ezra – Praying Pint

4.d. Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors.

Nehemiah 8:13 On the second day the heads of fathers’ houses of all the people, with the priests and the Levites, came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the words of the Law.

Proverbs 2:1-6    My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you,  making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding;  yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding.  if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures,  then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.  For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

Proverbs 8:33-34   Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it.  Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors.

Mark 6:33-34    When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.

Blessed is the one who listens. I wonder if we truly cherish God’s word. Are we inching our hearts to understanding? Are our ears attentive? Are we calling out for understanding? Are we seeking God’s word for hidden treasures? Do we hear instruction? Are we watching and waiting to hear and be led? God’s compassion, grace, mercy, purpose, plan, and love are revealed to those who seek it. It is one thing to desire and seek God’s word and another to just be exposed to it. There is a difference. Exposure is not necessarily something that is desired but rather something that just happens. If we take this approach to God’s word there is no effort, no commitment, no longing, no searching for it like a hidden treasure.

Now is a good time to examine our heart, mind, and soul to see if we are searching God’s word for hidden treasures or are content with complacent exposure.

4.c. Because you were grieved into repenting.

Nehemiah 8:9 And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law. Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.” And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.

2 Chronicles 34:21    “Go, inquire of the LORD for me and for those who are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the LORD that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD, to do according to all that is written in this book.”

Romans 3:20    For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

2 Corinthians 7:9-11     As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.  For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

When we come to God’s word with a desire for it to speak into our life we will be blessed with understanding. We will begin to understand God’s holiness, love, power, might, mercy, grace, and wrath. We will begin to expose ourselves, our thoughts, our actions, and our intents to the light of His word. In this light, we find our heart softened and it is at this point we begin our humble reverence and obedience to it. Our growth and maturity do not find an end point. We come to the light of His word each day and are continuously revealed more and more about the Holiness of God, the love of Jesus Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit. Thankfully this is never ending. Morning by morning new mercies of God’s grace and love are revealed. His word will renew, strengthen, refresh, encourage, and protect our heart, mind, and soul from being pulled in by selfish and worldly influences. Spend time His word. Seek and desire it. Commit to it. Believe and trust it. Be in obedience to it.

3.w. Let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant

Nehemiah 1:4 As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. And I said, “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father’s house have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses. Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples, but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.’ They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand. O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” Now I was cupbearer to the king.

Leviticus 26:33     And I will scatter you among the nations, and I will unsheathe the sword after you, and your land shall be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste.

Deuteronomy 4:27    And the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD will drive you.

Deuteronomy 32:28     “For they are a nation void of counsel, and there is no understanding in them.

1 Kings 9:6-7    But if you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes that I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them,  then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, and the house that I have consecrated for my name I will cast out of my sight, and Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples.

Ezra was a priest. He was sent to Jerusalem by Nehemiah to start rebuilding the temple and leading the people in commitment to God. Nehemiah’s prayer. This was a very big ask by Nehemiah. He knew they had fallen away from God and this was the reason they were in exile. He also knew from God’s word that unfaithfulness is punished and returning to God is rewarded by the awesome power and steadfast love of God. He prayed confession, praise, and faith. He prayed believing in God’s word. He prayed for success in what seemed impossible.

When our heart is heavy and our burdens overwhelming we don’t have to wait and be overcome with doubt, fear, worry, and restlessness. we can take it straight to the feet our redeemer Jesus Christ. We can know and believe that He is able to do more than we ask and much more than we can imagine. Why do we not ask? Why do we not ask? Why do we wallow in our doubt? Could it be that we think we are not good enough or have not done enough? These thoughts of being and doing are lies from Satan. He wants you to believe that the only way to receive God’s grace and love is to be better, do better, live better and with this lie filling your heart deny the power that is through Jesus Christ who willingly died for the person we were. He did this for the lost sinner. He did this out of His love. He did this to show His love for us. While we were yet sinners He did this. In faith, we come to Him. In faith we can rely on Him. In faith, He is honored and glorified. In faith we are made right with Him, not by being good. We are made good through faith in Him alone and not by what we do.

