Sunday School Lesson for February 13, 2022 - Ezra and the Law: Printed Text: Ezra 7:1-10,23-26 NLT; Background Scripture: Ezra 7:1-26 NLT Devotional Reading: Ezra 7:1-10,23-26 NLT

Unit 3: Justice and Adversity

Key Verse:

Ezra 7:10 NLT

 

10 This was because Ezra had determined to study and obey the Law of the Lord and to teach those decrees and regulations to the people of Israel.

 

Ezra leaned into the law of the Lord. Should not we follow his example?

 

 

What you need to know

 

 

Ezra 6:14-16 NLT

 

14 So the Jewish elders continued their work, and they were greatly encouraged by the preaching of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo. The Temple was finally finished, as had been commanded by the God of Israel and decreed by Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, the kings of Persia. 15 The Temple was completed on March 12, (515 BC) during the sixth year of King Darius’s reign.16 The Temple of God was then dedicated with great joy by the people of Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the people who had returned from exile. 

 

 

By the time Ezra appears, the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem has been complete for fifty-seven years from 515 BC to 458 BC. That was as long a period as the exile in Babylon had lasted. It is one thing to have to be apart from a place of worship due to captivity. It is quite another to have a place of worship standing in your midst and no qualified leadership prepared to do the hard work of building a ‘church’ in the church. Yes, there were men that God inspired to return from captivity to Israel in order to pave the way for the re-establishment of the nation of Israel. And yes, in the face of great opposition, these forerunners to Ezra had accomplished much. But everyone has a role to play in God’s opera. Ezra had next.

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The Lesson

Ezra 7:1a NLT

1a Many years later, during the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia,[a] there was a man named Ezra.

By now, Babylon is long gone, defeated and overrun by the Medo-Persian Empire to the north. Over the period of time, the conquering empire had seen four monarchs: Cyrus, Darius, Xerxes, and finally, Artaxerxes. Three of these kings played a significant role in the restoration of Israel; Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes. Before we discount the role of Xerxes, a bit of investigation reveals that it was Xerxes who eventually made Esther his queen. So there’s that.

Ezra’s name means “Help”, or “Helper”. His name is appropriate considering that he is called into service to restore worship not just to the Temple at Jerusalem, but to the nation of Israel. 

Ezra 7:1b-5 NLT

1b He was the son[b] of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, 2 son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, 3 son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son[c] of Meraioth, 4 son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, 5 son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the high priest.

Let’s step through these individually where possible. Ezra was the son or descendant of Seraiah. Seraiah, the High Priest, was carried away into captivity in Babylon prior to the fall of Judah (2 Kings 25:18). Thus, we establish that Ezra was not only a scribe, an expert in the Law of Moses but he was also tied to the high priesthood of Israel. A descendant of Azariah and Hilkiah establishes that he was the namesake of one of a couple of people named Azariah, with one being born before the Babylonian captivity and one being born during the Babylonian captivity. Next in his lineage was the high priest,  Hilkiah, whose father was Shallum and whose mother was Huldah, the prophetess. Hilkiah played a key part in the great revival in Judah, under King Josiah.

From there, we go back several hundred years to Zadok, who served under King David late in his reign, and Ahitub, who served under King Saul. From Ahitub, draw a line to Amariah, to Azariah, to Meraioth, then Zerahiah. From Zerahiah, continue to Uzzi, then Bukki, then Abishua, which takes us back through the times of the Judges to Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron. 

Of note, Phinehas turned the wrath of God away from Israel by extinguishing idolatry from the camp of Israel (Numbers 25:11). Eleazar, the father of Phinehas was the third son of Aaron. He inherited the mantle of the high priest after the death of his two older brothers, who were consumed for burning strange fire before the Lord (Leviticus 10:1-6).

Finally, Ezra’s lineage rests at his progenitor, Aaron: the first high priest of Israel. Thus, Ezra, like his ancestor Aaron is tasked with restoring worship in Israel. By the law of Moses, God taught Aaron the particulars of corporate worship. With the law of Moses, Ezra would teach the nation of Israel to worship.

Ezra 7:6 NLT

6 This Ezra was a scribe who was well versed in the Law of Moses, which the Lord, the God of Israel, had given to the people of Israel. He came up to Jerusalem from Babylon, and the king gave him everything he asked for, because the gracious hand of the Lord his God was on him.

