♪ theme music ♪
(Derek) Welcome to Hope Sabbath School,
an in-depth, interactive study
of the Word of God.
I'm excited because we are beginning
a brand new series of studies
on Ezra and Nehemiah.
You say, "Derek, what would the writings
of a priest 2,400 years ago
and a contemporary government official in Persia
have to do with our lives today?"
Well, that's what's exciting
about studying the Word of God
because the Bible says
all Scripture is given
by inspiration of God and is profitable,
so we're going to pray
that God would bless in amazing ways.
Today, Making Sense of History:
(as we look at) Zerubbabel and Ezra.
And I'm glad you joined us
for Hope Sabbath School.
And, team, this is going to be
an amazing journey.
(Team) Yes.
(Derek) And we're going to be excited
to see how ancient Scripture comes alive for us today.
We're glad that you're part
of our Hope Sabbath School team.
We're always delighted to hear from you.
Oh, I needed to tell you one other thing.
We have an awesome app.
Here's my phone; I'm going
to go to Hope Sabbath School
on the new Hope Channel app here.
It's an awesome app,
and it's loading right now.
People around the world are using
this app; it's free: Hope Channel.
You can go to your App Store
or Google Play, download the app.
Whether you're 10 years old
or 100 years old, you can download the app and use it.
If you need some help,
talk to your grandchildren, right?
They'll figure it out.
But the Hope Channel app is awesome,
and it's being used
in many, many countries around the world
including Madagascar, which is where
our first email comes from, from Loubien.
Loubien is 22 years old.
In fact, he sent a picture for us.
He's a university student,
and he says, "Two years ago we started
an English-speaking church in our town,
and now I'm part of that church.
It's the only Adventist church
where English is the primary language
in the South of Madagascar,
and I often teach the Sabbath School,"
and guess what he uses as a resource?
(Team) Hope Sabbath School.
(Derek) He uses the Hope Sabbath School resource.
"I'm very happy to follow this program.
May God bless us all."
Well, Loubien, thanks for writing
to us from Madagascar.
We're excited that you're part of our...
not only a participant in the study,
but a leader in teaching
an in-depth, interactive study
of the Word of God.
Owen and Merline write from Florida
in the United States.
Anybody from Florida here?
Anybody been to Florida?
Stephanie, you've been...Oh, quite a few
have been to Florida.
"Dear Hope Sabbath School,
we absolutely love the program.
We look forward to watching it
every Friday Evening.
The deep, interactive, inspiring way
the lessons are presented is just amazing.
Another thing," listen carefully,
"we're sure the listening world
appreciates, as we do,
the openness and honesty
of the class members' testimonies.
The testimonies make known that God
loves us with an everlasting love."
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) That's awesome, isn't it?
"And we can trust Him no matter what.
We thank God for Hope Sabbath School
and pray that God will bless the entire team."
Owen and Merline, thanks for writing.
And, you know, that's our prayer.
None of that is scripted, is it?
The Holy Spirit may impress
Travis, Joshua, Liza to share a testimony,
and if we did it a second time,
it might be different.
But the Spirit of God is leading us.
Thank you for affirming that,
and we also love to hear from you
about your testimony of what God is doing.
Write to us at sshope@hopetv.org.
Here's one from Guadeloupe
in the French West Indies.
Did I say that right? Thank you, Gladys.
"Bonjour," bonjour, "a few weeks ago
I discovered Hope Sabbath School."
You notice people are always finding it, right,
new viewers all the time.
"Since then, I've been watching it.
I'm French; I'm sorry
that my English isn't that good.
I live in Guadeloupe
in the French West Indies.
I am a Seventh-day Adventist church member.
Since I have been watching
Hope Sabbath School,
I appreciate the subtitles,"
closed captioning, "in English
because it helps me to understand more;
I can understand better than just speaking.
Well, thank you for what you're doing
with Hope Sabbath School,
and God bless you all, Paul," writes to us.
Paul, thanks for writing from Guadeloupe,
and may God use you
to be a powerful teacher
of the Word of God.
Here's a note from a donor
in Minnesota in the United States.
Oh, wait! Laurel, are you from Minnesota?
(Laurel) I am.
(Derek) I'm not going to give the name,
but would you like to wave
to the entire state of Minnesota.
"I have access only to Sabbath School."
I think this person is unable
to get out to go to church,
"but what a blessing it is!
May God continue to bless each one
and Hope Sabbath School
in the finishing of His work."
And this donor sends 100 dollars
to help Hope Sabbath School.
(Team) Amen!
(Derek) We just want to say thank you.
This is a donor-supported ministry, but it's more than that.
It's a partnership in mission, isn't it?
And so, thank you, Minnesota,
for being part of that.
Well, from the beautiful island
of Saint Vincent in the Caribbean,
someone born in Jamaica, living...
Joshua, you weren't born
in Jamaica, were you?
