Ezra 7:10

New King James Version (NKJV)

For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.

For Meditation

The first batch of exiles had returned to Jerusalem from Babylon. The city was in ruins, the temple was destroyed, the sacrificial worship was non-existent, and the city wall was a pile of rubble. Under the leadership of Zerubbabel, the temple was rebuilt and dedicated. Attention now turned to the spiritual situation of the returnees. They needed excellent instructions in the word of God, as they renewed themselves in Him. God appointed a “skilled scribe in the Law of Moses” and gave him favor with the king of Persia, who “granted him all his request” to facilitate his journey to Jerusalem for that purpose. His name was Ezra, a direct descendant of Aaron (Ezra 7:1-6).. This “Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel” (10).

1. Do you see the preparedness God requires for the teaching of His word?
2. With so much moral filth in the world and the spread of liberal thought in the church today, do you recognize the great need for teachers like Ezra, who have committed their lives to study the word and to abide in it as a lifestyle?
3. As a member of the royal priesthood, can the Lord count on you as a devoted instructor of His word (1 Peter 2:9)?
4. Have you devoted yourself to the study and obedience of the word of God? Can you add teaching to those two devotions in your church (Ezra 7:10; 2 Tim. 2:15)? Haven’t you noticed the need in the children’s ministry, Sunday school, the youth and the small Bible study fellowships?
5. Do you know that as you commit to these three disciplines, you position yourself for a healthy spiritual growth, with Christ-likeness as your goal (Eph. 4:12-13)?

I pray you consider the teaching ministry in your church and commit to the rigors of its discipline.

May the gracious hand of God that was upon Ezra and guided him safely from Babylon to Jerusalem to revive the teaching ministry of the priesthood, rest upon you as you prepare yourself for the discharge of your priestly ministry of teaching!

Shalom