Ezra 7 (Part 1) Bible Study (Ezra Sent to Teach the People) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Book of Ezra Series)

Ezra Chapter 7. And perhaps you are already

Ezra 7 · chapter mention

there. Let's turn now to Ezra Chapter

Ezra 7 · chapter mention

7. And before we begin this new

chapter, it's important to remind ourselves of some things

that we've studied up to this point #1 when the Babylonians

removed the Jews from Jerusalem into exile, that took place in

three major waves over a period of time.

In like matter, when these same exiles would return to

Jerusalem, it would also take place over 3 successive cycles

over a period of time. And that's what we've been

looking at these Friday nights. And if you didn't know,

everything that we have covered from Ezra chapter 1 to Ezra

Ezra 1 · chapter mention Ezra 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6 occurred during the first wave of refugees coming

back to their native land. And what we are going to

discover now in this new chapter is the second major group of

Jews who will make their way back to their homeland as well.

Now, in that first wave between chapters one to chapter 6, this

was an initiative led by a man named no Zerubbabel Zerubbel,

who was a selected governor to oversee the Jews and to also

oversee the reconstruction of the what?

The temple. Very good.

Now, as we come to this chapter, we're going to witness once

again the second major group heading their way back to

Jerusalem, led by a man by the name of Ezra, very good Ezra,

the very same Ezra that this book is named after.

So for the first time in this book, we are finally going to

encounter Ezra the man, and he's going to take up the subject of

our study tonight. Now we have to establish the

historical setting for this pivotal moment.

It is generally believed that from the completion of the

Second Temple to this moment here, 60 years had passed.

In other words, the end of Chapter 6 to the beginning of

Chapter 7. In that interval time around 6

decades have occurred, have advanced.

So we're fast forwarding quite a bit of time here, and this is

something for us to consider. During the same period of time,

the story of Esther took place, which is a fascinating thought,

isn't it? Moreover, we also are about to

learn that Darius, the king of Persia, who was the Last King

that we've been studying, is no longer alive.

And now a king by the name of Arctic Xerxes is going to rule

the Persian Empire. And he's also going to provide

help to Ezra and the rest of the Jews who follow him by providing

substantial support and the advancement of the restoration

of God's people in Jerusalem. So keep this in mind.

What we are reading here with Ezra is 60 years after the

temple was completed and 80 years after the first Jews under

Cyrus's reign went back to Jerusalem.

So with that background clarified, let us begin to read

Ezra Chapter 7, verses 1 down to verse 5.

Ezra 7:1

Are you with me there? Now after this, what's the after

this? The completion of the Second

Temple, but also 60 years, nearly 60 years forward.

Now after this, in the reign of Arctic Xerxes, king of Persia,

Ezra the son of Soraya, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, son of

Shalom, son of Zadok, son of Ahitab, son of Amariah, son of

Azariah, son of Mirayath, son of Zerahiah, son of Uzi, son of

Buki, son of Abashua, son of Phineas, son of Eliezer, son of

Aaron the chief priest. It's interesting, isn't it?

The first thing that we are introduced to as we encounter

Ezra is his genealogy, and it's a very detailed 1, though some

names are omitted. Now, why is the Holy Spirit

beginning this chapter by informing us about the lineage

of this man? Well, we learned from it that

Ezra is what, by way of occupation?

He's a priest. His family line traces back to

Aaron. And again, the reason why God

wants us to know this from the outset is to establish that

Ezra's spiritual leadership is legitimized.

It is authorized by God himself. You have to remember when we

looked at the first genealogy in the book of Ezra, remember in

Ezra chapter 2, all those lists of names Among that initial

Ezra 2 · chapter mention

group were some Levites who could not validate their

ancestry, and because of that, they were excluded from the

priesthood. But what we're discovering about

Ezra is that he was not among them.

He's he was someone who could indeed prove that he was from

the priestly line. And therefore his function as

the spiritual leader of this generation was legitimized.

It was approved. It was sanctioned by God.

Now, that is the main take away from these first 5 verses, but

there are wonderful applications that glean from them, and I want

you to consider a couple. Number one, from this list of

names that relate to Ezra, we learned this, or at least we're

reminded of it. God requires credentials from

those who aspire to be leaders in His Kingdom.

Thankfully, under the New Covenant, to be a spiritual

leader, the priestly role is not limited to a specific bloodline

or a tribe or a nationality, as we see here with Ezra now.

