The sermon by Jason Dohm, titled 'The Goodness of Being Governed By God,' explores Ezra 2:59-70, emphasizing the importance of a God-centered life. The passage details the return of Israelites from captivity, focusing on those who couldn't prove their genealogical lineage, essential for maintaining a distinct community. The use of the Urim and Thummim for divine decision-making is highlighted, illustrating a reliance on God's guidance over human reasoning. The speaker underscores the joy and freedom found in being governed by God's commandments, contrasting it with the constraints of human ways. The sermon also touches on the significance of freewill offerings and the desire of the Israelites to reestablish worship in Jerusalem. Through this narrative, believers are encouraged to live distinctly, happily governed by God's word, and to appreciate the God-centered worldview of the returning Israelites.

Our passage today is Ezra 2, 59 through the end of the chapter, verse 70. And these were the ones who came up from Telmala, Teharsha, Cherub, Adon, and Emre. But they could not identify their father's house or their genealogy, whether they were of Israel. The sons of Deli, the sons of Tobiah, and the sons of Nakoda, 652. And the sons of the priests, the sons of Habi'i, the sons of Chaz, and the sons of Barzilai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzilai the Gileadite, and was called by their name.

These sought their listing among those who were registered by genealogy, but they were not found. Therefore, they were excluded from the priesthood as defiled. And the governor said to them that they should not eat of the most holy things till a priest could consult with the Urim and Thumim. The whole assembly together was 42, 360 besides their male and female servants of whom there were 7, 337. And they had 200 men and women singers.

Their horses were 736, their mules 245 their camels 435 and their donkey 6720 some of the heads of the father's houses when they came to the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem, offered freely for the house of God to erect it in its place. According to their ability, they gave to the treasury for the work 61, 000 gold drachmas, 5, 000 minas of silver, and 100 priestly garments. So the priests and the Levites, some of the people, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the nethanyim, dwelt in their cities and all Israel in their cities. The title of the sermon Today is the goodness of being governed by God. It's good to be governed by God.

And this is quite a refreshing text of the people who are demonstrating in a number of different ways that they don't want to be governed by their own thoughts and their own ways that they desire to be governed by God. It may be as we study this text that our commitment to loving the government of God would grow. It's not enough to just grudgingly go along with what God says in His Word. That is not a life that honors God. But to be happy under the government of God is a life that honors God.

So may that be what God plants in our hearts and begins to grow today. Chapter 2 is a detailed description of those who returned from captivity. These are the people that answered the King's proclamation. The King put them at liberty and actually encouraged the captives to come home to Jerusalem and Judah and to rebuild the temple and to re-institute the right worship of the living God. And so, chapter 2 tells us who answered the call of King Cyrus' proclamation.

It started with families and the numbers that came back from the families. It moved to cities and towns and the numbers that came back to occupy those cities and towns. Then last week We looked at six specific groups of people, beginning with the priests and the Levites, those who would come and have particular roles in the worship of God. This week in verses 59-70, the text is divided into three really clear and distinct sections. The first section concludes the detailed description of those who are coming back from captivity.

This listing ends with people who can't substantiate their genealogy. Either they can't prove that they are of Israel or they can't prove that they are priests. Secondly, the second section of today's text is a numeric summary of the whole chapter. In other words, when you total it up, what do you get of people who come back and the animals that come with them. And then finally, In the third section of today's text, we have Ezra speaking of the freewill offerings.

They are going to actually complete the journey at the end of chapter 2. They are going to have successfully come back to Jerusalem and Judah. They are going to be at the site of the temple. And there is going to be an outpouring. There is going to be joy to be back.

And there's going to be an outpouring of freewill offerings for the reestablishment, for the rebuilding of the temple. As we go to verse by verse exposition of the text, let's begin in prayer. Oh God, I pray that you would turn us into a people who are so happily governed by you through your Word. That the precepts of your Word would not be bondage to us, but that they would be the bonds of love to us. That we wouldn't feel constrained by your commandments, but we'd be freed by your commandments.

We would be so happily under your authority. Oh God, we can feel in our hearts a pull in the other direction from that for sure. Often exalting our own ways, wanting to do other things that are so much more in harmony with our flesh than with our resurrected spirits. I thank you that you've given us new life and now I pray that you would help us to walk in newness of life and to fight the good fight of faith to be happy to be under your authority as we see in today's text. I thank you for the breath of fresh air that this text is.

Make us the people like this people in Jesus' name. Amen. Okay, so the three divisions in this text. Number one, we have families that cannot substantiate their genealogies. This is verses 59 through 63.

There are three families, and these three families cannot prove that they are of Israel. Then you have three more families, and those three families cannot prove that they belong in the priesthood. So that's the division of this section. In verse 59, the section begins by saying that these are people who are coming back from five Babylonian towns. So it's the people of these five towns in Babylon.

