Ezra 7-10: Ezra’s Blueprint For Spiritual Renewal

We trace Ezra’s return from exile, the king’s surprising support, and a people choosing slow, costly renewal. Hard seasons shape growth, and Ezra 7:10 gives us a simple pattern: study it, do it, teach it.

• royal decree funding temple worship and legal authority for Ezra
• Ezra’s pattern of study, obedience, and teaching
• fasting for protection and careful stewardship on the journey
• community confession over unfaithfulness and idolatry ties
• structured reform with local leaders and time-bound process
• the legacy question: what sums up our walk with Scripture

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Transcript

Why Returning To Scripture Matters

Growth Through Hard Seasons

Ezra And Nehemiah: Three Revivals

Artaxerxes’ Decree And Ezra’s Mission

Recruiting Levites And Preparing The Journey

The Fast, The Trek, And Safe Arrival

Confronting Unfaithfulness And National Repentance

Reform Process And Difficult Obedience

Ezra 7:10 And Our Legacy

SPEAKER_00 0:11

Hey, welcome back to the Out Loud Bible Project Podcast. This is Mike. If you enjoyed this podcast, would you be willing to give a quick review on the podcast platform that you're listening to just to help other people know if they come across this that it's worth their time. If it's been worth your time, I'm sure they would love to hear that and uh and know, maybe even share a little bit of what you've enjoyed about it. That'll help other people have more confidence to make the decision to listen to this podcast as well. And that's encouraging to me as well. So uh thanks for being here. Thanks for being a part of this and for integrating this into your regular time engaging with the Bible. So important. I I've grown so much, not just in just knowing what the Bible says, but but in applying it and growing to understand God's heart more, and and that's what it's here to do. I hope you've grown in that way as well. If you've been with me for any length of time, I hope that's been true of you. I was just before recording this today, just pausing and reflecting, man, how have I grown? How have I changed the past, say, five or six years? And it's it's been a lot, and it hasn't been easy. It has not been an easy road of growth. In fact, uh Chuck Swindall has a quote that he says, Whenever I ask someone a time to describe a time when they have grown the most, they never describe an easy time. Isn't that true? We uh we do not grow in the easy times. We do grow in the difficult times. And it's good to pause, reflect back about what all God has done. These books that we're reading right now, Ezra and Nehemiah, we're gonna read the end of Ezra later this episode. Uh, but Ezra and Nehemiah are two books now, they were one book when they were written and compiled, and they chronicle a return to God. Literally, God's people who were in exile for 70 years are now coming back to their hometown, literally and physically. But it also represents uh a revival of sorts, and it comes in three waves. Zerubbabel led a wave and started a cultural revival uh in building the temple, which of course is a is a religious center for the Jews, but it's very much a part of their culture, their worship and their putting God at the center of their whole heart as a people is very uh a cultural revival. And then Ezra, we're gonna read today, is coming back with another wave of exiles, and he's leading a spiritual revival, really one that uh we need today in the sense of hearts turning back to God, a revival of repentance, and uh as a as a people group, turning back to God with our hearts and putting prayer, putting worship, putting reading the Bible at the center of our hearts and at the center of our lives. And Nehemiah, as we'll read later, is leading a civic revival with his wave of exiles back, where he rebuilds the walls and rebuilds the systems and establishes leadership and and gets the people really right back to being a nation. So this whole story of Ezra and Nehemiah is a great example of the long and messy process that we go through when we return back to God. If you can relate to at any point to returning back to God, maybe it's just after a week or two of not reading the Bible like you used to, or missing church a couple times, or if it's been years since you really took seriously the matters of the heart of God. And well, no matter where you are, it's gonna be it's gonna be a slow process, it's gonna be a difficult process, but uh but man, the blessings of returning back to the heart of God, of aligning with God after you've been out of alignment for a while, uh are great. And so let's read Ezra 7 through 10 today in the New English translation. Well, now after these things had happened, during the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia, Ezra came up from Babylon. Ezra was the son of Sarah, who was the son of Azariah, who was the son of Hilkiah, who was the son of Shalom, who was the son of Zadok, who was the son of Ahitab, who was the son of Amariah, who was the son of Azariah, who was the son of Merioth, who was the son of Zehariah, who was the son of Uzi, who was the son of Buki, who was the son of Abeshua, who was the son of Phineas, who was the son of Eliezer, who was the son of Aaron, the chief priest. Oh, by