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Ezra and his mission

Ezra was the one who compiled and canonized the Old Testament after the Babylonian captivity. He is also said to have written 1 and 2 Chronicles, the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, and even the book of Malachi.

Ezra was not among the first group of exiles who returned in 534 B.C. to rebuild the temple. No doubt he was quite young at the time. Tradition says that he was then focused upon his study of the law, for he was a descendant of Seraiah (2 kings 25:18; Ezra 7:1), the last high priest in Jerusalem prior to the captivity. If that is true, then Ezra must have been an old man when he was commissioned by Artaxerxes to go to Jerusalem in 458 B.C. (Ezra 7:11).

Ezra’s name is derived from Azar, “to help.” Jewish tradition assumes that his full name was Ezrayahu, “Jehovah Helps.” Hence, his name links him prophetically with Jehovah-Boethos, “Jehovah our Helper,” as described in a recent weblog.

https://godskingdom.org/blog/2023/05/the-names-of-god-part-13-jehovah-boethos/

Jehovah-Boethos is the name found in Hebrews 13:6, which shows that God is the helper of orphans (and all who have no one to help when injustice is done to them). Such “help” is a function of the Holy Spirit, our “Comforter” (John 14:16 KJV) or “Helper” (John 14:16 NASB). A few verses later, in John 14:18, Jesus explained the significance of this “Helper,” saying,

¹⁸ I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

The point is that Ezra prophetically represents the Holy Spirit in relation to the Judahites who were returning to their land. Just as Ezra taught them the law of God, so also the Holy Spirit writes the law in our hearts (Hebrews 8:10). Perhaps we can say that Ezra put the law into their minds, but the Holy Spirit wrote the law in our hearts.

Ezra was the one who read the law to the returned exiles, bringing about a great revival. Nehemiah 8:1, 2 says,

¹ And all the people gathered as one man at the square which was in front of the Water Gate, and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the Lord had given Israel. ² Then Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men, women, and all who could listen with understanding, on the first day of the seventh month.

Ezra began reading the law (Deuteronomy) to the people on the Feast of Trumpet, “the first day of the seventh month.” We are not told whether or not trumpets were blown that day, as the law commanded in Leviticus 23:24. The focus in Nehemiah 8 is upon the reading of the law, which is the equivalent of blowing the trumpet.

Nehemiah 8:8, 9, 10, 12 continues,

⁸ They read from the book from the law of God translating to give the sense so that they understood the reading. ⁹ Then Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people, said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people were weeping when they heard the words of the law. ¹⁰ … Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength… ¹² All the people went away to eat, to drink, to send portions and to celebrate a great festival, because they understood the words which had been made known to them.

I believe that this is prophetic of our own time, where our Babylonian captivity is ending. We are no longer exiles in Babylon, for we have gathered at Mount Sion (Hebrews 12:22 KJV), that is, Mount Hermon (Deuteronomy 4:48), the place where Jesus was transfigured. We are called to the Mount to share in the glory of His transfiguration and to be declared sons of God (Matthew 17:5).

However, like those who returned to the land of their inheritance to rebuild the temple and the walls of Jerusalem in Ezra's day, most Christians today have not had a genuine revelation of the law (Deuteronomy in particular). They have had many Holy Spirit revivals, but the revelation of the law seems to have eluded them. More accurately, these past revivals have given the people certain portions of the law, but most still lack understanding.

In the days of Ezra, the people wept when they heard and understood the law, because they realized that they had been sinning without realizing it. Our problem today is that the church has remained ignorant of the nature of God as expressed in the law. Most have failed to understand that the Ten Commandments are the Ten Promises of God under the New Covenant.

When Deuteronomy 5:17 says, “You shall not murder,” it is a promise of God to all who (as with Abraham) believe the promises of God. In this case, it is not only about refraining from murder; it is also about not being angry with our brethren (Matthew 5:21, 22).

When Deuteronomy 5:18 says, “You shall not commit adultery,” it is a promise of God to change our nature by the work of the Holy Spirit, so that we will have no lust at all (Matthew 5:28).

When Deuteronomy 5:19 says, “You shall not steal,” it is a promise of God to change our nature so that we will have no desire to take that which belongs to others.

When Deuteronomy 5:20 says, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor,” it is a promise of God that our word will always be so true that we will never have to swear an oath to convince people that we are telling the truth (Matthew 5:33-37). They will know that “he is a man of his word,” because he is a son of God who is filled with His glory.

Ezra showed the people the meaning of the laws through Old Covenant eyes, and this was sufficient to bring about a great revival. We, however, have been given greater understanding of the law through Christ’s Sermon on the Mount. We see the law as promises and not merely as commandments.

It is good to alter one’s behavior to conform to the law of God, but yet we know that this does not change one’s heart itself. That is why we, like Paul, must “die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31). Any sacrifice that has to be repeated daily is not fully effective, nor does it represent the promise of God (Hebrews 10:11, 12). The most we can do is to alter our behavior, but the Holy Spirit works to fulfill the promises of God by changing our hearts and nature.

This is how we are to understand the law today. It is not that the law has been set aside, but rather that it is being placed inside of us. It is being transformed from external tablets of stone (or paper) to the internal tablets of the heart. Unfortunately, there is a long church tradition that claims God put away the law.

I say that some forms of the law were changed to suit the New Covenant. Animal sacrifices were replaced by the true Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, but the principle of sacrifice for sin remained intact. We just have a better Sacrifice today. The laws of cleansing rituals were all outward things that could never cleanse the conscience, but we are cleansed by the word (John 15:3), which is a better form of water (Hebrews 10:22, 23).

When God instituted something “better” (as explained in the book of Hebrews), the law was not set aside or even replaced by new laws. Only the Old Covenant was actually replaced. The Old Covenant was our vow to God; the New Covenant is God’s vow (or promise) to us. The Old Covenant failed to bring about righteousness (in the sense of perfection). But God’s promise cannot fail, because He is God.

Ezra’s mission was good in his time, but it is greater in our time. The pattern is the same, and the law is still the same in principle. He gave the people understanding of the law, which brought about a great revival. I believe that we are to do the same today, and this too will lead to the transformation of the earth, so that His glory will fill the earth “as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14).

The Roman church celebrates Ezra as a saint on July 13.