Ezra 8:2436

1
Ezra 824-36

• Accountability

2
What We Learned About Ezra so far

• Led by Ezra, the exiled Israelites are returning
  to Jerusalem from Babylon for the 2nd time.
• He was a priest, someone who is well-versed in
  the law of Moses and a scribe of the law
• A Levite and a descendant of Aaron
• As Ezra was checking the list of people at a
  stop, he did not observe any Levites, so he
  decided to go back and look for the Levites
  Ezra knew the key roles they play

3
What We Learned About Ezra so far

• 5.Knew that we need to have Spiritual Preparation
• 6.Concerned about spiritual matters of the people
• 7.Declared a fast that they might humble
  themselves to seek a safe journey
• 8.Ashamed to ask for troops as protection from
  the king cause he told the king that the Lord
  will take care of them

4
Ezra Is The Kind Of Leader To Whom We All Look
Up

• Has his heart on the work of the Lord
• Willing to take risk for the Lord
• A man with faith Knew that we can boast in the
  Lord
• Yet humble enough to count on the Lords mighty
  power
• Wise enough to know that the Levites are
  important
• Look to the Lord for protection

5
What happened in Ezra 824-36?

• Started the physical preparation
• 25 tons of silver
• Silver articles weighing 3¾ tons
• 3¾ tons of gold
• 20 bowls of gold weigh 19 pounds
• Two expensive bronze objects as precious as gold
• Divided the valuables amongst the key men in the
  group
• Charged these men with the responsibilities of
  guarding the valuables
• Began the journey of about 900 miles
• Arrived at Jerusalem
• Everything accounted for and offered sacrifices

6
What Can We Learn in Ezra 824-36?

• To be set apart
• To be consecrated
• To be on guard

7
To set apart

• 824 Then I set apart (Badal) twelve of the
  leading priests, together with Sherebiah,
  Hashabiah and ten of their brothers, ? ? ? ? ? ?
  ? ? ? , ? ? ? ? ? , ? ? ? ? , ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
• Badal in Hebrew means to be divided and to make
  a very clear distinction.
• These same words are used when God created the
  heaven and earth Gen. 14 God separated Badal
  the light from the darkness.
• Veil that separated the Holy places and the Holy
  of Holies - Exodus 2633 You shall hang up the
  veil under the clasps, and shall bring in the ark
  of the testimony there within the veil and the
  veil shall serve for you as a partition Badal
  between the Holy place and the Holy of Holies
• These same words are also used in Isa. 592 But
  your iniquities have made a separation Badal
  between you and your God.

8
To be consecrated

• 828  I said to them, "You as well as these
  articles are consecrated (Qodesh) to the LORD.
  The silver and gold are a freewill offering to
  the LORD, the God of your fathers. ? ? ? ? ? , ?
  ? ? ? ? ? ? ? , ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
  ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
• Qodesh in Hebrew means apartness, sacredness,
  consecrated
• Used in the OT very frequently - 382 times
• Same word that is used for sanctuary
• Both people and utensils are Holy

9
To be on guard

• 829  Guard them carefully (Shaqad) until you
  weigh them out in the chambers of the house of
  the LORD in Jerusalem before the leading priests
  and the Levites and the family heads of Israel."
  ? ? ? ? ? ? ? , ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ,
  ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? , ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
• Shaqad in Hebrew means to watch and lie awake
• Psalm 1027 I lie awake, I have become like a
  lonely bird on a housetop
• Proverbs 834 Blessed is the man who listens to
  me, Watching daily at my gates, waiting at my
  doorposts

10
Accountability

• Definition the quality or state of the need to
  provide a statement explaining one's conduct
• What do we hear when we phone someone at customer
  service?

11
What can we learn from Ezra?

• Badal (to be separated) is a choice in the
  world and yet out of the world
• Qodesh (to be consecrated) it is also a choice,
  e.g. from our daily walk with God
• Shaqad (to keep watch carefully) staying awake
  and guard is not easy
• Remember the disciples from the Garden of
  Gethsemane
• At the end of the day, we will be held
  accountable
• The gold, silver and other valuables will be
  weighed again at the destination.
• We need to give an account of how we did, why we
  did and what we did for tasks that the Lord
  assigned to us.

12
The Parable of the Talents Matt. 25

• The master went on a journey and gave his
  servants money
• 5 talents (1,500 lbs) to the first servant
• 2 talents (600 lbs) to the second one
• 1 talent (300 lbs) to the third one
• The servants invested their money in different
  ways and got different results
• First one gained another 5 talents (3,000 lbs)
• Second one gained another 2 (1,200 lbs)
• Third one buried the money in the ground
• The master rewarded the first two and rejected
  the third one.

13
(No Transcript)
14
Haggai a Prophet years before Ezras time

• Haggai 18 Go up into the mountains and bring
  down timber and build the house, so that I may
  take pleasure in it and be honored," says the
  LORD. 9 "You expected much, but see, it turned
  out to be little. What you brought home, I blew
  away. Why?" declares the LORD Almighty. "Because
  of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of
  you is busy with his own house. 10 Therefore,
  because of you the heavens have withheld their
  dew and the earth its crops. 11 I called for a
  drought on the fields and the mountains, on the
  grain, the new wine, the oil and whatever the
  ground produces, on men and cattle, and on the
  labor of your hands."
• ? ? ? 18  ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? , ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
  ? , ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 19  ? ? ? ? ? ? ,
  ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? , ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
  ? ? ? ? ? ? ? , ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ( ? ? ? ? ?
  ) ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 110  ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ,
  ? ? ? ? ? ? , ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 111  ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
  , ? ? , ? ? , ? ? , ? ? , ? ? ? ? ? ? , ? ? , ? ?
  , ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

15
What are the implications for today?

• Tabernacle were built during the time of Moses
  and Aaron
• Temple were built during Solomons time
• Wall and temple building were rebuilt during the
  time of Jeremiah and Ezra
• Where does God dwell in the New Testaments time?
• Temple or church building is important, but what
  God wants is for us to seek His Kingdom first.

16
What does it mean to us?

• God will call on us as individuals to give an
  account
• Resources that God gave us is to be used, not to
  be buried in the ground
• The resource we have perhaps is greater than tons
  of gold and silver
• We should at least be able to double what we have
• Seek ye first and His Kingdom, and all these
  things shall be given to you as well.
• What we have done shall be measured and compared
  with what we are given