Fasting and Praying

                        
                                                              Sunday School Lesson                                          

Lesson: Ezra 8:21-23, 31-32                                                                                          
Golden Text:“So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was intreated of us” (Ezra 8:23).

INTRODUCTION.  Our lesson this week is about an incident in which fasting and prayer worked out well.  It’s the account of Ezra calling Israel to fast and seek the Lord for His guidance and protection.  It was a call to get serious about obeying God’s command, which in this case meant making the long and hazardous journey on foot from Babylon to Jerusalem.  It was also about putting faith into action as a demonstration of God’s power. 

II. THE FAST BY THE RIVER OF AHAVA (Ezra 8:21-23).  Lesson Background: This week’s lesson takes place in 458 B.C. in the seventh year of the reign of Artaxerxes, king of Persia.  The temple had been dedicated in 516 B.C. during the reign of Darius by the first group of returnees.  This first group returned during the reign of Cyrus, king of Persia and was lead by Jeshua and Zerubbabbel in 538 B.C.  Now some fifty-eight years later, a second group of Jews led by a devout priest named Ezra, returned from exile to their homeland.  They left Babylon on the first day of the first month of Nisan, and arrived in Jerusalem in the fifth month of Ab for a total of four months of travel.  This journey covered about 900 miles.  Ezra obtained permission from Artaxerxes to lead a group back to Jerusalem (see Ezra 7:6-7) with a copy of the king’s decree giving Ezra authority in his homeland of Israel.  The king gave permission to anyone who wanted to return with Ezra to do so (see Ezra 7:13).  The king also gave Ezra the authority to ask about the affairs in Judah and to take wealth with him to support worship at Jerusalem (see Ezra 7:14-20).  Ezra was also authorized to collect taxes from the western provinces to be used for temple worship, and was allowed to exempt the temple ministers from being taxed (see Ezra 7:21-24).  Amazingly, he was also authorized to establish government in Israel based on the laws of God, teaching those who were ignorant of the law and to punish those who refused to obey it (see Ezra 7:25-26).  Certainly, the hand of God was on Ezra!  Note: Ezra was a descendent of Aaron through Eleazar (see Ezra 7:1-5).  He is called “a ready scribe in the law of Moses” (see Ezra 7:6) meaning that he was a learned man, skilled in knowledge of the Law and was able to teach it to others (see Ezra 7:25).  Ezra had a firm determination to master God’s law, to practice it as a way of life, and to teach it to all Israel so they could learn to please God (see Ezra 7:10).

A. The proclamation of the fast (Ezra 8:21).  Our text begins with Ezra saying “Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.”   After travelling for about nine days, they came to the “river that runneth to Ahava” (see Ezra 8:15) here called the “river of Ahava” where they pitched tents and stayed there for three days (see Ezra 8:15).  Note: This three day delay appears to have been caused by Ezra’s discovery that there were no Levites in the group of returnees (see Ezra 8:15)God had called the Levites to a special service in the temple, but few volunteered when their services were needed.However, their service was so important that Ezra decided to recruit some Levites before going on with the journey (see Ezra 8:16-20).As a result, thirty-eight Levites and two hundred and twenty other temple workers joined the group of returnees.  Ezra then tells us that before they continued on their way, “I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava.”  Ezra called for a “fast” indicating that the reason for it was “that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us.”  The word “afflict” means to humble oneself before God and was accompanied by earnest prayer.  The phrase “a right way” literally means “a straight way.”  In other words, they prayed that God would give them a safe journey.  Ezra said this prayer for travelling mercies included “us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.”  The term “little ones” refers to persons under twenty, but could include all those who couldn’t protect themselves.  They also prayed for “all our substance” which referred to their household possessions, livestock and any food they may have brought with them.  It also included the wealth that they had collected to help support the temple worship in Jerusalem.  This would be a long journey, so it was imperative that they commit their way to the Lord as they travelled.

