Men rule on earth whilst God reigns in heaven

Every day we’re asking four questions about part of the Bible. Today Liz Nixon answers:

What did I like about today’s passage?

Today’s verses remind me of the book of Esther, where records kept by the King enable God’s good plans to be fulfilled (even if there is a delay as seen in Ezra).

I really like Ezra. He is a descendant of Aaron and worship and prayer are a priority for him. He is known as a great teacher of the Law (even King Artaxerxes knows this!) and the chapter shows he was devoted to God’s Word - studying, practising and teaching it. He leads a time of fasting for the people, to be humble before God and to seek His blessing on their journey.

Ezra has integrity, seen when he makes sure the precious goods for the temple are weighed out carefully, both on leaving and on arrival to ensure accountability. This shows good stewardship of the articles that belonged to the Lord.

Ezra walked closely with God, and God certainly loved being gracious towards him! We see Ezra fully credits God with the favour he receives and knows he’s not simply had good luck. It was God who put it into the heart of the King to send Ezra to Jerusalem and God’s hand was on him constantly.

What did it show me about Father God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit?

I love seeing the way God works! He is sovereign, able to turn the hearts of gentile, faithless kings and use their record keeping to rebuild His temple! Chapter 7 is incredible as we see King Artaxerxes tell Ezra that he can ask for whatever he might need financially and that he can set up judges and magistrates to administer God’s justice to the people. Wow! God has worked through three Persian Kings – Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes – resulting in the return of His people to His land, the rebuilding of the Temple and worship recommencing, and preventing the annihilation of His people (see Esther!). So often the Bible focuses on random unknown and insignificant people, but God is showing His sovereignty by working through and with three powerful Kings.

God is worthy of our praise and adoration, as seen in Ezra’s prayer in 7 v 27 – 29. I can imagine his joy and excitement as he reads the letter from the king, being more and more in awe of God as the King bestows more and more favour on Ezra! It’s mentioned several times in the book that God’s gracious hand was upon Ezra and it’s obvious that God poured out favour and made the path pretty smooth for him! Ezra’s name means God helps and we see that God certainly did help Ezra and His people.

What am I going to do differently as a result?

I want to choose to believe that God can and is at work through the Kings of our time – whether our own Prime Minister, the American President or even atheist leaders like Kim Jong Un. Is there anyone through whom God cannot work His good purposes?!

Who am I going to share this with?

My husband.