Thoughts for the Day

(Ezra speaks) "I gathered the people by the river that runs to Ahava, and there we camped for three days. As I reviewed the people and the priests, I found there none of the descendants of Levi. Then I sent those who were leaders .... to Iddo... to send us ministers for the house of our God. Since the gracious hand of our God was upon us, they brought us a man of discretion, of the descendants of Mahli son of Levi son of Israel besides two hundred and twenty of the temple servants.

Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might deny ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our possessions. For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and cavalry to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king that the hand of our God is gracious to all who seek him, but his power and his wrath is against all who forsake him. So we fasted and petitioned our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.

Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests ... and I weighed out to them the silver and the gold and the vessels, the offering for the house of our God that the king, his counsellors, his lords, and all Israel there present had offered; .... And I said to them, ‘You are holy to the Lord, and the vessels are holy; and the silver and the gold are a freewill-offering to the Lord, the God of your ancestors. Guard them and keep them until you weigh them before the chief priests and the Levites and the heads of families in Israel at Jerusalem, within the chambers of the house of the Lord.’

Then we left the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem; the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes along the way. We came to Jerusalem and remained there for three days. On the fourth day, within the house of our God, the silver, the gold, and the vessels were weighed into the hands of the priest Meremoth son of Uriah .....

At that time those who had come from captivity, the returned exiles, offered burnt-offerings to the God of Israel.'

(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

So we hear in detail of the journey that Ezra has to make from Babylon to Jerusalem. A wise man he uses the heads of the different houses to go and plead his case for more Levites and priests, that is those who will serve in the Temple in Jerusalem. We get some idea of the tension involved, of how he does not wish to ask for help from king Artaxerxes in the shape of soldiers, despite carrying all the gold and the precious items for the temple, but boldly declares that God will look after them.

The first thing he does when he has ensured he has enough people to carry on God's work is to fast, and to pray for God's help. They will not go alone; they go under the protection of God. Make no mistake the journey was hard. Looking at the map* we can see they spend months skirting the enormous deserts, while being ambushed and attacked by hostile tribes. But despite this they arrived safely in Jerusalem. Their first task was to deposit the treasure in the Temple and to give thanks to God for a safe arrival.

How often do we involve God in our plans, and thank Him for His help?

* The bottom group.

Lord God,
You called Ezra and Your people
to return to Jerusalem,
and protected them on their hazardous journey.
You call us to follow You,
however hard the journey.
Help us therefore to hear Your call,
go where You want,
and protect us as we travel.
Amen.