Ezra: Model of a Pastor
Kevin G. SmithOctober 2010
Introduction
When preachers want a model of good leadership, they often turn
to the book of Nehemiah, since Nehemiah models many outstanding
qualities of godly leadership. Few are aware of another equally
good model of pastoral leadershipEzra. The books of Ezra and
Nehemiah are twin volumes, since Nehemiah is the sequel to Ezra. In
fact, Ezra and Nehemiah were co-labourers; their ministries in
Jerusalem overlapped.
Because Israel was unfaithful to God, he sent the Babylonians to
punish them. Jerusalem was destroyed in 586 bc, and most of the
Jews were taken into exile in Babylon. In 538 bc, after the
Persians conquered Babylon, the Persian king, Cyrus, allowed the
Jews to return home. The first six chapters of the book of Ezra
record how the first group of exiles returned and rebuilt the
temple in Jerusalem; this covers 538-515 bc. The book then skips 57
years, to 458bc when a second group of exiles return to Jerusalem
under the leadership of Ezra. Ezra himself was a priest and a
scribe (the first great Bible scholar and teacher). He returned
with the goal of restoring true worship of the Lord in Jerusalem
and teaching the Jewish people the Law of the Lord.
Ezras story is told in Ezra 710. It makes a great case study for
pastors, since Ezra embodies and models many of the leadership
traits and skills that we would expect to find in a good New
Testament pastor. I want to draw your attention to seven ways in
which Ezra can be a model for pastors.[footnoteRef:1] [1: All
scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible: English
Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Standard Bible Society, 2001).
Scripture citations not including an indication of the Bible book
are all from the Book of Ezra; e.g. 7:1-5 means Ezra 7:1-5.]
1. Ezra counted the cost of Gods call
Ezra had direct access to the king of Persia. We are not told
how or why he had such access, but it seems likely that he was one
of the leaders of the Jews in exile. Perhaps he represented the
Jewish people before the king of Persia. He clearly commanded the
kings trust and respect, which would mean he was a man of
considerable power and influence. Persia was the dominant power in
the Ancient Near East, and King Artaxerxes arguably the most
powerful man in the world at the time (see Figure 1 for an
illustration of the scope of his empire).[footnoteRef:2] [2: The
map of the Persian Empire in Figure 1 is from J. Gordon McConville,
Ezra, The ESV Study Bible (ed. Lane T. Dennis, Wayne Grudem, and
J.I. Packer; Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 802.]
He asked King Artaxerxes for permission to return to Jerusalem,
and the king granted him all that he asked (Ezra 7:6). He gave up a
position of power and influence in the secular world to serve the
Lords purposes. Why did he make such a silly request? I can only
speculate that he was responding to Gods call. Then he counted the
cost of the callhe left Babylonia and returned to Jerusalem. He
made sacrifices to embrace Gods work. He left the most influential
city in the Empire to go to a remote and forgotten outpost in the
Province Beyond the River, the Persian name for the province west
of the Euphrates. Jerusalem was not even a major city in the
Province Beyond the River; it was a small town in a state of
disrepair, a town that did not even have a defensive wall.
Figure 1: The Persian Empire in the Time of Ezra
Imagine a modern day equivalent. The advisor to President Barak
Obama, who represents Christianity and offers a Christian
perspective on matters relating to the government of the United
States, receives a call from God to serve as a missionary in a
remote part of the Amazon. He could respond, No thank you, Lord. I
can do so much more for you here in Washington, where I can
represent you and influence powerful world leaders for the kingdom.
Instead, he humbly submits to Gods greater wisdom: Yes, Lord. I
will go where you send me, and serve where you need me. He leaves
the comfort, security, prestige, and affluence of his lifestyle in
Washington, and undertakes the arduous task to which God has called
him. That is exactly what Ezra did.
We are so apt to seek positions of influence and power, the most
high-profile and high-paying ministry posts. In a recent
conversation with Abel Ndjerareou, the former President of a
leading seminary in Africa, he mused that when churches in Chad
send pastors to train in the Central African Republic, God seldom
calls them to stay in the CAR. However, when churches send them to
study in London or Chicago, God regularly calls them to stay. Why
is it, a friend once asked, that pastors are so seldom called to
lower-paying ministries than they already have?
