Monday 18th May
Read Ezra 7:1-10
“After these things, during the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, 2 the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, 3 the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth, 4 the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki, 5 the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest – 6 this Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a teacher well versed in the Law of Moses, which the Lord, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted him everything he asked, for the hand of the Lord his God was on him. 7 Some of the Israelites, including priests, Levites, musicians, gatekeepers and temple servants, also came up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.
8 Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh year of the king. 9 He had begun his journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, for the gracious hand of his God was on him. 10 For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.” (NIVUK)
‘After these things’ we jump forward nearly sixty years, maybe more, to a contemporaneous recounting of events and the times of Ezra and Nehemiah. Historically Ezra was considered by God’s people as a second Moses. Given this introduction it is easy to see why!
Ezra is provided with a reverse genealogy tracing his ancestry carefully and deliberately all the way back to Aaron. The Torah was central in his life, and, like Moses, the hand of the Lord was upon him. Twice we are told that he was skilled in understanding the law (v6), quick to grasp its complexity, because of his careful and prolonged study (v10).
The temple is now rebuilt and the festivals and religious cycles back in place yet without the glory of the Lord present in His temple something is missing. Things looked good on the outside, well-built even, but the inner renewal, driven by meditation upon the law of the Lord, demanded more.
Enter Ezra.