Come to Him as you are, in faith, confessing, praising, and trusting in Him alone for the trials, worries, and burdens that are seemingly impossible to overcome.

3.v. But even now there is hope

Ezra 10:1 While Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, a very great assembly of men, women, and children, gathered to him out of Israel, for the people wept bitterly. And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, of the sons of Elam, addressed Ezra: “We have broken faith with our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land, but even now there is hope for Israel in spite of this. Therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God, and let it be done according to the Law. Arise, for it is your task, and we are with you; be strong and do it.” Then Ezra arose and made the leading priests and Levites and all Israel take an oath that they would do as had been said. So they took the oath.

Then Ezra withdrew from before the house of God and went to the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib, where he spent the night, neither eating bread nor drinking water, for he was mourning over the faithlessness of the exiles. And a proclamation was made throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the returned exiles that they should assemble at Jerusalem, and that if anyone did not come within three days, by order of the officials and the elders all his property should be forfeited, and he himself banned from the congregation of the exiles.

Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled at Jerusalem within the three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month. And all the people sat in the open square before the house of God, trembling because of this matter and because of the heavy rain. And Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have broken faith and married foreign women, and so increased the guilt of Israel. Now then make confession to the Lord, the God of your fathers and do his will. Separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.” Then all the assembly answered with a loud voice, “It is so; we must do as you have said. But the people are many, and it is a time of heavy rain; we cannot stand in the open. Nor is this a task for one day or for two, for we have greatly transgressed in this matter. Let our officials stand for the whole assembly. Let all in our cities who have taken foreign wives come at appointed times, and with them the elders and judges of every city, until the fierce wrath of our God over this matter is turned away from us.” Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah opposed this, and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite supported them.

Then the returned exiles did so. Ezra the priest selected men, heads of fathers’ houses, according to their fathers’ houses, each of them designated by name. On the first day of the tenth month they sat down to examine the matter; and by the first day of the first month they had come to the end of all the men who had married foreign women.

In Chapter 9 Ezra became aware of the sin and now, in chapter 10 he confronts it head-on with the people. People wept bitterly when Ezra spoke of the sin. Ezra called out the sin, the people were convicted, and he spoke of making it right. “We have broken faith with God but even now there is hope for us”. This sin problem was not just with common folks but with the leaders who were in Jerusalem. With hearts raw from Holy Spirit conviction and given hope the leaders called for a meeting of all the people within three days. This was a mandatory meeting for all. Note, if anyone did not show up they would forfeit their land and be banned. People came and sat in the square trembling because of this and it was raining. No rain delay, no rain check for another day. It was rain or shine open-air mandatory meeting. The sin issue was so big and personally complicated that, not to mention the rain, that a decision was made to meet with each city official 10 days later to fully assess the magnitude and take note of all who had taken the foreign woman as wives. Within two months they had reported that all the men who had married foreign women had taken care and followed through on their commitment to God.

Sin has a way to slide into our culture because we allow it. It comes in with one person defending that it is right and ok to do and then more and more people just buy into it. Sin feeds our self-centered interests and seems right in our own eyes. Do you ever wonder how this happens? Intentional commitment to God is not made. Whole heart, mind, and soul and strength are given to self and that what pleases self. Humbly serving, honoring, following, glorifying, trusting, and obeying God is nothing more than lip service as a result of neglecting God’s word. These all happen when we become complacent and turn our back and close our eyes and ears to God. It happens when things of this world are put in front of serving God with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength. We do well to take inventory of where our heart, mind, and thoughts are spending their time. Be mindful of the pull this world has to try to draw you away from serving whole heartily committed to God. We do well to make a covenant with our heart, mind, and soul to humbly serve, honor, trust, and obey God and to make serving Him the reason and purpose of every day.

3.u. I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God.

