Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, who has put such a thing as this in the king's heart, to adorn the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem, and has extended lovingkindness to me before the king and his counselors and before all the king's mighty princes. Thus I was strengthened according to the hand of the Lord my God upon me, and I gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me. (Ezra 7:27-28)
Even the king could see it. It was hard to miss. The hand of the Lord God was upon Ezra the scribe. What does this look like? Often it is a generational thing…the hand of the Lord was upon Ezra and a long lineage of ancestors, all the way back to Aaron, the brother of Moses, and High Priest of Israel. Imagine being in Babylonian captivity at this time of the history of God’s people and being privileged to return to restore the worship of God in Jerusalem. Imagine going back to lead the people in spiritual worship and teaching of the word of the Lord and not knowing how. The Lord prepares those that He will use. He begins with a heart to know God. Ezra had set his heart to learning the law…so he could practice the law…so he could teach the law of the Lord. He had not abandoned his priestly lineage as some did. He set his heart on doing what the Lord wanted him to do…never dreaming how God would work it out in his life. God was known in Ezra’s heart before he knew God’s hand was upon him. This is a lesson for us. We should set our hearts on knowing God and practicing His ways. And perhaps someday, the hand of the Lord will be upon us, and we will be mightily used beyond our capacity. When the hand of the Lord is upon us, it can be plainly seen. And the hand of the Lord is placed upon those whose hearts are set diligently upon Him. His hand is upon us to steady us as we study Him.
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