Ezra Characther Overview

Ezra was a priest living in Babylon in the post-exile era in Jewish history. Ezra was introduced in Ezra chapter 7 during the 7th year of King Artaxerxes, roughly 80 years after King Cryus allowed the Jews to return back to Israel in Ezra chapter 1. Some stayed in Babylon, and others returned back the homeland of their ancestors.

Ezra 7:10 CSB [10] Now Ezra had determined in his heart to study the law of the Lord, obey it, and teach its statutes and ordinances in Israel.

Ezra had dedicated his life to studying God’s law. He was called by Artaxerxes to teach his people God’s word and remind them of their past. Ezra leaves Babylonia and read God’s law to the Jews at the holy city. Ezra is briefly featured in the book he’s named after, but here are some key takeaways we can learn from Ezra.

1. Ezra was a student of God’s Word

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As previously stated, Ezra was a man who not only knew the law but he applied it to his heart. It’s one thing to know the bible, but it’s another thing to live out the commands from the bible. This is inspirational to me as someone who plans to pastor a church one day.

Even if you’re not called into vocational ministry, Ezra is a good example of what it means to live a life that honors God in a secular environment. Ezra was under an ungodly king who ceased to rebuild Jerusalem due to some false accusations from Rehum in Ezra chapter 4. King Artaxerxes was known by historians to be pretty ruthless and had thought to himself as a god. Unlike King Nebuchadnezzar (the man who took the Jews away from home and forced them to worship him over 100 years earlier), Artaxerxes, along with the other Persian kings, allowed them to worship their God back in their homeland as long as they behaved.

1 Peter chapter 2 is a reminder of how we as Christians are supposed to submit to authority regardless of whether the person is a Christian (in Ezra’s case Jewish) or not. Ezra was faithful to the king and his God, which allowed him certain privileges that many Jews didn’t have.

When we aspire to live a God honoring life in a secular (non religious) environment. We are showing the world why our God is so great. Artaxerxes may not have been a born-again believer, but at least he can acknowledge the greatness of the God of Israel when he sees a man of moral excellence. Ezra didn’t just believe in God, but he feared God. Not being afraid of fear, but fear as in taking God’s word seriously.

2. Ezra took a stand against sin

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In Ezra chapter 9, Ezra rebukes the Israelites for marrying pagans. Interacial marriage wasn’t exactly forbidden in the Old Testament (Ruth With Boaz, Moses with Miram, and Uriah with Bathsheba are examples of interacial marriages that honored God). The problem with Jews marrying Gentiles is that it usually leads to idolatry. Solomon had Gentile wives and ended up worshipping false gods, which is the case here.

Polygamy would be pretty extreme in today’s Western Judeo-Christian society. Outside of Fundamentalist Mormans, you are not going to see people with multiple wives in the US. There are sins that have become socially acceptable in the last few decades that God finds disgusting. Homosexuality, Transgenderism and Abortion are celebrated in our culture.

If we speak badly about those three sins I just listed, you could lose your job, be labeled a bigot, or you could be arrested. We must not be discouraged from taking a stand against sin. Ezra wasn’t shy about calling out his people to repentance. Isreal in that day had turned their hearts toward other gods. To equate that in modern times, we have seen churches bow to the knee of the LGBTQ community, bow to the knee of abortion, bow to the knee of greed, bow to the knee of adultery, bow to the knee of fornication, bow to the knee atheism, etc. Ezra stood his ground even if that meant forcing the Jews to get divorced in Ezra chapter 10 because he felt those marriages were illegitimate.

3. Ezra lived a life honorable before his ruler

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Ezra, much like his contemporary Nehemiah, worked under Artaxerxes before having permission to return back to Jerusalem.

Ezra 7:6 CSB [6] #— #came up from Babylon. He was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses, which the Lord, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted him everything he requested because the hand of the Lord his God was on him.

Ezra was favored by the king because he saw Artaxerxes as a ruler handpicked by His God. They may not agree with each other when it came to religious beliefs, but He understood the idea of God’s people being in submission unto worldly authority.

He had examples like Daniel and Joesph to look to as Hebrews who had non Hebrew bosses. Ezra saw this as an opportunity to demonstrate the greatness of His God by living a life honorable toward the leader of the Persian empire. The Persians were laxed when it came to religious freedom. It motivated Ezra to remain humble as they were still technically slaves.

Ezra 9:9 CSB [9] Though we are slaves, our God has not abandoned us in our slavery. He has extended grace to us in the presence of the Persian kings, giving us relief, so that we can rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.

We are fortunate to live in a country that has upheld a Christian worldview for the most part in the last 250 years. We may not be a theocracy, but we have more privileges as Christians than the rest of the world.

This motivates me to continue to live a life of integrity at my secular job as a bagger. When I’m working hard, doing the right thing, showing up on time, following the company’s rules, and making customers happy, it makes my boss see the greatness of my God.

1 Peter 2:13-17 CSB [13] Submit to every human authority because of the Lord, whether to the emperor as the supreme authority [14] or to governors as those sent out by him to punish those who do what is evil and to praise those who do what is good. [15] For it is God’s will that you silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good. [16] Submit as free people, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but as God’s slaves. [17] Honor everyone. Love the brothers and sisters. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

Conclusion

Hope this encourages you to live a life with integrity among outsiders so that we are able to shine the light of Christ in us.

Matthew 5:14-16 CSB [14] “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. [15] No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. [16] In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

1 Peter 2:12 CSB [12] Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that when they slander you as evildoers, they will observe your good works and will glorify God on the day he visits.