Ezra 9:1 After these things had been done, the officials approached me and said, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with their abominations, from the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. For they have taken some of their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands. And in this faithlessness the hand of the officials and chief men has been foremost.” As soon as I heard this, I tore my garment and my cloak and pulled hair from my head and beard and sat appalled. Then all who trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the faithlessness of the returned exiles, gathered around me while I sat appalled until the evening sacrifice. And at the evening sacrifice I rose from my fasting, with my garment and my cloak torn, and fell upon my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God, saying:

“O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. From the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt. And for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame, as it is today. But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant and to give us a secure hold within his holy place, that our God may brighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our slavery. For we are slaves. Yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to grant us some reviving to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us protection in Judea and Jerusalem.

“And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments, which you commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land that you are entering, to take possession of it, is a land impure with the impurity of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations that have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness. Therefore do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.’ And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, seeing that you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a remnant as this, shall we break your commandments again and intermarry with the peoples who practice these abominations? Would you not be angry with us until you consumed us, so that there should be no remnant, nor any to escape? O Lord, the God of Israel, you are just, for we are left a remnant that has escaped, as it is today. Behold, we are before you in our guilt, for none can stand before you because of this.”

These passages just punch you deep into your heart. Ezra sees what has happened to that which should have been a great new beginning and ended up in being a great embarrassment. Think about this from what Ezra knew. He saw the hand of God change the heart of the King of the nation that had subdued them and kept them prisoners for over 70 years. The Babylonians destroyed the temple in Jerusalem and made many salves. After 70 years God changed the heart of King Cyrus and he gave permission and support for the Israelites to go back to their home country and rebuild their temple. Ezra is told of a great departing from God by the people. They chose to ignore what God had said about keeping themselves separated from the influence of other nations and not to seek their peace or prosperity. They were faithless and the officials and chief men were the ones who had departed from God’s expectations.

We don’t have to look very deep into our culture to see the erosion and departure from living in a way to honor, glorify, worship, follow, trust, and obey God with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength. This lukewarm complacent act of obedience we call “being a Christian” is not what is expected of us. We so easily take paths that seem right but are not, because we are void of God’s word in our heart, soul, and mind. These paths promise us satisfaction, peace, prosperity, and purpose but in the end, always leave us still wanting and void of purpose and meaning for our life. There is no replacement for God’s word, though many try to fill in their lives with worldly lies of completeness.

It is one thing to follow blindly after worldly things and another to choose to neglect God’s word. We will be held accountable for our life on this side of eternity. We get to choose what fills our heart, mind, and soul. We get to choose how we live and in this choice, we either serve self or follow, trust and obey God. Make an intentional choice and commitment today.

3.t. To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great

Ezra 8:24 Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests: Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their kinsmen with them. And I weighed out to them the silver and the gold and the vessels, the offering for the house of our God that the king and his counselors and his lords and all Israel there present had offered. I weighed out into their hand 650 talents of silver, and silver vessels worth 200 talents, and 100 talents of gold, 20 bowls of gold worth 1,000 darics, and two vessels of fine bright bronze as precious as gold. And I said to them, “You are holy to the Lord, and the vessels are holy, and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the Lord, the God of your fathers. Guard them and keep them until you weigh them before the chief priests and the Levites and the heads of fathers’ houses in Israel at Jerusalem, within the chambers of the house of the Lord.” So the priests and the Levites took over the weight of the silver and the gold and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem, to the house of our God.

Then we departed from the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes by the way. We came to Jerusalem, and there we remained three days. On the fourth day, within the house of our God, the silver and the gold and the vessels were weighed into the hands of Meremoth the priest, son of Uriah, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas, and with them were the Levites, Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui. The whole was counted and weighed, and the weight of everything was recorded.

Job 5:19-24    He will deliver you from six troubles; in seven no evil shall touch you.  In famine he will redeem you from death, and in war from the power of the sword.  You shall be hidden from the lash of the tongue, and shall not fear destruction when it comes.  At destruction and famine you shall laugh, and shall not fear the beasts of the earth.  For you shall be in league with the stones of the field, and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you.  You shall know that your tent is at peace, and you shall inspect your fold and miss nothing.

