Today’s Scripture Reading (July 12,
2014): Ezra 7
Have you
ever wondered where Sherlock Holmes would be without Dr. John Watson? The
celebrated sleuth might have still been able to work miracles with nothing but the
power of his observation, but who would know? And the most significant gems of
wisdom that then great detective gave to the word are directed at Watson. We
would never have heard Sherlock explain “that when you have
eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be
the truth” were it not for Watson.
And, yes, I know that Dr. Watson is nothing
more than a literary device employed by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – but I also
know that Dr. Watsons exist in real life. Actually, there has been a search for
the real Dr. Watson almost since The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes began to be
published and read by fans of mystery. The idea has always been that if we
could find the real John Watson, we might also be able to find the real Sherlock
Holmes. And maybe that would explain how Sir Arthur Conan Doyle could release
the first Sherlock Holmes stories with such well-rounded and complete lead
characters.
We also find our Dr. Watsons in Biblical
literature. It has often been acknowledged that most of what we have in the
Bible are words written somebody close to the main characters or the named
authors. The Apostle Paul, for instance, uses several secretaries in the
writing of his letters. At one point Paul even takes over from the one writing
to prove that the letter is really coming from him – “See what large letters I
use as I write to you with my own hand!” (Galatians 6:11) he declares to his
readers. I assure you that this is coming from me. Most of the secretaries of
the Bible are anonymous, but we do know a few of them.
It was a man named Baruch that was the Dr.
Watson for Jeremiah. Baruch wrote down what it was that Jeremiah was teaching
in order that a record of the Prophet’s instructions might be preserved. It is
the work of Baruch that we have in our Bible’s listed as the Book of Jeremiah.
And it would seem that Ezra also filled this role. Ezra grew up in Babylon. But
his interest was in the history and religion of his people. As a result, Ezra
began to put together a comprehensive record of the writings of the Jews. The
Book that Ezra was compiling would be an early forerunner to the Bible that we
know today. And Ezra was not satisfied with just compiling the records; he
studied them and he knew them.
And when given an opportunity to travel from
Babylon to Jerusalem, Ezra went. Finally he would be able to see the places
first hand that he had read about. And because of his knowledge of the sacred
writings of Israel, there was no better teacher for those still living in and
around Jerusalem, and for those who continued to return from the exile to their
homeland, than Ezra.
Scholars have remarked that Ezra (along with
Moses) were two men that seemed to be completely suited to the tasks that God
had assigned them to. For Moses, there could have been no better person to receive
the law of God the first time, and Ezra was a perfect choice to be the one that
would reteach Israel all that the law still demanded of them. Both men were
committed to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and both wanted nothing more
than that their fellow countrymen would honor and trust that God – and both men
became the teachers of the law that the people needed.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Ezra 8
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