And The naming of the towns actually fits in a couple of instances, the naming convention that we see in Ezekiel 3 verse 15. In Ezekiel 3 verse 15, Ezekiel has come to the captives by the river Chebar, and he finds them at a town called Tel Abib. So, a Tel-a-name is a naming convention for Babylonian towns, which we see a couple of the five towns mentioned here are named that way. So these are Babylonian towns that these people in question in today's text are coming back from. And Ezra begins by talking about three families that total up to 652 people.

They want to come back out of captivity into Jerusalem and Judah. But the question is, are they of Israel? Are they really of Israel? And we find that they can't prove it. They can't trace their family line back and prove that they're really of Israel.

652 people is actually 1.5% of all the Jews that are coming back. So in verse 64 we see there are 42, 000 Jews who are coming back. 652 is about a percent and a half of that. So overwhelmingly, the people who are coming back can prove genealogically, go up the family tree and demonstrate, prove that they are Israelites. About 98.5% can prove it.

And About a percent and a half that are being discussed now cannot demonstrate that they are of Israel. We see a number of places in the Old Testament where the genealogies are registered. This is not word of mouth. This is not informal, I'm a Jew. This is being able to prove on paper that you are part of one of these historical registrations of the people of God.

For instance, 1 Chronicles 5 verse 17 we read, all these were registered by genealogies. 1 Chronicles 5 verse 17 is a record of a record of recording the genealogies. Then a couple of chapters later in 1 Chronicles 9 verse 1, we read, So all Israel was recorded by genealogies. That's Again, that's 1 Chronicles 9 verse 1. All Israel, all of them recorded by genealogies.

In a couple of months, if the Lord should tarry until we get to Nehemiah, In Nehemiah chapter 7 verse 5, we're going to be reading this. Nehemiah will say, Then my God put it into my heart to gather the nobles, the rulers, and the people that they might be registered by genealogy. So we see this happening twice. A written record of family trees in the past. We see it twice.

1 Chronicles 5, 1 Chronicles 9. And then We'll even see it in the future, that God is going to stir up Nehemiah the governor to register the genealogies again. So this is commonly in the Old Testament. We have records that there were records of family trees. So what of this 652 people?

How come they couldn't prove it? Well, it's possible that some of them were proselytes. In other words, you did not have to be born Jewish. The people of God were not just ethnic Jews. Not just ethnic sons of Abraham.

They were overwhelmingly ethnic children of Abraham, but not exclusively ethnic children of Abraham. So as we discussed last week, there are ways to become part of the people of God. Someone who's not ethnically a son of Abraham can be circumcised and can be brought into the people of God if they will renounce their other gods and claim the living and true God to be their God. If they are circumcised, they can come in and be part of the people of God. So there are ways for non-Jews to become part of the people of God.

So these might have been proselytes who weren't even, their families weren't part of the people of God when these historical registrations happened in I Chronicles 5 and 9. That's possible. It's also possible that the genealogical records were lost. When you lose a war, you lose information. When you lose a war, You lose control of a lot of things.

And when they were dragged kicking and screaming into captivity, surely many of the existing records were lost. And that probably was true of many of these 652 people. So they could have been converts and brought in, grafted in, to the people of God. And some of them probably, their genealogical records were lost, because that's what happens when you lose in war. You lose control of many things.

Now, why does it matter? Who cares? Well, Ezra cared. And I want to give you four reasons why it matters. There might be more, but here are the four that I'm thinking of.

Number one, and most importantly, Israel was always intended by God to be a very distinct community. Always, always, always, always, always. Israel was always intended by God to be a very distinct community, not a mingled, mixed community. Think about all the ceremonial laws, all of the Mosaic laws, about clean and unclean. Clean and unclean.

Clean and unclean. In this category, in this category, in this category, clean and unclean. That was to show the people that they were distinct, that there was a difference between clean and unclean. And they weren't to be mingled and mixed up as if they were one. The people of God were always to be a clean people and a distinct people.

For Israel, for the people of God, you were in or you were out. And it was clear whether you were in or out. Can it get clearer than circumcision. In or out, physical sign. You don't forget circumcision.

You're in and there's a sign that you're in or you're out. Number two. Intermarriage is forbidden. The people of God don't marry outside the people of God. It's forbidden.

So you have to know. This is not guesswork. Intermarriage is forbidden. You have to know whether you're marrying a member of the people of God or you're not. So it's important whether there's evidence, whether you can prove it genealogically, that these are members of the people of God.

What if a young man wanted to come and marry your daughter? You say, are you a Christian? He says, well at times I've thought of myself as a Christian? Dismissed. Dismissed.

Next. Go away. Are you a Christian or not? Are you in or are you out? Not have you considered yourself at one point in your life?

