Ezra 7 & Nehemiah 8 | Devoted to God’s Word 

As we make our way through Ezra and Nehemiah, we are finally introduced to our title character: Ezra. 

This week we will meet Ezra, the man, and his mission. 

His pedigree is impressive, tracing all the way back to Aaron, the first High Priest. He is a skillful expert in the Bible and a first-rate scholar. But is he the man they really need? An academic? A Bible-nerd? 

This is exactly what they needed. After 70 years of exile, many of the Israelites would have had a fuzzy understanding of God’s law, at best. The need of the hour was an expert in God’s word to help them apply it to their lives. Ezra’s supreme task and great skill was to help God’s people bring their lives in line with God’s Word. 

Even though the people didn’t know it at the time, their greatest need was to devote themselves to loving, listening, and living out God’s Word. 

Not much has changed in 2500 years. 

That is still our greatest need today.