A brief testimony here. A true story. Many years ago, I worked under a lady whose last name was Stephen (not Stephens). She was of Indian / Asian descent, so her name seemed incongruent to her heritage, … until I heard her story. I asked how she came by her surname and she relayed to me the following. Two thousand years ago, Stephen, one of the original six deacons chosen was martyred by stoning soon after his ordination as a deacon. Stephen was named the patron saint of Delhi, India by the Anglican Church because in 1857 the first Christian missionaries to Delhi were martyred in the same way Stephen was; by stoning. The village where my supervisor’s descendants were from took the last name ‘Stephen’ as evidence that they, the entire village had converted to Christianity. The entire village took Stephen as their surname. Remarkable!

Ezra was born in Babylonian captivity, yet his lineage was so wrapped up in the history of Israel that it is no wonder that he held to the traditions of his ancestors. He was well versed in the law of Moses, which indicates that he was probably well educated in Israeli, Babylonian, and Persian history. Obviously, he had favor with King Artaxerxes, because the king gave him all that he desired, knowing full well that his intention was to return to Israel to restore worship to the One, True God of Heaven.

Ezra 7:7 NLT

7 Some of the people of Israel, as well as some of the priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and Temple servants, traveled up to Jerusalem with him in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes’ reign.

As highly as he was regarded in Persia, his arrival in Jerusalem was just as highly regarded. Upon his arrival, Temple servants, priests, Levites, worshippers, and gatekeepers came from throughout Israel to join in the work of restoring worship to Israel. Help (Ezra) had arrived. Hope had arrived.

Ezra 7:8-9 NLT

8 Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in August[e] of that year (458 BC). 9 He had arranged to leave Babylon on April 8, the first day of the new year, (458 BC) and he arrived at Jerusalem on August 4,[g] for the gracious hand of his God was on him.

And so we see that after one hundred and twenty-eight years since the beginning of the Babylonian captivity, God is poised to show his graciousness to His people by the hand of Ezra, upon whom God has visited with great grace. God will not forget His people.

Ezra 7:10 NLT

10 This was because Ezra had determined to study and obey the Law of the Lord and to teach those decrees and regulations to the people of Israel.

Ezra lived his life on purpose. Purpose was written into his DNA. Purpose was preached to him by his parents down by the rivers in Babylon. Hope was birthed in Ezra as the adults around him recognized and nurtured the Spirit of God in him. As he grew, he took it upon himself to apply the lesson taught him by his mentors. In doing so, he found that God was with him. If God is with you, He’s more than the whole world against you. Ezra learned that nothing, nothing was too hard for God. Purpose.

Ezra 7:23-24 NLT

23 “Be careful to provide whatever the God of heaven demands for his Temple, for why should we risk bringing God’s anger against the realm of the king and his sons? 24 I also decree that no priest, Levite, singer, gatekeeper, Temple servant, or other worker in this Temple of God will be required to pay tribute, customs, or tolls of any kind.”

From the pen of the king came the decree above. Care was to be taken regarding the plans of Ezra. Nothing was to hinder his mission. King Artaxerxes dared not incur the wrath of God by dismissing the work of God in the person of Ezra. Like Joseph, the son of Israel, God’s favor was so evident in Ezra that his presence inspired the reverent fear of God in those that encountered him, including the king. Ezra had the ‘It Factor” at the highest level. He was highly favored by both God and men.

Ezra 7:25 NLT

25 “And you, Ezra, are to use the wisdom your God has given you to appoint magistrates and judges who know your God’s laws to govern all the people in the province west of the Euphrates River. Teach the law to anyone who does not know it.

Focus. Ezra’s authority was not limited to Israel. King Artaxerxes decreed that Ezra’s influence was to extend west from the Euphrates river to… at least as far as the Red Sea. That would have included Iraq, Syria, Damascus, Saudia Arabia, Jordan, Israel, and Caanan. Everything west of the Euphrates. God fully intended to restore Israel to her former glory. There was no limit to what God wanted to do through Ezra. Are you paying attention? Do. Not. Place. Limits. On. God. Just don’t!

Ezra 7:26 NLT

26 Anyone who refuses to obey the law of your God and the law of the king will be punished immediately, either by death, banishment, confiscation of goods, or imprisonment.”