It would be like that. Are you part of the people of God? Well, I consider myself part of the people of God. No, no, no. Do you have the credentials?

In or out? Which credentials, in or out. Which are you? Number three, heritage determines inheritance. There's a lot legally bound up in whether you can demonstrate genealogically that you're a member of the people of God.

There's land tied to families. So this is not just names on a paper, there's an importance to the names on the paper, but land is tied to family. And they're going back to claim family lands. You have to be able to prove that you're part of that family. You can't just declare yourself to be and then claim a bunch of land for yourself.

That's not going to work. So they need to know who is and who is not. Heritage determines inheritance. Number four. This from Cyrus' proclamation in chapter one verse three.

Cyrus says, who is among you of all his people? May his God be with him and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel. The proclamation was for the people of God. Who is among you of all his people? Prove it.

Do you have evidence or do you not have evidence. In fact, foreigners are going to want to join into the endeavor when they get to Jerusalem and they start building and they're going to say no, you have no part in this. The proclamation, the rebuilding, the reclaiming is to be done by the people of God. The proclamation is targeted towards those who are in. So you need to be able to demonstrate that you're in.

Ultimately, this is a lesser problem. Why is that? Because you can become a member of the people of God. If they can't prove their genealogy, there are ways to still become members of the people of God. So Ultimately, this is a lesser problem.

You definitely see that demonstrated in the text. Now we move to the next three families. The question isn't, are you of Israel? The question is, are you of the line of Aaron? Can you trace up that family tree to Aaron?

Are you really a priest? Only those descendants of Aaron are priests. Ultimately this is the much greater problem. You can become a member of the people of God, but you cannot become a descendant of Aaron if you're not a descendant of Aaron. That's not possible.

So you either are or you aren't. There is no becoming a descendant of Aaron if you weren't born one. Only priests are to undertake duties given to the sons of Aaron. Anyone who undertakes those duties, who is not a descendant of Aaron is supposed to die. Numbers 3, verse 10.

Listen to Numbers 3, verse 10. So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons and they shall attend to their priesthood, but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death." Very important to be a real priest, to really be descended from Aaron if you are going to take up these duties. This cannot be a matter of guesswork. This reflects the mind of God on the matter. This would be a capital offense that you would forfeit your life if you take up these duties, if you don't really belong in the priesthood because you're not a descendant of Aaron.

That it's a capital offense, a death penalty offense, reflects the mind of God on the matter. In other words, it says how much God cares. He cares a lot. And so there's actually mercy in the law. We saw that so many times when we were in Deuteronomy.

Mercy in the law, mercy in the law, mercy in the law. Because you don't want to get crossways with God. And so God's made it so clear that this matters to him by making it a capital offense so you won't even think about it. Usurping a job that was given to the sons of Aaron. Stealing that job.

Only priests and legitimate members of their households are to eat the portions of the offering. Priests are Levites. Aaron is part of the tribe of Levi. So they don't have a land inheritance. God is their inheritance.

So there's a Levitical tithe that supports the Levites. Likewise, with the priests, with this family within the tribe of Levi, special family, the priesthood, parts of the offering that aren't to be burnt up as a sacrifice to God, are then set aside as the support of these priests. But you better not be eating that. You better not be partaking of that support if you're not a member of that family. And if we go to Leviticus 22 verses 10 through 16, you find a very detailed description of who can and who can't eat these portions.

So it's about the portions that are to be set aside from the offerings to be support for the priesthood. Leviticus 22 verses 10-16 talks in great detail about who counts and who doesn't count for the eating of those portions. So hired servants don't count and better not be eating it. Servants who are members of the household can. Hired servants?

No. Members of the household? Yes. If you were born in the household? Yes.

If you're a daughter? Yes. If you're a married daughter? No. If you're a widowed daughter and you come back into the house?

Yes. That's the level of care and detail that God has prescribed in Leviticus 22. Does God care? You betcha. You betcha He cares when He gives that much detail and gives that much space in Scripture to something, He cares a lot.

We can't afford not to care about the things that God cares about. That's what should bother us. It's One of the things that should bother us so much about today's Christian world, and should be a warning to our own souls, is we see a Christian world where people don't care very much about the things that God so clearly cares about in His Word. We cannot afford not to care about the things that God cares about. Our whole mission in life is to be conformed into the image of Jesus Christ, to have the mind of Christ, to love the things that He loves, and to hate the things that he hates.

When you come into the faith, you're nothing like that. You love what you love. You hate what you hate. And they're almost always almost completely flip-flopped with how God thinks about things. And so we spend the next decades of our lives learning to love what he loves, learning to hate what he hates.

