Nehemiah 1 & 2
Chapter 1
We are introduced to Nehemiah as a cupbearer to King Artaxerxes. This was a very responsible position, to eat and drink some of the king's food to make sure it wasn't poisoned.
When his brother Hanani told him the sad situation in Jerusalem, Nehemiah mourned and prayed.
We have his extensive prayer here: he is confessing the sins of the Nation, numbering himself with his people, even though he personally had never done these things. We have also seen both Ezra (9:5-15) and Daniel (9:13-19) do this. An example we too can follow for our own nation.
Chapter 2
We see Nehemiah's courage in taking his life in his hands, when the king notices that he is sad, because it was against the law to be sad in the king's presence.
Kings in those days had the power of life and death over their subjects, to do whatever they felt like doing, for any and no reason, and were not accountable to anyone else, they were kings.
So when the king asked why he was sad, he had to give him an answer. He made no excuses, but shared his concerns for the hometown of his people.
King Artaxerxes said, essentially, What can I do to help?
This king, Artaxerxes, had at the beginning of his reign (Ezra 4:6), probably while he was still married to Vashti, written to stop the work in Jerusalem (Ezra 4:21). But now it's twenty years into his reign (v. 1), and his queen is now Hadassa (Esther), and he's changed his whole view of these people. His whole attitude is completely turned around, and he now offering this servant of his to help him do what he previously had stopped.
This is when Nehemiah prayed a "popcorn prayer," a spur-of-the-moment "telegram" to God, instead of panicking. He was able to coherently lay out what he would need to take this trip and do what was needed there.
Obviously he had previously thought through his plans, so he was prepared to ask for what he needed. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me (v. 8). God had turned around the heart of this foreign king (Proverbs 21:1).
We never have reason to despair over our National leaders. Even when they are evil, and bent on destroying all that we hold dear, God can get a hold of them, and change their hearts, or remove them from their positions of power.
Nothing is too hard for God; He does whatever He wants to do, even more than those kings back then. Our Lord God Almighty will accomplish what no king ever could with this Earth and all that is on it: He is God, there is no other.
O my Father, I praise You for You are good! No king who has ever had power of authority in this World could ever do what You do, Lord. You use these kings, and their authority, to do what You have planned to do.
No mere man, or group of mankind will ever be able to change what You have decreed. Your plans for each one of us, and for all of us together, will be successful, all will be accomplished, Your purposes will be fulfilled.
And I can trust You to always do what is good, and just, and right. I know that Your plans are good. You will give the wicked people what they deserve. And You will redeem Your chosen ones, putting the punishment they each deserve on our Redeemer (that's mercy), so that His Blood will wash them clean--fit to live with You where You are.
And You are so generous, to even reward Your children for doing what You enable them to do! (That's grace.)
Thank You, Father; thank You for being God! Thank You for loving us and teaching us who You are, and how we can cooperate with Your ways, the ways You designed this World to work.
Thank You for putting so much abundance in this Earth for us to enjoy, when we live our lives in obedience to Your rules.
I pray for the leaders in our nations, those who have the power of authority to both enslave us and to free us in liberty. I pray that You work in their hearts, as You did for King Artaxerxes, to do what is beneficial to all those under their care.
That we all will have the freedom to obey Your regulations in working this Earth to have the abundance You put into it for us. Help us to love one another, taking care of each other; and to love this environment, taking care of it, too.
And I pray, Father, that You continue working Your wonderful plans in my life, and in my little world. Continue to teach me Your ways, Abba, and how to love You back. Help me to love You in everything I do, every moment of every day.
And show me how to be Christ to everyone whose life touches mine. Help me to show Your righteousness in all my attitudes, which frame all my words. So that You would be exalted in me, and You will receive all the credit, all the honor and glory, for all You have done.
And every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess Your majesty.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, February 14, 2019
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
The Compassionate Resolution
Esther 8-10
Here we see the resolution to counter the law Haman had established to destroy the Jews, and how the whole situation turned around.
We need to understand that "The Law of the Medes and the Persians" could never be changed or nullified. (8:8; The writing which is written in the king's name, and sealed with the king's ring, may no man reverse.) We saw this in the book of Daniel. And it is evident in all the secular, historical documents archaeology has found.
