this Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses that the LORD, the God of Israel, had given, and the king granted him all that he asked, for the hand of the LORD his God was on him.
Sixty years of silence separate Ezra 6 from Ezra 7, and then Ezra arrives — a priest by birth whose request a foreign emperor grants in full. Two questions follow: what made him fit for the work, and why did the king say yes?
Priest by birth, scribe by study
Ezra held two things at once: a priest's office and a working knowledge of God's law. They did not reach him by the same route.
The Christian's FriendHe became a priest by birth and consecration; but he only became "a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses that the LORD, the God of Israel, had given," by personal study of the Word. So even among the Jews, an inherited office could not give a man what he needed to carry it out. That could only come from time spent alone with God in the Scriptures. Being consecrated gave the priest the right, by grace, to serve before God. But his service pleased God only when he did everything in obedience to the Word, and he could not teach at all unless he himself knew the mind of God. Neglect of this teaching side of their office led the priesthood into failure and corruption.
The law God gave
The verse does not simply say "the law of Moses." It adds who stood behind it. That clause answers a question about where the law came from.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinEzra was "a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses that the LORD, the God of Israel, had given." A blessed testimony that the Law of Moses was given by God, and not put together piece by piece, corrected, revised and added to by different hands.
The word, not power
What God sent His people was not a display of strength. It was a man who knew what God had said.
J. N. DarbyThe way God stepped in through Ezra's mission is, I think, a touching proof of His loving-kindness. It suited exactly what the people needed. It was not power. Power had been moved elsewhere. It was the knowledge of God's will and His commands — the mind of God in the word.
Who moved the king
Ezra asked; Artaxerxes granted. The verse gives the reason, and it is not Ezra's skill at asking.
Edward DennettEzra showed himself to be a true man of faith. He traced everything up to God. He lost sight of himself, and to his soul God was everything. It was not his request (v. 6) that moved the king to act. It was God who put the thing into the king's heart. It was not Ezra's influence that commended him to the king and his princes. It was God who showed him mercy in front of them.
The hand all through the book
"The hand of the LORD his God" is not a one-off phrase in this book. It runs through Ezra's story like a refrain, and it reaches past him.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinWe meet this phrase many times (7:6, 9, 28; 8:18, 22, 31), and it shows how this man of God trusted the LORD for guidance. He saw His hand when Artaxerxes granted all he asked. It was the good hand of God that brought him to Jerusalem (7:9). His hand strengthened him (7:28)... The same hand that was for good upon Ezra, guiding, keeping and shielding him, is still upon all His people who trust Him and obey His Word.
An open door for a set heart
The order matters. Ezra's inward purpose came first; the king's permission followed. That is the pattern writers draw out for anyone waiting on circumstances to change.
William KellyIn the book we are looking at, king Artaxerxes is a picture of someone who sets an open door before Ezra. Yes, but Ezra had set his heart 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 any ground to complain about circumstances if only our heart is right with the Lord. The Lord can and will take care of all else.
Summary
- Hand — the key. The verse gives one reason for everything Ezra received: God's hand was on him. Nothing else explains it.
- Hand prepares. Birth made Ezra a priest. Study made him a scribe skilled in the law. An office never supplies the fitness to use it.
- Hand gives the word. The God of Israel gave the law; no chain of editors pieced it together. What the people needed was that word, not power.
- Hand moves kings. It was not Ezra's request or influence that won Artaxerxes over; God put it into the king's heart.
- Hand opens doors. Set your heart to do God's will, and He arranges the circumstances. Then there is no ground to complain about them.