Article 2017-05 - The Last Three OT Giants: Ezra, Nehemiah & Malachi
Chapter 32: The Last Three OT Giants: Ezra, Nehemiah & Malachi
Introduction
In this last chapter on the Old Testament we look at its last three great missionaries: Ezra, Nehemiah and Malachi. Ezra restored Israel’s worship service after the exile and Nehemiah shows us a blueprint for missionary service. Malachi, the last OT prophet, warns the church, not to fall into the mistakes Israel made, even after the exile.
In Ezra’s book we see that God can use as many gentile rulers as He needs, and that His demands on leaders are harder, because of their example function.
From Nehemiah life we learn that God’s instrument to solve a need has a compassionate heart, and that a missionary receives his strategy through prayer. He shows that winning missionary enterprises are preceded by thorough research and are often carried out by teams. Inevitably, God-given missions encounter resistance from the enemy. He also shows that attention should be paid to spiritual and material needs and that discipling and teaching new converts must be continual processes. Malachi imprints on our hearts that half-hearted religion cannot demonstrate Godly examples to the nations, and that continued sin dulls the spiritual radiance, needed to reflect God’s glory.
Scripture reference
The people of Israel, including the priests and the Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the neighboring peoples with their detestable practices … They have taken some of their daughters as wives … and have mingled the holy race with the peoples around them. And the leaders and officials have led the way in this unfaithfulness (Ezra 9:1,2)
The story
After Ahasueros, his son Artaxerxes ruled over Persia. He was very kind to Ezra, a Jewish scribe, who requested to lead a group of Jews back to their own country. The king gave Ezra money and cattle. God had inspired this gentile king to serve Him by helping His people. He had first done that through Cyrus, later through Darius, then through Ahasueros and now did it through Artaxerxes. Four gentile kings who serve God is a miracle. One cannot call that coincidence. Artaxerxes would help Nehemiah in his service as well, twelve years later. But let’s first look at Ezra’s specific task.
Ezra’s main problem after he led his group of exiles to Judah, was that the Israelites, even priests and Levites, had intermarried with foreign women. God had forbidden that, especially for the leaders of His people. At the end of the book we see the painful process of remorseful intercession, teaching, the people’s repentance, and the sending away of these foreign women and their children. The holy race had mingled with the surrounding nations, and which was intolerable because Israel’s people needed to be pure in order to bring forth the Messiah.
We saw it before. Zerubbabel the governor and Jeshua the spiritual leader worked together. Now Ezra the spiritual leader and Nehemiah the governor work at re-establishing the nation of Israel in its God-ordained missionary purposes. It is almost as if Israel’s theocratic state form is being restored. In the time of the former two, the prophets Haggai and Zechariah prophesied; now, right after Nehemiah’s time, the prophet Malachi is the last to speak before the time of the Old Testament closes. So, what missionary plan develops in Nehemiah’s life, and what does that teach us? Can we imitate his successful way of working? Of course we can!
Scripture reference
‘Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.’ When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven (Neh. 1:3,4)
The story, continued
Nehemiah must have had a thorough training in Godly character. Otherwise we would not have seen such great compassion, a deep prayer life and such extraordinary leadership qualities. We read nothing about his training; it must have happened as it does with most missionaries: in anonymity, away from worldly observation. God only brings those to the forefront who have passed His tests.
Immediately after Nehemiah prayed, he initiated a well-meditated plan. Even in the midst of his busy schedule he prays short, meaningful prayers. He prayed ‘without ceasing’.
Once ‘on the field’ he does not start to call people together, but remains alone for a while. He secretly investigated what needed to be done; then decided how to do it. He counted the cost in material and man-power. Leaders need to do this. With this data it proved not too hard to find the right people for the job. Interestingly, most of these people had learned other professions than those necessary to reconstruct Jerusalem’s walls. Nehemiah’s ‘team’ consisted mostly of ministerial ‘lay-men’.
