For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.
Ezra 4:7
According to research completed by the British and Foreign Bible Society in 2021, not only is the Bible the greatest selling book of all time, it also suggests that the total number of Bible sold is probably lies between 5 and 7 billion copies. But, how often are those Bibles opened?
It is not how many Bibles are sold that counts, nor even how many people read them; what matters is how many actually believe what they read and surrender themselves in faith to live by the truth. Short of this the Bible can have no real value for any of us.
– A.W. Tozer
In the single verse above, we learn three important facts about Ezra beginning with the observation that he “had set is heart” on God’s word. Not only did he study and read, but he began to do more and practice the revealed truth. Third, he moved on to teach others.
We can find a parallel to Ezra’s life in the New Testament as Paul encouraged his protege, Timothy, to be “trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”
Ezra started by setting his heart on making God’s word a priority in his life. As a leader in the early church, Timothy was encouraged to train himself for godliness that has benefits today and in the life to come.
Do you want to see continued change in your life? The discipline of reading and applying the Bible to our daily lives is part of the transformation God wants for each of us, but discipline doesn’t happen all by itself. We are called to act. It’s up to us if we will pick up our Bible or open a Bible app on our phone and then practice what we read.
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