Ezra 7:14
You are sent by the king and his seven counselors to evaluate Judah and Jerusalem according to the Law of your God, which is in your hand.
Sermons
Ezra's Commission from ArtaxerxesJ.A. Macdonald Ezra 7:11-26
Pagan PietyW. Clarkson Ezra 7:11-26
The Commission of ArtaxerxesWilliam Jones.Ezra 7:11-27
The Office and Duty of the Civil MagistratePhiloclesius.Ezra 7:11-27














After giving a general account of the exodus of Israel from Babylon under his leadership, Ezra transcribes the letter of the king of Persia containing his commission. In considering this very remarkable document, we notice -

I. THE GREETING.

1. The monarch announces himself. "Artaxerxes king of kings."

(1) This, in its perfect sense, is a title of Messiah (see Revelation 17:14; Revelation 19:16). He is destined to become the universal monarch (Daniel 7:14; Revelation 11:15). Happy will this earth be under the sway of his intelligence and grace (Isaiah 35.). For any earthly potentate to affect this title, in its full sense, would be at once blasphemous and ridiculous.

(2) In a limited sense Artaxerxes was "king of kings." This title was given to the king of Babylon by God himself (see Jeremiah 27:6-11; Ezekiel 26:7; Daniel 2:37). The Persians succeeded to the empire of the Babylonians.

(3) Artaxerxes used this title religiously. He acknowledged in it his vast indebtedness to the providence of God. So its equivalent was used by Cyrus (see Ezra 1:2). The whole tenor of this letter sustains this view. Glorying is legitimate when we glory in the Lord (see Jeremiah 9:23, 24; 1 Corinthians 1:31).

2. He addresses his letter:

(1) "Unto Ezra the priest." The emphatic article is used because Ezra stood out prominently amongst the priests of his nation by his many noble qualities. Noble qualities evermore give Christians distinction among their brethren.

(2) "A scribe of the law of the God of heaven." The margin, with justice, makes the word "perfect" in the next member of this sentence a part of this, so reading it "a perfect scribe," etc. He calls himself (ver. 11) "a scribe of the words of the commandments of the Lord, and of his statutes to Israel." Here is an obvious reference to that great work with which he is credited by the Jews, viz., issuing under Divine inspiration a corrected edition of the more ancient books of Scripture. Ezra rejoiced more in this title than in that of his governorship. Spiritual are vastly more noble than earthly distinctions.

(3) "Peace, and at such a time." This form of expression is common in Persian state documents (see Ezra 4:10). The import seems to be that the peace, tranquillity, or happiness which the document is intended to promote may continue to be enjoyed so long as it continues to be, as at present it is, merited. No peace is so blessed or so enduring as that peace of God which passeth understanding.

II. THE FAVOURS. Ver. 13, etc. The particulars are -

1. Permission to go up to Jerusalem.

(1) This, in the document, is implied rather than expressed, but yet so implied as not to be mistaken.

(2) Ezra was a captive, and could not move without permission. How can slaves of sin escape its wrath without manumission from God?

2. Permission to the Jews to go up with him.

(1) The different classes of them are specified, viz., priests, Levites, stagers, porters, and Nethinims, together with the people of the tribes (vers. 13, 24).

(2) This permission was not to be construed into an expulsion. They were free to go or stay (ver. 13). All religious service should be voluntary.

3. Authority to set things in order in Judaea.

(1) This authority was not to be questioned. It came direct from the crown, and with deliberation, for it is with the advice of the seven counsellors. The names of seven such counsellors may be found in Esther (Esther 1:13, 14).

(2) It was authority to inquire, viz., into the extent to which disorganisation and demoralisation may have been carried. Then to adjust, viz., by appointing faithful magistrates and judges (ver. 25). And if necessary to punish the refractory (ver. 26). This power of life and death was withdrawn from Jewish magistrates in after times (see John 18:31). The sceptre was then visibly departing from Judah because Shiloh had come.

4. Authority over the Persian deputies beyond the river.

(1) The powers now described were not limited to Judaea. If the "river" here be the Euphrates rather than the Jordan, which is agreeable to the use of this phrase in Scripture, then the commission of Ezra invested him with very extensive powers. But whatever provinces were comprehended under the expression, there were Persian deputies there (Ezra 4:20; Ezra 7:21). This authority would effectually check opposition from the ancient enemies of the Jews.

(2) The treasurers were instructed to furnish Ezra with whatever he might require for the service of God, in silver, wheat, wine, oil, and salt (vers. 21-24).

5. Commission to carry offerings to God.

(1) "Silver and gold freely offered by the king and his counsellors" (ver. 15). Here was a mark of confidence in the integrity of Ezra 1

(2) "All the silver and gold" which the people "in the province of Babylon" were willing to confide to him. There never was a time when Gentiles were necessarily excluded from the service of God. Now the partition is broken down.

(3) "With the free-will offerings of the people and of the priests," etc., viz., for the provision of sacrifices and offerings daily required in the temple.

