God’s Word is the single-most effective change agent in the cosmos. When God speaks, things happen. And even though from our vantage point it can seem God is veiled or far away, nothing could be further from the truth.
When we look at rebuilding Israel’s heart through Ezra, Psalm 19 perfectly reflects why Ezra was God’s man to help put things back together on a heart level. Check it out as a backdrop for this hope conversation. Is your heart fixed upon God’s words of hope?!
The God Story is filled with the ups and downs of all nations since the dawn of time. This includes both God’s chosen people, the Jews, as well as all Gentile recipients of God’s grace through Messiah.
Before Ezra came to Jerusalem after making the trek from Babylon, the Living God was already intervening to pave the way for Ezra’s mission. It was time to rebuild the Hebrew Temple just as God had promised (Jeremiah 29:14). Ezra would restore the “glory” of Solomon’s Temple, and in so doing lay the foundation for the restoration the people’s hearts. God would move in the hearts of powerful, often godless people to bring about His will.
The preparations:
Ezra 7:6 “That’s Ezra. He arrived from Babylon, a scholar well-practiced in the Revelation of Moses that the GOD of Israel had given. Because GOD’S hand was on Ezra, the king gave him everything he asked for.” (Message)
The foundations:
Ezra 7:10 “Ezra had committed himself to studying the Revelation of GOD, to living it, and to teaching Israel to live its truths and ways.” (Message)