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“He Leadeth Me--How” (5) Ezra 2:59-63
“the LORD stirred up the spirit of King Cyrus of Persia . . . everyone whose spirit God had stirred” (1:1, 5).
“These looked for their entries in the genealogical records, but they were not found there, and so they were excluded from the priesthood as unclean; the governor told them that they were not to partake of the most holy food, until there should be a priest to consult Urim and Thummim. (2:62-63). . Introduction
These texts bring to mind the lines of a hymn we used to sing: He leadeth me, O blessèd thought! O words with heav’nly comfort fraught! Whate’er I do, where’er I be Still ’tis God’s hand that leadeth me. How do we discern the will of God in our lives and in our corporate life as the body of Christ, the Church? No doubt all of you have had distinct experiences of God’s leadership in your lives. I invite you to share one experience of divine leadership in your life that to you is significant and unmistakable . . . Sometimes it seems that in this area of discerning divine guidance we can get very close to the realm of magic and/or superstition. For example, Google “Divine Guidance” and see what all appears. How do we distinguish between the superstitious and authentic divine leadership? Our second text above appears to approach superstition or magic as it introduces us to an interesting and enigmatic Old Testament practice, not entirely unknown in the New Testament. At the end of the list of those that have returned to Jerusalem from Babylon in Ezra 2:1-70 we find this paragraph:
The following were those who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer, though they could not prove their families or their descent, whether they belonged to Israel: the descendants of Delaiah, Tobiah, and Nekoda, six hundred fifty-two. Also, of the descendants of the priests: the descendants of Habaiah, Hakkoz, and Barzillai (who had married one of the daughters Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by their name). These looked for their entries in the genealogical records, but they were not found there, and so they were excluded from the priesthood as unclean; the governor told them that they were not to partake of the most holy food, until there should be a priest to consult Urim and Thummim (2:59-63).
So first we set our text in
I. The Context of Ezra
As we can observere from our outline (fn. 2), chapter two is set between the report of the decree of the Perian ruler Cyrus followed by the return of the exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem (1:1-11) and the rebuilding of the altar for worship and the laying of the foundations for the Temple (3:1-13). Chapter two contains the list of those who returned, roughly 50,000 people, 49,897 to be exact as reported by Ezra. Interestingly this chapter is repeated word for word in Nehemiah 7:6-73 leading to much critical discussion. Williamson, for example, views the list of returnees as composite and concludes that “most of the component parts of the list were already fixed by the time that work began in earnest on the rebuilding of the temple” with “the most reasonable explanation” being “that it reflects a number of more modest journeys of return at various times throughout the reigns of Cyrus and Cambyses”.
The list of returnees is by clans or family relationships (2:3-19), by place names (2:20-35), by priests (2:36-39), by Levites, singers and gatekeepers (2:40-42), by temple servants (2:43-54), by servants of Solomon (2:55-58), and as in our text by genealogy (2:59-63). This latter category consisted of those who could not prove their Jewish ancestry and included both lay people (vv 59-60) and priests (vv 61-63). A pure line was very significant religiously, for mixture with foreign groups was to be excluded, as foreign elements could bring apostasy into the Jewish community. The laymen who were unable to prove their Jewish lineage may have been from families who had lost their genealogical records because of the Exile, posing a problem to the authorities.
But the crucial problem arose with the priests for they were to be cultically clean and of true Jewish descent. As long as they could not prove their Jewish descent they were considered unclean—in danger of desecrating the cult--, outside the priesthood, and thus deprived of their livelihood. The governor, probably Zerubbabel, took action to prohibit these unfortunate priests from eating any of the most holy things (see Lev. 2:3; 7:21-36), that is, the food that the priests possessed as their right after the cultic services. According to the text, in the case of the priests the Urim and Thummim would be consulted by an unquestionable priest to discern whether or not they should be regarded as priests.
