Introduction:
A. I like the story told of a preacher and a NYC taxi driver who both died and went to heaven.
1. The apostle Peter was at the Pearly gates waiting for them.
2. “Come with me,” said Peter to the taxi driver.
3. The taxi driver did as he was told and followed Peter to a mansion. It had anything you could imagine from a bowling alley to an Olympic size pool.
4. “Wow, thank you,” said the taxi driver.
5. Next, Peter led the preacher to a rugged old shack with a bunk bed and a little old television set.
6. “Wait, Peter, I think you are a little mixed up,” said the preacher. “Shouldn't I be the one who gets the mansion, not the taxi driver? After all I was a preacher who served God every day, and I preached God's word.”
7. Peter said, “Yes, that's true, you served God and preached the Word, but during your sermons people slept. However, the way that NYC taxi driver drove, people thought they were going to die, so they prayed and made all kinds of commitments to God.”
B. Today I want us to ask ourselves: “What kind of impact do I have on others? What influence do my words, and my example, and my service have on others?”
C. As we move into our story today in our sermon series on Ezra and Nehemiah, we are finally going to be introduced to a man named Ezra and were going to see the kind of impact he had on God’s people.
1. What was it about his words, his example, and his service that made him so impactful?
2. Let’s take a look and see.
I. The Story
A. So far in our series on the book of Ezra, we have examined the exciting story of the return of God’s people to Jerusalem after 70 years of exile.
1. Under the leadership of Zerubbabel, in 538 B.C. about 50,000 Jews left Babylon, returned to Judea, and began to rebuild the temple of God.
2. As you recall, once the foundation was completed, opposition caused the construction to be stopped.
3. Then 16 years later, under the preaching and example of Haggai and Zechariah the prophets, the construction was resumed and completed in 4 ½ years in 515 B.C.
B. So the first 6 chapters of the book of Ezra are all about the first group who returned and rebuilt.
1. Ezra isn’t even mentioned in those chapters, because everything we have seen so far took place before Ezra was even alive.
C. Our story resumes in chapter 7: 1 After these things, during the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, 2 the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, 3 the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth, 4 the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki, 5 the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest - 6 this Ezra came up from Babylon.
1. The phrase “after these things” allows Ezra, the story teller, to skip about 60 years.
a. We are told that this occurred during the reign of Artaxerxes.
b. In a previous sermon, we examined a time line of the different kings reigning during the story found in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.
c. We learned that king Artaxerxes reigned from 464 BC to 423 BC and that he is the king who was reigning at the end of Ezra and through the book of Nehemiah.
d. We date Ezra’s journey to Jerusalem at 458 B.C.
2. So, now at last we meet the man from whom the whole book has taken its name.
a. This chapter and the next will introduce the scholar-priest, named Ezra.
b. We will be told about his expedition and his efforts.
c. Lord willing, next week we will examine the remaining 2 chapters of Ezra, where we will witness how Ezra addressed the moral disarray he encountered when he arrived at Jerusalem.
3. It takes most of six verses to delineate Ezra’s lineage.
a. Of most importance, he can trace his lineage all the way back to Aaron, Moses’ brother and the first high priest of Israel.
b. Someone wanting to be a scholar-priest in the Jewish religion could not have a better pedigree!
4. So it wasn’t just any old Ezra who came up to Jerusalem from Babylon, but the Ezra who was a descendent of Aaron.
5. Let’s see what else we are told about this Ezra.
D. The story continues: He was a teacher well versed in the Law of Moses, which the LORD, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted him everything he asked, for the hand of the LORD his God was on him. 7 Some of the Israelites, including priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers and temple servants, also came up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes. 8 Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh year of the king. 9 He had begun his journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, for the gracious hand of his God was on him. 10 For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the LORD, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.
1. We learn that Ezra is a scholar and expert in the sacred law of the Lord.
a. We will focus on his handling of the Word of God during our application segment.
2. We also learn that the king granted him everything he asked for, isn’t that amazing!?
a. How did that happen? A phrase will show up numerous times in these two chapters that answers that question – “For the hand of the Lord his God was on him.”
b. That phrase is mentioned twice in this short paragraph (vs. 6 and vs. 9).
c. Is that not something that all of us long for? (The hand of the Lord to be on us?)
d. How would you like that phrase to be descriptive of your life?