So this was a sticky situation. God had performed miracles saving Daniel from the lions' den (Daniel 7), and his friends Hananiah, Mashael, and Azariah (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego) from the fiery furnace (Daniel 3).
But here, they need to do something else, rather than think God will do a miraculous rescue of all the Jews in the whole realm when all their enemies will be attacking them when the time came.
This solution took a lot of wisdom and discernment, and political and legal knowledge. And shows God's great compassion for His people.
Xerxes promoted Mordecai into the position that Haman had occupied, and he gave all of Haman's property to Esther.
Now Esther had to approach the king again, to beg for her people. They needed to figure out how to nullifiy a law that couldn't be nullified.
So the king called for his scribes to write out another law, according to what Mordecai would say to them (vs. 8-9), to be sent out to all one hundred twenty seven provinces, in all their different languages, by mounted couriers who rode fast horses especially bred for the king (v. 10).
This was a law that gave the Jews permission and authority to not just defend themselves on the day that their enemies were to kill them, but also to attack their enemies back, and also to confiscate their properties and possessions, as their enemies were going to do to them. A complete turn-around.
By the time the day came, all the peoples they lived among had gained great respect for them, and many of the people of the land became Jews, for the fear of the Jews fell upon them (8:17).
So even all the rulers of the provinces, and the lieutenants, and the deputies, and officers of the king, helped the Jews; because they had great respect for Mordecai (9:3).
So when the day came, instead of their enemies attacking them, they were able to dispose of all their neighbors who hated them. But they didn't confiscate their stuff. This shows that they were honorable; they took the moral high ground, and did what was right.
They also killed Haman's ten sons, so there were none left to later want revenge (9:7-10).
This is the basis for the Jewish holiday of Purim (9:20-32). God always taught His people to remember, so they would remember Him and His ways. So even today the Jews, the Hebrews, the Israelis, have long memories of their history.
And the book ends with the fame of Mordecai: for, this man Mordecai waxed greater and greater (9:4), and Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Xerxes, preeminent among the Jews, and held in high esteem by his many fellow Jews, because he worked for the good of his people and spoke up for the welfare of all the Jews (10:3).
No wonder that Xerxes is one of the foreign kings who had favor on the Jews, and allowed them to return to their homeland, Israel (see the books of Ezra and Nehemiah).
O my Father, I praise You and I honor You, and I give You all the glory and credit for everything You have done! You are great, and You have done everything You wanted to do! You have known the evil plans of the wicked, and foiled them! You have turned the tables on those who hate You and rewarded Your people who love You.
You, Father, are unfolding all Your plans for all of us throughout this whole time-line, this whole era of Mankind on this Earth. It's all one grand story. The story of our Lord God Almighty having thought it all out in advance; then designing and making everything just right; and taking charge to redeem everything that You have allowed us to mess up.
And we are amazed with Your amazing ways! Nothing escapes Your attention or is outside Your authority to control.
I enjoy watching how You do Your things, Father! Your enjoyment in "playing the game" of worlds and civilizations and realms and universes, is so far beyond our ability to design games and write stories and imagine all that we can imagine in our little minds!
And You will always continue to do Your amazing, wondrous things, throughout all eternity, forever and ever!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Here we see the resolution to counter the law Haman had established to destroy the Jews, and how the whole situation turned around.
We need to understand that "The Law of the Medes and the Persians" could never be changed or nullified. (8:8; The writing which is written in the king's name, and sealed with the king's ring, may no man reverse.) We saw this in the book of Daniel. And it is evident in all the secular, historical documents archaeology has found.
So this was a sticky situation. God had performed miracles saving Daniel from the lions' den (Daniel 7), and his friends Hananiah, Mashael, and Azariah (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego) from the fiery furnace (Daniel 3).
But here, they need to do something else, rather than think God will do a miraculous rescue of all the Jews in the whole realm when all their enemies will be attacking them when the time came.
This solution took a lot of wisdom and discernment, and political and legal knowledge. And shows God's great compassion for His people.
Xerxes promoted Mordecai into the position that Haman had occupied, and he gave all of Haman's property to Esther.
Now Esther had to approach the king again, to beg for her people. They needed to figure out how to nullifiy a law that couldn't be nullified.
