Ezra 7:25

You cannot help noticing that this non-Jewish king refers everything to the will of God. To put it more exactly, he directs that everything should be ordered in submission to that will. Though he was not an Israelite, he almost seems to be in full agreement with Ezra's aim... The lesson lies on the surface. God is sovereign in the choice of His instruments. He does according to His will among the people of the earth as in the army of heaven. None can stop His hand, or say to Him, What are you doing? Our chapter illustrates this. "Artaxerxes, king of kings," and "Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of God," stand yoked together to carry out God's thoughts for His people and for His house in Jerusalem.

He shows great confidence in Ezra, a man of God. He puts the appointing of magistrates and judges for the region beyond the river into Ezra's hand (v. 25). He knows very well that godly Ezra will not choose anyone who rebels against the royal authority. He wants this man to instruct the ignorant, and for him this is the guarantee of peace for his reign (v. 25).

The king credited Ezra too with God-given wisdom. Ezra was to appoint magistrates and judges in the region west of the River, men who knew the laws of God, so as to teach the people (v. 25). So the king recognised that the land of Israel had a special place in the eyes of the God of heaven and earth. He wanted that country to give God's honour its due. He rightly saw that his whole empire would benefit if Israel gave God His place.

The way God stepped in through Ezra's mission is, I think, a touching proof of His loving-kindness. It was exactly suited to the needs of the people. It was not power. That had been moved elsewhere. It was the knowledge of the will and the ordinances of God — of the mind of God in the word. The king himself recognised this (Ezra 7:25).

In him we find no miraculous gift and no prophetic gift, such as the prophets Haggai and Zechariah had. There is no extraordinary display of divine power. He has nothing that goes beyond the common measure and ordinary resources. But his heart is devoted to the honour of the lovely name of the Lord, and he cares about the prosperity of the people. Above all, his mark is his understanding of the law of Moses, of the written Word. The Word directs him in everything, and his faith rests on the Word. He insists on the principles the Word presents. He puts them into practice, and he lets no one depart from them. In this way he earns the confidence even of the king, and this is also the only source of his authority.