It is not personal achievement but personal commitment to live for God that is important. Achievements are simply examples of what God can do through us.
The most effective leaders mentioned in the Bible had little awareness of the impact their lives had on others, for they were too busy obeying God to keep track of their successes. Ezra fits that description perfectly.
About 80 years after Zerubbabel returned to rebuild the Temple, Ezra returned to Judah with about 2000 men and their families. He was given a letter from king Artaxerxes instructing him to carry out a program of religious education. Along with the letter came significant power.
But God had shaped Ezra in 3 important ways so that he would use the power well. First, Ezra as a scribe, dedicated himself to Seek the Law of the Lord, secondly, he intended to do what it says (personally apply and obey). Thirdly, he was committed to teaching others God’s Word.
In today’s world, Preachers must follow this order if they expect their messages to bring an awakening to the people.
Ezra achieved great things and made a significant impact because he had the right starting place for his actions and his life- God’s Word.
This sits well with our Bible Study yesterday on The value of Spiritual Education.
“For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel” (Ezra 7:10). We were not told how long Ezra prepared himself.
But it’s instructive that Ezra’s time was marked with spiritual despondency and the law of God had become scarce.
Strengths and Accomplishment:
• Committed to study, follow and teach God’s word (2 Tim 2:15)
• Led the second group of exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem.
• 1 and 2 Chronicles attributed to Ezra as the writer.
• Concerned about keeping details of God’s commands
• Worked with Nehemiah during the last spiritual awakening recorded in the Old Testament.
Lessons from his life.
1. Every time The Hand of God moves, a tangible result shows. The Hand of God that gave favour to Ezra will move on our behalf when His will, His Name and His Glory are in place.
2. The starting place for serving God is a personal commitment to do so, even without knowing what that service will entail.
3. A person’s willingness to know and practice God’s word will have a direct effect on his usefulness by God for every good work (we discussed this in yesterday’s Bible study)
4. Ezra demonstrated how a gifted Bible teacher (a genuine scribe)can move God’s people forward. Jesus in Matthew 13:51-52 described who a genuine scribe of God is.
•Scribes in the broader sense transcribe the Word into a format that is portable and understandable, without loosing the meaning of the original context or diminishing the potency.
•A genuine scribe ascribes the Word of God to God and does not equate it to human philosophies.
•A genuine scribe describes the word of God clearly because he himself understands the scriptures in content and in context.
• A genuine scribe prescribes (recommends) the word of God, having been affected by the same word because he also believes it.
The scribe preaches the word of God with faith.
•The word of God precedes all things, even this tech- generation. The word of God is forever settled, never old fashioned. A scribe does not change the word!
• A genuine scribe has authority to proscribe anything that stands against the Word to ensure the word of God becomes the rule.
5. From the letter of king Artaxerxes, we can deduce that Ezra was a prominent man in his kingdom.
Yet he was willing to give up his position in order to return to his homeland and teach the Israelites God’s laws- If you are gifted to teach, no more excuses, please volunteer today.
