Being devoted to God's Word

“For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.” Ezra 7:10
Here in the book of Ezra, we see what Ezra has to say about himself. He was a priest who could trace his lineage from Aaron (Ezra 7:1-5). He led the second cohort of Jews from Persia (which conquered the Babylonian empire) back to the land of Canaan. He was well-known as a teacher of the Law (Ezra 7:6), and came to Israel in order to teach God’s Word to the people.
Teaching God’s Word is a great privilege, with great responsibility (James 3:1). It requires diligence and discipline. We should all be studying God’s Word – delving deeper than merely just reading it, but investigating those passages that seem confusing. This can be done with the help of commentaries or Bible notes, or if you have the resources, to explore the meaning of the original Hebrew or Greek words and where they are used in other places in the Bible. However, if we are studying the Bible in this way, we shouldn’t let it end there. We should be sharing what we find with others. (This is actually the reason behind why I started this blog.) And finally, and most importantly, we, like Ezra, must be putting God’s Word into practise in our own lives. Ezra dedicated his life not only to study and teaching, but also observing God’s Law for himself. Without studying the Bible, we are ignorant. Without teaching the Bible, we are doing others a disservice by keeping its truths to ourselves. Without observing it, we are hypocrites.