We cannot afford, these people can't afford, to think differently about things than God thinks. Now of these three families who can't prove genealogically that they're really priests. We know something about one of these families. We know about the family of Barzili, the Gileadite. It's the only family we have any history on, but we have actually a rich history about Barzalai the Gileadite.

450 years earlier approximately from the time that Ezra is writing about, 450 years earlier in the time of David in 2 Samuel 17 verses 24-29, David is fleeing for his life from Absalom, his son. His son has claimed the throne for himself and he's willing and trying to kill his father to solidify his status as King of Israel. This is 2 Samuel 17 verses 24 through 29. David's fleeing from his life. He crosses over the Jordan and there are a group of men who are loyal to David, who come out and provide them with shelter and supplies.

One of these men is Barzilai, the Gileadite. Now, you're doing this at risk of your life. Supporting David in this moment is not the savvy move. Getting away from David at this moment when his son who has claimed his throne and is after his life the savvy move is to step back. But not these men.

They come in and they supply David and his men. In 2 Samuel 19, so a couple of chapters later, in 2 Samuel 19 verses 31 through 39, David has defeated Absalom and Absalom has been killed. So now David is crossing the Jordan again and he is coming back into Jerusalem to be king. And Barzilai the Gileadite is there to meet him as he comes back in triumph. And he's described in 2 Samuel 19, 31-39 as a very rich man.

That's one thing we know about Barzilai the Gileadite. He's a very rich man. And David says, Come and be at my table. Come, Live in the courts of the king. Be supplied from my table." And Barzalai says, I'm an old man.

Let me live at home. But David wants to honor him. And in 1 Kings 2 verse 7, when David is giving his final instructions to his son Solomon. He's handing the kingdom over to Solomon. 1 Kings 2 verse 7, David says, Show kindness to the sons of Barzalai the Gileadite.

In other words, David was so filled with gratitude that this man had put his neck on the chopping block when Absalom was after him and wanted to kill him. This man put himself in harm's way to encourage him and to supply him that he instructed his son Solomon to be show kindness, to honor the sons of Barzalai the Gileadite. So that is the Barzalai the Gileadite of our text today. The other data point that you need to know is Numbers 26 verse 29. In Numbers 26 verse 29 we find out that Gileadites are of the tribe of Manasseh, not the tribe of Levi.

So it is an impossibility that Barzilai, the Gileadite, was a member of Aaron's family. He could not have been a priest. He was of the tribe of Manasseh. So we know from that, that anyone in his family doesn't belong in the priesthood. Now what does all this mean?

It appears that this is what happened. Somewhere in this family line, somewhere in this 450 years, maybe all the way upstream but we're not sure of that, somewhere in this family line a man, a descendant of Barzilai the Gileadite, had only daughters, didn't have an heir. And that a priest married one of these daughters and took the family name to become an heir. It looks like that is what is happening in this text. So a man who is in the line of Aaron marries a daughter, a descendant of Barzili the Gileadite.

Because this man doesn't have any legitimate heirs, he becomes the legitimate heir, and takes upon himself the name Barzili, takes on himself the family name and the family honor. This is an honored family. David said, honor this family. Honor his sons, honor his descendants. So this priest took upon himself the family name and the family honor.

And to do that, this priest would have had to have forsaken the priesthood, because a priest cannot own land. He cannot be an heir in the tribe of Manasseh unless he forsakes the priesthood. So you're talking about a man who has forsaken the priesthood to take on the family name and the family honor of Barzilai, the Gileadite. And now it appears that this family is trying to come back into the priesthood. This is called having your cake and eating it too.

This is called enjoying the honor of being named Barzili, taking on that honor family name. And now, when it's a great time to be a priest, when the people of God are being called back to rebuild and reinstitute the worship of God, now you want to be a priest. That's probably what's happening here in this text. Your name says it all, Barzili. Your name says it all, you cannot be a priest.

You're not the right family. Now, what did they do? Because they could not prove that they were of Aaron. They were excluded from the priesthood as defiled. That's the direct words from verse 62.

Excluded from the priesthood as defiled. Disqualified. Not able to serve in the priesthood. The governor, presumably Zerubbabel, prescribes that they should not eat of the most holy things till a priest could consult with the Urim and Thummim. I feel like I have a lisp any time I have to say that.

I think it's Thummim that gets me. We first see the Urim and Thummim in Exodus chapter 28 verse 30 which reads, And you shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and Thummim, And they shall be over Aaron's heart when he goes in before the Lord. So Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel over his heart before the Lord continually." This is the first time we see the Urim and Thummim. This is Exodus chapter 28 verse 30. What's being described is objects, we don't know exactly what they are, but objects that were part of the garments of the high priest.

They belonged in the breastplate. Here's what the Expositors Bible commentary says. The Urim and Thummim were probably two small objects made of wood, bone, or stone, perhaps of different colors or with different inscriptions, that would give a yes or no answer. This gets at the heart of it. You use these things, whatever shape or size or materials they were, to discern the will of the Lord on a matter, yes or no?

