Ezra was a priest, but he was not able to serve in the temple because the temple had been destroyed. This could be why we do not hear a lot about Ezra. He was not a temple priest.
Ezra is noted for other things, such as:
• He studied the Word of God. In Ezra 7:6, we read that he was, “A ready scribe in the law of Moses.”
• He was a revivalist. The revival began with Ezra reading the Word of God. We see that in Nehemiah 8.
• He was probably the writer of 1 and 2 Chronicles.
• He is believed to have been the writer of Psalm 119
• He was the founder of the order of scribes.
As you look at the life of this great man of God, you see that it was built around the Word of God. In fact, the theme of the book of Ezra is, “The Word of the Lord.”
God’s people had been in captivity in Babylon. The first group of Jews are seen going back to Jerusalem.
• In Ezra 1, with the permission of King Cyrus, Zerubbabel led them.
• In Ezra 3, we see the altar rebuilt, and worship established. Also we see the temple foundation laid.
• In Ezra 6, we see the temple completed and dedicated.
Now we come to Ezra, returning to Jerusalem with the second group of exiles. His return is authorized by King Artaxerxes.
Ezra and Nehemiah worked together. Ezra was a priest, and Nehemiah was a builder and a leader. Along with Haggai and Zechariah, they set out to rebuild the temple. But the Bible tells us specifically, that the good hand of the Lord was with Ezra.
WE NEED TO ASK OURSELVES WHY THE GOOD HAND OF THE LORD WAS WITH EZRA.
There are four parts to our text, and they are in a logical progression:
I. EZRA’S PREPARATION FOR THE WORD OF GOD
Look at verse 10. We read, “For Ezra had PREPARED his heart…”
Ezra leaves Babylon on the first day of the first month, and arrives in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, “...according to the good hand of his God upon him.” (7:9)
Our text tells us why the good hand of God was upon him. Remember, it is believed that Ezra wrote 1 and 2 Chronicles.
Look what God inspired him to write. We read in 1 Chronicles. 29:17a “I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness.....”
The good hand of the Lord was upon Ezra. But the good hand of the Lord is not upon everyone.
Why? Because God’s hand is never on a person unless they have PREPARED THEIR HEART to be used of God.
Illus: Listen, we have some today who live a worldly life. All week long they have:
? Run with the devil’s crowd
? Thought the wrong kind of thoughts
? Done the wrong things
? Spoken the wrong words
And now they run into the house of God, and want God to use them.
Ezra knew that God does not work that way.
Many Christians live A WORLDLY LIFE all week, and then they rush into the house of God on Sunday to try to get a quick blessing.
IT DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY. YOU HAVE TO HAVE A PREPARED HEART TO RECEIVE THE BLESSINGS OF GOD IN YOUR LIFE.
Some, when they cannot get a blessing, want to blame the church, like it is the church’s fault they cannot get a blessing.
Illus: We need to remember the account of the woman in the New Testament, who in the midst of a large crowd, reached out and touched the Lord, and the Lord stopped and said, “Who Touched me?”
It is not the place that determines our blessings, IT IS THE CONDITION OF OUR HEART. Ezra had a PREPARED HEART.
WHAT IS A PREPARED HEART?
A PREPARED HEART consists of four things.
A. IT IS A PURE HEART
Look at Psalm 24:4,5. “He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.”
B. IT IS A PRAYERFUL HEART
We read in Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”
C. IT IS A PERFECT HEART
Psalm 101:2 says, “I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.”
D. IT IS A PEACEFUL HEART
In John 14:27 we read, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
Ezra had a PREPARED HEART. Also, look at-
II. EZRA’S PURSUANCE OF THE WORD OF GOD
Look at verse 10 again. We read, “For Ezra had prepared his heart to SEEK THE LAW OF THE LORD…”
One of the great joys as a minister of the gospel, is to go into a church where everyone brings their Bibles, and the whole time the minister is preaching the Word of God, Christians are listening carefully and taking notes. You can tell from the expressions on their faces that they are hungry for the Word of God.
Anytime you see the GOOD HAND OF GOD on a person’s life, you can rest assured they are a person like Ezra. They PURSUE the Word of God like a starving hound dog pursues a rabbit.
WHAT SHOULD BE OUR ATTITUDE TOWARD THE WORD OF GOD? We should have:
A. A DESIRE FOR THE WORD
Look at 1 Pet. 2:2, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:”
Illus: Have you ever noticed the appetite of a newborn baby? One of the most natural things in this world for a newborn, is a DESIRE TO BE FED.
The only problem is, that everything goes into their mouths. Fingers, toys, clothes, anything they can grab. Why? Because they might not know what their feet are to be used for, but, from the day they are born, they know why they have a mouth.
This is what Peter is talking about, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word…” This is what we do as the children of God, we desire the Milk of God’s Word.
Illus: We know people who profess to be Christians, but never spend time in the Word of God, and you have to literally get on your knees and beg them to come to Sunday school. SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH A PROFESSION LIKE THIS!
Our DESIRE for the Word of God should be as natural as a newborn baby’s desire for milk.
Illus: Martin Luther said, “The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold of me.” (Martin Luther, "Martin Luther--The Early Years," Christian History, no. 34.)
While there are some today in this country who have a hunger for the Word of God, we are becoming more aware that we live in a world that has no DESIRE FOR THE WORD OF GOD, and where people are absolutely ignorant about the Word of God.