So the king called for his scribes to write out another law, according to what Mordecai would say to them (vs. 8-9), to be sent out to all one hundred twenty seven provinces, in all their different languages, by mounted couriers who rode fast horses especially bred for the king (v. 10).
This was a law that gave the Jews permission and authority to not just defend themselves on the day that their enemies were to kill them, but also to attack their enemies back, and also to confiscate their properties and possessions, as their enemies were going to do to them. A complete turn-around.
By the time the day came, all the peoples they lived among had gained great respect for them, and many of the people of the land became Jews, for the fear of the Jews fell upon them (8:17).
So even all the rulers of the provinces, and the lieutenants, and the deputies, and officers of the king, helped the Jews; because they had great respect for Mordecai (9:3).
So when the day came, instead of their enemies attacking them, they were able to dispose of all their neighbors who hated them. But they didn't confiscate their stuff. This shows that they were honorable; they took the moral high ground, and did what was right.
They also killed Haman's ten sons, so there were none left to later want revenge (9:7-10).
This is the basis for the Jewish holiday of Purim (9:20-32). God always taught His people to remember, so they would remember Him and His ways. So even today the Jews, the Hebrews, the Israelis, have long memories of their history.
And the book ends with the fame of Mordecai: for, this man Mordecai waxed greater and greater (9:4), and Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Xerxes, preeminent among the Jews, and held in high esteem by his many fellow Jews, because he worked for the good of his people and spoke up for the welfare of all the Jews (10:3).
No wonder that Xerxes is one of the foreign kings who had favor on the Jews, and allowed them to return to their homeland, Israel (see the books of Ezra and Nehemiah).
O my Father, I praise You and I honor You, and I give You all the glory and credit for everything You have done! You are great, and You have done everything You wanted to do! You have known the evil plans of the wicked, and foiled them! You have turned the tables on those who hate You and rewarded Your people who love You.
You, Father, are unfolding all Your plans for all of us throughout this whole time-line, this whole era of Mankind on this Earth. It's all one grand story. The story of our Lord God Almighty having thought it all out in advance; then designing and making everything just right; and taking charge to redeem everything that You have allowed us to mess up.
And we are amazed with Your amazing ways! Nothing escapes Your attention or is outside Your authority to control.
I enjoy watching how You do Your things, Father! Your enjoyment in "playing the game" of worlds and civilizations and realms and universes, is so far beyond our ability to design games and write stories and imagine all that we can imagine in our little minds!
And You will always continue to do Your amazing, wondrous things, throughout all eternity, forever and ever!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, February 12, 2019
"Poetic Justice"
Esther 5-7
Chapter 5
Here Esther approaches the king, and he accepts her. So she invites him and Haman to dinner.
Meanwhile, Haman is so incensed at Mordecai that he has a gallows built to hang him on it and plans to ask the king for his life.
Chapter 6
God caused the king to have insomnia, so that he'll have the records read to him, possibly to read himself to sleep. But by early morning he's realizing that Mordecai had saved his life, but had not been rewarded for it.
Just then Haman comes in to ask to kill Mordecai, and the king asks him his ideas on what to do for someone the king wants to honor.
Haman's pride has him so self-deluded that he can't think of anyone the king would want to honor except him.
So now, Haman must honor Mordecai instead of killing him! Wow. God knows how to turn the tables, doesn't He!
6:13 says that Haman's friends are warning him that he will fall before Mordecai, because he is a Jew. So the plot thickens.
Chapter 7
This is the second night in a row that they're having dinner with Esther. Here is where we see some real "poetic justice"!
Esther tells Xerxes that Haman is the evil man who determined to destroy her and her people, so Haman is hanged on his own gallows he built for Mordecai!
No weapon fashioned against you will prevail, Isaiah 54:17, and
Whoever digs a pit, he will fall into it, Proverbs 26:27.
We have seen in this story how God set up the whole stage for this scene to play out and show how He knows what evil people are doing to attack His people, and how He is foiling all their plans.
And God's sense of humor is evident in this book.
We don't always see how He evens up the odds and gives the wicked their due in this life, but He does here.
There are still loose ends to be tied up, and God always finishes what He started. Tomorrow we'll see how He does this. I love a good ending!
