We now enter upon the second part of this book. In the first part, the return of the people from Babylon and the building of the temple are narrated; and in the second we have the personal mission and the work of Ezra. It should again be noticed that the signs of the transference of governmental power in the earth from the Jew to the Gentile are everywhere apparent. Thus the date of Ezra’s mission is given as “in the reign of Artaxerxes, king of Persia,” and indeed his commission for his work from the king is given at length (vv. 11-26), in proof that. God’s people were at this time under the authority of the Gentiles, and that God Himself ever recognizes the powers which have their source in His own sovereign appointment.
It may aid the reader if the structure of chapters 7 and 8 is first briefly indicated. After Ezra’s genealogy (chapter 7:1-5) a short summary is given of the king’s permission for him to go, of his journey up to Jerusalem, and of the object of his mission. (vv. 6-10) Then follows the king’s letter, conferring upon Ezra authority to act, as well as the necessary powers for the execution’ of his work. (vv. 11-26) This chapter closes with Ezra’s ascription of praise to God for having inclined the heart of the king to Jehovah’s temple, and for having extended mercy to himself before the king, &c. (vv. 27, 28) In chapter 8:1-14 we have a catalog of those who voluntarily availed themselves of the royal permission to go up from Babylon with Ezra.
All these having been assembled by “the river that runneth to Ahava,” Ezra, finding that none of the sons of Levi were there, took measures to secure “ministers for the house of our God.” (vv. 15-20) All being thus prepared, two things follow; first, fasting and supplication before God (vv. 21-23); and secondly, the appointment of twelve of the chief of the priests to take charge of the silver, the gold, and the vessels which had been offered for “the house of our God.” (vv. 24-30) Lastly, we have the journey, and the arrival at Jerusalem, together with the necessary preparations for the commencement of Ezra’s work. (vv. 31-36)
It will thus be seen that chapters 7 and 8 should be read together, forming as they do a continuous narrative, of which chapter 7: 1-10 is the preface or introduction.
The genealogy of Ezra is traced back to Aaron. (vv. 1-5) He was one therefore entitled to all the rights and privileges of the priesthood (see chapter 2: 62); and, moreover, he was a ready scribe in the law of his God, and thereby qualified to be the instructor of the people in the statutes of Jehovah. (See Leviticus 10:8-118And the Lord spake unto Aaron, saying, 9Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations: 10And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean; 11And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses. (Leviticus 10:8‑11); Malachi 2:4-74And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. 5My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name. 6The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity. 7For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. (Malachi 2:4‑7)) He became a priest by birth and consecration; but he only became “a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given,” by personal study of the Word. Inherited office therefore, even with the Jews, could not bestow the qualifications for its exercise—these could only come, from individual converse with God in the Scriptures; for while by virtue of consecration the priest was entitled by grace to minister before God, he could only minister acceptably when all was done in obedience to the Word, and it was impossible that he could teach unless he himself were acquainted with the— mind of God. It was neglect of this second part of their office that led to the failure and corruption of the priesthood; for so completely was the word of God forgotten in the days of Josiah, that the finding of a copy of the law in the temple became an epoch in his reign.
It is therefore of surpassing interest-like finding a beautiful flower in the midst of a sandy desert—to discover in Ezra one who, while he cherished his priestly descent, found his joy and strength in the law of his God; and in verse 10 the secret of his attainments is unfolded. He had “prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it.” Let the reader ponder this significant and instructive statement—“He had prepared his heart.” So the apostle prayed for the Ephesian believers, that “ the eyes of their heart” (heart is the right reading) might be enlightened, that they might know what is the hope of His calling, &c. (Chapter 1:18) Yes, it is to the heart that the revelations of God are made, even as it was to the heart of the Magdalene that the Lord manifested Himself at the sepulcher, rather than to the intelligence of His disciples. Nor can we attach too much importance to this truth. Preparation of heart (and this also cometh from the Lord) is everything, whether for the study of the Word, for prayer, or for worship. (See 1 Corinthians 8:1-31Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth. 2And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know. 3But if any man love God, the same is known of him. (1 Corinthians 8:1‑3); Hebrews 10:2222Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10:22); 1 John 3:20-2320For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. 21Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. 22And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. 23And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. (1 John 3:20‑23))
There is yet another thing. If Ezra prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, it was first and foremost that he might do it. It was not therefore to increase his knowledge, to add to his repute as a teacher; but it was that his heart, life, and ways might be formed by it—that his own walk might be the embodiment of the truth, and thus well-pleasing to the Lord. Then followed teaching, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments. This order can never be neglected with impunity; for where teaching does not flow out of a heart that is itself subject to the truth, it is not only powerless to influence others, but it will also harden the heart of the teacher himself. This is the secret of many a failure in the Church of God. The saints are ever and anon startled by the sudden departure from the truth, or by the fall, of those who had occupied the place of teachers; but whenever the state of the heart is overlooked, and the activity of mind is permitted upon divine things, the soul is exposed to some of Satan’s most subtle temptations. A true teacher should be able in measure, like. Paul, to point to his own example, and to say, as he did to the Thessalonians, “Ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.”