Ezra was an established leader in a position of great influence,
yet he was sensitive enough to hear Gods call and courageous enough
to respond to it. He was willing to count the cost of the call. It
is worth noting that he did not only count the cost as a young man;
he counted it as an older, senior leader who already had a track
record of success in Gods service. Often we count the cost as young
zealots on fire for God. We are willing to go anywhere he says and
do whatever he asks. Through that obedience, we become established
leaders. Once we are established leaders and we have counted the
cost, we consider ourselves to have paid our dues. We view counting
the cost as the price of getting started, as a one-off sacrifice.
Ezra viewed it as an on-going part of walking intimately and
obediently with the Lord.
2. Ezra set his heart to study, do, and teach the word of
God
Ezra was a man of the word. Scripture describes him as skilled
in the Law of Moses that the Lord, the God of Israel, had given
(7:6). Even the pagan king, Artaxerxes, recognised him as a the
scribe of the Law of the God of heaven (7:12). He was saturated
with scripture! How did he become skilled in the scriptures? The
word of God tells us his secret:
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 (7:10, italics
mine).
This is a powerful verse worth committing to memory. Ezra set
his heart to study, do, and teach Gods word. There were no
shortcuts; his expertise was the fruit of a lifetime of diligent
labour in the scriptures. Like modern biblical scholars, Ezra set
his heart to study the scriptures; the word translated study
implies searching, investigating, examining, and interpreting.
However, unlike many modern scholars, Ezra did not just set his
heart to study the scriptures. He did not view knowledge as an end
in itself. He also set his heart to do and to teachin that order.
He studied the word of God so that he could do the will of God. His
study of Gods word guided and inspired his devotion to the Lord; it
did not undermine it. Why? Because he positioned himself under the
scriptures, not above them. He studied with a heart of faith and an
attitude of submission; modern Bible scholars often approach
scripture with a proud and cold heart, and they give the serious
study of Gods word a reputation for undermining a living faith and
personal relationship with God. Because Ezra set his heart on doing
what God taught in the word, his study enriched his faith. He also
carried a burden to teach the will and ways of God. In other words,
Ezra studied the Bible with the twin goals of enriching his own
relationship with God (to do) and helping others to do the same (to
teach).
Like Ezra, pastors should overflow with Gods word. Like Ezra,
they need to set their hearts to study, do, and teach the
scriptures. This is a commitment to lifelong learning. We live in
an instant society; we want to know, but we do not like to learn.
Our yardstick for doing research is to Google a question for
instant answers. Painstaking study of the word is foreign to our
culture, but without it we will never learn Gods word. Are you
really studying the word? If so, are you doing it with an attitude
of submission, placing yourself under the authority of the word in
faith, with a hunger to obey God? Are you studying it with a deep
desire to use your findings to help others grow in their walk with
Christ?
3. Ezra was a man of prayer and faith
He truly believed that the hand of our God is for good on all
who seek him (8:22). Instead of asking the king for a military
escort to guard the returning exiles, Ezra sought the Lord for
protection. He organised a fast, that we might humble ourselves
before our God, to seek from him a safe journey (8:21). They prayed
passionately. Ezra recorded, we fasted and implored our God for
this, and he listened to our entreaty (8:23). He would later
testify that the hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us
from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes by the way (8:31).
They prayed passionately, and then moved in faith.
There is a great lesson in this for todays church. Modern
pastors are obsessed with management methods and leadership skills
to grow their churches. Pastors flock to seminars oriented towards
the how to aspects of ministry, but by their prayerlessness they
show that they are really trusting in human methods rather than
Gods power to grow their churches. Many years ago, E.M. Bounds
wrote:
What the Church needs to-day is not more machinery or better,
not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the
Holy Ghost can usemen of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy
Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not
come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but menmen
of prayer.[footnoteRef:3] [3: Edward M. Bounds, Power through
Prayer (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, 1999), ch. 1.]
These words are more relevant today than they were 100 years
ago. More than any previous generation, our generation is obsessed
with methods, skills, and technologies. I suspect we are also less
prayerful than most previous generations of Christian leaders. We
are over-stimulated and hyper-active, and we find the discipline of
quiet, meditative prayer difficult. To echo Boundss sentiments, we
need better men, not better methods. We become better men in the
prayer closet, where we commune with the Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit. There are no short-cuts; there is no five-step path to
better character. Fruit grows in our lives as we abide in
Christ.