So this is a highly prescribed way to consult God on something. Highly prescribed. Now if you don't get this, you end up thinking that this is superstition. This is not superstition. This is what God has told the people to do.

Include this in the garments of the high priest. Not every priest, the high priest. Aaron, over his heart. So this is a highly prescribed way to consult God. Not superstition.

This is not all Israelites going around with dice. If it's a six, I go for it. Oh, it's a six, I go for it. No. This is one person, the high priest, doing what God told him to do, so you know that God can be consulted that way because he said do it this way.

So you have the king coming to consult with the high priest about important matters, to consult God through the mediation of the high priest about certain matters. This is not superstition. The point of this is that the governor, presumably Zerubbabel, says the answer is no unless God himself says yes. So we're not sorting this out and using human reason and human principles to try to figure this out. The answer is no unless God Himself through the Urim and the Thummim in the hands of the High Priest says yes.

Only God Himself can overthrow this verdict. I love this about this passage. This is God being treated as holy. This is God being loved as A Holy God, a separate God. This is the fear of the Lord on display.

They are fearing God by saying the answer is no unless God Himself says yes in the way He told us to consult Him. Wow, can modern Christians learn anything from this? Hello? How God tells us to consult Him. Let the answers only come from that.

Set aside your best thoughts and all the human principles that everybody else is making their decisions by. And trust what God has told us. Zerubbabel was making sure that they were being governed by God. He didn't want another kind of government. He didn't have a smarter kind of answer than God had given to his people.

Amen. Let's abandon the smarter kinds of answers that God has given to His people. His answers are the best answers, the smartest answers. What is this to us? You have people and they can't prove who their great great great great great great great great granddaddy was.

What does that matter to the New Testament Christian? Two things that I can think of. Number one, appreciate the God-centered world of these brethren. Just appreciate it. They're coming back from captivity.

So many of their freedoms, the freedom to worship God in the way He's prescribed, stripped away from them. They're coming back and they're trying to rebuild a different world, a better world, a God-centered world. So just appreciate the God-centered world of these brethren. In our man-centered world, you are what you say you are. In the God-centered world that they're trying to recreate, you are what God says you are.

Okay, Think about our world. You say you're a Christian? Fine, you're a Christian. You say you're a homosexual Christian? Fine, you're a homosexual Christian.

You say you're a Muslim transvestite Christian? Fine. You're a Muslim transvestite Christian. You say you're a woman pastor? Fine.

You're a woman pastor. Fine, you're a woman pastor. If what had happened then, happened now, there would be outrage that you couldn't count as part of Israel, and that you couldn't count as part of Israel, and that you couldn't count as part of the priesthood. There would be inequality movement. There would be breathless interviews on CNN.

You've waited your whole life for this moment. You've dreamed of being a priest. And now because you don't have one stupid piece of paper, you can't live the life of your dreams. There would be a Restore Barzili now movement. Wouldn't there?

Wouldn't there? In the modern church, yes. But Zerubbabel and the people were coming back, knew why they were coming back. And it was not for man to be the center of the universe, it was for God to be the center of the universe. And it's a better world.

The answers are smarter when God's at the center. The ways are better. And sometimes it offends us. And sometimes it strips from us things that we think would be good, things we want. But it's always better for God to be at the center.

And they're coming back from captivity where in many ways, God couldn't be at the center of many things in the way that they wanted Him to be, that they needed Him to be because of their captivity, because of their sin. But now they're coming back and they want to rebuild a different kind of world where God's Word can be honored. Where they can do things according to what God has said. Number two, understand the picture and the thing pictured. Okay, The picture is the representation.

Pointing to a real thing. A picture of a horse isn't a horse. It makes you think of a horse. It helps you understand a horse. So we have the type and the substance.

That's Old Testament to New Testament. Types, pictures, shadows, fulfillment, Reality, substance. So anytime we come to these things in the Old Testament, we have to say, okay, there's a picture of a horse. What's the horse? What's the three dimensional, beautiful, magnificent horse?

Turn in your Bibles to Genesis 12. Genesis 12. This is the very beginning of Abram to be Abraham. Genesis 12. As far as we know, this is the first time God spoke to Abram.

He started giving him promises. Genesis chapter 12 verses 1 through 3. Genesis chapter 12 verse 1. Now the Lord said to Abram, get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation.

I will bless you and make your name great. And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." Here we have God's command to Abram to separate, to leave his country and his family and get separate. And we have a promise, God's promise, he promised him he would bless him and make him a mighty nation.

