The Gracious Hand of Our God

Taught by Jan S.
Notes by Linda G.

Today Jan taught on Ezra, chapter 8. She began her lesson by giving us an overview of what the journey from Babylon to Jerusalem would entail. As a reminder, the first group that returned had come under the leadership of Zerubbabel in 537 B.C. and encompassed about 50,000 people. The second group that would return under the leadership of Ezra was much smaller, approximately 4,000-5,000 individuals. Ezra’s return was 79 years after Zerubbabel's.

In chapter 8:2-14, Ezra documents the family heads that would be returning with him. Jan used this as interesting insight into Ezra the man. Last week we learned ‘..Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel’ (Ezra 7:10). We know that Ezra was a man fully devoted to the things of the Lord. What we see in this passage, Jan pointed out, is that God had given Ezra a gift of administration. Ezra needed this gift to accomplish to work God had entrusted to him. We see that Ezra was a true leader. We see that he kept detailed records of those on the journey. This would be using his gift of administration. He was a priest. He was a scribe, (a teacher of the law).

Verse 15 tells us that all those who would be making the journey were assembled together. Ezra realized that there were no Levites in the group. According to Deuteronomy 33:10, the responsibility of the Levites was to teach God’s precepts to Jacob and His law to Israel, offer incense and whole burnt offering at God’s temple. Ezra was returning to Jerusalem to reinstate worship in the temple. The inclusion of Levites was critical.

Jan asked the question “what did Ezra do about this situation?”. We see the answer in the following verses. Ezra sends leaders and men of learning to gather the needed individuals who would be able to serve in the temple. Jan also led us in a discussion considering why these individuals may not have been eager to join the journey initially. After all, she pointed out, being a Levite was a gift of God. As we already know, this journey would take about four months and would cover approximately 900 miles. We may take for granted the ease and comfort in which we now travel, but for the Israelites this would have been an arduous journey. The Levites were not physical laborers – they were men of learning and study. Going on such a journey would be well outside their comfort zone. (Something to ponder..Is God calling you to something outside your comfort zone?? The best place to be is in His will!)

Ezra recounts “Because the gracious hand of our God was on us… (Ez 8:18). The men Ezra sent sent returned with 38 Levites and another 220 temple servants. This is another example of those God called were gifted to accomplish the task before them. As the Levites were gifted to carry out their duties, the temple servants would have been gifted as well. These temple servants would have been responsible for the daily physical upkeep of the temple (as the Levites were responsible for the spiritual upkeep).

Jan then expanded upon the topic of spiritual gifts. “We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully” (Romans 12:6-8). Jan pointed out that we are all given spiritual gifts for the edification of the body. She wanted us to think about the gifts that we believe God has given to us and how we feel when we are using this/these gift(s). Arlene also mentioned that if you are not sure what your gifts are to ask a Christian friend who knows you well. Other people can sometimes see your gifts more clearly than you can.

In verse 21 we see that the Israelites are ready to begin their journey home. Jan asks the question “what does Ezra do next?”. He calls for a fast: “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 (Ez 8:21)”. Before the Israelites can begin the physical journey they need to prepare spiritually. Jan gave us something to think about….when we are headed on a journey of any kind, even for a family vacation, do we prepare ourselves spiritually? We see in verse 24 that there was also a physical component to their preparation. There were massive amounts of gold and silver to be moved for use in the temple.

The following verses point to a truth that is as relevant to us today as when it was written. “I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, "The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him. So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer “(Ez 8:21-22). Like Ezra, we cry out to God for many reasons but do we trust Him with the outcome? Jan surmised that many times we pray as Ezra did but then we go off and do our own thing.

A few verses that speak to this very idea are as follows:
Psalm 20:7 “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”

Proverbs 3:5-7 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil”.

James 1:6-8 “But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does”.

Jan taught that Ezra put God’s reputation on the line. The bottom line is that God did indeed protect the Israelites on their journey and He was glorified. “The hand of our God was on us, and he protected us from enemies and bandits along the way (Ezra 8:31b)”. It should be noted that their protection was not a small matter. The traveling party was small in number compared to the group that had left under Zerubbabel. They were transporting a fortune in gold and silver. Their journey was through desolate lands.

Finally we see in verse 32 that they had arrived at their destination. When the exiles arrived they did three things:

1) The silver and gold were delivered. “Everything was accounted for by number and weight, and the entire weight was recorded at that time (Ez 8:34)”.
2) Then the exiles who had returned from captivity sacrificed burnt offerings to the God of Israel” (Ez 8:35b).
3) "They also delivered the king's orders to the royal satraps and to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, who then gave assistance to the people and to the house of God". (Ez 8:36).

Jan then posed the question, “why would these pagan people help the Israelites?”. A few of the answers the class gave were: they saw the presence of God upon the Israelites, they saw the evidence of the Israelites faith and were drawn to it, and that it was evidence of the hand of God’s favor upon them.
In conclusion, Jan gave us a question to think about…”what is the one thing that is needed for the Israelites to be a viable community?”.

What is your answer? We’d love to hear from you!
Come back next week for the answer.