The Blessings part 3

The Blessings Part 3

Ezr 7:6 This Ezra was a scribe who was well versed in the Law of Moses, which the LORD, the God of Israel, had given to the people of Israel. He came up to Jerusalem from Babylon, and the king gave him everything he asked for, because the gracious hand of the LORD his God was on him.

INTRODUCTION

Everything in our service for the Lord is dependent on His blessing”. Look at the feeding of the 5,000, the supply in hand was totally inadequate to meet the demand, and yet the demand was met.

The meeting of need is not dependent on the supply in hand, but on the blessing of the Lord resting on the supply”.

So let me ask you few questions: “Do we really treasure the Lord’s blessing?” Do you really want and seek God’s blessing on your personal life, your family, your service for the Lord, and on His church?

We all know the right answer to that question. I don’t think but a few would be so bold to say, “No, I don’t want God’s blessing. I’d rather try to make my own blessings apart from God!”

But I don’t want you to just give a“yes” answer just because it is the obviously correct answer.

I want you to think about the implications of the question before you answer.

There are a number of men in Scripture whom God blessed: Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, and David are great examples.

But Ezra is also a man whom God blessed, even though he is not so well known as those other men are. We first meet him in chapter 7 of the book that bears his name.

There is a 57-58 year gap between the events in chapters 6 and 7. The temple had been rebuilt and the prophets Haggai and Zechariah was preaching God’s Holy Word.

The exiles that returned to Israel during that first wave were either dead or very old by now. They had settled into the land and, as we will see, in many cases had begun to blend together with the pagans of the land.

The walls of Jerusalem had not been rebuilt, leaving the city open to attack. God raised up Ezra and Nehemiah to bring spiritual reform to His people.

Both men were born in Babylon and had close connections with King. No doubt they both enjoyed comfortable living conditions there.

But both men were willing to take God’s call and do the task that was before them. But how could they accomplish this overwhelming task?

The answer occurs in a phrase that first occurs three times in Ezra chapter 7, and then five times in the rest of Ezra and Nehemiah:

God’s hand was on these men.

Ezr 7:6 This Ezra was a scribe who was well versed in the Law of Moses, which the LORD, the God of Israel, had given to the people of Israel. He came up to Jerusalem from Babylon, and the king gave him everything he asked for, because the gracious hand of the LORD his God was on him.

Ezr 7:9 He had arranged to leave Babylon on April 8, the first day of the new year, and he arrived at Jerusalem on August 4, for the gracious hand of his God was on him.

Ezr 7:28 And praise Him for demonstrating such unfailing love to me by honoring me before the king, his council, and all his mighty nobles! I felt encouraged because the gracious hand of the LORD my God was on me. And I gathered some of the leaders of Israel to return with me to Jerusalem.

(Ezr 8:18, 22, 31; Neh. 2:8, 18).

God’s hand is another way of saying God’s blessing. God blessed these two men and their labors for Him.

If we want His blessing or hand to rest on us, we would do well to study their lives.

Ezr 7:10 This was because Ezra had determined to study and obey the Law of the LORD and to teach those decrees and regulations to the people of Israel.

The theme is stated here which explains why “the good hand of his God was upon him” “For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord, and to practice it, and to teach it to all in Israel.”

To have God’s hand of blessing on us, we must study and obey His Word, with a desire to teach it to others and glorifying God for everything.

The connection between Ezra and God’s Word is repeated no less than eight times (7:6, 10, 11, 12, 14, 21, 25, and 26)!

There is a definite correlation between our commitment to know and obey God’s Word and His hand of blessing being upon us.

All of us should seek God’s blessing on our lives above all else.

GOD’S BLESSING IS THE ONLY BLESSING THAT COUNTS BOTH FOR TIME AND FOR ETERNITY.

The world’s blessings promise happiness but deliver ultimate emptiness and pain. Yet most people, and sadly, even many professing Christians, live for the world’s blessings.

Mark 8:36 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?

Mark 8:37 Is anything worth more than your soul?

God’s blessing is the only blessing that counts both for time and eternity. If you gain and die with the world’s blessings, but lack God’s blessing, woe to you!

You are poor indeed!

If you live and die with God’s blessings, even though you lack what the world calls “blessing,” you are truly blessed!

As John Newton wrote, “Fading is the world’s best pleasure, all its boasted pomp and show; Solid joys and lasting treasure none but Zion’s children know”

GOD’S BLESSING REFERS TO GOD’S DOING ABOVE AND BEYOND WHAT HUMAN EFFORT CAN PRODUCE OR EXPECT.

John 6:5 Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for Him. Turning to Philip, He asked, "Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?"

John 6:6 He was testing Philip, for He already knew what He was going to do.

John 6:7 Philip replied, "Even if we worked for months, we wouldn't have enough money to feed them!"

But Jesus could do far beyond what human calculations and effort could ever hope to do.

The result was that the people all ate “as much as they wanted”

John 6:11 Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward He did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted.

Now look at God’s hand blessing Ezra. It is seen in that this pagan king “granted him all he requested.

Ezr 7:6 This Ezra was a scribe who was well versed in the Law of Moses, which the LORD, the God of Israel, had given to the people of Israel. He came up to Jerusalem from Babylon, and the king gave him everything he asked for, because the gracious hand of the LORD his God was on him.

To summarize, the king granted five things:

(1) He authorized Ezra to go to Jerusalem and insure that God’s law was both taught and observed.

(2) He provided a generous grant to buy supplies and temple vessels for the temple worship.

(3) He commanded the treasurers in the provinces to supplement anything else that Ezra needed, up to 3¾ tons of silver, 600 bushels of wheat, 600 gallons of wine, 600 gallons of olive oil, and salt without limit.

(4) He exempted all temple officials and workers from taxation.

