Ezra 7:10

As a scribe he must have had a good knowledge of the words he had often written, and this must have prepared his head. The preparing of his heart went much deeper than this, for it led him to "seek the law of the Lord". He really wanted to be instructed of God.

It is to the heart that God makes His revelations... Preparing the heart is everything — and this also comes from the Lord — whether for the study of the Word, for prayer, or for worship.

Ezra lived under the law of Moses. Of that law our Lord said, "Do this, and you will live" (Luke 10:28). Ezra knew well that doing it was the great thing. We are not under the law but under grace, yet we still have the apostle's instruction: "Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves" (James 1:22)... Under the law men were to obey in order to live. Under the Gospel God brings us into life so that we may do His will. It is easy to forget this, and treat Christianity as though it were simply an exalted philosophy to entertain our minds.

If Ezra prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, it was first and foremost that he might do it. He did not do it to increase his knowledge or to build his reputation as a teacher. He did it so that the law would shape his heart, his life, and his ways — so that his own walk would embody the truth... This order can never be ignored without penalty. Teaching that does not flow out of a heart subject to the truth cannot influence others. Worse, it hardens the heart of the teacher himself. This is the secret of many a failure in the Church of God.

In the days of Jesus, the teachers of the law loaded people with "burdens hard to bear," and would not touch "the burdens with one of their fingers" (Luke 11:46). Ezra was not like them. His daily life was soaked in the commands of the Word he fed on... In a word, his life and his conduct were in complete agreement with his teaching.

Ezra was not only concerned about himself: he thought of God's people. The preparation was his own — he would know and obey the will of the LORD. But his thoughts were also for the good of those who had returned from exile. Their captivity had come from neglecting God's "statutes and judgments." So these were the very things he would teach, and by keeping them they could have God's blessing.

He gave himself completely to the Word and to the work. The result was that "the good hand of his God was upon him" — and notice the word "for": it was because he had directed his heart. This holds true in every age. God's protection rests above all on those who forget themselves, depend on Him alone, and give themselves to His work without holding anything back.

King Artaxerxes is the picture of one who sets an open door before Ezra. Yes, but it was Ezra's heart that was set to do the will of God. God works all outward circumstances, and He opens the way when our heart is set on doing what is right in the sight of the Lord. We never have reason to complain about circumstances, as long as our heart is right with the Lord.