Ezra 7 — The Good Hand and the Set Heart
Context and providence Decades pass between chapters 6 and 7—temple complete (515 BC), Ezra arrives under Artaxerxes I (458 BC). In between likely stands Esther’s story. Now God again bends an empire toward His people. The Aramaic royal letter (7:12–26) bears authentic Persian titulature (“king of kings”) and the imperial lingua franca—just as we noted earlier in Ezra 4. Archaeology and the Elephantine papyri confirm this Persian policy: fund local temples to secure loyalty. Scripture names the deeper Actor: “the gracious hand of his God was on him” (refrain in 7:6, 9, 28).
The reformer’s triad At the chapter’s heart: “For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the LORD, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel” (New International Version, 7:10). The Hebrew sofer mahir (“skilled scribe”) is not merely a copyist, but a theologian-bureaucrat. He “set his heart” (hekin libbo): ordered love before right action—Augustine would nod. The pattern—study, do, teach—anticipates the Great Commission’s “teaching them to obey” (Matthew 28:20) and James’s call to be doers of the word (James 1:22).
Empire and the Word Artaxerxes calls Torah “the law of the God of heaven”—a Persian way of acknowledging a deity among many (cf. Daniel). Yet God uses such half-light to fund worship, exempt Levites, and authorize judges (7:24–26). Calvin saw here the liberty of the church guarded by providence; we might add: Scripture’s renewal is the true rebuilding after the stones are laid (compare Ezra 6, yesterday’s note).
Literary turn The chapter abruptly shifts to Ezra’s first-person doxology (7:27–28)—a memoir seam—and the leitmotif returns: “the good hand of the LORD.” Covenant grace guides public policy and the private scholar’s heart.
Cross-references - Proverbs 21:1; Nehemiah 8; Psalm 119:32; 2 Timothy 2:15.
Hymn suggestion How Firm a Foundation.
Prayer Lord of kings and of hearts, set our hearts as You set Ezra’s—to study Your Word, to do it, and to teach it. Lay Your good hand upon us, that Your church may be reformed by Scripture and made bold in obedience. Through Jesus, the living Word. Amen.