The Enemy on the Road
Notes
Transcript
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.
Ezra Sought the Lord
Ezra Sought the Lord
10 For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.
Seeking the Lord included
++The preparation of the Heart
++Listening to God’s word
++Obedience
24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:
25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:
27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
Ezra had the favor of the King
Ezra had the favor of the King
6 this Ezra came up from Babylon; and he was a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given. The king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the Lord his God upon him.
Ezra was
++A skilled scribe in the Law of Moses
++Granted all that he requested from the King
++Marked by the hand of God
When God’s hand is upon you, people notice.
When God’s hand is upon you, people notice.
16 A man’s gift makes room for him, And brings him before great men.
The King Pronounce a Decree
The King Pronounce a Decree
12 Artaxerxes, king of kings, To Ezra the priest, a scribe of the Law of the God of heaven: Perfect peace, and so forth.
The King’s Decree Pronounced Peace
The King’s Decree Pronounced Peace
13 I issue a decree that all those of the people of Israel and the priests and Levites in my realm, who volunteer to go up to Jerusalem, may go with you.
The King’s decree gave Permission
The King’s decree gave Permission
15 and whereas you are to carry the silver and gold which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem;
The King’s Decree Provided Provision
The King’s Decree Provided Provision
24 Also we inform you that it shall not be lawful to impose tax, tribute, or custom on any of the priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, Nethinim, or servants of this house of God.
The King’s decree secured Protection
The King’s decree secured Protection
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.
Because of the King
Because of the King
They had
++Peace
++Permission
++Provision
++Protection
Why did Ezra proclaim a fast?
Why did Ezra proclaim a fast?
Fasting abstaining from food
++For a certain time period
++For religious reasons
Fasting was used
++To expressed humility and dependence on God
++To assert the reality of God
++To Signify our awareness of the holiness of God
++As an expression of faith
6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Faith says
++My source is God
++My Confidence is in God
27 Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers, who has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem,
28 and has extended mercy to me before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty princes. So I was encouraged, as the hand of the Lord my God was upon me; and I gathered leading men of Israel to go up with me.
I will bless the Lord God
I will bless the Lord God
It was God
++That put it in his heart
++That made this provision
++That extended His mercy to me
++That have given me the favor of the king
Through this Lord has
++Encouraged me
++Let me know His hand was upon me
The will remember the Lord
The will remember the Lord
It started with a declaration
It started with a declaration
22 ...“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.”
The Hand of our God
++Is our Peace
++Grants us permission
++Is our provision
++Protects those that seek him
Something greater is at work
Something greater is at work
7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.
The Name of the Lord
The Name of the Lord
10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe.
The King represented
++The highest human authority
++The pinnacle of human governance
12 Artaxerxes, king of kings, To Ezra the priest, a scribe of the Law of the God of heaven: Perfect peace, and so forth.
Artaxerxes was describe as
++king of kings
++Nobody greater
7 And he preached, saying, “There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.
8 I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
The Power of His Grace
The Power of His Grace
10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
He asked for the King’s help
He asked for the King’s help
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 declared confidence in God
++His request brought shame
++His request expressed misplaced confidence
He had a testimony of faith in God.
He had a testimony of faith in God.
He also had to deal with
The enemy in the road
The enemy in the road
We are on a journey
++We carry valued cargo
++We have and enemy
++We have a choice
++We can trust human authority or God
23 So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer.
5 At the evening sacrifice I arose from my fasting; and having torn my garment and my robe, I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God.
6 And I said: “O my God, I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens.
8 And now for a little while grace has been shown from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage.
