Day 268 – Ezra 7-10

Talking Points

• Ezra was a priest and scribe who “had set his heart to study the law of the LORD and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel” (Ezra 7:10). For this reason, “the good hand of his God was upon him” (7:9). Ezra had won the favor of the King Artaxerxes and was allowed to return from Babylon to Jerusalem. Indeed — what a good hand our God has!
• At this point, most of the exiles remained in Babylon, enjoying their comfort there. Ezra seeks help in restoring God’s honor to Jerusalem. He seeks to lead God’s people to go and truly worship there once more.
• Once in Jerusalem, Ezra is confronted with the great sin of the people. Though they were commanded by God to separate from the pagan culture around them and not to intermarry with the foreign nations, they had disobeyed. A somber list of the guilty ones ends the book of Ezra. God saw their sin — it did not go unnoticed. In a great example of how to deal with sin, Ezra mourns over it, confesses it clearly, and seeks God’s forgiveness. Simply, unable to change it and deeply regretful over it, Ezra appeals to the grace of God. Our remedy today is no different.

Thoughts

Ezra’s integrity and leadership of the Jewish exiles is truly something of which we should take notice. Because they had already told King Artaxerxes that “the hand of [their] God is favorably disposed to all those who seek Him, but…against all those who forsake Him,” Ezra didn’t feel right asking for a military escort to protect them on their journey to Jerusalem (8:22).

Instead, he leads God’s people to fast and seek the LORD. God’s response? He listened. He put His hand over them. He delivered.

Truly, all of Scripture tells the same truth — God wants us to humble ourselves and seek Him. He wants us to come to Him for our every need, our every concern. God blesses us when our eyes are fixed on Him, recognizing and trusting Him as the One in complete control of all things, the One whose hand is good.

He really is. We have nothing to fear. Let us be like Ezra and “set our hearts” on Him.