| "Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah,… the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest— this Ezra came up from Babylon; and he was a (Ready scribe-KJV) Skilled scribe in the Law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given. The king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the Lord his God upon him" Ezra 7:1-6 "Now all the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate; and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and he read from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate from morning until midday. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Bible reading." Nehemiah 8:1-2 | | Ezra is one of the 4 Architects of the Old Testament. There were 4-5 main people who built/chronicled the OT. First was Moses who wrote the Pentateuch, then Samuel/David(Sol incl) who did the Psalter, Kingdom and Wisdom books, (then Isaiah) and Jeremiah who compiled the ending parts of Kings before captivity, then Ezra rounded and finished the entire thing writing Ezra, Nehemiah, I Chronicles and II Chronicles. He gave the finishing touches to the entire Bible. Jewish legend calls it that 120 elders under Ezra (called the Great Assembly) sat and closed out the Canon (Books of the Bible), but details are sketchy. Whatever it is, we owe an incredible debt of gratitude to this one man Ezra for the Bible we hold in our hands. | Ezra was also a key player in two Revivals. I try and sketch a few details from his life. | 1. Ezra was a Ready scribe (Skilled scribe), Skilled Bible teacher. He prepared his heart to Study the Bible (seek the Law of the Lord), and to do it, and to teach others. (Ezra 7:10). Its incredibly important to obey the Word, and to Fear God and repent quickly. Remember when you read the Bible, these instructions and words of advice are coming from a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ. Its Him that we obey, not some printed words. | 2. He reinstitutes the right way of living according to the scriptures. Read Ezra 7, the King gives him budgets and gold and silver and a mandate to reestablish a Jewish way of life, with the Judges and magistrates. Ezra then travels to Babylon with about 2000 Levites– Pastors, Levites, Bible teachers(scribes), Worshippers, Singers and porters. Meaning a company of about 10,000 people. He leads the second Return from Captivity, in 458 B.C. They come back and start teaching the bible and a great repentance follows. This was the First Revival under him. (Ezra 7-10). Worship and temple sacrifices and preaching is reinstituted. Much repentance follows, and Pastors who married gentiles, put away their foreign wives. Imagine a Christian Pastor marrying a Hindu or a Muslim wife and trying to teach the Bible and lead a congregation. | 3. Fourteen years after these events, Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem as and rebuilds the wall. This restores physical safety to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The wall was built in record time of 52 days, (444 B.C). There's great celebration and there Ezra teaches the Word of God at the Water Gate. For 7 days Bible teaching happens during the Feast of tabernacles. Great Revival ensues. Nehemiah (Governor for 12 years), shows us that it is important for Christians to get involved in society, remember Jesus is Real King too. How else will the Government of God come to society if Christians don’t get involved in Business and Politics. Today many Christians and Pastors stay miles away from politics and politicians. Its very sad. The Entire Bible is filled with prophets who interacted with Kings, Rulers, Judges, Emperors, Court cases, Police, Army etc. Remember Billy Graham - he was counsellor to many Presidents and Kings across the world. That’s why America was what it is. I urge you to get involved in causes you believe in, don’t be a Bible book worm type. Get involved in Apartment associations, interact with councillors and MLAs and members of Congress and local Ward committees and NGOs. Fight for truth in all parts of society, including the courts. God needs Christians to be deeply involved in these things. | 4. Lastly Ezra gives hope to the feeble Jewish remnant by tracing the line of Kings from David to the Messiah. The simple summary of I and II Chronicles is this. I Chronicles gives the Kingdom blue print as under David (Strong military, good administration and finances, 24x7 Worship teams in Jerusalem etc). II Chronicles traces the line from David to Captivity and Ezra traces the lineage of the people living then, back to Adam (1 Chron 1:1), through Abraham and David. How happy would you be, if you knew literally that you were the daughters of God and the sons of the New Covenant. I want to tell the serious Bible readers today, that you are actual sons of King David, Queen Esther, Apostle John and Martin Luther. You have a very great heritage to live up to - To keep the Messianic hope alive till Jesus the Messiah, comes back as King to this planet. Feeble as we are, God still uses the weak vessels . |
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