ADMIT GOD’S HAND
Ezra 7:8-9
“Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh year of the king. He had begun his journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, for the gracious hand of God was on him.”
Eight year-old twins Benjy and Danny, dressed in old tee-shirts and jeans, sighed. “What a wreck!” Danny exclaimed.
Their back yard was littered with building rubble, trash, and tree branches from the tornado that stormed through their neighborhood. Benjy stuffed trash and twigs inside the garbage bag he carried. He picked up his bike’s handle bars; the rest was missing.
“Hey guys” a neighbor chirped, “we’re still alive. Good! God needs our help to clean up this mess!” (1 Corinthians 3:9 confirms that we’re God’s fellow workers).
Ezra, priest and teacher of the Law of God, came late to the Jerusalem party. King Artaxerxes sent another group to Jerusalem, years after King Cyrus sent exiles there to rebuild the temple of the Lord. Ezra was sent to “appoint magistrates and judges to administer justice to all the people...” (Ezra 7:25-26). “Whoever does not obey the law of your God and the law of the king must surely be put to death, banishment, confiscation of property, or imprisonment.”
Benjy and Danny’s cheerful neighbor urged the boys to get busy cleaning up. Ezra’s job was more like a hall monitor, supervisor, or policeman. Ezra had two bosses: the king, and God. He used worship and God’s Law to shape his people in obedience. Daily hearing God’s Word revealed His presence, embedding God-formed identities into each person.
Ezra made his mark on the world, but he didn’t act alone. Worship and hearing Scripture heal and grow God’s people. While most Christians today are not returning from exile, attending church service embeds God’s kids with identity of whose we are. “Church” is not a building. God’s church is the group of saints who come together within a structure for worship and instruction. Pastors, priests and rabbis have scores of help completing various church functions.
Ezra taught that every success comes from God’s hand. Ultimately, He’s our Boss.
Take Home Nugget
Each person is called when admitting the hand of God is at work. John 9:4: “As long as it is day, we must do the work of Him who sent me.”
MAY THIS LABOR DAY (in the USA) REWARD GOD’S SERVANTS WITH SEEING HIS HAND AT WORK IN RESTORING OUR LAND
Prayer. Holy and gracious heavenly Father, this Labor Day reveal Yourself to Your children. Make us sensitive to see Your hand at work in our lives, and admit whose we are to the world. Amen.
J.D. Griffith
A personal, private lesson experience with our staff
Written for http://www.biblestudyforkids.com/
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