Fast forward to the present. You see, though the king decreed it, Israel did not return to that expansive kingdom envisioned by King Artaxerxes. That’s because Artaxerxes could only grasp a shadow of God’s full intent: the establishment of His everlasting Kingdom on the earth through the person of Jesus Christ, the heir to the everlasting Throne of David. It would have been hard to fathom and even harder to vocalize the majesty and the reach of the Kingdom that God intended. Honestly, it still is. And guess what? All who refuse to accept the gift of the Kingdom that God offers through His Son will incur the judgment and eternal wrath of God. Beloved, we have work to do. Like Ezra, let us be about our Father’s business, spreading the message of His great love for as long as we have breath.

Selah,

wb

Haggai 2:9 NLT

9 The future glory of this Temple will be greater than its past glory, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. And in this place I will bring peace. I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!”

1 Corinthians 2:9 NLT

9 That is what the Scriptures mean when they say,

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard,

    and no mind has imagined

what God has prepared

    for those who love him.”[a]

 

Sunday School Lesson for February 6, 2022 - Nathan Condemns David: Printed Text: 2 Samuel 12:1-9, 13-15 NKJV; Background Scripture: 2 Samuel 12 NKJV; Devotional Reading: 2 Samuel 12:1-9, 13-15 NKJV

 

Unit 3: Justice and Adversity

Key Verse:

2 Samuel 12:7a NKJV

 

7a Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man!

 

My question for the reader this week: Will you speak truth to power when God calls you to do so? Re-read the title of today’s lesson. The lesson is not about David, it’s about Nathan. Uriah, a Hittite, a foreigner, had been unjustly murdered and his possessions pillaged. God was displeased. Who would stand up to the king at God’s behest?

 

What you need to know

 

 

2 Samuel 11:26-27 NKJV

 

26 When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. 27 And when her mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased[f] the Lord.

 

There’s no need to recount the entire depraved episode. It is enough to know that it did not escape God’s watchful gaze. Nor did it escape God’s ire.

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The Lesson

2 Samuel 12:1a NKJV

1a Then the Lord sent Nathan to David.

Did Nathan receive the revelation in a moment, or did it unfold slowly over a few days or even weeks? What was Nathan's first reaction to God’s prompting? Did he have to summon the courage to confront his king and his friend, David? Did God impart holy indignation when he revealed the message to His servant, Nathan? Did Nathan form a plan? Was he hesitant? Did God have to confirm His intent to Nathan? 

I’m asking all of this for some friends. The Bible tells me, “Many are called.” How many? How many have been called to speak into the storm? How many went? I’m asking for some friends. Isaiah wrote that he ‘heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send?”, “and who will go….for Us?”’ God sent Nathan. Can He send you?

2 Samuel 12:1b NKJV

1b And he came to him, and said to him: “There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. 

Oppression always breaks down along socio-economic lines and, or along ethnic and cultural lines. With power comes the desire to exercise power. Everyone wants to drive their new car… fast! When so afforded, most will take full advantage of the perks that come along with privilege. Nathan opens with a narrative of two men in a city, one rich and one who is poor.

2 Samuel 12:2 NKJV

2 The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. 

What does vast wealth look like? Each of us form our own mental image of what that looks like. Piles of gold. Bags of money. Fast cars. Private jets. Opulence approaching decadence. The rich man in Nathan’s narrative had wealth beyond measure. Exceedingly more than he could have asked for or imagined.

2 Samuel 12:3 NKJV

3 But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him

By contrast, the very poor man had only a ‘little ewe lamb’. So poor was this man, that he fed the lamb from his own table. The lamb ate the same food as he and his children ate. (Wait! Did Uriah and Bathsheba have children of their own? If so, did David take them into the palace and raise them as his own? The bible makes no mention of such a detail except to imply it here in Nathan’s narrative). So deeply cared the poor man for the lamb that he allowed the lamb to sleep with him so as to protect it from the elements, the cold. You get the picture.

Allow me a question. What happens among a people in a small city that allows such economic disparity? How in one small locale can the people of that place tolerate the vast gulf in wealth between the very, very wealthy and the very, very poor? What does that say to us … about us?

