Verses 1-10, “Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth, the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki, the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest— this Ezra came up from Babylon; and he was a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given. The king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the Lord his God upon him. Some of the children of Israel, the priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the Nethinim came up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes. And Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. On the first day of the first month he began his journey from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him. For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.”
Ezra was a descendant of both Aaron, the first High Priest, and also Seraiah, who was the last High Priest before they were taken captive to Babylon. He was a scribe, trained in the law of Moses, and requested of the king of Persia to return to Jerusalem, decades after the first Jews returned to the land. Scribes were experts in the law, which meant that he had dedicated himself to studying the scriptures. Now that we all have personal copies of God's word, there is no reason not to become students of the word. II Timothy 2:14-15, “Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
You cannot battle over opinions with the unsaved and win. You need God's word that contains power and authority. If you get into a debate with the ungodly and you cannot defend the word, it is shameful. Furthermore, when deceivers come along and twist the word, you might just fall for their lies, if you do not know the truth. You simply cannot be on guard if you do not know the word. II Timothy 4:2-5, “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”
Verses 11-23, “This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave Ezra the priest, the scribe, expert in the words of the commandments of the Lord, and of His statutes to Israel: 'Artaxerxes, king of kings, To Ezra the priest, a scribe of the Law of the God of heaven: Perfect peace, and so forth. I issue a decree that all those of the people of Israel and the priests and Levites in my realm, who volunteer to go up to Jerusalem, may go with you. And whereas you are being sent by the king and his seven counselors to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, with regard to the Law of your God which is in your hand; and whereas you are to carry the silver and gold which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem; and whereas all the silver and gold that you may find in all the province of Babylon, along with the freewill offering of the people and the priests, are to be freely offered for the house of their God in Jerusalem— now therefore, be careful to buy with this money bulls, rams, and lambs, with their grain offerings and their drink offerings, and offer them on the altar of the house of your God in Jerusalem. And whatever seems good to you and your brethren to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, do it according to the will of your God. Also the articles that are given to you for the service of the house of your God, deliver in full before the God of Jerusalem. And whatever more may be needed for the house of your God, which you may have occasion to provide, pay for it from the king’s treasury. And I, even I, Artaxerxes the king, issue a decree to all the treasurers who are in the region beyond the River, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, may require of you, let it be done diligently, up to one hundred talents of silver, one hundred kors of wheat, one hundred baths of wine, one hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribed limit. Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it diligently be done for the house of the God of heaven. For why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?' ”
King Artaxerxes not only allowed Ezra to return to Judea, but also encouraged others to go with him to help guarantee his success. The king was extremely generous to Ezra, giving him silver and gold, whatever was necessary from the king's treasury to do right by his God. The practice of the kings of Persia was to allow the people of the lands they conquered, to continue worshipping their gods. Artaxerxes' reign was successful because he continued the government that Darius had established, and the country enjoyed peace and prosperity. He was able to keep the network of trade throughout the region and controlled overseas trade routes to other nations. Artaxerxes probably had a superstitious fear of God. He did not want the wrath of God to come against his kingdom or his family. He was used by God even though he was not a true follower, just as God can use the unsaved in our lives, to accomplish His will. We do not need to Christianize our government in order to do God's will.
Verses 24-28, “ 'Also we inform you that it shall not be lawful to impose tax, tribute, or custom on any of the priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, Nethinim, or servants of this house of God. And you, Ezra, according to your God-given wisdom, set magistrates and judges who may judge all the people who are in the region beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God; and teach those who do not know them. Whoever will not observe the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily on him, whether it be death, or banishment, or confiscation of goods, or imprisonment.' Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers, who has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem, and has extended mercy to me before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty princes. So I was encouraged, as the hand of the Lord my God was upon me; and I gathered leading men of Israel to go up with me.”
Artaxerxes also gave Ezra the authority to enforce the law of God by carrying out the punishment as prescribed in the law. Ezra was given the freedom to establish a judicial system to handle disputes and violations of the law. He knew that the favor he received from the king, was only because of God's grace, and therefore blessed the Lord. This is something that Christians often forget when their focus is off God. He gives us ALL things, yet we act at times as though we earned them on our own, without His hand involved. I Timothy 6:17-19, “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.” If God has blessed you abundantly, then praise God! But make sure you realize where it came from and be generous givers, ready to do His work, so that you don't begin to trust in your gifts more than the Giver, falling short of eternal salvation.
In this chapter, Ezra was sent to Jerusalem by king Artaxerxes. Ezra was an expert scribe who knew the word of the Lord. He was a true man of God! He was also from the line of Aaron the priest. Scribes were important back then to interpret the law of the Lord and teach others. When Jesus came, the scribes weren't teaching the word correctly. This was a huge responsibility and calling by the Lord. They were warned by God for leading others astray! Matthew 23:15- “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves."
ReplyDeleteEzra purposed to seek the Lord in his heart, he purposed to do what the word says, and he purposed to teach what it says. This is how a true believer will stand! Pastors have this responsibility to preach the truth, but all believers have a responsibility to hear and do as the word says. It's one thing to hear the word, and another thing to do the word. We need to be doers and not hearers only! James 1:22-25- "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does." We need to pray that our hearts are receptive to the truth, and when we are convicted, may we repent and DO as the word says!
We also need to stand on the truth no matter who opposes us. We may lose friends or popularity, but who cares in the big scheme of things? Obeying God is more important than being liked here on earth. Matthew 16:25-26- "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"
Ezra was sent by the king, and was given authority to buy articles for the temple and buy sacrifices for the Jews. The king even let him pay for it out of the treasury. God blessed Ezra's life because of his obedience. When we are obedient, God will have His hand upon our lives, and we know that it's only by Him that anything good happens to us. It's nothing we do on our own!