The Ezra Model

In preparation for my desired career as a professor of Old Testament, I've been studying Biblical Hebrew. I'm not going to lie, it's been difficult, and it has made me wondering if I should have studied the language before committing to a future that depends on it. The language is fascinatingly complex, especially when you get into the verbal system, but the study of Hebrew forces you to slow down and really take in the text.

The book we used for class, Basics of Biblical Hebrew, contains devotional type insights at the end of every chapter. In all honesty, I typically skipped over these due to the intensive nature of the class, they squeezed a years worth of Hebrew into two 8 week courses, the realization of this made me feel a little better about not absorbing everything right away. However, for my Hebrew Syntax class we had to do a discussion board on one of these entries, A Life Centered on Torah.

The author of this article, Jason S. DeRouchie, points out that Ezra's life modeled godly leadership to people who needed to not only hear the word of God, but see a practical example of living out the will of God. He then goes on to point out Ezra's model, which is found in Ezra 7.10, "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."

The model Ezra lived by was study, practice, teach. DeRouchie states, "This progression of action, grounded in God's Word, characterized Ezra's life and ministry and we are perhaps wise to follow his example. Sound Study of the Scriptures must give rise to personal practice. Only then can we have a basis for effective teaching.... Ezra was serious about understanding God's Word, applying it, and proclaiming it - in that order!"

This approach is one I really feel I need to take. William Barclay said, "Real teaching always come out of real experience." Experience begins with understanding, and experience is the result of application. Only then, are you a fit messenger. DeRouchie again points out that there are those who focus so much on how they are going to proclaim the message, that they sacrifice time understanding it. At the same time. There are others who are so quick to share what God has said, that they don't take the time to live it out personally. Finally, there are those who seek to apply before they have properly understood, allowing their own principles to guide their lives, rather than Scripture. I can sadly say that at one point or another, all of these failures have been evident in my own life and ministry.

I don't want to be a teacher who simply lectures on subject matter, I've sat in classes like that, and while they can be interesting, looking back I don't find them to be the most life impacting. I want to be a teacher who is deeply passionate about the message I have to proclaim, one who has lived it and speaks from genuine experience. I want to be a teacher whose passion is contagious, and inspires in others a desire to experience God deeply. I want to follow the Ezra Model.


Fight the lion, 1 Peter 5.1-11

TO GOD ALONE BE THE GLORY!