Acts 26:22   To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great,

Isaiah 41:10-14    fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.  Behold, all who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded; those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish.  You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them; those who war against you shall be as nothing at all.  For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”  Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I am the one who helps you, declares the LORD; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

Psalms 91:9-14    Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place— the Most High, who is my refuge—  no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent.  For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.  On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.  You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.  “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name.

Do you ever think about the hand of God being on you? Do you know when you have been delivered from a potential attack of sickness, financial, physical, or relational harm? Do you know it was by the hand of God? How can you know? Being aware of obvious, in your face, confrontation is one thing but how about those times when there are no attacks, physical or emotional, in your life? Do you immediately think about God’s hand being on and over you? Do you realize this at all?

Being aware of God’s hand should be the first thing on our mind but all too often the busyness of life and our lack of commitment result in our thinking that either we are very lucky or that of pride in thinking that in our own great wisdom and knowledge we were able to affect the outcomes in our lives in ways only the hand of God could produce. You see when our time in His word is limited so is our thoughts on it and on Him. When our time in His word is neglected so is our mind’s eye being able to see and reflect on the awesome steadfast love, power, and blessings from God. When our time in His word is more of a burden than living water then our eyes become blind to see the hand of God at work in our lives.

The lukewarm, neglectful, complacent, and self-satisfied will never see the hand of God at work in their lives. They will not know how to humbly serve, honor, glorify, worship, praise, follow, trust, and obey Him. This can only happen when our whole heart, mind, and soul are turned to and committed to and rely on, cling to, and trust in Him. This is not a part-time commitment. It is every day, every moment intentional choice. Make this commitment, be in His word continually and meditate on it and have it open the eyes to your heart and mind to see the awesome steadfast love and mighty hand of God in your life.

3.q. For God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind

Ezra 7:27 Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king, to beautify the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem, and who extended to me his steadfast love before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty officers. I took courage, for the hand of the Lord my God was on me, and I gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me.

Nehemiah 2:12     Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem.

Nehemiah 7:5    Then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles and the officials and the people to be enrolled by genealogy.

2 Corinthians 8:16   But thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same earnest care I have for you.

Hebrews 8:10     For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

James 1:17     Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

Hebrews 10:16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,”

Revelation 17:17    for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind

Have you ever reflected back on something that you have been compelled to do and know without a doubt that it was from God stirring in your heart to do it? When we are seeking and desiring God with all our heart, mind, and soul is when I think we see the hand of God working and directing us. Do you ever wonder about those who God uses who are apart from Him and they have to wonder why they are spurred to think and do something?

It is so powerful and encouraging to know it is God leading us. We don’t have to have any worries or anxious thoughts. We just need to obey continue with what He has given us to do. I wonder if we are able to discern and know it is of His leading if we are lukewarm and complacent in our commitment and service to Him. I wonder how our faith grows when we do not have an ability to see and hear His leading in our life. I wonder how we mature into leaders, teachers, and parents if we are not intentionally choosing to seek and desire Him. I wonder what is leading our thought life. I wonder what is leading our decisions and actions. Certainly if it is not God’s word it comes from the world and culture we live in. I wonder if we are believing lies of this world and thinking they are the truth.

Choose to stay fully committed and close to Him. Study His word and be an active tool for His plans and purposes.

3.p. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night

Ezra 7:6 Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses that the Lord, the God of Israel, had given, and the king granted him all that he asked, for the hand of the Lord his God was on him.

And there went up also to Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king, some of the people of Israel, and some of the priests and Levites, the singers and gatekeepers, and the temple servants. And Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. For on the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylonia, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, for the good hand of his God was on him. For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel.

This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, a man learned in matters of the commandments of the Lord and his statutes for Israel: “Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven. Peace. And now I make a decree that anyone of the people of Israel or their priests or Levites in my kingdom, who freely offers to go to Jerusalem, may go with you. For you are sent by the king and his seven counselors to make inquiries about Judah and Jerusalem according to the Law of your God, which is in your hand,

1 Samuel 7:3     And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.”

Psalms 1:2    but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.

