Prepared to Impact a Generation

When we last left the nation of Israel, a group of people had returned from exile and, over a period of 20 years, they rebuilt the Temple in Jerusalem. This led to celebrate in joyful worship.

The first Temple in Jerusalem was built by King Solomon. It was a glorious testament to the blessing and prosperity God had bestowed upon the nation. Solomon’s Temple lasted about 375 years before it was demolished by the Babylonian army under King Nebuchadnezzar. This was part of God’s judgment because Israel had turned away from Him.

After 70 years of shame and sorrow, however, Israel had her Temple back. God’s faithful hand was upon them, and the first group of exiles was successful in rebuilding. This all took place under the leadership of Zerubbabel and Jeshua.

This morning, we come to chapter 7 of Ezra, and we begin to read the historical records of the second group of exiles who returned. This group was led by a man named Ezra. So, if you’ve been asking yourself why this book is named Ezra, you finally get your answer. He is the man who likely compiled the records of the first return, and he kept a kept a record of his work during the second return.

The second return to Jerusalem takes place almost 60 years after the Temple was rebuilt. King Cyrus of Persia, the one who gave the initial proclamation to return, had died. He was succeeded by his son Cambyses. Then we had King Darius, then King Xerxes, and then King Artaxerxes, who is the king mentioned in the opening verse of the chapter. Again, almost 60 years have passed.

What year was it 60 years ago? We are in 2024, so, sixty years ago, it was 1964. Has anything changed since then? I wasn’t alive in 1964, but from the historical records I could find, it seems things have changed.

Technologically, we have things today that people didn’t have in the early 60s. People at that time had no idea about bubble wrap or artificial sweeteners. They didn’t even have cassette tapes or CDs, let alone cell phones with streaming music and video.

The most significant shift, however, that can take place between generations is not any advancement in technology; it is a change in the culture and the priorities of the people. That’s a much more noteworthy and meaningful transition than technology.

Technologically, I don’t think much changed from the time the Second Temple was completed to the time Ezra brought the second group almost sixty years later. But what about the people in Israel? How had they changed? With the Temple rebuilt, was Israel going to remain faithful to God?

If you know anything about biblical history or human nature, you know that Old Testament Israel is incapable of remaining faithful. Sixty years have passed, and the people have forgotten. They forgot their history, and they forgot their God. They went back to looking just like the nations around them. The instructions God had given them had been abandoned. And while that kind of ting deserves judgment, God, in His faithfulness and mercy, raises up a man named Ezra who will lead the people back to holiness and obedience, which would also bring God’s blessing.

Every family, every church, and every generation faces the risk of drifting away from righteousness. How do we prepare for that? Wouldn’t you like to help guard your family and your church against that danger? Wouldn’t you like to be used by God to bring both restoration from the past and protection for the future?

How does that happen? What is it that brings restoration and protection to God’s people? How is it that God works to bring that about?

Ezra’s ministry helps us see two important answers to that question. I’ll give them to you upfront, and then we’ll see how they are fleshed out in chapter 7, which serves as an introduction to Ezra’s ministry.

The two qualities we are going to see this morning are, number 1, diligence with the word of God, and number 2, dependence on the work of God. I think that’s a helpful summary of Ezra’s life and ministry—diligence with the word of God and dependence on the work of God.

The opening 5 verses, which I already read to you, tell us about Ezra’s lineage. He was a true priest from the line of Aaron, Moses’ brother. He came in the line of Phineas who, with his spear meted out God’s judgment and stopped a plague from killing even more of the people. He also served in the line of Zadok who was high priest under King David. This is a noble lineage.

Looking once again at verse 6, it says—This Ezra went up from Babylonia. And then it says—He was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses that the Lord, the God of Israel, had given, and the king granted him all that he asked, for the hand of the Lord his God was on him.

There we see both elements of Ezra’s ministry. We see his diligence with the word of God, and we also see the dependence on the work of God. You might want to highlight or underline the phrases that emphasize that.

First of all, verse 6 says, Ezra was skilled in the Law of Moses, that is, the word of God. The word for “skill” there points to a readiness. He knows what he’s doing.

As a priest, he would have been elevated in the eyes of the people. He probably had some responsibilities to lead and to teach, but he went beyond that. He was also a scribe, which meant he was an expert in the Law. That means he didn’t just work with the Mosaic Law; he understood it and interpreted it for his generation.

Think of the difference between an average citizen, who might know what the law says, and a lawyer or a judge, whose job it is to understand and interpret the law. That was Ezra’s relationship with the Law of God, the Law Israel was expected to follow. He studied it diligently. Some traditions even says that Ezra had the Law of Moses memorized.

Now, Ezra’s heart for the word of God didn’t just lead him to be diligent in it; it also led him to be concerned about its implementation. He cared about the glory of God. He cared about things being done God’s way. And so, it seems he knew that things weren’t going so well in Jerusalem, so he asked the king for permission to go. And the king approved his request. Verse 6 says that the king granted him all that he asked.

