E-Message Bible/Commentary
"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." --- Psalm 119:105
EZRA
Practice What You Preach
For
Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord, and to do it, and
to teach the statutes and ordinances in Israel. (Ezra 7:10)
Many of us live by the adage, "Don't do as I do, do as I say do." Many of us teach God's word without first practicing it in our own lives. Little is said about Ezra, but he is known for his skilled knowledge of the law. He meditated on God's word night and day, and he sought to do all that was written in the law (Joshua 1:8). Ezra not only studied the law, but he applied God's word to himself before preaching it to others. Ezra was a priest who depended on God. He set aside days for fasting and prayer. He knew and lived by the Old Testament law, but used it as a path to an intimate relationship with God. When he studied the scriptures, he applied God's word to himself before teaching it to others.
Ezra was so good at his task of teaching the law to others that most found favor with him. Not only did Ezra communicate God's requirements to the captives in Jerusalem, but he also lived a lifestyle paralleled to his teachings. Ezra could point out shortcomings to peole with a keen sense of divine guidance "according to the good hand of His God upon him" (Ezra 7:9). People respected and followed the teachings of Ezra because Ezra practiced what he preached.
Do people listen to you because like Ezra you practice what you preach?