O my Father, You are so good, so great, so smart and clever. Words fall short of Who You are.
I want to know You, Father; and You want me to know you. This little side story shows me a little more of Your character and personality.
Father, You have given me this whole body of writings: all the stories, all the sayings, all the teachings; to tell me Who You are. And even all this cannot come close to all You are!
Father, what You have revealed of Yourself, what my brain can comprehend, is no more than an itty-bitty drop of all the oceans of this Earth. And You are greater than that: You are all the aether that this Universe swims in. And even more.
We, all creation, is Your imagination! If You weren't thinking about us, we would not exist!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Chapter 5
Here Esther approaches the king, and he accepts her. So she invites him and Haman to dinner.
Meanwhile, Haman is so incensed at Mordecai that he has a gallows built to hang him on it and plans to ask the king for his life.
Chapter 6
God caused the king to have insomnia, so that he'll have the records read to him, possibly to read himself to sleep. But by early morning he's realizing that Mordecai had saved his life, but had not been rewarded for it.
Just then Haman comes in to ask to kill Mordecai, and the king asks him his ideas on what to do for someone the king wants to honor.
Haman's pride has him so self-deluded that he can't think of anyone the king would want to honor except him.
So now, Haman must honor Mordecai instead of killing him! Wow. God knows how to turn the tables, doesn't He!
6:13 says that Haman's friends are warning him that he will fall before Mordecai, because he is a Jew. So the plot thickens.
Chapter 7
This is the second night in a row that they're having dinner with Esther. Here is where we see some real "poetic justice"!
Esther tells Xerxes that Haman is the evil man who determined to destroy her and her people, so Haman is hanged on his own gallows he built for Mordecai!
No weapon fashioned against you will prevail, Isaiah 54:17, and
Whoever digs a pit, he will fall into it, Proverbs 26:27.
We have seen in this story how God set up the whole stage for this scene to play out and show how He knows what evil people are doing to attack His people, and how He is foiling all their plans.
And God's sense of humor is evident in this book.
We don't always see how He evens up the odds and gives the wicked their due in this life, but He does here.
There are still loose ends to be tied up, and God always finishes what He started. Tomorrow we'll see how He does this. I love a good ending!
O my Father, You are so good, so great, so smart and clever. Words fall short of Who You are.
I want to know You, Father; and You want me to know you. This little side story shows me a little more of Your character and personality.
Father, You have given me this whole body of writings: all the stories, all the sayings, all the teachings; to tell me Who You are. And even all this cannot come close to all You are!
Father, what You have revealed of Yourself, what my brain can comprehend, is no more than an itty-bitty drop of all the oceans of this Earth. And You are greater than that: You are all the aether that this Universe swims in. And even more.
We, all creation, is Your imagination! If You weren't thinking about us, we would not exist!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Monday, February 11, 2019
Esther's Courage
Esther 3 & 4
Chapter 3
This chapter tells us that this guy Haman got himself promoted by the king to a position of high importance and authority. His pride in this achievement caused him to make himself the enemy of the Jews. With his new found authority, he arranged for the destruction of all the Jews in King Xerxes' whole realm.
Chapter 4
This is when Mordecai finds out about this plot, and asks Hadassah to inform the king and ask for a solution. Now, anyone who approached the king without having been summoned was putting their life in their hands.
He tells her, Who knows whether you have come to this kingdom just for such a time as this? (V. 14).
So she asks for fasting (and prayer), showing her dependence on God for safety, and says, If I perish, I perish (V. 16).
These people are doing their best, trying to live godly lives in the midst of an evil, pagan nation.
Today's World is also a pagan nation, worshipping everything except God. But, like Mordecai and Hadassah, we also can seek God in all that we do, especially if we are called on to get out of our comfort zones.
It's always uncomfortable to reach outside the parameters of our own little worlds to seek God's will to do His works and find His people who don't know Him yet.
O Father, help me to be able to depend on You as much as Queen Esther did when she took a lethal chance to approach this foreign king; You gave her the courage to confidently do this thing that was outside her box of propriety.
Help me also to to be faithful to You and Your ways when I am in the midst of all the chaos that swirls around me in this fallen World.
It is You, my Lord and my God, who is in total control of everything You made. You will allow this World to "careen out of control" only so far, then You will simply flick Your finger to bring it right back to You, as a yo-yo on a string.