3. We also learn that it took him 4 months to make the journey.
a. Just like we noticed back in the 2nd chapter of this book when the first group made that same journey, it amazes me that little is said about the journey itself!
b. If I had to make a 1000 mile trip on foot, or even on animal, I think I would have a few stories to tell about heat stroke, or blisters, or scorpions, or bandits.
c. Obviously, the important thing about the story wasn’t the trip, but what he did once he arrived in Jerusalem.
E. And now, just like in previous chapters, Ezra the historian gives us first-hand material whenever possible: 11 This is a copy of the letter King Artaxerxes had given to Ezra the priest and teacher, a man learned in matters concerning the commands and decrees of the LORD for Israel: 12 Artaxerxes, king of kings, To Ezra the priest, a teacher of the Law of the God of heaven: Greetings. 13 Now I decree that any of the Israelites in my kingdom, including priests and Levites, who wish to go to Jerusalem with you, may go. 14 You are sent by the king and his seven advisers to inquire about Judah and Jerusalem with regard to the Law of your God, which is in your hand. 15 Moreover, you are to take with you the silver and gold that the king and his advisers have freely given to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, 16 together with all the silver and gold you may obtain from the province of Babylon, as well as the freewill offerings of the people and priests for the temple of their God in Jerusalem. 17 With this money be sure to buy bulls, rams and male lambs, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings, and sacrifice them on the altar of the temple of your God in Jerusalem. 18 You and your brother Jews may then do whatever seems best with the rest of the silver and gold, in accordance with the will of your God. 19 Deliver to the God of Jerusalem all the articles entrusted to you for worship in the temple of your God. 20 And anything else needed for the temple of your God that you may have occasion to supply, you may provide from the royal treasury. 21 Now I, King Artaxerxes, order all the treasurers of Trans-Euphrates to provide with diligence whatever Ezra the priest, a teacher of the Law of the God of heaven, may ask of you - 22 up to a hundred talents of silver, a hundred cors of wheat, a hundred baths of wine, a hundred baths of olive oil, and salt without limit. 23 Whatever the God of heaven has prescribed, let it be done with diligence for the temple of the God of heaven. Why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and of his sons? 24 You are also to know that you have no authority to impose taxes, tribute or duty on any of the priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, temple servants or other workers at this house of God. 25 And you, Ezra, in accordance with the wisdom of your God, which you possess, appoint magistrates and judges to administer justice to all the people of Trans-Euphrates - all who know the laws of your God. And you are to teach any who do not know them. 26 Whoever does not obey the law of your God and the law of the king must surely be punished by death, banishment, confiscation of property, or imprisonment.
1. This letter, like the others in this book, was written in Aramaic, which was the language of official correspondence at the time.
2. The letter authorized Ezra and any of his people, to go to Jerusalem to ensure the proper observance of God’s law.
3. The letter also dealt with two matters of supply.
a. The first matter of supply was the matter of a grant towards the costs of sacrifices, and an issue of Temple vessels. Most of the Temple vessels had already been returned to the Jews, but perhaps in the ensuing years, other vessels had been found.
b. The second matter of supply was an order to the provincial treasurers empowering Ezra to claim free access to certain supplies, and also exempted Temple officials from taxation.
4. Finally, the letter called on Ezra to set up a judicial system based on God’s Law with full powers of punishment.
5. Would you say that King Artaxerxes had some confidence in Ezra?
F. Based on all that Ezra had reported in this chapter, it is no surprise that he would end the chapter by breaking out into two verses of praise and thanksgiving to God: 27 Praise be to the LORD, the God of our fathers, who has put it into the king's heart to bring honor to the house of the LORD in Jerusalem in this way 28 and who has extended his good favor to me before the king and his advisers and all the king's powerful officials. Because the hand of the LORD my God was on me, I took courage and gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me.
1. Praise God, indeed, for moving in the king’s heart as God did!
2. Praise God for the way the hand of the Lord was on Ezra and gave him courage to lead!
G. As we move into chapter 8, we are not going to read every verse, because about 14 of the verses contain the names and numbers of people who chose to return with Ezra.
1. The chapter begins in verse 1, saying: 1 These are the family heads and those registered with them who came up with me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes…
2. Interestingly enough, a comparison of this list of families returning with Ezra, with the list those who returned with Zerubbabel will reveal that in every case but one, these people are relatives of those Jews who had returned to Jerusalem 80 years earlier with Zerubbabel.