(Joshua) No.
(Derek) But don't you have some Jamaican heritage?
(Joshua) No, Antiguan.
(Derek) Oh, you're Antiguan; that's also the Caribbean area.
(Joshua) Yes, the Caribbean.
(Derek) Same part of the world, okay.
This is Saint Vincent,
not too far away, right?
"Greetings, saints of God."
(Team) Greetings!
(Derek) This is Denise, by the way,
"Writing from Saint Vincent, born in Jamaica,
I really enjoy the study every week,
and I especially look forward
to singing the songs."
Well, we're going to sing
a song in just a moment.
"It's a blessing to look
forward to and see Brother Jason
singing the Scripture songs."
Well, Jason, would you like
to wave to Denise in Saint Vincent?
"He's so passionate about the Word of God.
Let's all be faithful and continue
to share God's Word through the world.
God bless you all." Amen?
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) Denise, thanks
for writing to us from Saint Vincent.
And I'm excited today because we've got
a new Scripture song we're going to sing.
And I've asked my wife Bodil,
who is not only executive producer
but likes to help compose the Scripture songs,
to help sing, so come over, Bodil.
Let's sing together, "To You, O Lord,
I lift up my soul.
O My God, I trust in You."
Let's sing it together.
♪ music ♪
(Derek) Amen?
(Team) Amen!
(Derek) Thank you, Bodil.
I think we'll have you come
and sing all the time.
It's great to hide God's Word
in our hearts, isn't it?
And some of you know that my wife
started composing Scripture songs...
The words are straight
out of the Bible, right?
But she started...That was
from Psalm 25, by the way.
The words are straight out of the Bible,
but she said, "I want to hide God's Word
in my heart and the hearts of our children."
She had no idea that it
would not only transform her husband's life,
but our Hope Sabbath School family
around the world. Amen?
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) That's what we're going to learn
from Ezra and Nehemiah.
When we say, "God, I'm available, to You,"
He's going to do something amazing.
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) And we want to pray for you
and each one of us as we study
because the miracle that happened 2400 years ago
can happen in our lives today.
Let's pray; Father in Heaven,
just like the psalmist would say,
"To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
Let not my enemies triumph over me,"
we thank You that in the sacred books
of Ezra and Nehemiah,
we will learn of a great and awesome God
and of men and women
who have the courage to listen
to God and follow Him.
And I pray that You would bless as we study,
Hope Sabbath School members around the world,
may each life and each family be blessed today.
In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) Well, let's make sense of history.
This is lesson number one.
Some people have heard
about the Jewish people being in exile.
They speak about the exiles
and then coming back from the exile.
Brittany, what's the exile
they're talking about?
(Brittany) They're talking
about when God's people
were taken from Jerusalem to Babylon,
and they were in captivity for 70 years.
(Derek) Okay, so this is when
Babylonian armies came in,
not only the city of Jerusalem,
but all of the territory of Israel, right?
Now, some people were left, a few people,
like the prophet Jeremiah,
for example, right?
But a lot of people,
including the young and the gifted,
you know, the university students,
because we think of people like Daniel, Shadrach,...
(Team) Meshach, and Abednego.
(Derek) Those were their Babylon names, actually, right...
(Derek, Team) Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
(Derek) They kind of took the cream of the crop,
and they reprogrammed them,
except it didn't work
with Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, right?
They determined in their hearts to honor God.
By the way, that's
a whole other book of the Bible, Daniel.
That will be awesome;
we're going to study that in another series.
But God is teaching His people
consequences of disobeying Him.
He doesn't stop loving us, right,
but He says, "If you go after pagan gods,
and you abandon your faith in Me,
there will be negative consequences."
And Brittany's right;
they're taken into exile,
but it's not forever.
What many people don't know
is that the return from exile
happened in different -
what would we call it?
Waves, yes, and in fact,
some of the exiles never returned,
either because they died in exile or because...?
(Team) They chose...
(Derek) They chose not to come back.
That's a whole topic
we'll discuss here, too.
How could that be,
when they're told they can go back
to the land that God had promised them?
Some of them say, "We're fine
living in this pagan country," all right?
So we're going to make sense of history,
and we're going to start
with the prophet Jeremiah.
And, Harold, if you could begin
our study in Jeremiah, 25.
Remember we mentioned
that when the children of Israel
were taken captive into Babylon,
some were left behind,
and one of the them
was a prophet named Jeremiah,
a contemporary of the prophet Daniel
and the prophet Ezekiel,
who had been taken into captivity, okay?
Let's see what Jeremiah tells us
in Jeremiah 25, verses 11 and 12.
(Harold) Yes, and I'll be reading
from the New King James Version:
(Derek) So the prophet Jeremiah's writing,
and he's giving a...?
(Team Member) A prophecy.
(Derek) ...a prophecy, a prediction
about something that will happen
how far in the future?
