Seek, do, and teach God's Word

Footnotes

[1] 7:8 Aramaic he
[2] 7:12 Aramaic Perfect (probably a greeting)
[3] 7:22 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms
[4] 7:22 A cor was about 6 bushels or 220 liters
[5] 7:22 A bath was about 6 gallons or 22 liters
[6] 8:5 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks of Zattu
[7] 8:10 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks Bani
[8] 8:17 Hebrew lacks and
[9] 8:26 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms
[10] 8:26 Revocalization; the number is missing in the Masoretic Text
[11] 8:27 A daric was a coin weighing about 1/4 ounce or 8.5 grams
[12] 8:36 A satrap was a Persian official

Hugh Stephenson

Good morning, Anna. Love your devo and especially this: His dedication reminds us that obedience is not a one-time step but a continuous journey. Embracing a life of obedience may present challenges, but it is through these challenges that our faith is refined and deepened. As you read and study God's Word, you will discover the principles and values that should guide your life. Plus your great three-part teaching model. THANK YOU! Q1. How to seek God’s Word? What I do is a deep dive into The Journey every single day. Then I listen to the podcasts. If I miss a podcast, I go back to it. It’s amazing. I love worship music that incorporates Godly principles. Shane and Shane’s albums on the Psalms are go-tos. Q2. What I see in Ezra is the living out of God’s commands which yields Him God’s blessings. What is most powerful to me is the promise of peace, joy, and rest, (Philippians 4:6-7, John 15:10-11, Matthew 11:28-30). Q3. How does teaching reinforce? I don’t like speaking in front of groups. I am not sure this is the best approach but…when I have to do it, I want to learn the material front and back.

Hugh Stephenson

What if I lived my life like Ezra? What if I was so totally and completely surrendered that I lived “knees down, palms up” the whole time? What would life look like then? That can only happen if my single-minded mission is a deeper and more intimate relationship with Jesus. Everything else is just “trying hard”. A recent Summit message said that we shod all focus on “training”. Not “trying”. A few years ago a pastor ended a message on the Sermon on the Mount by saying this- “The answer is not trying harder. The answer is giving up.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The notes put together this table on the use of the term “hand of God”. It’s amazing. The Hand of God in Ezra and Nehemiah 537–515 B.C. 458–433 B.C. Ezra 7:6 The king granted Ezra all that he asked...for the hand of the Lord his God was on him Ezra 7:9 Ezra began to go up from Babylon and came to Jerusalem...for the good hand of his God was on him Ezra 7:28 Ezra took courage before the king and his men, and gathered leading men from Israel to go with him...for the hand of the Lord his God was on him Ezra 8:18 Ezra is sent ministers for the house of God...by the good hand of their God on them Ezra 8:22 On all who seek God...the hand of their God is for good Ezra 8:31 God delivered them from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes by the way...[for] the hand of their God was on them Neh. 2:8 King Artaxerxes granted what Nehemiah asked...for the good hand of his God was upon him

Hugh Stephenson

From the notes - "Thus Ezra comes to Jerusalem as the real implementation of the Cyrus decree and his function is to establish an acceptable means of worship whereby Yahweh's lordship over Judah and the whole world (in terms of the extravagance of the Cyrus decree) may be realized and the kingship of God reasserted." "Ezra's interest and assigned task was thus not to build the country materially, as it had been with the first return [in 538 B.C.; Ezra 1:1] and would be again with the third [in 444 B.C.; Neh. 2:1], but to build the people socially and spiritually." Short summaries of chapter 2 and 3- Ezra 7:1–8:36 Ezra the Priest Comes to Jerusalem to Establish the Law of Moses. The narrative now skips to a time 57 years later (see note on 7:1–7), when Ezra the scribe is commissioned by King Artaxerxes to establish the Torah of Moses in the Jerusalem community. This section recounts Ezra’s commission, his journey, and his companions. Ezra 8:1–36 Ezra Journeys to Jerusalem with a New Wave of Returnees, Bearing Royal Gifts for the Temple. This section gives a more extended account of Ezra’s return to Jerusalem. Readers learn of those who returned with Ezra (vv. 1–14), of how he recruited additional priests (vv. 15–20), of their prayer for the journey (vv. 21–23), and of Ezra’s provision for the temple (vv. 24–36). ————————————————— How much was all this in worth and weight? Ezra 7:22 The talent was 75 pounds (34 kg), and the amount of silver specified has been estimated at between a quarter and a third of all the annual taxation raised in “Beyond the River.” The wheat, wine, and oil would have been used for cereal offerings, for drink offerings, and for the lamp kept lit in the temple (Ex. 27:20; 29:2). With a “cor” at 6 bushels (220 liters) and a “bath” at 6 gallons (23 liters), the quantities would have supplied the temple’s needs for perhaps two years. Salt, supplied without limit, was for preservation and seasoning (Ex. 30:35; Lev. 2:13). The total weight of the precious cargo that the exiles took with them seems to have been about 28 tons. Value of gold and silver are about $15,000,000 each. ———————————————— Box checking in the ancient near-east… In Judah, the Jews did not continue to fortify Jerusalem. They were content simply to worship at the temple. Their earlier zeal to return to the Mosaic ordinances, which included separation from non-Jews, waned. Over this 58-year period some of them intermarried with unbelieving Gentiles (9:1-2). Evidently the Levites neglected the teaching of the law (7:25; cf. Neh. 8:1-12), and temple worship became more formal than sincere (7:23). On the immigrants - 8:15-20 "Not one of the names here listed may be otherwise known to us; but all stand in God's sight for distinct living personalities, all of whose acts and words are as clear in His mind as though they still tabernacled in flesh and blood, and walked the earth as strangers and sojourners, servants of the God of heaven, cleaving to His name in the midst of ruin. It is for us to occupy this very position to-day [sic], as though in their place; and, if faithful in it, rest assured, He who forgets not one of them will pass by nothing in our history that He can reward in that day."[198] The immigrants' spiritual preparation 8:21-23 As is quite clear from these verses, Ezra sensed his great need for God's help in the dangerous trip that lay before them. This moved him to seek God's favor in prayer. Verse 21 was the text of John Robinson's last sermon at Leiden, Netherlands, before the Pilgrims sailed for the New World in 1620. Fasting enabled the people to give more time and concentration to their praying (cf. Neh. 1:4; Acts 13:3). Fasting facilitates prayer, but it does not manipulate God. Ezra's primary concern, as these verses indicate, was God's reputation.