Scripture reference
I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days I set out during the night with a few men. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding on (Neh. 2:11,12)
The story, continued
Nehemiah started alone, but recruited his team as soon as he saw how big the job was and understood what sort of people he needed. He looked for men with not only skills, but who also had the right attitude, and were willing to submit, learn and persevere. As soon as their enemies started with slanderous and itimidating resistance, Nehemiah encouraged his people by showing them how to stand firm, refusing compromise or to be intimidated. The result was that his people did the same.
Nehemiah did not idolize his ministry. Although he and his team performed greatly, he did not forget his people’s well-being. He did not tolerate that the rich exploited the poor and forced the former to exercise mercy towards the latter.
Finally, after the wall was completed, Nehemiah did not ‘go home’, because he did not consider his ministry as completed. Like Ezra, he had an eye for the spiritual well-being of the people. He also addressed the issue of mixed marriages. He was very zealous for the temple’s purity and the keeping of the Sabbath. Both men sought to bring Israel back on track, and they succeeded – temporarily.
After the Judeans had returned from their exile and the temple was rebuilt, Jerusalem’s walls were restored under Nehemiah’s leadership. At that time the prophet Malachi addressed several things Ezra and Nehemiah had also dealt with. In his little book we read that the temple ministry is in disarray, that there are still mixed marriages, and that the poor and oppressed are still being taken advantage of. He also expresses God’s dismay about the people’s laxity in tithing and offering. The spiritual climate was one of indifference. It was again a time of falling away from God and this became visible in moral and religious backsliding and economic decay.
Scripture reference
Judah has broken faith. A detestable thing has been committed in Israel and Jerusalem: Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the Lord loves, by marrying the daughter of a foreign god … “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask: ‘How do we rob you?’ “In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse – the whole nation of you – because you are robbing me” (Mal. 2:11; 3:8,9)
“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse … Test me in this”, says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it” (Mal. 3:10)
After their exile God’s people never regained their example function to the nations. No people can continue to sin and still maintain its missionary vocation. Through many centuries of idolatry and gross sin, Israel had lost its spiritual radiance. It had become dull and could no longer reflect God’s glory.
The next centuries saw many wars and much political instability. What happened now to God’s salvation plan for the nations? Had it failed? No, it moved to a higher level: in the fullness of time the Redeemer, Jesus Christ, God’s Son, would be born in human flesh. That is where our story continues in the next chapter.
Comment
Ezra teaches the church nothing about ethnic purity – the church is an international institution – but everything about spiritual purity. His message to the church today would be ‘Do away with all habitual sins (the ones you are ‘married’ to). Separate yourselves from your relationships with the idols and demons behind them. If you don’t, you cannot be an example to the nations of how God’s people should live, and you lose your ability to reach those nations with the gospel and bring the King back.’
We learn six important things from Nehemiah. Firstly we see what happens when devastating news reaches a compassionate, mature spiritual leader. Such a man receives God’s strategy to meet the need during intercession. Secondly, Nehemiah undertook no action before he did thorough research. He examined the walls and assessed the cost to rebuild them. Jesus said: ‘Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For… if he is not able to finish it everyone who sees it will ridicule him…’. The context is the cost of discipleship but it applies just as much to the cost of becoming a missionary! Thirdly we see the necessity of teamwork in missions. Fourthly, God-given missions must count with opposition and intimidation. Fifthly, God’s mission does not concentrate on work only, but is holistic in nature and also seeks the people’s social welfare. Sixthly, ministry and discipling people have not finished when the work is completed: there is an ongoing need for teaching, confession of sin, reversal of wrong acts and other necessary reforms.
Ezra, Nehemiah and Malachi present the last warning of a failing Israel to the Church. We must not fool ourselves: if we allow sin to remain among us as Israel did, we will fail in our mission to the nations like they did. God doesn’t tolerate sins from us where He didn’t tolerate them from His first people. If we choose to live unholy lives He will take our ministry from us, and give it to people who will succeed where we failed. Israel failed; the Church will not. The holy Church, that is. With or without us.
Discussion & dialogue
- Discuss how Ezra’s ‘separation message’ applies to today’s Church and why
- With your small group, design a missions plan for a city, using Nehemiah’s 6 principles
- Should missionaries only receive or also give tithes? Look up Numbers 18:26,28
