The Pulpit Commentary — Ezra — Section 14

I. HIS TWO METHODS OF APPROACH. "'l'hen rose up," &c. (ver. 5). 1. Instrumental. God worked on the minds of the chiefs of the people by means of the proclnmations an~ edicts of Cyrus, and on the m~nds of the gener_ality of the people by means of their leaders. Then-when the kmg's offer was circulated-" rose up the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin," &c. And when Sh~shbazzar (Zerubbabel) and the other natural leaders came forward, then the multitude volunteered: there is hu~an ~gency here.· 2. Direct. God's spirit acted directly and immediately on their mmds. They were men "whose spirit God had raised; " they were like the" band of men whose hearts God had touched" (1 Sam. x, 26). God "laid hie hand upon them," and lifted them up, spiritually, and they became strong and brave ready to do a good work for him and for the world. ' II. ITS SPIRITUAL RESULT. Elevation of soul. Their BJ?irit was raised-as ours will be whenever God works within us as he did in them-(a) above its common level of thought and feeling. They saw, as otherwise they would not have seen, the excel- lency of the service of God and of their native land; they felt, as they did not usually feel, how glorious a thing it was to lay everything on the altar of God and strike a brave and faithful blow for their country's freedom and independence. Their views were cleared, their ambition heightened, their mind enlarged, their soul exalted. God "raised their spirit," and they were lifted up (b) above the induce- ments of a comfortable present; so that the pleasant homes and prosperous employ- ments and agreeable friendships and enjoyable amusements in which they had been spending their days, these they were willing to leave behind them. And they were raised (c) above the fear of misfortune in the future,· so that the difficulties of the journey, the "lion in the way," the arrangements between one another, the desolate ruins of the once-favoured city, the enemies that might dispute their right, all these dangers and difficulties they were prepared to encounter and overcome. Under the touch of the hand of God they became, as we may now become, men whose " heart was enlarged" to dare and do great things, to attempt and accomplish what, in an unenlightened and uninspired state, they would never have dreamed of doing. God was with them, his spirit was in them, and these children of men became the serv- ants and the soldiers of God. Dare to attempt nothing if God's Spirit be not in the soul, inciting and sustaining it. Dare to undertake anything· if he opens the eyes of the understanding and if he dwells within the heart. III. lTs MATERIAL ISSUES (ver. 6). Such was the spirit of these men, that (a) those of their kindred who did not accompany them e.nd their Persian neighbours "strengthened their hands with vessels of silver and gold, with goods and beasts and preciollS things; "and (b) thus equipped they marched out of their captivity, and went forth free men to espouse the cause of Jehovah and to make their me.rk on their age and, indeed, upon future ages. Our great wisdom is to know when God comes to us ; to listen when he speaks ; to respond when he calls. Many Jews in Persia heard but heeded not that voice; they felt the touch of that Divine finger but obeyed it not. They lived on in such comfort and enjoyment as their adopted country yielded ; but they entered not the open gate of opportunity ; they rendered no great service to their land, their church, their race. Not theirs the victory and the crown; these were for the men who re- sponded when God called, and whose spirits rose to the height of that great occasion.--0. Vere. o, 6.-The return,. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah are the historical 111troduction to this third period of Jewish history. The first or formative period is that of the exodUB and the conquest of Canaan. The second, the.t of the kings, is the period of national development, when all that was possible to them as e. nation was accomplished. The third period was that of national dependence, and it lasted 600 years. From the return from captivity to the fall of Jerusalem, the history of the Jews is bound up with the policy of the great empires, Persia, Macedonia., Greece, and Rome, on whose favour they depended, or to whom they offered e. fruitless resistance, Just ae the exodue and the conquest trained the people for the second stage in their development and prepared its we.y, so the third period prepared for the fourth- r,n. 1. 5-11.J THE BOOK OF EZRA. 13