(Team) Seventy years.
(Derek) Now, there are, of course,
people that say, "That's ridiculous;
you can't tell what's going...
You could say, 'Sometime this might happen,
but to speak authoritatively
about the future, that's impossible,'"
unless, of course, what, Stephanie?
(Stephanie) Unless God tells you.
(Derek) Unless God tells you,
and God, speaking to another prophet,
says, "I am God who knows
the end from the beginning," right?
So He has authority
even over history, right?
So there's a prediction.
Look in Jeremiah 29 and verse 10.
Gladys, if you have that.
Again, this is the prophet Jeremiah
who's still in Jerusalem
while most of his countrymen
or what we would call
prisoners of war, right,
or exiles, are in Babylon.
(Gladys) I'll be reading
from the New International Version,
Jeremiah, chapter 29, verse 10:
(Derek) So, there is someone in Babylon
who believes the Word of God.
Well, actually there's more than one, right,
but let's look at how one
of those people responds
in Daniel, chapter 9, verses 1 to 3.
Pedro, if you could read that for us.
He's been a prisoner of war for how long?
(Pedro) About 70 years.
(Derek) Yeah, right, for the whole time,
taken captive as a teenager in 605.
Here he's now saying, "Wait,
I think the time's up."
Let's see what Daniel records
in Daniel 9, verses 1 to 3.
(Pedro) I'll be reading
from the New King James Version, and it says:
(Derek) So, what does this
tell us about Daniel
from what you've heard? Jason?
(Jason) He's clearly in connection with God,
and he's paying attention
to what has been written down previously.
(Derek) All right, he's paying attention;
he's connected to God. Gladys?
(Gladys) He's longing.
(Derek) He's longing for...
(Gladys) For his home.
(Derek) By the way, does Daniel ever return home?
(Gladys) No. The fulfillment of the promise.
(Derek) All right, but he's
longing for that fulfillment,
which raises the question,
is it possible that some stay,
not because they don't want to go home
but because God tells them to stay? Is that possible?
(Team) Yes.
(Derek) Sometimes we judge people,
"Well, you didn't go home."
What if God told you to stay, right?
"You're still living in a city.
You should be living in the country."
What if God told you to go to that city
to tell people about God, right?
But he believes the prophecy.
He believes that what God said to Jeremiah,
it's going to be fulfilled.
So I want to ask a broad question
because there may be some people
watching Hope Sabbath School today,
maybe even for the first time
(remember Loubien from Madagascar
just started watching),
who say, "But I've always been told
that the Bible is just like
human words about God.
You're telling me that God
can actually reveal things,
even about the future?"
Why is it important to believe that?
What does that do for us
if we believe that God
is able to show us? Puia?
(Puia) I believe, by studying
the prophecies that God has given
to us through His Word,
it teaches us how to live our lives today
in preparation for what is to come.
In the context of this book,
because Daniel was studying the prophecies,
he knew something was about to happen,
or at least it was supposed to happen,
and it gave him a sense of direction
on how to live his life
according to God's Word.
(Derek) I'm thinking,
in Daniel, chapter 4,
and, like I said, we'll do
a whole series on Daniel,
but where it says that you may know
that the Most High God rules
over the affairs of men
or over history. Travis.
(Travis) I think it's John;
I could be wrong, but John,
chapter 14, verse 29, I think, says,
"I told you these things beforehand,
so that when they happen,
you'll know that I'm the Lord your God."
(Derek) Okay, and He says that also
in John, chapter 16, verse 4,
"I'm telling you now,
so that when it happens,
you'll remember what I told you,
and you'll believe," right?
By the way, that happened
with the cleansing of the temple -
only afterwards they looked back, right?
So there are all of these prophecies. Yes, Harold.
(Harold) I just wanted to add
that Solomon said in the Proverbs
that without prophecy, or vision,
people cast off restraint,
so the fact that we have prophecy,
we have that guidance
that we can look forward to.
And when it happens, as Travis mentioned,
it's like, "Oh, we believe.
Yes, this is true; look,
God has kept His promise.
So He is the true God."
(Derek) So, are there
any promises in the Scripture,
either from Jesus or given
through the prophets,
that encourage you when you say,
"Well, I think it's about time.
How come it's not yet been fulfilled?"
I mean, what's the greatest prophecy in the Bible,
more times than any other prophecy in the Bible?
Do you know what it is?
The Second Coming of Jesus,
the return of Jesus.
And people will go, "Well,
it's not happened yet.
Maybe it won't ever happen."
What promises encourage us
to hold on and believe, like Daniel did,
that God said it - it's going to happen?
Stephanie, do you have one?
(Stephanie) The one that I like
is Psalm 27, and it's 13 and 14.
(Derek) All right, give us
a moment to find that, Psalm 27.
I immediately recognize the reference
because it's a song
that my wife likes to sing.
