Protection of God Invoked
21 Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a [h]safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions. 22 For I was ashamed to request from the king troops and horsemen to [i]protect us from the enemy on the way, because we had said to the king, “The hand of our God is [j]favorably disposed to all those who seek Him, but His power and His anger are against all those who forsake Him.” 23 So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter, and He [k]listened to our entreaty.
24 Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and with them ten of their brothers; 25 and I weighed out to them the silver, the gold and the utensils, the offering for the house of our God which the king and his counselors and his princes and all Israel present there had offered. 26 Thus I weighed into their hands 650 talents of silver, and silver utensils worth 100 talents, and 100 gold talents, 27 and 20 gold bowls worth 1,000 darics, and two utensils of fine shiny bronze, precious as gold. 28 Then I said to them, “You are holy to the Lord, and the utensils are holy; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the Lord God of your fathers. 29 Watch and keep them until you weigh them before the leading priests, the Levites and the heads of the fathers’ households of Israel at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the Lord.” 30 So the priests and the Levites accepted the weighed out silver and gold and the utensils, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.
31 Then we journeyed from the river Ahava on the twelfth 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 the ambushes by the way. 32 Thus we came to Jerusalem and remained there three days.
Treasure Placed in the Temple
33 On the fourth day the silver and the gold and the utensils were weighed out in the house of our God into the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them were the Levites, Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui. 34 Everything was numbered and weighed, and all the weight was recorded at that time.
35 The exiles who had come from the captivity offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: 12 bulls for all Israel, 96 rams, 77 lambs, 12 male goats for a sin offering, all as a burnt offering to the Lord. 36 Then they delivered the king’s edicts to the king’s satraps and to the governors in the provinces beyond the [l]River, and they supported the people and the house of God.
I love how Ezra says he was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers because he had boasted in God’s protection. It seems Ezra got a little ahead of himself, but then they did the only thing they could. They prayed and fasted, and God did indeed protect them.
So should we also boast, though God may not keep us from physical or earthly calamity. Even then, God promises that we are safe in His hands, and no one can snatch us from that safe refuge. Whatever may befall us on this earth, we can have confidence that our hope is not in earthly things. Our hope is in God alone, and in a future that will far surpass the troubles of this world.
With our hope established on such a firm foundation, what can shake it? Nothing indeed, for our God will never fail, even though the rocks and mountains themselves may melt into nothing. He is faithful, and will keep all those who put their trust in Him.