McNairy County independent. (Selmer, McNairy County, Tenn.) 1902-1969, 1922-08-18
The Leader--Exra (7:1-1O).


/. Who he was wv. 1-6. ~ A
priest wv. 1-5). The leader Of the first
company was Zerubbabel, a sort of
military governor. The great need now
was for a religious leader. for the
people had gone far from God, as we
see from the noble reforms which
Ezra effected. (2) A ready scribe
". 81. He was teacher of the law
Of God.
2. His high ambition w. 7-10).
~ "He set his heart to seek the law
Of the Lord" ". 10Y. He definitely set
out with the noble purpose to know
Gods Word. To be successful In any
thing one must set out with purpose.
Daniel was success because he "pur-
posed In his heart" Ministers and
Sunday-school teachers should have
this set purpose. (2) He set his heart
to obey the Lord ". 10Y. He was not
only concerned with knowing Gods
Word, but to obey 1t. Gods Word cam
not fully be known by the intellect
1t must be experienced. The essential
qualification for teacher of the Bible,
preacher or Sunday-school teacher,
Is obedience to Gods Word. (3) He
set his heart to teach Israel Gods
statutes and judgments ". 10). He not
only had love for Gods Word, but a
desire to implant 1t In the hearts of
others. When one has an experiential
knowledg. of Gods Word he longs to
teach 1t to others.
3. His commission (7:11-26). The
king Artaxerxes gave him a copy of
the decree authorizing him to lead a
company back to Jerusalem. lie was
empowered ~ to collect funds (vv.
15, 16); (2) to levy tribute wv. q.
22); 80 to appoint magistrates and
judges ". 25): (4) to execute PEN
nlties ". 26). So great was the kings
confidence in Ezra that he gave all
these powers into his hand. For this
great honor Ezra lifted his heart to
God In thanksgiving. He was mainly
concerned with tie fact that re was
to beautify the Lords house and
acknowledge that God had put this
purpose into the kings heart.
u. The Company (S:1-20).
The company was small-only 1,754
males. but including women, children
and servants, there were perhaps 5000
to 1000 people in this caravan.
III. Ezra's Prayer and Fasting
(S:21-23).
The first thing he did was to seek
Gods guidance. No only Gods lead
ers, but all Christians should seek
divine guidance and help In every un-
dertaking-every new journey, every
piece of new work, every business adj
venture, every relationship. That
which we cannot invoke Gods bless
Ing upon should not be undertaken.
Further. success can only be realized
when Gods blessing Is upon us. He
did not minimize the dangers attend
ing such journey, but he had told
the king that the hand of the Lord
would be upon all for good who sought
him. and now he was ashamed to ask
the king for a military escort to pro-
tect them from the marauding Arabs.
He desired to give the king a proof
of the reality Of Gods help. Gods
honor among the heather was at
stake. This was a real test of faith.
but God was faithful. May every
teacher and pupil In the Sunday school
find this to be true!
w. The Successful Journey 1924
s2).
God heard their prayer. The treas
ure entrusted to them was great. Per-
haps the entire value Of all the money,
etc, was $5,0O0,000 For a weak cara
van to 60 on a journey requiring four
months through a country infested by
these robber bands, carrying such an
amount of money was most perilous |;
but Ezra knew that God was able and
would protect them. Note:
/. The care and honesty (vv. 24-30).
The money was weighed unto them at
the start and was to be weighed when
turned over to the authorities at
Jerusalem. The incentive to honesty
and strict accounting Of the trust was
that they were holy men and were en-
trusted with that which was holy be-
cause II belonged to God. Most exact
ing care should be exercised in ham
ding the Lords money. We should
guard sacredly our trust.
2. Their safe arrival wv. 81. 32,.
Some four and one-half months were
required to make the journey. God
proved himself to be faithful, having
protected them and brought them
safely to their destination.
The Sinners Bible.