his designated local ruler. [Dan7:28]
10 Read 5:1-10 Who causes the work to start again (5:1) Extra info: Zerubbabel means one born in Babylon but he was the grandson of the last but one King of Judah King Jehoiachin. He was the final descendant of David to be entrusted with ruling Israel by occupying powers. He features in the New Testament in Mt 1:12-13 / Luke 3:27. rebuild? Who takes up the challenge of doing the work? How do the ministerial and operations teams work hand in hand to deliver the development of the temple? What two questions do the governors ask of the rebuilders? cf. vv8-10 how would you assess the governors attitude to the What is the reason given that the work was not halted at this time? (v5) Read 5:11-17 From the Jews reply to the governors how do you assess their spiritual life at this point? Would you have been so bold talking about your God to a pagan emporer? What do the governors ask Darius to do in v.17? How important was it that the Jews were totally accurate in what they said to the governors given the investigation that this triggers? Read 6:1-12 What does Darius find in the records? What does he decree to happen now? What instructions does he give to the local governors? Read 6: 13-22 How do the people celebrate when the rebuild is completed?
When authorities come onside - Ezra 7 11 Introduction: We now jump years ahead to the return of the scribe. What did we previously learn about King Artaxerces (see p.9) from Ezra 4:7-23. Read 7:1-12 Why does Artaxerces have such a change of heart according to 7:6 How would the return of Ezra and his Levites and musicians been a boost to the Jews in Jerusalem? What special skills did Ezra have that the people really needed? Read Artaxerces letter 7:13-26 List all the protection and help that this letter will give Ezra and the Jews. What does Artaxerces think of Ezra himslelf (vv25-26)? How does Ezra s favour with the King end up helping all his people? When it s all worthwhile - Ezra 8 Look through Chapter 8... imagine the joy of the homecoming... if you were there how would you describe the events that you read about... And yet... Chapters 9-10 show that is takes more than a building to save a nation... more to follow...
How to Access the Growth Course further at Christ Church W4 We don t want anyone to be excluded... We have developed this from the exceptional CPAS Growing Leaders course to help everyone in the church grow as a person, a disciple and as a leader in God s Kingdom. We all influence people around us. This course helps us influence in the way God wants us to without us getting burnt in the process. That s why we ve worked hard to make as much of the course as possible available to everyone. The people who get most out of this will be those who a) access the mid-week teaching regularly (5 Tuesday evenings in 2014 & a lent course and 3 more Tuesday evenings in 2015) and/or b) choose to follow up on the teaching in their own time with personal study, using the study notes or joining Jenny Eastwood in a book club. We will offer peer groups to those there on a Tuesday night and 1-2-1 mentoring to some of this years participants. If you can t make Tuesday evenings try the 4:30pm service on 1st June and 6th July Please also come on 10 May to the Home Weekend Day... or catch up with that teaching online. 12