Illus: This was recently demonstrated by Tonight Show host Jay Leno. Leno frequently does "man-on-the street" interviews, and one night he collared some young people to ask them questions about the Bible.
• "Can you name one of the Ten Commandments?", he asked two college-age women. One replied, "Freedom of speech?"
• Mr. Leno said to the other, "Complete this sentence: Let he who is without sin..." Her response was, "Have a good time?"
• Mr. Leno then turned to a young man and asked, "Who, according to the Bible, was eaten by a whale?" The confident answer was, "Pinocchio."
(Christina Hoff Summers. From the files of Leadership.)
When a nation loses it’s DESIRE to know the Word of God, that nation lives in ignorance.
The good hand of the Lord was on Ezra, because he had a desire for the Word of God. When people DESIRE TO BE USED OF GOD, they must have a DESIRE FOR THE WORD OF GOD.
They not only DESIRE THE WORD, they also have-
B. A DELIGHT IN THE WORD
Psalm 119:16 says, “I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.”
Illus: When People DELIGHT themselves in the Word of God, it becomes obvious in their lives.
Illus: A man in Kansas City was severely injured in an explosion. Evangelist Robert L. Summer tells about him in his book, “The Wonder of the Word of God.” The victim's face was badly disfigured, and he lost his eyesight, as well as both hands. He was just a new Christian, and one of his greatest disappointments was that he could no longer read the Bible. Then he heard about a lady in England who read Braille with her lips. Hoping to do the same, he sent for some books of the Bible in Braille. Much to his dismay, however, he discovered that the nerve endings in his lips had been destroyed by the explosion. One day, as he brought one of the Braille pages to his lips, his tongue happened to touch a few of the raised characters, and he could feel them. Like a flash he thought, I can read the Bible using my tongue. At the time Robert Summer wrote his book, the man had "read" through the entire Bible four times.
When people do not love the Word of God, you cannot make them read this Bible. But when they love the Word of God, you cannot keep them from this Bible.
• When a person has the good hand of God on their life, they have a DESIRE and DELIGHT in the Word of God,
But that is not all, look at the life of Ezra. Look at-
III. EZRA’S PRACTICE OF THE WORD OF GOD
Look at verse 10 again. We read, “For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, AND TO DO IT...”
Illus: George Mueller said this about God's word: "The vigor of our spiritual life will be in exact proportion to the place held by the Bible in our life and thoughts.”
He said this also: “I solemnly state this from the experience of 54 years. The first 3 years after conversion I neglected the word of God. Since I began to search it diligently the blessing has been wonderful. Great has been the blessing from consecutive, diligent, daily study.”
He then went on to say, “I look upon it as a lost day when I have not had a good time over the word of God."
Listen, a church can be blessed with some of the greatest teaching and preaching of the Word of God on this earth, but if people do not PRACTICE God’s Word, God cannot accomplish what God wants to accomplish.
Illus: Can you imagine all the harm that would be rendered, if doctors went to medical schools, and learned all the modern day techniques in surgery, and refused to PRACTICE what they learned.
Likewise, can you imagine all the harm that is being done today, because professing Christians are not practicing the Word of God.
The Word of God has to be PREACHED and PRACTICED! We read in James 1:22, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”
OBEDIENCE TO THE WORD OF GOD IS ESSENTIAL. We have to obey the Word of God for two reasons.
A. OUR OBEDIENCE REVEALS OUR PRIORITIES
Look at 1 Sam. 15:22. “And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.”
Saul had all kinds of excuses for why he did not obey the Word of God, but had God been the top priority in his life, he would have obeyed the commands of God.
B. OUR OBEDIENCE REVEALS OUR LOVE
John 14:15 says, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
The good hand of the Lord was on Ezra, because of His practice of the Word of God.
But also, look at something else in the life of Ezra.
IV. EZRA’S PREACHING OF THE WORD OF GOD
When the good hand of the Lord is on us, and the Word of God becomes precious to us, we want to share it with someone else. It was precious to Ezra, and he wanted to share it with others.
Look at the last part of verse 10, we read, “For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, AND TO TEACH IN ISRAEL STATUES AND JUDGMENTS.”
When the Word of God become exciting to us, it is impossible to keep from sharing it with others.
Illus: Have you ever seen young people when they fall in love with someone? Those crazy kids want everyone to know that, “Johnny loves Mary”. They want to put it on the water towers, and on every bridge in the county. It is very difficult to keep exciting news to ourselves.
When we fall in love with the Word of God, we will want to share it with everyone.
The Lord supplied Peter with spiritual food, and then He said, “Feed my sheep”.
Look at John 21:17. We read, “He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.”
Ezra loved God’s Word! And the things that God taught him, he in turn taught to others. This is what the apostle Paul suggested should be done in 2 Timothy 2:2. We read, “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.”
Conclusion:
Thank the Lord for men like Ezra. The good hand of the Lord was upon him.
And the same thing can be true for us. If we do the things that Ezra did, we will have the good hand of the Lord with us also.
I. EZRA’S PREPARATION FOR THE WORD OF GOD
II. EZRA’S PURSUANCE OF THE WORD OF GOD
III. EZRA’S PRACTICE OF THE WORD OF GOD
IV. EZRA’S PREACHING OF THE WORD OF GOD
Note: You can hear Dr. Odell Belger preach on Youtube. Go to Youtube and type the word Lykesland
