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Writer's pictureBro. Caleb Taft

Morning Manna | Ezra 7:10 | Finish what you Started



Ezra reads the law
Neh 8:4 And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose;

Ezra 7:10

For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.



Our verse today begins with “For,” showing us that what follows explains how Ezra completed the task he started. In the previous verse, we learn that he began his journey from Babylon, and after several months, he reached Jerusalem. Simply put, he finished what he set out to do. How many of us, however, begin the journey of leaving the world behind to draw closer to God but find ourselves stuck along the way? We linger between “Babylon and Jerusalem”—living a lukewarm life between the abundance Christ offers and the apathy of a carnal Christian.

What went wrong? We hoped to experience the completion of verse 9 without the preparation of verse 10. Ezra finished because “he had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD.”


This verse offers three principles that can help us be “ready scribes,” like Ezra. First, notice that Bible study wasn’t his first step. Ezra started by preparing his heart to seek God’s law. He made sure that his heart was ready to accept whatever he would find in Scripture. He knew that if he was going to be obedient to God’s Word, it would require a complete transformation—his lifestyle, habits, and even his thoughts would have to change.


Searching

The same is true for us. Before we Search the Scriptures, we need to search our hearts. To prepare ourselves to be convicted and challenged, and our lives to be completely transformed. God’s Word calls us to service, sacrifice, obedience, and the cross. If we don’t decide now to say “yes,” we may run back to the life we left when the journey gets hard. Prepare your heart, because God’s Word is “Yea and Amen”—it never changes, but we are the ones who must. Only after we prepare our hearts should we begin to search the Scriptures.


Doing

Ezra didn’t stop at searching—he was also ready to do what he found. When he discovered the commands for the Levitical priesthood, the feasts, and the separation from heathen nations, he was ready to live according to those commands. Are we prepared to do what the Bible tells us? Remember, this is exactly what Jesus did. He was the Word made flesh—He lived out the Scriptures. It’s often said that what we do shows what we truly believe. The rest is just religious talk as James said, "Faith without works is dead." Jesus said that those who hear and don’t obey are like fools who build their house on sand, but those who hear and obey are like wise men building on the rock. Don't be a fool do what he tells you.


Teaching

Finally, because Ezra believed and obeyed the Word, he was ready to teach it. Had he not obeyed, he would have been a hypocrite. Only those who believe and obey are qualified to teach. Jesus was the only perfect teacher, but we should always strive to live what we teach. This verse has stuck with me for years and challenges me each time I prepare to teach or preach. The Holy Spirit often prompts me to ask myself, “Am I ready to do what the Scriptures require, no matter the cost?” If the answer is no, then I shouldn’t teach it until I’ve submitted to it.


What if every Christian leader held themselves to the same standard as Ezra? I believe we’d see many more people finishing what they started.

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