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Ezra

There is a time to throw yourself on God; to fore go the typical, obvious way that things are done and place your fate in the hands of God. I am not saying to stop taking your meds or cross traffic blindfolded; to do something foolish and presumptuous to test God. I am saying to back up your claims about God with deeds. Ezra did this.

The people of Israel had lost everything that God had given them because they refused to take care of it. Nebuchadnezzar came in with his army and destroyed their civilization. The survivors were led away into exile. Jeremiah prophesied that their exile would last seventy years which it did. God restored the fortune of these exiles and stirred up the Persian King Cyrus to empower them to return to their land and rebuild the temple of God. He even gave back whatever was left of the national treasure that Nebuchadnezzar had stolen. Rebuilding the temple would prove to be the foundation upon which Israel as the center of Jewish civilization would rise from the dead, although it turned out to be a much bigger challenge than anybody thought, taking generations to accomplish and involving numerous leaders and key figures in a long story of vision, opposition and triumph. One of these figures was called Ezra.

Ezra was a master at explaining Jewish culture, law, economics and worship. He was going to return to Israel and help the fledgling nation recover it's unique cultural heritage, which had been given to them by God. He gathered a group of hundreds of Jewish exiles in Persia to make the long and dangerous journey, but he decided not to take advantage of Persian military escort. This was a huge decision because they were taking huge amounts of gold and silver and many other valuable assets along. Ezra felt he had to back up his words with deeds. He had spoken to the King in very clear terms about God; " The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him." Ezra had offered pretty clear witness about the
greatness of God, so he decided to trust him for protection and lead the people on this journey looking to God alone for protection. He felt that if he requested a military escort, which would have been given, his witness about God would be discredited. They traveled all the way from Persia to Israel and safely delivered the vast fortune that had been dedicated to the temple.

A faithful witness is not just words. It really has to be words backed up by deeds or the words may become empty and hollow. If we talk big about Jesus we also have to live big. Believe me, your deeds of faith will speak much more loudly and clearly about the truth than your words alone.

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