Just Do It

“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.”—Ezra 7:10

Nike has one of the greatest marketing slogans in our world today with “Just Do It.” As believers in Christ, we have a responsibility and opportunity to learn God’s Word and not only study it, but do what it says. Our passage for today is about a priest named Ezra who helped lead the Israelites back to the sacred and ancient city of Jerusalem in order to help rebuild it. The city was the headquarters for the Jewish people, the center of Jewish worship and government authority. But the city had turned its back on God, and He sent numerous prophets and warnings exhorting the people to repent or there would be judgment. The people ignored God’s warnings and He did indeed bring judgment with the Babylonians in 586 B.C. The Babylonians came against the city, tore down the walls, and took most of the Israelites into captivity in Babylon. Fifty years later, Ezra helped lead a group of Israelites back into the city in order to help rebuild the city, its walls, and the Jewish Temple.

Ezra was a godly leader, but it was because of his study and application of the law of God that he is remembered so highly. Ezra wasn’t an individual who simply read the Law of God, but sought to apply it to His life. We must seek to do the same. As Abraham Kuyper once said,  

“In the total expanse of human life there is not a single square inch of which the Christ, who alone is sovereign, does not declare, 'That is mine!'”

Christ wants to reign over every single moment and aspect of our lives, and when we seek to place our lives under the authority of His Word, then the reality of that desire is seen. There are three parts to our passage for today. The first part involves us setting our hearts to study the Law of the LORD. For us, this means we need to set our hearts to study the Bible on a daily basis. We set aside a time, free from distraction, where we can attentively read the Word of God. This doesn’t mean playing Bible roulette where we spin the pages and place our finger on a verse to determine what it means to our lives, but an intentional time and reading plan where we go through the entirety of Scripture. For myself, this means reading one Psalm a day out loud and then reading five chapters in the Old Testament. Once I have done this, I go to the New Testament where I read one chapter, while meditating and praying through it. If you were to do this reading plan, you would successfully go through the entire Bible in one year—once through the Old Testament and twice through the New Testament. I have done this for several years and gone through the Bible numerous times.

The second part of our verse for today involves doing what the Bible says. We don’t read just to read, but to make it part of our lives. We want to apply the Word. When we read the Bible we ask God to give us insight into our lives, which includes asking what sins He wants us to forsake. What truths does He want us to apply? And what are the promises that He wants us to claim? Asking these questions will help enable us to do what the Word of God says.

The third part of our passage involves teaching it to others. As believers in Christ, we have been commanded by Christ to  

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."¬—Matthew 28:19-20. 

The key part of the passage that relates to Ezra is found in verse 20, “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” We don’t study the Word just to study it, or only to apply it to our own personal lives, but also to teach it so that others might share in the joy of knowing and obeying Jesus Christ who is our ultimate hope, joy and desire.

May God place within each one of us an insatiable desire to study the Word, do it, and then teach it to others so that God might be seen and praised for who He is—the greatest treasure the universe has to offer. Amen.