As instruments of divine discernment, what about
II. Urim and Thummim? How to describe the use of the Urim and Thummim is one of the thorny problems of Old Testament interpretation. According to Exodus 28:30 the divine instructions are that in the breastpiece of judgment you shall put the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be on Aaron’s heart when he goes in before the LORD; thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of the Israelites on his heart before the LORD continually (see Lev. 8:8). It is clear that the Urim and Thummim were regarded as a means of revelation used by the high priest to give God’s answer to inquiries, to discover the will of God, often by a process of elimination. 1 Samuel 14:41-42 is typical: Then Saul said, “O LORD God of Israel, why have you not answered your servant today? If this guilt is in me or in my son Jonathan, O LORD God of Israel, give Urim; but if this guilt is in your people Israel, give Thummim.” And Jonathan and Saul were indicated by the lot, but the people were cleared. Then Saul said, “Cast the lot between me and my son Jonathan.” And Jonathan was taken (see 28:6; Numbers 27:15-23; Deut 33:8). The Urim and Thummin, although never described, were apparently sacred lots from which answers to direct questions could be received. They were possibly two small objects, such as pebbles or sticks, marked in some way and which were drawn out of the Ephod to give, according to the combinations, a ‘yes,’ ‘no,’ or ‘no answer’ response (see 1 Sam 14:36-37; 23:9-12; 30:7-8). The meaning of the words themselves is quite uncertain. Interesting, if not significant, is the fact that they begin with the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet respectively [Aleph, ̉ûrîm; Tav, tūmmîm]. Similar to Urim and Thummin in the New Testament is the account in Acts 1 as the disciples prepare for Pentecost:
So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. Then they prayed and said, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles (Acts 1:23-26)—But we need to remember the words of Jesus:
Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so for three days and three nights the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth (Matthew 12:38-40). Perhaps helpful is a brief sketch as to how the rest of Scriptures expresses itself in the matter of divine leadership so now . . . III. The Witness of Biblical Faith First back to the opening paragraphs of the book of Ezra that tells us only that God did direct his people but did not specify the means: In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of King Cyrus of Persia so that he sent a herald throughout all his kingdom, and also in a written edict declared: Any of those among you who are of his people—may their God be with them! —are now permitted to go up to Jerusalem in Judah, and rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem; and let all survivors, in whatever place they reside, be assisted by the people of their place with silver and gold, with goods and with animals, besides freewill offerings for the house of God in Jerusalem. The heads of the families of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites—everyone whose spirit God had stirred—got ready to go up and rebuild the house of the LORD in Jerusalem (Ezra 1:1, 5). Even if we stay away from the narratives of the Pentateuch with their theophanies we can identify God’s means of guidance throughout Scripture as by signs, by angels, by audible voice, by vision or dreams, by the Spirit, and by human agency: By Signs
Gideon’s fleece: Judges 6:1—7:25
Signs and wonders in Acts: Acts 2:43; 4:30; see 2 Corinthians 12:12
By Angels
Elijah and the king of Israel: 2 Kings 1:1-18
The early church: Acts 1:10-11; 8:26; 12:6-11; see Matthew 1:18-21; Luke 1:8-20, 26-38; 2:8-14
By an Audible Voice
In Isaiah’s vision: Isaiah 6:8-9
To the apostle Paul: Acts 9:1-9; 2 Corinthians 12:9
By Vision or Dreams
The prophet Micaiah’s vision of the heavenly throne: 1 Kings 22:19-23 Ananias, Peter, and Paul: Acts 9:10-12; 10:9-16; 16:6-10; 2 Corinthians 12:1-4.
By the Spirit
The prophet Ezekiel: 3:12-27.
