Ezra 7 - Devotion

INTRODUCTION

Hey what’s up guys - my name is Dakota. I am friend of Konnor’s and some of you I’ve had the privilege of already meeting!

Konnor asked me if I’d share a word with you tonight and I couldn’t be more grateful for our study this weekend.

We’ll be in the book of Ezra, specifically chapter 7 tonight, so before we get there I’d like to share a few things about me so we can get to know each other a little bit.

#1 your youth pastor is one of my best friends. Love this dude and you guys are blessed to have someone who is incredibly smart, works hard, and is an admirable example of devotion. I’ve always appreciated that about him especially in seminary! (I don’t feel like I need to explain what seminary is)

#2 I love the Bible AND I love Bibles very much. At times it’s probably hard to tell which one I love more a part haha. However - I love the Bible because of many reasons but for a few it’s because of it’s mystery, history, and accuracy. There are 2 pillars of truth I’d like for us to stay balanced within this weekend. One of them is Isaiah 55 - the perfection and sufficiency of God’s Word and the other is John 5:39 - the it’s all about Jesus period and we should come to him. There’s a healthy tension within loving the Word, but also seeing, loving, and following Jesus. There are plenty examples of people “following God’s Word,” but not treasuring and following God in their hearts.

#3 I love basketball! This takes me to a unique story in my life I’d like to share. I was in a fight one time. I was in 9th grade - it was after bball practice, and I was scrimmaging with my defensive buddy and some of the other starters and we most definitely got competitive. I got ticked and took a swing at my friend Brian White. I swung so hard and with all my might and somehow Brian dodged it. In a moment that seemed like forever - Brian and I looked at each other after I did that and knew it would have really gotten worse had we put hands on each other. Therefore since that day - I’ve never been in a fight haha.

But in this weekend’s study of Ezra. We see a unique and historical occurence of God putting hands on folks. And let me tell you. It’s good.

The first time I came across Ezra. I was at Camp Living Stones. I was a counselor and was in a very special season of life. God had slowly been revealing himself to me in very tangible ways. And then I hit Ezra 7 and I’ll never forget what that felt like. God showed me someone - who I had never heard of given all the Sunday services, youth groups, etc. - who was known for loving God’s Word but also having the good hand of God on him. I knew in that season of life that was me. No one really knew it yet, and that was okay, but I was passionately consuming the Word for the first time ever and I couldn’t believe how much it showed me Jesus and what I didn’t know about him. God was restoring all the while reviving my soul. I had just lost my dad years past and my relationship with step mom was rough. I felt like it was just me and God navigating this space while in college.

Let’s check out Chapter 7 and I’ll walk us through some context after.

SCRIPTURE

Ezra 7:1–10 ESV

1 Now after this, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, 2 son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, 3 son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, 4 son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, 5 son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the chief priest— 6 this Ezra went up from Babylonia. 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. 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. 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.

So...

CONTEXT

We’re a little more than halfway through Ezra and some crazy things have happened. I told you in the story it was bad had Brian and I laid hands on each other, but i’ll tell you it’s infinitely more dangerous when you see God’s hand! I use the word dangerous in the sense of Holy. It’s good for those who seek him, and dangerous for those who forsake as Ezra would say in chapter 8 verse 22. Also - if any of you look that up - also check out what happened in Daniel 5 and lemme know if you still waiting on the God to write something on the wall.

But God has laid His good hand on Ezra BUT back in chapter 1 he stirred the heart of a Persian King (I deduce with his hand? Can you stir something w/out using your hand/He’s God he probably could - however) that he should be worshipped and a house built to His name....

Now…if a house is being built and a foreign king is making this proclamation this can only mean one thing. The old had crumbled and something new was beginning. HINT - the former ended with God - the NEW is beginning with God. Sounds familiar.

So Cyrus - a guy who’s known for many other forms of worship other than God establishes a decree that pretty much firms up everything Israel needs, legally, politically, and agriculturally to report from exile, rebuild, and worship YAHWEH.

