Clothed for Service

The Lord does not restore His people so that they may drift again into neglect, but that they may be cleansed, instructed, and set in order for His service. In Ezra, the priest comes with a ready heart to study the Law, to do it, and to teach it. Restoration is not completed by returning to the land; it must reach the conscience, the tongue, the courts, and the worship of God. A people rescued from exile must become a people ruled by God’s commandments.

Zechariah shows how such a thing is possible. The high priest stands defiled, accused by the adversary, unable to justify himself. Yet the Lord Himself rebukes the accuser and removes the filthy garments. Lactantius cites the word: “And the Lord said to the adversary, The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you; and lo, a brand plucked out of the fire.” Mercy comes first, but not alone. The cleansed priest is then clothed anew and charged to walk in God’s ways and keep His command.

So the same God who restores the book also restores the man. He gives His law again, and He gives clean garments for obedience. Irenaeus says that God “inspired Esdras the priest, of the tribe of Levi, to recast all the words of the former prophets, and to re-establish with the people the Mosaic legislation.” Therefore let no one boast in pardon while despising discipline. If the Lord has plucked us from the fire, let us not return to the smoke. Let us submit to the divine teaching, confess our stains, receive correction, and walk carefully in the house of God.