The Coolidge examiner., 1935-11-29
|. Who Ezra Was (7:1-1O).

|. Who Ezra Was & T:1-1O.
l. A priest wv. 10y. He was
from the line which was to stand
between God and the people. The
leader of the first company was
Zerubbabel, sort of military gov
ernor. The great need now was for
a religious leader, for the people
had gone far from God, as we see
| from the noble reformation which
! Ezra effected.
2. A ready scribe (v. g.. He was
teacher of the law of God.
3. His high ambition wv. 7-1O).
a. He set his heart to seek the
law of the Lord (v. 10). He set out
definitely with the purpose to know
Gods Word. No one who purposes
in his heart to seek the law of the
Lord can fail.
b. He set his heart to obey the
Lord ". 1O. He was not only con-
cerned with knowing Gods Word
but obeying it. Gods Word cannot
be known in it's fullness by the in
tellect it must be experienced. An
essential qualification for a teacher
of the Bible, a preacher, or Sunday
school worker, is obedience to
Gods Word.
C. He set his heart to teach in
Israel Gods statutes and judg-
ments (v. 10). He not only had a
love for Gods Word but a desire to
implant it in the hearts of others.
II. Ezra's Commission (7:1126).
Ezra went forth backed by the de-
cree from King ArtaXerXes. The
king gave him copy of the decree
which authorized him to lead a com
pany back to Jerusalem. This de-
cree empowered him to
l. Collect funds wv. Is, 16);
.. Levy tribute wv. q, 22);
3. Appoint magistrates and judges
". 25);
4. Execute penalties ". 26).
SO great was the kings confidence
in Ezra that he delegated all these
powers to him. For this great favor
Ezra lifted his heart to God in
thanksgiving wv. q, 2S). He was
mainly concerned with the fact that
he was to beautify the Lords house
and acknowledged that God had put
his purpose into the kings heart.
III. The Company Which Returned
With Ezra ezra S:1-20).
This company was comparatively
small, only 1,754 males, but includ-
ing the women, children and serv-
ants there were perhaps 5000 or
1000 people. Before proceeding on
the journey Ezra was careful to find
out as to whether any of the Levites,
the ministers of God, were with
them (v. 15). He knew that the sue
cess of their enterprise depended
upon the spiritual condition of the
people. Temporal blessings and
prosperity of the individual and the
nation depend upon the peoples at
titude toward God.
~. Ezra's Prayer and Fasting
(S:21-23).
The first thing that he did was to
seek Gods guidance. The reason
Ezra sought the Lords help was
that as far as possible he desired
! his mission to be free from human
dependence. He did not minimize
the dangers attending his journey,
but since he had assured the king
that the hand of the Lord would be
upon all for good who sought him,
he was ashamed to ask the king for
military escort to protect them
from the marauding Arabs. His de-
sire was to prove to the king the
reality of Gods help, as Gods honor
among the heathen was at stake.
V. The Successful Journey (SS "a
32).
God heard their prayer. The
treasure entrusted to them was
great. Perhaps the entire value of
money and sacred utensils was near
ly five million dollars. For a small
caravan to go through a country in
tested by these rObber bands carry
! ing such an amount of money was
most perilous, but Ezra knew that
God was able and would protect
them. Observe:
l. The care and honesty wv. "a
3O). The money was weighed unto
them at the start and was to be
weighed when turned over to the
authorities at Jerusalem. The in
centive to honest and strict account
ing of the trust was that they were
holy men and were entrusted with
that which belonged to God.
2. Their safe arrival wv. 81, 32).
Some four and one-half months were
required to make the journey. God
brought them safely to their destina-
! ton, thus proving that he is faith
full to those who put their trust in
him.