the way, Ezra was a scribe. So he loved genealogies, he loved counting, he loved cataloging, this was his job. Don't worry, if we get too monotonous, we'll skip later. But he is saying that he is a direct descendant of Aaron the chief priest, the brother of Moses. Anyway, continuing on. This Ezra is the one who came up from Babylon. Oh, that Ezra, thank you, Ezra. Gotta love the scribes. He was a scribe who was skilled in the law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given. The king supplied him with everything he requested, for the hand of the Lord his God was on him. In the seventh year of King Artaxerxes, Ezra brought up to Jerusalem some of the Israelites, and some of the priests, the Levites, the attendants, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants. He entered Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh year of the king. On the first day of the month he had determined to make the ascent from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he arrived at Jerusalem, for the good hand of his God was on him. Now Ezra had dedicated himself to the study of the law of the Lord, to its observance, and to teaching its statutes and judgments in Israel. Ooh, what a great statement about him. So what follows is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priestly scribe. Ezra was a scribe in matters pertaining to the commandments of the Lord and statutes over Israel. Artaxerxes, King of Kings, to Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven. I have now issued a decree that anyone in my kingdom from the people of Israel, even the priests and Levites, who wishes to do so, may go up with you to Jerusalem. You are authorized by the king and his seven advisers to acquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of your God which is in your possession, and to bring silver and gold, which the king and his advisers have freely contributed to the God of Israel, who resides in Jerusalem, along with all the silver and gold that you may collect throughout all the province of Babylon and the contributions of the people and the priests for the temple of their God, which is in Jerusalem. With this money you should be sure to purchase bowls, rams, lambs, along with the appropriate meal offerings and libations. You should bring them to the altar of the temple of your God, which is in Jerusalem. You may do whatever seems appropriate to you and your colleagues with the rest of the silver and gold in keeping with the will of your God. Deliver to the God of Jerusalem the vessels that are given to you for the service of the temple of your God. The rest of the needs for the temple of your God that you may have to supply, you may do so from the royal treasury. I, King Artaxerxes, hereby issue orders to all the treasurers of Trans Euphrates, that you precisely execute all that Ezra, the priestly scribe of the law of the God of Heaven may request of you, up to one hundred talents of silver, one hundred cores of wheat, one hundred baths of wine, one hundred baths of olive oil, and unlimited salt. Everything that the god of heaven has required should be precisely done for the temple of the god of heaven. Why should there be wrath against the empire of the king and his sons? Furthermore, be aware of the fact that you have no authority to impose tax, tribute, or toll on any of the priests, the Levites, the musicians, the doorkeepers, the temple servants, or the attendants at the temple of this god. Now you, Ezra, in keeping with the wisdom of your God which you possess, appoint judges and court officials who can arbitrate cases on behalf of all the people who are in the Trans Euphrates who know the laws of your God. Those who do not know this law should be taught. Every one who does not observe both the law of your God and the law of the king will be completely liable to the appropriate penalty, whether it is death or banishment or confiscation of property or detainment in prison. Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers, who so moved in the heart of the king to so honor the temple of the Lord which is in Jerusalem, he has also conferred his favor on me before the king, his advisors, and all the influential leaders of the king. I gained strength as the hand of the Lord my God was on me, and I gathered leaders from Israel to go up with me. These are the leaders and those enrolled with them by genealogy who were coming up with me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes. And now here's a pretty long list of names and descendants and numbers of men. If you want to go check out the exact numbers, it's in Ezra chapter eight. In general, though, as I'm looking at it, it's fewer men that were in the first wave with Zerebabel. We're talking a matter of maybe a thousand or so, uh, not as many men. I had them assemble at the canal that flows toward Ahava, and we camped there for three days. I observed that the people and the priests were present, but I found no Levites there. So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemiah, Elmathan, Jerob, other Elfanon, Nathan, Zechariah, and Mesholam, who were leaders, and Joarib and Elmathan, who were teachers. I sent them to Ido, who was the leader in the place called Cassifia, and I told him what to say to Ido and his relatives, who