And then we get the reason that he wanted him to separate and wanted to bless him, so that he would be a blessing. So that through Abraham, all the families of the earth would be blessed. He's blessed to be a blessing. And this is the picture that carries over from the Old Testament to the New. All the New Testament blessings are why?

To be a blessing. Israel is the picture. Abraham being the fountainhead of that. And the promises are ultimately to his seed, to Christ. And they are fulfilled in the New Testament Church.

Now they are fulfilled in some ways in the Old Testament and in this genealogical family, but it's a picture. It's not the horse, it's two-dimension picture. The three-dimensional horse is in Christ, in the Lord's people, in the New Testament, in the New Covenant. Blessed to be a blessing. Called apart to be separate.

Not to get away from those Gentile dogs, but so that they can develop as a holy people and be a light, can be salt and light. That's what the picture was in the Old Testament. That's what the fulfillment is to be in the New Testament. That's why it matters if you're part of a separate people or not, because you're being separated out and blessed to be a blessing. Turn in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians chapter 6.

Paul speaks of the same thing in 2 Corinthians chapter 6. 2 Corinthians chapter 6 beginning in verse 14 reading through 18, Paul writes, Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? What communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial?

For what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said, I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God and they shall be My people.

Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you, I will be a father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." Paul goes on to quote all those Old Testament texts about coming out and being separate. This is not at odds with the Great Commission. If you don't understand that, you don't really understand the Great Commission. Come out and be separate is not at odds with the Great Commission.

It does not overthrow the Great Commission. It is a necessary prerequisite for the Great Commission. There is no Great Commission, there is no going to disciple the nations and baptizing them and teaching them all things that Christ has commanded without coming out and being separate. It's a necessary prerequisite. It has to happen first, or there will be no going to the nations, and making disciples of them.

So you come out, and you're a different kind of people. You live differently. You make decisions differently. You think differently. You speak differently.

You dress differently. You listen to different kind of music. You read different kinds of books. You spend your time differently. You come out and you separate yourself from the world.

You become a distinct people and it allows you to be a light, a city on a hill, a candle on a lamp stand. Without that there is no Great Commission. People of God are to come out and be separate, not pulling against the Great Commission, but to do the Great Commission, to engage in the Great Commission. Listen to what Jesus says in His high priestly prayer in John 17. This is John 17 verses 14 and 15 and skipping to 18.

John 17, 14 and 15, skip a few, 18. Jesus says, I have given them, His disciples, I have given them Your Word. And the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil one. As you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world." So the first part of what Jesus is saying there is calling for separation.

Calling for a difference, a distinction, like the Old Testament people of God, a distinction, so that you should be hated by the world because of how you think, and the books that you read, and the music that you listen to. Not because you make yourself obnoxious, but because you're different, and you honor God with your life, and it makes you a city on a hill and a candle on a lamp stand. The world sees it and the world is going to hate it because it is light. The world hates light. John chapter 3.

And then Jesus goes on to talk about the purpose, I have sent them into the world. Sometimes the Jews understood this in the Old Testament, that they were to be a light, that they were separated out to be a light, so that people would say, no one's God is like their God. No one's laws are like their laws. Sometimes the Jews understood that. Sometimes they used it as a way to despise the Gentile dogs.

Sometimes they got it. What is God doing? He is making us distinct so that people would see that's the real God. Sometimes they didn't get it and they fell away from God and these distinctions just became a reason to despise the whole rest of the world. All these dynamics are still in play today for us.

Do you realize why you've been separated out. It's not to keep you from the Gentile dogs. Okay, we should be separate. We should be a peculiar people, distinct, different in every way than the world. But God did not do that so you would then despise your unbelieving neighbors.

You were that yesterday. You were that yesterday. It's not so we would despise them. It's so that we would be a city on a hill, a candle on a lamp stand. That's why the separation.

So if the separation causes us to disengage from the Great Commission, we don't know what we're doing. We have no idea what is in the mind of God. The separation is for the Great Commission. It's a necessary prerequisite of the Great Commission. So the people would see, no one's God is like their God.

That was the first section. Why does it matter if there's a distinct people or whether they're just mixed? That's why it matters. Because God separates and makes distinct so that he would be glorified, not to keep you away from the Gentile dogs, but to make you separate and distinct and lovely, desirable to those who would then be drawn into his kingdom. Number two, The second section, the summary of all those who returned.

This is verses 64 through 67. The numerical summary of all those who returned. So here's the math. The whole assembly of those who are of the people of God, 42, 360 plus, 7, 337 servants, presumably not part of the people of God because they're listed separately and apart from the whole assembly. And then 200 singers.

It's probably a rounded number in Nehemiah 7, the parallel text of this. Nehemiah gives a more precise number and a less perfect number. Nehemiah says 245, but anyway, Ezra rounds here, I think, giving us the total of Ezra's numbers of just shy of 50, 000. 49, 897. So 50, 000 people come back from captivity in Babylon to Jerusalem.