(See also Acts 20 and Philippians 3)
It is evident, moreover, that Ezra was in communion with the mind of God as to His people. His heart was upon them; for we learn that he had sought permission of the king to go up to Jerusalem, and that “the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the Lord his God upon him.” (v. 6) What he desired, therefore, was the welfare, the blessing of his people, the people of’ his God, but being under subjection to the king, he had to obtain his leave; for the Lord will not have us, even for His own service, slight the authority under which we are placed. If, however, the Lord had put the desire to serve Him in the heart of Ezra, He will influence the king to answer His servant’s request. How good it is to leave ourselves in His hands! We are tempted oftentimes to overleap the barriers which man may place in our path, to force open the doors which the hand of man may have closed; but it is for our comfort and strength to remember that the Lord can make His way plain before our face whenever He wills, and that our part is to quietly wait on Him, ready to go forward when He shall speak the word. The recognition of the hand of God upon him was a characteristic of this devoted servant (see verse 9, chapter 8, 18, 22, 31, &c), and it was at once the source both of his patience and of his courage.
The details of the journey, of which we have a short account in verses 7-9, will occupy us in the next chapter; and hence we may pass at once to the king’s letter of authorization to Ezra—a letter which empowered him to act, defined the object of his mission, and provided, through the king’s treasurers beyond the river, the means for the execution of his service in connection with the ordering of the house of Jehovah.
First, after the salutation —a salutation which shows that Ezra was a true witness in the midst of the Gentiles—the king decrees that “all they of the people of Israel, and of His priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee.” (v. 13) Cyrus, as seen in chapter 1, had also accorded the same privilege; and now, after the lapse of many years, once again the Spirit of God works, through the king, to deliver His people. But no human constraint was to be exercised: if. any man went up, it must be voluntarily; for God would have willing servants. If under constraint, it must be only that of the Holy Spirit. Then, from verses 14-20, the mope and objects of Ezra’s mission are carefully defined even as to its details. He was “sent of the king, and his seven counselors, to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of thy God which is in thine hand.” (v. 14) He was, further, to take charge of the silver and gold which the king and his counselors had freely offered to the God of Israel, also of that found in the province of Babylon, together with the free-will offering of the people, &c.; and this was to be expended in the purchase of animals, for sacrifice, &c., or as Ezra and his brethren might decide, “after the will of their God.”
The reader may gather the particulars of Ezra’s commission for himself. His attention, however, may be directed to one or two of its instructive features. It cannot fail to be observed that this Gentile monarch refers everything to the will of God, or, to speak more exactly, that he directs that all should be ordered in subjection to that will. It would almost seem, Gentile though he was, that he was in full fellowship with the object of Ezra; and from the confession of Jehovah as the God of heaven (vv. 21-23), it is not impossible that grace had visited his heart. Whether this were so or not, he carefully provides for the execution of Ezra’s mission in every possible way, and at the same time entrusted Ezra with the government of his people “after the wisdom of God.” Finally, penalties were attached to disobedience to the law of God and to the law of the king, rising even to death itself. The lesson lies on the surface that God. is sovereign in the choice of His instruments, and that He doeth according to His will among the inhabitants of the earth as in the army of heaven, and that none can stay His hand or say unto Him, What doest thou? All illustration of this is found in our chapter in that “Artaxerxes, king of kings,” and “Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of God,” are yoked together for the execution of God’s thoughts for His people and for His house in Jerusalem.
Ezra himself is filled with adoration as he contemplates the wonder-working power of the hand of his God; for having recorded the letter of the king, he breaks out into an ascription of praise: “Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers, which hath put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem: and hath extended mercy unto me before the king, and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty princes.” (vv. 27, 28) He adds, “And I was strengthened as the hand of the Lord my God was upon me, and I gathered together out of Israel chief men to go up with me.” In this he showed himself to be a true man of faith; he traced everything up to God. He lost sight of himself, and to his soul God was all and in all. It was thus not his request (v. 6) that induced the king to act, but it was God who put the thing into the king’s heart; it was not Ezra’s influence that commended him to the king and his princes, but it was God that extended mercy to him in their presence; it was not in his own power that he assembled the chief men to go up with him, but it was God who strengthened him with His own hand upon him. In all this he is a striking example to every believer; and happy is he who, like Ezra, has learned to live in the presence of God, to look beyond the actions of men to the power that controls them all, and to receive all, favor or persecution, aids or hindrances, from the Lord. That soul has acquired the secret of perfect peace amid the confusion and turmoil of the world, as well as in the presence of Satan’s power.
E. D.