Instead, one of the glories of the New Covenant is that the

privileges that were once reserved for Israel, even tribes

within Israel, are now shared with the Gentiles.

And that's why Peter has the audacity to write to Gentile

believers and say something like this.

And first, Peter 29, you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood,

a holy nation, a people for his own possession.

For the longest time that was language, and those were titles

exclusive to the people of Israel, and now Peter is

ascribing this to Gentiles. I don't think even a Christian

can fully appreciate just how radical of a shift this is

unless they have first familiarized themselves and

expose themselves to the long pattern of the Old Testament.

It's been one way for so long, and once Christ enters onto the

scene and inaugurates the New Covenant, so much now has

changed. This is why it was so scandalous

to the Jews, and it was so difficult even for Jewish

believers in the Messiah to understand how these Gentiles

are now grafted in to the Commonwealth of Israel.

And it would have been equally shocking to the Gentile.

You're telling me that we now are a part of this?

It's just really one of the marvels that the Gospel makes

possible. However, however, this

inclusiveness in the gospel does not mean that God has changed

his standards for those who are to be leaders in the church.

So in the Old Covenant, a candidate to be a leader,

specifically a priest, had to prove his eligibility through

genealogy, right? That's what Ezra is doing here.

I want to let you know the reason why I can do what I'm

about to do in this story is because I come from the ironic

line. In the New Covenant, however, a

leader in the church primarily validates his candidacy through

three things. Three things #1 character.

How do you live? Is it consistent with the truth?

Is there habitual sin? Are there things that you are

doing that disqualify you? Character is the first thing.

The second thing is conviction. What do you believe?

Is it in alignment with the truth?

Is in alignment with orthodox Christianity.

There's a contradictive word of God.

If you're going to be a leader, especially an elder, you're

going to be teaching. So what do you believe?

So character, conviction and thirdly, capacity.

Do you even have the gift to lead others?

Do you have the ability to instruct and to inspire your

fellow man? And so these are the things that

are considered by way of summary in the new covenant.

And here's how this applies to all of us.

I believe that all of us in here, at least I hope to believe

that all of us in here are serious about the local church.

And if we are serious about the local church, then we should

also be aware that we can never under any circumstance lower the

standard for what God demands for leaders in his church.

Never. You got to remember in Ezra's

time, they were rebuilding their spiritual identity for so many

years. They had lost their their temple

and their priestly functions and their sacrificial system that

that was done away with because of their their sinfulness.

And now they're trying to restore it.

And there was a temptation there perhaps for just anybody to

almost fill that role for the priest.

But right from the beginning of Ezra, we learned that they

never, ever overlooked or dismissed what God had required

for those who would serve as priests.

They protected that. And what you find in a lot of

churches is that out of desperation or even frustration,

they'll they'll kind of just put anybody who is like half

qualified to serve in a leadership role just to fill

that role. That is disastrous.

That is disastrous for the person who takes that role and

for those who are under that person's leadership.

And So what we reminded here, even in Ezra's story is no, God

has requirements and we have to honor them.

And we also have to trust that God is the one who ultimately

raises up leaders from a community.

Listen, as we study the rest of the book of Ezra, we're going to

see that one of the ways that God blesses his people is by

giving them leaders, good leaders, holy leaders,

insightful leaders, learned leaders.

And that's what Ezra really is. And it's the church's duty,

including ours, that as by God's grace, we continue to grow and

want to align ourselves to His Word, to understand God's

sovereignty even in the establishment of leadership, and

to recognize such leaders prayfully and scripturally.

God takes leadership seriously, and so should we.

But that's not the only take away from this genealogy.

Another thing that we can draw from this is that yes, Ezra was

a priest, but also how his role connects to the meaning of his

name. Does anybody know what the name

Ezra means? The Hebrew speaking men I'm sure

know or brother Christian? Brother Christian's here, he

should know the name Ezra. Help or help her.

It's very simple, but so beautiful.

And think about it now, in this moment of redemptive history,

God sends a priest to help his people.

And the very name of this priest reflects that mission.

And this should remind us that centuries after this, God would

send another priest, a high priest, a greater high priest

who would offer greater help to those who would put their faith

in him. Do you and I remember the words

of the author of Hebrews in chapter 4, where he says in

verse 15 and 16. For we do not have a High Priest

who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in

every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Let us then, with confidence draw near to the throne of

grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time

of need. Do you realize that no matter

the nature of our need, Christ Jesus, our great High Priest,

beckons us to come to Him because He is ready and eager to

help us always? He is a strong high priest.

