Articles
Person Of The Week: Ezra
For Jews who had been in captivity for several decades, the prospect of going back to Canaan was so daunting that many elected to stay in foreign lands. But some accepted the challenge to return, and one such person was Ezra.
Ezra faced the rigors of a long, dangerous journey (Ezra 8). As a priest, he took on the task of teaching long forgotten lessons about God and His laws (Nehemiah 8). He tackled difficult spiritual issues such as intermarriage between Jewish men and pagan women (Ezra 10). Ezra was a successful spiritual guide and helped reshape the repatriated Israelites into an obedient people.
But the key to Ezra’s success is in Ezra 7:10: “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.” In other words, the written revelation of God was central to Ezra’s life. He found his purpose in relation to learning it, living it and teaching others to do the same.
Every man and woman in every age is challenged to make the same decision as Ezra did. What decision have you made?
