Will this generation of preachers secure the same legacy of Ezra? He so excellently and expositorily preached God’s Word that the following generations of preachers emulated his example.
Judaism followed the pattern set by Ezra. Detailed exegesis of the text was part of the scribal expertise (Nehemiah 8:8). Ezra’s model of expository preaching was followed in the synagogues. Ezra is believed to have founded the “Great Synagogue” (R. J. Coggins, “Ezra-Nehemiah,” in A Dictionary of Biblical Interpretation (ed. By R. J. Coggins and J. L. Houlden; London: SCM, 1990, 229). See Luke 4:15 for the example of Jesus preaching in the synagogue.
The early church duplicated some of the synagogue’s practices such as elders (Acts 6:12) and teaching Scriptures (Acts 9:20; 13:14-15). Ezra provides an example of the heritage of expository preaching that should be followed today.
The Reason for Expository Preaching
Ezra’s mandate was in Deuteronomy 31:11-12 which was given by Moses shortly before his death: “When all Israel is come to appear before the LORD your God in the place which he shall choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and your stranger that is within your gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law.” Ezra obeyed this command explicitly in Nehemiah 8:1-8.
Our similar mandate is in 2 Timothy 4:1-4 which was given also by Paul before his death. What was the last great emphasis in the OT? Preaching by Ezra (Ezra 7:10; Nehemiah 8:1-11), Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi (Ezra 5:1). What was the first Christian ministry of the church after its beginning? Preaching by Peter in Acts 2. The baton was successfully passed.
The Procedure of Expository Preaching
Because the priests and scribes failed to obey Deuteronomy 31:11-12 or the people disobeyed, Israel went into the 70 year captivity. Now God returns His people. How was Ezra used by God to bring revival to God’s backslidden people?
1. Zerubbabel in 538 B.C. rebuilt the temple that had been destoried by Nebuchadnezzar in 597 B.C. which is recorded in Ezra 1-6. What good is a building of worship without God’s Word as in the Robert Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral or Joel Osteen’s converted basketball stadium in Houston.
2. Ezra in 458 B.C. returns to Israel and restores the Word of God to its place of pre-eminence which is recorded in Ezra 7-10. God’s hand was on Ezra (7:9) because (“For”) he had committed himself to expository preaching as outlined in 7:10.
Ezra “had prepared his heart.” The words “prepared his heart” are used of Rehoboam who did not set his heart to learn (2 Chron. 12:14), and Hezekiah (30:19) who did set his heart to learn. Ezra had one all consuming passion. Expository preaching was not just his ministry; it was his life. Alexander McClaren would not except extra church activities and speaking engagements because it would distract him from his sermon preparation. He did not even except the prestigious Yale Lectures Series on Preaching. Maybe that is the reason we still read his sermons (See his Exposition of Holy Scriptures).
