Part 2 – A Man Called Ezra and the Call to Commitment
At every critical moment in history, God raises someone to lead His people back to Him. The next part of the story introduces such a person—a man whose life challenges our own faith and commitment.
For about after 58 years God again inspired another king Artaxerxes ruling Babylon to send the last group of people who are still there in Babylon to restore Jerusalem.
Now God chooses Ezra to lead the rest of the group of people to Jerusalem.
Many Biblical scholars says that during this biblical periods the great religious reformation happened, where they called it as the “great religious reformation” which happened under Ezra and Nehemiah.
Now who is this Ezra and why does God have to send him at this point?
Ezra is from the family of the sons of Aroon. A priestly family. He is also a scribe of Medo-Persia.
He is a priest and a scribe who lived in Babylon for a long time and was so attracted by the people over there and even by the king because of his faith and because of his witness.
He stood as a witness in a heathen place, around heathen people, amidst heathen religion, and even in the presence of a heathen king who have authority to kill him because of his religion.
Yet, the stand of Ezra impressed the king more, which even gave him many privileges to talk freely about his faith to a heathen king.
Now I have a question: Is your faith impressing the people around you? Impressing your family? Impressing people in your work place? Impressing people in the community? This is a serious question we have to think about.
As a scribe, he used his talents, ability, education, to look back to the scrolls, the law, and the time periods, and encouraged himself and the people who are waiting for freedom and the deliverance from Babylon.
Ellen white writes in Prophets and Kings:
He gathered all the copies of the law that he could find and had these transcribed and distributed” – prophets and kings, p. 678.
His faith, his acts, all these made him a man who is described as “a scribe of the law of the God of heaven” Ezra 7:12.
He is a man with piety and zeal for God and for his people.
However, Ezra had a problem here. While some looked forward to returning back to Jerusalem, some are did not want to go because of the possessions they gained in the land and are not willing to sacrifice them. Due to which initially the number was small.
More surprisingly, from among the few people who responded to the call of Ezra, there are no Levites who signed up to return to Jerusalem.
People who should be the ones to stand first failed to join because of the properties they earned and having no will to leave them because of their love for the worldly possessions.
How sad it is or will be when Christians do not stand forward in sacrificing things for God.
How sad it is or will be when Adventists who calls themselves as Christians do not stand forward in sacrificing things for God.
How sad when Christians forget their purpose of working for God.
How sad when Christians do not use their abilities and talents in introducing Christ to heathen people.
Earthly comfort can make us forget the religion.
Earthly comfort can make us forget the higher purposes which God has entrusted to us.
However, Ezra did not give up. He did not lose hope. He worked more and reached people more and inspired them more and made them know their purposes making people to sign up for this great journey which is going to bring freedom to the Jewish people and which bring great spiritual awakening to the people who are living with a dry religion in Jerusalem.
The people set their journey to travel back to Jerusalem.
Now the bible records in Ezra 8:21-23 (from the key text which has been read earlier):
21 Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions. 22 For I was ashamed to request of the king an escort of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the road, because we had spoken to the king, saying, “The hand of our God is upon all those for good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him.” 23 So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer.
Now they arrived to the river of Ahava which is just 8-15 km (5-9 miles) away from Babylon.
The joy which filled their hearts once at the beginning of the journey slowly disappeared as they continued on their way.
The people started to see the reality of their journey. They began to see the things which are going come on their way. Even Ezra the leader of this group who is so called the “the scribe of the law of the God of heaven” is now began to think the dangers which are going their way.
Ezra’s story challenges us to examine our priorities. Many were called, but few were willing to sacrifice. The real question is not whether God is calling—but whether we are willing to respond, even when it requires letting go of comfort.