Greg Jones

Anna, “In Ezra 7:10, we read that Ezra "had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach His statutes and rules in Israel." This verse presents a Seek, Do, and Teach model.” Love that, and great questions to read back into the chapters with. With Q’s one and two in mind these things stood out to me. Blessed be the LORD, the God of our fathers, who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king, to beautify the house of the LORD that is in Jerusalem, and who extended to me his steadfast love before the king and his counselors, and before all the king's mighty officers. I took courage, for the hand of the LORD my God was on me, and I gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me. Ezra 7:27-28 Ezra’s first words spoken in first person just before he leaves to return to the promised land. Comparing the words and tone here to the words and tone of Moses just before the people of Israel enter into the promised land from Egypt. Has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, and by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great deeds of terror, all of which the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? Deuteronomy 4:34 And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great deeds of terror, with signs and wonders. Deuteronomy 26:8 This is Ezra the teacher of the law. Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, “The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.” So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty. Ezra 8:21-23 This is Moses the giver of the law. And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, none like him for all the signs and the wonders that the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, and for all the mighty power and all the great deeds of terror that Moses did in the sight of all Israel. Deuteronomy 34:10-12 From the words and acts of Ezra I don’t think the fact that a great work of the LORD has gone on in and around Israel for the past 70 years. Same chosen people entering into the same promised land but there is definitely a distinction between this time and last time. Q3 Having been a church goer my entire there is no way I could possibly count how many time I’ve been taught or have taught a Bible lesson about plagues in Egypt or the ark crossing the Jordan and entering into the land. Ezra 8:21-23 never. It’s kind of a boring story compared to those others. But as far as being relatable to something lived out it comes much closer to home for me.

Michael Sisson

Re: Ezra 7:1 Ezra 7:1 (NASB) Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, >>>there went up<<< Ezra son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, Regardless of direction, in Scripture one always ascends TO and descends FROM Jerusalem. Re: Rzra 7:17 Ezra 7:17 (NASB) with this money, therefore, you shall diligently buy bulls, rams and lambs, with their grain offerings and their drink offerings and offer them on the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem. According to Torah, the offerings could only be made in the Temple in Jerusalem. (Lev 17:1-9) Re: Ezra 8:22; 8:31 Ezra places his confidence in G-d’s protection for His name’s sake and as a testimony of His sufficiency.

Sue Bohlin

Thanks so much, Anna. Hello Ezra! This guy (and his wonderful example of faith and godliness) helps me understand why we keep encountering the phrase "scribes and Pharisees" in the gospels. Deep-dive students and teachers of the law had a SUPER important place in Jewish culture when Jesus arrived. I read both chapters, but all I can think about is my question. . . Ezra had to recruit Levites to care for the temple services because apparently, at first, none of them wanted to leave their Babylonian life to return to Jerusalem and worship, and facilitate worship, at the temple. So they were prioritizing their own comfort and familiarity over God's call to them as Levites. I would think that all of the trained and experienced Levites who had been deported to Babylon had died in the 70 years of exile. And during that exile, they couldn't have practiced what they had trained for since there was no temple (and no temple accutrements to maintain). So how would the older Levites have taught and passed the Levitical jobs on to the next generation? And when Ezra recruited Levites to join him, how would they know what to do with all the utensils used in temple worship? How would the priests have known, to instruct the Levites? So many questions . . . (And I learn that it was 900 miles from Babylon to Jerusalem, which took Ezra and Company four months to traverse. That's the same distance from Dallas to Chicago, where Ray and I are from. We take two days to drive it and two hours to fly it. Once again I thank the Lord for letting me live in this century . . .)

Michael Scaman

Looks like to tie them back to their ancient history each key figure was 'son of; skipping all the line in between to major figures in the distance past form the Exodus (or some distant historically significant past). On the fourth day, within the house of our God, the silver and the gold and the vessels were weighed into the hands of Meremoth the priest, son of Uriah, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas, and with them were the Levites, Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui.

Jason Cromwell

Since we live on this side of the Resurrection we know Jesus boiled down the Law to only 2 1/2 things: Love God and Love Others and the half thing we must "Love our neighbors as we love ourselves." As a person who has always loved Architecture I think it's sometimes easier to repair a building than to help people rebuild their lives after years of sin and self-destruction. Buildings rarely if ever resist the help provided.

Amy Lowther

1. The principle of seeking God’s will can be applied in life by seeing the work week and social week like God so there becomes plenty of time for church on Sunday. For our hearts to be open to the teachings of our faith, we should consider our respective goals and how the teachings will help us achieve them. 2. Applying learned information from the Bible in daily life helps build value in God, in ourselves, and in what we do. I made a point to speak to my boss about having a day off in the middle of the week so I could go to church, and I got it. Thinking of how God sees what’s gone on and how God sees what is ahead helps me reach the weekend on time, satisfied, and without too much to do. 3. It helps us realize what we are doing, what we are not doing, and what we need to do.