Never fails - they are met with brief opposition, legal documents are written, responded too, and recorded again. Some time has passed and a new King is on the throne and given the opportunity to respond to the opposition via a letter. Letter reads - Israelites are rebuilding, if you check their social media accounts they are bad rebellious people - make them stop. Artaxerxes writes to Israel seeing these things are true and demands to stop. Israelites respond - yes our old social media accounts were bad, they were hacked, jk - yes we are a rebellious people - but - one of your very kings legally signed a document confirming what we are doing is legal and we are allowed to proceed.

Artaxerxes responds - thumbs up emoji.

Lol WHEW! Skipping quite a few details - that somewhat flies over chapters 1-7. There are some very special prophets within those chapters God used, but we’re going to stick with Ezra the scribe tonight.

EXPOSITION

In chapter 7, Ezra, specifically verse 10, Ezra set his heart to the study of the law of the LORD. There are 3 words that will help restore and revive our worship tonight.

“set” - to prepare, make ready; to erect, set up, to determine

This word is imagery for the constant building, erecting, worshipping, tearing down, rebuilding, erecting, worshipping, and tearing down again of foreign gods in the OT. But it’s also given to the building and erecting of the altar of God in which sacrifice would be made to Him and for Him.

“heart” - inner man, mind, will, heart

Jesus knows greater than any of us. How many times in the New Testament do we see the scriptures quote him with things like -

Matthew 9:4 ESV

4 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?

Luke 9:47 ESV

47 But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by his side

“to study” - to seek with care, care for; enquire about, investigate, to be intent on. The same word used for study here is the same word used in Deuteronomy when God told the Israelites an interesting detail of their journey.

Deuteronomy 4:24–35 ESV

24 For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. 25 “When you father children and children’s children, and have grown old in the land, if you act corruptly by making a carved image in the form of anything, and by doing what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, so as to provoke him to anger, 26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess. You will not live long in it, but will be utterly destroyed. 27 And the Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord will drive you. 28 And there you will serve gods of wood and stone, the work of human hands, that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. 29 But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul. 30 When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, you will return to the Lord your God and obey his voice. 31 For the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them. 32 “For ask now of the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether such a great thing as this has ever happened or was ever heard of. 33 Did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live? 34 Or has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, and by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great deeds of terror, all of which the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? 35 To you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord is God; there is no other besides him.

APPLICATION

Ezra was used of God in this prophecy to lead his people back to his God. God used his hands, stirred some hearts, and gave mercy to Israel and for what reason? Deuteronomy says - that you might know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides him.

Now the cool part of this story is that we’re on the side of history when God himself, a greater Ezra, greater love for his father’s word, his father’s people, and his father’s glory came to us. My thoughts and hope of tonight’s words and this weekend is what Ezra hoped for amongst the Israelites. And that’s obedient worship. Ezra was diligent, devoted, and obedient. He was obedient out of the great love he knew God had for them - you’ll see some of that later this weekend - but tonight… God seeks the obedience of your hearts.

The Gospel -

Now the cool part of this story is that we’re on the side of history when God himself a greater Ezra, greater love for his father’s word, his father’s people, and his father’s glory came to us. EZRA was brought from within his people to point them back to the one true God. Jesus was brought from within us and carried us back to the one true God. It was even prophesied about Ezra and their time. It was prophesied about Jesus 66 times throughout all of time and time not yet. Ezra was skilled in the Word and even born of the priestly lineage. Jesus was and is the Word and is our Great High Priest. His time in the Israelite history was crucial and recorded about - though where do we find the temple they rebuilt and the altar they reestablished today? The answer - it’s not there. Though a great piece of history to reflect on - the greater worship, temple, and altar is found in our hearts. Jesus is calling us back to obedience and back to the one true God.

SET YOUR HEART TO ENQUIRE, BE INTENT, INVESTIGATE ON THE COMPASSION OF GOD. Look at what He’s done and is doing.