But the final credit for Ezra’s return doesn’t go the kindness of King Artaxerxes. What is the reason Ezra gives for the king’s favor? It was because the hand of the Lord his God was on him. There’s the second element—dependence on the work of God. If Ezra wasn’t dependent on God, he wouldn’t have given Him the credit.

Proverbs 21, as I’ve mentioned before in our studies, says—The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will. Psalm 127 says—Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Ezra understood those realities of God’s sovereignty. God has to be working in order for his people to be successful. It is the word of God that defines success for God’s people, and it is the powerful work of God that makes success possible.

So, diligent in God’s word and dependent on God’s work, Ezra goes back to Jerusalem with a new group of people. The first 14 verses of chapter 8 give us the numbers. It was about 1,500 men. In chapter 7, beginning in verse 7 we see what kinds of roles these people had.

Verse 7—And there went up also to Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king, some of the people of Israel, and some of the priests and Levites, the singers and gatekeepers, and the temple servants. [8] And Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. [9] For on the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylonia, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, for the good hand of his God was on him.

For those of you who prefer to know, the seventh year of Artaxerxes is around 458 BC. The journey from Babylonia to Jerusalem would have been around 900 miles, which is about the distance from here to Cabo San Lucan at the bottom of Baja California. The plane ride is about two and a half hours, but with his caravan, he journey took 4 months. And notice, again, the comment on the journey at the end of verse 9—the good hand of his God was on him. That’s another recognition of his dependence on God. He doesn’t complain about the journey; he gives God the glory. He recognizes that surviving the journey is evidence of God’s blessing upon him?

Wouldn’t you like to be able to say that same thing for your own life? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if people said that about you? The good hand of your God is on you. What made Ezra so special?

Well, we don’t have to speculate, because the first word in verse 10 is “for.” Your translation might use the word “because.” Here’s the reason. Verse 10—For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel.

If you underline anything in our passage today, this has to be it. What is verse 10 saying? It’s saying that Ezra was diligent in the word of God.

There are four verbs in this verse that tell us how Ezra’s diligence worked itself out. First, he set his mind, or his heart. In other words, for Ezra, God’s word was not a hobby; it was a passionate pursuit. His entire life was fixed around this. He was set in his heart. This was a commitment, whether he felt like it at times or not.

Number 2, he studied. Ezra’s devotion to the word of God was not simply a sentimental one. It was an intellectual one as well. He studied. The Hebrew word here literally means “to seek,” and that’s how it’s translated in the Psalms when it says we are to seek after God.

Seeking after God is not some magical, mystical thing where you close your eyes and imagine yourself floating in the clouds. You seek God through His word. This is His revelation to us. So, if you want to know God, you have to go through this.

Some people might say, “Well, we seek God in prayer.” That’s true as well, but the best prayers are those fueled and guided by Scripture. And God’s response to you is not going to be some extra-scriptural feeling that you can identify. His wisdom will come to you in the unfolding of His truth.

If you’re asking God for wisdom and direction, but you aren’t studying His word, you’ve cut yourself off from the answer to your own prayer. But if you’re searching the Scriptures, you will get to know God more and more. You might have questions, and that’s good. It means you’re paying attention. And in seeking answers to your questions, you start to understand God even more or worship Him because of the mysteries we can’t understand.

This was Ezra’s mindset. He set his heart to study.

Now, that’s not all. Ezra set his heart; Ezra studied, and now, number three, Ezra put it into practice. He was a scribe, but he was not an New Testament Pharisee. He put what he learned into practice. He implemented it into his own life. This is obedience.

And lastly, number 4, now that he knows God’s law, and now that he’s putting it into practice in his own life, what does he do? He teaches it. He teaches it. Once it has made an impact in his own life—once his life can serve as a model for others—he dedicates himself to teaching it. And notice, Ezra’s passion is to teach in Israel. That could just mean he taught the Israelites, but I think it also points to his desire to teach those who had left Babylonia and returned to Jerusalem. Ezra is a man on a mission with the word of God.

He is depending on the power and blessing of God, and God’s hand is upon him because his entire life is dedicated to the word of God. The principle is obvious, but I know it’s difficult to live out in daily life.

Do you want God to use you? Do you want God to bless you? Do you want God’s hand to be upon you for His purposes? Do you want to be used to bless others in your family, and in your church, and with whoever else is around you? Then set your mind to study, to obey, and to teach the word of God. Be diligent in that, and then depend on God to see the results.

This is an important lesson for all of us, but how much more important is this for those of us who have been called to leadership as husbands and fathers or as leaders in the church? The word of God is what gave us life, and it is what grows us and defines our ministry. Our devotion to this word cannot be simple sentimentality. This is not a Hallmark card. This is the eternal word of God, in which He has revealed Himself to us.

Now, as an example of God’s blessing on Ezra, we get a copy of the letter given to him by the king. I won’t spend too much time here, but let’s read it starting in verse 11.

