From Brokenness to Healing: Restoring the Priesthood and the Word of God Ezra 7:1-10 Now after this, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, (Ezra 7:1a) Persian King Reign BC Events Text Cyrus II 550-529 Zerubbabel return (538 BC) Ezra 1:1-2:70 Altar rebuilt (537 BC) Ezra 3:1-13 Temple rebuilding stops (536 BC) Ezra 4:1-5,24 Cambyses II 529-522 Darius I 522-486 Haggai and Zechariah; Rebuilding Begins (520 BC) Ezra 5:1-6:22 Temple rebuilt; Passover Celebrated (520-516 BC) Xerxes I 486-465 Opposition to the Jews; Letter written to the king Ezra 4:6 (Ahasuerus) Book of Esther (483-473 BC) Esther 1-10 Artaxerxes I 465-425 Opposition to Jews Ezra 4:7-23 Ezra returns (458 BC) Ezra 7:1-10:44 Nehemiah returns (445 BC) Nehemiah 1-13 Nehemiah returns to Persia; returns to Jerusalem (433 BC) Nehemiah 13:6 Book of Malachi (458-433 BC) Malachi Persian Empire Beyond the River Who is Ezra? 1. High Priest in the Line of Aaron (Ezra 1:b- 6 ESV) Ezra the son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the chief priest this Ezra went up from Babylonia. (7:1b-6a) 1. Seraish: Yahweh is Prince 2. Azariah: Yahweh had Helped 3. Hikiah: Yahweh is my Portion 4. Shallum: Complete 5. Zakok: Righteous 6. Ahitub: My Brother is Good 7. Amariah: Yahweh has Spoken 8. Azarish: 9. Meraioth: 10. Zerahiah: Yahweh has Shown Forth 11. Uzzi: Yahweh is Strength 12. Bukki: Yahweh s Vessel 13. Abishua: My Father is Salvation 14. Phinehas: Egyptian Name 15. Eleazar: God has Helped 16. Aaron: Exalted 2. Scribe in the Role of Moses He was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses that the LORD, the God of Israel, had given, and the king granted him all that he asked, for the hand of the LORD his God was on him. (Ezra 7:6b) 1
And there went up also to Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king, some of the people of Israel, and some of the priests and Levites, the singers and gatekeepers, and the temple servants. And Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. For on the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylonia, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, for the good hand of his God was on him. (Ezra 7:7-9) For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel. (7:10) Aaron the Priest; Moses the Scribe The Priests' Garments (Exodus 28) These are the garments that they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a coat of checker work, a turban, and a sash. They shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons to serve me as priests. They shall receive gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen. (Exodus 28:1-5 ESV) Consecration of the Priests (Exodus 29) Now this is what you shall do to them to consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. Take one bull of the herd and two rams without blemish, (Exodus 29:1 ESV) Golden Calf and the High Priest (Exodus 32) So Aaron said to them, Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me. So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt! When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD. And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. (Exodus 32:1-6 ESV) Moses Breaks the Tablets of the Law (Exodus 32) And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses' anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. He took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the people of Israel drink it. (Exodus 32:19-20 ESV) Judgment of Idolatry (Exodus 32) And he said to them, Thus says the LORD God of Israel, Put your sword on your side each of you, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you kill his brother and his companion and his neighbor. And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And that day about three thousand men of the people fell. And Moses said, Today you have been ordained for the service of the LORD, each one at the cost of his son and of his brother, so that he might bestow a blessing upon you this day. (Exodus 32:27-29 ESV) 2
Moses Sees Glory of God in the Cleft of the Rock (Exodus 33) And the LORD said to Moses, This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name. Moses said, Please show me your glory. And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name The LORD. And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But, he said, you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live. And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen. (Exodus 33:17-23 ESV) Covenant Renewed with New Tablets of the Law (Exodus 34) So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first. And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand two tablets of stone. The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation. And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. And he said, If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance. And he said, Behold, I am making a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels, such as have not been created in all the earth or in any nation. And all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the LORD, for it is an awesome thing that I will do with you. (Exodus 34:4-10 ESV) The Shining Face of Moses (Exodus 34) When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. (Exodus 34:29-30 ESV) Jesus Christ: Priest and Scribe Jesus: The High Priest (Hebrews 8) Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain. But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. For he finds fault with them when he says: 3
Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more. In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. (Hebrews 8 ESV) The Church: Priest and Scribe Ministers of the New Covenant (II Corinthians 3) Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you? You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses' face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory. Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3 ESV) Priesthood of All Believers (1 Peter 2:1-12 ESV) So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture: Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame. So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone, and A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense. They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain 4
from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. The Book of the Law (Genesis to Joshua) 1 A Primeval History: The Nations receive their allotted territories Gen 1-11 B Abraham: Promise to Give Land Gen. 12:1-21:7 C Isaac and Death of Israel s Founding Father Genesis 21:8-28:4 D Jacob: Evils of Social and Family Discord Genesis 28:5-37:1 E Joseph: God Rewards Obedience Gen 37:2-50:26 F Exodus from Egypt Exod 1:1-13:6 G Failure in Wilderness Exod 13:17-19:2 H Treaty at Sinai Exod 19:3- Num 10:10 G 1 Failure in Wilderness Num 10:11-21:20 F 1 Victory in Moab Num 21:21- Deut 3:29 E 1 Call to Obedience Deut 4-11 D 1 Laws for Society and Families Deut 12-26 C 1 Moses Final Words: Death of Israel s Other Founding Father Deut 27-34 B 1 Conquest of Canaan: Promise Fulfilled to Give Land Joshua 1-12 A 1 Allotment of Land to Israel Joshua 13-24 Treaty at Sinai (Exodus 19:3- Numbers 10:10) A Ten Commandments: Holiness on Mount Sinai Exod 19:3-20:21 B Civil Laws: Moral, Ethical Purity Exod. 20:22-24:11 C Tabernacle Instructions: Sacrificial Altar Exod. 24:12-34:28 D Tabernacle Built and Filled with Yahweh s Glory Exod. 34:29-40:38 C Sacrificial Instructions: Sacrificial Altar Lev 1-10 B Purity Laws: Ritual, Moral Purity Lev 11-18 A Ten Commandments Repeated: Holiness Laws Lev 19:1- Num 10:10 1 Dorsey, David. The Literary Structure of the Old Testament: A Commentary on Genesis Malachi. Baker Academic. 1999. 5