Psalm 27, verses 13 and 14,
now, you're reading from the King James?
(Stephanie) I am.
(Derek) All right, verses 13 and 14.
(Derek) Beautiful. "I would have fainted,"
my Bible, the New King James, says, "I would have lost heart."
I don't know if anyone else has another translation,
like, "I would have given up,
unless I had believed," right?
"Wait on the Lord; be of good courage,
and He will," do what?
(Team) Strengthen your heart.
(Derek) That's right. Yes, Harold.
(Harold) I'd like to read
Habakkuk, chapter 2 and verse 3, on waiting.
(Derek) Habakkuk, that's a little book;
it may be hard for some of us to find,
right before the end of the Old Testament.
Habakkuk, chapter 2?
(Harold) And verse 3.
(Derek) All right, just give us
a moment to find that.
(Harold) It is a small book.
(Derek) I'm still looking for it;
anybody else find it yet?
(Team Members) Yes. We did.
(Derek) You got it, all right; I'm almost there.
Habakkuk, chapter 2 and verse 3.
How does that read in your Bible?
(Harold) Okay, so I'll be reading
from the New King James Version:
(Derek) Powerful. There's one other verse
I'd like someone to read.
Maybe Liza, you could read
from 2 Peter, chapter 3,
because that's a beautiful description
by the Apostle Peter about sure prophecy,
that it will come to pass
at the appointed time.
Second Peter, chapter 3,
if you could read for us
verses 9 through 13.
(Liza) I'll be reading
from the New King James Version:
(Derek) So, question: What's the promise
that God is going to keep,
that people are saying, "I don't think
He's going to keep that promise"?
(Team Member) His return.
(Derek) The return of Jesus, right?
And Peter's saying, "No, He's patient," right?
But we might change the intonation
in verse 10, "But the day of the Lord
will come," will come.
It's going to happen,
and things are going to happen with it.
I love, "looking for new heavens and a new Earth
where righteousness dwells," that's beautiful.
"But the day of the Lord..."
(Team) Will come.
(Derek) It will come.
So that confidence is really important.
Well, with that idea,
we're looking now at prophecy
about to be fulfilled,
that the exile will end,
and that the Jewish exiles
have the opportunity to go back.
Let's go to the book of Ezra to chapter 4,
and let's look at some history.
We're making sense of history
in our first study here
in Ezra, chapter 4, and, Puia,
I'm going to ask if you would be willing
to read for us verses 1 through 7
of Ezra, chapter 4.
(Puia) I'll be reading
from the New King James Version,
Ezra, chapter 4, verses 1 through 7:
(Derek) Some of you are glad
I asked Puia to read that.
There were a lot of difficult names there,
actually a listing of kings
between about 538 and all the way down
to the mid 400s, about 440,
the time of Nehemiah,
and some of the names
you recognize, right?
(Team) Yes.
(Derek) There are a few,
Cyrus II or Cyrus "the Great";
that's the one who gives the first decree.
And, by the way, who was Zerubbabel?
Who was that who led the first return
with a priest named Jeshua, or Joshua,
but not Joshua who "fit the battle of Jericho."
Who was Zerubbabel, anybody know? Travis?
(Travis) He was the grandson of Jehoiachin.
(Derek) That's right; he was a grandson
of one of the last kings of Judah.
So, why do you think
he led the group back?
What do you think?
(Harold) He was part
of the royal family of Judah,
so most likely he will be the leader
and appointed governor to take back...
(Derek) So you think he sensed
that it was his responsibility to do that?
There are lots of people, Liza,
who have responsibility
but don't do it, right?
So why do you think
he took the exiles back?
(Liza) I think he was following God's leading.
I mean, after seeing the examples
of previous kings and their failure
to get Israel on the right track,
I think he felt this conviction
in his spirit to follow the way
God was leading the children of Israel.
(Derek) So, he's going back;
he's got a priest with him.
We're going to talk
about some more details,
but that's during the time
of Cyrus the Great.
Then you've got someone
who's not mentioned in the text, Cambyses II.
That's just in case
you'd like to know that.
Then Darius I, mentioned in verse 5,
then Xerxes, mentioned in verse 6,
who's also called Ahasuerus
in the book of Esther.
Remember that, Ahasuerus and Vashti,
and then Esther becomes queen.
And then you've got Artaxerxes
who's very important because he's the one
that gives the decree
during the time of Ezra.
Now, I'm glad we're not
having a spelling test
or I'm not asking you
to write that whole list down,
but I do have this question for you;
it's an important question:
Why do you think Ezra includes all
of that historical data in the book?
Why does he do that?
What's the significance?
Don't we believe that all Scripture
is given by inspiration of God? Alex?
(Alex) I think a lot of it, I mean,
we see in later books in the Bible,
it was used for us
referring back to history
to check dates and times
for future prophecies.
