In our study of Ezra chapter seven, we will look at the man, his faithful preparation, and the favor of God that was upon him. We will apply this to our Christian walk.
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After these events, during the reign of Artach'shashta king of Persia, 'Ezra the son of S'rayah, the son of 'Azaryah, the son of Hilkiyah, the son of Shalum, the son of Tzadok, the son of Achituv, the son of Amaryah, the son of 'Azaryah, the son of M'rayot, the son of Z'rachyah, the son of 'Uzi, the son of Buki, the son of Avishua, the son of Pinchas, the son of Eli'ezer, the son of Aharon the cohen hagadol - this 'Ezra went up from Bavel. He was a scribe, expert in the Torah of Moshe, which ADONAI the God of Isra'el had given; and the king granted him everything he asked for, since the hand of ADONAI his God was on him.
The phrase "After these things" speaks of the rebuilding of the temple that we saw in chapter 6. We are introduced to Ezra and his heritage as a priest as his family tree is traced back to Aaron who (along with Moses) had led God's people out of captivity in Egypt. Before the temple was rebuilt, there would not have been a place for the priest to perform the sacrifices and so he stayed behind in Babylon teaching the people the Law of Moses. Finally, we are told that the favor of God was upon him and this caused the king to give him all that was needed for his work.
In the seventh year of Artach'shashta the king, some of the people of Isra'el, and some of the cohanim, L'vi'im, singers, gatekeepers and temple servants went up to Yerushalayim. ['Ezra] arrived at Yerushalayim in the fifth month of the seventh year of the king. He began going up to Yerushalayim from Bavel on the first day of the first month and arrived on the first day of the fifth month, since the good hand of his God was on him.
We see that the workers for the new temple returned to Jerusalem. This trip took four months of walking but God was with them.
For 'Ezra had set his heart on studying and practicing the Torah of ADONAI and teaching Isra'el the laws and rulings.
Why was God's favor upon Ezra? The simple fact of the matter is that he had faith in God and knew that He was going to restore His people and the temple in Jerusalem. He not only knew this but he also put in the work to prepare for the day that it would happen. We may ask ourselves what this has to do with us and our daily walk with the Lord. If we want the favor of the Lord to be upon us, we need to put our faith into action. Just as Ezra knew God was going to restore Jerusalem, we know that Jesus is returning to judge the world and all who are in it. Do we sit back and wait or do we prepare for the day of the return like Ezra did?
Here is the letter that King Artach'shashta gave 'Ezra the cohen and Torah-teacher, the student of matters relating to ADONAI's mitzvot and his laws for Isra'el: "From: Artach'shashta, king of kings "To: 'Ezra the cohen, scribe of the law of the God of heaven, etc.: "Herewith
Ezra had a reputation of being an expert in the word of God. Therefore, when God moved in Artaxerxes, he called on Ezra to lead the return to Jerusalem because he had prepared his heart, studied the law, and was known for putting it into action. Although we are not under the Law, we have to ask ourselves if we have the reputation of being men/women of God. A good way to measure this is to ask ourselves if we have people coming to us with questions about the Bible and for prayer. I am not talking about "religious" people but ordinary hurting people. When the chips are down, do people come to you for prayer, comfort, and wisdom from God?
I decree that everyone in my realm who belongs to the people of Isra'el, including their cohanim and L'vi'im, who, of his own free will, chooses to go with you to Yerushalayim, should go. You are being sent by the king and his seven counselors to inquire how the law of your God, of which you have expert knowledge, is being applied in Y'hudah and Yerushalayim.
We see that God's favor upon Ezra led to a blessing for the other servants of God. They were all given permission to return to Jerusalem and he was given the job of seeing if those who had returned before were keeping the Law. This same type of thing happened with the apostles as many were blessed because of the favor of God upon their lives. It happens today as well when Christians are walking in the will of God for their lives.
You are also to bring with you the silver and gold which the king and his counselors have voluntarily offered to the God of Isra'el, whose dwelling is in Yerushalayim; together with all the silver and gold you receive throughout the province of Bavel and the voluntary offerings of the people and the cohanim that have been offered willingly for the house of their God in Yerushalayim.
The king not only gave Ezra the authority to go and to take the people with him but also to raise money. The king contributed his own treasure to the offering although he only acknowledged God as the God of Israel.
"You are to spend this money carefully on young bulls, rams, and lambs, with their grain offerings and drink offerings; and offer them on the altar of the house of your God in Yerushalayim.
He told Ezra to use his money to buy the things required for the offerings in the temple. He hoped to gain the favor of God because of his treatment of God's people and he was right in principle because God does bless those who bless His people.
Whatever seems good to you and your kinsmen to do with the rest of the silver and gold, do it according to the will of your God. "The articles given to you for the service of the house of your God, deliver to the God of Yerushalayim. "Whatever else may be needed for the house of your God that you have to supply, you may supply from the royal treasury.
The king was very generous and pledged all the royal funds necessary to purchase things used for worship in the temple. He repeatedly identified God as "your God" and so we know that this was not done by the king as an act of worship.
"I, Artach'shashta the king, herewith order all the treasurers in the territory beyond the [Euphrates] River to do carefully anything 'Ezra the cohen, scribe of the law of the God of heaven, requires of you, up to three-and-a-third tons of silver, 500 bushels of wheat, 500 gallons of wine, 500 gallons of olive oil and unlimited amounts of salt. Whatever is ordered by the God of heaven is to be performed exactly for the house of the God of heaven; for why should wrath come against the realm of the king and his sons?
The king gave orders for the local provinces to provide the things for the temple. We finally get to see the reason for this generosity and it was simply fear. Artaxerexes feared the wrath of a God that he did not even personally know. As it says in Proverbs 9:10, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" and so the king is making some wise decisions based on his fear. It seems that this a forgotten aspect of our coming to faith in God. We hear much today about the love of God but we do not hear much about fearing His wrath if we don't turn to Jesus. Without fear of the consequences of sin and God's coming judgment, we will not repent and accept Jesus' payment for our sins.
Moreover, we herewith proclaim to you that it will be illegal to impose tribute, taxes or tolls on any of the cohanim, L'vi'im, singers, gatekeepers, servants or laborers in this house of God.
We see how afraid the king was of God's wrath in the fact that he basically allowed the temple workers independence from the other authorities.
"And you, 'Ezra, making use of the wisdom you have from your God, are to appoint magistrates and judges to judge all the people in the territory beyond the River, that is, all who know the laws of your God; and you are to teach those who don't know them. Whoever refuses to obey the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed on him swiftly, whether it be death, banishment, confiscation of goods or imprisonment."
The king also gave Ezra the authority to appoint leaders and to have them administer the law. Once again, we see that the king had seen the fact that Ezra was a man of God and so by extension was kind of afraid of Ezra as well.
Blessed be ADONAI, the God of our ancestors, who has put such a thing as this in the heart of the king, to restore the beauty of the house of ADONAI in Yerushalayim, and has extended mercy to me before the king and his counselors, and before all the king's most powerful officials. So I took courage, since the hand of ADONAI my God was on me, and I gathered together out of Isra'el key men to go up with me.
We once again see Ezra's faithfulness as he gives praise to God for all that has happened with the king. He recognized the hand of God upon the situation as well as the favor that was upon him and gave the glory to God. We also see that the focus of his heart was honoring God and His house in Jerusalem.
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