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- Apr 25, 2006
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18 May 2007
Ezra 7:1-10
After these things during the rule of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra came up from Babylon. Ezra was the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth, the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki, the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the high priest. This Ezra came to Jerusalem from Babylon. He was a teacher and knew well the Teachings of Moses that had been given by the LORD, the God of Israel. Ezra received everything he asked for from the king, because the LORD his God was helping him. In the seventh year of King Artaxerxes more Israelites came to Jerusalem. Among them were priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and Temple servants.
Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in the fifth month of Artaxerxes' seventh year as king. Ezra had left Babylon on the first day of the first month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, because God was helping him. Ezra had worked hard to know and obey the Teachings of the LORD and to teach his rules and commands to the Israelites.
We are more than half way through the book of Ezra, and at last the title character makes his appearance. After the fanfare of his ancestry, here he comes! Wham!!
What would you like to be remembered for? What would you choose for your own tombstone? How about "He worked hard to know and obey the teachings of the Lord and to teach them to others"? Or "The Lord his God helped him"?
Ezra was the man for the moment. The Israelites were being re-established as a nation, and they needed someone who could explain God's thinking to them so that they knew how to set things up.
Today, our country desperately needs Ezras - people who can translate God's wisdom into something people can hear and understand. We don't need heavy theology, which leaves people cold. We don't need thunderous judgement against sin, which is heard as bigotry. We need people who can explain why the lottery is a false friend; why discipline is a sign of love; why accepting petty crimes leads to bigger crimes.
Are you an Ezra? What is God calling you to do?
Lord God, teach me to interpret your wisdom to my friends so that they my prosper by following it. Amen.
Written by James Archer
Ezra 7:1-10
After these things during the rule of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra came up from Babylon. Ezra was the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth, the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki, the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the high priest. This Ezra came to Jerusalem from Babylon. He was a teacher and knew well the Teachings of Moses that had been given by the LORD, the God of Israel. Ezra received everything he asked for from the king, because the LORD his God was helping him. In the seventh year of King Artaxerxes more Israelites came to Jerusalem. Among them were priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and Temple servants.
Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in the fifth month of Artaxerxes' seventh year as king. Ezra had left Babylon on the first day of the first month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, because God was helping him. Ezra had worked hard to know and obey the Teachings of the LORD and to teach his rules and commands to the Israelites.
We are more than half way through the book of Ezra, and at last the title character makes his appearance. After the fanfare of his ancestry, here he comes! Wham!!
What would you like to be remembered for? What would you choose for your own tombstone? How about "He worked hard to know and obey the teachings of the Lord and to teach them to others"? Or "The Lord his God helped him"?
Ezra was the man for the moment. The Israelites were being re-established as a nation, and they needed someone who could explain God's thinking to them so that they knew how to set things up.
Today, our country desperately needs Ezras - people who can translate God's wisdom into something people can hear and understand. We don't need heavy theology, which leaves people cold. We don't need thunderous judgement against sin, which is heard as bigotry. We need people who can explain why the lottery is a false friend; why discipline is a sign of love; why accepting petty crimes leads to bigger crimes.
Are you an Ezra? What is God calling you to do?
Lord God, teach me to interpret your wisdom to my friends so that they my prosper by following it. Amen.
Written by James Archer