(Derek) Okay. That's especially true
when we get to the time of Artaxerxes
and the 457 decree,
which is pretty significant
when you're studying
the book of Daniel, right?
So you're saying that later generations
will need to be aware
of that historical sequence.
Okay, anybody else?
It's a lot of history. Liza?
(Liza) I think also being displaced people
who had lost their heritage and customs,
they've lost a lot in this process,
it was important for them
to document them as they were
moving through this transition
so that, as you said, later generations
who were wanting to know more
about their heritage and the journey that they took,
they could go back to that
and feel a sense of security.
(Derek) We'll find later in the books,
both of Ezra and Nehemiah,
huge or long lists of names.
And I'm not going to ask you to read them all
because you might say, "Well,
do I really need to know them?
I mean, I like to memorize the Bible,
but I don't think I want
to memorize all of those names."
But they may have significance for your family
if you say, "This is my heritage."
But let's look at one verse
in 2 Peter, chapter 1 and verse 16,
that may shed some light.
Do you have that, Jason,
2 Peter 1 and verse 16?
(Jason) I'll be reading
from the New King James Version,
2 Peter, chapter 1, verse 16:
(Derek) So it's like...
This isn't just, like, a fairytale, right?
"This is history, and we're naming the people,
and we're going to tell you what happened."
And that gives us confidence,
but I think Alex has got a point,
not just to know that it happened,
but there may be some things
that we need to know
that will help us understand
other prophecies of the Bible.
Well, let's go on to Ezra,
in chapter 7 of Ezra's book,
verses 1 through 10,
and we'll learn something about Ezra
who leads what some might call the second wave,
Zerubbabel, about 538,
now we're about 458, 457.
And, Brittany, if you could read
the first ten verses of Ezra, chapter 7,
I'd like you to listen carefully
and say, "What do we learn
about this priest named Ezra
from the account in chapter 7?"
(Brittany) And I'll be reading
from the New King James Version,
Ezra, chapter 7, verses 1 through 10:
(Derek) Wow, verse 10
is just a powerful verse, isn't it?
But again, back, Liza,
to what you were saying earlier,
what's the function...
By the way, well read, all those names.
What's the purpose
of the first five verses,
and then verse 6 says, "this Ezra"?
(Liza) It's very clear that Ezra
came from a very distinguished family.
He was a descendant of Aaron
who was in some ways Moses' right hand
when delivering the children of Israel.
And so he comes from this priestly lineage,
and he probably grew up
with a lot of knowledge of the law of God.
He was probably taught
by his father, his father's father.
And so, he had a lot of knowledge
and understanding of God's law.
(Derek) So, it could be, you know,
there are a lot of Lizas or Jasons
or Joshuas in the world, but, "I'm the one
who is a direct descendant
of the high priest, Aaron,
which means that, of course,
he's also in the priestly line, right?
So, that's his heritage,
but what about him as a person?
What did you hear as a person, Liza?
(Liza) I think one thing
that this verse teaches us
is you can't choose your heritage.
I mean, you are born
in whatever family you are born in,
but he made a conscious decision
to prepare his heart to seek after God.
And that's the part that you can change.
He was convicted to do something different
and to follow God with his own heart,
and that's what qualified him,
later on we'll find that he was
the fit person to lead the children of Israel.
(Derek) Because not all
of the descendants of Aaron
followed God, did they, right?
So, that's nice; I like
the way that you said that:
We cannot choose our ancestry,
but we can choose who we are
by the grace of God.
All right, what else did you notice
about Ezra as a person? Yes, Puia.
(Puia) That he was skilled.
(Derek) Okay.
(Puia) Verse 6 mentioned
that he was a skilled scribe
in the Law of Moses.
(Derek) So, what does that tell you?
(Puia) Probably he was smart...
(Derek) How do you get skilled at something?
Education and practice, right?
Attitude is one thing, that's good,
but skilled is another thing, right?
(Puia) Training.
(Derek) That involves training,
education, practice. Harold?
(Harold) The other thing is,
at the end of verse 10,
it says that he tried to teach
the statutes and ordinances in Israel,
so he was not just trying to keep
this knowledge from the Scriptures,
but he was working
to spread it and share it,
because, again, this is about restoration,
trying to lead these people back
to the Word of God and to God Himself.
(Derek) So, he seeks it, the law of God, and he...?
(Team Member) Teaches it.
(Derek) No, there's something in between.
He seeks it, he...?
(Derek, Team) He does it.
(Derek) And he...?
(Derek, Team) He shares it.
(Derek) You know, to just seek it
and share it without doing it
is not going to work.
It's not credible, is it?
(Team) No.
(Derek) But here's this man,
just emerges out of nowhere,
but from a distinguished family,
and he purposes in his heart.
Does that remind you of someone else?
(Team) Daniel.
(Derek) Daniel and his three friends, right,
Purposing in their hearts,
they made a decision.
