by Bryan D. Estelle, Ph.D.
First published in
Evangelium, Vol. 2, Issue 3, May/June 2004
“Now Ezra had prepared his heart to study the law of the Lord,
to do it, and to teaching statute and ordinance in Israel” (v.
10)
I find myself turning to Ezra 7 again and again. The treasure
and influence of a very godly man is set before us in the life
of Ezra. During the restoration of Israel from her Babylonian
exile (586 B.C.), he played a crucial role. Yet for all his
virtue Ezra was but a sinful man. Thanks be to God that Ezra
points to another teacher.
Ezra’s life directs our gaze to Christ. He is what we would
call a type of Christ. Types in Scripture demonstrate that Old
Testament events, individuals, and institutions (the types)
often looked beyond themselves for their ultimate fulfillment
and interpretation in the antitypes (i.e., the things they
pointed forward to). In other words, the Old Testament types
prefigured in shadowy form things to come. For example, Ezra is
a type—his teachings pointed forward to the ultimate teacher of
God’s people: Jesus Christ.
Ezra’s Instruction
The subject of the genealogy in Ezra 7:1-5 is picked up in verse
6 with “this Ezra.” The text goes on to say that he “came up
from Babylon. He was a teacher well versed in the Law of Moses.”
The real emphasis of the Semitic word, “well versed,” here in
this context is to be skilled, which includes both an element of
speed and knowledge.
There are three things I want you to take note of in verse
10: Ezra studied the law of God; Ezra practiced the law of God;
and finally, Ezra taught the law of God. First, one must study!
Ezra needed to know what the Word said, what it taught, and what
principles it stated. First, Ezra needed to know God’s word.
This is also the minister’s first great task. It will not be an
easy one in the midst of all the pressures of ministry.
Nevertheless, the minister must do it, he must do it with all
his energy, and the congregation must encourage him to do it. In
short, the minister is called to be a student of Holy Scripture,
a man principally of one book. Secondly, notice that the
minister is to practice God’s law. Ezra didn’t hold the great
and sublime verities of God’s truth suspended in his mind with
no consequences bearing upon his own soul. No, he practiced what
he studied. He allowed his own conscience to be smitten before
he was willing to let the life-changing Word haunt the souls of
those over whom he was given charge. What he studied would
become incumbent upon him to apply it to his own life before he
applied it to others. Since Ezra had studied the law of God
and practiced it himself, he was ready to teach its statutes and
ordinances to others. This is the third element that this verse
prioritizes: teaching. By keeping this right order (when called
for) the minister saves himself and others from error and
injury. Here in the Old Testament—in Ezra’s work and ministry—is
an order for ministers to follow: first study, then observance
(i.e., practice), followed by teaching. As one British scholar
has so adroitly commented, “With study, conduct and teaching put
deliberately in this right order, each of these was able to
function properly at its best: study was saved from unreality,
conduct from uncertainty, and teaching from insincerity and
shallowness.” (1)
Ezra’s Eschatology
We began by focusing upon the life and instruction of Ezra.
Having examined this, I’d like briefly to stand back and look at
the context with respect to the book as a whole. If you read
through the book of Ezra, you may notice a lot of concentration
on legal precision and conscription (e.g., Ezra 3 & 10).
However, this was not an end in and of itself. Rather, there is
here a second-exodus motif working towards cleansing the land
and the temple. Let me explain. During this period in Israel’s
history, Judah had been banished from the Promised Land and
lived in exile under foreign rule. The prophets often borrowed
the language and imagery from the first exodus (Ex 14-15) and
spoke of a future exodus (e.g., Isa 40:3-5; 43:14-21; 55:12-13;
Jer 50:33-38 etc…). They declared that God would lead the
Israelites out of bondage again, this time from the captivity of
Babylon. As a result, when Ezra comes on the scene and leads
Judah’s restoration in the Promised Land, we realize that we
have a partial fulfillment of those prophetic expectations.
The purpose of Ezra’s teaching, however, was not merely to
reestablish the theocracy in Judah after returning from Babylon
as some historians argue. The book’s emphasis is not on
suppressing the previously mentioned prophetic hopes. In fact a
close reading of the text demonstrates that Ezra does not simply
look back to the glory of Solomon’s kingdom but also points
forward. For example, observe the edict in Ezra 7:12 ff. as a
starting point. The language concerns the house or dwelling of
God which is in Jerusalem. Here is the desire for pure and
effective worship among the Jewish people over and against the
worship of foreign gods. There is a return to the religion of
old; but there is something more. For example, holiness is no
longer merely restricted to some special place such as the
temple; rather, holiness is expanded and extends beyond the
temple itself. (2) This anticipates something greater to come (e.g. Jn 4:21; Eph 2:19-22). Furthermore, if you take a close look
at the prayers in the book of Ezra (e.g., Ezra 9:8), you will
notice, in the midst of reflections on the past, another
forward-looking emphasis. The time references (e.g., God gives a
“little relief” in our bondage) shows that relief has not come
in its fullness. It’s only temporary. In addition, the reference
to a “a secure place,” (literally “a tent peg”) is meant to
connote a firm anchor of stability for the community; however,
the notion also alludes to something that is transient since it
probably refers to the nomadic practice of staking a tent. There
is no final satisfaction here that these Israelite travelers
have indeed arrived at their final destination, for this rebuilt
temple is not the final temple. Rather, there is in the book of
Ezra the recognition that believers are aliens and strangers
here on earth: pilgrims pressing towards a heavenly city “whose
architect and builder is God” (Heb 11:10).
Conclusion
Ezra has set forth some fine points for ministers and teachers
in the days to come.
Ezra has beautifully set the right prioritization of duties:
first study, then practice, and then—and only then—teaching it
to others. The book of Ezra also reminds us that he respected
the forward-looking nature of God’s plan. In other words, the
Scriptures look forward to another place, another time, and
especially another man. You know that Ezra was only a man. He
was sinful. Yet, there was another man, not a mere man, that
Ezra’s life and theology ultimately point forward to. He is
Christ. This Christ is a man unlike the Pharisees. This is one,
who when he taught, caused the people to marvel at his teaching
and say, “Here is one who teaches with authority, not like the
other Scribes and Pharisees.” Surely here was a teacher who
practiced what he preached. Surely here was a preacher who never
laid upon people’s conscience an untimely spoken word. Here was
a teacher who spoke only truth and never, ever, did a false word
issue forth from his lips. Here was a teacher who never failed
to practice everything perfectly which he had steeled himself to
study in Holy Scripture. “Who is sufficient for these things?”
we cry out with the Apostle. Not us. Only Christ. However, may
God grant to all ministers in our Churches, the ability to trust
in and depend upon this Divine-human teacher, in whom all their
shortcomings in their own study, practice, and teaching are
washed away. Christ is our penalty payer and our probation
keeper. May God grant to all ministers in our Churches the grace
to constantly lay hold of that alien righteousness, which Ezra
merely shadows and points forward to, which alone can cover all
of their deficits and demerits. May God grant ministers this
grace so that they may proclaim with the apostle Paul, “We
proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom,
so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I
labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works
in me” (Col 1:28, NIV).
Footnotes
1 Derek Kidner, Ezra and
Nehemiah: An Introduction and Commentary (TOTC; Leicester: IVP,
1979), 62 [back to text]
2 For a development of this
theme and others, see Tamara Cohn Eskenazi, In An Age of Prose:
A Literary Approach to Ezra-Nehemiah (SBLMS 36; Atlanta,
Georgia: Scholars Press, 1988). [back to text]
© 2004
Westminster Seminary California All rights reserved
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