Use God's Wisdom

Read Ezra 7-8
 
Ezra 7:25-26 “And you, Ezra, are to use the wisdom your God has given you to appoint magistrates and judges who know your God’s laws to govern all the people in the province west of the Euphrates River. Teach the law to anyone who does not know it. 26 Anyone who refuses to obey the law of your God and the law of the king will be punished immediately, either by death, banishment, confiscation of goods, or imprisonment.”
 
TO help us understand the events of the “end-of-exile books” – Haggai, Ezra, Zechariah, Esther, Malachi and Nehemiah (next), it helps to know these history and prophecy books were written from about 540 – 430 BC. The priest Ezra wrote Ezra 1-6 as an historian to record the events of the first years the Jews returned. Ezra 7 begins 57 years later.  
   Haggai and Zechariah also tell of the first people who returned under Zerubbabel, the governor, and Jeshua, the priest. Esther’s story occurred during the 57 years between Ezra 6 and 7. The Temple was completed also in 515 BC.
   Then God moved Ezra to Jerusalem be a scribe and a teacher. He had no special position in Persia. God touched Ezra to go and Artaxerxes to send him. Writing and teaching were Ezra’s gifts. That’s why the king encouraged him to use the wisdom your God has given you to lead and teach.
   One lesson we must continually grasp as we journey through the Bible is this teaching from the apostle Paul: Romans 13:1a all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. We see this in Egypt and through the years of the Divided Kingdom. During the exile, God particularly used Babylon’s prideful Nebuchadnezzar to declare God’s majesty. He has equipped the Persian rulers Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes to order the Jews to return home to rebuild the Temple. Artaxerxes even seems to have spoken here as a prophet. He is a man of the law who knows the law’s primacy. An absolute ruler required absolute obedience. The LORD God was not Artaxerxes’ god, but the Persian king knew he is the Jews’ absolute God. His message to Ezra was clear then and remains sure today. What else must we do but use our wisdom to know the law, teach the law and enforce the law?
          King Jesus commands us to do exactly that in his authority. Matthew 28:18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” One thing we often miss in this “Great Commission” is Jesus’ declaration of his authority. He is absolute King of the church. His commands are clear. Make disciples. Baptize. Teach the new disciples to obey. Jesus has given us the command to go. And Scripture is clear elsewhere he will punish deliberate disobedience. We must be wise to know Jesus’ truths and disciplined in Jesus’ authority to teach his absolute commands. In this all believers will enjoy his grace, so we will live in the house of the LORD forever (Psalm 23:6b)
​