Ezr 7:28 | KingComments | STEP | What the king wrote in the decree fills the heart of Ezra with worship ( ). He is impressed that God shows Himself the faithful God, both in the past – He is “the God of our fathers” – and in the present in relation to His house. God has so worked the heart of Artaxerxes ( ), that he wants to contribute to the “adornment”, the splendor, the glory of “the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem”. We hear in the thanksgiving a man who is not satisfied that the house of the LORD has been rebuilt and that its appearance is in order. He is concerned about Him Whom this house belongs to and why He had this house built. We can apply this to the church, God’s house at this time. Are we satisfied that we come together as a church? Maybe we admit that it is not always as it should be. But what does an outer form say if the hearts are not close to the Lord? All service of the Word should be aimed “to adorn” the house of God or making it glorious, adorning it, increasing the service in it. Spiritual struggles that have arisen, difficulties that have arisen, have given rise to an increase in the knowledge of God, and that decorates His house and supports the service in it. Ezra is aware that everything comes from God. God has worked the heart of the king ( ) and He has “extended lovingkindness to” Ezra “before the king and his counselors and before all the king’s mighty princes” ( ). It is impossible for so many hearts to be influenced by a political lobby. No, God works mightily for His people and uses whomever He wills for that purpose. After these encouragements Ezra takes courage. He sees “the hand of the LORD my God” upon him. That brings him into action. He calls the heads of the family together to go up with him. What these men say and do will be decisive for the families of which they are the heads. If they go up, their families will also go up. We will hear more about them in the next chapter, where they are mentioned by name.

‏ Ezra 7:28

Ezra’s Reaction

What the king wrote in the decree fills the heart of Ezra with worship (Ezra 7:27). He is impressed that God shows Himself the faithful God, both in the past – He is “the God of our fathers” – and in the present in relation to His house. God has so worked the heart of Artaxerxes (Pro 21:1), that he wants to contribute to the “adornment”, the splendor, the glory of “the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem”. We hear in the thanksgiving a man who is not satisfied that the house of the LORD has been rebuilt and that its appearance is in order. He is concerned about Him Whom this house belongs to and why He had this house built.

We can apply this to the church, God’s house at this time. Are we satisfied that we come together as a church? Maybe we admit that it is not always as it should be. But what does an outer form say if the hearts are not close to the Lord? All service of the Word should be aimed “to adorn” the house of God or making it glorious, adorning it, increasing the service in it. Spiritual struggles that have arisen, difficulties that have arisen, have given rise to an increase in the knowledge of God, and that decorates His house and supports the service in it.

Ezra is aware that everything comes from God. God has worked the heart of the king (Ezra 7:27) and He has “extended lovingkindness to” Ezra “before the king and his counselors and before all the king’s mighty princes” (Ezra 7:28). It is impossible for so many hearts to be influenced by a political lobby. No, God works mightily for His people and uses whomever He wills for that purpose.

After these encouragements Ezra takes courage. He sees “the hand of the LORD my God” upon him. That brings him into action. He calls the heads of the family together to go up with him. What these men say and do will be decisive for the families of which they are the heads. If they go up, their families will also go up. We will hear more about them in the next chapter, where they are mentioned by name.