Ezra 7:9 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters | Metropolitan Tabernacle

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Ezra 7:9

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At the end of verse 9 we read, ‘according to do good hand of his God upon him.’ This is a phrase which is repeated through the chapter, right to the very end. ‘The hand of God was upon him.’ There are two things to notice: the hand of God is spoken of throughout the chapter as being upon Ezra; not upon the party, but upon Ezra. Now we don’t usually speak like this, because there is no doubt that among the Lord's people in a church today, the hand of God is upon the whole church. You don't single out the minister and say, ‘The hand of God is upon that church because it's upon him; he is special; he is unique.’ That is not a Scriptural view at all, and yet that is the way this chapter works. Because, if you're putting the focus on any instrument of God – whether it’s an individual person witnessing, whether it's a preacher – he has got to understand the level of his responsibility. It is as though the chapter is saying, if Ezra had fallen, everything would have fallen. You could write another chapter and say, if the people had fallen, everything would have fallen, but this chapter is focusing on the leader. If he falls everything will fall. He had his attitude under control and had prepared himself to carry out his commission, and his work was not for himself. He had not allowed the trappings of promotion to occupy his mind, coveting good reputation. He had rather set his mind on how to serve God. He was not even thinking how he might produce a city which would make a great impression on the people. He had rather desired the people should know God’s wonderful law, not by a show of power and outward order, but by an understanding response and sincerity. He took care not to be over-sensitive or lifted up by his circumstances; he considered the dangers power would bring and prepared his heart against the spoiling influences. This shows us first that he is keen to work according to God’s pattern. He could have said, ‘There are so few people and God has moved the emperor to give me much power. I could do it all in my own power.’ Think of the disappointment and the work involved in training the people to serve and love God in a genuine way. He could have done it all by force as a one-man band, but he didn’t. Today we see some who say it is a matter of pulpit and pews – pulpiteers. Some have only romantic idea of the office. They don’t want to worry about distributing function, and anyway lazy Christians won’t be put off if we make few demands on them. This is even justified by calling it Calvinism. Preachers only – the people not actually engaged for the Lord. But God said to Ezra, I want a genuine body of people who serve me from a right motive: he was to teach the voluntary principle.

Application

If there is anyone, and it's forming in your heart that perhaps God would have you preach or minister or be a pastor, do reckon with this: there is going to be a burden put upon you, and the burden is this: things can be said to stand or fall with you. Are you prepared to lead a separated life? Are you prepared to forego many perfectly legitimate relaxations, pleasures, associations, because that's what you're called to: to focus tirelessly on making known Christ and teaching the word of God. Are you going to be a person who would say, ‘If I am criticised, or too many people at any time are disgruntled with me for one reason or another, I will not want to do this. I'm not prepared to look for the good in their complaints.’ Or if the you are not able to get the same level of fellowship as other members of the church have with one another; if you should find yourself isolated in some way by your work of necessity, are you prepared for that? If you are called to this work, then a lot depends upon you, and you have got to stand, and you cannot falter. You have got to lead in the life of faith of the church. This is not to say that ministers are successful at this, but this is the responsibility placed upon them. Everything that happens in your life has got to be processed by faith, because you are the preacher to, or the pastor of, a company of people who have a call to live like that. Every blow, every knock, every difficulty has got to be processed by faith, and you have got to set the example in that, and never waver from it, and lead the people in the life of trust and faith. This chapter is emphasising this: the responsibility which comes upon Ezra, and he is a kind of prototype or pattern for us.

The hand of God was upon him, the direction of God. Today there are ideas going round in the churches there is no such thing as Christian guidance. Try to take your decisions in the light of the word of God, but marry who you want to; it’s your choice. Do the work you want to do; it’s your choice. No, the hand of God means the direction of God. This applies to every Christian. We must be available to God. We must be asking him what he would have us do. ‘Oh, I would prefer to do this sort of work, or that sort of work, because I enjoy this better than I enjoy that.’ Ah, but what would the Lord have us do? How will he lead? What is his will and purpose for me? ‘The hand of God’ – it is a big phrase in this book – ‘was upon Ezra’, and upon the people also, but primarily in this chapter it's upon Ezra. It is direction; it is preservation; it is a constraining hand: it presses him on. When the hand of God is upon us, we are kept moving. Human nature says to us, ‘Oh, but I have done this, I have done that, I have done something else for the Lord; now I am going to take a little rest; now I am going to switch off for a while and to coast. The hand of God is constraining. It's always there, a gentle pressure. No, you are to move forward. You can't stand still in the Christian life. You can only go forwards or backwards. The hand of God is a constraining hand. To constrain somebody is the exact opposite of to restrain somebody. Sometimes the word is used either way these days, but that's not right. If you constrain you do the opposite of restrain. You apply a forward pressure. The hand of God was upon Ezra. It kept him moving forward all the time. The hand of God sometimes restrains, and there is something you feel you would wish to do, or would like to do, and it may be noble and good, but you are frustrated by all kinds of circumstances, because God's restraining hand comes. ‘That is not for you.’ That is someone else’s calling maybe.

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Ezra 7:9 Commentary and Bible Study