He is never burdened by the frequency of our request.

He is never overwhelmed by how many of us come to Him at once

with our different needs. In fact, fundamentally, the need

that is in view here is when we are enduring any kind of

temptation. That's the context.

Which means what? That in any place, at any time,

no matter the urge, I can come boldly.

Not squeamishly, not hesitatingly, not nervously.

I can come confidently in my weakness before my great High

Priest and expect him to impart mercy and grace to endure it

until I escape it. And this is just one of the

reasons why Christ Jesus is a greater High Priest who offers

greater help than what Aaron or his descendants offered to God's

people. Our High Priest is always

available. He was.

He is constantly accessible, and he never runs out of supply to

empower us in our moments of weakness.

Well, let's come back to Ezra. Now.

Look at the verses we didn't read.

I'm sure there's much more we can learn from these names.

It's clear that Ezra comes from a very rich spiritual heritage.

But let's read verse 6 Now this Ezra, this Ezra went up from

Babylonia. He was ascribed, 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.

So now listen, we go from Ezra's genealogy to learning about his

ability and audacity. His ability and his audacity.

His ability is clearly indicated by the description that he was

ascribed skilled in the Law of Moses.

Now there are different kinds of scribes in the Old Testament,

but as a represents the religious scribe, what was the

responsibility of a religious scribe?

Very simple. He spent most of his energy

copying scripture very carefully, very meticulously.

It was a grueling process for a scribe.

But from copying it, they would also interpret it.

They they developed, especially from Ezra's time on, they would

develop the reputation of knowing the word of God and

teaching it to others. And they were essentially

protectors of the law. They were students of the law.

And listen, you and I should be grateful to God for these

scribes because they were imperative to the preservation

of the scriptures that you and I are benefiting from today.

In fact, we are benefiting from the work of Ezra the scribe.

Now this is his work. Interestingly, this professional

class of trained men would continue up to the days of the

Lord Jesus Christ and by then they were highly respected by

the common Jew, they were very knowledgeable of the Word of God

and they presented themselves as obedient to it.

However, how many times we find out the Gospels, the Lord Jesus

Christ rebuking such men because they have become hypocrites,

they've become self-righteous, and even more than that, they

have infused man made tradition to the point that it eclipse the

supremacy of God's Word. And so Christ constantly

challenged not just the Pharisees, not just the elders,

but the scribes, those who are students and those who are

interpreters and copiers of the written word of God.

Now let me ask you a question. That is the general kind of

contention that we find in the Gospel.

Is there any place in the New Testament where Jesus refers to

teachers in his Kingdom positively as scribes?

I see some heads nodding. If you know the answer, where do

we find that? Where do we find Jesus referring

to teachers in his kingdoms as scribes in a positive way?

Any idea? Well, I hope you never forget it

after tonight. Matthew 13.

Let's turn there. Matthew 13.

You know what Matthew 13 is primarily about?

Short parables, about the Kingdom of heaven.

And at the end of these short parables, Jesus looks to his

disciples and he asks them a question.

I want you to see the question he asks them in verse 51 of

Matthew 13. The Lord Jesus says and asks,

have you understood all these things they said to him?

Yes. Pause for a moment.

Don't you appreciate that? Jesus Christ wants you to

understand his word, and it's understandable.

So he looks at the disciples and says, hey, listen, before we

move on, have you understood all these things?

They said, yes, so now look how he follows it up, verse 52.

And he said to them, Therefore every scribe who has been

trained for the Kingdom of heaven is like a master of a

house, who brings out of His treasure what is new and what is

old. So Christ, after acknowledging

that they understood what he was teaching, identifies his

disciples as scribes, as knowledgeable of the Word of

God, and listen, faithful transmitters of divine truth.

And I know that he is referring to the apostles and context, but

this also applies to anybody who teaches God's Word in this way.

In the same way that a scribe in the Old Testament was intensely

devoted to knowing the law, a Christian minister must be

equally devoted to knowing all of God's revelation.

Listen very carefully, especially for those who are in

this place and aspire to be a teacher of God's Word.

In God's house, a pastor is not to be preoccupied with politics.

He's not to be primarily caught up in culture wars.

He's not to be one who is a philosopher or an expert in

psychology. A pastor, a minister in God's

house, is to be a specialist of the Scriptures.

That is the subject matter of his expertise.

