Ezra’s Faith

[Ezra 8:21, 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… Then we departed from the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem, and the hand of our God was over us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambush by the way.”

In the first year of King Cyrus the Great of Persia, Zerubbabel led the first group of Jews (numbering 42,360) from the Babylonian captivity back to Jerusalem (Book of Ezra) to rebuild the Temple. This was around 458 BC. Fifty-eight years after the Temple had been rebuilt, most of the first wave of returnees had passed away, and their descendants faced numerous spiritual problems. God’s hand raised up a new generation of people from Babylon, giving them a heart to follow Ezra “up to Jerusalem.”

Among this second group returning with Ezra were many women and children, possibly numbering five or six thousand, and they carried a huge amount of wealth with them. This four-month long journey was constantly exposed to the risk of bandit attacks. Ezra could have accepted Persian King’s offer of military escort, as Nehemiah later did (Nehemiah 2:9). However, Ezra had testified to the king, saying, “The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him.” To ask the king for an escort would have shown a lack of faith in God, so he felt “ashamed” and instead “proclaimed a fast and sought God in prayer.” Ezra, by faith, relied on God, not asking the Persian king for military escort, yet he did not act irresponsibly or recklessly. Before setting out, Ezra carefully “weighed out” the immense amount of gold, silver, and articles, distributing them to twenty-four individuals for “watchful keeping.” These gold and silver articles weighed up to 29 tons, meaning each person was responsible for about 1.2 tons. Without a military escort, this was an extremely arduous and dangerous task. These individuals had to be “holy to the Lord” to faithfully transport these consecrated valuables.

The exiled people were scattered throughout Babylon. They set out separately and gathered at “the river Ahava” (Ezra 8:31). Therefore, Ezra “assembled them at the river, that flows to Ahava,” and “checked the people and the priests,” and also “proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava.” Before reaching Ahava, Ezra did not know how many people would return with him, nor if there would be enough people to guard the immense wealth. Yet, by faith, he proclaimed: “The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him.”

The journey from Babylon to “Ahava” was easy; the journey from “Ahava” to “Jerusalem” was difficult. The entire journey from Babylon to Jerusalem was about 1,600 kilometers. The “first day of the first month” that year was early April, and the “first day of the fifth month” was early August, meaning the entire journey took place during the dry, hot summer, making travel during midday impossible. Thus, it required four months. However, once the people “departed from the river Ahava,” the hand of God protected them all the way “until they reached Jerusalem.” The hardships along the way were no longer worth mentioning; instead, the process of handing over the treasures and offering sacrifices was described in detail. Just as the Lord Jesus said: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).