Questions about revival abound in our times. No doubt you’re having discussions or debates, too, around your dinner table or the conference table in your church. Christians may lament the constant need for revival, but as long as there have been people following God, there has been a cyclical pattern of obedience followed by wandering into sin, followed by suffering, then repentance, then revival. We are no different. We could sit with ancient Israelites and trade stories. So, what does the Old Testament, particularly the scribe Ezra, say about revival? What wise words on revival can we apply today?
God’s Chosen People in Exile
From their exodus from Egypt to their defeat by the Babylonians and subsequent dispersion, the Israelites repeatedly followed a pattern: obedience, idolatry, suffering, repentance, and revival. God promised to bless His people if they worshiped Him alone and obeyed His commands and to withdraw His blessing when they wandered after false gods. It sounds like a wonderful arrangement, and many of us think we’d have done better, but that’s not true. All of us sin and fall short of God’s holiness. The ancient Israelites demonstrated our sinful nature will always win without God’s intervention. We all need a Messiah.
God sent many prophets to warn His people that He wouldn’t endure their idolatry forever. In Jeremiah’s time, because of their hard hearts, God delivered His chosen people into the hands of the Babylonians. They succumbed to the enemies that God chose to be instruments of His discipline, but God promised He would always preserve a remnant. Jeremiah 32:36-34 records God’s promise to eventually return His people to their land. He kept that promise: after decades of exile, under the reign of the Medo-Persians, God moved King Cyrus to permit exiled Jews to return to the Promised Land.
As the people returned, they experienced joy in their homecoming. Still, it was mixed with the need for reminders of who they were as a people and a persistent disentanglement from the cultures and ways they’d adopted during exile. Restoring Jerusalem’s buildings, infrastructure, and defensive walls mattered; restoring their hearts, the internal understanding of God’s Word, and decisions to defend against wandering into sin again mattered just as much. Ezra was passionate about leading the people into this revival of their faith.
Who was Ezra and When Did He Serve Israel?
Ezra was one of three leaders God provided for the exiled Israelites. When Persian King Artaxerxes granted permission to a second group of exiles to return to their homeland, he charged Ezra with their care. His leadership fell between Zerubbabel, who helped the initial group of exiled Israelites rebuild the temple when King Cyrus permitted the first wave to return, and Nehemiah, who oversaw rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem.
Ezra, a descendant of Judah, was a priest, scholar, and scribe. While the other two leaders rebuilt structures, Ezra’s call was to help rebuild the people’s hearts toward God.
The first six chapters of Ezra’s book describe the return of the remnant of the Israelites under King Cyrus. Sixty years after the temple was rebuilt, King Artaxerxes sent Ezra to lead the second wave of Jewish return.
Ezra loved God’s Word. Ezra 7:9-10 says, “for the good hand of his God was on him. For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel” (ESV).
At this time, the people of Israel had been scattered into foreign lands for decades. Many had tried to hold onto God’s teachings, but the pressure to assimilate to foreign cultures led to compromises. Ezra knew the people needed to remember God’s commands and His love for them.
Psalm 119:93 says, “I will never forget Your precepts, for by them You have revived me” (NASB). That is demonstrated in Ezra’s actions, recorded in both Ezra and Nehemiah. Even before they left for their journey home, Ezra ensured there were Levites with them to restore the priesthood and instituted a time of prayer and fasting.
Ezra 8:21-23 describes his thinking: “Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions. For I was ashamed to request from the king troops and horsemen to protect us from the enemy on the way, because we had said to the king, ‘The hand of our God is favorably disposed to all those who seek Him, but His power and His anger are against all those who forsake Him.’ So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter, and He listened to our entreaty.” (NASB)
The next chapter explains that Ezra learned many Israelites (including the Levites) had intermarried with foreigners and adopted idolatrous customs. The princes and leaders were especially guilty. Ezra was beside himself; this was the very behavior that instigated the exile in the first place. Ezra then fell on his face and made a prayer of confession on behalf of his people, acknowledging their sin before God and recognizing His grace toward them.
Ezra’s prayers and penitence moved the hearts of the people. Those who had disobeyed God’s commands agreed to separate from these wives. Ezra 10 records this time of human sadness as the Israelites recognized the immense human toll their disobedience would have. But Ezra knew the first part of becoming God’s people again would be to humble themselves, confess, pray, and repent—with both words and actions.
Ezra Reads the Law
The story of the returned exiles continues in Nehemiah. Once the wall was rebuilt, the people gathered. They called on Ezra to read aloud from God’s law. Nehemiah 8 describes the scene:
“Then Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men, women and all who could listen with understanding, on the first day of the seventh month. He read from it before the square which was in front of the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of men and women, those who could understand; and all the people were attentive to the book of the law.” (Nehemiah 8:1-3 NASB)
The leaders translated what Ezra read so everyone would understand what God was saying. The result was profound. They remembered who they were and saw how far they had wandered from God’s Holy laws. It moved them to great sorrow with so many tears that the leaders urged them to stop weeping and grieving and instead celebrate this day.
Nehemiah 8:9-12 reads, “Then Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, ‘This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.’ For all the people were weeping when they heard the words of the law. Then he said to them, ‘Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’ So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, ‘Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved.’ All the people went away to eat, to drink, to send portions and to celebrate a great festival, because they understood the words which had been made known to them.”
3 Lessons about Revival from Ezra
While humans haven’t changed, we do operate under a new covenant in our times, the covenant instituted by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Those of us who have repented of our sin, acknowledged our need for a savior, and given our lives over to Jesus Christ’s lordship, also have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit guides, convicts, and empowers us to resist sin and remain in Christ.
However, we can learn from Ezra’s choices and see how relevant they remain today. Three of those choices are:
1. Remain in God’s Word. Even in exile, Ezra studied God’s Holy Word. While others fell prey to the press of culture and the temptation to wander, Ezra remained focused on God. No matter how much society changes around us, and even if other believers begin to compromise, we can remain centered on God’s Word. Read the Bible daily. Meditate on it. Study it with others and learn from godly teachers.
2. Prayer and humble repentance preceded revival. Ezra led the people in humble prayer and fasting. He made a confession on their behalf. There was not only an outpouring of verbal repentance. The people also made hard decisions to ensure their actions aligned with their intent to turn from sin. Much like John the Baptist, this humility, prayer, and repentance prepared the way for the new life of revival.
3. Reading and teaching God’s Word brings revived souls. The people changed their actions, minds, and hearts as they heard God’s Word and were helped to understand. Those of us who know God’s Word must continue to find ways to speak and teach and explain it to others in ways they can understand. As we read His Word and surrender to the Living Word, Jesus Christ, we will see personal and corporate revival that restores life to the Body of Christ.
Photo Credit: Getty Images/Marinela Malcheva
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