EZRA Part 2

In chapter 8 of this account of Ezra, our heroic leader has a setback.  He assembles his team and realizes there are no Levites there.  Ahhhhh!  But soon, a solution is worked out and several Levites as well as temple servants were located and brought to the Ahava Canal where they were assembling.  In verse 21, Ezra leads this team in fasting and praying in preparation for the journey.  

Over and over, Ezra says "The gracious hand of our God was on us..." and so they were able to travel in just four months from the canal to Jerusalem.  They had ample provisions, the prescribed priests and servants for proper worship protocol and the safety from any bandits or enemies along the way!

This account so far sounds like many missionary biographies I have read over the years.  God calls, He prepares, He supplies and He does miracles on the missionary's behalf.  

I love verse 35 "Then the exiles who had returned from captivity sacrificed burnt offerings to the God of Israel..."  How beautiful this must have been for Ezra to lead his people in worship back in their own country!  This is right and honourable to offer worship to God on their safe arrival and to begin their restoration ministry in Jerusalem.

If the story ended their, it would be a fairy tale.

But in chapters 9 and 10, we see the major challenge Ezra faced as he began his official ministry.  He heard through the leaders who were in place, that many of the priests and Levites and other Israelites had intermarried with the nations of Canaan.  This absolutely broke Ezra's heart.  He is immediately in mourning  the breach in God's laws.  This is part of the original reason the Israelites were exiled:  they intermarried and subsequently fell away from worship of God and adopted the pagan worship and idolatry.  Ezra was sick with grief and by that evening, was in prayer for God's mercy and wisdom in how to deal with this difficult dilemna.

Very soon, one of the leaders suggests a course of action:  "Now let us make a covenant before our God to send away all these women and their children, in accordance with the counsel of my lord and of those who fear the commands of our God." ( Ch. 10 v. 3)  Ezra rises up and takes the lead.  Within three days, the Israelites were gathered in Jerusalem and were repentant and made sacrifices for their guilt.  God swept through with a revival to begin the restoration of temple worship among His people. 

There was opposition.  Four men are named in verse 15 who did not support this decision to send the foreign women and their children away and not to marry into the pagan nations again.  Powerful testimony of repentance and obedience with no compromise.

As Ezra's account ends, I am struck by his complete obedience, faith and gifts as a leader.  Not everything went perfectly but he chose to seek the Lord and use wisdom to delegate and find solutions for the challenges.

I can't wait for Nehemiah...