Right on Time

My lovely bride has a wonderful saying whenever we’re on vacation. “Wherever we are, we’re right on time.” After spending most of year trying to stay on schedule, it’s refreshing to realize, for a few days at least, you’re not living under any deadlines. While I’m not saying schedules and deadlines are evil, they can fool us into thinking we’re in the driver’s seat. Here in Ezra 8:31-34, we read all about the Hebrews’ return to the Promised Land. It was already way past the originally scheduled departure. But the funny thing is that God’s hand was still on them the entire way. He was still in control. Wherever they were, they were right on time. On God’s time.

Let’s back up a few days and see how Ezra and his posse fell so far behind. Having set up base camp along the Ahava River in Babylon, the Big E realized he’d forgotten to include any Levites or temple servants as part of his team (Ez 8:15). That’s kind of a big deal since the focus of their trip was temple worship. It takes three days before God hand delivers 240 of just the right folks at just the right time (Ez 8:18-20). Now three days late, Ezra then pumps the brakes once more and declares a fast. Without any military escort from the Persian army, he realizes it might be a good idea to seek God’s protection for a safe journey to Jerusalem (Ez 8:21-22). They were making an almost 1,000-mile trek through some of the most dangerous deserts with several billion dollars of silver and gold (Ez 8:26-27). That fast apparently takes another eight days before it became clear that God “listened to our entreaty” (Ez 8:23). As a dad who has tried to herd my wife and kids into the minivan for the family vacation, I feel for Ezra. We can’t make any time if we’re still in the driveway. We need to get on the road. The clock is ticking. There’s just one little thing. Ezra may be more than ready to hit the road but he knows the Israelites are right on time. On God’s time.

Finally it’s time to get on the road. They leave “on the twelve day of the first month” (v31). That’s Nisan 12 on the Jewish calendar which is sometime in March or April. Combining the info we read back in Ezra 7:9, we know they’ve been they’ve been trying to get out of town for eleven days. Next stop: Jerusalem. Ezra lets us know once again “the hand of God was on us” (v31). He’s been telling everyone who will listen, including King Artaxerxes, that God’s fingerprints are all over this amazing expedition (Ez 7:6, 9, 28; 8:18, 22). Clear evidence of Yahweh’s grip on the trip is seen because “He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from  ambushes by the way” (v31). Any doubts about God hearing the people’s prayer for protection? Anyone? Anyone? We’re not really sure if there were any attacks or ambushes. But we can be sure the LORD got His people back to Judah safe and sound.

Don’t miss a couple of interesting points here. First of all, Ezra takes absolutely no credit for the success of the trip. He shines the spotlight on the One who deserves all the applause. “The hand of our God was on us and He delivered us” (v31). When describing God’s action in bringing His people out of captivity, Ezra uses the very same verb “deliver” (Heb. natsal) Moses uses for God’s rescue of the Israelites from Egypt (Ex 3:8; 6:6). The author is pointing to one of the Bible’s mega-themes: God the Rescuer. Just as He rescued His people from slavery in Egypt and Babylonia, He continues to rescue us from our slavery to our own sin and our own selves. Jesus is our Hero. Jesus is our Rescuer. The other point are all the hands at work. God’s hand has a firm grip on His people. He fights off “the hand of the enemy” (v31). There’s spiritual warfare going on here. Hand-to-hand combat. But rest assured. While the enemy will attack, our Hero will always win. Always.

One verse later, the trip is over. “We came to Jerusalem” (v32). Once again, flip back to Ezra 7:9 to get some perspective of time. They hit town on the first day of the fifth month, or Ab 1. That’s July or August. This nearly 1,000-mile trip took almost four months. When you do the math, that’s about eight miles a day. Not exactly a blistering pace. But remember, the traveling party included women, children, and the elderly totaling between 7,000-8,000 people. We’re not exactly talking about the mobile of travelers here. Again, if Ezra was like any man hoping to make good time once he was on the road, that was NOT happening. I’m feeling ya, Big E. But then again, he understood that they were right on time. On God’s time.

Once the Hebrews hit Jerusalem, they immediately took a load off. “There we remained three days” (v32). Ezra doesn’t say why there was a three-day delay but you can probably assume a few things about the situation. It’s the first time just anybody making the trip has ever seen the holy city. Remember, they were there 70 years before Zerubbabel and his team returned. Now fast-forward another 59 years for this second expedition. It’s hard to fathom what they saw. They had read and heard all about the glory of Jerusalem and Solomon’s temple. While the people had rebuilt the temple, the city still bears the scars of Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonian blitz. These three days give everyone a chance to take a load off and catch their breath after four months in the desert. Finally, it gave the priests time to check the inventory of silver and gold they escorted for the temple. And remember, there’s no hurry because they are right on time. On God’s time.

On day four, it was time to deliver the goods. The priests are honored to make the handoff of the holy hardware to their counterparts serving on the temple mount (v33). Just as Ezra had weighed all of the precious metals before leaving Babylon, it was time to do the same on the back end of the trip in Jerusalem. Remember, Ezra had given these dozen priests the very specific and holy role of being the caretakers of this costly cargo. This accounting was done at the temple to make sure everything arrived safe and sound. “The whole was counted and weighed, and the weight of everything was recorded” (v34). In other words, it was all there. Mission accomplished. Everybody could take a deep breath. And why not. They were right on time. On God’s time.