Is God someone who we can depend upon and trust to fulfill His promises? How often do you keep your promises? Does trust come naturally to people or do naturally lack the faith in people? How is trust and faith developed? The people of Israel fell into depravity over the years as men followed their own hearts instead of setting it towards God to find courage to act as He would want. God stripped away everything that the people in Israel held dear. The people of Israel may have thought that the story ended there alone and helpless but God was true to his promise.
God turned the hearts of the persian kings favorably towards the people of Israel allowing a remnant to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. God worked through the rulers over Israel to remind them of His faithfulness. As the people of Israel rebuilt the temple they had a freedom from the persian kings to complete the work but the greater freedom was found in the reaffirmation of their devotion to God. God remained faithful to the people of Israel never forgetting them in the midst of their exile. Did God feel as a parent would when they have to allow their child go through a difficult moment in life to learn how to live?
The book of Ezra was written almost like the memoir of Ezra chronicling the first refugees who returned to Jerusalem. His leadership steamed from his devotion to God and his desire to know God more than anything else. Was the passion and devotion to God displayed by Ezra an important factor in the peoples desire to follow God again? Is your faith in God strong enough to make a stand for God and against the ways of the people around you? You will be forever changed and transformed as you cling to God with all of your heart, mind, soul and strength.
