Ezra 7:6 Commentary and Bible Study

Evidently Ezra had made an application and a proposal to the emperor of the Medo-Persian Empire, that he would now lead a party to go back to Jerusalem with further returnees, and hasten all the work that needed to be done there. He was known at court; you get hints of this through the book. He was known to the emperor, and he makes this application. But you wonder how much Esther had to do with this, because between chapters 6 and 7 of the book of Ezra, chronologically, comes the Book of Esther. Ahasuerus, the king, in the book of Esther, is the father of Artaxerxes here in the book of Ezra. So when Ezra makes his application to the emperor, did Esther, his father’s wife, have something to do with the king’s mind being favourable towards it? Well, it's only speculation, but is very tempting speculation. ‘The king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the Lord his God upon him.’ That's a marvellous statement – ‘according to the hand of the Lord his God upon him.’ What were Ezra’s qualifications? He was a priest and he was a scribe: ‘He was a ready scribe.’ The modern versions put it differently, but ‘ready’ comes from fluid or quick scribe. Obviously he was erudite. He was very accomplished in the law of Moses, and preached and expounded it publicly. We can build a picture of his character: able, efficient, not necessarily mighty, noble, but trustworthy and able to inspire the confidence of the king that he could rule. He was a man who was careful, meticulous, having powers of observation. He does all to the utmost of his ability. We have observed that he was skilled in the understanding and exposition of the law. In verse 10, you see this amplified: ‘For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgement.’ This was in his heart and he had the qualifications to do it. He evidently prayed for faithfulness. He prayed to see the applications of the word. He prayed for effectiveness in teaching them, to make them memorable and to help people to see the necessity of obeying them. He complied with them himself. As in 1 Timothy 3 – though this is centuries before – Ezra was called; he was ratified by the priests and the Levites. They all agree with him in this chapter that he is the man who should go. He is equipped by God and given ability to teach. He is confirmed by his behaviour – he is a man of holiness. All the things that you find in 1 Timothy 3 are here in the qualifications of Ezra also. He is endorsed by the people and many go with him, and he is circumstantially approved – he gets this great letter from the king and all the authority he needs to go on this mission; he is nominally an envoy for the king. The passage tells us that he is given the task of enquiring, of making a report, an assessment. He is going to go back to court of Artaxerxes and say exactly what the situation in Jerusalem is. But while there he is given the authority and the funding to advance the construction work. The temple is already built, and it's been opened, but now other work has to be done in the city.