3. The number of those returning with Ezra was only about 8 thousand, when we add up the number of men mentioned and estimate the number of woman and children who would have accompanied them. That pales in comparison with the 50 thousand who returned earlier.
H. The story continues in verse 15: 15 I assembled them at the canal that flows toward Ahava, and we camped there three days. When I checked among the people and the priests, I found no Levites there.
1. The three-day pause by the river was no waste time – it was the right moment to take stock and prepare for any unwelcome discoveries.
2. The absence of Levites was again surprising – you might remember the earlier group had a relatively low percentage of Levites who returned with them.
a. One would think that any Levite would jump at a chance to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and restore the worship and sacrifices of God.
b. One commentator suggested that perhaps many Levites after living in exile far from the destroyed temple didn’t want to go through the drastic change from ordinary pursuits to the strict routines of the Temple life and ministry.
3. Whatever the reason was for the absence of the Levites, in verses 16 – 20, which we won’t read, we learn that Ezra sent a number of men to Iddo to find Levites to join the group.
a. We are told that because of God’s gracious hand over 200 qualified men joined their group.
I. As the story continues, we learn that Ezra called for a fast: 21 There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. 22 I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, “The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him.” 23 So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.
1. It appears that when Ezra had made his petition to the king to allow him to go to Jerusalem, he had expressed so much faith in God that it seemed to him that it would appear faithless to then ask for armed escorts to assure safe passage.
2. Although our full trust must be in God, that doesn’t mean that we cannot also trust that God will work through conventional means.
3. In other words, just because I pray for safe travels on the highway doesn’t mean I can’t also be a member of Triple A, or have my mechanic check on the car before I leave.
a. Or when I trust God for healing, it doesn’t mean I shouldn’t see a doctor or take medication
4. Later we will see that although Nehemiah trusted God, he wasn’t ashamed to ask the king for soldiers to make the trip with him for protection.
a. Or when their enemies were threatening them while rebuilding the wall, Nehemiah had them pray but also carry a sword in one hand and work with a tool in the other.
J. The story continues: 24 Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests, together with Sherebiah, Hashabiah and ten of their brothers, 25 and I weighed out to them the offering of silver and gold and the articles that the king, his advisers, his officials and all Israel present there had donated for the house of our God. 26 I weighed out to them 650 talents of silver, silver articles weighing 100 talents, 100 talents of gold, 27 20 bowls of gold valued at 1,000 darics, and two fine articles of polished bronze, as precious as gold. 28 I said to them, “You as well as these articles are consecrated to the LORD. The silver and gold are a freewill offering to the LORD, the God of your fathers. 29 Guard them carefully until you weigh them out in the chambers of the house of the LORD in Jerusalem before the leading priests and the Levites and the family heads of Israel.” 30 Then the priests and Levites received the silver and gold and sacred articles that had been weighed out to be taken to the house of our God in Jerusalem.
1. Because the king had sent a great deal of gold, silver, and valuable vessels with them, there was a need for accounting and accountability, not to mention protection.
2. We should be the kind of people who can be trusted with other people’s money and things.
3. I’m so thankful for Bart and Tim, our deacons of finance, and others who apply righteous accounting and accountability for the finances of God’s church here at Wetzel Road.
4. Financial accountability and trustworthiness is so important for many reasons.
K. Today’s story ends like this: 31 On the twelfth day of the first month we set out from the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us, and he protected us from enemies and bandits along the way. 32 So we arrived in Jerusalem, where we rested three days. 33 On the fourth day, in the house of our God, we weighed out the silver and gold and the sacred articles into the hands of Meremoth son of Uriah, the priest. Eleazar son of Phinehas was with him, and so were the Levites Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui. 34 Everything was accounted for by number and weight, and the entire weight was recorded at that time. 35 Then the exiles who had returned from captivity sacrificed burnt offerings to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven male lambs and, as a sin offering, twelve male goats. All this was a burnt offering to the LORD. 36 They also delivered the king's orders to the royal satraps and to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, who then gave assistance to the people and to the house of God.
1. As I have mentioned before, it is amazing that a difficult journey of 1000 miles is passed over with scarcely a comment, except for attributing the safety and success to God.
2. Finally, after all the finances were rightly accounted for, and offerings were made to God, then king’s orders were carried out by the authorities in that region.