That is what he is supposed to be trained in and he's supposed

to be dependable on. In Jesus's own words and what we

just read, every single person who's a minister should own a

storehouse of truth. They should have a treasure

trove of divine revelation stored up through weeks and

months and years of preparation and training and sitting at the

Lord's feet with this word before them.

And they are supposed to from this storehouse continually

bring out articles in order to benefit those within the

household of faith and Ezra as a wonderful model for a righteous,

serious minded, God fearing scribe and Ezra 76.

Notice again that it says that he was skilled.

He was skilled in the law of Moses.

You know what that means? It's a word in the Hebrew that

is rarely used in the Old Testament.

It means that he was an expert. He mastered the word of God.

And what moves me about this concerning Ezra is that he did

not become skilled after he arrived at Jerusalem.

Like it didn't take Ezra to see the temple and draw inspiration

from it. He didn't have to have his feet

planted in the promised land to find the motivation to get into

the law of God. He became skilled in Babylon of

all places. So what?

What does that tell me practically?

Here's what that tells me that Ezra was able to push away all

the worldly distractions to not be discouraged by the limiting

circumstances, and he devoted his life to knowing the word of

God and that made him prepared for God to recruit him and send

him to be a leader among the second group of exiles.

And he reveals one of his major motivations for doing so in this

very same verse in Ezra 76. Did you notice how he speaks

about the word of God? Look at it again.

This Ezra went up from Babylonia.

He was ascribed, skilled in the law of Moses that the Lord, the

God of Israel had given. Remember, Ezra is the one who's

writing this, and this is how he speaks about God's written word.

God had given it. You know how you could translate

that God's word is a gift from God.

I can tell you with absolute confidence that this same

revelation was one of the main motivations for me to read the

whole Bible when I first walk with Christ.

Even though a lot of it I did not understand.

The thing that kept me going through books that are often

neglected, like Numbers and Leviticus and other prophetic

books, was this simple understanding.

I really believe that this is God's word, that out of all the

things that He could have said throughout history, He has

compiled this book. I want to know everything it has

to say. I'm not going to be choosy with

it. How can I neglect a part of it?

How can, how can I rest satisfied in my Christian walk

not at least looking at the entirety of God's Word once.

And some people haven't done it once and they've been coasting

through their Christian life for years.

Ezra understood this thing about God's Word.

It was given by God. So I'm going to receive it as a

gift and I'm going to open it up and look at every compartment of

it and not miss out on one facet.

You know, honestly, if some Christians gave 50% of their

energy from looking at conspiracy theories and the news

to the Word of God, they would explode in their growth between

now and the summer of 2026. Ezra in Babylonia, with all the

distractions and all the comforts and all the ministerial

duties stripped away. Remember, there was no temple in

Babylon. He still found it within himself

to say, I I want to know what God's Word has to say.

Surely scrolls were carried from exile into Babylon.

Surely over time people brought morsels and portions of the

scrolls of Sacred Scripture to make it available for men like

Ezra. And here's what will happen.

Even if you don't understand everything, God will give you

understanding as you dedicate yourself to knowing it and

realizing this is given by God for my soul.

God has given this to me to know him.

Oh, there will be greater illumination, and with that

illumination there'll be greater transformation.

Which leads us now from Ezra's ability He was skilled to his

audacity. Audacity means boldness and

courage to some degree. Where's his audacity found in

this verse? Look again.

He approached the king and asked them for certain things.

Here's what I mean. This second wave of returning

exiles seems to have been triggered by Ezra personally

petitioning to the king to be released and to receive support.

Do you see that phrase there? And the king granted him all

that he asked. What does that mean?

That at some point Ezra walked up to Artaxerxes and made a plea

for him and a new wave of Jews to go back to Jerusalem?

Now here's what I'm thinking as I'm studying this.

Why didn't Ezra do this sooner? Is that a legitimate question?

For me, it is. Why do it now?

Why at this juncture now we're not given an answer?

Here's what I believe, though. There is a correlation between

Ezra knowing the Word of God and him making this move and

approaching the King for permission to go back to

Jerusalem. In other words, one way of of

getting an answer to why now is that as Ezra was studying and

studying and studying the Word of God, he realized certain

things about God's future promises for the people of

Israel. And that emboldened him to go

before the king with the prayerful hope that he would be

released and that Ezra with his own eyes would behold the very

will of God in his lifetime and that he would be an active

participant in it. So already we're seeing, we're

seeing something in Ezra's character, are we not?

He was not just skilled in the law of Moses.

