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THE CROSS FOR OUR JOURNEY,
Ezra was used by God to return the people of Israel to their land in Canaan, after being bound in Babylon for 70 years. Notice the three points noted in this return. JOURNEY TO ISRAEL: These are now the chief of their fathers, and this is the genealogy of them that went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king. And I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava; and there abode we in tents three days: and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi. ARRIVAL AT ISRAEL: And we came to Jerusalem, and abode there three days. LIFE IN ISRAEL: Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib: and when he came thither, he did eat no bread, nor drink water: for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away. And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem unto all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together unto Jerusalem; And that whosoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the congregation of those that had been carried away. I've spoken much about the significance of THREE DAYS in the Bible.
Israel would take a three days' journey into the wilderness, leaving Egypt, to serve the Lord, Moses said. Joshua stayed with the people in a town named Shittim for three days at the end of their wilderness journey to the land of Canaan. Gideon experienced three days of testing and proving before He came against the Midianites and defeated them. So let's look at the story of Ezra, the man who led Israel out of captivity in Babylon, whose story mentions THREE DAYS in three different points of the book. Israel had been in Babylon for 70 years.
A Three day period of time was first noted when Ezra told the people who were leaving Babylon for Jerusalem to meet him at the river that flows to Ahava.
JOURNEY BEGINS And I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava; and there abode we in tents three days: and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi. Priests who were Levites were there, but no people who were simply Levites.
Once there we read: And I sent them with commandment unto Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia, and I told them what they should say unto Iddo, and to his brethren the Nethinims, at the place Casiphia, that they should bring unto us ministers for the house of our God. There were Levite priests and then simply Levites who were supposed to be ministers for the temple. And I, behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel: to you they are given as a gift for the LORD, to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation. The journey began with a period of three days.
We need to understand that all of us are like the Levites.
Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. A nation of priests.
Wanting a NATION of priests, only a tribe of Priests and ministers were chosen because when God gave the ten commandments, only the Levites chose to come to Moses' side and depart from t he golden calf Israel had erected at the bottom of the Mount Sinai. Israel was returning to the place God wanted them. God wants us in a certain place, also, but a place in the spirit.
When we spend a spiritual period of three days, we will realize who we are and what we can do for God.
Israel lost the advantage of being a nation of priests to only having a tribe of priests, but God has said this of the Church. But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light: Three days at this river caused Ezra to realize there are supposed to be people who will minister aside from the preachers. Let me explain more of the significance of the three days again. The full work for all our salvation and victory we will need as Christians was provided in one fell swoop of God's work through the cross.
Mark it down:
The manner in which they waited for three days at this river to Ahava, represents us getting an understanding and full appreciation — A REVELATION — of how the work of the cross is our answer for our particular situation that is represented by and is similar to their's. The river speaks of the moving of the Holy Ghost.
We must come to the realization that our acceptance of the salvation of God through the death, burial and resurrection QUALIFIES us for everything God can give to us.
In Ezra's case of seeing lack of ministries in the camp, the three days signifies to us we have been made priests of God, everyone of us, and must start ministering! God does not want us twiddling our thumbs and watching someone else do something for the kingdom of God while we simply take in something from someone else all the time.
Church, this understanding of how much of a change the cross made in our lives takes years to appreciate.
Church is actually a form of having you spend those THREE DAYS over again and again, and opportunity to teach you more and more of what the cross did for you. I am here to clarify to you the truths of what God does for us and provided through the cross.
There is never a place where you do not need someone to pray for you at the altar any more, for example.
Every church service is a three day period of truths from the cross to the grave to the sky! Ezra also called a FAST after those three days.
Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance. For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him. So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was entreated of us. This tells us more! When we decide to get to where we need to be in God, and we experience those three days of taking in what God did in the cross, we will realize that we need to stop saying what God can do for us, and start experiencing what God can do for us. Ezra was ready for travel through terrain peppered with marauders and bandits and murderers, who laid in wait to attack anyone who would pass through.
The enemy is going to be there to ensure you do not get to the place God wants you to dwell in.
You might think you cannot have faith for that.
…for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. The Spirit is moving by the river!
They fasted for direction!
We have got to operate in the Spirit and stop operating in the flesh! Eventually they arrived in Jerusalem safe and sound! If you allow other people to successfully cause you to stop serving God faithfully, you have not stirred up your faith in the work of the cross and kept it in your heart that God is with you! Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way. And we came to Jerusalem, and abode there three days. Three more days after they were delivered from enemies. After this, Ezra began business with getting the temple prepared and everyone offered sacrifices of thanks for returning home, and being kept safe on the journey. Once you get to the place where you must minister now, you must once again experience the three days.
We must realize that only by virtue of what God did for us on the cross, can we be used for His kingdom!
Then another problem arose.
When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou; And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them: Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly. We read: Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass. And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonished. All of chapter nine is Ezra grieving and realizing Israel had no defense for this sin, since it was in plain black and white in the Law.
And Ezra called for everyone to come back to Jerusalem again. Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib: and when he came thither, he did eat no bread, nor drink water: for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away. And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem unto all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together unto Jerusalem; And that whosoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the congregation of those that had been carried away. Every step of dealings here involved a three day period. Every facet of your life must involve the cross.
These people overlooked things they knew God spoke about.
Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. Many think sins that they can get by with for months or even years without getting dealt with by God means they can continue in sin. All arrived and there was a heavy rain occurring that shook the people. Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month; and all the people sat in the street of the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the great rain. The heavy rains were like a sign from God that he was angry.
It took three days to gather the wrongs amongst them together.
Truths of the cross get you on your way to where you need to be. Truths of the cross start you into ministry. Truths of the cross clean your life to continue in ministry. If there were transgressors, gather the sins up and deal with them through the cross.
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