Ezra, the Believer
Ezra 7:1-10 Ezra was a scribe, skilled in the Law of Moses. He requested that King Artaxerxes of Persia send him to Jerusalem to support the temple there.
Ezra 8:21-36 Ezra didn’t want to ask for an escort from the king, but instead wanted to put his trust in God to protect him (and the money) on their five month journey.
Ezra, the Teacher
Nehemiah 8:1-14 Ezra taught the people, reading from God’s book and helping the people understand it. He helped them both to learn the doctrine as well as how to practice their faith. He supervised the celebration of Sukkot (the Feast of Booths).
Ezra, the Revivalist
Deuteronomy 7:1-6 God had forbidden Israel from intermarrying the inhabitants of the land of Canaan.
Jeremiah 7:16-18; 11:11-14; 14:11-12; Ezekiel 8:5-18; Psalm 106:34-47 Repeatedly, God’s people ended up falling into idolatry and worshipping the gods of the land, which is why he evicted them for seventy years. In Ezra’s time, the people had been back in the land for approximately eighty years.
Ezra 9:1-15 Ezra can’t believe that the people are going right back into marrying these same peoples that brought idolatry into Israel in the past. They barely survived the exile, and it’s like the people have no clue.
Ezra 10:1-14 Amazingly, the people responded in repentance, paving the way for a legacy of faithfulness to God. After Ezra’s stand, we never hear about Israel worshipping other gods in the rest of biblical history.
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