Recap

So far in Ezra-Nehemiah we've read as the people returned to Jerusalem and started rebuilding the temple. King Cyrus of Persia defeats Babylon and is compelled by God to send some of the exiles back to Jerusalem. As the people left they were given gifts of silver and gold by their Babylon neighbours.

This echoed how the Egyptians gave the Israelites silver and gold when they left Egypt. We’re experiencing a second Exodus moment in Israel’s history. God was once again leading his people out of a foreign nation, back to the promised land.

We read through a whole chapter focused on the names who returned to Jerusalem. These names highlighted how God had maintained their family lines and their sense of identity while in a foreign land. Zerubbabel rises up to lead the people. Along with Jeshua, he reestablished the offerings, feasts, and festivals of the people realigning the people with God.

They appointed the Levites to work on the temple and started building the foundations of the temple. There was a massive celebration. This is it. All the promises God gave his people while they were in exile are now coming to pass. At least, that's how it seemed. But some of the older folk who knew what the old temple looked like wept. This new temple wasn't as good as the one they remembered, or the one that Ezekiel prophesied about.

As the people were rebuilding the temple, the locals, Israelites who weren't exiled and others who had come to live in the land, came to offer their help. We got a sense of God reuniting his kingdom. But rather than accept their help, the exiles rejected it. This led to conflict, pausing the temple being rebuilt. Eventually the temple rebuild started again under king Darius, and upon its completion they celebrated with the Passover.

We then read as Ezra returned to Jerusalem with a second wave of Jews containing some priests. Esra's goal was to teach the people the Torah and recommit them back to God. Our hope was raised again. This is it. The people are going to be committed to God in their land once again.

Ezra 8-10

Just like when the first wave of Jews returned from exile, we get a list of the names of families that returned with Ezra. But when listing out all these families, Ezra realised there were no Levites.

The Levites were the ones responsible for helping the priests maintain the temple. Ezra realised that if they were going to return to Jerusalem from Babylon, they needed to do it properly. They needed all the right people. So he took time to recruit some key Levites to help.

Then, before leaving, they took the time to pray and fast. In Babylon, life had become fairly comfortable. They weren't slaves or oppressed. Yes, it wasn't their land, but they were still fairly well off. In making this decision, they were committing to travel four months back to Judah, a land that was still not the safest place to live. Before they took the first step in this decision, they were going to steep it in prayer and fasting.

They eventually make the journey home without any problems, under the protection of God. On arriving in Judah, they make their offerings and sacrifices to God and then gave their support to those who were already there.

But Ezra hadn't been back in Judah long before the problems started coming. Some of the leaders he brought with him pointed out that many of the Jews that had returned before him intermarried with foreign women.

This had been forbidden all the way back in Deuteronomy 7:3-4. The reason for this was that, if God's people weren't careful, their foreign wives would lead them into worshipping foreign gods. We saw this happen with king Solomon, who was initially praised for being the wisest man on earth, but ended up marrying many foreign women and worshipping their gods.

Ezra is devastated. He's come to lead the people in holiness, but it looks like the opposite has happened. He fasts and repents to God for all that the people have done. In his prayers, he asks God what they should do.

One of the men Ezra had brought with him from Babylon makes a suggestion. All the people should recommit themselves to God, and any man who has married a foreign woman should divorce her and send her away. That way, the people will purge their sin from the land.

Ezra believed this was a good idea and so encouraged the men of the land to take this stance. The people gathered together and agreed that this was the best thing to do. Over the course of a couple of months, they worked their way through all the men in the land who had married a foreign woman, and each one divorced her and sent her away. Sometimes the divorced woman would leave with children that she had had with her Jewish husband.

The people were convinced that they had done the right thing. But we've already mentioned how in recent years the prophets had spoken about God uniting his people together and bringing in people from other nations to worship him too. Was divorce really the best idea?  God didn’t command it. The idea came from some of the leaders.

A prophet we’ve not yet read spoke on this issue. Malachi 2:10-16 challenged the people for marrying 'daughters of a foreign god'. The issue with these women was that they actively worshipped other gods. But right off the back of that, Malachi challenged the men for turning from their wives. According to Malachi, the one who divorces his wife commits a violent act against her.

The Jews weren't meant to divorce the foreign wives, but lead them in worshipping God to bring unity in the land. Once again, we had the hope that was met with disappointment. Ezra came all the way from Babylon to teach the people God's law so they might follow him properly, but instead he led them to do something that was potentially against what God had in plan form them.

Psalm 49

This psalm is attributed to the sons of Korah, and falls into the category of wisdom psalm. It is specifically focused on the topic of death, in the face of human power and wealth.

Psalm 49:1-4 - Introduction

Psalm 49:5-12 - Do not fear the wealthy, for they will one day die

Psalm 49:13-15 - The foolish trust in their wealth and die but the wise trust in God and are redeemed

Psalm 49:16-20 - Do not fear the wealthy, for they will one day die

The psalm opens with a call from the psalmist to listen as they share wisdom. This wisdom is for all people, no matter where you live or whether you’re rich or poor.

They then pose a question. Why should they fear in the face of death and powerful and wealthy enemies? These enemies might trust in their wealth and boast in their riches, but what good will it do them?

All the riches in the world won’t save man’s life. Eventually, everyone dies, and that wealth will go to someone else. Though they may live in nice houses now, one day they will live in the ground.

The unspoken point here is that all people that are equal. The enemies that you face are no better than you because of their wealth and power. They will one day face the same fate as everyone else.

The psalmist then turns to the foolishness of putting your trust in your wealth. They walk around with confidence, seemingly unaware that each day they come closer to death.

In contrast, those who put their trust in God will have their souls redeemed, so that even death loses its threat over them.

And so the psalmist returns to their encouragement. Do not fear those who are wealthy or powerful. That wealth and power will mean nothing when they die. They have missed the point of life and end up no better than the animals.

This psalm reminds of the wise way to think of wealth and power. While it has value, it’s not something to put our trust in. Instead, put your trust in God.