King Artaxerxes showed great favor to Ezra. His
mission to return to Jerusalem to study, practice, and teach the law was
encouraged and sanctioned by the king. In Ezra 7-28, record the favor that was
according to him through a letter or a memorandum of the king. In this
reflection on verses 11-20, we see several things that were accorded to
Ezra.
Firstly, he granted permission to all people of Israel, the
priests and Levites residing in his kingdom two are willing to o accompany Ezra
to Jerusalem could go with him. Ezra not only had permission to return to
Jerusalem but he was also charged by the king and his seven
counselors to “inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem according to the law of
your God which he had in hand.”
Secondly, in verses 15-17 Ezra was authorized to use all the funds
that were freely contributed. (1) He had the silver and gold, which the king
and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel. (2) He had at his
disposal all the silver and gold in Babylon that were probably taken there by Nebuchadnezzar
along with the captives. (3) He also had the freewill offering of the people
and of the priests, who offered willingly.
Thirdly, Ezra was permitted to use the fund he brought back to
diligently acquire bulls, rams, and lambs, with their grain offerings and
their drink offerings, and offer them on the altar to God. And fourthly,
he was granted permission to freely use the contribution in whatever areas
needed in their worship of God. Finally, verse 20 says that the king
even put what was in the royal treasury at his disposal for the incidental
expenses required for the temple.
The memorandum made it very clear all these contributions were for
God and His house in Jerusalem. We get a sense that Artaxerxes had
reverence for God and deep respect for His law. Besides he was eager to ensure
that God would be worshiped and duly honored. The way the king
trusted Ezra tells us that the latter must be a person of integrity. In one
sense, Artaxerxes'
motivation was due to his great respect for God and His temple. His opened
heart to God enables his generosity to him. Open hearts always lead
to generosity toward God and His work. Ezra on his part had surely earned
the king’s trust. He had shown himself to be a person of integrity. What
about us? Two lessons for us. Firstly, we must learn to be generous to God and
to the missions that encourage genuine worship and devotion to God. Secondly,
each of us must be a person of integrity to be entrusted with what’s needed to
advance God’s work.
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