Today’s passage: Ezra 7
Helpful thoughts:
- In the first few verses, Ezra’s lineage is given to show his place in Israel as a descendent of Aaron.
- Verse 6 and verse 10 are important to consider together.
- The hand of the Lord was on Ezra (Grace).
- Ezra determined in his heart to study the Word of God, obey it, and teach it.
- This resulted in Ezra being “skilled.”
- Artaxerxes was a polytheist. He had not become a true follower of God, but he did hold a respect for Him and chose to bless His people. This resulted in a “freedom of religion” for the Jewish people.
- The Jews went from being conquered exiles to now being given charge of the region west of the Euphrates River in the Persian Empire. A bittersweet truth, as the older generation would still know this was less than what they had before (3:12).
Questions to consider:
- What is the place of skill in Christian ministry? God certainly looks at the heart and not the outward appearance, but what should result from a Christian who is committed to following hard after Jesus? Is God worthy of our best? And as we continue to practice our faith, how will what we call “our best” continue to increase in excellence?
- What did Ezra (and what do we) have to do first before we know how to obey and follow the Lord (Verse 10)? How does our learning impact our obedience? How does our obedience impact our teaching?
- What did Artaxerxes fancy himself to be in the beginning of verse 12? Who is truly the King of kings as evidenced in what has transpired throughout this book? Who remains in sovereign control over every king, prime minister and president today?