2 Samuel 12:4 NKJV

4 And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”

And so, apparently, the rich man had the authority afforded him by wealth to levy an unjust tax against the poor man when a need arose. Not wanting to part with any part of his own great wealth, he ‘took’ the poor man’s lamb to feed a traveler from afar. 

Does any of this sound familiar? Let me illustrate it a little differently. The owner of a local sports team insists that the city where his team resides build a ‘new’ stadium about every ten, fifteen years. Those new stadiums are paid for, not by the team owners, but by the cities that issue bonds packages funded by the taxpayers of that city. You may never attend an event in that city, but your tax dollars certainly pay for it. Meanwhile, the team owners rake in all of the benefits. Not so different than Nathan’s narrative to David, is it? And so the poor man became poorer at the behest of the very, very wealthy man…

2 Samuel 12:5 NKJV

5 So David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this [a]shall surely die!

Nathan’s brief narrative has served its purpose. It has stirred the wrath of the king. It has suddenly gotten the attention of the very powerful, the people best positioned to affect change. I am not lauding the process or the resulting outburst from the king. Both are evidence of a societal dysfunction that affords the privilege of judgment exclusively to the wealthy and privileged in that self-same society. Sadly, unless the movers and shakers in any community care, justice is ill-served in that community. David’s immediate pronouncement: death to the unjust man! While it must be noted that a death sentence would not have been appropriate for a stolen lamb, death would have been the penalty for adultery and murder, both of which David was guilty of. Thus, David unwittingly pronounced judgment upon himself.

2 Samuel 12:6 NKJV

6 And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.”

Exodus 22:1 NKJV

1 “If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, he shall restore five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep. 

The next words from David’s mouth were representative of a more fair and just judgment according to the crime described in Nathan’s narrative. God’s law provided that s stolen sheep had to be replaced four-fold. That would have been, but a pittance to the rich man of Nathan’s narrative. In this context, God shows that he has no problem with someone amassing great wealth. The judgment is not punitive, taking a large portion of the man’s wealth. It’s fair, providing fair recompense to the poor person from whom the lamb was stolen. Always be reminded. We serve a graceful and merciful God. 

Matthew 19: 8 NKJV

8 Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.”

This principle of four-fold repayment makes the transition into the New Testament, thus confirming God’s plan for a continual leveling of the economic playing field in order to correct economic injustice. There is such a thing as economic restitution to right wrongs done to an individual or to an entire people. Most people won’t want to hear it, but it’s the truth anyhow.

2 Samuel 12:7a NKJV

7a Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man!

In what has to be one of the greatest biblical examples of a lack of self-awareness, David has pronounced judgment against himself. Nathan can no longer restrain himself. He exposes David’s sin in the shortest, most direct way. Such is the burden of the prophet. When the leadership of a nation or a church goes awry, God sends one who will raise his voice against unrighteousness. Even more so, when injustice results as a result of that aforementioned unrighteousness. 

The office of the prophet is the pointer finger on the hand of the five-fold ministry. Unafraid, the prophet or prophetess stands in the gap on behalf of just treatment of God’s people. Oftentimes, they pay for their frank, stark truth-telling with their lives. After all, powerful men abhor any truth that does not comport with their own. 

2 Samuel 12:7b NKJV

7b Thus says the Lord God of Israel:

Nathan put everything on the line that day in his confrontation with the king. But, in this next moment, it didn’t matter anymore. God sent him to deliver a message. He came to the palace, burdened with the Word of The Lord. Nathan stepped aside and relinquished the megaphone … to God! I can never forget hearing Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King speak to a crowd of sanitation workers on a rainy night in Memphis in 1968. Eleven years of age, I watched on TV, awestruck at the prescience of his words as he prophetically told the nation and the world that he would not partake of the fruit of his groundbreaking work in civil rights. He told us that night that, like Moses, God had taken him to the mountain top and had shown him the promised land. Only after he was assassinated the very next morning did we all understand that God was with him that night in Memphis. It was only then that many realized that we’d lost another great prophet of God. The beauty of the Word of God is that, while the prophet may be lost to the sword or the bullet, the Word of God will stand eternally. Dr. King’s voice still moves us by the Spirit of God to continue the fight for justice.

2 Samuel 12:7c-8 NKJV

7c ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! 

