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#188. Know It. Live It. Teach It. How Ezra 7–10 Encourages Christian Moms · Dwelling Place: The Bible for Moms

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  This is The Dwelling Place from Entrusted Ministries.
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  I'm Stephanie Hickox, and continuing with our chronological Bible reading plan, we are now going back to finish the Book of Ezra.
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  Today we'll be inspired to follow after this priest and his unwavering commitment and obedience to the Word of God Chapter seven begins about 59 years after Zerubbabel completed the temple back in Jerusalem Ezra was a priest who was
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  born in exile in Babylon and was now living under the Persian reign Ezra has some pretty big names in his family line, including Zadok, Phinehas, Eleazar, and Aaron the MacArthur Commentary notes that tradition records that Ezra had the
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  law memorized and could write it from recall.
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  His knowledge of the Torah was pivotal as he was helping restore the nation back to obedience to God's word.
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  Even the Persian king could recognize that the hand of God was upon this priest Listen for that phrase, hand of God, as I read our main scripture for today Beginning in seven verse six.
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  This Ezra went up from Babylonia.
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  He was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses that the Lord, the God of Israel, had given, and the king granted him all that he asked, for the hand of the Lord his God was on him And
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  there went up also to Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king, some of the people of Israel, and some of the priests and Levites, the singers and gatekeepers and the temple servants.
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  And Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king.
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  For on the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylonia, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, for the good hand of his God was on him.
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  For 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.
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  This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, a man learned in matters of the commandments of the Lord and his statutes for Israel.
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  Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, peace.
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  And now I make a decree that anyone of the people of Israel or their priests or Levites in my kingdom who freely offers to go to Jerusalem may go with you.
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  For you are sent by the king and his seven counselors to make inquiries about Judah and Jerusalem according to the law of your God, which is in your hand, and also to carry the silver and gold that the
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  king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem.
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  with all the silver and gold that you shall find in the whole province of Babylonia and with the freewill offerings of the people and the priests vowed willingly for the house of their God that is in Jerusalem.
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  With this money, then, you shall with all diligence buy bulls, rams, and lambs with their grain offerings and their drink offerings, and you shall offer them on the altar of the house of your God that is in Jerusalem.
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  Whatever seems good to you and your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold may you do according to the will of your God.
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  The vessels that have been given you for the service of the house of your God you shall deliver before the God of Jerusalem.
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  And whatever else is required for the house of your God, which it falls to you to provide, you may provide it out of the king's treasury.
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  And I, Artaxerxes the king, make a decree to all the treasurers of the province beyond the river.
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  Whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, requires of you, let it be done with all diligence.
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  Up to one hundred talents of silver, one hundred cors of wheat, one hundred baths of wine one hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much.
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  Whatever is decreed by the God of heaven, let it be done in full for the house of the God of heaven, lest his wrath be against the realm of the king and his sons.
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  We also notify you that it shall not be lawful to impose tribute, custom, or toll on any one of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the doorkeepers, the temple servants, or other servants of this house of God And
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  you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God that is in your hand, appoint magistrates and judges who may judge all the people in the province beyond the river, all such as know the laws of your God.
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  And those who do not know them you shall teach.
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  Whoever will not obey the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be strictly executed on him, whether for death or for banishment or for confiscation of his goods or for imprisonment.
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  And Ezra concludes with this note of praise, 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
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  Jerusalem, and who extended to me his steadfast love before the king and his counselors, and before all the king's mighty officers.
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  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."
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  Did you notice how many times the chapter said that the hand of the Lord was upon Ezra?
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  Scripture pointed it out, the king noted it, and Ezra himself was aware of God's favor upon him.
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  Of particular encouragement and challenge for us is verse 10, For 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."
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  I love the order of this.
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  First, he knew God's Word.
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  Then he lived it out, and then he taught it to others.
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  Isn't this a great model for us as moms?
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  Clearly we want to pass down the Word of God to our kids, and there's no way to do that without knowing it.
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  I feel that so often people wanna say to moms, "Oh, just get through it.
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  Just wait till you sleep through the night before you establish a quiet time or before you try to read your Bible."
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  But I would say, even if it has to be a little bit, set your heart to study the Lord's Word, and what you learn, obey fully, and the Lord will bless your commitment and give you opportunities to share
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  what you've learned with your kids and with others.
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  Motherhood can be taxing, exhausting, and all-encompassing, but we don't want to start our study of His Word when our kids are graduated and out of our house And then regretfully realize, Oh, wow, I didn't disciple them in the
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  truth at all.
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  I wish I could go back 20 years."
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  It's important for us to remember this commitment that Ezra has in the next couple chapters because we'll be encountering a pretty complex situation.
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  And I don't recall hearing any sermon in my life that covered this.
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  So I really had to dig in.
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  But first, how can we not mention that God has moved in the heart of yet another foreign king?
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  Not only does he give them the freedom and the encouragement to go follow their God, he funds the process.
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  He describes blessing them with everything they need to be faithful to Yahweh.
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  It's remarkable.
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  And equips Ezra with all he needs to lead this expedition back to the Promised Land.
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  The king even forbid the people being taxed.
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  And as I read through it this time, I couldn't help but think about the American Revolution the British, though claiming to serve the same God as the Americans Sent heavy taxes.
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  and forbid many of their freedoms.
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  Here we have a Persian king that gives complete freedom to worship the God of the Bible It's undeniable that God was at work in his heart I thought it was about a five hundred mile journey, but it was
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  actually closer to a thousand.
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  and generally took about four months to travel.
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  For Ezra and the people, it took them 118 days.
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  In chapter eight, we have a genealogy of the people going back Remember, this is important because they're trying to do everything faithfully that God has commanded them to do.