were the temple servants in Casaphiah, so that they would bring us attendance for the temple of our God. Now, due to the fact that the good hand of our God was on us, they brought us a skilled man from the descendants of Mali, the son of Levi, son of Israel. The man was Sheriah, who was accompanied by his sons and brothers, eighteen men, and Hashabiah, along with Joshea from the descendants of Morari, with his brothers and their sons, twenty men, and some of the temple servants that David and his officials had established for the work of the Levites, two hundred and twenty of them. They were all designated by name. I called for a fast there by the Ahava Canal, so that we might humble ourselves before God and seek from him a safe journey for us, our children, and our property. I was embarrassed to request soldiers and horsemen from the king to protect us from the enemy along the way, because we had said to the king, The good hand of our God is on everyone who is seeking him, but his great anger is against everyone who forsakes him, so we uh we fasted and prayed to our God about this, and he answered us. Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests, together with Sherubiah, Hashabbiah, and ten of their brothers, and I weighed out to them the silver, the gold, and the vessels intended for the temple of our God, items that the king, his advisors, his officials, and all Israel who were present had contributed. I weighed out to them six hundred and fifty talents of silver, silver vessels worth one hundred talents, one hundred talents of gold, twenty gold bowls worth one thousand dericks, and two exquisite vessels of gleaming bronze, as valuable as gold. Then I said to them, You are holy to the Lord, just as these vessels are holy. The silver and the gold are a voluntary offering to the Lord, the God of your fathers. Be careful with them, and protect them until you weigh them out before the leading priests and the Levites and the family leaders of Israel in Jerusalem, in the storerooms of the temple of the Lord. Then the priests and the Levites took charge of the silver, the gold, and the vessels that had been weighed out, to transport them to Jerusalem to the temple of our God. On the twelfth day of the first month, we began traveling from the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from our enemies and from bandits along the way. So we came to Jerusalem. I kind of wish Ezra had included some of those stories, right? Oh well, we'll have to use our imagination. So we came to Jerusalem, and we stayed there for three days. On the fourth day, we weighed out the silver, the gold, and the vessels in the house of our God into the care of Merrimauth, son of Uriah the priest, and Eliezer, son of Phineas, who were accompanied by Josebad son of Joshua, and Noadiah son of Benui, who were Levites. Everything was verified by number and by weight, and the total weight was written down at that time. The exiles who were returning from the captivity offered burnt offerings to the Lord of Israel, twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety six rams, seventy-seven male lambs, along with twelve male goats as a sin offering. All this was a burnt offering to the Lord. Then they presented the decrees of the king to the king's satraps and to the governors of Trans Euphrates, who assisted the people in the temple of God. Now, when these things had been completed, the leaders approached me and said, The people of Israel, the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the local residents, who practice detestable things similar to those of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. Indeed, they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race has become intermingled with the local residents. Worse still, the leaders and the officials have been at the forefront of all this unfaithfulness. When I heard this report, I tore my tunic and my robe and ripped out some of the hair from my head and beard, and then I sat down quite devastated. Everyone who held the words of the God of Israel in awe gathered around me because of the unfaithful acts of the people of the exile. Devastated I continued to sit there until the evening offering. At the time of the evening offering I got up from my self abasement, with the tunic and robe torn, and then dropped to my knees and spread my hands to the Lord my God. I prayed, O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have climbed higher than our heads, and our guilt extends to the heavens. From the days of our fathers until this very day our guilt has been great. Because of our iniquities, we, along with our kings and priests, have been delivered over by the local kings to sword, captivity, plunder, and embarrassment right up to the present time. But now, briefly, we've received mercy from the Lord our God, in that He has left us a remnant and has given us a secure position in his holy place. Thus our God has enlightened our eyes and has given us a little relief in our time of servitude. Although we are slaves, our God hasn't abandoned us in our servitude, he has extended kindness to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, in that He has revived us to restore the temple of our God, and to raise up its ruins, and to give us a protective wall in Judah