If you have missed any of our 31 Days of Fasting in January you can go here to catch up.
Ezra. Some thought he had nothing to say. He was one of those who did so much for his present world but yet his mind was clearly on the one to come!
The seventh chapter of the book bearing his name tells us right away what kind of man he was: “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 7:6 KJV.
Ezra’s lineage was traced all the way back to Aaron, the brother of Moses. He was a teacher, a soper, translated as a scribe, a writer, recorder or secretary. It also meant that he could obviously read and write; he was a learned man who could teach what he read in the Law of God.
He had favor with the pagan ruler, King Artaxerxes, and the king was willing to grant him whatever was requested of him.
So what was Ezra’s request? Jewels? Land? Power?
No.
Ezra didn’t choose any of these; he chose to take some of the people of God back to Jerusalem. “For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.” Ezra 7:10 KJV.
The King gave a letter to Ezra outlining how all of this was to take place. The trip was to take four months. They were to have certain privileges along the way. The king gave them plenty of gold and silver for their journey and they were to stop and get more in Babylon.
Check this out: They were carrying 3.5. tons of silver, 600 bushels of wheat, 600 gallons of wine, 100 baths of olive oil, and an unlimited salt supply. This was not to be a poor caravan traveling through the desert; these people were going in style!
How did King Artaxerxes benefit from all of this generosity? He hoped to have peace with his neighbors “…for why should we risk bringing God’s anger against the realm of the king and his sons?” Ezra 7:23 NKJV.
Ezra was busy gathering the people for the trip and then he asked God for His blessing on the journey. Ezra’s character and true spirit come out here in this prayer.
“Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions.” Ezra 8:21 NKJV.
Ezra wanted the people to humble themselves. The King James Version says to afflict, to repent, to show dependence on their God for the huge expedition they were about to embark upon. Ezra realized without God’s help they would be subject to thieves because they were carrying so much gold and other treasures.
But what he said next is amazing. “For I was ashamed to request of the king an escort of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the road, because we had spoken to the king, saying, ‘The hand of our God is upon all those for good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him.’ So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer.” Ezra 8:22, 23 NKJV.
He could have asked for a military escort because of all he was carrying but Ezra didn’t want to do that since he had already told the king that the hand of God was on them. Now he had to act on that faith.
Everything Ezra taught, everything he said, and now everything he believed, was being put into action.
So he did what he needed to do. He humbled himself, and made the people do the same. They fasted and entreated God, or prayed and asked God for help! Ezra knew that this God that he had put his faith and confidence in, this God that he had trusted and read about, wrote about and taught about continually, would be faithful. He was not disappointed for the Bible says,
“…and He answered our prayer.”
What need do you have today?
Is there something you have been struggling to even ask God about?
Is it His protection you wish?
Do you need His wisdom for a particular situation?
What about mercy? Are you struggling to give it where it is needed?
You don’t have to worry, fret and wring your hands in despair, trust as Ezra did, he lived for His God; he didn’t just talk about Him, he knew Him.
So when trouble came his way, or doubt tried to creep in, uncertainty or even thieves lurked nearby, he knew exactly what to do.
He humbled his soul with fasting, he prayed for God’s protection and then…
He stepped out in faith!
He arrived safely at his destination. He never lost any of the 25 tons of silver, silver articles weighing 3.75, tons, 3.75 tons of gold, 20 huge bowls of gold, all which would have been worth millions of dollars today. All of the people could now worship their God in their homeland. Once again, Jehovah had protected them from harm.
So walk in victory today. God is on your side! You can trust Him to be faithful when you live for Him and put Him first.
“And the hand of our God was upon us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy…” Ezra 8:31 NKJV.
