Bound by a Profession

Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance. For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him. So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was intreated of us. (Ezra 8: 21 – 23)

Have you ever wondered why you said certain things? Have you ever regretted confessing certain things when you are challenged to do them?

Folk tales are full of such instances. But they are many times used to explain the ingenuity of the hero of the story.

Have you ever touted your bravery to cover your cowardice? What happens when a situation arises when you must lead other cowards through a situation you are scared to death to encounter? Or when you confess to have enough money to impress and a situation arises when ‘your’ money is the only solution to be found?

Yet is in the faith dimension this plays out perfectly. And this because it is in the dimension where we are required to step in the water to find out whether it will drown us or we will walk over it.

Ezra was a priest raised in captivity. According to 7: 10 he had studied God’s word and was not only proficient in its study but also in its observation. He was also an able teacher of that same word. He stood out amongst the Jews for his commitment to God’s revealed word. Among his contemporaries were Daniel and his three friends, Mordecai and Esther, Nehemiah and Ezekiel thugh apart from Nehemiah we do not know whether he related with the others.

It is clear from this passage that his faith was observed even by the heathen. He was therefore respected for the faith he held and proclaimed. It had even elevated his status in the kingdom as we get from reading the book.

When the heathen king is confronted by the heavenly King to bring back the Jews and rebuild the temple, Ezra was the automatic choice to lead the religious aspect, directing all the people and resources his way. He even bound the whole kingdom to support Ezra and his team with whatever he may require.

So we see Ezra with a large team of religious leaders. He also has the flocks that had been given to commence the sacrifices once the temple was completed. He also had a lot of gold and silver and the vessels that had been taken from the temple in Jerusalem when it fell.

In short he had a lot of treasure, a rough estimate could be around half a billion dollars today. And everybody knew that he had all that treasure as there was a proclamation from a king to that effect.

Incidentally, there were robbers those days. It is also possible that opposing kingdoms could have plotted to acquire all that treasure for their kingdom.

The journey itself was long, probably taking months to complete as these were not soldiers who were prepared for such treks. And I suppose the road itself was predictable and visible, though the great company would have made it so anyway.

The easiest option would have been for Ezra to ask for an army to escort them. And the king would have no problems giving such an army as he was also aware not only of the kind of treasure being ferried, but also the dangers it was prone to attract.

But Ezra had a problem. And his problem was to do with the faith he professed. He was concerned with how those heathens will think about the God they were sure Ezra worshipped.

Mark this, that Ezra was more concerned with his witness than his safety. How will these people conclude about the God Ezra so ably taught about?

He therefore decided to bring God into the picture. Again note that the God he professed could be removed from his daily experience as they were in captivity, being ruled over by the heathen. Reminds me of Gideon asking whether the God their fathers spoke about even existed due to their experience.

Ezra had not seen a burning bush, or even killed a lion and bear. The only thing he knew about God is what he read in His word. I doubt that there were any testimonies to boost his faith at this time.

He simply decided to test God from what he had read and taught from His word. Remember Shadrach and his friends confessing that even if God would not save them? I think that is where Ezra was.

We have consistently and confidently confessed God’s power for those who obey Him. We will hold Him to His word. We will not dilute His word with logic and sense. They therefore chose to give God room to prove Himself.

But they did not stop there. They decided to seek His face concerning it. That is why they fasted before starting their journey.

And they discovered that the God of the Bible has never changed. He is the same as He ever was before creation. His power is the same as it is recorded in the Bible, His book, His revelation of Himself.

Have you ever been in such a situation? What did you do?

I remember once I was called to minister when I was so sick that I had not been able to eat for four days. I could not even swallow water as it came out immediately I swallowed it.

That was how I left Nairobi for Kampala because I knew God wanted me there.

When I arrived, I was offered breakfast but declined because I knew I would vomit it all. I just went to sleep.

Then I thought of my situation. Not only was I very weak but my stomach may be collapsing on itself. I had to do something or I could die like some people I had heard about.

The solution I thought was to ask those who had invited me to slowly goad the stomach to open up by juices or porridge.

Then I thought. Did I come all the way from Nairobi to be ministered to or to minister? I there and then decided that the stomach will open before I am required to minister. I went to the tap (faucet) and drank as much water as my stomach could take and of course vomited all of it. Then I went to sleep.

Due to the weakness of my body, I started shivering with cold, but eventually slept.

I woke up at lunch time totally healed, and had no problems for the two weeks I ministered.

Have you ever confessed God’s provision yet faced a situation where the person you have been preaching that to has some money you feel like borrowing? Or confessed that promotion comes from God yet feel so much pressure to plead with the boss who knows about that proclamation to promote you? Maybe about favor yet feel the urge to take a goat to someone in a position of influence?

I see Christians in politics trashing their confessions as they look for those elusive votes. I see pastors shrewdly preach about giving when they feel they are not receiving adequate remuneration from their churches. I see Christians in business and sales using exaggeration to close those deals.

Do we want to bring God to fight for us? We must be ashamed of using worldly methods to operate. Like Ezra we will even reject freely offered service for the sake of our proclamation.

We are not talking about open sin or compromise. Please note that Ezra was entitled to receive that armed guard from the king. He decided not to ask for it because of the God he had been proclaiming.

How ready are you to hold God to your profession?