They wanted to not only know about God
but obey God and...?
And share that with other people. Yes, Travis?
(Travis) I was just going to say,
the first part of verse 10, it says,
"Ezra prepared his heart to seek the Lord."
So this wasn't something that just happened.
This is something that...He sought God
and was preparing his heart to be the leader.
He didn't know the future,
what he was going to do,
but he was preparing his heart,
and then God called him.
(Derek) Jason, I want you to read...
We didn't read - there's a long list
of names coming up here in chapter 8,
which I'm not going to ask you to read.
But I do want you to read in chapter 7
the entire decree, verses 11 to 26,
of King Artaxerxes to restore
and rebuild Jerusalem.
And then I want to ask
the question of the group and of those
who are watching around the world,
why do you think the Holy Spirit
inspires him to write the entire decree
of this ancient king?
I think there's an answer,
and, Alex, you kind of alluded to it
earlier in our study.
But let's listen to the decree,
starting in verse 11 of Ezra, chapter 7.
(Jason) I'll be reading here
from the New King James Version,
Ezra, chapter 7, verses 11 through 26:
(Derek) Now, while Jason's reading this,
I'm thinking, "This is astonishing."
Why would a pagan king make such a...
How would you describe this decree?
Gracious, generous, God-honoring decree?
What's the answer? Liza?
(Liza) I think he was God-fearing, too,
because in verse 23 it says,
"For why should there be wrath
against the realm of the king and his sons?"
meaning he felt that,
if he didn't do this,
there would be consequences
of his disobedience.
(Derek) Okay, so you think
that he's not just a generous person,
but he was under conviction
of the Spirit of God, too? Pedro?
(Pedro) We see that Ezra
knew the law of God,
and he could see the blessings
that God has put upon the people of Israel
and also those that are over them.
He saw that calamity
could come upon himself
if he would not obey God,
and he had plenty of evidence
from the history of the people of Israel
inside the captivity there,
of what happened to those
who have gone against God's people.
So he was trying to protect, probably,
his kingdom during this time.
(Derek) He certainly knew also
about Daniel and Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego.
We could take a lot of time here,
but we've got to move on.
But would you agree
that something supernatural is happening here?
(Team) Yes.
(Derek) It's not just, "He's
a very nice pagan king who's saying
wonderful things about the God of Heaven,"
and giving all of the resources that are needed.
Let's look in verses 27 and 28,
Alex, if you could read for us,
how Ezra responded to this, can I call it,
a startling decree of a pagan king.
(Alex) I'll be reading
from the King James Version:
(Derek) What did Ezra recognize?
God is at work here, right?
"God is at work here;
God is at work with me;
God is at work with the king," right?
Something amazing is happening,
and so he prepares.
Now, we could read
verses 1 through 14 of chapter 8;
I'm not going to.
But does anybody know
approximately how many of the exiles
decided to go with Ezra?
(Team) About 1500 men.
(Derek) Someone's done the math
and said about 1500.
Now, I don't know if that means
there were children, too, and family members,
but you say, "Derek, that's, like,
a tiny group of people,"
after they've seen what?
What have we just read?
(Team) A miracle.
(Derek) A miraculous intervention of God
touching the heart of a pagan king.
So here's the difficult question:
Why do you think so few
chose to return back to Judah with Ezra?
There may be many reasons,
but let's look at a few of them, shall we?
Let's start here, Alex?
(Alex) I think a lot of them
had just become complacent
with where they're at
and comfortable with where they're at.
That actually makes me
think about me in situations.
It's easy to judge them with that,
but it's like we get comfortable
with where we're at so often, and it's like...
(Derek) "You really want me
to go on a mission trip
where I'm going to sleep on the floor
and have bugs crawling around
when I can stay in my condo," right?
I mean, so you're saying one reason,
they just felt really comfortable where they were,
and do you think they were right
to recognize there would be some hardships
if they went home?
(Team Member) Absolutely.
(Derek) Anybody else,
another reason. Pedro?
(Pedro) I believe not many had
an encounter with God.
We see that they were in captivity
because they were disobedient,
and there were not many changes of heart.
We see the king, who had a change of heart,
to give that blessing,
We see that God does the same thing
with most of the kings
in the Old Testament.
And we see the Pharaoh.
God came in an encounter with the Pharaoh,
but he chose not to encounter
a relationship with God.
(Derek) But Nebuchadnezzar did, right, eventually.
So you're seeing these changes.
Is it possible that God wanted some
to stay by in exile?
(Team) That's possible.
(Derek) I like what Pedro said,
that maybe for many, it was just
they lacked that relationship.
When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
refused to bow down
to the golden idol,
how many other of the captive
children of Israel stood?
They bowed down; some say even the king,
a descendant, maybe a relative
of Zerubbabel was there and bowed down.
So, I think there's something to this,
comfortable and disconnected from God.