Until then, Father, strengthen me to follow in Your footsteps, not turning to the left or the right, not running ahead or lagging behind, not wandering off or pulling away. Keep my hand in Yours, and lead me in that hemmed-in path all the way into Your glory.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Chapter 3
This chapter tells us that this guy Haman got himself promoted by the king to a position of high importance and authority. His pride in this achievement caused him to make himself the enemy of the Jews. With his new found authority, he arranged for the destruction of all the Jews in King Xerxes' whole realm.
Chapter 4
This is when Mordecai finds out about this plot, and asks Hadassah to inform the king and ask for a solution. Now, anyone who approached the king without having been summoned was putting their life in their hands.
He tells her, Who knows whether you have come to this kingdom just for such a time as this? (V. 14).
So she asks for fasting (and prayer), showing her dependence on God for safety, and says, If I perish, I perish (V. 16).
These people are doing their best, trying to live godly lives in the midst of an evil, pagan nation.
Today's World is also a pagan nation, worshipping everything except God. But, like Mordecai and Hadassah, we also can seek God in all that we do, especially if we are called on to get out of our comfort zones.
It's always uncomfortable to reach outside the parameters of our own little worlds to seek God's will to do His works and find His people who don't know Him yet.
O Father, help me to be able to depend on You as much as Queen Esther did when she took a lethal chance to approach this foreign king; You gave her the courage to confidently do this thing that was outside her box of propriety.
Help me also to to be faithful to You and Your ways when I am in the midst of all the chaos that swirls around me in this fallen World.
It is You, my Lord and my God, who is in total control of everything You made. You will allow this World to "careen out of control" only so far, then You will simply flick Your finger to bring it right back to You, as a yo-yo on a string.
Until then, Father, strengthen me to follow in Your footsteps, not turning to the left or the right, not running ahead or lagging behind, not wandering off or pulling away. Keep my hand in Yours, and lead me in that hemmed-in path all the way into Your glory.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, February 10, 2019
Setting The Stage
Esther 1 & 2
Chapter 1 King Ahasuarus (also known as Xerxes and Artaxerxes) divorces his wife, Queen Vashti, and she is not heard of again.
Chapter 2 Finds the king missing his queen, so a beauty contest is held, and Esther (Hadassah) wins the contest, and becomes the new queen.
Then, her Uncle Mordecai learns of a plot against the king, he tells Esther about it, who in turn informs the king. Investigation shows up the guilty parties, who are hanged, and the whole drama is duly recorded in the king's journals.
Now everything is set up for the main escapade that will play out in the rest of the book of Esther.
O my Father, You always know exactly what You are doing, and whenever You reach into my life I know I can trust You to be with me through it all, just like You were with Mordecai and Hadassah in all they went through.
Father, You are so good to let us know what will happen in all the rest of our Era of Mankind, so we can be prepared for what is coming.
Please, I pray, strengthen us and give us the courage and discernment to do what is right and just in whatever it is we each must go through to grow and develop our characters to be like that of Your Son. Help us to make the correct decisions and choices to further Your Kingdom in our lives and in this World.
And may You receive all the glory and honor for designing our Universe as You did, and causing it to run as You planned. And for all You are doing even now to set the stage for all that will henceforth transpire.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Chapter 1 King Ahasuarus (also known as Xerxes and Artaxerxes) divorces his wife, Queen Vashti, and she is not heard of again.
Chapter 2 Finds the king missing his queen, so a beauty contest is held, and Esther (Hadassah) wins the contest, and becomes the new queen.
Then, her Uncle Mordecai learns of a plot against the king, he tells Esther about it, who in turn informs the king. Investigation shows up the guilty parties, who are hanged, and the whole drama is duly recorded in the king's journals.
Now everything is set up for the main escapade that will play out in the rest of the book of Esther.
O my Father, You always know exactly what You are doing, and whenever You reach into my life I know I can trust You to be with me through it all, just like You were with Mordecai and Hadassah in all they went through.
Father, You are so good to let us know what will happen in all the rest of our Era of Mankind, so we can be prepared for what is coming.