(4) And from the king's treasure-house vessels to be delivered to the house of God, and whatever else might be needed for his service (vers. 19, 20). Upon review of the whole subject three things strike us, viz. -

1. The wonderful accuracy of the knowledge of this heathen king of the religion of the Jews.

2. The largeness of his liberality in the service of the God of heaven.

3. The enlightened judgment which he formed of the true principles of civil government. In these things he is not an unworthy pattern even to Christians. - J.A.M.

Now this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes.
It is the office of a Christian magistrate to encourage and protect good men in the exercise of religion, Dora by his own example and wholesome laws, and to promote true religion in his dominions. Thus far the good magistrates among Jews, heathens, and Christians have proceeded to their lasting honour and commendation; but those who acted on the contrary have been branded with infamy and contempt. Joshua, the Judges, David, Solomon and Asa, Jehoshaphat, Joash, Hezekiah and others, destroyed idolatry, erected altars, ordered the courses of the priests, built and repaired the temple, collected and disposed of money for those charges, caused the Passover and other religious duties to be celebrated, and wrought a glorious reformation in true religion, when the priests and Levites were negligent in their office. Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus, Darius, Artaxerxes, the King of Nineveh, Alexander the Great, and Seleucus, etc., made decrees through all their dominions to worship the true God; they set His people at liberty, ordered them to rebuild the temple to the Lord God of heaven, allowed timber, salt, and similar charges for the sacrifices out of their own treasury; they required the prayers of God's people for themselves, their families and dominions, they protected them from their adversaries and appointed solemn fasts, etc. Lycurgus, Numa, and Solon made laws concerning religion in Athens, Rome, and Sparta; Timoleon, Augustus, and others rebuilt and endowed all the temples that had fallen into decay in Crete and about Rome. Judas Maccabeus repaired the breaches, purchased holy vessels and instruments for the service of the temple, pulled down the idols, and cleansed the sanctuary from the profanation of Antiochus Epiphanes, chose priests of a blameless conversation, and appointed an anniversary festival in commemoration of the reparation of the temple which our Saviour honoured with His own presence (John 10:22). Constantine published several edicts in favour of Christian religion, granting to all professors the free exercise of it; he destroyed the idol temples, restored the former places of worship to them, and built several magnificent churches and gave great gifts to them; he also commanded fine copies of the Bible to be made. When the heresy of Arius infected the Church, he assembled the first General Council at Nice, consisting of 318 bishops from all quarters of the empire. He banished Arius and burnt his books, he settled the time for the keeping of Easter, and made many good laws for the discipline and government of the Church. Theodosius, Justinian, and others of his successors thought it their duty to enact good laws for the establishment of the true religion. The British, Saxon, and English princes have been as active therein as other Christian monarchs, for King Lucius sent a letter to Eleutherius, Bishop of Rome, desiring his directions to make him a Christian; he also turned some heathen temples into Christian churches and built and endowed others at his own charges. kindly received and main tained Augustine and his companions, built and granted great privileges to the Abbey of Westminster, and made many excellent laws for the benefit and protection of the Church, which were rather the laws of his predecessors than those of his own making. William the Conqueror at his coronation took an oath that he should defend the Church of Christ, and all our monarchs have done the like. By Act of Parliament the sovereign is declared to be supreme Head of the Church, and has the glory of being described as Defender of the Faith.

(Philoclesius.)

It indicated a spirit of —

I. GREAT REVERENCE FOR GOD.

II. PROFOUND RESPECT FOR THE LAW OF GOD.

III. SINCERE REGARD THE WORSHIP OF GOD.

IV. HEARTY APPRECIATION OF THE CHARACTER OF A GOOD MAN. His liberal gifts may be exhibited as —

1. A rebuke to the parsimony of many Christians.

2. An example to all Christians.

(William Jones.)

People
Aaron, Abishua, Ahitub, Amariah, Artaxerxes, Azariah, Bukki, Eleazar, Ezra, Hilkiah, Israelites, Levites, Meraioth, Phinehas, Seraiah, Shallum, Uzzi, Zadok, Zerahiah
Places
Babylonia, Beyond the River, Jerusalem, Persia
Topics
Advisers, Counsellors, Counselors, Enquire, Forasmuch, Inquire, Inquiries, Jerusalem, Judah, Law, Ordered, Regard, Seven, Wise
Outline
1. Ezra goes up to Jerusalem
11. The gracious commission of Artaxerxes to Ezra
27. Ezra blesses God for this favor

Dictionary of Bible Themes
Ezra 7:14

     7540   Judaism

Ezra 7:1-21

     7464   teachers of the law

Ezra 7:11-17

     7468   temple, rebuilding

Ezra 7:12-18

     4333   gold

Ezra 7:12-20

     7505   Jews, the

Ezra 7:13-16

     4363   silver

Library
Appendix. The Apocryphal Books of the Old Testament.
1. The Greek word Apocrypha, hidden, that is, hidden or secret books, was early applied by the fathers of the Christian church to anonymous or spurious books that falsely laid claim to be a part of the inspired word. By some, as Jerome, the term was extended to all the books incorporated by the Alexandrine Jews, in their Greek version, into the proper canon of the Old Testament, a few of which books, though not inspired, are undoubtedly genuine. Another designation of the books in question
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

