Ezra Leads a Religious Revival

GOLDEN TEXT: “Be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers only.”—James 1:22

ISRAEL’S downfall as a nation, and the failure of the Israelites to continue as the especially elect people of God—the chosen “seed” through which all the families of the earth were to be blessed—is attributable to their lack of faithfulness as “doers of the Word.” God gave his Word to them at the hand of Moses. An epitome of that Word is found in the Ten Commandments, and all the ramifications of the Law were comprehended there in and they constituted the basis of the Law Covenant.

When they entered into that, covenant with God, with Moses serving as mediator, they said, “All that the Lord hath said will we do.” (Exodus 19:8; 24:3,7) They agreed to be “doers of the Word,” and no doubt some did earnestly try; but only during brief intervals did the nation as a whole seem to take the Law of their God seriously. It was because of their failure to be “doers” of God’s Word which had been given to them that they were punished by their long exile in Babylon.

In addition to the exile of the people themselves, their temple had been destroyed, and Jerusalem, with its walls, had been largely demolished. In previous lessons we have noted the overruling providences of God in connection with their return to Judea, and the rebuilding of the temple and the walls of the city; the temple being rebuilt by the authority of a decree issued by King Cyrus, while the walls of the city continued in their broken down condition until eighty-two years later, when King Artaxerxes issued the necessary decree to authorize their rebuilding. It was this decree that is referred to in the prophecy of Daniel 9:25.

Both of these undertakings, important as they were at that time, were nevertheless in the material field. If their temple and city were to remain rebuilt and be used for the glory of God, there was another reconstruction program needed, a restoration of the Israelites themselves to harmony with the Law of their God, and a creating in them of a steadfast desire to remain in harmony therewith. It is with this important undertaking that our present lesson is concerned.

Ezra the scribe was evidently an ardent servant of God. He loved God, and he loved the people of God; and loving them, he wished to see them prosper by enjoying God’s blessings. He knew that during their long exile in Babylon they had lost contact with God’s Law, that probably the vast majority of those who had been born in exile knew little or nothing of that Law. It would be useless to expect them to be obedient to a law of which they had little or no knowledge; so, armed with authority from the king—authority which was implemented with a provision for obtaining necessary funds for the undertaking—Ezra journeyed from Babylon to Jerusalem, and upon arrival initiated among the Israelites an educational program designed to acquaint them with God’s Law and encourage them to be obedient to it.

NEHEMIAH 8:1-3, 5, 6, 8—On the first day of the seventh month of the year—the seventh year of the reign of King Artaxerxes—which would be about October first, the people all gathered together to hear the Book of the Law read to them. (Ezra 7:7-10; Neh. 7:73) Copies of the Law could not be made available to all so they might read it for themselves; and even if this had been possible, probably very few of the Israelites could read. Under the circumstances, therefore, Ezra chose the quickest, the most efficient means possible, to carry out his educational program.

“So they read in the book in the Law of God distinctly,” the account states, “and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.” Centuries later when the Ethiopian eunuch was reading from the 53rd chapter of Isaiah, he said that he was unable to understand unless some one should explain it to him. (Acts 8:31) This has been true in every age. God has caused his Word to be recorded by the power of the Holy Spirit, and in his providence he has arranged that his people can understand it only through the help of one another. Besides, he has provided the necessary servants, or teachers who were especially qualified to teach, to “give the sense” of the Word of God.

NEHEMIAH 10:28-32—Having heard the Law read and made plain to them, the people agreed to obey it. They made a covenant with the Lord based upon what they had just learned. At Mount Sinai the whole nation had entered into a covenant with God based upon the Law, so what occurred in Ezra’s tithe must have been merely a renewal of that covenant.

Apparently one of the most flagrant violations of the Law by the returned exiles was the inter-marrying of their daughters with the heathen, and the taking of heathen wives by their sons. The law against this practice was a necessary one in order for the nation to remain a separated people. Perhaps even more important than this was its typical significance. The antitypical, or spiritual Israelites of this age are called to be separate from the world and from worldly institutions. Thus they are to overcame the world.

QUESTIONS:

What was equally, or even more important to the returned exiles than the rebuilding of their temple and city walls?

Is the Word of God all that is needed in order for his people to understand his will?

Why was it important for the Israelites not to intermarry with the heathen?

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