Please, I pray, strengthen us and give us the courage and discernment to do what is right and just in whatever it is we each must go through to grow and develop our characters to be like that of Your Son. Help us to make the correct decisions and choices to further Your Kingdom in our lives and in this World.
And may You receive all the glory and honor for designing our Universe as You did, and causing it to run as You planned. And for all You are doing even now to set the stage for all that will henceforth transpire.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, February 9, 2019
How Much Better
Ezra 9 & 10
Chapter 9 records that when Ezra returned to Jerusalem he found that the the men who were already there had been enticed and married women of the local peoples they had not eradicated from the land; the ones who did horrible things in the worship of their gods.
Here we read his prayer concerning this.
Ezra's heart was broken for his people. He knew that these kinds of sins were what caused the Nation to be conquered and enslaved, but God had graciously brought back a mere remnant of what was that great Nation. Now these few people who God had such grace upon were doing the same things!
Would God just give up on them, to leave no remnant or survivor? (v. 14).
Chapter 10 tells us that as Ezra was praying, a crowd gathered around him, and his sorrow for this sin was contageous, and impressed the people who surrounded him, and they decided to do something about it.
10: 2-4 Then Shekaniah son of Jehiel, one of the descendants of Elam, said to Ezra, We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the peoples around us. But in spite of this, there is still hope for Israel.
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 those who fear the commands of our God. Let it be done according to the Law.
Rise up; this matter is in your hands. We will support you, so take courage and do it.
So Ezra put them all under oath to do this, and they took the oath (v. 5).
They all had to divorce their wives and send them away with their children, and they were left with their families gone.
The list of all those who did this is recorded here, and I find it interesting that Meshullam gave up his wife (v. 29) even after he initially opposed this policy (v. 15).
It must have been painful to dissolve these families. How much better it would have been if they had not allowed themselves to be enticed by these women in the first place.
I have put a guard on my heart (Proverbs 4:23) to not fall for any man who would not be God's choice for me.
How much better for me, too, to consider my Lord Jesus my Bridegroom, and wait for His coming. If He has another husband for me in the meantime, I trust that He would make that clear to me, and it would be a very large blessing if He were to do that. But I will not fall for any "pretty face" to entice me into something that will not honor my Lord.
O my Father, thank You for giving this story to us so we can learn how painful and sorrowful we make our own lives when we don't live according to Your ways.
Please strengthen all Your children here, teach them Your ways and enable them to follow in Your footsteps; that we would use our lives and our attitudes and our possessions to introduce You to those who don't know You yet, that the way we deal with them and treat them will convince them of Your Truth.
Send more workers into Your fields, Father, that are ripe and ready for harvest. Protect all those who go into all the World, give them Your words to speak to all the peoples of the World, especially those who have never heard of You yet.
Continue to draw to Yourself those You have chosen out of every tribe, every language, every people group here on this Earth, that Your House will be full. That the full number may be gathered into the safety of the Fold, and every knee will bow and every tongue confess Your majesty.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Chapter 9 records that when Ezra returned to Jerusalem he found that the the men who were already there had been enticed and married women of the local peoples they had not eradicated from the land; the ones who did horrible things in the worship of their gods.
Here we read his prayer concerning this.
Ezra's heart was broken for his people. He knew that these kinds of sins were what caused the Nation to be conquered and enslaved, but God had graciously brought back a mere remnant of what was that great Nation. Now these few people who God had such grace upon were doing the same things!
Would God just give up on them, to leave no remnant or survivor? (v. 14).
Chapter 10 tells us that as Ezra was praying, a crowd gathered around him, and his sorrow for this sin was contageous, and impressed the people who surrounded him, and they decided to do something about it.
10: 2-4 Then Shekaniah son of Jehiel, one of the descendants of Elam, said to Ezra, We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the peoples around us. But in spite of this, there is still hope for Israel.
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 those who fear the commands of our God. Let it be done according to the Law.
Rise up; this matter is in your hands. We will support you, so take courage and do it.
So Ezra put them all under oath to do this, and they took the oath (v. 5).
They all had to divorce their wives and send them away with their children, and they were left with their families gone.
The list of all those who did this is recorded here, and I find it interesting that Meshullam gave up his wife (v. 29) even after he initially opposed this policy (v. 15).
