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Who was Ezra from the Bible?
In previous chapters, we learned Joshua was the 24th high priest, if you include Aaron as the first. Ezra is a descendant of the 22nd High Priest, Seraiah. He isn’t the high priest, but he also isn’t just any priest. He is a priest of distinction and he tells us all about it in Ezra 7:1–6.
Can you see the pattern of restoration?
There are several patterns in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Each return includes:
- A decree from one of the Kings of Persia.
- Building something.
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- The Temple: In Ezra chapters 1-6, the first wave of exiles led by Zerubbabel focused on building the Temple so they could worship.
- Faith: In the next four chapters, we see the second wave led by Ezra who focuses on building the faith of the people. They must be faithful to God and follow His commands, or exile will once again be their fate.
- The Wall: We will cover the last wave of exiles in the book of Nehemiah, where Nehemiah focuses on building the wall to protect them from enemies.
- Leaders facing opposition of some kind and victory in overcoming that opposition.
- Falling short of providing the King, the Kingdom, and the community that God has planned for us from the beginning in Genesis. So when we arrive at the end of each of these returns to Jerusalem, the victory falls a little flat.
Following the Pattern, They Fall Short Again
In Ezra 3-4, the exiles completed the foundation of the second Temple, and in Ezra 5-6 they completed the rest of the Temple. But one thing was tragically missing…the Cloud, or glory of the Lord, which represents God’s presence with His people.
For Moses, the Cloud appeared at the completion of the Tabernacle in Exodus 40. For Solomon, it appeared at the completion of the Temple in 1 Kings 8. But there is no mention of the Cloud filling the second Temple as it had before.
Ezekiel’s Prophetic Vision
Ezekiel, who lived about 100 years before Ezra, saw a vision in Ezekiel 10:1-19 of God a man clothed in linen, possibly Jesus. The cloud filled the inner court. Then the glory of the Lord moved to the door of the Temple, and the man clothed in linen left to sprinkle coals over Jerusalem, indicating judgment. The vision represented the end of an era. God’s presence, which had dwelt in the Temple since Solomon built it, was gone because of Israel’s unfaithfulness and idolatry.
The Meaning of the Missing Cloud
The Cloud, the glory of the Lord, did not fill the Second Temple. The exiles are trying to return to the hope of the promises: the Davidic covenant promise of a great King (the Messiah) and the Mosaic covenant promise God will dwell among them. But these promises are contingent upon the people’s faith and obedience. The fact that God did not inhabit the second Temple leads us to ask: Are the people still in a kind of spiritual exile?
Can Ezra’s fearless faith break the pattern?
Ezra’s task of leading the people to God is a challenging and impossible one. After all, great leaders like Moses, Aaron, Elijah, and Elisha struggled when they were in the same position. Leading a nation that consistently fails in its sole objective of faithfulness to God requires a man of fearless faith. Ezra is just such a man because he is qualified and called.
Point to Ponder
If you are called, you are hired. Whether you are qualified or successful is not the point. The only point is that God will use you in His greater plan. It may look like a mess, a failure, or a disaster but on the other side of eternity we know God is weaving all things together for good.
Ezra is called, and he is obedient to God. But sometimes obedience to God doesn’t feel like a victory. Sometimes it is painful.
When did Artaxerxes decree to rebuild Jerusalem?
In the last chapter, King Darius decreed support for the Jews. As we begin Ezra 7, it’s 80 years after the first return led by Zerubbabel. Artaxerxes is king, and he decrees to rebuild Jerusalem in 458 BC. Chronologically, we are past the book of Esther, because she married Artaxerxes’ father Xerxes about 479 BC.
So is Artaxerxes the son of Esther?
Artaxerxes is not Esther’s son. Xerxes’ principal wife was Amestris, and she is Artaxerxes’ mother. Amestris was known for cruelty, but Esther was known for kindness and for saving the Jews. Perhaps Artaxerxes was influenced by Esther, not his mother, because Artaxerxes has a soft spot for Ezra and his people that he wouldn’t have gotten from his mom.
Ezra Builds the Case in Ezra 7:10
Ezra gives deference to the king by announcing him first before launching into his own impressive lineage, which he links back to Aaron himself. It’s a very abbreviated lineage list, but Ezra highlights the most prestigious priests such as Hilkiah who served during Josiah’s reign and Zadok who served during David’s.
In Ezra 7:6-10, he wrote a lot of impressive facts about himself, and if we didn’t know him we might think he is arrogant. However, we know Ezra loves to include supporting documentation in his books. It’s why Chronicles has a whopping 65 chapters. And in sharing his lineage Ezra is simply doing what he does best, building a case.
He is a priest born to the priesthood and a teacher well-versed in the law of Moses. The king granted him everything he asked for because the hand of the Lord was on him, and he had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law.
