“Ezra.” If you’re familiar with the Old Testament of the Bible, you remember the name. “Shecaniah”?<\/p>\n
Probably not. But here’s something we all need to understand: the “Ezras” of the world desperately need the “Shecaniahs.”<\/p>\n
In Ezra 10, after rebuilding the temple, restoring the Passover, and contending with a wide variety of adversaries, Ezra was worn out and discouraged. The people were distracted and dangerously close to slipping into the old patterns of behavior that had led to the exile of their forefathers. And Ezra had reached the end of his rope.<\/p>\n
“While Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, a very great assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him out of Israel, for the people wept bitterly. And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, of the sons of Elam, addressed Ezra: ‘We have broken faith with our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land, but even now there is hope for Israel in spite of this. Therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God, and let it be done according to the Law. Arise, for it is your task, and we are with you; be strong and do it’<\/em>” (Ezra 10:1-4).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Ezra has a book of the Bible named after him. Shecaniah doesn’t. Ezra was known by Artaxerxes, king of Persia. Shecaniah wasn’t. Ezra is remembered for standing before a great assembly of people, reading the Book of the Law of Moses for hours, and leading a multitude to repentance and restoration. Shecaniah isn’t. But Ezra 10 documents a dark day. A deep valley. Ezra was bitterly weeping, with a tear-streamed face to the ground. And Shecaniah was there to help.<\/p>\n
Shecaniah was honest about the current predicament. He didn’t gloss over the mess. He didn’t downplay the seriousness of the situation. He didn’t point fingers. He didn’t cast the blame as far away from himself as he could. Notice the pronouns. “We have broken faith with our God.<\/em>“<\/p>\n
He shared the gift of optimism and perspective with Ezra. “Even now there is hope.”<\/p>\n
He challenged Ezra. “Arise<\/em>.”<\/p>\n
He reminded Ezra. “It is your task.<\/em>“<\/p>\n
He strengthened Ezra with the blessing of fellowship. “We are with you<\/em>.”<\/p>\n
He inspired Ezra. “Be strong and do it.<\/em>“<\/p>\n
Then Ezra arose and Israel was motivated to take the next right step.<\/p>\n
Your name might not be known by the masses. Your reputation may not open the doors of power.<\/p>\n
Your biography probably won’t be written. But you can make a real difference today by following in Shecaniah’s footsteps. Just look around. Who is worn out? Spent in the service of others? Maybe a little discouraged? Close to the end of their rope?<\/p>\n
How could you serve as a refreshment to their souls?<\/p>\n
Optimism. Perspective. Encouragement. A reminder. Strength. Fellowship. Inspiration. Those are the gifts Shecaniah gave on that tough day in Ezra 10.<\/p>\n
In a darkened world full of discouragement, self-centeredness, and pessimism, be a Shecaniah this week.<\/p>\n
“Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation<\/strong>; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness<\/em>” (Romans 12:6-8).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jason Hardin In God’s Image “Ezra.” If you’re familiar with the Old Testament of the Bible, you remember the name. “Shecaniah”? Probably not. But here’s something we all need to understand: the “Ezras” of the world desperately need the “Shecaniahs.” In Ezra 10, after rebuilding the temple, restoring the Passover, and contending with a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[357,803],"class_list":["post-62073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-encouragement","tag-ezra"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":18195,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/both-ezra-264-and-nehemiah-766-agree-that-the-totals-for-the-whole-assembly-were-42360-yet-ezra-adds-up-to-29818-and-nehemiah-to-31089\/","url_meta":{"origin":62073,"position":0},"title":"Both Ezra 2:64 and Nehemiah 7:66 agree that the totals for the whole assembly were 42,360, yet Ezra adds up to 29,818 and Nehemiah to 31,089","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 10, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Both Ezra 2:64 and Nehemiah 7:66 agree that the totals for the whole assembly was 42,360, yet Ezra adds up to 29,818 and Nehemiah to 31,089? Answer: Ezra gives a detailed listing of families of Judah, Benjamin, the priests, and the Levites. (Ezra 1:5). That listing is from Ezra\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15694,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/they-promised-to-put-away-their-wives\/","url_meta":{"origin":62073,"position":1},"title":"They Promised to Put Away Their Wives","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 17, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Kent Heaton The book of Ezra is a remarkable book of \u201cthose whose spirits God had moved\u201d (Ezra 1:5). The city of Jerusalem lay in ruins for seven decades and the house of the Lord was burned. Zerubbabel led the faithful back to Jerusalem and the Temple was rebuilt.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23972,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-are-the-lists-in-ezra-2-and-nehemiah-7-different\/","url_meta":{"origin":62073,"position":2},"title":"Why are the lists in Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7 different?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 10, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: When I read Ezra and Nehemiah, I had some problems with the counting numbers recorded in both books. I believe the list of names in Ezra chapter 2 and Nehemiah chapter 7 are the same thing. But the number of singers and porters are different in these two books.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":55431,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/names-names-names-ezra-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":62073,"position":3},"title":"Names Names Names (Ezra 2)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 4, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jarrod M. Jacobs Interspersed in the Bible are lists of names. Sometimes, these are genealogies of certain families (Genesis 5, 10, etc.). Often, these genealogies focus on Judah's descendants leading to Christ (Ruth 4; Matthew 1; Luke 3). At other times, these names teach us about faith (Hebrews 11;\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5823,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-proof-is-there-that-jews-returned-with-nehemiah\/","url_meta":{"origin":62073,"position":4},"title":"What proof is there that Jews returned with Nehemiah?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 15, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I saw your web page Q&A regarding how many waves of people were taken to Babylon. You also list three return groups. Is there any scriptural support for any Jews returning with Nehemiah? Answer: The list of those who returned with Zerubbabel is found in Ezra 2:2-67. The total\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7339,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/were-the-ten-tribes-of-israel-really-lost\/","url_meta":{"origin":62073,"position":5},"title":"Were the Ten Tribes of Israel Really Lost?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 12, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Ezekiel 37:15-28 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Hurlbut\u2019s Story of the Bible: \u201cAs in their own land, the children of Israel had forsaken the Lord and had worshiped idols, so after they were taken to these distant lands, they sought the gods of the people of those lands and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62073"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62073\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}