Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Reflections on Ezra 7


    Ezra 07 (Contemporary English Version)
  1. Much later, when Artaxerxes was king of Persia, Ezra came to Jerusalem from Babylonia. Ezra was the son of Seraiah and the grandson of Azariah. His other ancestors were Hilkiah, Shallum, Zadok, Ahitub, Amariah, Azariah, Meraioth, Zerahiah, Uzzi, Bukki, Abishua, Phinehas, Eleazar, and Aaron, the high priest. Ezra was an expert in the Law that the LORD God of Israel had given to Moses, and the LORD made sure that the king gave Ezra everything he asked for.
  2. (SEE 7:1)
  3. (SEE 7:1)
  4. (SEE 7:1)
  5. (SEE 7:1)
  6. (SEE 7:1)
  7. Other Jews, including priests, Levites, musicians, the temple guards, and servants, came to Jerusalem with Ezra. This happened during the seventh year that Artaxerxes was king.
  8. God helped Ezra, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month of that seventh year, after leaving Babylonia on the first day of the first month.
  9. (SEE 7:8)
  10. Ezra had spent his entire life studying and obeying the Law of the LORD and teaching it to others.
  11. Ezra was a priest and an expert in the laws and commands that the LORD had given to Israel. One day King Artaxerxes gave Ezra a letter which said:
  12. Greetings from the great King Artaxerxes to Ezra the priest and expert in the teachings of the God of heaven.
  13. Any of the people of Israel or their priests or Levites in my kingdom may go with you to Jerusalem if they want to. My seven advisors and I agree that you may go to Jerusalem and Judah to find out if the laws of your God are being obeyed.
  14. (SEE 7:13)
  15. When you go, take the silver and gold that I and my advisors are freely giving to the God of Israel, whose temple is in Jerusalem.
  16. Take the silver and gold that you collect from everywhere in Babylonia. Also take the gifts that your own people and priests have so willingly contributed for the temple of your God in Jerusalem.
  17. Use the money carefully to buy the best bulls, rams, lambs, grain, and wine. Then sacrifice them on the altar at God's temple in Jerusalem.
  18. If any silver or gold is left, you and your people may use it for whatever pleases your God.
  19. Give your God the other articles that have been contributed for use in his temple.
  20. If you need to get anything else for the temple, you may have the money you need from the royal treasury.
  21. Ezra, you are a priest and an expert in the laws of the God of heaven, and I order all treasurers in Western Province to do their very best to help you.
  22. They will be allowed to give as much as 7,500 pounds of silver, 500 bushels of wheat, 550 gallons of wine, 550 gallons of olive oil, and all the salt you need.
  23. They must provide whatever the God of heaven demands for his temple, so that he won't be angry with me and with the kings who rule after me.
  24. We want you to know that no priests, Levites, musicians, guards, temple servants, or any other temple workers will have to pay any kind of taxes.
  25. Ezra, use the wisdom God has given you and choose officials and leaders to govern the people of Western Province. These leaders should know God's laws and have them taught to anyone who doesn't know them.
  26. Everyone who fails to obey God's Law or the king's law will be punished without pity. They will either be executed or put in prison or forced to leave their country, or have all they own taken away.
  27. Because King Artaxerxes was so kind, Ezra said: Praise the LORD God of our ancestors! He made sure that the king honored the LORD's temple in Jerusalem.
  28. God has told the king, his advisors, and his powerful officials to treat me with kindness. The LORD God has helped me, and I have been able to bring many Jewish leaders back to Jerusalem.

    The reader of Ezra may assume that Ezra, the writer of this book, was present in Jerusalem throughout the rebuilding of the temple, of which an account is given in the first six chapters. However, this was not the case. The account of Ezra's journey to Jerusalem is given beginning with chapter seven. Chapters 1 & 2 give an account of the first group of exiles to return from Babylon, making the return with Zerubbabel. Ezra led a second group to return from Babylon. A third group made the return with Nehemiah of which an account is given in the book of Nehemiah.

    Ezra was a Levite priest and "a scribe skilled in the law of Moses." (7:6) His return to Jerusalem was motivated by his determination "to study the law of the LORD, obey it, and teach its statutes and ordinances in Israel." (7:10) It was because of this that, "The gracious hand of his God was on him." (7:9) Because the Lord's hand was on Ezra, the Lord had "put it into the king's mind to glorify the house of the LORD in Jerusalem." (7:27) Therefore, the king authorized Ezra's return. In addition the king authorized the use of the royal treasury to fund the purchase of animals and grain for offerings to God and to supply "the needs of the house of your God." (7:20) The king also appointed Ezra to administer justice in Israel which included the appointment of magistrates and judges. He was to do so according to "the law of your God and the law of the king." (7:26)

    As already noted, Ezra credited all of this to God who had put all of it in the king's mind. Whether or not the king recognized the source of his idea is not mentioned. His motivation was primarily to keep the peace and "so that wrath will not fall on the realm of the king and his sons." (7:23) Whether or not a person acknowledges God or has any desire to serve Him does not hinder God from using them for His purposes. This does not mean God forces them to do His bidding, only that, as in the case of King Cyrus, He may put an idea in the person's mind. The person then chooses whether or not to act on the idea, choosing whether to credit God as the source of the idea or accept that credit for themselves.

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