Ezra 7:6-7 "This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given: and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him. (7) And there went up some of the children of Israel, and of the priests, and the Levites, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinims, unto Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king."
"This Ezra... was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the LORD God
of Israel had given." We must remember they had been in captivity
for 70 Years in a strange land that was filled with idolatrous worship. Yet, in
that ungodly atmosphere there were those who remembered the Lord their God and
maintained worship in their lives. Ezra had maintained his stance of studying
the Word of God (law of God) and was fully qualified to teach it to
others. Some of the children of Israel who were practiced in the various
stances of worship went with him. There were priests, Levites, singers,
door keepers, and temple servants who went with him.
"For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do
it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments." (Ezra 7:10)
These passages tell us that even in the dark times of Israel's captivity
there were those who maintained their stand for God. We know this is true as we
read in the book of Daniel about the three Hebrew children who were cast into
the fiery furnace and Daniel who was cast into the den of lions. We know
this is true as we read about Esther being used by God to save her people. We
read of Nehemiah who returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall. And now we see Ezra
was among that group. But then we read about the priests, Levites,
singers, doorkeepers and temple servants. We can learn from these
individuals that even in trying times, we must stay the course of worship and
praise unto our Lord. God had "reserved unto Himself" a people
who worshipped Him in that strange land of captivity.
My thoughts for today concern each of us. We live in a time that seems to
be growing darker and more dreary by the day. We are being pressured to release
our hold on that which is most important in our lives: worship and fellowship
with our Lord. The pressure may at times seem subtle. Satan knows how to
draw our attention away from God to the things of the world that take us into a
cloud of darkness in our minds. It behooves us to maintain ourselves in
the worship and praise of the Almighty God and our Saviour, Jesus Christ, for
He is the Light of the world. I close with the words of our precious
Lord and Saviour, "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good
cheer; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33) And then let us be
reminded of the Word of God which encourages us through the Apostle Paul,
"We are more than conquerors through him that loved us." (Romans
8:37)