God, Himself is now speaking directly to David. As a father chastens a son, God chastises David with love. He reminds David that He picked him out of the fields of Bethlehem to anoint him king over Israel. God protected him from his enemies, raised him up as the king, and blessed him with abundance beyond what he, a lowly shepherd could have imagined. Then God provided a little insight that must have stung David at his core: He would have blessed David with more, much more!

Beloved, let this be a teachable moment. We need only trust God for our needs. Abraham told us that God will provide. Joseph informed us that God’s intent for us is always good. David, himself had written. “The Lord is my Shepherd! I shall not want!” The bible is replete with God’s promises to us, His children, that He will do exceedingly and abundantly above all that we can ask, or even think! God can and will without any subterfuge or criminal intent on our part. We don’t have to ‘take’ anything from others. God will bless us. Especially when we will stand for justice for the very least amongst us. 

2 Samuel 12:9 NKJV

9 Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon.

Uriah was a Hittite. Hebrew wasn’t his first language. Israel wasn’t his homeland. Uriah and those like him came to Israel for the opportunities afforded them in a land blessed by God.  Watch this: because that blessing was suddenly denied to him at the whim of the king, all of Israel would soon be affected by God’s desire for … justice. No big ‘I’s’ or little ‘you’s’ in the House of God. Pay attention. David had taken everything from Uriah. God was determined to make it right. Are y’all listening?

2 Samuel 12:10-12 NKJV

10 Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ 11 Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.’ ”

Verses 10 through 12 are not included in the printed text of the lesson standard, however, they provide valuable insight into the burden of the office of the prophet. Nathan is not having some sort of out-of-body experience. On the contrary, he is following through in complete obedience to the Spirit of God. How conflicting it might have been for Nathan to pronounce such harsh, severe judgment against his friend, David. Yet, to do any less would have left him exposed before God as one unwilling to do the will of God in its entirety when pressed by adversity. Nathan is given over to God entirely in the delivery of this entire message. No sugar-coating, no ‘spoon full of honey’. It was strictly, “Thus saith the Lord…”

2 Samuel 12:13a NKJV

13a So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”

I appreciate the obvious friendship between Nathan and David. Surely, as a one who had operated under the mantle of a prophet in his own right, David recognized the sincerity with which Nathan spoke and the trepidation he might have felt, even momentarily, as he spoke such resounding words of judgment to his friend and his king. The Good News: David, a man after God’s own heart looked into the eyes of his good friend, Nathan, and confessed. That’s what friends do. They confront their friends when they find them in sin. They offer correction… in love. David confessed his sin. Psalm 51 is David’s direct reflection and prayer to God in regards to his response to Nathan’s confrontation. Psalm 32 also offers David’s reflections on the consequences of personal sin and the wonderful grace and mercy yet available to those who are called by the name of the Lord! God is love. His mercy is everlasting. His truth endures forever.

2 Samuel 12:13b-14 NKJV

13b And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.”

As we bring the lesson to a close, there are a couple of noteworthy points. First, Nathan returns to addressing David at the peer-to-peer level, as his friend. However, the prophetic mantle remains and the spoken word remains as well. God will most certainly forgive David, but just as certain will be the death of the child conceived in adultery. Notice as well that God does all of this to protect His great Name. In this instance, God will not allow injustice to bring dishonor to His Name. Focus. This is still about God’s heart toward the least among us. Beloved, God will not allow injustice to stand forever. There will eventually be a reckoning. Pray for God’s great mercy upon us. Thank him for His enduring patience toward us.

2 Samuel 12:15 NKJV

15 Then Nathan departed to his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became ill.

 

And so, Nathan returns home. God is not finished with him. So many prophets before him and after him were executed for their spoken word. That is still the case to this day. Yet, where injustice seems to prevail, God will call His men and women to speak truth to power in spite of the circumstances, always cognizant that God with them is more than the entire world against them. Beloved be encouraged. God sees. Like Nathan, make yourself available to him to stand up to injustice and unrighteousness for the sake of His great Name!

 

 

Selah,

 

wb

 

 

Psalm 32:1-2 NKJV

 

1 

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,

Whose sin is covered.

2 

Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not [b]impute iniquity,

And in whose spirit there is no deceit.

 

 

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Psalm 51:10-11 NKJV

10 

Create in me a clean heart, O God,

And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

11 

Do not cast me away from Your presence,

And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.