A word of caution: we need to beware of viewing prayer as a
means to an end. Prayer is not a technology for achieving ministry
goals; it is intimate communion with God, during which the man of
prayer is formed into the image of the Lord Jesus Christ and
empowered to serve him. If we practice prayer as a method of church
growth, we are wasting our time.
4. Ezra was cautious in his financial management
The king of Persia gave generously towards Ezras vision of
restoring the true worship of the Lord in the Jerusalem temple. The
exiles returned with 3.4 tons of gold and 22 tons of
silver.[footnoteRef:4] Ezra set apart twelve of the leading priests
(8:24) to look after the money. Every cent was carefully
counted[footnoteRef:5] and recorded before they departed. When they
arrived in Jerusalem, the money was handed over to the temple
priests. Once again, The whole was counted and weighed, and the
weight of everything was recorded (8:34). [4: McConville, 817. In
addition, the king authorised Ezra to make substantial resource
claims from the treasurers of the Province Beyond the River (see
7:2123).] [5: i.e. weighed]
Although King Artaxerxes gave him permission to use the money
according to his discretion in the service of the house of
God,[footnoteRef:6] Ezra was careful to be a trustworthy steward of
the money. He took pains to ensure that the money was handled with
complete integrity and that he was absolutely blameless in his
management of it. He did not take a cut for himself, but handed
over all the money, having accounted for every cent. [6: King
Artaxerxes prescribed how some of the money was to be used, namely,
to restored worship and sacrifices at the house of God in
Jerusalem. The king trusted Ezra to use the rest of the money as he
deemed best, saying, Whatever seems good to you and your brothers
to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do, according
to the will of your God (7:18).]
I personally knew a pastor whose attitude was that God had
called him to run the church with the Bible in one hand and the
chequebook in the other. He lacked the financial know-how to manage
the finances well, and he had a careless attitude towards his
responsibility to do so. He failed to appoint competent and
trustworthy men to manage the finances. He also neglected to
implement measures to ensure that the money was properly counted
and recorded. As a result, suspicions arose that the finances were
being mismanaged. The pastors integrity was seriously questioned,
his credibility as a minister undermined, and many members left his
church. Did he steal from the church? Nobody knows. He was
certainly guilty of careless financial management, and it almost
shipwrecked his ministry.
Ezra was personally authorised by King Artaxerxes to spend the
money; he could have taken a domineering, I-am-in-charge approach.
As the leading scribe and priest in Israel, he could have adopted
the attitude, I am the man of God, so just trust me. Instead, he
took every precaution to be blameless and transparent with the
Lords money. He appointed the best men and implemented a system of
checks and balances to ensure that the money was properly
managed.
If you are in ministry, do you have trustworthy and
financially-astute people overseeing the finances? Are there
reliable systems in place to ensure that every cent is counted and
recorded? Even the suspicion of dishonesty can harm your ministry,
so it is wise to take every precaution.
5. Ezra mourned over the sins of his people
Soon after Ezras group of exiles arrived back in Jerusalem, he
heard that the priests and people of Israel had been intermarrying
with the idol-worshipping people of the surrounding regions. This
was the very same sin that caused the exile, and Ezra feared that
Gods next judgement could be the end of Israel. Even without divine
judgement, the natural result of merging with other peoples
threatened to bring an end to Israel as Gods people.
This was Ezras response to the news: As soon as I heard this, I
tore my garment and my cloak and pulled hair from my head and beard
and sat appalled (9:3, italics mine). He sat appalled until the
evening sacrifice (9:4), when he fell on his knees and spread out
his hands before God (at the temple). Then he prayed one of the
Bibles great prayers of repentance on behalf of his people. What we
have in chapter 9 is a short summary of his confession. It must
have been an extended prayer, because people gathered around him
when they saw the intensity of his prayers, and they wept bitterly
(10:1). After this, he withdrew to a private place, and spent the
night neither eating bread nor drinking water, for he was mourning
over the faithlessness of the exiles (10:6).