He wasn't just studied. He actually believed what it

said and he applied it. You'd be amazed to know how many

people teach the Bible. But when it comes to stressful

situations, persecution, trials, temptation, I've met some of

them, they don't really believe what the Bible has to say.

They collapse. And sometimes in those

conversations, you just have to ask, do you really believe what

you've been preaching all these years now?

Now it comes to a real life scenario.

Where's the word of God in your heart?

Here's what I see in Ezra. He's studying it, he's mastering

it, he's specializing it. And it so moves in that he says,

I'm going to the king and I'm going to ask him if we can go

and I'm going to go with faith and I'm going to go believing

what God said about restoring his people.

So let's see what happens. That's what's that's what's

happening here. And if you're somebody who truly

believes what God says in his word, I'm not saying this with a

hint of exaggeration. You 2 will be able to stand

before kings. If you really comprehend who God

is, the God that you worship, you will be able to stand before

anybody, no matter their status, no matter their authority.

It won't mean a thing. You will not fear any man if you

stand in the presence of God, living under the banner of His

divine truth. So we read so much here in verse

6, but let's continue in verse 7 down to verse 9.

And there went up also to Jerusalem in the seventh year of

Arctic. Xerxes, the king, some of the

people of Israel, and some of the priests and Levites, the

singers and gatekeepers and the temple servants.

And Ezra came to Jerusalem in the 5th month, which was in the

seventh year of the king. From the first day of the first

month he began to go up from Babylonia.

And on the first day of the 5th month he came to Jerusalem for

the good hand of his God was on him.

So now Ezra is giving a summary of when he left Babylon and made

his way to Jerusalem. And here's what he says.

It happened in the seventh year of Uxxy the king, But he took

off when and verse nine the first day of the first month.

And when did he arrive there? The first day of the 5th month

he came to Jerusalem. So how long was that journey

from Babylonia to Jerusalem for grueling, dangerous testing,

Challenging months. And this gives us an idea of why

it was unattractive for many of these exiles to make their way

back to Jerusalem. And it wasn't just the long

duration. It wasn't just the dreadful time

and all the things that you have to endure on the way.

It was also because it was very, very dangerous to do so.

I mean, four months on foot, yes, that's unappealing.

Four months with children and elderly, that that is not

something that you're going to be willing to sign up for unless

God doesn't work in your heart. But on top of all of that, just

the natural course of action. Ezra gives us more detail about

the dangers of this journey. So go to chapter 8 the next

chapter and notice what he says here in verse 21.

Ezra 821 Then I proclaimed the fast there at the river Ahava,

that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him

a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods.

For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and

horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way.

You see that they had to deal with enemies on the way, not

just the hot sun and not just the cold desert nights.

There were people lurking, robbers, people who hated the

Jews, Satan working through people to try to hinder the

Jews, coming back to the rightful place against the enemy

on our way. Since we had told the King, the

hand of our God is for good on all who seek Him, and the power

of His wrath is against all who forsake Him.

So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to

our entreaty. Ezra was going to be used

mightily by God in Jerusalem. He is going to be a pioneer for

a sweet, sweeping historical revival because of his influence

back home. But all of that wonderful

testimony would come at a cost, and we saw it.

The distance, the timing, the dangers, the fasting, the

praying, the consoling. Who knows what else he had to do

in order to make it a successful journey for him to get to where

God wanted him to be. And here's what this teaches you

and I. Any of us who yearn to be used

by the Lord cannot, cannot, cannot idolize comfort or

convenience and expect to be used by God in a meaningful way.

Ezra paid a price and those who followed him.

And what this teaches us is that if we want to see God do

something special, if we want to move beyond just mediocre

ministry, it's going to require sacrifice.

It's going to require consistency through adversity.

It's going to demand a constant watchfulness to resist the

temptation of coasting through this life with the pursuit of

ease. There's some people even

professing Christian God help them who their main ambition in

life is to live an easy life. You can't have that mindset and

expect God to recruit you and I to do something significant for

His Kingdom. They're irreconcilable, and Ezra

shows us that here to an extent, and it's very likely that many

in Babylonia refused to follow Ezra when he decided to go back

for that reason. Look again at verse 7.

There's a very important word in Ezra 77.

I'm sure you'll pick up on it. And there went up also to

Jerusalem in the seventh year of Arctic Xerxes, the king.

Some, that's the word, some of the people of Israel.

