There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. Ezra 8:21 (Ezra 7-8)
God’s active work in the lives of those who trust Him is always perfect in time, place and quantity. This I have learned over and over again, but never is evidence of an active, loving God’s constant care as poignant as it is in this episode of a man getting up everyday and doing God’s will.
A scholar of The Law with a pedigree that reached all the way back to Aaron, Ezra was God’s prepared hope for the present life of Israel in the years after Esther’s miracle. As the exiles assimilated into foreign populations, the Hebrew language, in which Moses’ Law was originally written, became a less familiar exchange of the every day Jew. Ezra was chosen to teach God’s Law, beautify the Temple, restore Temple service, but first he must lead more that 1500 men, with their families, and all the gifts from Persia’s king, in a second return to Palestine.
Esther’s stepson Artaxerxes had a likening for the God of the Jews and instead of approaching this reestablished nation with suspicion, he decided to embrace them as a peaceful, geographical buffer between Persia and Egypt. He sends utensils and embellishments for the Temple, man power and herds for sacrifice. It will take a four month trek through foreign territory, to arrive in Jerusalem. Ezra does not want to ask for a military escort after the King has been so generous. Instead, he stops at the first water crossing and leads his entourage in fasting, prayer and worship, asking for God’s protection.
God is good. When the job seems far bigger than we can imagine, when we’re scared for ourselves and those entrusted to our care, God is good and faithful.
Love,
Gretchen