Sin grieved Ezra deeply. There was nothing contrived or put on
about his response. As a student of scripture, he understood that
Israels unfaithfulness to the Lord brought exile upon the nation.
As a man of prayer, he had a personal appreciation for the holiness
of God and the horrors of sin. In short, Ezra had a God-centred
perspective on sin. Only those who walk intimately with God can
appreciate how heinous sin is; only they can truly grieve and mourn
over it; only they can grasp his grace in pardoning sinners. If our
relationship with God is not intimate, we tend to have a
man-centred view of sin. We downplay its seriousness and defend its
servants. When confronted with sin in the community, we choose a
pragmatic course of actionhow can we protect the image of the
church and avoid losing members? We defend our soft line on sin
under the guise of grace, when often it reveals a failure to grasp
Gods holiness rather than a deep revelation of his mercy.
6. Ezra was a strong leader surrounded by strong leaders
We see around Ezra a team of strong leaders, whom the scripture
describes as men of insight (8:16). He surrounded himself with
wise, learned men, themselves students are Gods word and ways. He
was not threatened by them. In fact, he actively sought them out.
In 7:28, he notes his strategy: I gathered leading men from Israel
to go up with me. We have a good example of this in 8:1520. While
making final preparations for the journey to Jerusalem, Ezra
reviewed the people and the priests (8:15). He discovered that
there were no Levites amongst them, so he sent a group of his most
able leaders to recruit some. They brought back 38 Levites,
including a key leader, Sherebiah, described as a man of discretion
(8:18).
When Ezra arrived in Jerusalem, he faced a major test of his
leadership. He was confronted by a problem that threatened the
existence of the Jewish nationthey were intermarrying with the
surrounding peoples. While Ezra was crying out to God, one of the
leaders of the community approached him with a proposed course of
action to solve the problem. He listened to the man, and followed
his counsel (see 10:15). Ezra was secure enough to surround himself
with strong men, and also humble and teachable enough to listen to
them.
The mans proposal was a radical onethe Israelites would make a
covenant with God to put away the foreign wives.[footnoteRef:7]
This is what he said: [7: It is clear from Ezra 6:21 that
foreigners who turned to the Lord were welcome amongst the Jewish
community. Everyone who separated himself from the uncleanness
(i.e. idolatry and its related evils) of the surrounding peoples
and joined themselves to the people of God to worship the Lord, the
God of Israel, was welcome. The problem in chapters 910 was that
the Israelites were marrying the peoples of the lands with their
abominations (9:1, italics mine), i.e. they were marrying
idol-worshippers who had no intention of turning to the Lord.]
We have broken faith with our God and have married foreign women
from the peoples of the land, but even now there is hope for Israel
in spite of this. Therefore let us make a covenant with our God to
put away all these wives and their children (10:23).
After making his proposal, the man charged Ezra: Arise, for it
is your task, and we[footnoteRef:8] are with you; be strong and do
it (10:4, italics mine). The words would have reminded Ezra of Gods
charge to Joshua, Be strong and courageous (Josh. 1:5-9). Although
the proposed solution did not originate from Ezra, he recognised it
was the best course of action. He took immediate action to
implement the plan. The next verse reads, Then Ezra arose and made
the leading priests and Levites and all Israel take oath that they
would do as had been said. So they took the oath. (10:5). He took
decisive action in difficult circumstances. Within three days he
assembled all the men of Judah and Benjamin (10:9). They devised a
strategy to implement the agreed course of action, and appointed
responsible people to carry it out. Despite some opposition, it
took three months to carry out the plan. [8: The plural here
suggests that Shecaniah was speaking on behalf of the people, as
their spokesperson.]
In those times of crisis, Ezra modelled many of the principles
of leadership and management that we find in modern textbooks. He
was secure enough to surround himself with strong leaders, and
humble enough to listen to their advice. When he had decided on a
course of action, he acted quickly and decisively, but not
impulsively. He delegated responsibility to trustworthy leaders,
and gave them time and freedom to carry out the plan properly. He
was not deterred by voices of dissent.
If you are a pastor, you will definitely find value in reading
management and leadership books. They will supplement and reinforce
what you learn from studying the lives of good leaders, such as
Ezra and Nehemiah. But please be cautious of focusing too much on
the how to aspects of pastoral leadership, and neglecting the
spiritual aspects such as obeying Gods call, studying the word,
praying, trusting God, mourning over sin, and acknowledging God as
sovereign in all of life.
