ENTER EZRA

Thus far in the book of Ezra, we have seen the return of the Jews to the land and the rebuilding of their Temple. This was no easy task as they faced opposition and for a time were forced to leave off the work. But finally under the prophetic ministry of Haggai and Zechariah, the Jews were able to return and complete the work. The Temple was completed. The Jews were once again worshiping the Lord in His Temple.

The phrase "after these things" in Ezra 7:1 moves us forward in time to the year 458 B.C. This was almost 60 years after the events of the previous chapter. The Temple had long since been rebuilt. The sacrifices had long since been underway. All of the events in the book of Esther had taken place.

Because of this, chapter seven might seem to be anticlimactic - a bit like the cavalry that arrives only after the battle has been completed. After all, the work has been completed. The opposition has been overcome. The sacrifices have been re-instituted. What more is there to do? But I want to suggest that, rather than being anticlimactic, Ezra’s ministry marks a new page in the spiritual life of Israel.

His heritage not only goes back to Aaron, it also goes through Zadok, the man who Solomon appointed to be the new high priest after the previous high priest had supported the rebellion of Adonijah (1 Kings 1:7-8; 2:35). We learn in Ezekiel 44:15-16 that the descendants of Zadok remained faithful to their charge when the rest of the nation was turning away to idolatry. They had a heritage of faithful service to the Lord.

Are you leaving a godly heritage for your children? My parents did that for me. There were several means by which they did it.

• We had a tradition of daily Bible-reading in which our entire family would sit around the dinner table and read the Scriptures together.

• We had a regular attendance in church. It was unthinkable to skip church attendance if you were not on your sickbed and virtually at death’s door.

• Any time that we were going out the door, my mother would call out a blessing upon us.

As we were raising our daughter, we also had some similar family traditions. There were regular Bible Studies in our home. There was the memorization of Scriptures. And there was the regular teaching of the doctrines of the faith.

Now that I am a grandparent, I have come to find a renewed consciousness about such a family heritage. It involves a commitment that you and your family and all of your descendants shall follow the Lord. Joshua did that. He stood before all of the tribes of Israel and he urged them to follow his example as he said, "As for me and my house, we shall follow the Lord" (Joshua 24:15).

Both of these aspects, a generational spirituality as well as a family heritage of spirituality must be held in tension. They are both important.

We have already seen that Ezra was from a long line of priests; men who had served in the Temple and who had offered sacrifices unto the Lord. Here we see that Ezra himself also had another role in the spiritual life of the people. He was a scribe. The Hebrew word for "scribe" is the Hebrew word (sapher). It comes from the root word describing a "book." Indeed, the Israelites in a later period referred to themselves as yam sapher, the "people of the book."

This was a day in which many people were not able to read or to write. This would change dramatically in the New Testament era, but that was still 400 years away. The only way for such a people to have God’s Word would be for someone to read it to them. Ezra was such a man. He was able to serve not only as a priest, but also as a teacher of the Scriptures.

Ezra evidently made a request of the Persian government. We are not told of the circumstances of that request, but we can deduce what was requested since the king granted him all he requested. We need only to look at what Ezra accomplished to see what it was he requested.

The reason that Ezra’s request was granted was because the hand of the LORD his God was upon him. We shall read this same comment as a continuing refrain throughout the next two chapters (Ezra 7:9; 7:28; 8:18; 8:22; 8:31).

Ezra’s return involved primarily a return of priests and Levites and others who had a heritage of serving within the Temple. We shall see in the next chapter that when this group was first assembled, they were notably lacking in several key areas. Ezra had to issue a second call before certain of the Levites responded and joined the company.

The original Jewish calendar had started with Nissan being the first month. This continues to be the Jewish religious calendar to this day. But during the period of the kings, the Israelites had adopted a civil calendar in which the first month was reckoned in the fall. Commentators have wondered whether this is the religious or civil reckoning in this passage. I suggest that the context shows it to be the religious method - that was used in Ezra 6:19 just a few verses earlier.

The distance from Babylon to Jerusalem is about 500 miles as the crow flies. But Ezra was not leading crows. Caravans generally did not go in a straight line through the Arabian Desert. Instead they mad a long detour following the Euphrates River to the ancient city of Haran before turning southward to come along the Levant. Using this route, the distance is almost doubled.

This was the secret of Ezra’s success. He had set his heart to study and to know and to live the Scriptures and to teach them to others. This is the language of commitment. His approach to the Law of the Lord was not a casual interest. It was not an occasional Bible reading whenever he might find the time. The Hebrew text says that he ESTABLISHED his heart for this task. Notice the progression of this motivation:

1. To Study.

2. To Practice.

3. To Teach.

We have seen a number of official documents presented for us thus far in the book of Ezra. The story of the rebuilding of the Temple has been effectively told in these documents.

As this decree begins, the text changes languages. We continue to utilize the Hebrew alphabet, but the language is now Aramaic, the common language throughout Mesopotamia and the Levant during this period.

1. A Second Decree to Return.

2. Finances for the Trip.

3. The Command of God.

4. A Tax-Exempt Status.

5. An Authoritative Appointment.