The Church at Antioch, Barnabas, and Paul: Acts 13:2-4; 16:6-10; see Luke 2:25-32
By Human Agency Eli to Samuel: 1 Samuel 3:1-21 Ananias and Agabus: Acts 9:17-19; 21:10-11; see Luke 33-35
By the “still small voice”
Elijah in hiding from Jezebel: 1 Kings 19:1-18: The word of the LORD came to Elijah, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence (“still small voice” KJV). When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:11-12). To the early Church as gathered at Antioch: “it seemed good to us” (Acts 15:22, 25, 28; see vv. 1-35) Conclusion
Even in a hurried journey through the above Old and New Testament texts one cannot escape the impact of the presence of the interpretive “word” variously expressed. Whether in a vision, an audible voice, or a gentle impression, the “voice” of God always has an intelligible content. And from the New Testament perspective it all centers in and flows from the revelation of God in his Son, Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee, the crucified and risen Messiah. A climactic text is John 16:13-15 which involves Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the direction of our lives:
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
How does the Lord “stir up” your spirit? How do you sense the Spirit’s disclosure in your life? How do you distinguish between your own wishful or superstitious imaginations and God’s will for the issue at hand? It might be helpful if some of us could list some of the various ways in which we have actually experienced God’s leadership in our lives . . .
Back to the old hymn:
He leadeth me, O blessèd thought! O words with heav’nly comfort fraught! Whate’er I do, where’er I be Still ’tis God’s hand that leadeth me.
He leadeth me, He leadeth me, By His own hand He leadeth me; His faithful follower I would be, For by His hand He leadeth me. Sometimes mid scenes of deepest gloom, Sometimes where Eden’s bowers bloom, By waters still, over troubled sea, Still ’tis His hand that leadeth me. Lord, I would place my hand in Thine, Nor ever murmur nor repine; Content, whatever lot I see, Since ’tis my God that leadeth me. And when my task on earth is done, When by Thy grace the vict’ry’s won, E’en death’s cold wave I will not flee, Since God through Jordan leadeth me.
Sing to the Lord (Kansas City, Missouri: Lillenas Publishing Company, 1993), Hymn #99. From North, “The Chronicler,” 385-386. The Second Temple (Ezra 1:1—6:22 A. Cyrus and the Return (1:1-11) Zerubbabel and the List (2:1-70) C. Laying the Cornerstone (3:1-13) Interruption: The Samaritans (4:1-24) Prophetic Nudge to Completion (5:1—6:22) Ezra’s Return and the Torah (Ezra 7:1—10:44) Rearmament of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1:1--7:72) Ezra’s Torah Promulgated (Nehemiah 7:73—9:38) Nehemiah’s Reform (Nehemiah 10:1—13:30) Timeline for the events in Ezra-Nehemiah Reign of Cyrus II of Persia (550-530) Conquest of Babylon by Cyrus II (539) Edict of Cyrus and Return of the Exiles (538) Reign of Cambyses in Persia (530-522) Reign of Darius I in Persia (522-486) Temple Rebuilt (520-515) Joseph H. Gilmore (1862) in Sing to the Lord: Hymnal (Kansas City, Missouri: Lillenas Publishing Company, 1993), 99. “Magic” is a term for various supernatural, mystical, and paranormal practices—rites, charms, any means believed to have supernatural power over natural forces. “Superstition” is similar in definition: a belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation, that is, any belief or attitude that is inconsistent with the known laws of science or with what is generally considered in the particular society as true and rational, a notion maintained despite evidence to the contrary. These are dictionary definitions. H. G. M. Williamson, Ezra, Nehemiah, Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 16 (Waco, Texas: Word Books, Publisher, 1985). 31. Nehemiah lists 45 additional singers. No doubt that in contemporary liturgical churches (Roman Catholic, Episcopal, etc.) the practice of the celebrant consuming what is left of the wine goes all the way back to Old Testament liturgical practice. Williamson, 37, writes that Urim and Thummim are not reported “to have been in use later than the period of the united monarchy, so that their sudden appearance here is difficult to evaluate.” No doubt in this period at least the determination was made by the high priest as the cultic life of the community was restored. Ibid. See Matthew 12:38-42). Relevant here is 1 Corinthians 1:18-25: “For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified” (1:22). See Isaiah 6:1-13. See 1 Kings 22:1-38. 1 Kings 19:12, KJV,
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