In Ezra 7:10, the translation of “he devoted himself” could be stronger. A more meaningful translation for the phrase is “had set his heart.” It implies Ezra had a deliberate positioning of his heart. Like David, a man after God’s heart, Ezra loves God.
Reflection Point
Ezra sought God’s law and practiced God’s principles. Now God will use him to lead others in His plan. The sequence matters. Ezra began with devoting himself to the study and observance of the Law of Moses. Then he found favor with the king, and the hand of God was upon him.
The Law of Moses was to the exiles what the Bible is to us today. We must devote ourselves to studying God’s Word and practice God’s principles. Then God will use us to lead others in His plan. The progression is reminiscent of another great teacher, Jesus, who developed in a similar manner in Luke 2:52. If growing in wisdom worked well for Ezra and Jesus, surely it is a good model for us to follow.
In the Bible Book Club, we are studying God’s Word and principles on this journey through the Bible. It is not an easy study, but we pray we will find favor with God and man along the way.
Artaxerxes Gives Ezra the Keys to the Kingdom in Ezra 7
Back to our story. Ezra has been diligently preparing. He is the leader Israel needs for such a time as this, and God is already going ahead of him paving the way. Even the king of Persia, the greatest empire of its time, praises the credentials of this priest, teacher, and learned man.
How did a captive rise to such trust and admiration with the king of the greatest empire? Faithful obedience to a God who controls the kings. As a result, in Ezra 7:11–20 Artaxerxes hands Ezra the keys to the kingdom of Judah in the form of a letter.
The king begins by addressing those in Persia, decreeing any Israelite may volunteer to go with Ezra, and they are to go with gifts to the God of Israel. The king gives silver and gold and the province of Babylon is to do the same. The people must make a freewill offering for the Temple.
Then in Ezra 7:21-24 the king addresses all the treasurers of the Trans-Euphrates, which are provinces Persia has acquired beyond the Euphrates River. They are to provide whatever Ezra needs, and the king removes any authority they think they have to tax Israel. He does not want to incur the wrath of Ezra’s God.
Ezra’s Authority
Ezra must be a very convincing teacher and again we have to wonder if Esther’s faith also played a role. Lastly, in Ezra 7:25-26, the king grants Ezra unprecedented authority to rule over all the people, not only in Jerusalem but also over those who follow the laws of God.
- Civil control:
- Authority over “all who know the laws of your God”
- Power to appoint magistrates and judges
- Authority to teach the law to those who don’t know it
- Power to impose punishments, including death, banishment, confiscation, and imprisonment
- Financial Control
- Unlimited access to the royal treasury up to 100 talents of silver
- Authority to take whatever else is needed for God’s temple
- Tax exemption for all Temple personnel
- Religious Control
- Complete freedom to establish worship according to Jewish law
- Authority to enforce religious compliance
- Power to purify and organize the community
This gift of authority is really a miracle.
The Real Source of Ezra’s Success
At the beginning of this chapter, Ezra used a lot of white space to detail his qualifications in order to build a case for what he humbly states clearly in Ezra 7:27–28. The credit for his success is not what he has done. It is what God has done through him.
God moved the heart of the king to bring honor to Jerusalem and favor to Ezra. Because of all that God has done, Ezra takes courage and acts.
Reflection Point
Those who faithfully study and lovingly obey God, He equips to make a lasting impact on the world. When He does, we must take notice and praise Him as Ezra did so the world may know.
Ezra Carefully Assembles His Team in Ezra 8
In Ezra 8:1–14, we read the list of those who returned with Ezra, about 1,500 Jews from 15 different families. It is a smaller group than the 42,360 who returned with Zerubbabel. However, this group has a high calling. They must restore worship and lead the people back to faith in God.
Who were the Levites in the Bible?
On every trip, there is always a chance we will forget something. Sometimes we can live without it and sometimes we can’t. In Ezra 8:15–20, Ezra can’t live without the Levites. They are crucial to the mission of leading the people in worship, because they are vital to God’s instructions for caring for the Temple. Ezra executes orders and with God’s hand upon him, 38 Levites and 220 temple servants are assembled and ready to go.
Preparing with Prayer
Ezra’s small confession in Ezra 8:21–23 is so human. He didn’t feel comfortable asking the king for a security detail for the trip because he had boasted to the king that God’s hand was upon them. To put his trust where his mouth is, he prays God will indeed protect them. Then in Ezra 8:24–30 he carefully divides the treasure between 12 trusted priests.
Ezra and the Second Wave of Exiles Return to Judah
In Ezra 8:31–36, Ezra doesn’t spend much ink on the journey or their arrival. It’s a journey that must have been incredibly difficult and yet he skips all of it.
Ezra has finally arrived! And he is all about the business: treasures delivered, sacrifices offered, royal orders distributed. But what happens when you think you have arrived, only to discover the real work is just beginning? In our next episode, the calm, orderly Ezra will lose it. Tune in to find out why Ezra is tearing his clothes and pulling out his hair.
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