Scriptural text: Ezra 7:1-10, 23-26
Ezra’s Qualifications (Ezra 7:1-6):
Ezra’s lineage is traced back to Aaron, the first priest. Since Seraiah was the high priest when Jerusalem fell in 586 (2 Kings 25:18). Ezra may have been his great grandson. Because of his priestly ancestry, Ezra, like the priests, had authority to teach. Ezra was a teacher well versed in the Law of Moses. Ezra was called a “teacher” four times. And he was called “Ezra the scribe” six times in Nehemiah (8:1,4,9,13 12:26, 36). Because of the king’s favor Ezra was promised that he could have whatever he wanted.
Spiritual Preparations (v.6).
Ezra was more than merely a priest. He is described as a scribe, or scholar, of Law of Moses. As the legal scholar of the day, scribes were highly regarded as they studied ancient law given to Moses, provided accurate interpretations, and taught it to others (compare Nehemiah 8).
Ezra’s Journey (Ezra 7:7-10).
The total number of those who traveled to Jerusalem numbered fewer than 2,000 (Ezra 8:1-14). This group included the priests, and the Levites, individuals necessary for proper worship in the newly built temple; singers and porters, necessary for rightly ordered worship, and other children of Israel. The Nethinims were individuals who had given their lives to work and minister in the temple in a non-priestly manner.
God’s Blessings (vv. 9b-10).
The arrival of the travelers to Jerusalem gave evidence that the providence and blessing of the good hand of his God was upon Ezra.
Ezra’s Obligations
What to Do (v. 23).
Whether Artaxerxes regarded Israel’s God as the one, true God is undetermined. However, at the very least, he held a high regard for the Israelites’ God. The king ordered obedience to the commands of God as they relaxed to the house of God. The expression the God of heaven admits that Ezra’s God is not just the God of Israel; this God is much greater, and Artaxerxes recognizes the scope of God’s domain.
What Not to Do (v. 24).
It was customary for the Persians not to levy taxes on priests of any kind of religious order. Decades before Ezra, Persian King Darius the Great exempted servants of the cult of Apollo from paying taxes and tribute to the state. Artaxerxes continued that precedent to include all who served at the temple in Jerusalem.
References: Matthew Henry Commentary, 2021-2022 Standard Lesson Commentary