Reading the Law with Tears and Joy
'And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel. 2. And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month. 3. And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate, from the morning until midday, before
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Rome and Ephesus
Corinth as portrayed in the Epistles of Paul gives us our simplest and least contaminated picture of the Hellenic Christianity which regarded itself as the cult of the Lord Jesus, who offered salvation--immortality--to those initiated in his mysteries. It had obvious weaknesses in the eyes of Jewish Christians, even when they were as Hellenised as Paul, since it offered little reason for a higher standard of conduct than heathenism, and its personal eschatology left no real place for the resurrection
Kirsopp Lake—Landmarks in the History of Early Christianity

Authorship of the Pentateuch.
The term Pentateuch is composed of the two Greek words, pente, five, and teuchos, which in later Alexandrine usage signified book. It denotes, therefore, the collection of five books; or, the five books of the law considered as a whole. 1. In our inquiries respecting the authorship of the Pentateuch, we begin with the undisputed fact that it existed in its present form in the days of Christ and his apostles, and had so existed from the time of Ezra. When the translators of the Greek version,
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

Of Antichrist, and his Ruin: and of the Slaying the Witnesses.
BY JOHN BUNYAN PREFATORY REMARKS BY THE EDITOR This important treatise was prepared for the press, and left by the author, at his decease, to the care of his surviving friend for publication. It first appeared in a collection of his works in folio, 1692; and although a subject of universal interest; most admirably elucidated; no edition has been published in a separate form. Antichrist has agitated the Christian world from the earliest ages; and his craft has been to mislead the thoughtless, by
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Brave Encouragements
'In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month, came the word of the Lord by the prophet Haggai, saying, 2. Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and to the residue of the people, saying, 3. Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? 4. Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord; and be strong, O Joshua,
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

General Account of Jesus' Teaching.
^A Matt. IV. 17; ^B Mark I. 14, 15; ^C Luke IV. 14, 15. ^a 17 From that time Jesus began to preach [The time here indicated is that of John the Baptist's imprisonment and Jesus' return to Galilee. This time marked a new period in the public ministry of Jesus. Hitherto he had taught, but he now began to preach. When the voice of his messenger, John, was silenced, the King became his own herald. Paul quoted the Greeks as saying that preaching was "foolishness," but following the example here set by
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Section Chap. I. -iii.
The question which here above all engages our attention, and requires to be answered, is this: Whether that which is reported in these chapters did, or did not, actually and outwardly take place. The history of the inquiries connected with this question is found most fully in Marckius's "Diatribe de uxore fornicationum," Leyden, 1696, reprinted in the Commentary on the Minor Prophets by the same author. The various views may be divided into three classes. 1. It is maintained by very many interpreters,
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Formation and History of the Hebrew Canon.
1. The Greek word canon (originally a straight rod or pole, measuring-rod, then rule) denotes that collection of books which the churches receive as given by inspiration of God, and therefore as constituting for them a divine rule of faith and practice. To the books included in it the term canonical is applied. The Canon of the Old Testament, considered in reference to its constituent parts, was formed gradually; formed under divine superintendence by a process of growth extending through
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

Appendix v. Rabbinic Theology and Literature
1. The Traditional Law. - The brief account given in vol. i. p. 100, of the character and authority claimed for the traditional law may here be supplemented by a chronological arrangement of the Halakhoth in the order of their supposed introduction or promulgation. In the first class, or Halakhoth of Moses from Sinai,' tradition enumerates fifty-five, [6370] which may be thus designated: religio-agrarian, four; [6371] ritual, including questions about clean and unclean,' twenty-three; [6372] concerning
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

The Historical Books.
1. In the Pentateuch we have the establishment of the Theocracy, with the preparatory and accompanying history pertaining to it. The province of the historical books is to unfold its practiced working, and to show how, under the divine superintendence and guidance, it accomplished the end for which it was given. They contain, therefore, primarily, a history of God's dealings with the covenant people under the economy which he had imposed upon them. They look at the course of human events on the
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

Influences that Gave Rise to the Priestly Laws and Histories
[Sidenote: Influences in the exile that produced written ceremonial laws] The Babylonian exile gave a great opportunity and incentive to the further development of written law. While the temple stood, the ceremonial rites and customs received constant illustration, and were transmitted directly from father to son in the priestly families. Hence, there was little need of writing them down. But when most of the priests were carried captive to Babylonia, as in 597 B.C., and ten years later the temple
Charles Foster Kent—The Origin & Permanent Value of the Old Testament

Ezra-Nehemiah
Some of the most complicated problems in Hebrew history as well as in the literary criticism of the Old Testament gather about the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Apart from these books, all that we know of the origin and early history of Judaism is inferential. They are our only historical sources for that period; and if in them we have, as we seem to have, authentic memoirs, fragmentary though they be, written by the two men who, more than any other, gave permanent shape and direction to Judaism, then
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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