To Whom Much Is Given
Text: Ezra 8: 24-36
Proposition: That God would entrust into our hands enormous temporal and eternal spiritual wealth for the building of His kingdom is both a blessing of great responsibility and a concern that requires daily caution.
Introduction: Last week we read about how Ezra was about to lead the second wave of 5000 people back to Israel. He gathered them all by the river of Ahava to pray and fast for three days. They were being entrusted with considerable wealth to transport to Jerusalem and beyond this Ezra had over 1800 of the key leadership for the future of Israel with him. You’ll remember that Ezra had said in 7:22 that because he had declared to the king that God protects all those that are His people, Ezra was now ashamed to go and ask the king for an armed escort, even though the journey would take 4 months (7:9) over some very dangerous terrain and they were carrying the equivalent of millions of dollars of gold and silver. This morning I’d like us to look at how Ezra was led of the Lord, after 3 days of prayer and fasting, to transport this wealth. There is a picture here of how we too are picked to be the guardians of a great hope in the journey that is set before us. In fact we could even say that there is a picture here of the great riches of God in Christ Jesus that were entrusted to each of us, it took us from a place of captivity and brought us home. Read with me from Ezra 8:24 -36.
I. The Entrusting of the Wealth is Put Into the Hands of Many. Ezra picks 12 leaders, presumably one to represent each of the tribes of Israel. We remember that to date it has been Judah and Benjamin that have led the way in the rebuilding of the Temple and we have seen how care has been taken to represent all of the tribes of the nation even though they were for the most part absent. The unity of Israel is valued and protected even when it is fractured. The intriguing part here is that Ezra does not put this under one treasurer or keeper of the wealth, he portions it out to 12 leaders of Israel and entrusts each to bear its responsibility well. You can imagine what this might have looked like when you consider the amount of wealth detailed in verses 25,26. Last week we said that a talent weighed about 75 pounds so the amount of silver was over 24 tons, that meant 2 tons of silver was entrusted to each leader. The gold weighed over 4 tons meaning each leader carried away at least 600 pounds of gold. In addition to these were the other valuable objects for the Temple. What do you suppose would be the benefit of such an investing strategy? Would each protect their share with more creativity and diligence than any treasurer could? Would each leader in turn select other leaders who were also entrusted to carry this responsibility? Would this be an effective strategy to hide a large amount so that any prying eyes would only see one group of people winding along on their journey? What if the choice of 12 leaders came as a result of the three days of fasting and prayer when Ezra had called out to God asking Him to show them the right way for the possessions and people to be able to arrive safely in Jerusalem (8:21)? If that is indeed the case then the strategy belongs to God as it comes as answered prayer. And we can’t really stop there, would God indeed use a strategy where He entrusts great wealth into the hands of 12, and if so, why? The first part is easy to answer, we just look at Jesus and the 12 disciples that He chose. Though 12 seems like a small number for such a great task it was perfect to accomplish what God intended, in fact we’ve been copying that model ever since. In time we use 12 in months, hours, seconds; in mathematics 12 is the smallest number capable of being divided by 6 other numbers; in technology there are 12 function keys on every keyboard, 12 dialing buttons on every numeric phone pad; in music 12 is the number of pitch classes in an octave; in art there 12 basic hues in the color wheel; even anatomically, there are 12 pairs of ribs in every person, 12 cranial nerves in our brain and on and on. When Jesus picked 12 men to be His disciples He invested into each of them the truth of Who He is and then He sent the Holy Spirit to secure that investment of faith in each one who believes in Jesus as the One who can bring forgiveness of sin. What’s the point? God invests great riches into the hands of many, it is His strategy. We need to be faithful in what He’s given us and to recognize that faith in Christ Jesus is also carried by others in the church who may appear to be from another tribe, yet we are all one family in Christ. He is the center point, faith that rests in the sufficiency of His blood alone as the sacrifice for our sins is what we collectively carry to our Jerusalem, the New Jerusalem of eternity.
II. We Are Called Holy, What We Carry Is Holy, Both Belong to the Lord. Have a look at verses 28,29, Ezra reminds these leaders that they are holy to the Lord, that is he reminds them that God sees them as different from the rest. They have been assigned a special role, they have a holy identity, they have before them a mission. Then Ezra reminds them that what they are entrusted with is also viewed in the eyes of God as being different. It has been dedicated to a special use, the revealing of the glory of God. It will be useful only for that and especially for that, it is therefore called holy. Then the command is given to them, “Watch and keep them until you weigh them…in the chambers of the house of the Lord.” In other words guard what you have been given, for you will not only return it but it will be weighed on the scales to determine its actual value. These leaders took this instruction very seriously, they persevered over the 4 month journey, they kept the trust by faith and were obedient to its call. They delivered the holy things and the record was written down in the house of the Lord. These are the historical details, let me now shift this to another level.
Did God the Father assign a special role to Jesus, an identity as the Redeemer, a mission of salvation though sacrifice?
Did Jesus have entrusted to Him something that was holy, that was especially designed to reveal the glory of God? Is this what the incarnation was, the assigning to Jesus of a body meant for the glory of God in the work of redemption.. In Hebrews 10:5 it says, “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me…”.
Did Jesus use His body to help us to see more of Who God really is? The blood and body of Jesus were holy to the Lord, that is, it had a separate purpose, a purpose that it was especially intended for, the perfect purpose of the cross. Jesus kept watch over His body and His soul in perfect obedience that He could bring His body and His person, sinless and ready, to the Temple. We could say that for three days it was kept there and then it was proven, it had been weighed out and the value of His body and blood perfectly met what God required for the penalty of sin.
When Jesus had risen from the dead, when He had by the provision of the Father completed the dangerous journey through death, then Jesus said to us, “Follow Me.” He entrusted the call to 12 and they have been instructed of God to issue that same call to us here. We are a holy people, we have been entrusted with holy things and we will account for them by a fine measure of weights.
As we prepare for Communion consider what it means for you to be called, “Holy to the Lord”. Consider what the things are that you have been entrusted to carry that are also called, “Holy to the Lord”. Let us ready ourselves now in the name of Jesus, let us prepare to have our lives weighed out.