Psalms 119:96-100     I have seen a limit to all perfection, but your commandment is exceedingly broad. Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.  Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me.  I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation.  I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts.

Matthew 5:19    Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 7:24   “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

2 Timothy 4:2    preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.

Ezra set his heart to study, to do, and to teach the word of God. If we just set our heart to read God’s word but are not actively thinking about it and wanting to apply it into our life then it has a very limited chance of influencing how we think, what we say, and how we live. intentionally choosing to be influenced and led by God’s word will have an impact on our conduct, faith in action, prayer, and what we think about. Our thoughts will be on God. Our actions will be directed by His word. Our eyes and ears will be open to see and hear His whispers of leading, encouraging, strengthening, guiding, and giving us wisdom and knowledge to discern eternal from temporal, life-giving from life-taking, heavenly from earthly, holiness from sin, truth from false, refuge from abandonment, peace and rest from anxiousness, generosity from greed, humility from pride, heavenly service from self-serving, and faith from fear and worry. Studying God’s word is life-giving, life-changing, and eternity life benefitting. Our lives will be forever changed when it becomes the air and breath of our heart, mind, and soul.

3.o. When a man’s ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Ezra 6:19 On the fourteenth day of the first month, the returned exiles kept the Passover. For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together; all of them were clean. So they slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the returned exiles, for their fellow priests, and for themselves. It was eaten by the people of Israel who had returned from exile, and also by every one who had joined them and separated himself from the uncleanness of the peoples of the land to worship the Lord, the God of Israel. And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy, for the Lord had made them joyful and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, so that he aided them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

Proverbs 16:7     When a man’s ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Proverbs 21:1     The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.

Nehemiah 1:11  O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” Now I was cupbearer to the king.

Daniel 4:35     all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”

We serve a mighty and awesome God. He is not stopped or limited by anything in creation. He is not limited by the wicked, mean, proud, hateful, or greedy. His will will be done. In Him, we can rest and find peace knowing He can move mountains as well as hearts of men to do His will and accomplish his purpose.

We do not need to fear what seems impossible. We do not need to think all is lost. We do not need to think we have lost the battle. We do not need to think we have no future. All is possible for God. The battles are His alone. Our future is in His steadfast and loving hands. There are no doors closed so tight that God can not open. Honor and glorify Him, lay your burdens at His feet believing in is mighty power, plans, and purpose. Be at peace with His will whatever it may be. Trust “that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose.” Wait for His will to be accomplished. Watch for His hand at work and give Him all honor, glory, and praise, for He alone is worthy.

3.k. “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”

Ezra 4:1 Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the Lord, the God of Israel, they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ houses and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria who brought us here.” But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers’ houses in Israel said to them, “You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”

Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build and bribed counselors against them to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

Nehemiah 6:9    For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands.

Isaiah 35:3-4    Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees.  Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”

Jeremiah 38:4   “for he is weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm.”

The people came together and first built the altar for sacrifice to God. When this was completed they laid the foundation for the temple and people shouted with joy, though some wept, because of this great coming together with one purpose – to honor, glorify, and seek God in building His temple. People of the land heard of this and acted as though they wanted to help build but after being rejected they were malicious in discouraging and frustrating the people.

Not much has changed with mankind. We still see this happening, people with clear direction and leading from God are being criticized, challenged, and blasted from almost every angle. We shouldn’t think this is an attack on us but an attack on God’s plans and purposes. If we give any room to thoughts that these attacks are against us we will certainly become weary, afraid, confused, and without motivation. However, if we see this as God’s plans and purposes being attacked we can take comfort, strength, and courage because the battle is His. We know that He will always accomplish what He speaks and how He leads us in service to Him.

Keep your eyes on the task and do not become sidetracked by those in opposition. God is in control. No one can stop what God has put in place. Remain strong, remain faithful, remain obedient.