7. Ezra acknowledged the sovereignty of God
Ezra did many things well. He was clearly a talented man and a
skilled leader. Nevertheless, he recognised that his actions were
not the primary cause of his successes. At every turn, he
acknowledged that his successes were due to Gods favour upon him.
One of the recurring phrases in his memoirs is the hand of the Lord
was upon us.
King Artaxerxes granted all Ezras requests, for the hand of the
Lord his God was on him (7:6).
Ezra arrived safely in Jerusalem, despite many dangers, for the
good hand of his God was on him (7:9).
Ezra spoke boldly before the king, for the hand of the Lord my
God was on me (7:28).
When he realised that there was a dearth of Levites amongst the
returning exiles, Ezra sent men to recruit some Levites. The
succeeded by the good hand of our God on us (8:18).
Ezra boldly told the king that the hand of our God is for good
on all who seek him (8:22). Ezra modelled his faith in this truth
by not requesting a military escort for the journey. This witness
probably explains the kings generosity towards the exiles.
The returning exiles, carrying a fortune in gold and silver,
were delivered from enemies and ambushes, because hand of our God
was on us (8:31).
God worked with, for, and through Ezraand Ezra acknowledged the
hand of God in every success. As a man of prayer and the word, he
was sensitive to the Lords hand at work. He used every opportunity
to give God credit and praise for his blessings. Here is an example
of Ezra directing the glory towards God:
Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, who put such a
thing as this into the heart of the king, to beautify the house of
the Lord that is in Jerusalem, and who extended to me his steadfast
love before the king and his counsellors, and before all the kings
mighty officers (7:27-28).
A wise man reputedly said, The world has yet to see what God can
do through a man who is not concerned about getting the credit for
it. He was exaggerating, but the point is well made, and the New
Testament repeatedly reminds us that God is the only one who
deserves credit for our ministry impact. For example, James 1:17
declares, Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of lights. Paul rebuked the Corinthians
for being proud about their spiritual gifts: What do you have that
you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as
if you did not receive it? (1 Cor. 4:7). Ezra constantly reminded
himself and others of this fundamental truth. We need to do the
same. The greater our victories, the more we need to remind
ourselves that God is all in all (1 Cor. 15:28).
Conclusion
The Old Testament presents Ezra as the ideal priest. He remains
an outstanding model for New Testament pastors to follow, because
he embodied the values and priorities that God seeks in pastors.
His life and ministry were shaped by two over-arching commitments,
namely, (a) the fact that he had set his heart to study, do, and
teach Gods word, and (b) the manner in which he related to God in
intimate and passionate prayer. Out of these chief commitments
flowed three inspiring qualities: his discernment of Gods call and
his willingness to pay the price of obeying it; his understanding
of Gods holiness and his deep grief over his peoples sins; and his
ability to see Gods sovereign hand behind all his victories and
give God all the glory. He also modelled two practical skills that
every pastor needsgood financial management and strong team
leadership.
Bibliography
Breneman, Mervin. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther. New American
Commentary 10. Nashville, TN: Broadman and Holman, 2001. Electronic
edition: Logos Library System.
Bounds, Edward M. Power through Prayer. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos
Research Systems, 1999.
Kelly, Brian E. 1 and 2 Chronicles. Pages 697-798 of The ESV
Study Bible. Edited by Lane T. Dennis, Wayne Grudem, and J.I.
Packer. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008.
McConville, J. Gordon. Ezra. Pages 799-820 of The ESV Study
Bible. Edited by Lane T. Dennis, Wayne Grudem, and J.I. Packer.
Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008.
McConville, J. Gordon. Nehemiah. Pages 821-848 of The ESV Study
Bible. Edited by Lane T. Dennis, Wayne Grudem, and J.I. Packer.
Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008.
Roberts, Mark, and Ogilvie, Lloyd J. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther. The
Preachers Commentary Series 11. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson,
1993.
Smith, James E. The Books of History. Joplin, MO: College Press,
1995.
Willamson, H. G. M. Ezra-Nehemiah. Word Biblical Commentary 16.
Dallas, TX: Word, 2002.
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