An Army of One

Ezra

Chapters 3 –6

Introduction: Turn to Ezra, chapter 3 (But don’t read yet)

(Read the following quote)

“He made his debut the other night.

A lone trooper. Camouflage fatigue pants, olive drab t-shirt, combat boots, gear slung on his back. Eyes glinting and hard, looking resolutely into the distance and the future. Running through a rocky desert. Strong and unstoppable. A hard charging G.I. Joe. The American fighting man.

An Army of one.

I liked the ad. I loved the ad. It made me proud. It made me want to be that trooper.

And the slogan clicked. It just clicked in my mind, and I understood.

That's what those P.R. slicks in Chicago were thinking.

I enlisted during a different era. Be all you can be. That was our motto. I've still got mugs somewhere that say so. And t-shirts and maybe an old bumper sticker. Army. Be all you can be. I can hear it still being sung in my head. And so I was angry when I heard. It was in the paper. The Army was mothballing it's old slogan and was going to some glitzy $150 million campaign to pump a new one. An Army of one. It didn't make any sense to me. It sounded selfish. The Army isn't about being one, it's about being one of many. It's about being part of a team. It's about making the interests and objectives of your unit more important than yourself.”

(quoted from Bob Lonsberry. “ARMY PICKS A NEW SLOGAN”, Journal Article c2001)

This study is one of the current army slogan, An Army Of One.

The book of Ezra, written by a man that deeply loved God, shows how that slogan may be applied to the soldiers in God’s “Army”. We are going to read a story, starting in Chapter 3, about an “army” of Isrealites as they returned from exile.

This is the story of the rebuilding of temple in Jerusalem. It had been destroyed and ransacked (all valuables taken) by Nebuchadnezzer in the year of ____. In 539 BC, a group of the Israelites who were in exile in Babylonia were given permission to return to Jerusalem. Their first goal upon arrival, was to begin rebuilding the temple, but they were constantly delayed by their enemies until 521 BC (18 years later). It was in that year that the King of Persia, Darius, decreed to let them finish. They completed it and dedicated the temple to God in 515 BC.

(If you have this document in Microsoft Word format, click HERE to read chapters 3 through 6. If this is a PRINTED page, the NIV version of these chapters are included at the END of this study.)

My First Point is “UNITY IN NUMBERS”. With that point in mind, I want to look at the hearts of the Israelites. Chapter 3, verse one, stated that they “assembled as ONE man”. Unity has been preached over and over in the Bible. Jesus called for COMPLETE unity of his “army” in John 17:23 ---“I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”

And Paul spoke about being “one” in Romans 15:5 – “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus,…”, and again called for ‘oneness’ in Ephesians 4:3 – “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”

It has been commonly believed that Ezra wrote the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, 1^st and 2^nd Chronicles, and Psalm 119. This is what Ezra writes in 2 Chornicles 30:12 – “Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of the LORD.”

David also spoke about being ONE in the first verse of Psalm 133. “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!”

The group of Israelites who had returned to Jereusalem, HAD that unity. You know, sometimes unity is threatened. Threatened by temptations. Threatened by hardships. Threatened by liars.

It God’s church today, we are to be unified. Christ wants us to be “one in heart and mind” (Acts 4:32). Paul says the same in Philippians 2:2 when he is preaching about being united with Christ – “then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.” The people who were building the tower of Babel were working as a team, with one goal in mind, and that was to reach heaven with their efforts. Their threat was God himself, who humbled them by sending them confusion. My question to you is—“Do YOU get confused or even threatened, which may cause you to not be unified with God any more?” How does this happen? Simple! Satan works on each of OUR hearts to disrupt that unity. Temptation to return to our old ways of life, even if for only a few hours, is there in the form of ‘old friends’, “just a little, and then I will repent from it later”!!!! Being one-minded with Jesus is NOT carousing with old friends in bars. It is NOT sitting at home because of selfishness or laziness has tempted us, when we SHOULD be out IN the world sharing our beliefs and unified commitment to God. Being unified with Christ is also NOT ‘falling away” because it is ‘too hard’, or ‘the leaders don’t know what they are doing’, or believing so-called ‘friends’ who attempt to convince you are in a CULT.