This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, a man learned in matters of the commandments of the Lord and his statutes for Israel—there’s his devotion once again to the word of God. It’s clear what kind of man Ezra was.

Verse 12—here’s the letter. And I’m going to read all the way to verse 26—Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven. Peace. And now [13] I make a decree that anyone of the people of Israel or their priests or Levites in my kingdom, who freely offers to go to Jerusalem, may go with you. [14] For you are sent by the king and his seven counselors to make inquiries about Judah and Jerusalem according to the Law of your God, which is in your hand, [15] and also to carry the silver and gold that the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, [16] with all the silver and gold that you shall find in the whole province of Babylonia, and with the freewill offerings of the people and the priests, vowed willingly for the house of their God that is in Jerusalem. [17] With this money, then, you shall with all diligence buy bulls, rams, and lambs, with their grain offerings and their drink offerings, and you shall offer them on the altar of the house of your God that is in Jerusalem. [18] Whatever seems good to you and your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do, according to the will of your God. [19] The vessels that have been given you for the service of the house of your God, you shall deliver before the God of Jerusalem. [20] And whatever else is required for the house of your God, which it falls to you to provide, you may provide it out of the king's treasury.

[21] And I, Artaxerxes the king, make a decree to all the treasurers in the province Beyond the River: Whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, requires of you, let it be done with all diligence, [22] up to 100 talents of silver, 100 cors of wheat, 100 baths of wine, 100 baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much. [23] Whatever is decreed by the God of heaven, let it be done in full for the house of the God of heaven, lest his wrath be against the realm of the king and his sons. [24] We also notify you that it shall not be lawful to impose tribute, custom, or toll on anyone of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the doorkeepers, the temple servants, or other servants of this house of God.

[25] And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God that is in your hand, appoint magistrates and judges who may judge all the people in the province Beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God. And those who do not know them, you shall teach. [26] Whoever will not obey the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be strictly executed on him, whether for death or for banishment or for confiscation of his goods or for imprisonment.”

So, the king says, “Ezra, you’re a wise man. Go, do what God has called you to do in Jerusalem. Make sure the people obey their God. And I’ll pay for it. I’ll pay for the sacrifices, and I’ll help enforce the law of God too.”

The king’s recognition of Ezra reminds me of Proverbs 22:29, which says—Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men. This is God’s blessing on Ezra. He was skilled in his craft as a teacher of the law, and God rewarded him.

Did the king’s message to him sound familiar to you?

If you’ve been with us in the earlier sermons from Ezra, you might notice it’s very similar to the message that came from Cyrus and then Darius. This is the continuing demonstration of God’s blessing on His people, especially through his appointed leaders.

The king knows he is a man of integrity, and he has seen God’s blessing on Ezra, so he wants to get some of that blessing on his own kingdom and family. The good hand of God is upon Ezra, and his king says to him, “Ezra, go teach.”

As the chapter comes to a close, we find Ezra’s response concerning the king’s letter. And, one more time, it’s an expression of Ezra’s dependence on God. Look at verses 27 and 28.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king, to beautify the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem, [28] and who extended to me his steadfast love before the king and his counselors, and before all the king's mighty officers. I took courage, for the hand of the Lord my God was on me, and I gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me.

Ezra knows God’s hand is upon him, but he’s not arrogant. He is grateful. He worships. He knows that the kindness and the blessing of God is not something he deserves.

If your study of God’s word leads you to think, “I deserve God’s blessing,” you’re doing something wrong. You and I are supposed to be humbled by God’s word, not made more boastful. We don’t want the knowledge that puffs up. We want to see and then reflect the character of God. That’s what happens when you really know Him.

We will have the rest of the book of Ezra to see what kind of change—what kind of impact—Ezra made in that generation, but we know that he has the right heart and the right tool for the job. He is coming with the word of God and with the blessing of God.

Every generation faces the danger of straying from God. But the weapon we have to fight against that drift is the word of God. This is what we need to give ourselves to. This is what our kids need. This is what the world needs—to hear the word of God for what it is. To hear the message of the eternal kingdom of God.

Over 500 years after Ezra, the Apostle Paul spoke to a group of elders from Ephesus. He said that false teachers would come even from among them, in the same generation. But his reassurance was that he had taught people the word of God. And he said to the elders—I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. They protected themselves and the church, by dedicating themselves to the word of God.

And then, when Paul comes to the end of his life, he is still giving the same message. His final letter is what we call Second Timothy. And in chapter 3, Paul writes this—But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. [2] For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, [3] heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, [4] treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, [5] having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.

Paul knew the power of sin in every generation. He goes on to say—[13] evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

How do you prepare for that? How do you protect yourself and your family and you church from that?

Paul tells Timothy—But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it [15] and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. [16] All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, [17] that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Paul’s message is the same as Ezra’s: Give yourself to the word of God. Give your life to know it and to do it and to teach it. Be diligent with the word of God. And be dependent on the work of God on your behalf.

Do that, and the true King of kings will bless us, and His hand will be upon us.