God never forgets His Word to fulfill it. This is true of what He threatens as well as promises. Though we forget God’s Word, He does not, but He is faithful to it. Bring His own Word back to Him in prayer and plead that He would fulfill it in your life.
God is sovereign. He works on the level of nations and the heads of nations (v. 1). However, He also stirs up individual people to walk in His ways and seek His promised inheritance (v. 5). How does this encourage you to pray for nations? For individuals?
Cyrus had a unique role in God’s plan and purpose (Isa. 44:28; 45:1). God used him to set His people free. Christ, however, would set His people free in ways that Cyrus never could. He would enter into death and pay the penalty they deserved. Praise God for delivering us from the kingdom of darkness and translating us into the kingdom of light (Col. 1:13).
Ezra 2
Though Zerubbabel was not a king, he descended from the kingly line and was in the genealogy of the Lord Jesus (Matt. 1:12–13, “Zorobabel”). The exile would not prevent the coming of the Christ. The Lord saw to it that priests, prophets (5:1), and the line of David resettled the land. Christ would combine the three offices in Himself, as the Prophet, Priest, and King of His people. In that office, He draws people from darkness to light, and makes them citizens in His kingdom (Eph. 2:19). Despite the sins of man, encourage one another that Christ’s kingdom will be established and prevail.
The Urim and Thummim (v. 63) refer to stones kept in the breastplate of judgment worn on Aaron’s heart (Ex. 28:30). We know very little about how the Urim and Thummim functioned, but as they appear in Israel’s history, we learn that they were used in discerning the will of God (Num. 27:21; Deut. 33:8; 1 Sam. 23:6–12; 28:6). Regardless of how they functioned, we know that they communicated to the Israelite community what God’s will was for them. What has God given to His people today to lead us in the ways of truth (John 16:13)?
What a disappointment it must have been to those who could not show their proper credentials to work in the temple service (v. 59)! Do you have assurance to rejoice that your name is written in heaven (Luke 10:20)?
Note how the people gave to the work of the Lord. We are told that they “gave after their ability unto the treasure of the work” (v. 69). How beautiful it is to see many giving cheerfully to the work of the Lord (2 Cor. 9:7)! How are you offering yourself and your money to His work?
Ezra 3
The people quickly worked to reinstitute the sacrifices. It is a good sign when we sense that we need to have our sins blotted out and we need to know God’s favor through His appointed sacrifice, Christ Jesus, to whom all the sacrifices pointed (Heb. 7:27). How eager is your heart to run to Christ’s sacrifice for forgiveness? How long do you linger in guilt before confessing your sin? Why?
The joy of those who witnessed the foundation rising was mixed with weeping. Is it not true that often the Christian’s joy is mixed with weeping? As long as believers dwell in flesh, we carry this tension of rejoicing and weeping with us (2 Cor. 6:10), until the day when every tear shall be wiped from our eyes (Rev. 21:4). Then joy will be unmixed, but, incidentally, there will be no temple (Rev. 21:22). Why is that? What do we know about that day?
Ezra 4
We might be tempted to shrink back from what seems to be a harsh response of Zerubbabel and Joshua and the other leaders (v. 3). But this is not just an Old Testament emphasis as can be seen from Heb. 13:10: “We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.” Spiritual fellowship and partnership can only be had with those who share the same Spirit, worship the same God, and glory only in Christ (Phil. 3:3). Pray for discernment, so as not to compromise.
Christ told His disciples that they should expect persecution (John 16:33). Some victories are not achieved within one generation, as the fight continues beyond our generation. We need to arm ourselves for a drawn-out battle against those who take aim at the cause of Christ (Eph. 6:10–13). What battles face the church today? How can the church prepare herself to fight these with endurance over the long term?
Ezra 5
God uses His Word to give life to His people. After twenty years, the preaching of Haggai and Zechariah was the catalyst for encouraging the Jews to finish building the temple. God used His Word to move His people to action. Therefore, let us strongly support the preaching of God’s Word. How can we be doers of the Word, and not hearers only (James 1:22–27)?