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  So they need to trace the Levitical line and the genealogy of God's people.
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  They stop along the way, fast, and ask for God's blessing.
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  But does God's hand upon them mean that they were spared from challenge or difficulty?
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  Apparently not.
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  Verse 31 tells us, "The hand of our God was on us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes by the way."
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  Remember, they're traveling with a lot of silver and gold.
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  It makes sense that the robbers that were commonly on these roads would've sought them out But chapter nine is where it gets a little bit more complicated because the officials approach Ezra and tell him, The people of Israel
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  and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with their abominations, from the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.
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  For they have taken some of their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands.
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  And in this faithlessness, the hand of the officials and chief men has been foremost."
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  This is shocking, right?
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  Israel struggled with idolatry and the influence of the pagan nations around them for centuries.
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  God sent them on the 70-year exile as a reset for the nation, that they would be committed to Him when they came back.
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  and Ezra is appalled that they've been back in Jerusalem about 60 years, and already they're compromising one of God's main commandments.
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  It makes me think of when someone goes to prison with a life sentence, And when they're nearing the end and they seem like a transformed person, they're let out But then they commit the exact same crime that they
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  went in for We have plenty of examples like Rahab and Ruth that chose to worship Yahweh that were welcomed in.
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  This situation here is much more a law based on religious protection rather than racial prejudice.
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  Ezra is rightfully grieved by this report, and in 9:3 we read his response.
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  As soon as I heard this, I tore my garment and my cloak and pulled hair from my head and beard and sat appalled.
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  Then all who trembled at the words of the God of Israel faithlessness, of the returned exiles gathered around me while I sat appalled until the evening sacrifice.
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  And at the evening sacrifice I rose from my fasting with my garment and my cloak torn and fell upon my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God, saying, Oh my God, I am ashamed and
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  blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens.'
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  Ezra continues in a humble prayer of penitence, and it reminds me of Daniel's humility when he confessed and interceded for the nation Ezra goes on to say how steadfast God has been, but the people have been faithless.
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  We don't have God's response recorded, but in chapter 10, while everyone is grieving and weeping, Shecaniah addresses Ezra.
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  We have broken faith with our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land.
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  But even now there is hope for Israel in spite of this.
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  Therefore, let us make a covenant with our God to put away these wives and their children, according to the counsel of my Lord and those who tremble at the commandment of our God, and let it be done according
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  to the law."
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  The leaders determine it's best that they divorce their pagan wives and cut off this practice that has led to much temptation, syncretism, and compromise in Israel's past It's important to note that this is a narrative passage and not
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  a prescriptive passage.
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  So if you truly want to know how God feels about marriage, stay tuned because in a couple days we'll cover the prophet Malachi, and God could not be more clear about divorce.
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  Also, in 1 Corinthians, Paul clearly lays out That even if you weren't a believer when you got married, if you become one, you should stay faithful to your spouse.
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  but for this unique circumstance Ezra and the leaders felt it best for one generation to make a very difficult choice sin would not compound, continuing to impact future generations I actually texted Betsy, our executive director and founder, on
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  this because I wanted her perspective, and I really like the way she phrased some things.
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  They divorced because they were intermingled with a pagan culture and needed to begin rightly back in their homeland, not bring back sinful practices that got them expelled in the first place.
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  It was a mass divorce taking a step toward fully living for God.
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  It's not a repeated event anywhere.
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  It had to cause a good deal of difficulty for that generation, but apparently better for one generation than generation after generation."
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  And then she remarked, "When people are going down a course that God forbids, unequally yoked, and this is likely to adversely impact future generations and produce idol worship which is so entangling and the reason for their downfall, it
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  seems imperative that they begin in a right relationship with God as He is restoring them to the land."
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  Their deportation was supposed to rid them of idol worship, and it did.
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  but if they married these foreign wives, Betsy says they were asking for trouble.
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  Over 100 marriages were found to be impacted by this decision.
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  But I like what the Moody Commentary says about how they would have dealt with these wives and children.
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  It notes, "People could choose to live by the standards of the Israelite community and dwell among them as resident aliens.
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  In that case, they would have access to the financial aid and material support evident in the law."
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  As I understand it, these people would not be banished out of the community, but allowed to choose Yahweh and to remain in the community to be taken care of financially the breaking off of these mixed marriages protected the
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  Jewish covenantal identity.
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  I won't pretend that it's not a unique and complex circumstance, but because we know that Ezra had such a commitment to the Word of God, God's hand was upon him, and we also don't see God objecting to Ezra's
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  actions, we can assume that he acted with righteous intentions But instead of getting a message that divorce isn't a big deal, because that's certainly not consistent with scripture, we should see the importance of marriage and how we want
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  to be equally yoked with someone who helps us be faithful to God.
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  ultimately, it shows us that our commitment to the Lord is the most important relationship we will ever have on this earth.
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  Every relationship should pale in comparison to it.
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  And that's why I'm so glad that you've chosen another day to dwell with the Lord, to set your mind to know His Word, to obey it, and then to train your kids in it.
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  Heavenly Father, we acknowledge that it is difficult to live in purity and holiness with all of the cultural influences, distractions, and interruptions around us.
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  Would You protect our time and give us insight into how we can honor You with our priorities and seek You first and foremost?
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  Help us and our husbands and our children to be like Ezra, that our hearts would be set on seeking Your Word, that we would obey quickly and wholeheartedly, and that we would encourage and instruct those around us to
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  be faithful to Your commandments We also ask That you would help us to be faithful to our covenant in our marriages may we rightly prioritize this relationship And love our spouses as you love us, Jesus.
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  We thank you that you modeled sacrificial love for us, and that your Holy Spirit equips us and enables us to be obedient to your Word.
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  It's in your holy name that we pray, amen.