King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Wednesday, September 25, 2024
Chapters: Ezra Chapters 7-10
Message: A Prepared Heart
Hello My Friend,
As I was reading the chapters for today, this passage came to mind, [John 14:2-7 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. 4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. 5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? 6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.]
Did you know that it is God who prepares our heart to seek His Word? This is why He even appoints us a time when we are ready to accept Christ as our Saviour. The reason being is that our heart needs to get to the point of humility and not full of self righteous pride that gets in the way of our coming to the understanding that we are sinners, [Romans 10:10-12 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.]
As we return to, and come to the end of reading of Ezra, if you follow the timeline, this was around 457 BC, so it took place when Esther was queen. It has been almost sixty years since the Jews were released from captivity and headed back to Jerusalem to rebuild it and the temple. Now, the temple was finished, dedication was made to it, and the first Passover had been kept in decades, so Ezra went back to Babylon. Word got out that things were not going so well, so under the direction of King Artaxerxes, Ezra, was directed by the king himself to return to Jerusalem to instruct the people in the laws of God.
[Ezra 7:1,6-7,9-10 Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, 6 This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given: and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him. 7 And there went up some of the children of Israel, and of the priests, and the Levites, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinims, unto Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king. 9 For upon the first day of the first month began he to go up from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month came he to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him. 10 For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.]
[For upon the first day of the first month began…on the first day of the fifth month came] It took Ezra four months to reach Jerusalem, this was done so that Ezra had time to study the Scriptures and prepare his heart to teach the people the more effectively. The world and quite frankly many Christians do not understand the time that God uses to prepare His teachers hearts into the studying of the Scriptures so that they can be effective instructors of His Word, [2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.]
Ezra, accounts that his heritage goes all the way back to Aaron, he was also a scribe, so Ezra, not only made sure that every copy written of the Word of God was accurate, he also penned several books under the inspiration of God, including the Chronicle books. The Bible is not meant to be just read through one time, it is meant to be continuously so that as we mature in our walk with Christ we are better able discern the truth from the lies in regards to God. Before Ezra headed to Jerusalem, Artaxerxes, had a decree made that gave Ezra the authority to do whatever he needed to do to get the temple in order.
[Ezra 7:13-15,17-18 I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee. 14 Forasmuch as thou art sent of the king, and of his seven counsellors, to enquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of thy God which is in thine hand; 15 And to carry the silver and gold, which the king and his counsellors have freely offered unto the God of Israel, whose habitation is in Jerusalem, 17 That thou mayest buy speedily with this money bullocks, rams, lambs, with their meat offerings and their drink offerings, and offer them upon the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem. 18 And whatsoever shall seem good to thee, and to thy brethren, to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, that do after the will of your God.]
[which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem,] Artaxerxes, may not have known the Word of God, or realized that He is everywhere, but he did know where he could find Him and that everyone has the freewill to choose God. The king goes on to encourage them, but he also commands Ezra to do whatever it takes to make sure they are obeying God’s Word.
[Ezra 7:25-27 And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God, that is in thine hand, set magistrates and judges, which may judge all the people that are beyond the river, all such as know the laws of thy God; and teach ye them that know them not. 26 And whosoever will not do the law of thy God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily upon him, whether it be unto death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment. 27 Blessed be the LORD God of our fathers, which hath put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem:]
[for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king] The king was not ignorant to the fact that if he did anything to provoke God or His people then it would all fall on him and the nation. Through a parable Jesus said, [Luke 18:2-5 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: 3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. 4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; 5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.]
The world does not help God’s faithful because they are necessarily Christians, they do so so they do not have to face the wrath of God. Now, after Ezra received the call from the king to assemble a group of people willing to go to Jerusalem he was a little overwhelmed because over seventeen hundred men volunteered to go to Jerusalem with him. He knew that God was with him and would guide him in the right direction, but it was not going to be easy. He also realized that there were no Levites who came that were able to do the duties of maintaining the temple. So, before going any further the entire team fasted and prayed while they waited for some men who would be able to minister in the temple.
[Ezra 8:1-2,13-16 These are now the chief of their fathers, and this is the genealogy of them that went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king. 2 Of the sons of Phinehas; Gershom: of the sons of Ithamar; Daniel: of the sons of David; Hattush. 13 And of the last sons of Adonikam, whose names are these, Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and with them threescore males. 14 Of the sons also of Bigvai; Uthai, and Zabbud, and with them seventy males. 15 And I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava; and there abode we in tents three days: and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi. 16 Then sent I for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and for Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, and for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, chief men; also for Joiarib, and for Elnathan, men of understanding.]