(5) He authorized Ezra to set up a judicial system to see that these laws were obeyed and that violators were properly punished.

How did this happen:

Ezr 7:27 Praise the LORD, the God of our ancestors, who made the king want to beautify the Temple of the LORD in Jerusalem!

But Ezra still had to go and ask for it. Sometimes the Bible compresses a lot into a passing phrase like (“the king granted him all he requested!”

You see, to go before such a powerful monarch and his counselors and powerful princes and ask for such all these great provisions for people who were in slavery to the king, who the king easily could have exterminated, that took some courage!

The source of Ezra’s strength is stated:

Ezr 7:28 And praise Him for demonstrating such unfailing love to me by honoring me before the king, his council, and all his mighty nobles! I felt encouraged because the gracious hand of the LORD my God was on me. And I gathered some of the leaders of Israel to return with me to Jerusalem.

God’s blessing involves and requires our working, and yet it goes far beyond anything that we can do.

I pray for Connie and my life, for my children and grandchildren, and for my ministry that God would work far beyond my effort, ability, or expectation.

I know that without God, at my best of trying to live for Him, I will mess it up.

And I need God’s blessings, I need God’s hand upon me. And Thank God for His grace. I hope that each of you will do the same. All of us should seek His blessing on our lives.

But, how does that blessing come?

God’s blessings come to those who study and obey His Word.

I realize that Ezra was specially gifted for the role of teaching God’s Word, and that not all are so gifted.

But whether you are gifted to teach in a formal way or not, you are required to learn God’s Word so that you know how He wants you to live.

Every Christian wants to live in a manner pleasing to the Lord. To do so, you must grow in your understanding of His Word.

Josh 1:8 Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.

Today we sit in judgment on God’s Word but proper order is to allow the Word to sit in judgment on us!

Ezra 7:6 says that he was “skilled in the law of Moses.” The word “skilled” means “swift” or “ready,” implying that Ezra was quick to understand and put together the various parts of God’s Word.

Even if you are so gifted, studying God’s Word will not happen automatically and spontaneously.

You have to discipline yourself to do it, and the minute you let up, other things will crowd out the Word.

We all lead busy lives. We all have the same number of hours in our day. We all must make decisions about how we spend those hours. Will I read the paper, watch TV, play computer games, or get into God’s Word?

When you do spend time in the Word, make sure that your bottom line is obedience.

Ezr 7:10 This was because Ezra had determined to study and obey the Law of the LORD and to teach those decrees and regulations to the people of Israel.

Ezra “set his heart” not only to study God’s Word, but also “to practice it”. It is nonsense to say that you want God’s blessing while you are knowingly living in disobedience to His Word.

The goal of Bible study is not to fill our heads with facts, although facts are important. It is to change our hearts and lives into conformity to Jesus Christ.

I can tell you that I have failed and I have missed the mark, just because I study and know some about the Bible does not mean that we are o.k. unless we apply the Word of God to our lives. And it is a constant battle. Lord helps us!!

3. The study and obedience of God’s Word are the foundation for teaching it to others.

Again, not everyone is gifted to teach in a public setting. But whatever you have gleaned from God’s Word and incorporated into your daily life ought to be passed on to others whom God puts in your circle of influence.

This does not mean that you must be perfect before you teach God’s Word, but it does call for the integrity of admitting your shortcomings and the honest effort to apply it to yourself.

One of the occupational hazards of preaching God’s Word each week is that I can easily fall into the trap of studying the Word so that I can tell everyone else how they should live, but not applying it to myself.

We all should seek God’s blessing above all else. His blessings come to the ones who study and obey His Word.

Such study and obedience are the foundation for imparting the Word to others, whether personally or in public settings.

Finally,

4. The final end of God’s blessing should be our glorifying God for His abundant mercy.

After Ezra read this incredible letter from King, he breaks forth in praise to God.

Ezr 7:27 Praise the LORD, the God of our ancestors, who made the king want to beautify the Temple of the LORD in Jerusalem!

Ezr 7:28 And praise Him for demonstrating such unfailing love to me by honoring me before the king, his council, and all his mighty nobles! I felt encouraged because the gracious hand of the LORD my God was on me. And I gathered some of the leaders of Israel to return with me to Jerusalem.

Ezra didn’t take credit for devoting himself to studying God’s Word or for his bold presentation to the king. He gave all the credit to God for His abundant mercy.

Any good that appears in anyone’s heart, whether in a believer’s heart or in the heart of a pagan king, comes from God who deserves all the glory.

When God blesses us, our response should be to bless God for His great mercy in using such imperfect vessels as we are.

Conclusion

It is remarkable that God is pleased to be known in the Bible as the God of Jacob.

Psa 46:7 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.

Psa 46:11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.

Jacob was a man with many shortcomings and faults. He deceited his brother out of his birthright.

He bargained with God at Bethel, promising to follow Him if He would take care of him and bring him back safely to the land.

After his many years of trying to out-maneuver Laban, he returned to the land full of fear about what Esau might do to him.

The night before he was to meet Esau, the Lord met him and wrestled with him, dislocating his hip so that Jacob always walked with a limp after the encounter.

Gen 32:26 Then the Man said, "Let Me go, for the dawn is breaking!" But Jacob said, "I will not let You go unless You bless me."

The Lord did bless Jacob, the deceiver, by changing his name to Israel, one who has wrestled with God and prevailed.

The greatness of Jacob was not related to the strengths and abilities of Jacob. It was due to God’s hand of blessing resting on Jacob.

I hope that you will join Jacob and me in praying, “God, I won’t let You go until You bless me.”

His blessing comes to those who study and obey His Word with a view to imparting what they have learned to others, all to the glory of God. May the hand of the Lord our God be upon you for His name’s sake!