Now there may be a few exceptions, right,
like Daniel, that God says...
Of course, Daniel's gone now,
but with the first group
with Zerubbabel leaving,
God may say, "Stay by, Daniel,
I've got some work
I want you to do." Travis.
(Travis) I think, too, they had houses,
land and possessions.
So if you can imagine you had a nice house
and all these possessions,
when you leave, that's gone.
It's not like you sell the house
and buy something somewhere else.
You have to go build a new house, plant new crops.
I mean, this is a life-changing thing.
(Derek) Starting again.
(Travis) Yes.
(Derek) But I like what Alex was saying,
I think this has something
to do with us today.
You know, if we are not connected to God,
and we're too comfortable and complacent,
God might ask us to do something,
and we'll just say, "No." Liza?
(Liza) I think also they struggled
to believe in God's goodness.
I mean, they were there, as Pedro said,
as a result of their disobedience,
so it is a punishment.
And so I think it was hard for them
to change their perspective of God
and say, "Well, God has forgiven us.
God is ready to work with us.
God is willing to bless us."
I think that was hard for them to accept
because they knew what they did wrong.
(Derek) So let's, in our last part of the study,
go back to Ezra and look
at some of the preparations he made
because if he made them,
and God said, "Go," and he went,
maybe those are preparations
that would be helpful for us
in the Last Days, yes or no?
Absolutely, right?
So let's look again in Ezra, chapter 7.
Laurel, if you could read
verse 6 and verse 10 again.
I think you have another translation,
so let's see how the translators
capture verse 6 and verse 10 of Ezra 7.
And the question is,
what important preparation had Ezra made
that enabled the Lord to use him,
and we might also say enabled him to hear
when God asked him to act?
(Laurel) Okay, I'll be reading
from the New American Standard Bible, Ezra 7:6:
(Derek) And then verse 10.
(Laurel) Verse 10:
(Derek) So, help me, Harold, what's some preparation
men and women might make today,
just like Ezra made back then,
so when God says, "I've got
a work for you to do,"
that we'll say, "Here I am, Lord, send me"?
(Harold) We need that alone time with God,
that solitude, so that we can pray
and meditate on His Word,
not just read, but meditate.
And, like, really find deeper things and re-read it
because he was skilled,
and you become skilled when you repeat
and do the same things over and over again.
(Derek) It was not just a casual reading of the Word.
All right. Stephanie?
(Stephanie) There's something to say
about having that daily commitment
because then you're staying in tune
with the voice of God,
and also you know the Word of God.
So, if a call comes to you,
you can determine whether or not
it is God's voice.
(Derek) Now, it's interesting in verse 6
it said the king granted his request
because he saw the hand of God.
How do people see
that the hand of God is upon you?
How do they see that?
(Gladys) Through your actions.
(Derek) Through your actions?
Is that supernatural, too? Pedro?
(Pedro) I see here a very important word; it says "skilled."
(Derek) Skilled.
(Pedro) I know when you have a craft,
and you know how to work with some craft,
like I like to work with cars,
for me, not to just watch
a video on YouTube or learn a lesson
from "How to Change Oil"
or to change a head gasket on a car,
will give me the ability to do it.
But he sought to learn
from the law of God,
He'd do it, he does, and then
he spread to others, he'd teach others.
And I think that's very important.
He was skilled, not because he knew about His Word,
he practiced on his life,
and he told others, and that made him
very knowledgeable about it.
(Derek) I see Stephanie looking at you
saying, "I never knew
you were a skilled mechanic."
"What is a head gasket?" right?
(Stephanie) No, I know what that is, actually.
(Derek) Yeah, you know what a head gasket is.
It's part of the engine, but, you know,
you don't just get that automatically, right?
There's preparation; there's discipline.
So these are some important preparations he made.
I'm going to take a couple more,
and then I want you to think
of some other people besides Ezra
that you could say, "Well, they made
important preparation, too,
so that when God
gave them an assignment,
they were ready. Puia?
(Puia) I think the other aspect
we can learn from this story
is the importance of education.
In context of today,
I think God can use you more
as you learn more about the history
and the context of the Scripture and all of this
even in today's context when serving God.
(Derek) There's a saying;
I believe it's in the book of Ecclesiastes
where Solomon said, "When the ax is dull,
more effort is required,
but wisdom will bring success."
What's the wisdom? To sharpen the ax.
And that's what education does,
and practice - skilled.
Thank you for pointing that out.
So, "God, if You want me
to be powerful in the Word
before a council someday,
I want to take time
with the Word now," right?
I want to be skilled.
"If You want me to speak
in the power of the Holy Spirit
before the nations some day,
I want to speak for You now to my neighbor
in the Holy Spirit." Joshua?
(Joshua) I think it's really important
for us to embrace the principles
of the Bible in our lives
and to truly practice them.