Now look at the 42, 000 of those who are part of the people of God who come back. If you add up all the groups, we've been adding numbers all throughout chapter 2. If you just keep adding and adding and adding, you're only going to get 29, 818. So you're about 12, 000 people shy of the total that he gives us here in verse 64. Why?

Why are we 12, 000 short? Text doesn't say. Text doesn't say. So, I'll speculate. Some possible reasons.

Some commentators say that the women were not included in the other number. It would seem like a massive disparity between number of men and number of women. It would give you about 30, 000 men and 12, 000 women. That doesn't seem right to me. Some commentators say that there are other tribes represented.

At the beginning of the chapter, it talks about Judah and Benjamin. So, maybe the Levites that have been named by name, and you can tell they're Levites, and Judah and Benjamin comprise the 29, 818, and the shortfall is the other tribes. That's my guess. That's my best guess. But in any event, Ezra and Nehemiah both agree on the grand total.

Maybe there were groups that just weren't called out separately. But Nehemiah and Ezra agree to the person on the grand total, which is 42, 360. So they're coming back with servants. 7300 plus servants, male and female servants. Probably didn't go into captivity 70 years earlier with those servants.

They're coming back with horses and mules. Didn't go into captivity keeping their horses and mules. Horses and mules were for the affluent during that period of time. So there are some indicators of accumulating prosperity. Some of them accumulated prosperity, even in their captivity.

So you have 7, 300 male and female servants. That's one indicator of prosperity. Horses and mules are both indicators of prosperity. The gold and silver that we're going to hit at the end of the chapter indicates prosperity. Who are the singers?

They're not the sons of Asaph from earlier in the chapter. I'm confident of that. There were 128 of them. They're not the sons of Asaph. In the Old Testament we see male and female singers employed for weddings, funerals, professional musicians for things like that.

In Ecclesiastes chapter 2 verses 7 and 8, Solomon is talking about all the evidences of the prosperity that God has given him. Solomon was the wealthiest king in Israel's history. And he's giving in Ecclesiastes chapter 2 verses 7 and 8, the evidences that God has blessed him richly. And one of the evidences that he gives is the male and female singers that are part of his court. So it's a proof of great possessions and Ecclesiastes too.

And I think it's probably, that's the significance of it here too. They've been able to accumulate some prosperity, even in captivity, because God has blessed them, even in their captivity. And they're coming back with those things. The animals that are mentioned are animals for getting from A to B. They're not herd animals that would slow you down in a long four or five month journey.

No herd animals. All pack animals. Animals to get you from A to B. Okay. Number three, the third section of the text.

Free will offerings for the house of God, verses 68 and 69. Ezra brings us in on a holy moment. Ezra brings us in on a holy moment. We don't know from this portion of scripture how long it took them, but from the other waves, if the other waves are representative, and given the distance that they traveled, this is probably four or five months. They're weary.

They come to Jerusalem. They come to the site of the temple. Most of them have never seen it before in their lives. A few of them have seen it in their childhood. This is a holy moment.

They are on holy ground. They've come, they've traveled all this distance just to do this, to come back and rebuild this temple and bring back the true worship of the living God. And now they're here, and now there's an outpouring. There's an outpouring for the work that is ahead. 1100 pounds of gold, three tons of silver.

That's the conversion from the drachmas. 1100 pounds of gold, three tons of silver, and a hundred garments to get the priests going in the worship of God. This happened historically anytime it was time to put forward resources for the worship of God. It happened in Exodus chapter 36, which we talked about a couple of weeks ago. There's time to build the tabernacle.

And Moses has to restrain the people and say, Stop giving! We have too much already. Stop bringing things. There's an outpouring towards the worship of God. In 1 Chronicles 29, the first temple, David wasn't allowed to build the temple, but he left as many resources as he could for the building of it.

It was a way he could participate without building the temple, so he leaves a bunch of resources. And then just like this, the heads of households bring forward tremendous amounts of wealth. In 1 Chronicles 29, read in verse 7. In 1 Chronicles 29 verse 7, they're bringing it in talents, not in drachmas. Drachmas are coins.

Talents are pounds and pounds. So it was a different time, where the people of God really were at the height of their prosperity. And so the heads of households are bringing talents of gold. Not drachmas, not coins of gold. They're bringing pounds and pounds and pounds of it.

But even so, there's an outpouring now here in Ezra chapter 2 for reinstituting the worship of God. But we encounter an interesting phrase, according to their ability. That's how they did it. And That's why the amounts don't matter. There's a difference in amounts between Exodus 36 and 1 Chronicles 29 and Ezra 2.

But To God the amounts don't matter. They are giving according to their ability. It's precious. It's an acceptable offering in His sight. Here's what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 9 verses 6 and 7.