and Jerusalem. And now what are we able to say after this, our God? For we've forsaken your commandments which you commanded us through your servants the prophets with these words. The land that you are entering to possess is a land defiled by the impurities of the local residents. With their abominations they filled it from one end to the other with their filthiness. Therefore do not give your daughters in marriage to their sons, and do not take their daughters in marriage for your sons. Do not ever seek their peace or welfare, so that you may be strong and may eat the good of the land, and may leave it as an inheritance for your children forever. Everything that's happened to us has come about because of our wicked actions and our great guilt. Even so, our God, you have exercised restraint toward our iniquities and have given us a remnant such as this. Shall we once again break your commandments and intermarry with these abominable peoples? Would you not be so angered by us that you would wipe us out with no survivor or remnant? Oh Lord God of Israel, you are righteous, if we are left as a remnant this day. Indeed, we stand before you in our guilt, however, because of this guilt no one can really stand before you. And while Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself on the ground before the temple of God, a very large crowd of Israelites, men, women, and children alike gathered around him. The people wept loudly. Then Shechaniah, son of Jehael, from the descendants of Elam, addressed Ezra. We've been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the local peoples. Nonetheless there's still hope for Israel in this regard. Therefore let us enact a covenant with our God to send away all these women and their offspring, in keeping with your counsel, my lord, and that of those who respect the commandments of our God, and let it be done according to the law. Get up for this matter concerns you. We're with you. Be strong and act decisively. So Ezra got up and made the leading priests and Levites and all Israel take an oath to carry out this plan, and they all took a solemn oath. Then Ezra got up from in front of the temple of God and went to the room of Jehohan, son of Eliashib. While he stayed there he didn't eat food or drink water, for he was in mourning over the infidelity of the exiles. A proclamation was circulated throughout Judah and Jerusalem that all the exiles were to be assembled in Jerusalem. Everyone who did not come within three days would thereby forfeit all his property in keeping with the counsel of the officials and the elders. Furthermore, he himself would be excluded from the assembly of the exiles. All the men of Judah and Benjamin were gathered in Jerusalem within three days. It was on the ninth month on the twentieth day of that month, and all the people sat in the square at the temple of God, trembling because of this matter and because of the rains. Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, You have behaved in an unfaithful manner by taking foreign wives. This has contributed to the guilt of Israel. Now give praise to the Lord God of your fathers and do his will. Separate yourselves from the local residents and from these foreign wives. All the assembly replied in a loud voice, We will do as you have said. However, the people are numerous, and it's the rainy season, we're unable to stand here outside. Furthermore, this business cannot be resolved in a day or two, for we've sinned greatly in this matter. Let our leaders take steps on behalf of all the assembly. Let all those in our towns who have married foreign women come at an appointed time, and with them the elders of each town and its judges until the hot anger of our God is turned away from us in this matter. Only Jonathan, son of Asahel and Jezeah, son of Tikvah, were against this, assisted by Meshulam and Shabbathi the Levite. So the exiles proceeded accordingly. Ezra the priest separated out by name men who were the leaders in their family groups, and they sat down to consider this matter on the first day of the tenth month, and on the first day of the first month, when they finished considering all the men who had married foreign wives. It was determined that from the descendants of the priests the following had taken foreign wives, and then he lists by name every man who had taken a foreign wife. So soon after returning back to the Promised Land, there's about a hundred names here, and that is the end of the book of Ezra. As I've been reading this story of Ezra, I've been taking some notes here, and I think we're gonna have a really solid conversation with Kelsey tomorrow on our living out loud episode. I hope you join us there. But for now, let me just highlight Ezra 7 10. Now Ezra had dedicated himself to the study of the law of the Lord, to its observance, and to teaching its statutes and judgments in Israel. Can that be true of us? Can we dedicate ourselves to studying the Bible? This translation says to its observance, which means doing it, and to teaching people how to do it. Can we live a life so that that can sum up our life experience in one sentence? That he or she studied the Bible, did what it said, and helped others to do the same. That's a legacy worth having, and that's a thinking out loud thought for the day.