| “Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses … For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgements” (Ezra 7:6, 10). |
| Sometimes even Christians hesitate to read the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, as they do not know much about them, and find these books hard to understand. Also, there are a lot of names in both books — names that are sometimes hard to pronounce. However, these books are quite interesting, and show how God looked after His people Israel, even after they had been carried away into captivity. |
| The book of Ezra actually begins a long time before Ezra was back in the land of Israel, for it begins about 536 B.C., right at the end of the seventy years of captivity predicted by the prophet Jeremiah. The Lord had worked in the heart of Cyrus, the king of Persia, to issue a command that any of the children of Israel who wanted to go back there and live, should be allowed to do so. He also specially gave a command to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. As a result of this command, close to fifty thousand Jews went back to the land of Israel, and began to rebuild the temple. The first six chapters of the book of Ezra tell us of some of the problems these people faced, and tells how people who did not want to see the temple rebuilt made trouble for those who were building. But eventually the temple was finished, perhaps about 520 B.C. |
| Later on, Ezra comes on the scene, perhaps about 468 B.C. He was of the priestly family, for he was descended from Zadok, and he could trace his family all the way back to Aaron. As we see from our verses today, Ezra had a concern for the people of God, and although he found himself in captivity, the Lord worked in the heart of the king to allow him to go back to Jerusalem. Not only did the king give permission, but he also said that any others who wanted to go with Ezra should be allowed to go. More than this, the king provided whatever was needed for the sacrifices to be carried on, and for Ezra to teach the law of Moses to the people. |
| It is wonderful to see how the Lord could work in the heart of this Gentile king, to allow him to favor the Jews, and to help them in this way. The Lord can do this today, for He controls the hearts of the authorities over us. If the Lord wants something done, He can make it happen! |