The Israelites were tempted by FEAR of bodily harm or even death. (Re-read chapter 3, verse 3: ^“Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the LORD, both the morning and evening sacrifices.”) They were surrounded by non-believers in the true God, who despised them anyway; whose ancestors had once murdered thousands of people in Jerusalem of earlier days. Even though afraid, they remained as ONE group, determined to rebuild Solomon’s magnificent temple, no matter what the cost.

Today’s Army, as well as the Army which the author of the article at the beginning of this study, and I are familiar, also REQUIRES unity. The Army’s command structure is remarkably similar to the leadership structure in the Kingdom. Imagine for a moment, if you will, that Kip McKean is George “W”, the President of the United States as well as the commander-in-chief of all forces. Understandably, we in the Kingdom do not relate our relationship with Christ as being his Navy, his Air Force, or his Marines. No, we use terms that were familiar to the first century disciples. We are the ARMY of God. So, if Kip is the commander in chief of the Army, then as World Sector leaders, are like the commanders of the various US and overseas Army organizations like: Pacific Command, European Command, Southern Command, etc etc. And under them, come folks like Steve Sapp, who is in charge of a REGION. The ‘tree’ continues ‘downward’ until we reach the smallest organization above the “soldier”, discipling partners. Bible Talks can be likened to Squads, Zones to Companies, Sectors to Battalions, Regions or Super Regions (where they exist) to Brigades, and area Churches to Divisions (not divisive, just the Army term, Division, denoting a section of the ‘Command’ to which these Divisions belong). Without UNITY in today’s US ARMY, there would be no disciple, no specific goals toward world peace or US interests defenses. Rather, there would be chaos, everyone ‘doing their own thing’. An army like that would soon fall apart. That is precisely what would happen to the Kingdom if there was not UNITY.

My second point is “THREAT IN NUMBERS”. China is a threat. No matter what people say about the awesome technology and strength of the United States fighting force, China, with it MILLIONS of people in their armed forces, poses a serious threat to the United States. Yes, we have better planes, better equipment, and better trained forces. But they have BRUTE force, IN NUMBERS. How many of you have seen “The Mummy Returns”? Well, for those who have, let me remind you of the scene of the Scorpion King’s (Played by “The Rock”) army of wolvenous-like creatures racing across the desert against the small band of, virtually unarmed, warriors. For those of you that have NOT seen this great, and fun, thriller, the scene was one in which a GREAT NUMBER of beings were attacking a very much lesser number of beings, bent on total annihilation. Recall the story Jesus relayed about two kings in Luke 25 through 32.(attached later with this document) that were preparing battle against each other. One had 1000 men, and the other, 2000. The latter had a greater NUMBER of forces, and, as they disciples replied to Jesus, the King with the fewer number of men had but one choice, and that was to surrender.

So was the situation in Ezra, chapter 4, where the Israelites received opposition to rebuilding the Temple. Initially, the ‘enemy’ came in sheep’s clothing, pretending to be friends, and believers in God. When the deception didn’t work, the opposition started to stir up more people around the city of Jerusalem, with the intent of getting a large number of people to aid in their attempt to stop the rebuilding. When that didn’t, work, they went to Kings (first Xerexes, and then Artaxerxes.). If you reread chapter four later, you will see that the numbers of people in the ‘opposition’ force was extremely large…”men from Tripolis, Persia, Erech and Babylon, the Elamites of Susa, and the other people who……Settled in the city of Samaria and elsewhere in Trans-Euphrates.”)(V4:9-10,NIV)

King Artaxerxes received a letter from this ‘opposition force’ requesting guidance about what to do about the Israelites that had returned to that “rebellious city”, informing the King that he was about to lose financially, and possibly in other ways, explaining the history of the people of Jerusalem. King Artaxerxes sent a reply that, in actuality, gave the enemies of Jerusalem, the ‘authority’ to stop them from rebuilding. With that authority, “they went immediately to the Jews in Jerusalem and compelled them by force to stop.”(V4:23, NIV). They used an army comprised of many more men than were in the city of Jerusalem. Although the Bible doesn’t explicitly say how many men were in the opposing army, it was obviously large enough to stop the people from working.