[I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi.] There were plenty of priests that volunteered, but there were no laborers. Christ’s Church consists of more than just preachers and teachers, there are also those who assist in the building of it, those include singers, musicians, prayer warriors, cooks, ushers, janitors, electricians, plumbers, contractors, and the list goes on. It takes a body of Christians to build the church, [Romans 12:4-5 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: 5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.]
[Ezra 8:21-22,31-32 Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance. 22 For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him. 31 Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way. 32 And we came to Jerusalem, and abode there three days.]
[For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers] Ezra, felt so embarrassed that he went to the king first instead of God that he felt it was necessary to hold a fast to get right with God. Remember, God’s ways are not often our ways, so what is right in our eyes may not be necessarily right in His, especially when it comes to His Church. He wants to be a part of every decision we make, in fact, He wants us to go to Him first before anyone else and ask Him how to handle the matter, [Philippians 4:6-7 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.]
When Ezra and the people arrived in Jerusalem they expected to see at least a few of the Jews and the Levites obeying the Law. Instead, it was just the opposite, the moral and spiritual condition in Jerusalem was terrible, many of the priests were actually married and had kids with women who were not even Jews.
[Ezra 9:1-3 Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 2 For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass. 3 And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied.]
[plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied.] He did not shave his head or beard, but literally began plucking his hair out. This was to show his extreme sorrow over learning that not only he Levites, but priests were married to people who were not even Jews. He was just applauded at the ingratitude of the people, after such favors were shown them, in returning them from captivity unto their own land, and settling them there, they should give into practices so contrary to the will of God.
[Ezra 9:6-8,10 And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens. 7 Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day. 8 And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage. 10 And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments,]
[now, O our God, what shall we say after this?] In other words, “How do we thank You God for all the good that He has done? We go against Your Word.” This is the same as a saved, born again Christian deliberately choosing to live in sin based on the fact that sin is justified through their faith in Christ. God, does not work that way, yes, we are justified of sin through our faith in Christ, but we are not to take that for granted. And if we have done anything out of ignorance then we need to repent and turn away from it. Keep in mind that Old Testament saints nearly followed the same pattern as we do today. Ezra, goes on to point out that no one received of their sin what they truly deserve.
[Ezra 9:13-15 And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this; 14 Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping? 15 O LORD God of Israel, thou art righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before thee because of this.]
[our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve,] While we have certainly not received the punishment we deserve for our sin, we all need to take our salvation more seriously since it is Jesus who suffered through the pain and even died for our sin. We are to set the Godly example and cannot expect the world to go in the way they should go without first going the way we ought to go ourselves, [Psalms 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: (24) And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.]
When the people learned of their sin, they actually did go to Ezra to find out what they had to do to get right with God. Ezra, did the only thing that he could do, he prayed to God for an answer. Now, came the hard part. Would they follow the Law as they said they would?
[Ezra 10:1-3 Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore. 2 And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing. 3 Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law.]
[let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives,] Amazingly, one by one, each man who felt convicted, agreed to present himself with his wife and children before the court to determine whether or not they served God or a false god. If they were not following God, then they would agree to get a divorce and separate from them forever.
[Ezra 10:7-9,13 And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem unto all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together unto Jerusalem; 8 And that whosoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the congregation of those that had been carried away. 9 Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month; and all the people sat in the street of the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the great rain. 13 But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand without, neither is this a work of one day or two: for we are many that have transgressed in this thing.]
[whosoever would not come within three days…his substance should be forfeited,] This is similar to our salvation only we do not know how long we have. We have a choice, believe in the Gospel of Christ and go on to receive our inheritance into then Kingdom of God or forfeit the Kingdom and lose it forever.
[John 3:16-19 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (17) For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (18) He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (19) And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.]
Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [Ezra 8:31 Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way.]
Today’s Prayer: God, You know there have been times in my life when I sunk so deep into my past that I could not breathe anymore, but Your hand always pulled me back up. Thank You, for loving me and not forsaking me, for holding me up, even when I wanted to fall. Thank You, for Your endless mercy and grace, it truly endures, and thank You for always being there for me, even when I wanted to give up. Lord, I need You to get through each day, pour Your Spirit upon me and fill me with Your love, mercy, grace, strength, and wisdom. Help me to get through each day, uplifted and encouraged, knowing that You are always with me, have a purpose for everything I go through, and have something great in store for me. Since Your thoughts are much higher than my own, search my heart, know my thoughts, and lead me in the way You would have me to go. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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