This section is proof of the following truth: “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will” (Prov. 21:1). Behind the actions of princes and rulers, the hand of divine providence brings about His purposes for His people. How can this encourage Christians when government leaders seem to frustrate God’s purposes?
Why did Judah face so much opposition? Could God not have made things much easier for them? Through trials, God strengthens His people. He teaches them patience. God is not just working around His people, but within them (Phil. 2:13).
Ezra 6
The books of Moses continued to be the guide for these people (v. 18). Whenever there is a heaven-sent awakening or revival, people will go back to the Word of God (Neh. 8:1). There may be great emotional excitement, large crowds of people, or impressive acts of religious devotion, but if they are not driven by faith and love toward the Holy Scriptures, they are not of the Spirit of the Lord. Do you need to renew your commitment to God’s Word?
Our chapter commemorates and celebrates a milestone. When God’s people go through difficult or disciplinary times they must always remember that the end is better than the beginning (Eccl. 7:8) and that all things work together for their good (Rom. 8:28). Have you experienced seasons of celebration after times of great trials?
The Lord alone can work true joy in His people’s hearts (v. 22). As the psalmist sings, “His anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning” (Ps. 30:5). If you are in a season of weeping, how can you find the strength to endure with hope?
Ezra 7
Every Christian can learn from Ezra. He prepared his heart to study God’s Word, practice its teaching, and pass its teaching on to others (v. 10). This is the duty of everyone charged to teach the Word, whether heads of household in the family or pastors and teachers in the church. Even if we do not have official responsibilities to teach, we can still share the Word of God with others. Pray for parents, teachers, leaders in your church and yourself that all would have the heart of Ezra.
Artaxerxes helped Ezra and thus also the cause of God. We can be thankful for how God used him. Nevertheless, Artaxerxes never had a heartfelt attachment to the Lord. Is it enough to simply advance the cause of God? Or like Ezra, have you learned to love God and His commandments more than gold (Ps. 119:127; Matt. 6:24; 22:37)? 3. Ezra recognized God’s hand of mercy in his circumstances (v. 28). If we are the Lord’s, our life is filled with tokens of God’s mercy. Like Ezra, do you trace them and thank the Lord for them? How has God’s hand of mercy appeared in your life recently?
Ezra 8
God’s will was Ezra’s chief concern (v. 21). Even to a man like Ezra, who relied on God, discerning God’s will was not always easy. He went to great lengths to discern God’s will, fasting and seeking the Lord. We too must invest time and energy into seeking God and His will when we face significant decisions. The very process honors Him. What major decisions do you face as an individual, family, church, or society? How are you seeking the Lord?
Ezra knew the power of seeking God. He also knew that those who forsake God are under His wrath (v. 22). Paul writes something similar: “Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off” (Rom. 11:22).
Ezra 9
The inhabitants of Judah were at risk of being swallowed up by the nations around them and their idolatries. Still today, we are called to a life of separation from worldliness. Paul challenged the Corinthians, “For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” (2 Cor. 6:14). Why might a romantic relationship with an unbeliever attract a Christian? How can he or she resist this temptation?
Ezra readily confessed sin as sin. He knew that God had punished the nation far less than it had deserved (v. 13). If we know anything of our wicked hearts, we will find it difficult to complain that our circumstances are unfair. When we are tempted to question God’s goodness, let us give consideration to our sinfulness, and what we deserve.
We can only fight sin by the grace of God. Ezra shows the right way by running to the Lord in prayer. How does God say He will help us in the midst of temptation (1 Cor. 10:13)?
Ezra 10
If leaders in church, state, and family could, like Ezra, lead in repentance, who can tell what would happen? Of what major sins does your nation need to repent? Are there ways that your church or denomination needs to repent? Begin praying for God to give hearty repentance through Jesus Christ, beginning with the leadership—and with you.
Though true repentance begins with the mind, its essence is a change of heart that produces action, as we see with the people in this chapter. Paul gives us a picture of such repentance in 2 Cor. 7:10–11. Of what sins have you repented recently? How does your repentance match up with these biblical models? Where do you need to implement a more thorough repentance?