Ezra 7:10

For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord,.... To attain to the knowledge of it, that he might be master of it, and expert in it, and know what was not to be done, and what to be

For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.

Ezra had prepared his heart, or, directed, &c., i.e. he had set his mind and affections upon it, and made it his chief design and business. To seek the law, i.e. to search and find out the true sense and meaning of it, and thence to learn what sins or errors were to be reformed, and what duties were to be performed. And to teach in Israel. The order of things in this verse is very observable; first he endeavours to understand God’ s law and word, and that not for curiosity or ostentation, but in order to practice; next he conscientiously practiseth what he did understand, which made his doctrine much more effectual; and then he earnestly desires and labours to instruct and edify others, that they also might know and do it.

Ezra 7:10 For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do [it], and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.Ver. 10. For Ezra had prepared his heart] Which, without due preparation, would not have been drawn to any good. See 1 Samuel 7:3 Job 11:13 Amos 4:12. An instrument must be tuned ere it can be played upon; sour wines need good sweetening. To seek the law of the Lord] To dive into the very bosom and bottom of it. Qui nucleum vult, nucem frangat. The Rabbis have a saying, that there is a mountain of sense hanging upon every tittle of God’ s law. And to do it] His knowledge and practice ran parallel, and mutually transfused warmth into one another. He was not of those orators blamed by Diogenes, for that they studied bene dicere, non bene facere, to speak commendably, but not to live accordingly. He knew well that his forefathers (the high priests) had pomegranates for savour as well as bells for sound. And to teach in Israel] He knew the truth of that Hebrew proverb, Lilmod Lelammed, Men must therefore learn, that they may teach others, and not bury their talents, lest the canker of their great skill prove a swift witness one day against them.

(10) For Ezra had prepared his heart.—It must be remembered that the providence of God over him immediately precedes—not as the reward of his preparing his heart, but as the reason of it. First, he gave himself to study the law, then to practise it himself, and lastly to teach its positive statutes or ordinances and its moral judgments or precepts—a perfect description of a teacher in the congregation. There is nothing discordant in Ezra saying of himself that he had thus “set his heart.”

Verse 10. Ezra had prepared his heart] Here is a fine character of a minister of God: He prepares, הכין hechin, he fixes, purposes, and determines, לבבו lebabo, with his heart - with all his powers and affections, to seek the law of God, and to do it himself, that he may be properly qualified to teach its statutes and judgments to Israel.

10. For Ezra had prepared (R.V. set) his heart &c.] The precise meaning of the ‘for’ which determines the connexion of the verse, is not very evident. The verse either explains the preceding clause and attributes God’s favour towards Ezra during the journey to the latter’s devotion to the Divine Law, or is added as a general comment on the whole preceding section, explanatory of Ezra’s resolve and expedition. Those who take the former view illustrate it by ch. Ezra 8:31-32. But the latter interpretation of the verse is to be preferred. It corresponds better with the somewhat abrupt mention of Ezra’s rule of life. It harmonizes with the description of Ezra’s character. ‘Ezra had set his heart &c.’ That fact lay at the bottom of the religious movement which he set on foot. It explained something very much more than the mere fortunate issue of the journey. ‘Had set his heart’. A not uncommon phrase, cf. 2 Chronicles 12:14; 2 Chronicles 19:3; 2 Chronicles 30:19. In every instance the R.V. has rightly changed ‘prepare his heart’ to ‘set his heart’. The idea of the original is not ‘preparedness for the unforeseen’, but ‘fixity and stability of purpose’. Compare the expression ‘my heart is fixed’ (Psalms 57:7; Psalms 108:1; Psalms 112:7) where the same verb occurs. to seek the law of the Lord] Cf. Psalms 119:45; Psalms 119:155; 1 Chronicles 28:8. The search, no mere investigation of the letter, but for the sake of ascertaining the true principles of practical life embodied in the law, cf. 2 Chronicles 14:4 ‘(Asa) commanded Judah to seek the Lord the God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment’. and to teach] Those principles are self-diffusive, the teaching by example as much as by precept, cf. 2 Chronicles 17:9 ‘And they (the priests) taught in Judah, having the book of the law with them’. Ezra’s purpose to search for truth, to live by it and to teach it his countrymen is an epitome of the ideal scribe’s career. We may compare Acts 1:1 ‘All that Jesus began both to do and to teach’. statutes and judgments] These words in the Hebrew are singular, and are rendered ‘a statute and an ordinance’ in Exodus 15:25; Joshua 24:25, where they are found together. The singular is generic. The two words are frequently found together in the plural: e.g. Leviticus 26:46; Deuteronomy 4:1; Deuteronomy 4:5; Deuteronomy 4:8; Deuteronomy 4:14; Deuteronomy 5:1; Deuteronomy 5:31; Deuteronomy 11:32; Deuteronomy 12:1 &c.; 2 Chronicles 7:17; 2 Chronicles 19:10 and Malachi 4:4 ‘statutes and judgments’. ‘Statutes’ are the appointed rules or regulations of conduct or ceremony, ‘judgments’ are the duties and rights determined by equity, authority, or custom. The phrase is however used very generally without any close distinction in the shades of meaning.

10. Prepared his heart to seek the law — Or, set his heart to search the law. It had been the great aim and purpose of his life to be a student and expounder of the law. And the sequel shows how God honoured his efforts.