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Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
Have you ever traveled in a ‘caravan’? Lots of people, vehicles, baggage, maybe even animals? Join me again back in Babylon, about 458bc, with a religious scholar named Ezra who, as we saw yesterday, has in his hand a formal commission from King Artaxerxes, the most powerful man in the world at that time. Ezra kept a log of these remarkable events, including his journey from Babylon to Jerusalem.
Ezra chapter 8 begins with a roll call of the caravan by families and clans. By my calculation well over 1500 people, with all their belongings, are preparing for the long journey to Jerusalem!
Before they actually began their long trek, it seems Ezra took a close look at WHO these people were who wanted to accompany his official caravan to Jerusalem. Ezra was surprised that NO Levites were found in the caravan (Ezra 8:15) and that concerned Ezra because Levites were essential for the proper functioning of the Temple in Jerusalem.
Levites were those men who could trace their family lineage all the way back to the tribe of Levi, and that was the family of Moses and Aaron. Ezra was a Levite. Ezra was what we would call a “Bible scholar” and his commission from the king was for the purpose of bringing a fresh religious fervor, perhaps even a spiritual revival to Jerusalem, and that meant the Temple would need to be functioning at its very best and that required Levites, lots of them!
So, Ezra parked his caravan at the Ahava Canal and sent a delegation to go find some Levites who’d be willing to join their 750-mile trek to Jerusalem and live there, at least for a while, if not permanently, doing the important work of the Temple Levites. (Ezra 8:16,17) The delegation was successful, but Ezra wants us to know it was not because they paid these Levites to leave home and accompany them, they were not mercenaries. Nor was it because they were forced to join this caravan.
Ezra explains their success in recruiting Levites with these words: “Because the gracious hand of our God was upon us…” (Ezra 8:18) Pause a few seconds and look at your life journey my friends. Look at your character development; look at the major life defining events of your life story… do you see the evidence of amazing things in your life story that can only be attributed to God’s direct involvement with you? Can you say that the gracious hand of God has been upon you? Do you celebrate it? Has it even become part of your personal reputation?
With his caravan now intact Ezra, as a wise leader, thought it best to do one more important thing before they began their long and dangerous journey. He records it this way: “There by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from our enemies along the road because we had told the king: ‘The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who seeks Him. So, we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and God answered our prayers.” (Ezra 8:21-23)
Oh my! Have you ever found yourself boasting about the greatness, the majesty of God and then finding you need to prove your boast by relying upon God to do something significant in your life? That’s exactly where Ezra was. He and his caravan knew the long road to Jerusalem was filled with thieves and bandits, but Ezra had claimed his God could protect them even better than the king’s soldiers!
Oh, by the way, Ezra was not simply concerned for the safety of the elderly and children in the caravan. Did you know Ezra has some very precious cargo the king had entrusted to them? Look at Ezra 7:15,16. So Ezra selected 12 leading priests and entrusted the king’s treasures to their safekeeping on this journey. (Ezra 8:24-27) But Ezra didn’t simply urge them to keep an eye on the treasures.
Ezra challenged them with these words: “You, as well as these precious articles are consecrated to the LORD. The silver and gold are a freewill offering to the LORD, the God of your ancestors. Guard them carefully until you weigh them out in the chambers of the house of the LORD in Jerusalem…” (Ezra 8:28-30)
As I put myself in their shoes, those words of Ezra send a shiver up my spine! Why? When was the last time you were entrusted with a treasure chest of the king’s silver and gold? When have you and the task you are undertaking been consecrated to the LORD? When have you been reminded of the God of your ancestors and how God has faithfully worked in past generations of your family? And do you see Ezra’s expectation that God will help them travel 750 miles safely? And they will bring this treasure into the Temple and present it to the Jerusalem leaders?
So now Ezra was ready to lead this great caravan away from Babylon, where they had all lived their entire lives, and start the journey, four months long, to Jerusalem. By the way, we can assume most if not all of them had ever seen Jerusalem before. Ezra records it this way: “On the 12th day of the first month we set out from the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was upon us, and He protected us from enemies and bandits along the way…” (Ezra 8:31)
Can you envision this caravan walking along the dusty road all the way to Jerusalem? Can you imagine their excitement as they see Jerusalem and the great Temple? What did they talk about as they walked along? Let’s travel with them and I’ll meet you tomorrow at their arrival in Jerusalem! I imagine they sang songs as they walked, so let’s do the same…
Today’s Scripture: Ezra 8:1-31.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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