Is that the way we are? Do we ‘back down’ from our WORK when threatened by force, or other means of threat? You may have been in, or are in, a situation where you have been ordered not to spread the Gospel of Jesus. This happens to many more disciples than you may be aware….even in THIS country. Many government agencies errantly cite “separation of church and state”, telling their disciple employees that it would be inappropriate for their continued ‘harassment’ of their fellow employees. In many countries today, it is even ILLEGAL to spread the word of Christ in some formats. Paul tells us in the book of Romans that “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” (V13:1) Therefore, I am not advocating that we disobey the laws that man has created; but in order to do the Law of God, we must find ways to legally circumvent those man-made laws. Although the Jews of Jerusalem stopped building the temple because of King Artaxerxes’ decreed law, the interruption was only temporary. The beginning of chapter 5 finds the Israelites once again incited to rebuild the temple. The stoppage caused by the forces of Rehum (see V4:8-10) was only a temporary deterrent to their goal of rebuilding the temple. Are our goals of rebuilding God’s earthly Kingdom deterred by outside ‘forces’? Is the ‘force of intimidation’ causing you to ‘postpone’ inviting people to church? Does Satan have his whole army against you, AND IS WINNING?

The United States Army has been intimidated throughout history. “Yesterday, Dec. 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy….” is one of the most famous quotes concerning US involvement in military actions. The rest of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s speech told of how the US would back down from this intimidating threat, but… “No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.” Is that what we want in OUR “righteous might”, as God’s Church…absolute victory? Of course it is. Do NOT be threatened by the number of times you get ignored, or told “No” to your invitations to save the lost. Do not be threatened by the HUGE number of people that believe (incorrectly) the large numbers of false teachings so prevalent in Atlanta and the rest of the US today. Do as the Israelites did in chapter 5….continue on with your mission.

My third point is “God is Number One ”.

If you have read all of chapters 3 through 6 already, you know how the story ends. The Jews go back to rebuilding the temple, and complete it. If that was all I had to say about my third point, this study would be over. But, it isn’t. I want to take you briefly to the book of Nehemiah (remember I stated that Ezra is credited with assisting in the writing of this book as well). Nehemiah is the story of the Jews rebuilding the CITY of Jerusalem, including all the walls and numerous city gates. After Nehemiah inspects the ruined fortress surrounding the city in chapter 2, he organized one of the greatest feats of man written in the Bible. He organized literally thousands of different people, and as you read chapters 4 through 6, you become aware of the monumental task that must have been. Like the Israelites that were rebuilding the Temple, these Jews faced opposition to their efforts to rebuilt the city walls and gates. But, because of their faith and prayers offered to God, he allowed the project to be completed. Read the following from chapter 6, verses 15 and 16: “¹⁵ So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days. ¹⁶When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because the realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.” God was always their number one thought in mind. They rebuilt that wall with a weapon in one hand and did their work with the other. In chapter four alone, God was their number one leader: V4: “Hear us, O our God….”; V9: “But we prayed to our God…”; V15: “When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and the God had frustrated it…”; V20 “…Our God will fight for us.”

When the Jews completed the Temple in chapter 6 of the book of Ezra, we again see the admiration and dedication they had to God. He was the ONLY reason they built the Temple. He was the only reason they persisted year after to year to get relief from all the oppressors. God was the one that had King Darius search for, and find, the scroll document that gave original permission from King Cyrus to the Israelites to rebuild the Temple of God in Jerusalem. God was the one that changed the heart of King Darius where he had the leaders of the oppression, not only stop their badgering of the Jews, but to supply them with expenses, revenues, and, as stated in verse 9, Chapter 6, “Whatever is needed…”

Is God YOUR number one reason for doing what you do? Or is your motivation likened to the selfishness of Rehum (the oppressive army’s commander) or Tattenai, the governor of Trans-Euphrates. Both men were more concerned about losing tax revenue and other ‘valuable’ resources, than they were about learning about God (as some of them feigned in chapter 4, verses 1 and 2). Are we more concerned with our finances than we are of learning more about our great and glorious God? It is easy to spot people in the church that struggle with this.

The Army’s current motto: “An Army of One”, should be OUR motto in the Church. An Army of ONE, that is, ONE GOD!!!! The SAME ONE GOD that Ezra, Nehemiah, and all the other great men of the Bible have chosen as THEIR ONE God. We SHOULD be like army soldiers, and, like Paul states in Ephesians 6:13-17: “13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: (King James Version)

If, as a church, we stand in unity in all numbers of matters; if, as ONE body, we resist the numbers of threats that exist; and if we keep God our Number ONE reason for living, we WILL have won our battle and will be able to be with our commanding officer for all eternity.

The Grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen. (Rev 22:21)(NIV)

3¹When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns, the people assembled as one man in Jerusalem. ²Then Jeshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his associates began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, in accordance with what is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. ³Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the LORD, both the morning and evening sacrifices. ⁴Then in accordance with what is written, they celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles with the required number of burnt offerings prescribed for each day. ⁵After that, they presented the regular burnt offerings, the New Moon sacrifices and the sacrifices for all the appointed sacred feasts of the LORD, as well as those brought as freewill offerings to the LORD. ⁶On the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD, though the foundation of the LORD's temple had not yet been laid.

⁷Then they gave money to the masons and carpenters, and gave food and drink and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre, so that they would bring cedar logs by sea from Lebanon to Joppa, as authorized by Cyrus king of Persia.

⁸In the second month of the second year after their arrival at the house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak and the rest of their brothers (the priests and the Levites and all who had returned from the captivity to Jerusalem) began the work, appointing Levites twenty years of age and older to supervise the building of the house of the LORD. ⁹Jeshua and his sons and brothers and Kadmiel and his sons (descendants of Hodaviah^A) and the sons of Henadad and their sons and brothers--all Levites--joined together in supervising those working on the house of God.

¹⁰When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise the LORD, as prescribed by David king of Israel. ¹¹With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the LORD:

"He is good;

his love to Israel endures forever."

And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. ¹²But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. ¹³No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away.

4¹When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the LORD, the God of Israel, ²they came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of the families and said, "Let us help you build because, like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to him since the time of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here."

³But Zerubbabel, Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the families of Israel answered, "You have no part with us in building a temple to our God. We alone will build it for the LORD, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, commanded us."

⁴Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building. ⁵They hired counselors to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia.

⁶At the beginning of the reign of Xerxes, they lodged an accusation against the people of Judah and Jerusalem.

⁷And in the days of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of his associates wrote a letter to Artaxerxes. The letter was written in Aramaic script and in the Aramaic language.

⁸Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows:

⁹Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary, together with the rest of their associates--the judges and officials over the men from Tripolis, Persia, Erech and Babylon, the Elamites of Susa, ¹⁰and the other people whom the great and honorable Ashurbanipal^F deported and settled in the city of Samaria and elsewhere in Trans-Euphrates.

¹¹(This is a copy of the letter they sent him.)

To King Artaxerxes,

From your servants, the men of Trans-Euphrates:

¹²The king should know that the Jews who came up to us from you have gone to Jerusalem and are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are restoring the walls and repairing the foundations.

¹³Furthermore, the king should know that if this city is built and its walls are restored, no more taxes, tribute or duty will be paid, and the royal revenues will suffer. ¹⁴Now since we are under obligation to the palace and it is not proper for us to see the king dishonored, we are sending this message to inform the king, ¹⁵so that a search may be made in the archives of your predecessors. In these records you will find that this city is a rebellious city, troublesome to kings and provinces, a place of rebellion from ancient times. That is why this city was destroyed. ¹⁶We inform the king that if this city is built and its walls are restored, you will be left with nothing in Trans-Euphrates.

¹⁷The king sent this reply:

To Rehum the commanding officer, Shimshai the secretary and the rest of their associates living in Samaria and elsewhere in Trans-Euphrates:

Greetings.

¹⁸The letter you sent us has been read and translated in my presence. ¹⁹I issued an order and a search was made, and it was found that this city has a long history of revolt against kings and has been a place of rebellion and sedition. ²⁰Jerusalem has had powerful kings ruling over the whole of Trans-Euphrates, and taxes, tribute and duty were paid to them. ²¹Now issue an order to these men to stop work, so that this city will not be rebuilt until I so order. ²²Be careful not to neglect this matter. Why let this threat grow, to the detriment of the royal interests?

²³As soon as the copy of the letter of King Artaxerxes was read to Rehum and Shimshai the secretary and their associates, they went immediately to the Jews in Jerusalem and compelled them by force to stop.

²⁴Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

5¹Now Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the prophet, a descendant of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. ²Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak set to work to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, helping them.

³At that time Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates went to them and asked, "Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and restore this structure?" ⁴They also asked, "What are the names of the men constructing this building?" ⁵But the eye of their God was watching over the elders of the Jews, and they were not stopped until a report could go to Darius and his written reply be received.

