It’s happens to all of us from time to time, so what do we most need when we find our hearts being hardened and distracted by the pressures and challenges of the broken world around us? We saw on Sunday morning from Ezra Chapter 7 that as God’s people were being pushed away from Him, the LORD sent them Ezra to teach them the ‘Law of the LORD’.
Remember that ‘Law’ in the Old Testament isn’t just ‘do’s’ & ‘don’ts’ but the Wisdom of God revealed for human beings to respond to Him correctly
In other words, what they needed more than anything else was to grasp all the more clearly what it looked like to know and respond to their gracious creator.
The Psalmist in Psalm 19 describes it as “reviving the soul… making wise the simple… giving joy to the heart… light to the eyes… more precious than gold…”
This wasn’t just head-knowledge, or even heart-feeling, Ezra’s example demonstrated the need for example:
Vs 10 For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord
Yet why is this important to us? The Lord Jesus made clear in Matthew Ch 5 that actually the ‘Law’ was fulfilled by and in Him: as God’s people learn more how to respond to Him, so they are pointed all the more clearly to the Saviour whom He sent.
No wonder Ezra continually described this happening as “the gracious hand of our God upon us”. (vs 6,9 & 28). It continues to be upon us as we take what He’s said and, with faith, put it into practice, with all the benefit that brings to us, and the encouragement that it is to others.
Spencer Shaw