Ezra Chapter 7
Whenever I read Ezra Chapter 7, I get naturally drawn to Ezra 7:10…
For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.
And this serves as a good, constant reminder for all of us Christians that we should not just seek to know God’s Word, but to also do it and teach others.
But today as I was reading the chapter, verse 6 caught my eye…
this Ezra came up from Babylon; and he was a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given. The king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the Lord his God upon him.
The hand of the Lord his God was upon him.
How amazing is it if the hand of the Lord our God is upon us. God is with us. His blessings is with us. All things will be good because His hand is upon us!
When God’s hand is on us, even the pagans/gentiles would recognise this. King Artaxerxes was aware that the wisdom and ability Ezra had came from God and openly told Ezra this (vs 25). In turn, Ezra was “…encouraged, as the hand of the Lord my God was upon me; and I gathered leading men of Israel to go up with me.” (vs 28)
This “hand” was even recognized by the pagan king Artaxerxes who sends him up (7:25). And Ezra himself is aware of it: “I took courage, for the hand of the Lord my God was on me” (7:28). We are being told of the significance of God being with Ezra, blessing him, anointing him, and having his hand rest upon him for good—and the encouragement and strength this gave Ezra (7:28) to act with boldness and leadership.
Why was God’s hand upon him? The only suggestion in the text for this blessing through the agency of Ezra (though the ultimate agency is God’s) is that Ezra is a man of God’s Word. “He was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses that the Lord, the God of Israel, had given” (7:6).
Ezra had the faith and courage to now take the people back to Jerusalem to continue the work of rebuilding. And why was God’s hand upon him?
The clues in this chapter points out that he was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses that the Lord, the God of Israel had given (vs 6). And coupled with what we read in vs 10 (had to come back to this) that he prepared himself to learn God’s words and do it, before teaching, made him the person that God wants to use to accomplish His work.
Ezra put in the effort to really learn and do God’s Words.
If we want God’s hands on us as we do His work, we too need to put in our efforts in reading, learning His Words and go and do it.
Are we willing to be like Ezra today?