“Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.” (Ezr 8:21 AV)
The circumstances for this fast are rather important. Ezra was tasked to return to Jerusalem by Cyrus, king of the Medes and Persians, to rebuild the temple. Cyrus had offered financial and material assistance, but Ezra declined on the premise that the God of Israel could quite meet their need. A need did arise of which they could not meet, so Ezra proclaimed a fast, so that the God of Israel would be proven sufficient for their cause. The right way of which Ezra speaks is the right way to traverse through Jerusalem, the manner in which to gather the materials, and building of the temple. They also faced threats to their cause by the Gentiles that had come to dwell in Israel. Ezra wanted God to be glorified without the need to go to unbelievers for help. Desperate times require desperate measures.
The extent we are willing to inconvenience ourselves reveals how much we desire what God desires. God does not make faith and obedience easy. Why would He? Faith and obedience, by design, take effort. We have to deal with a nature that does not want to do either. We have to deal with the world that wants to see us fail. We have to deal with Satan, who wants nothing more than to see our destruction. We have to face great adversity on our journey of faith and obedience. Seeing that faith and obedience are difficult, the measure of our integrity is the price we will pay to live in faith and obedience. To what extent are we willing to go to see God pleased? This was Ezra’s point. God called them to be a separated nation. He gave them a little space to repent and do it right. Again! They returned to Jerusalem to repair and rebuild the Temple and wall. This opportunity cost them. They traversed by foot to Babylon to Israel, taking with them what they would need to make the trip. Once there, they had to gather the materials needed for the project. Cyrus returned a portion of the precious metals taken when Nebuchadnezzar invaded. But Ezra refused additional supplies to do the job. His integrity would not allow the Gentiles to supply the resources for their obedience. It was Israel that failed and it must be Israel that pays the cost.
Rather than take a shortcut, Ezra took the only option that would glorify the LORD. He proclaimed a fast throughout Israel. If they were going to do this, they needed God’s help. They would not compound the error by accepting grace not meant for them. They would not take a sinful out to further obedience. No way! They were desperate, in part, because of the integrity of their leader. This is a good thing! Their leader would not bend to compromise and this caused hardship. Rather than accept the charity of those who knew not God, he put all his eggs in the basket of God’s provision. Fast and pray. That was the only option he could take. What did God do? God proved Himself more than capable and supplied all they would need without the help of the Gentile king. Desperate times require desperate measure. But desperate times are desperate because of the integrity of God’s people! Glory! May we have more of them and may we respond just as Ezra did. Fast and pray and see what God can do!
No comments:
Post a Comment