II. The Application
A. So what lessons can we apply in our lives from today’s section of the story?
1. The main lesson that I want us to hone in on is the power and influence of the life of Ezra.
2. What was it about Ezra and his life that allowed him to lead and influence God’s people?
3. From these two chapters, I see three main things about Ezra’s life that allowed him to influence others.
B. First, from Ezra, we learn about the power of a life devoted to the Word of God.
1. I love what Ezra 7:10 says about Ezra: “For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the LORD, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.”
2. Ezra’s heart was devoted. He had prepared his heart to do three things: to seek, to do, and to teach God’s Word.
3. He had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord.
a. He was very intentional and diligent about getting into God’s Word.
b. Did you notice what King Artaxerxes said in his letter about Ezra? Where did Ezra have God’s law? In his hand. He carried his Bible with him always!
c. His purpose in life was to seek what God had to say in His Word.
4. But for Ezra, simply studying God’s Word wasn’t enough and it shouldn’t be for us either.
a. Ezra not only sought what God had to say in His Word – Ezra did what God had said in His Word.
b. Many people know what the Word says, and can quote it.
c. But there is a big difference between simply knowing God’s Word and doing it.
d. That’s what James wrote about in James 1: 22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
e. Ezra made it his life’s mission to know and to do God’s Word.
5. But even that wasn’t enough – because knowing and doing God’s Word requires that we share it with others.
a. So Ezra devoted himself to teaching God’s Word to others.
b. Ezra learned God’s Word, practiced God’s Word, and taught others to do the same.
6. Paul’s advice to Timothy certainly is good advice for us as well: Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15).
7. If we want to have a life of influence then we must follow Ezra’s example – to seek God’s Word, to do God’s Word and to share God’s Word with others.
C. Second, from Ezra, we learn about the power of a life devoted to prayer and fasting.
1. From what little we know of Ezra’s life, it appears that he made prayer a priority.
2. With a task as big as they were facing, Ezra knew that the most important thing he could do was to fast and pray and to call upon others to do the same..
3. Fasting and praying was certainly a pattern in the life of Jesus, wasn’t it?
4. Fasting was something that Jesus assumed His disciples would do.
a. When Jesus taught about fasting in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6, He said, “When you fast” not “if you fast.”
b. On one occasion, when Jesus was asked why His disciples didn’t fast, He said, “They will fast after the bridegroom is gone.” (Mk. 2:20)
5. And on one occasion in Mark 9, when Jesus’ disciples asked Him why they had failed to be able to exercise a demon from a boy, He explained to them, “This kind can only be driven out by prayer (and some manuscripts and translations add “and fasting”). (Mark 9:23)
6. Fasting is simply giving up something good for something better.
a. It is a way of telling God that seeking Him and His blessing is more important to us than food, or whatever it is that we are fasting from.
b. John Piper wrote, “Fasting is for times of yearning and aching and longing.”
c. We can pray and fast to seek a more intimate walk with God, to seek the reaching of the lost, for people to be restored, or for God to lead us and give us direction.
7. And so, like Jesus and the disciples, and like Ezra, the influence and effectiveness of our lives with be increased by our disciplined practice of prayer and fasting.
D. Third, from Ezra, we learn about the power of a life dependent upon the hand of God.
1. I’m sure you noticed that this phrase came up again and again in the text today…“the hand of God was upon him” and “because the hand of God was with us…”
2. We cannot force the hand and favor of God to be upon us or with us, but if we walk with God in obedience to His Word, and in communion with God in prayer and fasting, then His hand with most surely be with us and be upon us.
3. And as we see God at work, we should attribute all success and effectiveness and victory to God’s hand.
4. Gratitude for God’s hand being with us should be ever in our hearts and on our lips.
5. We can do nothing of significance without God, but with God, and with the hand of God being with us, we can do anything God wants accomplished.
E. As I look at my own life, I can see that I need to grow in each of these areas – being more devoted to the Word, being more devoted to prayer and fasting, and being more dependent on the hand of God – how about you?
1. Today, let’s ask ourselves: what can I do this week to be more like Ezra in these three areas?
F. Like we saw in our opening illustration, becoming a NYC taxi driver may not be the best way to influence others towards God, but following Ezra’s example surely will.
Resources:
Ezra-Nehemiah, by Mark Throntveit, Interpretation Commentary Series, 1992
Ezra & Nehemiah, by Derek Kidner, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, 1979
Ezra, Nehemiah, & Esther, by J. Vernon McGee
