Ezra 8:21-23

"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. For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him. So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was intreated of us."

Artaxerxes, the king of Babylon, had finally relented and allowed the Israelites to return to their land. The Israelites had spent 70 years in Babylon. Meanwhile the land of Israel was a waste, their villages and cities destroyed. Now they were headed home. A few in this crowd had been among those that were taken out of the land so many years before. The majority had never seen it.

In his desire to return Israel to their land, Artaxerxes must have offered an armed escort for the trip. He had told Ezra and the Israelites to take with them large amounts of gold and silver to be used in the temple. They also had all of their personal possessions. Certainly many enemies of Israel knew of their trip to Israel. But Ezra records that he was "...ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him." He had boasted about God to the king. And now the rubber was meeting the road, so to speak. He was about to lead a small group of untrained (in the ways of war) former slaves through the wilderness. How would you like to be in his shoes? In Psalm 20:7 David says, "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God." So Ezra had determined to not trust in the strength of man, but in the strength of the LORD his God. A few verses after the ones above Ezra reports the result, "Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way." All arrived safely, having lost nothing.

This story illustrates the way of faith. It is easy to speak of God and His greatness and our trust in Him when things go well, or are comfortable. But the time comes when we must put action to our words. Does our faith cause us to act when faced with danger or the unknown? Are we willing to make our boast in God, and then trust Him in the thing about which we spoke? Or do we blame God for the bad events in our life and accuse Him of being uncaring? Ezra trusted, and found that His trust was not unfounded. There is a God who is able, and can be trusted. As they cast their trust on Him, He brought them through a dangerous situation without loss. God is pleased when we believe and trust Him even if we don't see Him. And He is well able to act on our behalf.

Oh for grace to trust Him more!

HJK