March 13, 2026

Humbling

Ezra 8:21-23, 31

“Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, “The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.” So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.”

“Then we departed from the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes by the way.”

Ezra was a priest and scribe ‘learned in the ways of God for Israel’ but who had not been part of the first group returning under Cyrus. During the reign of Artaxerxes, a second group was commissioned by that Persian king to return and further the worship of God under the direction of Ezra. Artaxerxes made provision of funds and resources for the journey and service in Jerusalem (Chapter 7).

Ezra gathers more of those willing to return to Jerusalem for the service of God but pauses three days before departing. Having confirmed the presence of priests in his troupe, Ezra then takes a most important step:

Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, “The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.” So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty. ¹

Do we get so excited when everything is going our way that we overlook taking a little more time to consider God? Ezra’s ‘humbling’ was because he saw a need but didn’t want to defame God in his expression of what he needed. He had already told the king about his God’s abilities and did not want his actions to deny what he had said. So, he humbled himself before God and sought from God the safe journey.

Did he get the ‘band of soldiers’ to protect them in the journey? Unlikely but he does get God’s wisdom. Following the humbling and fasting, his group is divided into the main group and the ‘set apart twelve leading priests’ who are entrusted with the gold and silver given toward the house of God. These twelve are to guard, keep and deliver into the keeping of the Temple in Jerusalem. Whether there was separation between the Twelve and the main group is not stated but,

Then we departed from the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes by the way. ²

God does not always ‘perform’ the way we intend but He is quite capable to accomplish His good purposes. After the group had been in Jerusalem three days, on the fourth day all was delivered to the keepers of the Temple. All was right in God’s way. Humility and seeking God’s desire has its benefits. Amen.

FOOTNOTES:
¹ Ezra 8:21-23 (ESV) – https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/ezr/8/21-23/s_411021
² Ezra 8:31 (ESV) – https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/ezr/8/31/s_411031

Ezra 8:21-23 (ESV) - https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/ezr/8/21-23/s_411021

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