And in the ESV at least is repeated again and some of the

priests and Levites, the singers and gatekeepers and the temple

servants, some not all. So even with the second wave, we

already saw with the first wave that not everybody who were in

Babylon decided to go back. Now we come to the second

opportunity where you have the backing of the king at the time

saying go and here's all the resources to help you and still

still some wrap your hand around that one.

But I want to look at it from Ezra's perspective.

I mean, this man, as we're going to see in the rest of the book

of Ezra, he's remarkable. He is godly, like he's

consistent, he's righteous. When he sees the people going

back at the sin, he's going to weep.

He's going to fast over it. He's not casual about this.

This is his life and he's so insightful in the word.

I mean, when we're going to look at the revival that he's going

to lead, all he's really doing is reading the scriptures and

people are going to be cut to the heart.

And yet as influential and as insightful.

Listen, Ezra couldn't convince everybody some and let this be

an encouragement to those who are despondent because you can't

seem to figure out why everybody in your world doesn't share in

your passion for God and for His Word and for the ministry and

for the local church and for the lost.

I've received some wonderful godsend advice throughout my

life, especially in ministry. And one of the things that I

appreciated from somebody is that they said resist the urge

of focusing on those in the church who don't even really

want to be there to begin with. Don't, don't get so caught up in

those who are not coming to church.

Reserve your energy and your service to those who do come.

Don't gear your messages to those who are not paying

attention during the service. Look at those who have come with

an open heart and an open Bible and focus on them.

And in the same way you and I, no matter what our height of

holiness is right Ezra here and only bringing some doesn't

discredit his walk with the Lord.

It doesn't mean that he wasn't faithful to the truth.

It just means every person has a choice.

And listen, there are some people who no matter what you

say to them or how you live, who don't want the things of God.

And what you need to determine is God give me the grace to

serve and to reserve what you've deposited me for those who do

want it and to help them and bless them and equip them.

So as Ezra makes his way, there are some who are going to follow

him. And I want you to notice

something else because we're almost finished here.

There's a phrase that it appears now twice in this chapter, at

the end of verse 9. Did you see it?

Look at it again, for the good hand of his God was on him.

As we advance and the three remaining chapters of this book,

that same phrase is going to appear four more times.

The good hand of the Lord, the good hand of God was upon them,

upon him. So clearly, whatever this means,

it's an integral part to Ezra's testimony.

But what does it mean? If you look at that phrase

throughout the Scripture, both in old and new, it sometimes

means God is about to execute judgement that the the hand of

the Lord was upon this or that and there is going to be

terrible wrath. But if we just work with Ezra

and and factor in every single time it is mentioned, we have a

different conclusion of what this means.

And it's not a contradiction. It just means that this, this,

this phrase involves other conclusions.

It's very inclusive. And here's what we discover.

This is a metaphor. This is a metaphor for God's

power, provision, protection, and providential guidance

resting upon a person's life. In other words, for God's hand

to be upon Ezra means that his favor and blessing is

overshadowing him, resulting in some form of success.

Here's what's so exciting. You find that in the New

Testament. You find the same thing that's

happening here with Ezra in the New Covenant.

Let me give you one example. Go to Acts Chapter 11 and notice

Acts 11 · chapter mention

what happens here at this point when the gospel is going beyond

Jerusalem and is touching the neighborhood, the Gentile

surroundings. Look at Acts 11 and verse 20.

Acts 1120 reads. But there were some of them, men

of Cyprus and Cyrene, who when coming to Antioch, spoke to the

Hellenist also, preaching the Lord Jesus.

And the hand of the Lord was with them.

Do you see it? And the hand of the Lord was

with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.

So even in the New Covenant we find the hand of the Lord at

work, the hand of the Lord blessing and moving upon and

through His people, bringing about success.

The true 'cause for success in the ministry of the Church here

is because God's hand remember a metaphor of his power and

protection and provision and providential guidance resting

upon his people. Here's what that tells me.

At least two things #1 even in the New Testament, this concept

of God's hand is available, right #2 if that's true, then we

should seek after it. We should seek after it.

Perhaps you've heard somebody say that, Perhaps you've said

that we've heard a minister, or you look at somebody's life.

You say God's hand is on that person's life.

That's a biblical term, but I want it to be a reality in my

life. I don't know about you.

And here's what's so wonderful about this.

If you want to do your own personal Bible study in Ezra,

look at every time the hand of God is mentioned in this book

and draw a conclusion of what is the fruit of that.

It's a wonderful thing to see what God's hand on somebody's

life produces. It's so glorious.

