OLD TESTAMENT

A narrative on Ezra 7,8: Ezra risks all in journey of faith

ADVENTURE holidays are popular and are not without their dangers. For instance, not long ago a group of adventurers in Yemen were kidnapped and held hostage, and some died in a bungled rescue attempt.

Ezra is going on more than a holiday: he is emigrating on foot with others across 900 miles of potentially hostile country carrying expensive gifts and all their worldly possessions. The slow-moving group would be easy pickings for highwaymen or local resistance fighters.

Yet he prefers God’s protection to an armed escort (8:22). One brand of Christian spirituality similarly refuses anything considered “worldly”. Often this is biblically in error. God has given us minds to use, responsibility to exercise, and a world full of good things and people to work and engage with. The realm of the “spirit” is not exalted above any other part of creation; all are God’s.

However, Ezra’s example is to be seen, and followed, as a spiritual discipline of renunciation in specific circumstances, if not as a general rule. The priest throws himself on God’s mercy (which all are to do) expressing his faith in this unusual manner, in order to make a point to Artaxerxes and the returning exiles (8:21-23).

A decade later his collaborator Nehemiah acted in just the opposite way. He armed his builders against threatened attack (Nehemiah 4:7-18). Both men honoured God. Both did the right thing at the right time. It just goes to show that the spiritual life is not simply a matter of thoughtlessly following rules.

The Book of Ezra has a special meaning for today. It tells us that we should be broadminded and recognise that God can use anyone for his purposes. We are to look for his activity everywhere. We are also to come back to God when things fall apart by allowing him to rebuild our lives. Trust God in everything and use the commonsense he has given you.

Not like the old days

Earlier in the book (Ezra 3) we encounter a series of contemplations that are as relevant today as they were in Old Testament times.

Most of the Old Testament leaders knew there was more to life than religious routines. People had to eat and work; faith was the focal point but not the sole occupation.

There is a realism about the six-month settling-in period before the services begun (v 1). This allowed people time to build houses, cultivate land, and set up trades and professions.

There is also realism about the order of events. Worship began in the ruins of the old temple (v 3) and only after another few months is the rebuilding planned (v 8). But there are mixed feelings once the foundations are laid. Joy and elation are understandable, but why the tears (v 12)? There could be several reasons:

. Tears of relief: we’ve waited so long for this

. Tears of sorrow: we’re dealing with the results of our fathers’ sins

. Tears of disappointment: older people would see the new temple was not as splendid as the old.

Comparisons of that kind often occur in life, when people build new foundations on the ruins of a marriage, a career, a business, or even a church. The message of Ezra is that new life can spring from seeds of faith watered by the tears of repentance and trust.