“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 (ESV)
Ezra’s biography is captured in a single disciplined sentence: he set his heart, he studied, he did, and he taught. The order is essential. He did not teach what he had not done. He did not do what he had not studied. He did not study without first setting his heart — making a prior, intentional commitment of will. ‘Set his heart’ (Hebrew: kun) means to establish, to make firm, to make ready. The discipline of Bible study begins not with an open Bible but with a prepared heart — a decision made before you open the page that you will receive it as God’s authoritative Word and that you will obey what you find. Without that prior commitment, Bible study becomes intellectual exercise rather than transformative encounter.
Reflection:
Have you ‘set your heart’ to study God’s Word — made a firm, prior commitment to receive it as authoritative and to obey what you find?
Or is your Bible reading more casual and occasional?
Prayer:
Lord, like Ezra, I set my heart today to study Your Word, to do it, and to share it with others. Make that commitment firm in me. Let every time I open Scripture be an act of prepared, expecting, obedient hearing. Amen.
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