To fear God is the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 9:10), and fear in this context has nothing to do with being afraid, for how can two walk together, if one is a afraid of the other. If one is afraid of his companion, how can he put his trust in him? The fear that brings wisdom and understanding has to do with respect and honor. If we are to gain wisdom and understanding of what needs to be done, we need to trust God in our heart of hearts, and not trust in our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). By acknowledging God in our labor, what we do will be successful, because the Lord, in whom we trust, will direct our paths (Proverbs 3:6).
Mankind has been in the state of rebellion against God from the days of Eden (Genesis 3). We have decided to know the “good and evil” of a matter on our own, the opposite of what we should be doing (cp. Proverbs 3:5). We have pushed the Lord away from us, not wanting to have him in our knowledge (Romans 1:28), which results in the Lord letting us alone to work out our problems according to our corrupt wisdom, which can only end in failure. Therefore, when it came time for Ezra to embark on his journey to Jerusalem, after he had done all in his power to be successful, he didn’t lean upon his own righteousness or his own understanding, expecting to reap a successful journey. Rather, he turned to the Lord and caused his whole company to do so, as well. He declared a fast, there, in Ahava, afflicting their souls in acknowledgement of their need for the presence of God to go with them (Ezra 8:21).
Israel was conquered and taken into captivity, because they rebelled against their God. Rebellion seeks independence from one’s king, and in the context of Israel’s rebellion, they, in fact, sought independence from God. They wouldn’t have put it that way, of course, but that is how everything played out. The king of the Jews didn’t trust the Lord’s prophets, whom he had sent to direct their paths, and he led the nation against the Lord, his King. Therefore, the Jews were conquered and taken into captivity. Now, Ezra sought to return from captivity. To expect the Lord to acknowledge his desire purely on the ground that he had acted in a righteous manner, would be to despise the Lord. No, acknowledging one’s sins, one’s rebellion needs to occur before the Lord would return to direct one’s paths. It is a matter of honor and respect. It is a matter of acknowledging the path one had chosen was wrong from the very beginning, and a return to one’s God is understood in one’s request that he return to you and direct your paths (cp. Proverbs 3:5-6). Therefore, Ezra proclaimed a fast (Ezra 8:21).
When Nehemiah returned to rebuild Jerusalem, the king had sent a small army with him for protection (Nehemiah 2:9). Nehemiah’s request to the king had been to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls and the Lord’s House. On the other hand, when Ezra appeared before the king, it was to return to an already rebuilt Temple and to Jerusalem, whose wall had already been rebuilt. Ezra bragged on the Lord God of the Jews to the king. The king acknowledged the Lord’s power by granting all of Ezra’s requests (Ezra 7:6) and by giving Ezra gifts of gold and silver, and money for sacrifices, as offerings to the God of the Jews (Ezra 7:15-22), because the king and his counselors feared the wrath of Ezra’s God (Ezra 7:23). So, Ezra’s walk with God, was according to his bragging before the king.
If one brags about the power of God, it would be a contradiction of one’s faith in God’s power, if one would make a request for the king to protect him and the precious gifts given him. Therefore, Ezra made no such request. He was ashamed to do so, because he trusted in the Lord, and such a request would have contradicted all he had claimed before the king (Ezra 8:22). Therefore, Ezra and the company with him fasted and sought the Presence of God to go with them, and the Lord granted their request and protected them on their journey back to Jerusalem (Ezra 8:23).
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