Introduction
There’s a joke amongst musicians that if you hit the wrong note just play it nine more times and you’ll turn the song into an impressive jazz improvisation. A skilled musician is impressive because the music is internalized. So to, we’re reminded by the Psalmist that God’s word, His covenant Law and Gospel, is to be hidden in our heart that we might refrain from sinning against our God.
The Text
Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, The son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, The son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth, The son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki, The son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest: This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given: and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him. […]
Ezra 7:1ff
Summary of the Text
The next four chapters will detail the moral reforms undertaken by the greatest scribe of OT history, Ezra. He is a descendant of Aaron, as traced by the genealogy which opens this chapter (vv1-5). He was one of the Babylonian exiles, and is described as a ready (i.e. diligent/skillful) scribe (v6a); he likely played a part in the correspondence with Darius over the temple construction dispute. By his request, and the providential hand of God, the King supplied him with everything he requested for leading a group of exiles to return to Jerusalem (v6b). In the seventh year of the reign of Darius/Artaxerxes, Ezra led a group on a five month journey back to Jerusalem, and God’s hand protected them (vv7-9). Ezra breaks into the narrative to disclosed his motivation in returning: his heart was ordered to search out God’s word in order to do it, and then to teach it to Israel (v10).
We have a letter from the King Artaxerxes deputizing Ezra to return (vv11-26), along with any other Jews who would go up to Jerusalem of their own freewill; the King furnishes Ezra with a generous allotment in order that sacrifices might be bought and offered, as well as an invitation to request more if necessary. This was all to be done as the law of God stipulated, and Artaxerxes desired it to be done speedily (v21). Additionally, the priests and other temple ministers were not under the obligation to pay the customary taxes (v24). Ezra was authorized to appoint magistrates and judges, as well as the freedom to instruct them in both the law and wisdom of God (v25). Any who did not obey the law of God should face the appropriate consequences (v26).
Remember, we’re working on the assumption that this all took place around the same time as Esther became the new queen. As this Jewish girl was raised up into the King’s favor, there is a simultaneous raising up of the corporate people of God into His favor. Ezra once more breaks into the narrative to bless God for putting it into Artaxerxes heart to beautify the Lord’s house and to show favor to Ezra (vv27-28). Thus was Ezra strengthened for his task of gathering and leading this second wave of exiles back to beautify the work which Zerubbabel and Jeshua had recently completed.
Diligence
Too many folks give up on developing some skill because the learning curve is too steep. But if you persevere, there is that wonderful moment where the lights come on. It clicks. You go, “Aha!” The skill goes from a frustrating hardship to a joyful activity you could do in your sleep. Ezra shows us the potency of what happens when you apply yourself to first search out God’s Word, and then gladly do all you find there.
Ezra’s project was aimed to mine the depths of God’s revealed will in His Word, and then like the wise master builder he was, construct all of life around that Word. Think of it like what happened when you got engaged. All your plans for the future began to revolve around that promise. By Ezra’s ministry, God reveals to us that the physical house of the Lord was a stand-in for a more glorious temple. God’s true temple was to be a people, set apart for His glory, with His law inscribed on their hearts (Jer. 31:33).
A heart which is ordered to seek the Lord will labor to order everything externally according to God’s precepts. Faith is turning your heart to trust in God entirely, and this means trusting the wisdom of His Word, the trustworthiness of His Gospel promises, and the certainty of His warnings against sin. If you get this backwards, however, you create a hopeless maze of legalism. You can have the general outline for what a Christian nation should look like, but shame upon you if your personal life is one of laziness and lust and lies.
Solomon taught in Proverbs: “Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men (Pro 22:29).” But for many young men, they want the greatness that comes from diligence without the diligence. They want all the outcomes with none of the work. They want the blessing without the faith. They want a Christian life, family, and nation without the faithful devotion to God’s Word which it requires. They want to overthrow cultural idols without mortifying their own sins. God is a rewarder of faithful diligence, but a He’s a brick wall to the pride of the slothful man who spends his time arguing on Facebook (Heb. 11:6). In like manner, ladies, pinning a bunch of pretty photos of a tidy house to your Pinterest boards is not being a diligent home-maker. In this online age, it is easy to mistake online interaction for diligent business, when all too often it is really just a distraction from most of your principle duties of piety, charity, and necessity.
Law & Wisdom
The Law is often misunderstood. As Paul taught, it was training wheels until man came to maturity in Christ. In the new creation work which Christ brings about, our eyes are open to see the wisdom of the law, and to be able to apply the law to all of life wisely. Ezra discerned that circumstances in his own day differed dramatically from the days of Moses, but God’s Law had not somehow become erroneous or outdated. So Ezra devoted himself with diligence to understand, obey, and apply the Law in this new context.
This has great bearing on child-rearing. Your goal is not to just conform your children to the social expectations of a group of committed Christians. Your objective isn’t merely potty training, or getting them to stop throwing tantrums, or to quit throwing the sippy cup on the floor. Your aim is to raise your children to delight in God’s Law and Gospel. Your goal is a child who becomes an adult that loves God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength.
For instance, as technology rapidly develops our children will be faced with all sorts of moral challenges. What do we do when someone brings their AI-robot to church with them? If the ghouls in lab-coats get their way and create a child using only their skin cells and bring it to the pastor requesting baptism…well, then what?! The Law of God teaches us the nature of God, and by turning our hearts in faith to the Word, we are enabled to apply God’s word to all of life, even very challenging moral quandaries.
For All of Life
The vision statement for our churches is: All of Christ for All of Life. That really is the motivating principle. Here is God’s Word. Is your heart turned to it, to search it out, so as to apply it in every sphere of your life? Eventually the Scribes and Pharisees inverted this. They put all the rules out there, and then left their hearts at home. The Westminster Confession won’t stop a church from sliding into apathy and unfaithfulness. Strictly observing traditions will not prevent moral compromise. Singing Psalms while cherishing sin is like jumping off a high dive with concrete boots on. Turn your heart to God in full trust, full faith, and then apply His word everywhere and to everything. But for the sake of your soul, do not get that order backwards.
Charge and Benediction
As we will be celebrating Thanksgiving this week, I want to encourage you to try a very simple and practical application of this message. Type “give thanks” into your preferred online Bible. There’s about 40 instances of that phrase. Print off all those instances and as a family, take turns reading all the things that Scripture commands us to give thanks for, or the examples of what the saints gave thanks for. Then discuss and list out all this things. And then…practice giving thanks for those things. In other words, be like Ezra, search out God’s word in order to do it.
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21
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