In the reign of Artaxerxes, king of Persia, Ezra the scribe returned from Babylon to his hometown of Jerusalem. This event was not just a homecoming but a search for the blessing of the God of his forebears: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Ezra had a commission from the king and the support of many who returned from exile with him. But on his return, he found a people “intermingled” with the ways of the surrounding systems. He was “astonished” and “ashamed.”
Ezra prayed long and hard to the Lord and before his fellows:
"‘O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken Your commandments’ ” (Ezra 9:10, NKJV). His prayer stirred a response, and within three days the people came together to make a commitment to renewal. The language of the record is curious: “All the people sat in the open square of the house of God, trembling because of this matter and because of heavy rain” (Ezra 10:9, NKJV).
Again the call from Ezra: “ ‘Make confession to the LORD God of your fathers, and do His will’ ” (v. 11, NKJV).
We must do it, came the reply. “ ‘It is the season for heavy rain, and we
are not able to stand outside. Nor is this the work of one or two days’ ” (v. 13, NKJV).
God still sends His rain on the just and the unjust. For those who feel the moisture and remember their Creator, rain carries the promise of renewal.
—Lincoln E. Steed, Editor, Liberty Magazine, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States.