In fact, it can be a sermon, might be a sermon one of these

days. But here's where it gets even

more exciting. We're actually told by Ezra how

one way that we can have God's hand received and resting on our

lives. And it's arguably found in the

most famous verse in the book of Ezra, Ezra 7, verse 10.

Ezra 7:10

Let's go there, shall we? 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. How many of you here have heard

of that verse? Quarter that verse before

reading it together here tonight?

Nobody, I hope. Yeah, Few.

OK, so I'm going to assume that everybody didn't lift their

hand. Never heard of this verse

before. If you haven't, this is one of

the most famous verses in the book of Ezra.

But unfortunately it's because it's so powerful, people isolate

it because it's a it's a just a strong statement on its own.

But remember, we're trying to discover how what we just read

here in verse 10 relates to making the reality of God's hand

on our lives more of a possibility.

How do these things relate? Well, if you again pluck it from

this chapter, it doesn't relate. But if you keep it in its

context, then you'll understand that what we have in verse 10 is

the answer to what we just read at the end of verse 9.

How do we know that? Because there's a connecting

word. It's the word for at the

beginning of verse 10. Do you see it for?

In other words, let me just do this.

Look at the end of verse 9 again says here for the good hand of

his God was on him. Four In other words, the reason

why God's good hand was upon Ezra is because of what we're

going to read in verse 1043 things he had set his heart to

study the law of the Lord and to do it and to teach his statutes

and rules in Israel. That's why.

So don't make this mistake in thinking, oh, OK, God's hand,

His power provision, protection, providential guidance was

resting on Ezra because he was ascribed.

That's not what the verse says. The verse doesn't say that he

was ascribed. It says because his heart was

set to study God's Word, to do God's Word, and to share God's

Word. And this is an inseparable

equation. If you and I want to live this

life with God's hand over us, this threefold passion must be

ours. So this is what we have to

determine tonight. On what level does studying

God's Word, doing God's Word and sharing God's Word occupy in our

hearts? Because he had set his heart.

You know, if you remove that, then you would think it was just

this was just mere duty. Ezra studied, did the word

taught it. That's not what it says.

He says he, he prepared his heart.

It was his all consuming passion.

And listen again, I know how we think we might dismiss this

because, well, I'm not a scribe. I'm not a theologian.

I'm not a pastor. Remember what Psalm one says

that the psalmist say. Blessed is the preacher who

meditates on the law of the Lord, day and night, who

delights in the law? No, it's blessed is the man.

Blessed is the man. And equally true, blessed is the

woman who delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on a day

and night. Not the preacher, not the

scholar, not the faculty member at your local institution, the

man, the woman. And God's will for each of us is

to know Him through His Word. But more than that, you have to

be willing to study it. Are you thinking?

Hold on. I know a lot of people who have

a very familiar and strong awareness of the content of the

Bible, but their lives are a mess.

And you know what I want to say in response to that?

I know them too, because what many people who pursue knowledge

in God's Word fail to do is honor the equation that Ezra

sets out in this verse. They come to the Word of God

excited to know it so that they can teach it.

And listen, You should be if you're, especially if you're a

teacher, there should be a level of excitement of gathering truth

in order to share it with others.

But there is a priority that you should be just as excited to do

it before you teach it. What came before teaching what

you learned doing it. He said.

It's hard to know to do it and then to teach it.

You can't skip the middle part and expect God's hand on your

life. In fact, that's a recipe for

personal disaster, to study it just to tell other people about

it. No, Ezra was so careful.

I mean, he's described for those who are.

I mean, that that moved me. Doesn't that move you?

Think about it, that when I approach the Word, my heart

should be pumping first to discover what God has to say so

I know how to live. How many people approach the

Bible that way? Even for teachers, sometimes you

can get excited because you know you're preaching this Sunday and

you can't wait to share the golden Nuggets that you find in

God's Word. Hold on, before you get there,

you should be just as enthralled by the realization that God's

about to speak to you in your life before you tell other

people how to live. That's sobering to me.

Does my heart get excited to come to the Word to say?

OK, God, what are you going to say to me as a dad?

What are you going to say to me as a husband?

What are you going to say to me as a business owner?

What are you going to say to me about my private life?

What are you going to say to me about my engagement with the

world? What are you going to say to me

about my relationship? The money?

Does that ever cross your mind? If it doesn't, don't expect

God's hand to rest on your life, because this is what God is

saying. God help us.

