After a week of living in their little shelters and hearing the Word of God read aloud and feasting together, the people of Judea gather for one last solemn assembly on the final day, which was very probably (on our calendar) October 31.

🤓 Halloween?!

Well there was no such thing as Halloween then. But I think if the people of God are looking for something to do with October 31st, we could do like Israel and dress up in burlap, listen to the Bible being read aloud, and spend 6 hours confessing our sins.

😐 6…HOURS? That’s an awful of lot of sin…

🤓 And no candy. 🍬

It was a pretty intense prayer meeting. When they got done confessing every sin they or their ancestors had ever committed, they praised the LORD for everything He had done for them.

In chronological order.

Since the days of Moses.

😐 That’s an awful lot of praising.

🤓 And no candy. 🍭

But the history review really brings the disobedience of their ancestors (and God’s mercy on them) into sharp focus. And they have a collective “I’ve HAD IT moment.”

You know those moments when you are absolutely DONE with a thing. Something snaps and there is no reeling you back. You’ve HAD IT. It’s usually a result of a very bad or costly experience. It’s when absolute decisions are made. It usually involves a “never.”

• I will NEVER hire that guy again!
• I’m NEVER buying another thing from that company!
• I will NEVER go back to that hair stylist.
• We are NEVER going THERE on vacation again.

This is a good moment to pause and reflect on your own “I’ve HAD IT” moments. 🪑 And if you have 6 extra minutes, I think you should hear Dave Ramsey describe his “I’ve Had It” moment.

After all these years, it has FINALLY gotten through to Israel that God is good and they have been a VERY disobedient people. And they’re sick and tired of being disobedient.

😐 A 6-HOUR sin-confession marathon will do that to ya.

They have been through about 4 generations of bad and very costly experiences: brutal destruction and exile.

The result is: We are NEVER going to live like that EVER again.

They’ve reached a point where, as a people, they are just DONE. There is no more tolerance for idolatry, paganism, or being ignorant of God’s Word. They are so committed that they put it in writing.

These chapters feel a lot like the American founding fathers signing the Declaration of Independence. They commit “their lives their fortunes and their sacred honor” to a statement of fundamental truth.

The leading priests, chief Levites, and primary leaders of Judea sign this document on behalf of all the people with their promise to obey the Law of God. This commitment is what Sinai was supposed to be when the Israelites promised to obey the covenantal law Yahweh gave them. Except that at Sinai they promptly went and made a golden calf.

This group – Israel 2.0 – is very different. We have already noted in previous posts the parallels between the returned exiles and the children of Israel in the Exodus. As a reminder, both were…

• In bondage to a mighty empire
• Released from bondage due to divine intervention that overthrew the power of the empire
• Departing from a past thick with idolatry
• Given significant wealth as they departed; most of which was used for the building of a residence for Yahweh
• Divinely protected from neighboring enemies
• Guided by prophets
• Led by men of Judah and Levi

So they have come out of Bondage 2.0 and this time it’s VERY different. No more idolatry. This time they’re actually going to obey and be loyal to Yahweh.

It kinda feels like a foreshadowing of the difference between the Old Covenant people and the New Covenant people, or the flesh and the spirit.

“For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭7‬-‭9‬, ‭12‬-‭13‬ ‭ESV‬‬

From the days of Sinai to the fall of Jerusalem – with only a handful of exceptions – Israel lived according to the flesh. And they died – as individuals but also as a nation. Then God raised their nation from the dead which prophetically hints at the resurrection life of the NT saint.

This dramatic change after the Babylonian Captivity feels a bit like a picture of the new way that will come through the resurrection of Christ and the coming of the Holy Spirit. They are determined to “put to death the deeds of the flesh.”

Even if it requires wearing scratchy burlap to a 6-hour-long service.

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I’m pretty sure that the “founding father” named Azzur who signed the renewal of the covenant in Nehemiah 10:17 is the ancestor of Jesus. Azzur was the name of the great-grandson of Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel, (whom we KNOW was Jesus’ ancestor), had been the governor of Judea because he was a prince of Judah and would’ve been heir to the throne of David. Zerubbabel was an adult when he led the Jews back to Judea in 539BC. This document is being signed in about 445BC, 94 years later. The timeline fits. That’s enough time for Zerubbabel’s great-grandson to be one of the leaders.

The Gospel of Matthew records the genealogy of Joseph, the husband of Mary; Jesus’ earthly (legal) father. In it we find Azzur (spelled phonetically).

“Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud. Abiud was the father of Eliakim. Eliakim was the father of Azor.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭1‬:‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

And this is (yet again) why we don’t skip genealogies.