The
story in Ezra 7:1-26 took place shortly after the Jews returned from exile in
Babylon. The king told Ezra to go to Jerusalem to see if the people were
obeying God’s Law, and if they weren’t, Ezra was to teach them and enforce the
Law. The king provided Ezra with all the resources he needed to do his job,
just like God provides everything we need when we do his work. The king made
certain that God received appropriate worship that would guarantee blessings,
and when we worship God we will receive guaranteed blessings.
Ezra
knew that the people suffered from spiritual apathy, so he went to Jerusalem to
teach them about the Law and obeying God. He knew that he would need help and
resources to do this work, so he asked for help from the king. The king did not
grant Ezra’s request simply because something good came over him. The king had
been watching Ezra and knew that he was a man with God-given wisdom.
Ezra’s
behaviour mattered just like our behaviour matters, and I’ll explain that
statement in a moment. Ezra did what God commanded him to do. The Lord’s hand
was upon his life. When the hand of God is upon us like it was upon Ezra, even
kings will support our causes. When
God’s hand is on our lives, we have a growing desire to do what he wants us to
do.
Ezra
set his priorities so that they would help him fulfill God’s plan for his life.
His priority was to study and teach the word of God, and that is to be our
priority as well. Spiritual maturity requires spiritual preparation. If we are
to grow in our faith, we must study God’s word. We are called to read and obey
God’s law. We must read, study and obey the truth. The truth of the Gospel
becomes our strength only when we receive it in our hearts and act on it. We
must do God’s work and study his word with all of our love, strength and
effort. We must apply his word with all our heart, and we must put the same
effort into spreading the Good News to everyone we meet. When we do, we will
have an impact on future generations. That is why we are to pass on knowledge
that will build them up.
God’s
Law teaches us how to live. In turn, we are to teach others about God’s Law. It
requires time and discipline. We must not be in a hurry to study the
Scriptures. We must read, meditate, think about and pour over the focus of our
studies again and again. We must also look for other Scriptures to shed light
on our focus. Finally, we must state our conclusions in our own words and look
for specific applications from our study that will help us grow in faith.
When
we obey God’s Law, we receive limitless grace, just like Ezra received a
limitless supply of salt from the king. We can never have too much of God’s
grace. It is God’s heavenly salt. It will preserve our hearts and kill sins just
like salt preserved meat years ago and kills plants today. We will not know the
will of God if we love the world and everything in it because the world is at
odds with God.
God’s
grace is limitless but it is not endless. There is a time coming when God’s
grace will end and his judgement will begin, and that time will happen when
Jesus returns to set up his kingdom on earth. God and Jesus will rule and
everyone who believes in them in faith will celebrate, even Christian martyrs.
That is why we can have hope in a world without hope. We do not sit and wait in
hiding for Christ’s return. We are to rescue as many people as we can by
telling them about Jesus.
Christ’s
victory will be celebrated in song. Those who endure in spite of hardship, obey
God’s Law and remain strong in faith will be blessed in death by rest from
their labours. Others will face destruction. God reveals his glory in loving
acts of mercy and in holy acts of vengeance. His anger is not impulsive. It is
the settled, steady, merciless, graceless and compassionless response of a
righteous God against sin.
When
we become Christians, we are engaged in the battle between good and evil. In
the midst of the battle it is not too late for people to learn the Good News
and repent. Everyone who remains on the straight and narrow path is blessed.
The path might be hard, but God will be with us. We are to fear God and give
Him the glory He is due.
Bibliography
1.
Stanley,
C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life
Principles Bible, NASB (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 2009)
5.
Roberts, M.
and Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s
Commentary Series, Vol. 11: Ezra/ Nehemiah/ Esther (Nashville, TN: Thomas
Nelson Inc.; 1993)
7.
ESV Study
Bible. Part of Wordsearch 10 Bible software package.
8.
Palmer, E.F.
and Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s
Commentary Series; Vol. 35: 1,2,&3 John/Revelation (Nashville, TN:
Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1982)
9.
MacArthur,
J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible, NASB
(Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc., 2006)
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