So please don't misunderstand. I'm not merely advocating

greater knowledge of the Bible. I'm speaking about inspiring

your affections and governing your decisions to the point that

it actually moves you to be unashamed, to share it with your

spouse and to deposit it in the hearts of your children and to

extend it to your friends and at the right time to shine it

before the stranger. It's this way of life for the

man or the woman who can expect God's hand to rest on that life.

Let me say one final thing before we close.

Ezra means help, right? And God is going to set him to

be a help to the remnant in Jerusalem.

If you and I want to really be of help to those around us, we

need to apply this same kind of equation.

We need to know God's Word. We need to live it and be

willing to share with others. Then we can really be of help to

ourselves, to the church, and to a dying world.

We're only getting started with Ezra here in this study.

There's so much more to learn of him.

But for now, let us just sit with these truths and ask God to

make them real to us. Can we do that?

Let's pray. Your word, Lord, is amazing.

It is so sharp, it is so precise, so filled with promise.

And Lord, we've heard the clear application of this section of

Scripture. We all desire your hand to be

upon us. We desire your hand to remain on

Maranatha Bible Church and every ministry represented here.

And we know that the way to that wonderful reality being secure

is by setting our hearts upon Your Word.

We've learned, Lord, that you and your hand on our lives is

determined by how we handle this book.

And so Lord, we we ask for a renewed passion to know it for

ourselves 1st so that we can change and then by your grace be

a means for others to be changed.

We pray, Lord, that if this word is not primary in our lives that

you would change us, Lord, that you would help us understand

what Ezra saw, that it was given to us.

You have placed this word in our lives and we live in an age

where we have so many resources to study it.

But Lord, we need Your help to do it.

And we pray, Lord, that You would give us the boldness and

the love to tell others about it.

Lord, it is my prayer with my brothers and sisters that our

friendships would be seasoned by conversations around the

Scriptures, that we would never shy away to declare the word of

the Lord and a culture that hates it.

And Lord, we pray that if there's anybody here who aspires

to be a spiritual leader in your house, that they would meet the

credentials, they would honor your qualifications, and that

you would help this church and every other church here

recognize future leaders so that they would be a help to your

people. Lord, thank you for this man,

Ezra, And thank you more importantly for your son, the

Lord Jesus who is the greater high priest who offers greater

help and his priesthood is greater than that of errands

even in this store. We need your help to understand.

Lord, we stand to worship you tonight in Jesus name, Amen.

Amen. Let's stand and let's sing to

the Lord together. You know what so touches my

heart when Jesus asks his disciples, do you understand

these things? And they said yes.

He called a bunch of unlearned, mostly fishermen, some running

their own businesses, scribes, scribes.

And I think that gives us hope, doesn't it?

I hope your heart is burning as much as mine was throughout this

Bible study, that there is a way of life that is unlocked when

one person decides to study, do and share God's Word with

others. And listen, if you're saying,

what do you mean share? Well, look, you can't really get

excited about sharing it unless you first know it and do it

right and taste it for yourself. But more than that, that is

accessible for any of us. You don't need formal training

to imitate Ezra. The disciples didn't have it.

I mean, they're the greatest teacher in the world for three

years, but they were outside of the the protocol of the training

of their day in the religious system.

And here's the thing that's true for you.

And I listen in my life, some of the most insightful people I

know with the word of God didn't have to go to seminary.

They didn't, they didn't. I'm not against those things.

I went to Bible school, but you don't need it.

You don't. And so leave here with

inspiration that I have this book and hopefully you go to a

Bible preaching church and you know people who can help explain

things and more importing the Holy Spirit in you for you to be

able to pursue this way of life that more and more will cause

God's hand to rest upon you. That's my desire for each of us.

So Lord, we just pray that we would leave here with a fresh

ambition to study your word. Show us what book to start in.

Show us to be faithful, how to be faithful from book to book.

Give us the right resources, protect us from the wrong

resources. Help us do your word more

importantly to to meet with your word saying God, what do you

want to say to me? And Lord from there may the word

do such a work in our hearts that it overflows through our

mouths and we talk about it over dinner and we we share it with

our elders. And then Lord, we begin to

experience the blessing of your hand on our lives.

The longer we live and abide in your word.

We love you Lord, continue to guide us through Ezra.

It may be a lived reality for each of us.

In Jesus name we pray Amen and Amen.

Only three chapters left in Ezra.

Don't miss a week. God bless you.

We'll see you next week if the Lord wills.

Take some time to fellowship with one another before you

leave. We'll see you Sunday if the Lord

wills as well. God bless you.