O Give Me the Heart of an Ezra

Ezra was a scribe, an expert in the law of God and a teacher of that law. He was sent by King Artaxerxes to Jerusalem during the time of the rebuilding of the temple.

Ezra 7:10 gives us the key to Ezra's life and effective ministry:

"For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord, to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel."

4 things to note here:

1. Ezra had SET his heart to study and do and teach the law of the Lord. To SET meant he made a firm decision...his heart was established firmly in this direction...this was something he was deeply committed to do, regardless. Do we not often fail in our "resolutions" in spiritual things because we are not SET in our heart to do them? This SET is part of a redeemed heart (Ezekiel 36:26-27), but it is also a conscious choice. It is a conscious choice that the Holy Spirit will second and support! And it is a choice that includes the choice to NOT do things that are lesser in value and strategic importance.

2. Ezra has set his heart to STUDY the law of the Lord. This is more than casual reading. This is digging into the marrow of the Word, applying the mind and principles of study to look at parallel passages, to study the meaning of words, to follow the context, to be concerned with grammar, to know something of the history and culture of the period of the writing, etc. It means to keep notes, preserving insights. It means to do it day after day. It means to carve out a time in my schedule. Reading is important and necessary. But STUDY sucks up the minerals of life that are richly embedded in the Word.

3. Ezra set his heart to study and DO the law of the Lord. Ezra understood that knowledge of the Word was for DOING! God has not given a trivia book for the ages, He has given a manual for life for His people. A manual for LIFE!! The law, the Word, the precepts are to be DONE! Application to life is the end of true and beneficial study. My heart may be set on studying, but is it set on doing? If not, then "knowledge puffs up" (1Corinthians 8:1), and I am engaging in self-deceit, thinking I am becoming something that I am nothing (James 1). We are to be doers of the Word. Everytime I go into the Word I should be asking, "Lord, what do you want me to DO as a result of reading and studying this passage?"

4. Ezra set his heart to study and do and TEACH God's statutes and rules in Israel. Those who study and do are ready to teach and can teach with success. If I am only a walking notebook, I will only pass on dead information to others. However, if I am a doer of the Word, I can teach the living Word with all the nuances of application and wisdom that come from learning by doing. The Word learned is meant to be passed on to others. How? By teaching a class, by BLOGGING (who would have thought?), by sharing over coffee with friends, by devotions with the kids, in prayer with others, in exhortation that you give to others, in letters, in emails, etc. There are so many ways to pass it on.

May God grant to me the heart of an Ezra in 2008. And may He do the same for you.