⁶This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates, the officials of Trans-Euphrates, sent to King Darius. ⁷The report they sent him read as follows:

To King Darius:

Cordial greetings.

⁸The king should know that we went to the district of Judah, to the temple of the great God. The people are building it with large stones and placing the timbers in the walls. The work is being carried on with diligence and is making rapid progress under their direction.

⁹We questioned the elders and asked them, "Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and restore this structure?" ¹⁰We also asked them their names, so that we could write down the names of their leaders for your information.

¹¹This is the answer they gave us:

"We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, one that a great king of Israel built and finished. ¹²But because our fathers angered the God of heaven, he handed them over to Nebuchadnezzar the Chaldean, king of Babylon, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon.

¹³"However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to rebuild this house of God. ¹⁴He even removed from the temple of Babylon the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to the temple^C in Babylon.

"Then King Cyrus gave them to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he had appointed governor, ¹⁵and he told him, `Take these articles and go and deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem. And rebuild the house of God on its site.' ¹⁶So this Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem. From that day to the present it has been under construction but is not yet finished."

¹⁷Now if it pleases the king, let a search be made in the royal archives of Babylon to see if King Cyrus did in fact issue a decree to rebuild this house of God in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us his decision in this matter.

6¹King Darius then issued an order, and they searched in the archives stored in the treasury at Babylon. ²A scroll was found in the citadel of Ecbatana in the province of Media, and this was written on it:

Memorandum:

³In the first year of King Cyrus, the king issued a decree concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem:

Let the temple be rebuilt as a place to present sacrifices, and let its foundations be laid. It is to be ninety feet high and ninety feet wide, ⁴with three courses of large stones and one of timbers. The costs are to be paid by the royal treasury. ⁵Also, the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, are to be returned to their places in the temple in Jerusalem; they are to be deposited in the house of God.

⁶Now then, Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and you, their fellow officials of that province, stay away from there. ⁷Do not interfere with the work on this temple of God. Let the governor of the Jews and the Jewish elders rebuild this house of God on its site.

⁸Moreover, I hereby decree what you are to do for these elders of the Jews in the construction of this house of God:

The expenses of these men are to be fully paid out of the royal treasury, from the revenues of Trans-Euphrates, so that the work will not stop. ⁹Whatever is needed--young bulls, rams, male lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine and oil, as requested by the priests in Jerusalem--must be given them daily without fail, ¹⁰so that they may offer sacrifices pleasing to the God of heaven and pray for the well-being of the king and his sons.

¹¹Furthermore, I decree that if anyone changes this edict, a beam is to be pulled from his house and he is to be lifted up and impaled on it. And for this crime his house is to be made a pile of rubble. ¹²May God, who has caused his Name to dwell there, overthrow any king or people who lifts a hand to change this decree or to destroy this temple in Jerusalem.

I Darius have decreed it. Let it be carried out with diligence.

¹³Then, because of the decree King Darius had sent, Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates carried it out with diligence. ¹⁴So the elders of the Jews continued to build and prosper under the preaching of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah, a descendant of Iddo. They finished building the temple according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia. ¹⁵The temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.

¹⁶Then the people of Israel--the priests, the Levites and the rest of the exiles--celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy. ¹⁷For the dedication of this house of God they offered a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred male lambs and, as a sin offering for all Israel, twelve male goats, one for each of the tribes of Israel. ¹⁸And they installed the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their groups for the service of God at Jerusalem, according to what is written in the Book of Moses.

¹⁹On the fourteenth day of the first month, the exiles celebrated the Passover. ²⁰The priests and Levites had purified themselves and were all ceremonially clean. The Levites slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their brothers the priests and for themselves. ²¹So the Israelites who had returned from the exile ate it, together with all who had separated themselves from the unclean practices of their Gentile neighbors in order to seek the LORD, the God of Israel. ²²For seven days they celebrated with joy the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because the LORD had filled them with joy by changing the attitude of the king of Assyria, so that he assisted them in the work on the house of God, the God of Israel.

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²⁵Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: ²⁶"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple. ²⁷And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

²⁸"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? ²⁹For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, ³⁰saying, `This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'

³¹"Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? ³²If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. (Go Back to the Study)