B. The reason for the fast (Ezra 8:22).  Ezra continued to say “For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him.”  Ezra says that he called for fasting and prayer for God’s protection because he “was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way.”  The word “ashamed” means “embarrassed.”  Ezra was embarrassed to ask king Artaxerxes for military protection because he had “spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him.”  In other words, Ezra had already boasted to the king about God’s care for His own.  He had told the king that God’s hand rested favorably on anyone who looked to Him, but His “power and wrath” was “against all them that forsake him” or turned their backs on Him.  Of course this thought was deeply revealed in the Jewish Scriptures (see Psalms 33:18-19; 34:15-18) and Ezra boldly declared it to the king.  But since he had done this, he was afraid that any request for a military escort would weaken his testimony, causing the king to question the goodness and power of God since the Lord was supposed to be protecting them.  Ezra had to have faith in his own testimony about God’s protection.  He had put God’s reputation on the line.  Therefore, in order to protect the Lord’s reputation, Ezra refused to ask for the king’s protection.  Note: Ezra provides us with a great example of faith.  The psalmist put it this way, “some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God” (see Psalms 20:7).  When we boldly proclaim the truth that God watches over His children and provides for their needs, do we still complain about our future, or rush to solve our problems while depriving God of the opportunity to work for us?  Do the people around us see in us the evidence that an all-wise and loving God exists?

C. The result of the fast (Ezra 8:23).   In this verse Ezra writes “So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was intreated of us.”  What we should understand about fasting for Ezra and those with him was that it was not just a ritual.  They were able to go without food because they were so sincere in prayer that they didn’t even miss it.  The term “besought” means that they petitioned or asked God to grant them their request which in this case was safety as they travelled (see Ezra 8:21).  They would travel along rough roads with bandits just waiting for unsuspecting travelers.  After fasting and praying, Ezra says that God “was intreated of us.”  This means that God answered their prayers (see I Chronicles 5:20; II Chronicles 33:13; Isaiah 19:22).
III. THE JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM (Ezra 8:31-32).  Verses 24-30 are not covered in this week’s lesson but will be discussed next week.  However, in these verses we are told that Ezra used wisdom and took measures to guarantee that the wealth they carried with them was kept safe.  He placed all the wealth in the hands of the priests and Levites to guard until they reached Jerusalem.
A.  The protection of God (Ezra 8:31).  Ezra here writes “Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way.”  After spending three days at “the river of Ahava,” they departed from there “on the twelfth day of the first month” which was Nisan, headed for Jerusalem.  Note: Ezra and his group left Babylon on the first day of the first month Nisan (see Ezra 7:9), stopping at the river of Ahava for three days (see Ezra 8:15).  They departed from there on the twelfth day of Nisan which means they had travelled nine days before reaching the river of Ahava where they spent three days.  After leaving the river of Ahava, they would arrive in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month (see Ezra 7:9) which means the rest of the journey took four months.   The last part of this verse says “and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way.”  When Ezra wrote this, he was looking back on how God had protected them from all enemies, and anyone who waited along the way to attack them.  The phrase “the hand of our God” refers to God’s favor and was used by Ezra before.  He used this phrase when speaking of the favor shown to them by the king of Persia (see Ezra 7:6, 28); when speaking of the completion of their journey (see Ezra 7:9); when God provided Levites to serve (see Ezra 8:18); when speaking about those who seek the Lord (see Ezra 8:22) and of course here in this verse when speaking of God having delivered them from danger.  The phrase “he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way” does not necessarily mean that these Jews faced no danger at all on their journey.  It most likely means that God either kept them from being attacked, or that He gave them the ability to resist any attacks.  Note: Whatever means the Lord used to protect His people had amazing results.  Ezra led a group of more than four thousand people including women and children through nine hundred miles of dangerous territory and no one was harmed.  Some of them may have had weapons, but certainly not enough to fight off attackers. Only the “hand of God” upon them in response to sincere prayer can account for their safety.
B. The arrival in Jerusalem (Ezra 8:32).  In our final verse, Ezra wrote “And we came to Jerusalem, and abode there three days.”  Ezra doesn’t give any details about the journey; he simply says “we came to Jerusalem, and abode there three days.”  The only thing that was important was that the hand of God, or more specifically His grace was upon His people which provided them with travelling mercies to reach Jerusalem safely.  The fact that they “abode there (in Jerusalem) three days” indicates that they used those days to rest from the long journey. We are told that on the fourth day they began to carry the silver and gold into the house of God (see Ezra 8:33).
                     
IV. Conclusion.  Ezra was a remarkable man.  He had great ability and influence that led to him being entrusted with a difficult task by the Persian king.  He was a learned man, educated in Israel’s laws and able to teach them to others (see II Timothy 2:2).  Above all, he was a man of faith; a godly man who knew he was doing God’s will and trusted Him to help him carry it out.  May we follow the example of Ezra and walk with the Lord so that we may be assured that the hand of God will be upon us for good.