Ezra 7:1 - Meaning and Application

Here we have, first, Ezra’s family line. He was a son of Aaron, so he belonged to the priestly family. God chose him to do good for Israel and to bring honor back to the priesthood, which had been dimmed by the exile. He is called the son of Seraiah, the high priest who was killed when Babylon destroyed Jerusalem (2 Kings 25:18, 2 Kings 25:21). That does not mean Seraiah was necessarily his direct father, since the line is traced upward in a shortened way, but he was the first well-known name in Ezra’s ancestry.

Ezra was also closely linked to the high priestly family through Jeshua. So while he was not himself the high priest, he was nearly related to the high priest. God often raises up useful servants from honored families, but what made Ezra stand out was not only his background. His own gifts and character made him greatly useful.

Second, Ezra’s character was excellent. He was a learned man, a scribe, well trained in the law of Moses (Ezra 7:6). He knew the Scriptures well, especially the writings of Moses, and he had both the words and the meaning ready at hand. Learning among the Jews in Babylon may have been weak, but Ezra helped revive it. He seems to have gathered and compared the copies of the law he could find, then set out a careful edition of it along with the other inspired books.

If God raised him up and equipped him for this work, then all later generations should praise God for him. God gave the Jews both prophets and scribes (Matthew 23:34), and Ezra belonged to that latter group. When prophecy was about to end, it was time to press people back to the written law, as the last prophet had urged, “Remember the law of Moses” (Malachi 4:4). Christian ministers are also like scribes trained for the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 13:52). It is sad that the name “scribe” later came to belong to men who opposed Christ and his gospel, though they knew the letter of the law.

Ezra was also a man of deep devotion and holy zeal (Ezra 7:10). He had set his heart to study the law of the Lord, to live by it, and to teach it in Israel. He chose God’s law as his main study. Born and raised among the Chaldeans, he would have been surrounded by their learning, especially their study of the stars, and may have been tempted by it. But he rose above that temptation. The law of his God meant more to him than the writings of magicians and astrologers, which he had reason to reject.

He sought the law of the Lord, meaning he made it his business to investigate it and learn God’s mind and will from it. That truth is found in Scripture, but only if we seek it there carefully. He also made it his duty to do what he learned. He set the law before him as his rule and shaped both his thoughts and his conduct by it. That is how Scripture knowledge should be used, because it is a blessing to know God’s will and then do it.

Ezra also set himself to teach Israel the Lord’s statutes and judgments. What he learned, he gladly passed on for the good of others. But he learned before he taught, and he lived before he instructed. He first stored up truth, then gave it out. He first practiced the commandments himself, then directed others to obey them. In that way, his life gave weight to his teaching.

He had prepared his heart for all of this. He had fixed his mind on the work, taken pains to fit himself for it, and resolved to continue in it. That is why he became a ready scribe, fully prepared for his service. Moses in Egypt and Ezra in Babylon were both wonderfully fitted for great service to God’s people, even while in captivity.

Third, Ezra went up to Jerusalem for the good of his country (Ezra 7:6, Ezra 7:8). It is striking that such a man stayed in Babylon so long after others had already returned. But God did not send him until he had work for him there, and only those whose spirits God stirred went up. He made the journey in about four months.

The king was kind to him, granting all he asked so he could serve his people. His companions were kind too, for many went with him, no longer wanting to remain in Babylon once he had left, and willing to live in Jerusalem because he had gone there. Most of all, God was kind to him. He received favor from the king and from his country because the good hand of the Lord was on him (Ezra 7:6, Ezra 7:9). Every good thing in our lives comes from God’s hand. We should learn to see his hand in all events, and when we receive mercy, we should thank him for his good hand.