Ezra 7:6
This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given: and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him. This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given: and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him.
Ezra was a ready and skilled scribe and teacher in the law of Moses which the Lord God of Israel had given, a man of extraordinary learning whose qualifications made him eminent in the Medo-Persian kingdom. He was a priest descended from Aaron, learned and devout, whose piety and zeal fitted him to do good to Israel and to restore honor to the priesthood eclipsed in the captivity. He went up from Babylon to Jerusalem to revive the study of Scripture and educate Israel in God's commandments, having first learned the law and lived by it so that his example and teaching carried influence with the Spirit of God upon him. The king granted him all his requests for the return and the work because the hand and favor of God was upon him, providing gifts, means, and authority for the temple service and rebuilding after seventy years of captivity. The chapter records the decree to restore and build Jerusalem in the seventh year of Artaxerxes in 457 B.C., which begins the seventy weeks and the 2300 days and years, reaching because of its late-year date to the fall of 1844 at the appointed time.
Ezra's Identity and Mission
Ezra is identified as a ready, skilled scribe and teacher in the law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given, a man of extraordinary learning whose qualifications made him eminent and distinguished in the Medo-Persian kingdom. He was a priest descended from Aaron, a learned and devout man whose piety and zeal as well as learning fitted him for service. God chose him to do good to Israel and to restore honor to the priesthood, whose glory had been greatly eclipsed and diminished during the captivity.
He went up from Babylon to Jerusalem to renew interest in God's word, revive the study of Scripture, and help restore the city. Having first learned the law and lived by its principles before teaching it, he educated Israel in God's commandments, statutes, and judgments and urged obedience. His example and teaching carried influence because the Spirit of God was with him and helped others gain knowledge of enduring truth.
The king granted him all his requests for the journey and its work because the hand and favor of God was upon him. Ezra's trust in God's protection impressed the king, moving him to favor Ezra with gifts for the temple, generous provision for the return and temple service, authority to carry out his purpose, and abundant means for rebuilding. This opened opportunity for the Jews to return after seventy years of captivity and serve God again in their own country. The granted return shows God's forbearance toward His wayward people in giving them another opportunity to serve Him.
Prophetic Countdown from 457
Ezra 7 records the decree to restore and build Jerusalem, issued in the seventh year of Artaxerxes and dated to 457 B.C. That decree is the commandment to restore Jerusalem that begins the seventy weeks, and it supplies the shared starting point for the 2300 days and years of Daniel 8:14. Counting from 457, 2300 minus 457 fixes the close of the prophetic period.
The reckoning was by a calculation so simple and plain that even children could understand it. Counted in that way, the 2300 years were held to terminate at the close of 1843. That year was looked for as the time for the coming of the Lord.
Because the decree went forth near the end of 457 B.C., the full 2300-year period reaches to the fall of 1844 rather than ending in 1843. The apparent delay did not mean the vision would fail, for it was for an appointed time and would surely come. In this accounting the vision did not tarry.