2 Corinthians 9 verses 6 and 7, Paul writes, but I say this, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver. You can bet after five months on the road with the mules and the donkeys and the camels and the horses and the people and the servants and the singers and all that, Five months on the road when they come to the Temple Mount, it's cheerful giving. It's giving as each one purposed in his heart. It's giving according to their own ability.

Finally, in verse 70, Ezra sets us up for a transition. And he says that the people have arrived home from captivity and they've begun to settle in their cities. And that's going to launch us right into chapter 3, where we see how life begins to unfold now that they're settling into their cities. So the last verse of the chapter, verse 70, is a beautiful transition to where Ezra is headed in the narrative. Three applications.

In closing, three applications. Really three questions for us from this text. Number one, are you separate? Israel's the picture. Israel was separate.

The 3D version, the fulfillment, the substance of it in the New Testament, should look like the picture, but even be richer and better. Are you separate? The people of God have always been meant to be a peculiar people, a distinct people, a different looking, sounding, thinking people. Talking. Are you separate enough from this world, from this culture that is working all day, every day to suck you back in to it?

To pull you back into your own patterns, to make you love the things that you used to love when you lived in the world all the time. You thought nothing but of the world. It's trying to suck you in, back in today. It wants you back. The world wants you back.

It wants you back in all the old patterns. Are you separate enough? Would God think you're separate enough? It's the only opinion that matters. My opinion does not matter.

Your neighbor's opinion doesn't matter. God's opinion matters. We can't afford not to value the things he values. He wants his people to be separate. And, do you remember why we're separate?

It's not to get away from those Gentile dogs. They are what you were yesterday. Have pity on your Gentile dog neighbors, because you're one day removed from being a Gentile dog, and it's only the mercy of God, it's only the grace of God that has made you anything different than that if you're different from that. Are you separate? Do you remember why you are separate?

God blesses to make you a blessing. It's Genesis 12 and Abram all over again. He changes your name and blesses you and separates you out so that you'll be a blessing to all the families of the earth. These are fulfilled in Christ and Christ's continuing ministry in His people in the world today. Number two, are you happily governed by God?

Not are you governed by God. We're all governed by God. He's the sovereign King of all the universe. The question is, are you happily governed by Him? His ways satisfy you.

Are you thrilled at the prospect of living under what He has said? Or is it a drag to you? Okay, here's Psalm 2. Psalm 2 is all the kings of the earth gathering together against the Lord and against His anointed. That's Jesus.

And what do they say? Break their chains. No more constraint. We will not be governed by this God. They are bonds of love.

They are bonds of the kings of the earth. They gather together because they can't see it. They are bonds of love. God's ways are pleasant ways. All His paths are peace.

It's not chains that should be thrown off and discarded. They are bonds of love to preserve you for the sweetest and the best things in life. Are you happily governed by God? Or are you like the kings of the earth in Psalm 2 who want to break the bonds? As soon as you can get free of these parents of yours, these overbearing parents, you'll break those chains and then you'll really enjoy life.

Is that what you think? You have a different thing coming to you than what you've envisioned, if that's what you think. Number three. Have you considered what God can do with a Gideon's army? Have you considered what God can do with a Gideon's army?

Remember Gideon? He musters a puny army. A puny army considering the foe that they faced. God says that's too many. Send some home.

He sends some home. That's too many. You might still think you did it by your own strength if you go with this many, send more home. Put them down, see who laps and see who puts them up. He whittles it down to 300 men against a massive army.

Why? So that God will get the glory so we won't think it's been done in our own strength. That's why God whittles the army down to 300 brave souls, so that he will receive the glory. Fifty thousand people are coming back in the first wave. Go get your hands on Archbishop Usher, James Usher, and the Annals of the World and read around this time the kinds of armies that are being amassed by the kings of the world, by the the men who are ruling empires.

There are million-man armies that are being amassed by the kings of the world, by the men who are ruling empires. There are million man armies that are being amassed by the rulers of the world at this time. Fifty thousand lousy people come back to Jerusalem and Judah. They'll never have enough strength for the work before them. But they're getting His army.

And God has only moved in the hearts of 50, 000 so that when the work's done, there won't be any place for the glory to go except for God Himself. We're a small people. We're a weak people. Look around. Does this look like a mega church to you?

We shouldn't be put off by that. What might God be pleased to do with us if we're faithful? If we'll obey Him? If we'll be happily governed by Him? Let his word rule the day.

God might do something very significant here. Let's pray. Oh God, that it would be so, not that our name would be great, not that we would be known as anything, but that you could have whittled down to a small size so that you would receive all the glory in anything that happens in or around us. God, may it be so. Glorify your name.

Put yourself on display as a mighty God. We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.