Between Ezra 1 and Ezra 7 much happened. Ezra 1 began with the reign of King Cyrus and his decree allowing the Jews, who were willing, to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple that was in ruin. So under Zerubbabel, a batch of Jews returned and started the rebuilding work. It was not smooth sailing for them. They had to face the opposition of the Samaritans who complained to the king that brought a halt to their building program. Then came two prophets, Haggai and Zachariah who under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit stirred the Jews to resume the rebuilding. By then, they also had a kinder king in Darius and a more sympathetic governor in Tattenai. The King and the governor under the influence of God, allowed the Jews to complete the temple, dedicated it, and even observed the Passover and celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
After much had transpired, Ezra 7 now opens with the reign of
Artaxerxes of Persia before introducing Ezra. He would become the instrument
that God would use to bring about a spiritual revival to reform His people.
Between the first return of the Jews under Zerubbabel to rebuild the temple and
the return of the second batch under Ezra, 57-58 years had elapsed. Verses 1-5
give the ancestry of Ezra. Clearly, he had descended from the priestly line of
Aaron. However, Ezra was not just a priest, he was also a scribe skillful in
the Law of the Lord God of Israel given under
Moses. Explicitly, the last part of verse 6 said that the hand of
the Lord his God was upon Him. From Babylon,
this Ezra together with “Some of the sons of Israel and some
of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers and the temple
servants went up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.”
Ezra 6:8 tells us that he came to Jerusalem in the
fifth month in the seventh year of the reign of the king, meaning Artaxerxes.
From calculation from what is said in verse 9, it took him and his team some
four months to come to Jerusalem from Babylon. From Ezra 8:31 we surmise that
his route to Jerusalem was not so straightforward. In that verse, he said, “we journeyed from the river Ahava on the twelfth of the first month to go to Jerusalem; and the hand of our God was over us, and He delivered us
from the hand of the enemy and the ambushes by the way.” The emphasis
of both Ezra 6:6 and Ezra 8:31 was that they only
arrived safely at Jerusalem because God’s hand was upon them.
The conjunction “for” at the beginning of Ezra
6:10 indicates for us his purpose and reason for taking this perilous trip to
Jerusalem. His objective was to study the law of God than to practice it. His
end goal was to teach the ordinances and statutes of God in Israel. Revival
always starts with a passion for God and His Word. That’s why Ezra set his heart to studying and searching
the Word of God. it. He was very determined to do it. It’s hard to accomplish
what one sets out to do without determination.
What is our passion in terms of seeking God and His truth? What’s
our heart attitude whenever study the Word of God? Do we come with
determination or a casual half-hearted devotion? We must come to the Word of
God as Ezra did. We must set our hearts to the task. We must also be
determined to live it. Then we must also desire to teach it. One effective way
to teach the truth is to demonstrate them through living it out. Most people
would rather see a sermon than hear one. So study the word, but more importantly,
seek to practice what we have discovered from our study of the Word. This is
where we will make an impact on the people for God!
No comments:
Post a Comment