‘Let it be done with zeal'’
Matthew L. Haigh
After some 50 years into the Babylonian captivity…
The Children of Israel find themselves still dwelling in a foreign land. Some of these souls had continued to carry the weight of sin, guilt and hope. The neglect of Torah (God's instructions) from generations before had resulted in this most unpleasant and protracted visit. Although their circumstances seemed dismal, the Most High had not forgotten his covenant with them and they find themselves in the good favor of their captors. By the very decree of the King of Persia, the same nation that had swept them away from their land, an edict is issued for the rebuilding of the House of God in Jerusalem. By the year 516 BC, the Temple was finished as it was written,
“Through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they finished building according to the command of the God of Israel and the decree of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.”
After dedicating the house of God with joy, the exiles observed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month. In the sixth year of the reign of Darius and some 20 years after the building had begun, those diligent souls, rejoiced in the completed dream. Although only a mere 46,000 men had elected to return, once again worship could resume in the place the Most High had chosen for His habitation.
The Torah tells us that on the first day of the first month, in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes, a second return of exiles takes place. Some 56 years after the first, ‘a scribe skilled in the law of Moses’…having the king granting him all he requested, because ‘the hand of the Lord was upon him’, begins another journey to Israel. Ezra and his entourage of priests, singers and gatekeepers take exactly four months to the day to arrive in Jerusalem from Babylonian.
So begins the heart of the restoration...
The Torah gives us powerful insight into the passion, which compels the prophet forward and into action…
“For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the LORD, and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.”
His vision for restoration in the land of promise was three fold,
To Study,
To Practice,
And to Teach the statutes and ordinances in Israel.
The Hebraic Roots movement is one of Torah study and there are many people throughout the world teaching again the statutes as Ezra longed to teach them. The element of, ‘and perhaps also the power to’, change is dependent upon these steps. However, lasting generational changes are incumbent upon what is in the heart. It was also said of Ezra, that he desired ‘to practice’…what does it mean to practice? The Hebrew term ‘asah’ in this context means ‘to do’. The explanation may be as simple as the idea of the Physician ‘practicing’ medicine. Practice after all is in the doing…
A few verses later the heart of the King Artaxerxes himself is compelled in a similar way.
“Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be done with zeal for the house of the God of heaven,”
Doing or practicing is to step beyond merely knowing what one should do. Ezra understood this concept. Upon seeing the unfaithfulness of the exiles in the Ha’ Aretz Tziyon, (the Land of Israel) he rents his clothing and mourns over the sin of those who had returned to rebuild the House of God.
“then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel on account of the unfaithfulness of the exiles” …gathered to Ezra and sat appalled
Many of us have sat appalled at what we see around us; sometimes we may sit appalled at what we see even in our own hearts. We may even feel better knowing that we are indeed dismayed at the sin. “What then shall we do?” The question, which was surely pondered by Ezra, is similar to that of those who listened to the Apostle Peter as he proclaimed the testament of Yeshua in the account of the Act of the Apostles.
If, as in the case of Ezra’s allegations, the people have taken wives from among the people…their sin must be brought to account.
The course of action is clear. He did not simply have the impassioned plea of a powerful ‘sermon of sermons’ as the spring rains pounded upon the weary stones of Jerusalem. Ezra had more than a ‘hope beyond hope’ that the people might respond. No, the torah was clear, “ Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them, you shall not give your daughters to their sons…”
With hearts and clothing drenched with tears and rain, they listened to Ezra’s words…
“Now, therefore, make confession to the LORD God of your fathers, and do His will; and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.”
The instruction is then followed with a specific plan of action or of ‘practice’…
“Let our leaders represent the whole assembly and let all those in our cities who have married foreign wives come at an appointed time, together with the elders and judges of each city, until the fierce anger of our God on account of this matter is turned away from us.”
And on the first day of the first month, (the very day that Ezra began his journey from Babylon) and after two months of investigation, they finished investigating all the men who had married foreign wives.
Putting into practice the words of Torah is where life and peace with God are truly worked out once we have entered into the kingdom by faith. Simply knowing and teaching His words would not bring the restoration for which they all longed to see. Upon receiving the answer to their question, the men and women of Acts, proceeded to “devote themselves to the teaching of the Apostles” resulting in dynamically changed lives. The writer of James urges us to press on further when he said,
“But prove yourselves doers of the word and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does.”
It is necessary for all of us to add to our faith the DOING of His word and will as we participate in the work of the Master…as Ezra’s heart yearned, we must also…
Study….Teach… and Practice
Ezra 7:6
Ezra 7:9
Ezra 7:10
Ezra 9:4
Deuteronomy 7:3
Ezra 10:11
Ezra 10:14
James 1:22
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