August 12 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading:

Ezra 8:21-32

²¹Then 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.
²²For 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.
²³So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was intreated of us.
²⁴Then I separated twelve of the chief of the priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them,
²⁵And weighed unto them the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, even the offering of the house of our God, which the king, and his counsellors, and his lords, and all Israel there present, had offered:
²⁶I even weighed unto their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and silver vessels an hundred talents, and of gold an hundred talents;
²⁷Also twenty basons of gold, of a thousand drams; and two vessels of fine copper, precious as gold.
²⁸And I said unto them, Ye are holy unto the LORD; the vessels are holy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering unto the LORD God of your fathers.
²⁹Watch ye, and keep them, until ye weigh them before the chief of the priests and the Levites, and chief of the fathers of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the LORD.
³⁰So took the priests and the Levites the weight of the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem unto the house of our God.
³¹Then 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.
³²And we came to Jerusalem, and abode there three days.

Devotional:

Ezra, and his people were embarking on a journey that was fraught with danger. He might have asked the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect them against the enemy in the way. But he was ashamed to do so!

Often he had borne testimony to the keeping power of God. He had declared that God's hand is on all them for good who seek Him. And he had also declared that God's power and wrath are against all who forsake Him.

So Ezra and his people fasted and prayed to God to seek of Him 'a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance' (8:21).

What an easy thing to understand! It comes home to us in many ways. We claim that our God loves and protects us. We should be ashamed to worry or complain. Instead we should pray for His continuing strength and protection!

And what about our journeys? Our dangers are not likely to be foreign enemies. But accidents may befall us! Do we entreat our loving Father and 'seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance'? When we settle into the family car for a trip it is appropriate to bow together in prayer for the mercies of God on our trip.

In verses 31 and 32 we read, 'And the hand of our God was upon us ... and we came to Jerusalem.' Our God is faithful and powerful to protect us and to bring us at last to our Jerusalem.