Ezra 8:23

It is not asking for power, but humbling themselves before God. It is humiliation of spirit before the Lord, so that the Lord may be able to entrust us with a blessing.

Others would have been tempted to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect them against the enemy. This thought does not even enter the heart of godly Ezra... Could he say: I trust in the Lord, and then deny that same confession? Could he add: But that is not quite enough for me, I must trust in man as well? No, this weak remnant fast and humble themselves, and pray to God.

Consider how easy it is for us today to profess great confidence in God about how we carry on His work. It is just as easy to fail when the test comes and we face some very practical questions. We may well be ashamed when an opponent can reproach us by calling on us to practise what we preach.

The flesh cannot be used, in any shape or form, in the Lord's service. Only two things test our motives, aims, and objects and make them clear: true separation from everything the flesh might feed on, and humiliation in the presence of God. So among those gathered around Ezra, some might have come for other things than the welfare of the house of their God... Ezra therefore wanted everyone searched by the light of God's holy presence. They had one thing to learn. Only the good hand of their God would protect and guide them on the journey, and only that hand could sustain them along the way and in their later service.

The reader should notice that the danger Ezra spoke of was not imaginary. Later he records, to the praise of his God, that "He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes by the way" (v. 31). God is the refuge and strength of His people, a very present help in trouble. They would know this better if, like Ezra, they learned to count on Him as enough in every circumstance.

He knew his God was the best shield. His angels — the servants used to guard His people and keep evil away — would be the unseen companions of the caravan... Their prayers were answered. And He still answers faith.

The question may well arise whether in our day we take up our service for God too easily. Before we begin anything for God, would it not help spiritual power and effectiveness if we were more often found in this attitude of Ezra and his companions?... Our question concerns waiting on God together, with fasting, before we start work in which the saints at large have a common interest. It was understood in the early Church.

He acknowledges the support of the protecting power he serves. This was not from any lack of faith. It was because in these low times faith does not show itself with the same simplicity. When the temple was completed, Ezra had only to carry gifts to the house of the Lord. The greater the treasure entrusted to him, the more he had to show the world one thing: faith turned to God to keep what belonged to Him.