It must have been painful to dissolve these families. How much better it would have been if they had not allowed themselves to be enticed by these women in the first place.
I have put a guard on my heart (Proverbs 4:23) to not fall for any man who would not be God's choice for me.
How much better for me, too, to consider my Lord Jesus my Bridegroom, and wait for His coming. If He has another husband for me in the meantime, I trust that He would make that clear to me, and it would be a very large blessing if He were to do that. But I will not fall for any "pretty face" to entice me into something that will not honor my Lord.
O my Father, thank You for giving this story to us so we can learn how painful and sorrowful we make our own lives when we don't live according to Your ways.
Please strengthen all Your children here, teach them Your ways and enable them to follow in Your footsteps; that we would use our lives and our attitudes and our possessions to introduce You to those who don't know You yet, that the way we deal with them and treat them will convince them of Your Truth.
Send more workers into Your fields, Father, that are ripe and ready for harvest. Protect all those who go into all the World, give them Your words to speak to all the peoples of the World, especially those who have never heard of You yet.
Continue to draw to Yourself those You have chosen out of every tribe, every language, every people group here on this Earth, that Your House will be full. That the full number may be gathered into the safety of the Fold, and every knee will bow and every tongue confess Your majesty.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, February 8, 2019
God's Protection
Ezra 8: 21-23
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 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.
Ezra weighed out as much silver and gold and polished bronze that would be worth about $20 million today to twelve of his trusted leading priests, and entrusted them with this great wealth to safeguard and carry it all the way to Jerusalem to be counted out again at the Temple (Vs. 24-30).
This is exceptional faith in God to protect them on this 4-month journey carrying such great wealth, to not even ask the king who would have given them lots of bodyguards and protection from robbers and enemies they could encounter on that long road. They bragged on God, so they couldn't turn around and ask for the king's protection. So they prayed and fasted and depended on God. And God did protect them.
When they arrived in Jerusalem, they counted out all the treasure, and recorded it all by number and by weight, and it was all there (V. 34). God came through.
O my Father, You are totally trustworthy! Even though Ezra may have felt for a while that he'd "shot himself in the foot" by bragging on You, they humbled themselves before You to depend only on You for this dangerous journey, travelling through these territories with such great treasure!
Because they humbled themselves and asked, You answered by putting Your protection over them so that no enemies and no robbers attacked them to take that treasure.
This is a wonderful doing, Father, that You did for Your people who were obeying You to return to their ancestral home, the land You originally gave them.
You will always protect those who obey You and ask specifically for Your help to accomplish what they couldn't on their own, of what You've told them to do. You draw us to depend utterly on You, Father.
O my Father, continue to teach me to trust You utterly, to seek Your face constantly in all that I do, and to accomplish all that You made me to perform, even those things I am not able to do, but that You will do in and through me.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
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 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.
Ezra weighed out as much silver and gold and polished bronze that would be worth about $20 million today to twelve of his trusted leading priests, and entrusted them with this great wealth to safeguard and carry it all the way to Jerusalem to be counted out again at the Temple (Vs. 24-30).
This is exceptional faith in God to protect them on this 4-month journey carrying such great wealth, to not even ask the king who would have given them lots of bodyguards and protection from robbers and enemies they could encounter on that long road. They bragged on God, so they couldn't turn around and ask for the king's protection. So they prayed and fasted and depended on God. And God did protect them.
When they arrived in Jerusalem, they counted out all the treasure, and recorded it all by number and by weight, and it was all there (V. 34). God came through.
O my Father, You are totally trustworthy! Even though Ezra may have felt for a while that he'd "shot himself in the foot" by bragging on You, they humbled themselves before You to depend only on You for this dangerous journey, travelling through these territories with such great treasure!
Because they humbled themselves and asked, You answered by putting Your protection over them so that no enemies and no robbers attacked them to take that treasure.
This is a wonderful doing, Father, that You did for Your people who were obeying You to return to their ancestral home, the land You originally gave them.
You will always protect those who obey You and ask specifically for Your help to accomplish what they couldn't on their own, of what You've told them to do. You draw us to depend utterly on You, Father.
O my Father, continue to teach me to trust You utterly, to seek Your face constantly in all that I do, and to accomplish all that You made me to perform, even those things I am not able to do, but that You will do in and through me.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
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