And what I find to be amazing is that
I listen to these great motivational
and inspirational speakers of the world,
and they'll say things that people will
listen to and hold onto and practice,
not realizing that that same principle is in the Bible.
And, so, many people
have profited off of God's principles
that He has given to us for free,
but they'll pay hundreds of dollars
to go to a seminar and hear
the same thing from someone else's mouth.
(Derek) A great revelation,
but it's still true, right?
It's a principle of truth
that is also spelled out
in the Word of God.
Let's talk about some other people.
Ezra was not alone.
We might say, well, Nehemiah,
and we're going to talk
about both of them in this series.
But let's scan broader in the Scripture
and say, "There's a young woman,"
or, "There's an older man,"
older woman, young, whatever age group,
"that their preparation was crucial
for the work God called them to do."
Anybody have a - just share
a story with me that comes
to your mind. Anybody?
(Alex) I think of Daniel.
We talked about it already,
but, I mean, look at how he
prepared himself with his friends,
with eating well, with his diet.
(Derek) That's right, Daniel, chapter 1,
even taking care of his body
was part of his training, right?
Good point. Yes?
(Puia) I remember Paul
who was previously Saul.
He was a learned man as well, educated man,
and when God transformed his heart
when he met Jesus, he was very useful.
And, in fact, most of the New Testament
is written by Paul.
So I think we see an importance
of training as well here.
(Derek) And another person,
which you may not have thought of,
who wrote a major portion
of the New Testament
if you add the book of the Gospel
and the book of Acts together,
you've got a major contributor
who happened, by profession, to be...?
A physician, Dr. Luke,
writing to his friend Theophilus, right?
So there's another one, preparation.
Someone else. Pedro?
(Pedro) I think Esther.
I was thinking about, she was
prepared for that moment
to liberate God's people.
We don't know, it might not be education;
it might not be something
that we can go to school for,
but I think through her
process of learning from her uncle,
she would be able to be prepared
to confront even the king in a time of need.
(Derek) What about us today?
We've got a couple of minutes left.
What can we do?
I think we've talked about some principles
from Ezra and from some
of these other great women and men of God.
What are some things, Joshua,
we can do today, we can do?
(Joshua) I think that we can
be as effective as Jesus
if we do the things that He did
in the way that He did it,
meaning, every interaction,
every experience that He had with someone, was life-changing.
(Derek) And He did it and said,
"The Spirit of the Lord is..."?
(Team) Upon Me.
(Derek) So it's happening
by the power of the Holy Spirit. Okay, Liza?
(Liza) I think we need
to prepare our hearts,
and that means going on a journey
of soul-seeking, reflecting, praying
to God to show what's in our hearts,
to bring that to the surface,
so that we can resolve
whatever things that we're dealing with.
I mean, clearly, Ezra
was not a perfect person,
but he went through that process
of being pure-hearted...
(Derek) Could I pray, "God,
if there's anything holding me back
from being the woman of God
You want me to be,
from being the man of God
You want me to be..."?
There's that wonderful prayer
in Psalm 139, "Search me, O God,
and know my heart." Brittany?
(Brittany) I was just repeating the verse with you.
(Derek) "Try me, and know my anxious thoughts."
Travis, one last thought.
(Travis) I'm just thinking,
the Bible says, "Be not only hearers
of the Word, but doers."
So, if we study the Word of God
and say, "God, show me
how you want me to live my life,"
and put the words that we read
from the Bible into action,
then we can be a light to the world.
(Derek) Two thousand four hundred plus years ago,
the Spirit of God impresses someone
from a noble family, really, right,
distinguished family, Ezra,
to say, "It's not just about where you came from,
it's about who I want you to be today."
And he purposed in his heart,
and he did the hard work of education.
He became skilled, to not only hear
but to do and then to share.
And God used him to impact his generation.
And there's a lesson
for each one of us today
by the power of the Holy Spirit,
as Joshua said, that God has a work for us.
And God has a work for you, too.
I don't know what it is, but I'm excited
because God has plans for us
way beyond what we could ever imagine.
And it's not just a matter
of saying "God, I'm available."
It's saying, "God, what do You
want me to do now to prepare,
not to earn Your love or favor,
but to be a sharp ax in Your hand,
a useful tool, a faithful servant?"
Let's pray we can be that
as we continue this wonderful journey,
studying Ezra and Nehemiah.
Father in Heaven, thank You for the inspiration
of this man's life, Ezra.
Thank You for the inspired testimony.
And God, for us today, may we
be the women of God, the men of God,
who not only hear, but do and share
for the honor of Your name.
In Jesus' name. Amen.
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) It's going to be an exciting journey
as we study two ancient books,
once clustered together as one single book
in the Hebrew Scriptures,
Ezra and Nehemiah, lessons
for our lives today.
Right now I know: Hear it,
do it, and share it.
Be a blessing to those around you.
♪ theme music ♪